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How to defeat Osama Bin Laden in 20 steps.
Hattip to Christy for this list.
1. Withdraw from Iraq immediately and completely.
2. Apologize to the Iraqi people, and help pay for their reconstruction.
3. Dismantle the Department of Homeland Security. Completely and immediately.
4. Ensure MORE Constitutional Rights upon our Citizens, not less.
5. Create a Universal Health Care System that discriminates against no one and can handle all the wounded US Veterans that are being left behind. Build more hospitals and train massive amounts of 'first responders'. (Police, EMT's. Firemen.)
6. Employ small farmers and become the worlds largest producer of food. What we can not eat, store, or sell, we give away. Yes, I said GIVE IT AWAY. Feed the hungry.
7. Put torturers and war profiteers on trial and in prison to uphold the rule of law.
8. Demand the press quit relaying propaganda.And hold them liable when they do deceive us with anything less than full disclosure.
9. Educate our children better. Build more schools. And then build some more. Make teachers among the highest paid civil servants we have in this nation and you will have no problem finding new teachers. Train all college students to double as substitute teachers.
10. Employ more artists and develop art culture in every city, town or village. When artists work, a lot of other industry is created to support them. It will create sustainable jobs.
11. Love thy neighbor. Encourage and protect their freedoms.
12. Encourage religious unity among all faiths.
13. Uphold the wall between church and state.
14. Ensure free and open elections with a paper trail that can be verified so that we can not be politically manipulated.
15. Invest almost exclusively in development of alternative fuel technologies to control pollution and end our dependence on oil.
16.When a president or high ranking official breaks the law, punish them for it, under the law. If they are found to have violated International La w, send them to the Hague.
17. No longer tolerate the views of warmongers, war profiteers and torture justifiers, nor their advocates. Zero tolerance for those who order killings without rational reason or worse, for profit.
18. Reinstate the Geneva Conventions in the most public way possible, and rejoin the World Court with no exemptions.
19. Close Gitmo, and demand full disclosure of what has been happening there.
20. Re Forrest our lands as soon as possible and invest greatly in renewable resources. Clean up our oceans and combat the real threat of global warming.
If even half of these things are accomplished, peace and freedom will become our legacy. Courage, strength and honor will be ours to claim.
Fear and death will be replaced with life, and hope.
Christy,
I'd add one thing...(or two)...
Work with our allies to capture OBL and to raise the quality of living globally.
I think JK said in 04, that OBL and terrorist should be treated as a police matter--not a police state!--and he was right then and remains right now.
Oh. And I just want to point out that raping our finances to keep us in a war in Iraq allowed OBL to win even more.
And the imports of poisonous foods, toys, tools, supplies and causing sickness and death is another way that we're losing.
Siegelman whistleblower run off the road and house caught fire
Read the whole diary at Kos.
I also want bin ladens head under my boot, but the truth always was that he does not have to be killed or even captured to be defeated.
Unless we do want to bomb the Saudis... In which case, count me in for putting on boots.
But... If you can not capture or kill your enemy, then what? Kill his name, his ideals. And he is as good as dead.
BTW, I thought yall were suppossed to have taken care of this crap in the 60s...
'On election day, a number of homes in Baton Rouge’s predominantly black neighborhoods were phoned with a tape-recorded message asking black voters to teach white Democrats a lesson by staying home and not casting ballots.
The ad signed off as “Friends of Michael Jackson.”
Jackson, a Democratic state representative defeated by Cazayoux in the primary runoff, said he was not involved or connected in any way with the calls. Jackson said he will run for the seat in November.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/18556984.html?index=1&c=y
TSP on last thread
"... but somehow, ever the eternal optimist, I still think Obama can and will win the nomination. The media is making it hard for him"
I read an article in Slate about it being enough already even pretending clinton has a chance.
You want to stop the media dead in their tracks then you must refuse to follow their narrative.
Barak Obama IS the democratic nominee because hillary clinton can not possibly win mathmatically. PERIOD.
There is ZERO chance she can win it. We all know it, her supporters know it, the media knows it, yet here we are all still saying 'I hope Obama can win it!'.
It is too freaking strange.
Instead of asking what chance she has, we should be asking why we are being told she has any chance at all because she don't. Can't. Won't win. She has already lost. Period. It is a mathmatical impossibility she will win, therefore HE is the nominee. Anything said other than that is being deliberately injected to confuse the fact she has already lost.
We should all make sure to change the way we speak to reflect that cold hard fact.
Christy
Or South Koreans, in which case count ME in.
Sending Reverend Moon to f**k up American democracy is an act of war.
Christy
And as for Obama being pretty much the nominee, he needs to act that way - ignore Hillary, and pummel McCain.
Well guys,
I don't understand why the MSM has turned on Obama like a pack of rabid bats.
Christy, darlin' I know that right now Obama has the numbers to be the nominee. What worries me is Lady Macbeth's ties with big business, and the strong arming of the Super Delegates, which is already going on in her campaign.
I feel she is part of the establishment, and the establishment, and not the people have decided the past two Presidential elections. You know, The Deciders....
That's why I say I hope, because we are dealing with people who will do or say anything to obtain and retain power.
I wonder if Hillary's statement recently sabre rattling at Iran has anything to do with persuading pro-war Super Delegates. Ya think?
Let this be over soon. If Obama gets cheated out of the nomination, I will be crying for two days. I can't even imagine our future if he gets this election stolen from him. And, as Matt said in his LTE to Frank Rich on the last thread, the Clinton's and McCrazy will do or say anything to get elected, while having PACT money in their pockets.
My friend I mentioned earlier, the one who told me he still thinks Hillary is prostituting herself for power, said that if she wins he is pretty sure she will reinstate the draft, and he and his son are already planning their move to Canada. He was in military intelligence in the armed forces, and has kept very active in politics since then.
As far as the economy goes, along with all the other calamities resulting from Dubya's fine job in the Executive Branch of our government, here is my theory.....I think the economy was tanking in 2001. I think the shoddy bank loans were to give people a chance to cash out on the equity in their homes to spend spend spend like they used to in the eighties and nineties. I think the powers that be were robbing Peter to pay Paul, and creating the false illusion that our economy was in better shape than it was. Now, all those people have spent their equity, the inflation rate goes up on the ARM mortgages, and people have NO OTHER SOURCE TO PULL FROM. So just about the time Georgie, Rummy, Darth and the Brain are in Switzerland cashing out their hoard, we will be going hungry and dying from lack of proper medical care, and jobs, and high food and gasoline prices. They have raped, pillaged, and leave the poor (who used to be the middle class) in dire straights. And yes, I don't think it's a financial cycle. I feel like this depression that is coming was very well pumped up on steriods during the past administration, and while the piggies were milking the last dime out of the constituents, the house of cards is ready to collapse. They don't care, they have pilfered every penny they can think of from the ex-middle class. I think they did anything they could to keep the economy going under Bush and the Republicans, to make it look better than it really was, including stealing from people's home equities to feed the economy, while some "manager" of a construction job under Halliburton in Iraq was found to have no real "job" and no people to "manage," but he was getting big bucks for doing absolutely nothing.
Then they feed us that garbage about not being able to withdraw from Iraq because they would be leaving people in peril. I just can't imagine millions of Americans going homeless and not being able to buy gasoline and groceries and medicine. But, alas, I do think that day is coming shortly. The establishment is,IMO, a world power that is NOT moral, compassionate, or ethical. Somehow our country was stolen from us without a shot being fired.
Obama is our last chance, and yes, he will be taking on alot of the failures from the previous administration. Why else would a guy want the job, if not just for money and power, other than to genuinely want to be a catalyst for change?
He just has to get nominated and then go on to win in November.
Otherwise we better start singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and playing taps.
My gut feeling is that Hillary will put up a hell of a fight, and it might get drawn all the way to the Convention, but Obama will will the nomination, albeit by not as large a margin as we would like.
I just came from Portland. Portland will go for Obama.
http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com
Support for Obama Rebounds
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/04/opinion/polls/main4069259.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4069259
Make it happen!
In Larry King's interview with Jon Stewart, Larry brought up the subject of the primaries and asked him if America was ready for a woman or a black president.
Jon looked at him quizzically and said 'This is such a non-question. Did anyone ask us in 2000 if Americans were ready for a moron?'
(Thanks Ben Doko)
TSP, I agree with everything you said. I am also scared she will steal it.
But my point was... We all know she is going to try to steal it. But, first, we all have to be decieved into saying she had a legit chance in the first place.
In effect, the whole conversation where we pretend she does have some kind of chance, is actually the first step of the theft. They must set the conditions just so enough people believe she can win, even in the face of mathmatical impossibility.
She can not just outright steal it, any 'victory' for her has to look legit. She has to convince people she had a chance and won. In truth, she never had a chance.
If we change our language to reflect she never had the chance to win, her chances of pulling off a theft that looks legit lessens considerably. How can you 'win' if you already lost?
I think the media, karl rove in particular, are doing all this deliberately. They are helping her to steal it by insisting she could win somehow. The only way to push back really is to change our language to reflect the fact we know that is a lie or pipedream.
The 'theft' has already began. But there is still time to stop it.
Bad. Very Very Bad.
Who needs Dana Perino when you have the NYT's Michael Gordon?
On Meet the Press yesterday during an interview with Barack Obama, Tim Russert said:
The administration, we have reported at NBC, are drawing up some plans for potential airstrikes in Iran at different missile weapons factories or special force compounds because we have indications, evidence that the Iranians are helping some of their supporters within Iraq to kill U.S. troops.
It's unclear whether the "we" in Russert's statement refers to the U.S. Government or NBC News, though that distinction is essentially nonexistent. Russert didn't bother to describe this purported "evidence" leading to our planning air strikes against Iran, but he did then ask Obama: "If it could be demonstrated that was a fact, would you be in support of such limited attacks in Iran?"
Like clockwork, the administration's most stalwart surge supporter/journalist -- the New York Times' Michael Gordon -- has a lengthy article today bolstering the administration's war-justifying accusations against Iran. It claims in the lead sentence that "militants from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been training Iraqi militia fighters at a camp near Tehran," and that "the training, the Americans say, is carried out at several camps near Tehran that are overseen by the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Command, and the instruction is carried out by milit ants from Hezbollah, which has long been supported by the Quds Force."
As usual with Gordon's articles, nothing is done here other than uncritically repeating Bush administration claims under the cover of anonymity. Virtually every paragraph in this article is nothing more a mindless recitation of uncorroborated assertions which he copies from Bush officials and then weaves into a news narrative, with the phrase "American officials say" tacked on at the end or the phrase "according to officials" unobtrusively interspersed in the middle, as in:
In a possible effort to be less obtrusive, it appears that Iran is now bringing small groups of Iraqi Shiite militants to camps in Iran, where they are taught how to do their own training, American officials say.
The militants then return to Iraq to teach comrades how to fire rockets and mortars, fight as snipers or assemble explosively formed penetrators, a particularly lethal type of roadside bomb made of Iranian components, according to American officials. The officials describe this approach as “training the trainers."
As presented, the "news" here isn't that Bush officials are making these accusations; the news, as Gordon reports it, is what the Iranians are allegedly doing, all based on anonymous, unchallenged Bush claims. It's nothing more than yet another Bush administration press release masquerading as a New York Times article on Iranian involvement in Iraq.
Worse, despite noting that "there has been debate among experts about the extent to which Iran is responsible for instability in Iraq," the article does not contain a single skeptical word about any of these accusations, nor does it quote a single "expert" who questions or disputes them. This omission is particularly glaring in light of this McClatchy article from yesterday reporting that "the Iraqi Government seemed to distance itself from U.S. accusations towards Iran," which echoes an Agence-France-Press report that "Iraq said on Sunday it has no evidence that Iran was supplying militias engaged in fierce street fighting with security forces in Baghdad." There's not a word about any of that in Gordon's article (though it does note that the Iraqi government "announced Sunday that it would conduct its own inquiry into accusations of Iranian intervention in Iraq and document any interference").
Continues...
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/
Holy shit. Just like they did to invade Iraq.
Clinton, attempting to show that there will be party unity, said, “If Sen. Obama is the nominee, you better believe I'll work my heart out for him.”
The crowd erupted into a chant for Obama, leaving Clinton speechless for a few seconds while she waited for them to finish. During her speech, Clinton also mentioned Gov. Mike Easley, who has endorsed her candidacy, and she was momentarily rendered speechless while the crowd booed him.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/05/clinton-says-sh.html
I think this Russian report is more objective:
Christy,
Re: Clintonistas
Thanks for explaining that further to me. I'm afraid "we" don't have alot to do with the perception of whether she can win or not. As we both feel, it is probably Rovian tactics that have caused this past month's reversal in the press.
People up here are biased (red-necks)regarding race and gender. They are also biased against age. Nevertheless, we DID caucus in Obama as our state's choice.
It's almost too much to think about, the primaries tomorrow, the sabre rattling at Iran. Maybe we will have some good news tomorrow night. I'm hoping and praying.
Christy,
I agree with your point though, even if the media talks louder than we do, we can each do our part by not even saying she has a chance to win. Gosh, just the thought of what they are doing in the media makes it stink all the worse.
NMP,
I remember fifteen years ago when in Europe we could get a meal that would easily cost $75.00 in the states for about $7.00 a plate in Europe at that time.
Well, I'm gonna keep myself busy so I don't have to let the reality all the way in today. Denial is a survival mechanism you know........
(sigh).................
NMP,
Welcome back. How was the train ride? The celebration?
I listened to the Russian version of the news. If only each and every single one of Lady Macbeth's words were true.
Depressing...!!!
I was talking to a person here at work and we were discussing health insurance. She's 21 and is allowed to be on mom and pops insurance until 25 as long as she's a student. Her parents are labor union members. So she's all happy to have very few medical obligations! And she admits she's lucky. (Her family is apparently mixed Republican/moderate Dems.)
But she's against universal health care. She is an avid Republican and 98% supports Bush still.
She insists that Americans are "too diverse of thought to have universal health care succeed. And she's upset that a Dem will be elected and a Dem will mess us up even more" She insists that Bush had nothing to do with the problems with social security teathering on failure. She thinks that people are too quick to blame him!!! She admits that he screwed up the war and insists that she is a Republican because she "suuports the troops and the troops should be supported." However, I mentioned that troops are coming home and not being given healthcare and that is FAR from supporting the troops!
She's afraid the new Democratic president will pull all the troops out of Iraq and everything will fall apart even more!
And..she's pissed at teachers who made her watch F-9-11, Sicko, Crash...and even her "REPUBLICAN" teacher who HATES BUSH!
She practically broke down in tears. The discussion ended
OH..and she claims that if we have universal health care that 1/2 of our paychecks will go for taxes and covering them.
Didn't make much difference to her when I mentioned my daughter earning minimum wage paying 1/2 her paycheck for a profit healthcare. AND that we pay an additional money just to pay for that insurance!
I mentioned the 30k we spent a few years ago for 'uncovered' things. And I mentioned that the whole 30 was not helping other people get healthcare.
Did I mention she has rich uncles who are older and don't pay for healthcare and don't use it. And have no intention of using it. So why should THEY have to pay for someone else to have healthcare?!!
how unfair....!!!
Sparrow
I'll be BLUNT about this...
But that young girl deserves to lose healthcare and union representation.
Some people just don't get how lucky they have it, until they lose what they got. Then it's too late. But they've been warned.
The vast majority of the construction sector guys are all just like her - idiotic, and blindly pro-Bush. Which is why, in the last thread, I said that they all ought to lose healthcare and union representation, and fight for $10/hr menial jobs with illegals.
Sparrow
You must also mention that the Republicans are ALL for taking away personal liberties, and are under orders of a Korean Confucian-Christian cult, the Unification Church, to do so.
Sparrow
"Too diverse a thought" - code word for too many foreigners among Americans.
All foreigners are bad, except for the Koreans and the Cubans.
Depressing thing is, Alley, is that she has had numerous people discuss this with her and her mind is made up!
It always boils down to selfish reasons. She and her uncles do not want to share any of their money.
Oh...did I mention she tried to compare it to communism?
That's when she melted down and wouldn't discuss it anymore. I wasn't falling for the old commie-pinko thing.
It's not communism and it shows her lack of knowledge to try to compare it to it. Also, she admits that it works for other countries, even Democratic Eurpoean ones--and Canada--but "we are free thinkers and so diverse..." I tuess that means free thinking deverse people don't deserve basic health care.
Oh..and why the insistance that the Democrats are going to go in and mess things up?
Pa..leese! It can't get too much worse for 98% of the people in America right now.
OMG..and the girl practically shivered with revulsion for Michael Moore! She's ashamed he's from Michigan.
ha ha...I resisted saying "Like the Dixie Chix are ashamed that Bush is from Texas!"
I'm ashamed that (1) Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan are from California, and (2) Reverend Moon is from Korea.
End of story
"Depressing thing is, Alley, is that she has had numerous people discuss this with her and her mind is made up!"
Want to have some fun? When she says wacky crap, instead of trying to fathom it, just laugh at her instead. If she knows you are laughing at her, even better.
I don't know about yall, but I am sick of indulging morons.
BTW check this out... does not forbode well. At all.
Indiana "a whopping 1,134,427 voter registrations have been cancelled"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3246304
May 5, 2008 6:08 PM
sparrow said:
You know what, there are still about 27% of the American population who thinks Bush walks on water. The rest have drowned, are drowning, or starving, or becoming homeless.
It sounds like that little gal comes from a fairly upper middle class home, and she has had it good all her life. Just sayin', it sounds that way. When I was wealthy I got callous and felt the same way....it's a scent better off people get if they are shallow (which I found out the hard way).....
People with fat pocketbooks and fat waistlines are NOT going to CARE A RAT'S A$$ about what the regular working man and woman is going through. Period. The wealthy have their own tier, and a person gets hardened in it. I never got so hardened that I didn't SHARE ALOT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND THOSE WHO HAD LESS, although my attitude got rather "elite" after a while. You begin to think you are ENTITLED. I say there are more middle class quickly becoming lower class folks in America drowning at the gas pumps and in the super markets, and losing their homes while they take to their vehicles or cardboard boxes or shopping carts. There are many, even in the town I am in, that didn't have insurance when they had a catastrophe, and they GOT NO TREATMENT PERIOD.
I have a friend who broke her wrist and arm at work same as I did, only her employer denied she did it on his work premises (no one saw her, she slipped on the ice at the front door of the business), and since she had no workman's comp, and no insurance, she never got surgery on her arm and wrist like I did, and she will NEVER be able to use that arm again, or hand either. And it was her dominant hand.
My point is.......don't be depressed about the 27% who are feeling cushy and want things to stay the same. There are alot more of us out here who see the American dream floating down the river, and plenty more who want to do something about it.
Obama is going to win this nomination.
Sparrow,
I guess my point is that there are more people hurting and beginning to "see the light" than there are fat ones sitting on pillows hoarding their money. Still inequitable, but we were way much more outnumbered in 2004 than we are now. A Dem will take the Presidency. I just am disappointed in the press refusing to give Obama his due.
The end.
NMP
Portland was refreshing - the train ride was relaxing.
I am really glad to have went.
Here are the Cinco de Mayo pictures:
http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2008/05/cinco-de-mayo-s.html
I meant to write TSP!!
Hey this is funny (& true)
Lawrence O'Donnell: Hillary has the highest negative rating in the history of Presidential campaigns.
McCain gets a full tax-free disability pension
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-pension22apr22,1,2872446.story
Hillary failed to disclose several years earnings of Bill's
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/5/21395/93230/791/509745
Obama had a concert with Stevie Wonder
(click on my name)
click on my name to see Stevie
An interesting part of that KOS piece is this:
"Moreover, Bill has apparently received more than $11 million from Yucaipa partnership which is invested heavily in Chinese government corporations. The Clinton's trade relationship with China has paid off big time."
I watched Larry King for a few minutes last night, and remembered why I had such little use for Lanny Davis the first time. This Clintonista groupies need to get a life. There is a world beyond Billary.
Not My President said:
click on my name to see Stevie
... and monkeys twisted brain immediately thought:
What an oddly comical way to phrase that!
See See Rider
Rant-O-Rama
I dont watch much DoomTube anymore, but Larry King has to be the worst interviewer on the planet, and I can't for the life of me figure out why he is such a fixture in that genre or why anyone would want to be interviewed by him, except for the fact that it is exposure to the hilt... ok, I get it now.
But still, he barely listens to the responses of the person in front of him to the very question he just posed, then steps all over the response before the person has finished responding... watch, he does it all the time, it's so friggin annoying.
Then he pulls that shmaltzy old Brooklyn tone out to shmooze the guests as they go to commercial. Oy vey.
... and don't get me started on Regis.
Hmmmm, wait a tick... Regis? King?
OMG, they mean the same thing!!!!
Very little.
monkey said:
Not My President said:
click on my name to see Stevie
... and monkeys twisted brain immediately thought:
What an oddly comical way to phrase that!
See See Rider
~~~~~~
haha, Monkey.
It scares me when I 'get' what you're thinking/saying!
;-)
We sold our house last night. For more than the asking price.
We are still processing....and reeling...
This was a huge surprise, but now we are truly able to do several things:
1. Pay off all the debt from the past seven years.
2. Buy land and build the solar house.
3. Live in the DC area, albeit more cheaply and simply, for at least a year.
4. Continue to work towards sanity, truth, and democracy for this country, in whatever ways we can, altho' from a greater distance.
phew...
Karen and Richard,
Congratulations!
Richard, you must have done a heck-of-a-job cleaning out your knick-knacks! It's amazing how that always works!
Congrats Karen and Richard!
Update from Indianapolis/Johnson Controls...
I got a call from a Johnson Controls representative at my office here in SoCal this morning, after I sent an email to their institute registrar last Friday, regarding all the ugly things that happened back in Indianapolis last week.
Johnson Controls is offering me a full refund of the tuition paid, plus some of the travel expenses (including the extra airfare for coming home early). Their technical supervisor will call me later today to get further information regarding what happened in Indy. They are very disappointed and sorry about what happened to me in Indy last week, and that's an improvement.
I am a much happier camper today, though I have a nasty cold from my Indy stay.
Ally,
That's great that they're compensating you. Also, I hope it will help them control their reps.
Though I find your story curious when compared to the person I was talking to yesterday. She was near tears crying about the 'liberal bias' of her teachers at the college.
Interesting...
Sparrow
There IS a liberal bias in academia - including my UCLA Extension class with CODEPINK's Gayle Brandeis on social change.
But then, people who think, and understand the nuances of "shades of gray" (as opposed to black/white), are more likely to be liberal.
I have a feeling that my instructor from last week's Johnson Controls class will lose his job. Forwarding upskirt photos of women on corporate email is pretty much grounds for firing.
Congratulations, Karen and Richard!
You did a good job to rid yourself of knick-knacks and "stuff", and the paint helped as well.
Isn't it a good feeling to know you will be out of debt, and the old ball and chain will be coming off?
Sparrow and NMP,
Sorree but I don't get the Stevie click thing...
Re: Larry King ~ I used to watch his show alot because he seemed to give his guests enough rope to show their true colors. The more he ages, however, the harder it became to watch the show. Once in a while it is worth it, depending who he has on. Colin Powell was on about six months ago and that was interesting.
Even though King is getting to an age where I wonder whether or not he has to be propped upright!!!
Keeping the Doom Tube off today for a while longer. Of course I want to know how everything turns out tonight, but I am not ready to put up with the talking heads yet today.
Yes we can!!
O.K.
Lucy just 'splained the see Stevie thing to me.
Congratulations, Dick and Karen! You're cashing out at pretty close to the top of the market - and now have the security to do what you like, rather than chasing dollars like the rest of us. Enjoy it in good health.
MSNBC is calling NC for Obama, in apparently a big win. Hillary is up substantially in Indiana - but NC is the bigger state, with the bigger payoff.
I don't know if any of you make it over to the Times blogs, but relations there between Obama and Hillary supporters are pretty ugly. This thing needs to end ASAP.
Indiana has changed from "too early to call" to "too close to call."
NBC's David Gregory: "This is shaping up to be, at this juncture, a big night for Barack Obama."
http://www.americablog.com/
YES WE CAN!
YAYYY!!!!
WHOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!
I am so excited and happy!!! Right now of course you know Obama won N.C. by a decent double digit margin, and so far Hillary only has a 4 percent lead in Indiana, and I think they still have 20% of the votes to count. Seems someone "forgot" to turn on one of the voting machines somewhere in Indiana, so a judge has ordered that the voting will continue for a couple more hours. They don't expect a final count until midnight E.S.T.
I am doing the HAPPY DANCE, and calling everyone I know (especially my dad who has changed from Clinton to Obama in the last week, My sister was over at his house, and she campaigned actively for Clinton.) I just called and said "YAY!!!!!"
Please God let this be the end of this ugliness.
What is WITH Lady Macbeth? She is blah blah blahhing. I thinks she loves the limelight. I still smell a Rrat.
I am also happy, but not like I thought I would be. I feel so sad that it all happened the way it did and I am so worried for Obama.
This country has such a habit of killing black leaders it is hard not to imagine someone somewhere is planning it as casually as they did breakfast.
And, all of this is based on the assumption that little king georgie will just hand over the crown all nice and peaceful like. Everything in me tells me he won't. He can't. None of them can just allow some upstart in that even MIGHT investigate what has been happening these last years.
They will all hang for it, and they know it. And we are just expecting them to hand over the very power that protects them...?
I am so happy for Obama tonight, but it feels way too early to celebrate.
Marley
Dick & Karen
.. congrats!!! Don't leave DC too quickly - we still want to visit you!
Hee hee hee.
I am full of glee. Can't go to sleep yet, the Lake County votes in Indiana are still coming in.
MSNBC and CNN both have the gap narrowing between the two with Clinton now at 51%, and Obama at 49%.
This is better than Christmas.
O.K. Critters who are still up. Celebrate with me.
Come on Obama. He could still take it. Come on Obama! Yes you can!
It is pretty freaking exciting.
Hey Christy Girlfriend!!!
It is very pretty freaking exciting. Two points difference in Indiana is all, and they are still counting in a county where Obama could take it.
YES WE CAN!!!
(Going over to Times blog to see the fighting...) Be back soon.
O.M.G.
There are only ten thousand votes between them with 92% in.
Come on, yes you can.
Hey Darlin!
Russert just said that Obama IS THE PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE!
Ok, I have to allow myself a little celebration, because this is FREAKING FANTASTIC!
Hey Darlin yourself!
NBC just projected that Hillary won Indiana by a hair.
Still very good news for Obama.
Yes, I am almost celebrated out for tonight, having company tomorrow and tomorrow night so probably should get some sleep.
I think they are still counting ballots in Indiana, even though Hillary is the projected winner in Indiana.
Yes, I have heard alot tonight about Barack Obama being the presumptive nominee.
Thank you God.
Amen.
Karen and Richard. Great news. Great opportunities opening up for you. Well done.
Today's Times Editorial
It’s About the White House
"Like many Americans, we have been intrigued and often exasperated by the long-running Democratic primary and the ever smaller-bore spats between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So we are thankful to Senator John McCain for reminding us Tuesday what this year’s presidential race really is about."
"On a day when Mr. Obama won a decisive victory in North Carolina and Mrs. Clinton eked out a win in Indiana, Mr. McCain spoke about his judicial philosophy. He is determined to move a far too conservative and far too activist Supreme Court and federal judiciary even further and more actively to the right."
"Mr. McCain predictably criticized liberal judges, vowed strict adherence to the Founders’ views and promised to appoint more judges in the mold of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. That is just what the country does not need."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/opinion/07wed1.html
My response:
McCain's speech yesterday demonstrated why I could not vote for him; but Hillary's behavior over these past months has provided nothing but evidence as to why, were she to steal the nomination, I would owe it to my conscience to simply stay home on Election Day.
I find her Iran rhetoric particularly problematic. Consider this: Israel has had nuclear weapons for many years. Yet, if Iran - which is years away from developing their own - were to hypothetically attack Israel with one, Hillary claims would obliterate them. Why? Is Israel incapable of using their weapons? Are they incapable of defending themselves? Can she seriously imagine a scenario where the Israelis would be so caught off guard? Or was this simply another opportunity for her to pander, this time to fearful Jewish voters, while perpetuating the myth of her qualifications to be Commander-in-Chief. I expect authentic leadership from an American President, the kind of leadership that George H.W. Bush demonstrated through his even-handed approach in the Middle East - an approach that convinced that Muslims that America was serious about being an honest broker in the region, and thus made a lasting peace that much more likely. Hillary’s already sabotaged any hope of her being seen in that light. She’s made herself part of the problem, every bit as much as Bush 41’s wayward son.
Hillary pretends that she’s strong, but it strikes me that she’s instead cynical, overly ambitious, and mean. A strong, confident woman would have walked away from her husband after his Presidency was over, and attempted to run on her own. Teresa Heinz Kerry once quipped that if she ever caught John cheating on her, she wouldn’t just leave him; she would maim him. Now that’s a strong, confidant woman. Hillary…she’s just cynical, ambitious, and mean.
Spot on as usual, Mr. C.
Oh, and can someone PUH-LEASE explain to Bill Clinton the virtues of sunscreen! Good grief, he was as red as a republican last night.
Feel free to throw in some other virtues as well.
There's a f-f-f lie in the annointment.
Matthew,
I disagree with you as far as your response to NYT's is concerned. First, if you owe your conscience to not vote for her and to stay home, then that is a vote for McCain. And should McCain win, then your choice was every bit as damaging as those people who voted for Bush or stayed home.
I'm sorry. But when you chose not to vote, your vote gets a person elected--right or wrong.
Second, you presume that Israel would use nuclear weapons first. They have not used them and they may not be in the position to use them first if Iran were to achieve their goal. Frankly, if Iran gets nukes, they are going to use them before anyone might be aware that they've actually developed them. In other words, Israel probably won't exist by time Iran sends the nukes her way.
I don't believe it's 'pandering' to discuss that situation in realistic terms.
The people in Israel are dealing with the probably obliteration of their country daily.
I'm not saying I agree with what she said, however, I am saying that you're not thinking about the reality of Israel's situation. I'm sure that Israel WILL defend themselves IF they actually can.
They've done it before. They'll do it again.
Last...in your last paragraph, you spoke about a strong woman, etc...Frankly, I think that's just damn insulting to all women who you think have to fit a mold in order to be called, 'Strong.'
Someone, let alone a man, shouldn't be judging someone else's marriage. Frankly, lots of women and men forgive their spouses for affairs. They do it for their own reason.
I think Bill and Hillary's private lives should be off limits just like it should have been off limits as far as impeachment was concerned.
Let me fix my one statement...
I meant a man shouldn't judge a woman's marriage.
I don't care that she's a candidate or not, and that he's a former President. Her decision to stay with Bill is her own decision.
Frankly, I don't care for Hillary myself. I dislike her more now than I did in the beginning. But I just don't think it's fair to beat her for private issues. Her marriage is a private issue.
Would this be the wrong time to interject a "Happy Hump Day!"?
Monkey,
I didn't see Bill and Hillary last night. I saw a picture of Chelsea and she appeared like she knew it was over.
Russert says it's over. (DailyKos)
Sparrow, I strongly disagree with you - in almost every possible area.
Character matters. It always has and it always will. The Framers believed that their Republic would not endure unless some credible notion of virtue guided their actions. I invite you to read them for yourself. I have. The Clintons are utterly amoral. And I'm sick and tired of giving the character issue away to the GOP. They kill us on it in election after election.
With regard to Israel, I am decidedly not willing to make enemies of over one billion Muslims to defend an ideal that I find personally problematic. The facts are that Muslims provided sanctuary for Jews escaping from hostile Christians for over a thousand years. There was little emnity between Jews and Muslims until the late 19th century. I'll leave it to others to draw conclusions on what might have changed in that relationship at that point in time. Besides, with the fourth or fifth most powerful military in the world, the Israelis do not require the United States' protection.
As regards marriage, I would judge a man who stayed with a woman who cheated on him right and left as harshly as I judge Hillary. I don't like doormats, and I don't want them leading my country. I don't think they're good role models for our society. I'm no longer a Christian, and am perfecting willing to be judged by the same standard that I use on others.
As as for my words being insulting, I believe in an America of strong, courageous men and women, of an America driven by a spirit of empowerment and achievement. I've had it with our tendency to define down defiancy, and to make excuses for weak, unproductive behaviors. Besides, Hillary had no problem whatsoever, NONE WHATSOEVER, bringing Wright into the equation - and Obama had only been married by him, he wasn't married to him! Hillary lost any right to protection on the marriage issue when stated repeatedly, "you can't choose your relatives, but you can choose your pastor".
If Hillary gets away with mugging Obama at the convention, I will not vote for her. End of story. I would rather work towards starting a new progressive party than reward or enable the Clintons' repugnant behavior. I want them gone. Eight years of the Clintons was more than enough.
I agree with Sparrow it is wrong to judge why she stayed with him. And a willingness to maim a cheating spouse does not define a 'strong' woman, no more than a man would be strong for maiming a wayward wife.
I don't agree with her about Isreal though. I don't believe Iran is as eager to nuke Isreal as everyone makes them out to be. It is one thing to talk smack, it is quite another to actually push the button and deal with the repercussions and consequences.
Even Pakistan and India have learned it is just not that easy to nuke someone, no matter how easy it is to talk smack. And, btw, our own NIE says the Iranians are NOT pursuing a nuclear program, so assuming they are, and they are doing it with the absolute intention of destroying Isreal is somewhat paraniod. So far they are falling all over themselves to comply with the international inspectors.
I am sure Isreal could and would defend themselves too, but, with OUR nukes, and only after throwing Us between themselves and whatever it is they are fighting first.
Iran is not the only country who's people talk fondly of nuking other people. The Isrealis not only talk about obliterating other countries, they expect us to lay the same threat to their enemies.
Israel is under the assumption We will just always be ok with that and will do so for them for no other reason than we love them.
What will Israel do when they finally have to stand all on their own, all by themselves? Considering how many enemies they have made in close proximity... I doubt they ever would be able to defend themselves without Us. Even now, the only protection they have is the threat of massive US intervention.
Her marriage is not an issue. Her marriage is not indicative of HER character!!! You have no idea if she is a doormat in her personal life or not. You're not in that marriage. You don't live in that house.
You are looking in from the outside making judgements that nobody should make about someone's marriage. You have no idea what, if anything, they did to over-come Bill's unfaithfullness.
Sorry. But the campaigns in general need to stfu about peoples' personal lives.
And staying with a person who had an affair is not indicative of HER lack of character. Talk about blaming the victim...
Still, it takes a strong person to forgive a spouse who strays. It takes a strong person to stay and make a marriage work when things get tough.
Yet, even Obama admitted that the question of Wright was legitimate because if he was agreeing with Wright about those statements, it is a matter that people should care about for their future President.
Just like if Bush was a member of some "End of times" group, then it would be important for voters to know that before they vote.
The problem that made Wright a problem is that he made PUBLIC STATEMENTS and that Obama was asked if he approved of those public statements (and that church/person). The Wright issue was over-blown. But it had some legitimacy. And it wasn't a private issue, since many people who go to a church or a temple PICK a church or temple that reflects their beliefs!
Just like you post here at the DCP because more of your beliefs are seen here than at Free Republic.
The difference is PERSONAL versus PUBLIC.
BTW, I hear mccrazy had a bad night too.
Lots of votes for romney and huckabee.
What about Paul?
He's still getting lots of donations!
I'd love to see Paul run as a third party candidate.
I buried Paul.
David Axelrod, Obama's top strategist, told reporters that he attributed Clinton's two point lead in Indiana to Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos," where the conservative talk show host urged Republican listeners to vote for Clinton to prolong the Democratic nomination fight.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_strategist_says_Clinton_only_won_0507.html
How proud her real supporters must be to know they threw in with that lot.
I mean, really,... How PROUD they must be. I honestly do hope it hurts. I hope the memory of what they TRIED to do here burns, for the rest of their lives.
Oh, BTW. .... GOOD BYE HILLARY. AND GOOD RIDDANCE.
The marriage is absolutely an issue because they couldn't keep it together while they were in the White House the first time. They went on 60 Minutes sixteen years ago, and claimed that they had fixed their problems. And they hadn't.
At the end of the day, it's about effectiveness and functionality. Divorce is not a sin, and it's not a crime against nature. I've been divorced, more then half of America has been divorced. But instead we spent the better part of two years having to defend behavior that would not have been an issue if they had either authentically fixed their problems or moved on. But instead they insisted on "toughing it out", just like they're doing in this campaign. And, consequently, we took the beating alongside them. And, yes, I resent that.
As for Wright, we have no evidence that Obama ever heard Wright say one single disturbing thing while he was in the audience. And, honestly, Wright's ideas while wild, are not that unusual. I don't share them, but I deleted worse over on the Kerry blog.
"If Hillary gets away with mugging Obama at the convention, I will not vote for her. End of story. I would rather work towards starting a new progressive party..."
Matthew Carnicelli May 7, 2008 8:12 AM
Well, working towards a progressive party is not the same as "I would owe it to my conscience to simply stay home on Election Day."
So go for it, if that's what you want. At least it's not just sitting at home and not voting.
Because not voting IS a choice with repercussions!
Electing her IS a choice with repercussions as well. She's yet another believer in expanded Presidential power - which is another reason that I want her gone.
I'm done discussing her private life. That includes marriage as well as divorce. It is not a "tendency to define down defiancy, and to make excuses for weak, unproductive behaviors" to say that marriage is personal.
And the only reason you had to defend someone for two years is because a different group of people wanted to make their PRIVATE marriage public too.
Just remember, Matthew that 'excuses for the weak, and unproductive behaviors' are all personal judgement calls. So you got a divorce. It's your choice. And nobody should criticize you for it. And they chose to repair their marriage. So what?!!!
It's about a private decision and a personal choice that has no bearing on her skill to be the President and it has no bearing on her character that she chose to stay with him.
However...if you feel like talking about the ties to Walmart, Bush, lobbies, etc...then those are all public matters that could indicate her character.
And while we're busying arguing over personal choices and that people should stay out of other's private lives...doesn't this sound awfully familiar to other discussions out there? Like gay-marriage and abortions.
Personal is personal.
Actually, Matthew, Hillary already said she would not accept all that expanded power. I once got 'corrected' at Daily Kos when I said that. They provided the link. I don't know where it is.
But apparently, she already stated emphatically that she would not accept those extraordinary presidential powers. At the time, only Edwards refused to rescind them.
Yall remember my unofficial poll, asking others if they had ever seen a political protest sign in Louisiana, even just one..?
Well, I have continued on, and the further I go the more it creeps me out.
So far, NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON I have asked has ever seen a single political protest sign in Louisiana in their entire lives.
Not a single one of them. Not me either. None. Zero. 100% negative.
Wow. That is so creepy the more I think about it, the creepier it seems.
We have decided to do something about it, but it really feels like all the sudden this place is a moonscape.
Loony fo sho.
looks like I missed a party .. unless it's still going
Someones having a party without us?
How rude.
Um....Monkey...
Happy Hump Day?!
Feel better now?
Not so much, no.
Monkey.
Cheer up. This will make you feel better.
Oh yeah, that helped.
Funny thing, the brain... how caring for others can make you less happy, and how selfishness can make you happier.
Ah, to be carefree.
No thanks.
Ok...seriously, Monkey, these will make you feel a little better:
one
two
three
This too
Christy, Sparrow, and Matthew
I am far more concerned about our other "allies" breeding terrorists to undermine American democracy than I will ever be concerned about Israel.
Saudi Arabia and its Islamic terrorists.
South Korea and its Christian terrorists.
Besides, you don't have the ENTIRE Jewish community in America singing "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" right now.
Whereas the entire Korean-American community is singing "free trade, free trade, free trade"
I have to admit you are right Ally.
Israel will not produce antiAmerican sorts, but then again, how dumb would that be for them to try it.
And Monkey... I don't believe selfishness produces more happyness. It seems true, but I don't believe it bears out.
I think their idea of 'happy' is literally a different definition than true happyness. So what you have 5 cars, 8 homes, and a kabillion dollars...? I mean, really, those are not about being happy, they are about ego and the illusion of happyness.
You can't take any of it with you and no one will ever love or serve you out of loyalty and kindness.
All you need is love, darlin. Not even the rich and greedy can be happy without it.
Oh, and we all know ignorance is bliss.
I think conservatives are 'happier' because they simply ignore all the bad stuff. They will willingly relinquish critical logic, for an illusion.
We are all happy, as long as reality does not become a factor. When it does, they are the unhappiest of all.
Even though he is the GOP nomination, He can't even get his own parties vote. Hahahahahah
McCain's Rough Night Overshadowed By Clinton's
As the battle over Indiana progressed between Sens Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, a set of depressing polls numbers were finalized for John McCain.
In the GOP primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, the basically uncontested Republican nominee did not gain more than 80 percent of the vote.
In Indiana, McCain earned the backing of 78 percent of Republican primary voters, with exited candidates Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney gaining 10 percent and five percent respectively. Congressman Ron Paul, who is still in the race, has received seven percent of the vote.
The numbers were even worse in North Carolina, where McCain won 74 percent of the vote, with Huckabee earning 12 percent, Paul earning seven percent, and four percent of Republican primary goers simply voting "no preference."
None of these totals, to be sure, will affect the Arizona Republican's almost certain path to the nomination. But it has been more than two months now since McCain became the presumptive GOP candidate, and in each state election since he achieved that measure he has continued to lose a relatively substantial chunk of Republican support. In Pennsylvania, for example, McCain won 73 percent of the vote, with Paul pulling in 16 and Huckabee 11.
The troubling figures, however, may be the popular vote totals - individuals who McCain will theoretically have to woo back into his good graces. In North Carolina more than 105,000 Republicans did not vote for McCain. And in Indiana, 85,000 voters - whether they were Republican, Democrat or Independent - cast their ballots for someone other than the Arizona Republican.
The totals reflect roughly 90+ percent of the totals reported in each state, and will likely change, but not by much.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/07/mccains-rough-night-overs_n_100514.html
Christy
I can tell you that people in countries with total media embargo - like Turkmenistan, North Korea, Cuba, etc. - are genuinely happy, because they don't know what they are missing out on.
Back to Square 1 on soldiers' safety?:
New weapon penetrates pricey vehicle, kills 2 GIs:
The deaths of two U.S. soldiers in western Baghdad last week have sparked concerns that Iraqi insurgents have developed a new weapon capable of striking what the U.S. military considers its most explosive-resistant vehicle.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5756202.html
Yet the Marines are not destroying the plants. In fact, they are reassuring villagers the poppies won't be touched. American commanders say the Marines would only alienate people and drive them to take up arms if they eliminated the impoverished Afghans' only source of income.
Many Marines in the field are scratching their heads over the situation.
"It's kind of weird. We're coming over here to fight the Taliban. We see this. We know it's bad. But at the same time we know it's the only way locals can make money," said 1st Lt. Adam Lynch, 27, of Barnstable, Mass.
The Marines' battalion commander, Lt. Col. Anthony Henderson, said in an interview Tuesday that the poppy crop "will come and go" and that his troops can't focus on it when Taliban fighters around Garmser are "terrorizing the people."
"I think by focusing on the Taliban, the poppies will go away," said Henderson, a 41-year-old from Washington, D.C
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Marines_ignore_Afghan_opium_so_as_0507.html
That is just f*cking great.
BTW, if we just ignore porn or war profiteers, those will just 'go away' too. Right? Right?
Sure it will. No one really wants to make hundreds of millions of dollars. How silly.
I want to apologize if I came on too strong this morning. This primary campaign has my blood at a boil, and I'm not the only one.
One clarification that I would add is that my comment was written for the NY Times blogs - where the Hillary-ites routinely claim that they will, in fact, vote for McCain if Hillary doesn't get the nomination, and that Obama is weak, etc. My hope is always to send a message to any party officials who might be browsing the Times, and make it clear that throwing Obama under the bus will have serious repercussions – as well as to demolish the toughness argument.
Given that my personal feeling about the Clintons are well known by this point, I see no point in repeating previously stated arguments.