Rove, the DOJ, and Mukasey...Protecting The Family Just Like The Mafia

And if this isn't typical...Donors working behind the scenes towards reconciliation... and there are already compromises going on about dovetailing Hillary's staff with Obama's.

Ummm....let's think about this.

Which camp has been using a scorched earth campaign against whom? And they're going to dovetail them?

And what about all the supporters out there who are now really pissed off and threatening to not vote?

That sounds like a really stupid way of doing business.

But I guess that's politics.

CNN: MI and FL Delegates won't help Hillary.

link

FLORIDA, MICHIGAN CANNOT SAVE CLINTON

WASHINGTON (AP) – Michigan and Florida alone can't save Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign.

Interviews with those considering how to handle the two states' banished convention delegates found little interest in the former first lady's best-case scenario. Her position, part of a formidable comeback challenge, is that all the delegates be seated in accordance with their disputed primaries.

Even if they were, it wouldn't erase Barack Obama's growing lead in delegates.

Great video of Obama saying, "Lay off my wife" to the GOP.
Good for him!!!

AND that's exactly why I would NEVER ever support McBush OR not vote and allow McBush to get into office. Did anyone hear him say, "Lay off my child?" when the GOP attacked his child.

AND though I'm not supporting Hillary at this
point, I truly honor her for her strong defense of Chelsea. And that is why both Dems are better than McBush and the GOP.

(He also answers the rumors about Muslim/Christianity. And he addresses the flag pin. And he's talking about the veterans who keep giving him flagpins--to take the issue off the table. I'm listing this in case they pull the video. I love this video! A real conversation! They're getting a dog! The dog is a 'done deal!! Ok. well, if I was on the fence, the dog issue does it for me. Love a dog--you got my vote. ((wink)))

This is truly horrible. A 25 year old Army recruiter gets married, and kills himself within 24 hours. His new wife found his body.

Then she went home and killed herself.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5788103.html

"Am I the only one seeing the mafia-like ..."

If it looks like a duck. If it sounds like a duck. It it walks like a duck, and FEELS like a duck. If it smells and tastes like a duck...

Then it is a duck.

WA Dem Chair Dwight Pelz endorsed Obama, adding another superdelegate. This is significant in that, though Obama won all districts in the state in the caucusses, Pelz held out. There were reasons. Just as it took McDermott awhile because the Clintons had raised money for his legal case, Pelz took awhile because the Clintons had raised money for the party. Both events filled Benaroya Symphony Hall with prominent and wealthy moderate Dems. Add to that the fact that our two woman Senators continue to hold out for Hillary, obviously for similar reasons. yet Pelz went with the people, as did McDermott (better late than never.)

Imagine my surprise (a dream was answered) when I went to DailyKos and saw that Senator Robert Byrd had endorsed Obama. I write about the racial and other implications at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com and also have Hillary's new poster with its Communist Reconstructionist Big Brother look, but without apparent recognition of the huge irony.

Christy
I sent that article to some VoteVets, Vets for Peace and VA people, not that they probably wouldn't see it eventually. I read alot of the comments. People need to openly discuss all this stuff. Instead of just saying "freedom isn't free" they need to think about how this all happened. If stories like this don't break through their defenses, I don't know what will.

I know a woman who was against the war and her son went to Iraq - he is on his 3rd deployment and has severe PTSD. When he got wounded (leg and back), all she could think was that she was glad it wasn't an IED.

I'm glad Byrd used the war as his litmus test in supporting Obama. I think it's better to have a Democrat in office than a Republican but better an antiwar Democrat than a hawk Democrat. Those who won't get on board with this are aiding and abetting the enemy and causing death. Is whatever they call "freedom" worth this and do they really believe the weak chain of logic they use to justify their positions, after all this time?! If so, they are possibly not teachable, and if so that is dangerous.

"..and do they really believe the weak chain of logic they use to justify their positions"

Critical logic has been overtaken by the talking points.

It is easier to exclaim 'Jesus died for MY sins!' than it is to explain how to justify a mans' murder some 2000 years ago as being all about YOU.

The truthiness has replaced the literal facts. Facts are not simple, uncomplicated things. A talking point full of 'truthiness', now that is easy. All you have to do is craft a poetic slogan. People will repeat it even when they know it is not true.

'Al Gore invented the internet!' It rolls off the tounge, and even those of us that know better use it as a nuanced punchline. In 100 years it will not matter if it is true or not, teachers will say ' Who invented the internet children?'

And they will say back in sing song unison 'Al Gore!' Republicans tried using nuance as a weapon, and instead shot themselves in the foot.

Al Gore will live forever as the 'creator' of the internet. Who cares if it is literally true?

A manipulative sense of political correctness has halted our conversation by stifling dissent. Unless you can break the language of the talking points that have replaced true logic, you will be arguing with people who are not even using their own ideas or thoughts.

Do you know why I risk so often being percieved as 'rude'..? Because I would rather tell a rude truth than deal with polite lies.

Oh, and it is easier to be rude than it is to fake politeness, or acceptance. It is a time saver basically.

Politics was never suppossed to be this twisted 'polite' game the elite play with each other while our people die. Yet it is the dying that is pretended to be rude. How dare they die and make the ones who sent them to their deaths look bad...?

The political correctness MUST be thrown out the window and let's all get back to wide open and robust debate. Who cares if you are rude? Are your words TRUE? That is all that matters.

The Founding Fathers banned canes in the halls of congress because these...errm, dignified men, kept bashing each other with their walking sticks.

Hitting someone with a walking stick is not really always wrong. Leaving a city of our countrymen to drown and die before our eyes, now that is just f*cking rude.

And I say if you do that, someone SHOULD hit you with at the very least a walking stick. Repeatedly.

Drop the polite language, and all the sudden you will start having the conversations that can not be stopped by talking points.

We must harden our gut and drop the pleasentries to get to the bottom of war crimes, torture, treason, and other high crimes and misdomeanors. Mr. Nice Guy is quite useless in such situations.

Christy
You are right - my husband said he'd heard alot of people on Air America saying people should shut up about gay rights til after the election, for example - that there was a conservative backlash in California.

I disagree. We need to get real dialogue going about race, gender, guns - whatever the wedge issues are - then not let the rightwing dictate the terms or control the "framing." Turn them around on themselves martial arts style so they use their own obesity against themselves.

We need to shift attention to the war and the economy but when they bring up the wedge issues, I believe they should be dealt with head on. Challenge them on their facts and wording, ruin their simple slogans.

By the way, there is a good article on how to convince Republicans and you start with the premise that they DO NOT believe the government should provide a good level of healthcare and education but are more concerned about not having to pay much in taxes.

http://www.baracklikeme.com, scroll down a little - it's the long article. I don't agree with the logic but it's for Republicans who are disgruntled, not for me. They need to feel uneasy about voting for McCain but won't be convinced by same logic as a liberal. Someday their perceptions may change but not yet.

"We need to shift attention to the war and the economy but when they bring up the wedge issues, I believe they should be dealt with head on. Challenge them on their facts and wording, ruin their simple slogans."

Amen and HELL YES!

But on the other part, I digress.

I believe the exact same arguments that made me a liberal will turn republicans. I not only believe it, I have turned many myself.

Bill Clinton said something once that was 100% true. He saud 'Republicans are democrats who have not thought about it'.

Using the same arguments that convinced you, will work on them too.

We are all the same, we all have the same basic needs, wants and desires. If they hear a better argument, they will stop using the ones they know are lame.

Haim Saban, the billionaire entertainment magnate and longtime Clinton supporter, denied the allegation. But four independent sources said that just before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Saban called YDA President David Hardt and offered what was perceived as a lucrative proposal: $1 million would be made available for the group if Hardt and the organization's other superdelegate backed Clinton....

http://www.americablog.com/

Why not bribery too?

Warren Buffet has endorsed Obama as well.
http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com

15 of us registered 130 voters in two days. That may not sound like much but it was more than our Governor and one of our Senators won by after multiple recounts.

saw this at BO's site:

Howdy,

Today I registered 231 high school seniors, 9 teachers, and one school counselor to vote. I also registered three workers at a Subway store where I stopped for lunch.

(Guy from TX)

An Open letter to Dianne Feinstein

By Michael Piotrowski

Mark my words: you have perhaps a year, maybe two, before the riots start. High gas prices, high food prices, incompetent disaster relief, home foreclosures, lack of jobs, and a loss of faith in the system will combine to create chaos.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19941.htm

We covered up Iraqi bomb attack which destroyed a £30million Hercules, admits MoD:

The Ministry of Defence covered up the fact that Iraqi insurgents destroyed a £30million RAF Hercules transport aircraft by planting bombs next to a runway
http://tinyurl.com/6r8aj2

Another One Christie

PTSD Marine Kills Brother, Self:

The Troubled Marine Had Met With President Bush Just Weeks Before Driving To The Grand Canyon To Commit Suicide
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/17/national/main4104749.shtml

cheerful cheerful

Someone just sent me an email copy they received from a wingnut- it's all about how much the middle eastern countries hate us and how much foreign aid we give them and how we should pull out of the UN.

Typical rightwing anti-UN/anti-diplomacy stuff.

1. Agencies like the military need somewhat to reform themselves from within - I've heard that from members of VoteVets, Vets for Peace, even a General the other night - we need to support that but they need to work from within.

2. Same with churches, starting with the Pope being open about pedophilia in the Catholic church and with little things like my friend in Portland (who just called me) having a boss who is a "born again" but today is going around saying we have to get rid of Bush because too many are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.

3. Keep up pressure on the press, be the media - do what we've been doing. By the way, there are a bunch of links on the front page having to do with media and I have a bunch more if anyone wants them.

4. If you support a candidate, donate before you're maxed out for the primary, so you can start in on the general. I am not in that income bracket, but I'm just saying, end of the month is end of the primary season.

Add more!!

Bush plans active campaign role for GOP
Will appear with McCain in Arizona later this month

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush will help Republican John McCain raise money later this month in Arizona. Beyond that, the White House isn't saying how much the two will campaign together.

The White House on Monday sidestepped a question about how much Bush will campaign with McCain but said the president would actively hit the trail in support of Republican candidates despite his low approval ratings and questions about whether his presence would help or hurt the likely GOP nominee.

"The president believes very strongly that, if we get out and take our message to voters, that we can be successful," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.

Asked at the daily White House news briefing whether one could expect to see a lot of Bush and McCain together, Stanzel said: "I think you'll see the president out on the campaign trail quite a bit. We'll keep you posted on their events that they may have together."

Bush offered to do whatever helped the most — campaign with McCain or stay away.

McCain declared himself "honored and humbled" to receive Bush's endorsement. He said he'd "be glad to have the president with me in any part of America ... as much as is keeping with his busy schedule."

As to Bush's low approval ratings, Stanzel noted, "it would be interesting to note the approval rating of Congress, as well, which is lower."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24712745/

BRING IT ON!

Monkey--"ush plans active campaign role for GOP
Will appear with McCain in Arizona later this month"

Um...whose tax dollars will be paying for The President to campaign for someone else?

NMP

The US should not pull out of the UN.

It must be KICKED OUT.

Buzzed Out
by Chris Matthews

I argue politics for a living. In the years after 9/11 there emerged a vulnerability in this country, exploited by some, to any criticism of government policy. Dissent made people nervous, even suspicious. This jumpiness inspired a mob-like attack on anyone who said anything that contains even a jolt of novelty, a spark of evidence that a mind somewhere might be getting out of line. Every week, it seemed, there was someone - Bill Maher, the Dixie Chicks - who had said something you’re not supposed to say,

How about this for a thought: arguing politics, arguing about the politics of foreign policy, especially, and, yes, whether the decision was right to invade and occupy Iraq was a smart move or not, whether it’s right to keep our forces there now, whether the whole “mindset” of this war is good for our country, is a matter of legitimate debate. Arguing what’s good for this country isn’t unpatriotic, speaking up and caring about what we’re doing in the world can be the very essence of patriotism. Trying to silence criticism is the very opposite of democracy.

What happened last week offers evidence that this long period of nervous debate is ending. When President Bush accused his fellow Americans of “appeasement” for advocating meetings with leaders of hostile countries, he was hit back hard by Barack Obama. When a Bush advocate came on “Hardball” and couldn’t identify the most basic information about the historic appeasement of Hitler in the late 1930s that showed the shallowness of the comparison, even by those making the loudest claims.

President Bush made a basic political mistake here and Barack Obama made a smart one.

By seeming to attack Obama personally Bush made him the clear leader of the Democratic opposition. That was Lyndon Johnson’s mistake when he attacked Richard Nixon back in 1966. When Obama came back hard, he executed the tactic known in military matters as the “attack from a defensive position.” By swinging hard at a rival who has just unleashed his attack you catch his flat-footed; you nail him at a point he can’t defend himself because he’s already committed to his line of attack. It’s what Ronald Reagan did when Jimmy Carter swung at his early opposition to Medicare. “There you go again, Mr. President.”

The exchange over “appeasement” was Bush’s worst political move of recent memory, Obama’s best riposte.

But don’t get me wrong. The substance of this episode and its role in the policy debate far outweighs the politics. This administration has been successful for seven years in suppressing a consistent voice of opposition. When relentless battles occurred over funding the war, the Democrats in Congress have failed to state their position on Mideast policy clearly. On the matter of direct talks with Iran, Barack Obama just did. As Fareed Zakaria writes in this week’s Newsweek, the need to make contact with Iran was the unanimous judgment of the bi-partisan Iraq Study Group. Zakaria points out that the direct dealings with Iraqi Sunnis, who had been hostile to our presence in their country, has been key to the reduced violence of this year.

So after years of exploiting buzzwords like “terrorism” and “mushroom clouds” and “homeland” and “weapons of mass destruction” to control the policy debate, the president finally went a buzzword too far.

[Historic footnote: “Appeasement” isn’t talking to a hostile country, it’s giving away countries like Czechoslovakia to a hostile country. If you can’t make sense of history, it’s hard to make sense with policy.]

I’d love to hear people’s comments.

http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/19/1041446.aspx#comments

Monkey.

One thing about Matthews statement above...

Um...gosh...

Where was he in 2004 when the false terror alerts were happening? Where was he standing up to those guys who labeled Kerry as a Osama fan? And a false patriot?

And when Kerry spoke of diplomacy in 2004, and he spoke of treating the terror issue as a police action, united all the Europeans with us to stop the terror, what did Mathews repeat?

I seem to remember Mathews and all of them just kept repeating whatever the white house said.

No push back from Mathews then.

No push back at all.

I suppose Matthews is jumping on the bandwagon, hoping for a ride.
Opportunist. This is part of the reason I never watch tv. I hate these phonies. They are useless, certainly not opinion leaders.

As for McCain, he'll be using RNC money and one of his main fundraisers will be Bush. With some voters, he'll try to dissociate himself from Bush. He even came through OR and WA posing as an environmentalist, to try for Dem and Indie votes. But he'll gladly take money from Bush's base and mimic his policies. He has too damn many lobbyists associated with nefarious causes overseas. His wife has to disperse all of her assets r/t Sudan, for example. Creepy. & if other political wives have been or are air game, then how about her (substance abuse history and corruption).

It's time this country rewarded honorable candidates who play fair, like Obama. Rovians try to keep the elections looking "close" so they can manipulate them, as my friend Glenda pointed out. They do it with polls - they are all within the margin of error. That's like 5 percentage points - enough to rig.

LOOK AT FREAKIN' MONTANA!!

MONTANA:

These people are crawling all over themselves, line around the block, to get their Obama tickets.
and told aides that his ailing colleague sounded "energetic." Aides said that the conversation was brief, but that Obama was heartened to hear "the same old Ted."
Here is how it all turned out. This is a big crowd in Billings, especially who knew they had Democrats?!

PENDLETON OREGON:
"You're not going to get me on a bull," Obama said. "I have enough trouble bowling."

KENNEDY UPDATE:
Sen. Barack Obama spoke with Kennedy by phone on Sunday afternoon from his campaign bus while in western Oregon

Below -- BILLINGS, CROW NATION, BOZEMAN -- I can not believe this!!

http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com

Senior Israeli official: ‘Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term.’

The Jerusalem Post reports that a senior Israeli official said that President Bush and Vice President Cheney are of the belief that military action against Iran is necessary and that such an attack could be coming soon:

US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran in the upcoming months, before the end of his term, Army Radio quoted a senior official in Jerusalem as saying Tuesday.

The official claimed that a senior member of the president’s entourage, which concluded a trip to Israel last week, said during a closed meeting that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action was called for.

However, the official continued, “the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice” was preventing the administration from deciding to launch such an attack on the Islamic Republic, for the time being.

http://thinkprogress.org/

Oregon appears close.

I got a bad feelin in my bones.

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vincent-bugliosi/the-prosecution-of-george_b_102427.html

Monkey

Watch this video. If it's close, these people will revolt! & I'll head down there & join them! The outlier poll is ARG.

Myrtle Strong Enemy, age 101

Strong Enemy.

Any doubt how her family got that name?

Kennedy has brain tumor

Sen. Ted Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor, doctors treating him at Massachusetts General Hospital said today. Kennedy "remains in good overall condition and is up and walking around the hospital," the statement said. Kennedy was hospitalized Saturday morning after suffering a seizure.

www.cnn.com

Pentagon announces Iraq, Afghanistan troop deployments Mon May 19, 4:20 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on Monday announced upcoming deployments of more than 42,000 troops, including 25,000 active duty Army soldiers who would be sent to Iraq beginning in the fall to replace troops scheduled to come home by year's end.

The deployments would maintain a level of 15 brigades in Iraq, or roughly 140,000 troops — the number military leaders expect will remain on the warfront at the end of July, once the currently planned withdrawals are finished.

Under the new Pentagon policy effective in August, those active duty Army units will serve for 12 months, rather than the 15-month tours that units in Iraq now are serving. The bulk of the soldiers deploying later this year returned from Iraq late last year, and will have gotten about a year at home to rest and retrain.

As part of the announcement, The Pentagon alerted four National Guard Army brigades, or about 14,000 troops, to begin preparing for deployments to Iraq beginning next spring, and one National Guard Army brigade, with about 3,100 soldiers, to prepare to deploy to Afghanistan in the spring of 2010.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080519/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/troop_deployments_5

monkey said:

Kennedy has brain tumor

DAMN. My sources here tell me that he is in the best possible hospital for his condition, so I guess that is good news.

But damn.

Saw Kerry on a brief press conference with Senator Dodd. Senator Kerry looked ashen and solemn.

I hope and pray that Senator Kennedy will be alive to see Barack Obama l. Take the nomination, 2. win the general election in November 2008, 3. be sworn in as President of the United States in January '09.

Kind of makes moaning about "I got more votes than him" when our world is in such crises seem vain and a waste of precious time.

My grandmother died of the same kind of tumor. They said she would live 3 weeks, she went another 13 months. They never even offered her chemotherapy.

In the end, they would not even give her enough morphine, because they didn't want to turn her into an addict.

I am very sad for Ted Kennedy. It is a hard way to die, even when you do have real healthcare available.

GOD DAMN IT!

Govt. May Have Massive Surveillance Program For Use In ‘National Emergency,’ 8 Million ‘Potential Suspects’

According to a senior government official…”There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.” … One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention.

http://thinkprogress.org/

What do you want to bet every single one of us are on that list?

.. and the irony is, most of us wouldn't hurt a fly.

One Wingie Dingie

Dangerous for thinking, imagine that?

Dangerous for exercising the very freedoms that the paranoid in power claim to defend.

Christy

Very scary thought.

Not only everyone at DCP, but everyone at CODEPINK and other groups I belong to, will be on the list.

I could be wrong, but I have a good feeling about tonight.

Unless Oregon is stolen, Obama should be the nominee after tonight.

Hey all,

My grades are finished! Now I can focus on the matters of the heart, and Ted Kennedy is one of those.

I saw him just a few weeks ago and he did not look great--it was a bad back day and he looked like he was in pain. I feel so deeply sorry for his situation, but also really touched by John Kerry's words about Teddy today.

I hope he can keep on fighting for what's right, even from his hospital bed, and that the fact that he has so little to lose makes him even bolder. He is a true leader.

I have a good feeling about Oregon too. There is not one country
in that state that is not fed up with war and the Governor even
admits it (he has supported Clinton though.)

Obama should have the majority of pledged delegates by now.
Obama is a genius. His organization is seamless.
I have no reservations about sending them money frequently.

Gore will have a fundraiser, not candidate-specific but to
cohere the party. & Solis-Doyle from Clinton's campaign
will probably join the Obama campaign.

So let her run out the contest to June 3. Obama will win SD
& Montana and I would looooooove to see him do better
than expected in Puerto Rico. That would just be so groovy
it would make my year. Executives need to give those
travelling student volunteers with their cell phones alot
of their Frequent Flyer miles they don't need.

As for government lists, I'm not worried about that. Alot of
us have been on FBI lists since the Vietnam War.

You know, I have a friend who is an immigrant from Thailand.
He knows a woman he calls the "militia lady" because she is
not only paranoid and a conspiracy nut but is probably on
every government list because she is that "out there." She
said she wanted to move to Thailand to get away from the
government. He said, "Are you kidding? We have a military
dictatorship and you'd be executed immediately because
you're so outspoken."

Got to keep it all in perspective. Damn, let's get those returns in.
I want to celebrate and I have to be up at 6 AM for work tomorrow.

Obama has the majority of pledged delegates even without Oregon.

I would be surprised if Clinton could delete the results of all caucusses, give herself the entire votes of the illegal Michican and Florida primaries and get the Rules Committee of the DNC to back her on 5/31, then take the remaining 3 primaries & get a massive superdelegate shift back to herself because of her superior electibility.

Surprise. Oregon's median income is not that much higher than Kentucky's. Their minimum wage is lower than ours even though the cost of living is slightly less. My son says alot of the young people have moved their within the last year and have a harder time finding jobs than he does up here (he is still temping, filling in vacation shifts and has no real job, no place to live but with us, and no health insurance, and that's after 6 months.)

I have Kentucky jokes, or would that be tasteless?

Clinton technically could contest the nomination and take this all the way to the convention. I don't see how she'd dare though.

Come on Oregon, land of my birth!

NMP:

Kentucky jokes would be more than tasteless. They would rather confirm the worst of my suspicions. Red Blue worse than ever. Good job.

Chuck

no jokes .. I just read them somewhere

The way we vote in the US is so disfunctional at so many levels I don't even know where to start.

Sometimes you are what you read.

In an exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and television networks, Kentucky appeared to have one of the least liberal batches of voters from the 33 primaries where polling was conducted this year. Only a third of responders considered themselves liberal.

In Oregon, on the other hand, close to six in 10 voters identified as liberal.

Chuck
I am not what I read because I read everything - it would be impossible. I do agree the way we vote in the US is dysfunctional. It's like we're a whole bunch of countries. I was thinking about that today.

NMP:

I guess I finally realized I am not a liberal. I thought I was, but now I realize I have little in common there. Much easier and more comfortable for me now.

Chuck

Here are results, from Andrew Villeneuve at Northwest Progressive Institute, who has gotten results from the OR Secretary of State's office:

Obama's lead in Oregon is huge. He has over sixty percent of the vote. Clinton is under forty percent. The exact numbers:

Hillary Clinton: 87,639 (38.20%)
Barack Obama: 140,582 (61.28%)

Andrew says, "That's a double digit lead for Obama, which is what I expected."

Chuck
I am a liberal but not a progressive.

From a guy here named Nalani:

A True Story from Oregon

I went to Oregon a couple of weeks ago to help register voters. On
Saturday we canvassed door to door in neighborhoods in the small towns
south of Portland around where former Pres. Clinton was speaking that
day. The next day, we started out in Oregon City in the parking lot of
one of those big box home everything stores until we were booted by the
store manager who said he got complaints (from Hillary supporters?)
about some "suspicious people" in the parking lot.

We left and went to a nearby shopping center that had more "public"
areas. Being a fly fisherman I decided to position myself outside the
boat supply store. It was opening day for salmon fishing and the place
was packed with people coming and going.

"Hi, we're here today registering voters. Do you need to register or
change your registration? Monday's the last day." Fifty times, 75
times, 100 times. I'm getting tired and a little hoarse. A few
supporters notice my Obama button and stop to chat. A few new
registrations, a couple of changes.

This big burly guy comes out - work shirt, jeans, boots, chainsaw
ballcap. Oh what the hell, I give him my pitch. "I'm a Republican" he
says without breaking stride. "That's Ok, we'll register anybody." I was
trying to keep it light, friendly. He stopped, turned and laughed a
little. "I'm probably gonna vote for your guy in November," he said. I
started to say something but he kept going. "I listened to his speech,
the one about race. I think that speech is going to go down in history
as one of the most important political speeches in the last hundred
years." Okay, that wasn't what I was expecting at all. We start to
talk. "I don't agree with what Wright said but I'm glad Obama didn't
throw him under the bus. I respect that. Obama said things that really
needed to be said about race. He talked to both sides. It was fair."

He tells me that he is a retired US Marine. I tell him my grandfather
was a Marine who was killed on Guadalcanal in WWII. His father was a
Marine in Vietnam, his grandfather was a Marine in WWII, and his son is
a Marine. His son did a tour in Afghanistan and two tours in Iraq before
being wounded and sent home to finish out his career as a drill
instructor. He is proud of his family's military heritage and his son's
service and sacrifice. But he is disturbed by the war and America's
diminished respect in the world.

"This is the first time the United States has attacked another country
when it wasn't in self defense." The idea of America as the aggressor in
Iraq is inconsistent with his military training, history and the values
he holds for this country. He is palpably angry that his son was in
harm's way and seriously wounded in Iraq. He is dismayed that American
prestige, power and respect in the world have declined under Bush.
"It's a different world and I think Obama is the one person [in the
race] who can help restore America's stature in the world. We need a
different direction."

He wasn't going to change his party registration to vote for Obama in
the primary (he thought Obama had it locked up in Oregon) but this
Republican Marine who had never voted for a Democrat in the past is
going to vote for Obama in November. After 20 minutes of talking, I
thanked him for his family's service and for his support for Barack. We
shake hands. Just them his wife and daughter show up. Introductions
around and more handshakes. Off they go with a smile and wave.

I stood there with my clipboard and wondered whether the Republicans know how much trouble they are in come November.

OR Breakdown by County - Democrat and Republican
http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#val=OR

Ron Paul made a decent showing tonight in both states.

NMP:

OR vs. WV + KY

Disfunctional. I repeat.

Chuck

Speaking of dysfunctional, Bev Harris of Black Box Voting has some big questions about both Oregon and Kentucky.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bev_harr_080520_oregon__26_kentucky_3a_s.htm

Nevermind.....

Chuck

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/20/mccain-adviser-steps-down-to-avoid-working-against-obama/

McCain's Media advisor steps down to avoid working against Obama

NMP:

How cool! The GOP won't even campaign against Obama! I guess they'll just walk off the field! Congrats!

Chuck

Chuck
Not all Democrats are conservatives who will vote McCain rather than for Obama. Depending on who is the nominee, the strategy will have to be different. Of course the GOP will contest. I was just reporting on that one guy.

DiAnne:

Of course, you were just reporting on the one guy. Fair enough. As for me, the whole rationale for getting involved in the political discourse in the first place is gone, gone, gone. There is no purple in this business.

Chuck

For the first time in a long time, all the pundits on MSNBC are all smiles. I think they are glad we have finally reached this place.

I don't even want to talk about anybody who would vote McCain because they are upset with the delegate results. This is the way they have always done it, with caucuses and primaries, and as squirrely as it seems, both candidates knew that going in. You can't change the rules in the middle of the stream, just because it is more convenient for you. They both knew the rules going in. They each had the opportunity to canvass and campaign accordingly. If the Obama campaign outwitted Hillary's campaign, then good for them.

Personally I wouldn't want it on my conscience that I voted Republican after seeing all the wrongs the Republicans have done while in power for six years plus. It would be cutting off my foot to spite my leg, IMO.

The MoveOn ad winner:

Iceland rated most peaceful (USA is #97)
Advertisements [?]Source: Associated Press

Canada is among the more peaceful countries in the world, but still a ways from the top, according to the Global Peace Index released Tuesday by Britain's Economist Intelligence Unit.

The index, which ranks a number of internal and external factors, found Scandinavian countries among the most peaceful, taking the top three spots.

Canada came in at No. 11, one spot ahead of Switzerland and two ahead of Sweden, which came in 13th.

That compared with Britain at 49th spot and the United States at 97, a ranking that had it behind countries such as Kuwait, Nicaragua and Libya.

... The U.S. ranking was one place lower than last year and way below countries such as Costa Rica, Madagascar and Chile.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.2008...

I agree, TSP, that this campaign (on the Dem side) has played out as it should. The fact that to a certain extent, Clinton represents what is now a 1990s strategy and Obama a 2000s strategy is huge and the Democratic Party needs to be paying attention.

I have nothing against Hillary Clinton as President except for that inability to listen and observe what has changed since 2000. I've met her, I think she is smart, and she gets a lot of things, including education and the arts.

Obama's campaign has out-maneuvered her campaign, mostly by listening better and using different tactics. I believe that they learned the most from the K-E campaign and that is good.

It's good because we here saw what happened in 2004, perhaps more so than most. When I think about the exit memo Fe, DiAnne, and I wrote at the end of the campaign (on the Blog and what worked, what didn't, etc.), I realize that the Obama campaign understands what we learned.

The lesson is this: when people are empowered to speak up and to take ownership of their vote, they tend to get smarter and more active in their local community. The top-down campaign is dead. It's time to let the people speak, to listen, and to respond.

This is what democracy looks like.

Is anyone here the slightest bit concerned about how badly Obama is getting beaten in Appalachia and what that could mean in the general election?

For such a smart and well run campaign to be labeled with words such as "ignoring" or "dissing" those states, it seems more and more like a glaring error by the campaign to NOT go there and work like hell.

Oh, and as an aside, this morning I am finding multiple levels of irony in the word "hillbilly".

Git er done.

"I tell him my grandfather was a Marine who was killed on Guadalcanal in WWII. "

My grandfather was there too. He was piloting the first amphib to hit the beach that Easter sunday. He never got over what happened there.

That was one hell of a battle.

"Is anyone here the slightest bit concerned about how badly Obama is getting beaten in Appalachia and what that could mean in the general election?"

No, and no.

The only reasons he took a hit was misinformation inflaming the racist vote.

Like it or not, if they will not vote for him now, they won't vote for him to be president either.

The only way to 'change it' is for him to become president then give their region major funding. Basically buy them off.

No one bites the hand that feeds them, not even racists.

Happy Hump Day Experiment #1...
An old favorite of mine, from 1981 I believe, think these lyrics through in the context of NOW, what does it make you think of????

Tom Sawyer
by Rush

A modern-day warrior
Mean mean stride,
Todays Tom Sawyer
Mean mean pride.

Though his mind is not for rent,
Dont put him down as arrogant.
His reserve, a quiet defense,
Riding out the days events.
The river!

And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society.
Catch the mist, catch the myth
Catch the mystery, catch the drift.

The world is, the world is,
Love and life are deep,
Maybe as his eyes are wide.

Todays Tom Sawyer,
He gets high on you,
And the space he invades
He gets by on you.

No, his mind is not for rent
To any God or government.
Always hopeful, yet discontent,
He knows changes aren't permanent,
But change is.

And what you say about his company
Is what you say about society.
Catch the witness, catch the wit,
Catch the spirit, catch the spit.

The world is, the world is,
Love and life are deep,
Maybe as his skies are wide.

Exit the warrior,
Todays Tom Sawyer,
He gets high on you,
And the energy you trade,
He gets right on to the friction of the day.

WASHINGTON — In 2002, as evidence of prisoner mistreatment at Guantánamo Bay began to mount, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents at the base created a “war crimes file” to document accusations against American military personnel, but were eventually ordered to close down the file, a Justice Department report revealed Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/washington/21detain.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

Remember when accounts first started surfacing of how the FBI were nervous the CIA was going to set them up as the torturers and abusers?

I knew then the FBI was not just going to take that crap laying down.

Good for them.

We now literally have a FED file in place labled WAR CRIMES.

What are we going to do about it America?

Remember that the first two males from WV I talked to said:
"I wouldn't vote for that nigger if he was dead" and
"You're calling the wrong number, baby."

Someone calling rural PA got:
"Hang that darkie from a tree."

Article from Salon - "Why Don't Those Hillbillies Like Obama?"
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/05/20/appalachia/print.html

The Clintons went there, and Gore, Kerry and Obama have suffered because they didn't much. It is a fast way to burn campaign money because the odds are so low. There may be racism but there is also dislike of liberal Democrats by conservative Democrats (who I would say are more conservative than, say, Bellevue WA Republicans, who are not socially conservative just fiscally conservative.)

That said, when Edwards endorsed Obama, I read that he agreed to a "poverty tour" and the article says Edwards is the only one who has travelled much in Appalachia.

There is something different too, as poor rural areas like SD (where I lived for a long time) are Republican dominated but the Dems go for
people like McGovern, Daeschle and certainly Obama.

This article also doesn't delve into the issue of residual and historical differences r/t the Civil War. We are a young country. & Lyndon Johnson predicted loss of at least two generations of Southern voters when Civil Rights law was enacted.

Wikipedia presents it thus (which is completely consistent with what my son, who has read Zell Miller's book, learned in political science at UW):

Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the U.S. South. In the early 1800s, they were the definitive pro-slavery wing of the party, opposed to both the anti-slavery, Republicans (GOP) and the more liberal Northern Democrats. After the loss of their territory in the American Civil War and the Republican-led Reconstruction which followed, Southern Democrats regrouped into various vigilante organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the White League; eventually "Redemption" was finalized in the Compromise of 1877 and the ensuing institutionalization of Redeemers throughout the South.

As the New Deal began to liberalize Democrats as a whole, Southern Democrats largely stayed as conservative as they had always been, with some even breaking off to form farther right-wing splinters like the Dixiecrats. After the civil rights movement successfully challenged Jim Crow and other forms of institutionalized racism, and Democrats as a whole became the symbol of the mainstream left of the United States, the form, if not the content, of Southern Democratic politics began to change.

Most Southern Democrats defected to the Republican Party at that point and helped accelerate the latter's transformation into more progressive party Republican organization.

After World War II, the civil rights movement took hold by Republicans. Democratics in the South, however, still voted loyally for their party. The old conservative stalwarts were trying to resist the changes that were sweeping the nation. With the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it was the final straw for many Southern Democrats, who began voting against Democratic incumbents for GOP candidates. The Republicans carried many Southern states for the first time since before the Great Depression.

When Richard Nixon courted voters with his Southern Strategy, many Democrats became Republicans and the South became fertile ground for the GOP, which conversely was becoming more conservative as the Democrats were becoming more liberal. However, Democratic incumbents still held sway over voters in many states, especially those of the Deep South.

In fact, until the 1980s, Democrats still had much control over Southern politics. It wasn't until the 1990s that Democratic control collapsed, starting with the elections of 1994, in which Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress, through the rest of the decade. Southern Democrats of today who vote the Democratic ticket are mostly urban liberals. Rural residents tend to vote the Republican ticket, although there are a sizable number of conservative Democrats.

However, most Southerners are still registered Democrats but tend to vote Republican in national and some state elections.

A huge portion of Representatives, Senators, and voters who were referred to as Reagan Democrats in the 1980s were conservative Southern Democrats. An interesting exception to this trend is Arkansas, where to this day all statewide elected officials are Democrats (although the state has given its electoral votes to the GOP in the past two Presidential elections).

The Democratic Party still has a strong presence in Louisiana also, though Republicans have made notable progress there in recent years, most notably with the election of Senator David Vitter in 2004. Another exception is North Carolina. Despite the fact that the state has voted for Republicans in every presidential election since 1980, the governorship, legislature, as well as most statewide offices remain in Democratic control, and with the election of Heath Shuler in 2006, the congressional delegation once again is majority Democratic.
Today, Southern Democrats are Conservative Democrats who follow the principles of strong foreign policy, fiscal responsibility.

The only reason Vitter lost his first bid to Blanco is because he was not white. I will give that to Vitter, he is smarter than your normal republican, more sensitive to racial issues.

His commercials to get elected this time though were some of the most fearmongering crap I have ever seen.

Only since Katrina has any true 'liberal' trend started among dems here. True they register dem but for 20 years solid they have voted republican all the way, unless they had no choice but to vote otherwise to keep a non white out.

I think the reason Louisiana is going true blue now is Katrina plain and simple. It awakened and activated the black vote here, and once that happens the republicans and dinos are going to have a hell of a time maintaining the status quo. We have a very large black population.

To me, that is the weirdest thing about the racisim in WV and Kentucky. I kinda always thought the racisim was always based on a political view. In Louisiana you expect the racisim because blacks actually 'pose a threat' to the status quo of whites at the ballot box, simply because there are so many of them.

There are not enough blacks in WV or KY to be a serious voting threat to whites.

It has to boil down to plain old fear and ignorance.

I'll bet this would be interesting

Appalachians and Race: The Mountain South from Slavery to Segregation. By John C. Inscoe. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2000.

Significant research has been done on the African American presence in Appalachia since 1985, when William H. Turner and Edward J. Cabbell published their groundbreaking Blacks in Appalachia, which stripped away the veil of "black invisibility." John Inscoe, well known for...

(rest of review only available to libraries & I need to get to work)

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Obama stands for change, and we all know how some people hate change, and will fight change, even when it's against their own best interest to do so. Deeply ingrained racial bigotry might be in the DNA of some of those people, and, because of the nasty nature of politics, people have been receiving emails for over a year now telling them lies about Obama and stirring up latent or dormant feelings and attitudes.

WE who ARE more educated in this area must remember that we carry some responsibility now, since we know so much truth, to not only be able to tolerate those people, but to appeal to them to weigh what their vote will bring them. I flat out tell them what a Republican vote will bring them at this period of time.

I think of all the socker moms in '04 who voted Bush because they were scared. The Republicans play on fear (I know I am preaching to the choir)but as good naturedly as we can we are going to have to break through to these people. Maybe the news is making too big a deal out of Obama's lack of wins in W. VA. and KY. These might be the same demographic that will most likely vote Republican in the fall anyway.

We've got some personal responsibility now, and that's another thing that makes this race so exciting. From the bottom up, and we do each make a difference.

I am being so bold as to tell people they don't want to vote McCain, because it is a continuation of the failed policies of the Bush administration.

Also I would like to say, Congrats, peeps. Although it's not quite formally official, we have a formidable candidate who can win.

We've all been through the wringer, and we've learned what we know through grief, dismay, and tears. This year, this time, we can change the course of America.

Yes we can.

The DNC has far less money than the RNC and McCain will depend on the RNC's money. Obama can fundraise well over the internet but the DNC needs to get some money too - do some fundraisers.

Maybe Obama should run with Jim Webb - his background is strong, he has a new book out and is wining and dining the moneyed of Manhattan (elite liberals LOL) and he is from the Bellwether state of Missouri, which could help with the problem we've been discussing.

stellar article about Puerto Rico

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/21/75834/3293/165/519524

This is where I'm putting my money and it's where I'd put my feet for awhile, if I had the time off!!

My new goal is to understand alternative scenarios to the "swing state" model, taking into account cell phones and demographics, redistricting & the contributions of new technologies (internet, social networking etc.)

Got to put together some pieces but here is a bit on New Mexico.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/21/125229/968/1016/519698

ERROL MORRIS: Why did you take these pictures – Graner of you and you of Graner?

SABRINA HARMAN: It was just to say, “Hey, look, it’s a dead guy. We’re with a dead guy.” It wasn’t anything — I guess we weren’t really thinking, “Hey, this guy has family,” or anything like that, or “Hey, this guy was just murdered.” It was just, “Hey, it’s a dead guy, it’d be cool to get a photo next to a dead person.” I mean that was it. That was the extent of that one… I know it looks bad. I mean, even when I look at [the photographs], I go, “Oh Jesus, that does look pretty bad.” [But] if a soldier sees somebody dead, normally they’ll take photos of it. I don’t know why, maybe it’s a curiosity thing or if they see something odd, they’ll take a photo of it. Just to say “Hey, look where I’ve been, look what I’ve seen.”

ERROL MORRIS: Maybe you can’t believe it yourself?

SABRINA HARMAN: I can’t believe they murdered the guy.

Wait just one second. Murdered?

And who are they?

What does the photograph really show? What are we looking at? A smile? A murder? And if it is a murder, who is the killer?

I would like to answer these questions.

http://morris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/the-most-curious-thing/?hp

Me too, I would like those questions answered as well.

BTW, I mean Jindal Vs. Blanco earlier. I do not know why I said Vitter.

He is a diapered whoremonger. Jinal is not.

Sorry, I'm duh.

United Wineworkers Endorse Obama
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/21/1446/95068/930/519768
Aren't they working lunchpail people?

Unfrikingbelievable

Clinton compares the Florida and Michigan fight to civil rights movement

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Hillary Clinton compared her effort to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to epic American struggles, including those to free the slaves and win the right to vote for blacks and women.

The current stalemate over the two states' primary votes threatens to replicate the disputed 2000 presidential election in Florida, she warned an elderly crowd in Palm Beach County - one of the jurisdictions where Democrats allege voters were disenfranchised in 2000.

The pointed speech marked the kick-off of a last-gasp effort by Clinton to prolong her Democratic presidential campaign by making the states count, which would cut into rival Barack Obama's leads in popular votes and pledged delegates.

"In Florida, you learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner," she said. "The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear: if any votes aren't count, the will of the people isn't realized and our democracy is diminished."

Clinton, at times sounding like a modern history professor, praised the abolitionists, suffragettes and civil rights pioneers and talked about her own efforts to fight legislative redistricting and voter identification initiatives that she said dilute minority voting power.

"This work to extend the franchise to all of our citizens is a core mission of the modern Democratic party," she said. "From signing the Voting Rights Act and fighting racial discrimination at the ballot box to lowering the voting age so those old enough to fight and die in war would have the right to choose their commander in chief, to fighting for multi-lingual ballots so you can make your voice heard no matter what language you speak."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0508/Clinton_compares_the_Florida_and_Michigan_fight_to_civil_rights_movement.html

Doesn't there come a time when a person just realizes they are making an arse of himself?

Georgia Newspaper Puts Obama In Crosshairs

Via Wonkette, a small paper serving the Atlanta suburb of Roswell, Georgia called the Roswell Beacon is drawing fire for running a cover that depicts Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama in the crosshairs of a gun sight. The cover image promotes a story by freelance reporter Alan Sverdlik, who penned the article because "he was curious how law enforcement agencies were handling the increased number of threats lodged against Obama by white supremacist groups" in the Fulton County area. Sverdlik has told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had no input on the cover design that accompanied the article.

A diary on the popular liberal blog DailyKos is driving much of the outrage at the Roswell Beacon. As Kos Diarist "Spiral Stairs" puts it:

The accompanying article is about hate groups in the area who are upset about Senator Obama's candidacy and concerns the local authorities have about possible violent acts from these groups. The article itself is not offensive, but the cover is beyond the pale. As indicated by the article, there are some serious racists in the area, and Obama's candidacy has brought out the worst in a lot of people. The last thing we need is a newspaper to suggest assassination with an incendiary cover such as this.
The AJC reports that the outcry has had limited effect:

Readers -- Kos receives more than 1.3 million visits a day, according to sitemeter.com -- were encouraged to contact the newspaper and its advertisers. By day's end, Holiday Inn announced it would no longer do business with the Beacon, though the paper's publisher, John Fredericks, said editorial decisions would not be influenced by "liberal blogger thuggery."

"Good, bad or ugly, we tell the truth," he said.

Fredericks and senior editor Tim Altork said there was little internal debate over the appropriateness of the imagery, though they were aware it was likely to create a stir.

"We knew we were on the provocative edge," Altork said. "But it's a very fair piece, a smart piece."

Nevertheless, this "fair...smart piece" has been seemingly expunged from the newspaper's website.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/21/georgia-newspaper-puts-ob_n_102905.html

The term "liberal blogger thuggery" is oxymoronic to the hilt.

I mean, really... peace activists labeled as thugs by warmongering torture boosters self-labeled as peacekeepers.

Southern Comfort