tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49957856057553084852024-02-19T18:13:29.027-08:00Court Of Impeachment And War CrimesThis Blog Court Room Is Dedicated To The Legal And Moral Belief That No One Is Above The Law...No One! Send that message to Speaker Pelosi. Call 202-225-0100
NOW! (AND) Call The House Judiciary Committee: (202) 225-3951Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger676125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-67733927762928807592008-08-06T15:02:00.000-07:002008-08-20T11:06:10.470-07:00MoveOn.org: Impeachment (If Not Now, When?)<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7dZntBrw1Yn6cuaRZ4Ks_CFw2a44uiibUr3OQt4WxVtce6Ax0K-sO-6UPENi_kdwEaP-91hiWCYUBu-LxoRQBwkBXhOtttzQXVqXo7rltkyJcA9rq1NBvWoGYjnJygcYDcQmt5Rdhvc/s1600-h/ansmvo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7dZntBrw1Yn6cuaRZ4Ks_CFw2a44uiibUr3OQt4WxVtce6Ax0K-sO-6UPENi_kdwEaP-91hiWCYUBu-LxoRQBwkBXhOtttzQXVqXo7rltkyJcA9rq1NBvWoGYjnJygcYDcQmt5Rdhvc/s400/ansmvo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231528964187788098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">MoveOn.org:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-size:130%;">Impeachment (If Not Now, When?) </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Moveon.Org Has A Lot Of Questions To Answer For Its Members If Expects To Keep Its Membership And Support!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >And I am one of those members who will not ante up another dollar or make a move to support or join another street action in Washington DC until they do so.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >I will not, as of this day, even post an announcement or a request from MoveOn until our questions are answered.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >1) What is the organization’s official position on Impeachment?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >(If not now, when?)<span style=""> </span>( are you going to continue burying the issue in<span style=""> </span>confusing survey forms, the dating of which has given rise to the<span style=""> </span>wide spread resurfacing of this issue as they seem to be little more than lazy Performa recycling of previous documents.)<span style=""> </span>I am not prepared to pay for that form of advocacy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >2) Given the fact that the House Committee on the Judiciary has already conducted one hearing on the efforts of Mr. Kucinich and his supporters nationwide; is MoveOn prepared to join the battle and make a real difference.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >An unwillingness or failure to do so would say to me that MoveOn is no longer an advocacy organization of the people but a submissive collaborator and wholly owned subsidiary of the Pelosi-Reid Democratic leadership.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >3) Has MoveOn bought into the “spin lines” that it’s too late to do anything now, and that there are other things more important at the moment than the restoration of Constitutional Law in this land and Executive Accountability, (like doing anything controversial might endanger the election of Democrats in November regardless of whether they are worthy of election or reelection)?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >4) Is MoveOn prepared to explore or support the exploration of the Suskind allegations?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >5) Is MoveOn prepared to act on the clear fact that this administration has engaged in Torture, contrary to our own laws and in total arrogance and defiance of The Geneva Conventions?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >6) Has MoveOn become a co-opted organization, co-opted by the Democratic Party leadership to the point where it will sit out any issue that the leadership deems to be uncomfortable and represent that position as the will of the membership of MoveOn as determined by survey techniques designed to provide cover for the leadership of the organization while it enjoys the fruits of the members donations?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >These questions need and deserve candid “no spin” responses.<span style=""> </span>In Google groups and organizations across America serious questions are being raised as to the value and integrity of MoveOn.<span style=""> </span>When Members raise such questions; something is very wrong; trust has been lost.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >I am not pleased to have to raise these matters in such a public forum.<br /><br /><br />But when you do not answer my email inquiries and I get a telephone run around after having to do some serious searching even to initiate some calls; I have no other choice.</span><span style=""> </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-23678633474040151922008-07-12T08:11:00.001-07:002008-08-20T11:06:10.471-07:00The Electric Car | I Told You So!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Jn8hP5zGvbVsAc9GFuGf2I6ADXbFudJQANcDjfUod3zk_0z9do6KALXj-YnN7pQzYSMhTgfiD0ujKqMLpLFsn14XcLYH7tKSKx5ActoEOeI04r4DpPAJVzbLJPrJL6H2h9EKAU9asuU/s1600-h/done.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Jn8hP5zGvbVsAc9GFuGf2I6ADXbFudJQANcDjfUod3zk_0z9do6KALXj-YnN7pQzYSMhTgfiD0ujKqMLpLFsn14XcLYH7tKSKx5ActoEOeI04r4DpPAJVzbLJPrJL6H2h9EKAU9asuU/s400/done.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222145508670305842" border="0" /></a><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers%27-Plug-in-Plans"><span style="font-size:130%;">Carmakers' Plug-in Plans<span style=""> </span>(The Electric Car…I Told You So)</span><o:p></o:p></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers%27-Plug-in-Plans">by Peter Valdes-Dapena<br />Tuesday, July 8, 2008</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers%27-Plug-in-Plans"><span style=""></span></a></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers%27-Plug-in-Plans">Americas top-selling car companies have plans to bring plug-in technology mainstream. Here's what they're working on.</a></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">General Motors is sticking to its guns, insisting that the Chevrolet Volt will be ready for production by 2010. If GM can produce this vehicle on time and in significant numbers - and it works well and reliably - the Volt will stand as a milestone in automotive technology.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">But if it doesn't turn out well, GM could stand accused of "killing the electric car" again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Volt is not a hybrid car. It will run entirely on electricity. Unlike other electric cars, though, it will not conk out if the battery runs low before stopping to charge. A small on-board gasoline engine will run as a generator to charge the batteries and keep the car moving.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Volt is expected to go about 40 miles before that needs to happen and most drivers should be able to go most days without using a drop of gas.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Don't expect the Volt to look just like this concept version. The final car will have a more rounded front end look and a sharper-edged tail.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lvajnkDXVAtyqNLMHyuonquwxPqcYqXcAnn-KmUTBtRuHTurg6MhED66v6qkwwS5__DToSva3uXJNOIgbHfyqp2OMZcl32lZKLLZb_HGAohpJ9cdicsvYNIsAoMC0d6ayFvKVHCHxUE/s1600-h/90.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lvajnkDXVAtyqNLMHyuonquwxPqcYqXcAnn-KmUTBtRuHTurg6MhED66v6qkwwS5__DToSva3uXJNOIgbHfyqp2OMZcl32lZKLLZb_HGAohpJ9cdicsvYNIsAoMC0d6ayFvKVHCHxUE/s400/90.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222145593415128242" border="0" /></a> <br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlFIy92j3jNAyYPkR_blRUzz7zce8n6uO8QvpchHbK3nLYLStZULTbV3E5P6tIMNmqOW4AZD1xIvLF_D7iltSnQPWAyg2Q0uCZSZZLAMuebHGn_ptZQXhERxCpSlBc_dPEkY_B-HBoJM/s1600-h/94.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlFIy92j3jNAyYPkR_blRUzz7zce8n6uO8QvpchHbK3nLYLStZULTbV3E5P6tIMNmqOW4AZD1xIvLF_D7iltSnQPWAyg2Q0uCZSZZLAMuebHGn_ptZQXhERxCpSlBc_dPEkY_B-HBoJM/s400/94.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222145657539805730" border="0" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">MORE………………<span style=""> </span><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/05/lazarus-has-risen-death-of-internal.html">I Told You So!</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.thesupercars.org/lamborghini-super-cars/the-lightning-gt-super-car/">http://www.thesupercars.org/lamborghini-super-cars/the-lightning-gt-super-car/</a> <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers%27-Plug-in-Plans">http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/105353/Carmakers'-Plug-in-Plans</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s just The Beginning; The real new electric power plant is in the works…consider these interim! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-34673174127619223722008-06-16T11:45:00.000-07:002008-06-18T06:02:10.822-07:00Obama McBush Lapel Flap<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr41mwzLPahhqPRlF47gkEhOWwv_3jOxMYumi0_eC1q8iENPOMQ3eSfBSIG61ojNS77UHgcpyiTia8mA9-np0icQ7mT6cUthFmsGQHP3OHBIdcSTZ-ZQFcb8SoBpnEY3qFcCl87yvp2pE/s1600-h/mcset.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr41mwzLPahhqPRlF47gkEhOWwv_3jOxMYumi0_eC1q8iENPOMQ3eSfBSIG61ojNS77UHgcpyiTia8mA9-np0icQ7mT6cUthFmsGQHP3OHBIdcSTZ-ZQFcb8SoBpnEY3qFcCl87yvp2pE/s400/mcset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212553095293514290" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvfPZ3TEyWkmk0w8GGjjL9H2Lmrl7Dep4F7MDjV1NJJVEXzYs8CM4457IUE7jVSAYYkN45BBbh0gMSKXyi9taui8msbI9dICQSw0FlweGevTrFb6emh8H_0c-WXSbMzqbHAsqxZWCqi0/s1600-h/mw.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvfPZ3TEyWkmk0w8GGjjL9H2Lmrl7Dep4F7MDjV1NJJVEXzYs8CM4457IUE7jVSAYYkN45BBbh0gMSKXyi9taui8msbI9dICQSw0FlweGevTrFb6emh8H_0c-WXSbMzqbHAsqxZWCqi0/s400/mw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212552830362174946" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Really Important Campaign Issues: Today Buttons and Lapel Pins. The Hell With Death, Destruction, Deceit, Deficits, Gas Gouging Impeachable Criminality, Torture and Spying and…Oh Well You Get The Point.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But let me offer above what to my design tastes would be appropriate campaign materials for Candidate McCain McBush III.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Roll Call</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> flags absence of American flag lapel pins in Obama's campaign store, but not their absence in McCain's store</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A June 16 <span style="">Roll Call</span> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.rollcall.com%252Fissues%252F53_152%252Fnews%252F25936-1.html%253Fuser_id%253D80060835&lid=372426&rid=9599877" target="_blank">article</a> on merchandise vendors for the 2008 presidential campaigns reported that <a href="http://www.tigereyedesign.com/">Tigereye Design</a>, Sen. Barack Obama's "official outfitter," "is maintaining Obama's online <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fstore.barackobama.com%252F&lid=372427&rid=9599877" target="_blank">store</a>, which sells a $12 DVD of the candidate's speeches, $10 lapel pins -- though no American flags -- and $50 fleece jackets, perfect for those chilly Iowa winters." But <span style="">Roll Call</span> did not note that Sen. John McCain's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fstore.johnmccain.com%252F&lid=372428&rid=9599877" target="_blank">store</a> doesn't offer American flag lapel pins, either. McCain's campaign store does, however, sell several other <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fstore.johnmccain.com%252FSearchResults.asp%253FCat%253D87&lid=372429&rid=9599877" target="_blank">lapel pins</a>, including a "<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fstore.johnmccain.com%252FProductDetails.asp%253FProductCode%253DLPR2357&lid=372430&rid=9599877" target="_blank">McCain</a>" lapel pin for $150.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Media Matters for America</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> has previously documented examples of media figures falsely claiming that Obama <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805120006?f=s_search&lid=372431&rid=9599877" target="_blank">refuses to wear a flag pin</a> and <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200804100006?f=s_search&lid=372432&rid=9599877" target="_blank">falsely asserting</a> that Obama had not given a speech with an American flag backdrop prior to March.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">From the <span style="">Roll Call</span> article:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“<a href="http://www.tigereyedesign.com/">Tigereye</a> has expanded from 30 employees to 120 since last year and will likely add more to keep up with orders. The company is maintaining Obama's online store, which sells a $12 DVD of the candidate's speeches, $10 lapel pins -- though no American flags -- and $50 fleece jackets, perfect for those chilly Iowa winters. Proceeds from the sales of merchandise on the Obama Web site are considered donations and go to the campaign's war chest. The campaign did not return calls requesting information on sales and revenue.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As for Tigereye; they do fine work and have free of charge once produced and mailed overnight Bush Impeachment Stick Ons of my design for a DC March/Rally and as you can see they have our next Virginia Senator’s materials in production.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Call 1.800.TIGEREYE (844.3739) to place an order.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h2 style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.tigereyedesign.com/">Tigereye Design - Custom Promotional Products, Promotional Items</a></span></h2><br /><br /> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=site%3Atigereyedesign.com+tiger+eye&spell=1">Tigereye<span style=""> Design</span></a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > specializes in the design, production, and supply of imprinted promotional items. All items are Union and American made.<br /><span class="a"><a href="http://www.tigereyedesign.com/">www.<span style="">tigereye</span>design.com/</a></span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span class="a"> <span style=""> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tigereyedesign.com/union_products.html&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&usg=AFQjCNFsxi6jfUlLeKn3p2anMEOxwB9Z3A">Union Products</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tigereyedesign.com/promotional_products.html&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=2&usg=AFQjCNGaGl2enOMunli7_ah_5jCA1c5W8Q">Featured Promotional Products</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tigereyedesign.com/union_buttons.html&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=3&usg=AFQjCNG8ESd4SDxvNtYvyZuCvRrNDcCe1w">Union Buttons</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tigereyedesign.com/faq.html&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=4&usg=AFQjCNHi8v4PDWUcoPQwr8WR6vJh4N1Hbg">FAQ</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tigereyedesign.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc%3FScreen%3DPROD%26Store_Code%3DTED%26Product_Code%3DBTUN748&sa=X&oi=smap&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=5&usg=AFQjCNFT9hmY1ruRFP9B-tmwP_jYsnp_Ug">No Scabs" Button</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><a href="https://www.tigereyedesign.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=OINF&Store_Code=AES">https://www.tigereyedesign.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=OINF&Store_Code=AES</a> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" >(You’ll like this product line)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-19829765359263314552008-06-15T06:05:00.000-07:002008-06-15T06:27:23.239-07:00I'm Voting Republican and here is why!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXY3-SfaTB5Roj8NRrEcy-aeO1IlBUXjBkAqmqv1ndOZD7asjsUEPWNwkN2FBllMehGf5kuUR22pD0xib9u-a_gKmfQIx3v_gWoU3ISX6_nRN1ujm-zESFVNI81aC6fOqqQwrpS7aadOk/s1600-h/mcbush.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXY3-SfaTB5Roj8NRrEcy-aeO1IlBUXjBkAqmqv1ndOZD7asjsUEPWNwkN2FBllMehGf5kuUR22pD0xib9u-a_gKmfQIx3v_gWoU3ISX6_nRN1ujm-zESFVNI81aC6fOqqQwrpS7aadOk/s400/mcbush.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212093907161593298" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">I’M Voting Republican</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.imvotingrepublican.com/">http://www.imvotingrepublican.com/</a><span style=""> </span>To Get The Embed Code for yourself</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span> </p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="style4"><span style="font-size:130%;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FiQJ9Xp0xxU&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FiQJ9Xp0xxU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="style5"><span style="font-size:130%;">Spread the word!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="style5"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="style5"><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" class="style5"><span style="font-size:130%;">Myspace: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/imvotingrepublican" target="_blank">http://www.myspace.com/imvotingrepublican</a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="style5"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/imvotingrepublican" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >From Ohio Progressive:<span style=""> </span></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >McCain's War on Women</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="">John McCain is often painted as a moderate.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="">But where does he really stand on issues that affect women?</span></strong></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >McCain's Senate record may surprise you. From equal pay to domestic violence programs, from sex education to the fundamental question of what conversations a woman may or may not have with her doctor, McCain is no moderate.<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong><u><span style="">McCain's War on Equal Pay</span></u></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain skipped a recent vote on Equal Pay, and said that instead of legislation allowing women to fight for equal pay, they simply need "education and training." (Women are currently paid less than men for the same work, even when they have the same Educationand training as men). <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00110" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span></li></ul><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><u><span style="">McCain's War on Birth Control</span></u></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain has <em><u><span style="">never</span></u></em> cosponsored or supported legislation that would reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancy <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted against requiring insurance companies that pay for prescription drugs (like Viagra) to pay equally for women's prescription birth control <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00045" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted for the domestic & global gag rules, which prohibit federally funded family-planning clinics from giving women full information about their reproductive health options <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span></li></ul><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><u><span style="">McCain's War on Women's Health</span></u></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted to terminate the Title X family planning program, which provides millions of women with health care services ranging from birth control to breast & cervical cancer screenings <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted to de</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >‐</span><span style="font-size:100%;">fund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization that provides family pl</span><span style="font-size:100%;">anning services - not abortion - for the world's poorest women <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span></li></ul><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><u><span style="">McCain's War on Sex Education</span></u></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted against funding teen pregnancy prevention programs and against ensuring that "abstinence</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >‐</span><span style="font-size:100%;">only" programs are at least medically accurate [<strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);font-size:100%;" >]</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted to earmark one</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >‐</span><span style="font-size:100%;">third of all HIV/A</span><span style="font-size:100%;">IDS prevention funds for ineffective, unproven, and dangerous "abstinence</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >‐</span><span style="font-size:100%;">only" programs <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);font-size:100%;" >]</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted to take $75 million from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to establish a new "abstinence</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >‐</span><span style="font-size:100%;">only" program that censors information about birth control <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);font-size:100%;" >]</span></li></ul><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><u><span style="">McCain's War on Choice</span></u></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Voted anti-choice 125 out of 130 times in his congressional career [<strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Voted in favor of anti-choice Supreme Court Justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas and Chief Justices like John Roberts <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain routinely votes to block women's access to abortion care for low-income women, voted for the Federal Abortion Ban, and opposed federal Medicaid funds for abortion <em><span style="">even in cases of rape or incest.</span></em><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain voted to deny abortion services to U.S. military women serving overseas, even when they wish to pay for such services with their own money <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank">Source]</a></span></strong></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><u><span style="">McCain's War on Domestic Violence Programs</span></u></strong></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195);font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Voted against a measure to increase funding for law enforcement programs, including the Office of Violence Against Women programs and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=1&vote=00226" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color: rgb(221, 217, 195); line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Opposed grant programs to aid children who have witnessed domestic violence <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">[</span><strong style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style=""><a href="http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00125" target="_blank">Source</a></span></strong><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">]</span></span></li></ul><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">YES SIR; I'M VOTING REPUBLICAN!<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-76541828540745191212008-06-12T17:25:00.000-07:002008-06-14T20:30:50.427-07:00The Nation Is On A Knife’s Edge…Literally.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv24eJydEOSC9SR59C40APp0ijeDsbXKi2ZPTVHQloJ-GI8Wk2jvHrEAnJuj-Ydv7tfPJOtTBz9E93Tnj3O1xsan_qeiiKysEhIHGwr29CLEyaCdTyWW1QD7rYcW7wR-5UINZhWSuT-fY/s1600-h/THE+REPKE.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv24eJydEOSC9SR59C40APp0ijeDsbXKi2ZPTVHQloJ-GI8Wk2jvHrEAnJuj-Ydv7tfPJOtTBz9E93Tnj3O1xsan_qeiiKysEhIHGwr29CLEyaCdTyWW1QD7rYcW7wR-5UINZhWSuT-fY/s400/THE+REPKE.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211155912776239618" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Nation Is On A Knife’s Edge…Literally.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Now Is The Time To Bombard Judiciary Committee Members And Your Congress Criminals Relentlessly To Move Forward To Hearings! Enough Voices Of “We The People” Screaming For Impeachment Is The Only Way To Get The Traitorous Congress To Act while it is still peaceful in America.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We would be more effective with 1,000s converging on the house physically than 1,000s of emails, phone calls and fax messages…both would be better and if nothing is done by August you can save your time planning to campaign for any Democrat, because it won’t matter and it won’t do any good!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Having just returned from a private conclave in Colorado; I can assure you that action of this issue and several other fronts is not forth coming before August this country will be confronted with violent actions, the Democrats will not regain The White House and a course of downward spiraling into near revolution will begin in this nation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Using the “alcoholic analogy” that I have resorted to before; If America cannot stand up NOW it will be driven to the bottom of the bottle, driven to get as bad as necessary for people to stop talking and get rid of every corrupt member of Congress by either defeat at the elections or forcing their resignation as the price for the restoration of order.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is happening! Once again, as with the Vietnam Era, America is looking in the wrong direction, the media is silent and the police powers that will be called upon to deal with disaster are outnumbered and will face citizens prepared to die.<span style=""> </span>It is not a matter of whether one condones civil disruption and violent resistance; it is a matter of the public and our leaders preventing it by acting to resolve the grievances provide for justice and a resumption of Congress fulfilling its oath.<span style=""> </span>Failure will find blood on many hands.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It has gone this far as the pent up rage of some Americans who have lost faith in even we who are trying our best at peaceful actions is being organized skillfully into a huge potent force that will unleash a proverbial “Pandora’s Box.<span style=""> </span>Traditional wisdom and advice is irrelevant to those prepared for massive confrontation this summer.<span style=""> </span>I will have more to say in a future blog post in the next couple of days.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We and the Congress have very few days left to address the Constitutional Crisis that faces this nation.<span style=""> </span>Hearings must come quickly, be focused and efficient and government officials who fail to yield to subpoenas must be arrested on the spot.<span style=""> </span>The time for fun and games is over!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There is a force in the shadows; it is poised to emerge and over come.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6066">Kucinich Vows to Reintroduce Impeach Articles if Dems Let Them Die in Committee</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ohio Congressman Says He'll Bring More Co-Cosponsors; Promises 'We'll Come Back with 60 Articles, Not 35'</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It Is Time for us to make it impossible for The House Judiciary Committee to do anything else but to commence hearings.<span style=""> </span>They do not have a piece of paper by floor motion to simply put in the file cabinet.<span style=""> </span>They need to understand ,in the most strident terms, that as the article below is entitled: “The Republic Is On A Knife’s Edge”…literally!<o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <div align="center"> <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border: medium none ; border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="border: 1pt solid black; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 6.65in;" valign="top" width="638"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=606920e2-78a1-4954-956a-b332a1927864"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/consortiumblog-eddickau">Consortiumblog</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/galleryhome/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <p class="storytitle"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p><strong style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style=""><a href="http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/061208.html">The Republic on a Knife's Edge</a></span></strong></span><span style=""><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span class="storydescription"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >By one vote, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President George W. Bush's right to imprison people he calls "unlawful enemy combatants" indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay. But this issue of an all-powerful Executive may spill over to the November election. June 13, 2008</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-1476191230907856582008-06-11T21:16:00.000-07:002008-06-14T20:31:54.405-07:00The Real John McCain Exposed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUvOFxs-n5u2AON7jqB1hqdTDfkvZuRjBGRvLRNjj1JDjUhfWAtqiJ9ZuUE5kLGeA83WbsBt_2dRjnY4i6Bu421Y22gfUTP3d3QHTO3J1vx7tu0FWg4fwWS6vqaHI_e_LgXWQ2xANJ5M/s1600-h/mcno.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVUvOFxs-n5u2AON7jqB1hqdTDfkvZuRjBGRvLRNjj1JDjUhfWAtqiJ9ZuUE5kLGeA83WbsBt_2dRjnY4i6Bu421Y22gfUTP3d3QHTO3J1vx7tu0FWg4fwWS6vqaHI_e_LgXWQ2xANJ5M/s400/mcno.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210948019393548194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kbOLvh_ZwXr8M0GevRzKz1X91_vzv_Km7i_XIsS29V39dNc6r4SZ62mOy94FldONYt-AnURYYo5dGs0hghPkkpqZtbF3Z8HX3VW9_IqnecUN7hyphenhyphenLmMjoq9IGY5gz2yWOBrCMHXk-oF8/s1600-h/McCain+Master.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kbOLvh_ZwXr8M0GevRzKz1X91_vzv_Km7i_XIsS29V39dNc6r4SZ62mOy94FldONYt-AnURYYo5dGs0hghPkkpqZtbF3Z8HX3VW9_IqnecUN7hyphenhyphenLmMjoq9IGY5gz2yWOBrCMHXk-oF8/s400/McCain+Master.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210947892328436434" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Real John McCain Exposed: Or What Is Wrong With John McCain?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There is more to John McCain that people need to understand other than he is an inconsistent conservative, war hawk and an old man with old ideas from a time past.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">While visions of “War Heroism: swim in his mind along with “victory at any cost” in the manner of Generals who squandered life like water in the massiveness of World Wars; John McCain not only holds positions on social, economic and political issues that are clearly out of touch with reality, he has them all wrapped in a package of a foul “legendary” temper that surpasses the irrationality of Nixon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And when it comes to women, one has to question the very core of McCain’s being as he seems to hold women in utter contempt as window dressing sex “trophy Wife” objects.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The abandonment of his first wife is not only tragic; it is a horrible commentary on the personality and real values of The Real John McCain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Sharon+Churcher"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Sharon Churcher</span></span></a><br />Last updated at 1:45 AM on 08th June 2008</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain likes to illustrate his moral fibre by referring to his five years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam. And to demonstrate his commitment to family values, the 71-year-old former US Navy pilot pays warm tribute to his beautiful blonde wife, Cindy, with whom he has four children.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But there is another Mrs. McCain who casts a ghostly shadow over the Senator’s presidential campaign. She is seldom seen and rarely written about, despite being mother to McCain’s three eldest children.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And yet, had events turned out differently, it would be she, rather than Cindy, who would be vying to be First Lady.<span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"> </span><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=ush1-mail&p=mccain+divorced+his+first+wife+because&SpellState=n-3192655397_q-sc0Iz1NZ8oPW3Un4jDC6IAAAAA%40%40&fr2=sp-qrw-corr-top"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">She is McCain’s first wife, Carol, who was a famous beauty and a successful swimwear model when they married in 1965.</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=UTF-8&fr=ush1-mail&p=mccain+divorced+his+first+wife+because&SpellState=n-3192655397_q-sc0Iz1NZ8oPW3Un4jDC6IAAAAA%40%40&fr2=sp-qrw-corr-top"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">She was the woman McCain dreamed of during his long incarceration and torture in Vietnam’s infamous ‘Hanoi Hilton’ prison and the woman who faithfully stayed at home looking after the children and waiting anxiously for news.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But when McCain returned to America in 1973 to a fanfare of publicity and a handshake from Richard Nixon, he discovered his wife had been disfigured in a terrible car crash three years earlier. Her car had skidded on icy roads into a telegraph pole on Christmas Eve, 1969. Her pelvis and one arm were shattered by the impact and she suffered massive internal injuries.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When Carol was discharged from hospital after six months of life-saving surgery, the prognosis was bleak. In order to save her legs, surgeons had been forced to cut away huge sections of shattered bone, taking with it her tall, willowy figure. She was confined to a wheelchair and was forced to use a catheter.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Through sheer hard work, Carol learned to walk again. But when John McCain came home from Vietnam, she had gained a lot of weight and bore little resemblance to her old self.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Today, she stands at just 5ft4in and still walks awkwardly, with a pronounced limp. Her body is held together by screws and metal plates and, at 70, her face is worn by wrinkles that speak of decades of silent suffering.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />For nearly 30 years, Carol has maintained a dignified silence about the accident, McCain and their divorce. But last week at the bungalow where she now lives at Virginia Beach, a faded seaside resort 200 miles south of Washington, she told The Mail on Sunday how McCain divorced her in 1980 and married Cindy, 18 years his junior and the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune, just one month later.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Carol insists she remains on good terms with her ex-husband, who agreed as part of their divorce settlement to pay her medical costs for life. ‘I have no bitterness,’ she says.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“My accident is well recorded. I had 23 operations, I am five inches shorter than I used to be and I was in hospital for six months. It was just awful, but it wasn’t the reason for my divorce.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>“My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens...it just does.”</i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Some of McCain’s acquaintances are less forgiving, however. <i>They portray the politician as a self-centered womanizer who effectively abandoned his crippled wife to ‘play the field’. They accuse him of finally settling on Cindy, a former rodeo beauty queen, for financial reasons.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain was then earning little more than $25,000 a year as a naval officer, while his new father-in-law, Jim Hensley, was a multi-millionaire who had impeccable political connections.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He first met Carol in the Fifties while he was at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. He was a privileged, but rebellious scion of one of America’s most distinguished military dynasties – his father and grandfather were both admirals.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But setting out to have a good time, the young McCain hung out with a group of young officers who called themselves the “Bad Bunch”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">His primary interest was women and his conquests ranged from a knife-wielding floozy nicknamed ‘Marie, the Flame of Florida’ to a tobacco heiress.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Carol fell into his fast-living world by accident. She escaped a poor upbringing in Philadelphia to become a successful model, married an Annapolis classmate of McCain’s and had two children – Douglas and Andrew – before renewing what one acquaintance calls ‘”an old flirtation” with McCain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It seems clear she was bowled over by McCain’s attention at a time when he was becoming bored with his playboy lifestyle.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“He was 28 and ready to settle down and he loved Carol’s children,” recalled another Annapolis graduate, Robert Timberg, who wrote The Nightingale’s Song, a bestselling biography of McCain and four other graduates of the academy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The couple married and McCain adopted Carol’s sons. Their daughter, Sidney, was born a year later, but domesticity was clearly beginning to bore McCain – the couple were regarded as ‘fixtures on the party circuit’ before McCain requested combat duty in Vietnam at the end of 1966.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He was assigned as a bomber pilot on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf of Tonkin.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What follows is the stuff of the McCain legend. He was shot down over Hanoi in October 1967 on his 23rd mission over North Vietnam and was badly beaten by an angry mob when he was pulled, half-drowned from a lake.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">War hero: McCain with Carol as he arrives back in the US in 1973 after his five years as a POW in North Vietnam. Over the next five-and-a-half years in the notorious Hoa Loa Prison he was regularly tortured and mistreated.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was in 1969 that Carol went to spend the Christmas holiday – her third without McCain – at her parents’ home. After dinner, she left to drop off some presents at a friend’s house.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It wasn’t until some hours later that she was discovered, alone and in terrible pain, next to the wreckage of her car. She had been hurled through the windscreen.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After her first series of life-saving operations, Carol was told she may never walk again, but when doctors said they would try to get word to McCain about her injuries, she refused, insisting: “He’s got enough problems, I don’t want to tell him.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>H. Ross Perot, a billionaire Texas businessman, future presidential candidate and advocate of prisoners of war, paid for her medical care.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When McCain – his hair turned prematurely white and his body reduced to little more than a skeleton – was released in March 1973, he told reporters he was overjoyed to see Carol again.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But friends say privately he was ‘appalled’ by the change in her appearance. At first, though, he was kind, assuring her: “I don’t look so good myself. It’s fine.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He bought her a bungalow near the sea in Florida and another former POW helped him to build a railing so she could pull herself over the dunes to the water.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“I thought, of course, we would live happily ever after,” says Carol. But as a war hero, McCain was moving in ever-more elevated circles.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Through Ross Perot, he met Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California. A sympathetic Nancy Reagan took Carol under her wing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But already the McCains’ marriage had begun to fray. “John started carousing and running around with women,” said Robert Timberg.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain has acknowledged that he had girlfriends during this time, without going into details. Some friends blame his dissatisfaction with Carol, but others give some credence to her theory of a mid-life crisis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He was also fiercely ambitious, but it was clear he would never become an admiral like his illustrious father and grandfather and his thoughts were turning to politics.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />In 1979 – while still married to Carol – he met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued her, flying around the country to see her. Then he began to push to end his marriage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Carol and her children were devastated. ‘It was a complete surprise,’ says Nancy Reynolds, a former Reagan aide.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">‘They never displayed any difficulties between themselves. I know the Reagans were quite shocked because they loved and respected both Carol and John.’</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Another friend added: ‘Carol didn’t fight him. She felt her infirmity made her an impediment to him. She justified his actions because of all he had gone through. She used to say, <i>“He just wants to make up for lost time.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Indeed, to many in their circle the saddest part of the break-up was Carol’s decision to resign herself to losing a man she says she still adores.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Friends confirm she has remained friends with McCain and backed him in all his campaigns. “He was very generous to her in the divorce but of course he could afford to be, since he was marrying Cindy,” one observed.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain transferred the Florida beach house to Carol and gave her the right to live in their jointly-owned townhouse in the Washington suburb of Alexandria. He also agreed to pay her alimony and child support.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />A former neighbor says she subsequently sold up in Florida and Washington and moved in 2003 to Virginia Beach. He said: “My impression was that she found the new place easier to manage as she still has some difficulties walking.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Meanwhile McCain moved to Arizona with his new bride immediately after their 1980 marriage. There, his new father-in-law gave him a job and introduced him to local businessmen and political power brokers who would smooth his passage to Washington via the House of Representatives and Senate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And yet despite his popularity as a politician, <i>there are those who won’t forget his treatment of his first wife.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He has no character.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He is a fake.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One old friend of the McCains said: “Carol always insists she is not bitter, but I think that’s a defense mechanism. She also feels deeply in his debt because in return for her agreement to a divorce, he promised to pay for her medical care for the rest of her life.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Carol remained resolutely loyal as McCain’s political star rose. She says she agreed to talk to The Mail on Sunday only because she wanted to publicize her support for the man who abandoned her.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Indeed, the old Mercedes that she uses to run errands displays both a disabled badge and a sticker encouraging people to vote for her ex-husband. “He’s a good guy,’ she assured us. We are still good friends. He is the best man for president.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>But Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">‘McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,’ he said.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain had already met and romanced, while still married to Shepp, the woman who would be his second wife — Cindy Lou Hensley, seventeen years his junior, the only child of a wealthy Anheuser-Busch distributor from Phoenix.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cindy’s father, Jim Hensley, had been a World War II pilot, shot down over the English Channel. In 1955 he formed his company, Hensley & Co., now the country’s sixth-largest beer distributorship.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cindy had gone from cheerleader to rodeo queen to graduate student at University of South Carolina by the time she met McCain in 1979. A year later, McCain and his first wife were granted a divorce; six weeks later, McCain married Cindy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/06/10/2008-06-10_why_mccain_didnt_reup_with_first_wife.html"><span style="font-weight: normal;color:blue;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Why McCain didn't reup with first wife</span></span></a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Ted+Sampley" title="Ted Sampley"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Ted Sampley</span></span></a>, who fought with the Army's Special Forces in Vietnam and knows McCain, said: "When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her. ... Eventually, he met Cindy, and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain's campaign had no comment on those allegations. But it's apparent he has the support of Carol, who no doubt is indebted to him. In return for giving him a divorce, McCain agreed to pay for his ex-wife's medical care for the rest of her life, according to the Mail.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><a href="http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/02/21/cindy-mccain-stands-tall-as-husband-rejects-infidelity-rumors/" title="Permanent Link: Cindy McCain Stands Tall as Husband Rejects Infidelity Rumors"><span style="font-weight: normal;color:blue;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Cindy McCain Stands Tall as Husband Rejects Infidelity Rumors</span></span></a></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Cindy McCain did not hesitate as she stepped toward the microphone, taking her place in the history of political wives who stood by their men in the face of rumored or alleged marital infidelity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Well, obviously, I’m disappointed,” she said, her voice low but clear and self-assured. “More importantly, my children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family, but disappoint the people of America. He’s a man of great character.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“The allegation of infidelity is still a powerful allegation, and it remains powerful because it’s about trust and responsibility, the idea that if you’re cheating on your spouse, what can we expect of you in the presidency,” he said.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, <i>The New York Times</i>'s article on <a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/us/politics/21mccain.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&hp&oref=slogin"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">John McCain's relationship with Vicky Iseman</span></a> sure did <a href="http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/02/mccain_senior_adviser_responds.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">make Mark Salter mad</span></span></a>. It's often unclear at times, however, what exactly Salter is trying to say. The <i>Times</i> story is a bit odd and innuendo-y, hinting at a sexual relationship between McCain and Iseman but they clearly don't have the goods. Salter says McCain spoke to <i>New York Times</i> editor Bill Keller and "denied any personal 'romantic' involvement with Iseman, and said that he did not 'betray the public trust.'"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Obviously, I don't know whether or not McCain had sex with Iseman. I suppose by "what the meaning of the word 'is' is" standards, he didn't even deny having had sex with Iseman. Certainly it'd be a bit rich of McCain to get outraged that anyone would even <i>suggest</i> that he might engage in sexual improprieties.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After all, it's well known that he repeatedly cheated on his first wife Carol, of a number of years, with a variety of women, before eventually dumping her for a much-younger heiress whose family fortune was able to help finance his political career.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">That's well known, I should say, except to the electorate, who would probably find that this sort of behavior detracts from McCain's "character" appeal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Meanwhile, there's all this stuff Salter doesn't deny (because, again, it's true) about McCain's questionable ethics. He wrote "letters to government regulators on behalf of the [Iseman's] client," he "often flew on the corporate jets of business executives seeking his support," he resigned as head of a non-profit when "news reports disclosed that the group was tapping the same kinds of unlimited corporate contributions he opposed, including those from companies seeking his favor," his Senate office and his campaign are run by corporate lobbyists, etc.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Meanwhile, there's a <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_02/013167.php"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">storm of speculation</span></span></a> surrounding the Iseman story, which continues to be a weird lead for the piece, and we'll have to see what else comes out.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Let’s Just Take A Look At That Temper and His Devotion To His Beautiful Dutiful Meal Ticket</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Wife!</span></span></a> <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">John McCain's temper is well documented. He's called <a href="http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2006/7/5/00548.shtml"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">opponents</span></span></a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/16/mccains-sharp-tongue-an_n_87012.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">colleagues</span></span></a> "shitheads," "assholes" and in at least one case "a fucking jerk."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But a new book on the presumptive Republican nominee will air perhaps the most shocking angry exchange to date.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Real-McCain-Conservatives-Independents-Shouldnt/dp/0979482291/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207540954&sr=8-1"><span style="color:blue;"><br /></span></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" href="http://www.amazon.com/Real-McCain-Conservatives-Independents-Shouldnt/dp/0979482291/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207540954&sr=8-1"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">The Real McCain</span></a> by Cliff Schecter, which will arrive in bookstores next month, reports an angry exchange between McCain and his wife that happened in full view of aides and reporters during a 1992 campaign stop. An advance copy of the book was obtained by <span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);">RAW STORY</span></a>.</span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident involving McCain's intemperateness.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." <i>McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt."</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The man who was known as "McNasty" in high school has erupted in foul-languaged tirades at political foes and congressional colleagues more-or-less throughout his career, and his quickness to anger has been an issue on the presidential campaign trail as evidence of his fury has surfaced.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As Schecter notes, McCain's rage is not limited to the political spectrum, and even his family cannot be spared the brute force of his anger.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Schecter, who also <a href="http://agonist.org/schecter/"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">blogs at The Agonist</span></span></a>, said in an interview the anecdote is "an early example of his uncontrollable temper." In the book he outlines several other examples of McCain losing his cool and raises the question of how that would affect a McCain presidency.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What should voters make of this pattern? In February 2008 Tim Russert succinctly described McCain on MSNBC's Morning Joe. A devilish grin spread from ear to ear as Russert, no McCain hater, leaned forward and spoke in a whisper, "He likes to fight." Russert got it right. But the big question isn't whether McCain likes to fight: it's who, when, and how.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>The exchange between McCain and his wife was not reported anywhere when it happened</i></span><span style="font-size:100%;">, Schecter said (a LexisNexis database search confirms this).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In 1992, McCain's mention in the national media revolved mostly around his involvement in the Keating Five scandal, and only local reporters closely followed his re-election bid.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain is well known for his rapport with the national media covering his presidential bid (he's jokingly referred to the press as <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/18/mccain/print.html"><span style="color:blue;">"<span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">my base</span>"</span></a>), but Schecter said this incident was buried not out of fealty to the Arizona senator. Rather, it was uneasiness about how to get such a coarse exchange into a family newspaper, and he didn't fault the local press for not covering the incident.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Members of the media are squeamish covering stuff like this so they let it go," Schecter told <span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);">RAW STORY</span></a></span> in an interview Monday. "Back in '92, when people use naughty words, [reporters] don't know as much what to do with it."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Much has changed since then. President Bush's reference to a New York Times reporter as a "major league asshole" was reported in at least 47 newspapers during the 2000 campaign, when the off-color remark was overheard, according to a database search. And more than a dozen newspapers have reported Dick Cheney's recommendation that Sen. Patrick Leahy "fuck yourself."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain and his aides have brushed off suggestions that his temper could impede his ability to perform the sometimes-delicate tasks asked of a president. The candidate was asked about his legendary temper last week on "Fox News Sunday," where he cited his ability to work "across the aisle" while in the Senate.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"You can't scare people or intimidate them if you're going to reach agreement with your colleagues and your contemporaries And I've worked hard at that, and that's what the American people want," McCain said. " The second thing is if I lose my capacity for anger, then I shouldn't be president of the United States. ... When I see the waste and corruption in Washington, I get angry."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McCain's campaign did not return a call from <span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://rawstory.com/"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);">RAW STORY</span></a></span> seeking comment Monday morning.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Schecter says McCain's anger is much more than a passion for the issues. One can only imagine what would happen if McCain were to try to squeeze that temper into the tight confines of diplomacy.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"The public certainly has to know what this guy might do as president," Schecter says. Examples like the ones in his book "should worry people, quite frankly."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">From The Brave New Films Organization<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />John McCain's record on reproductive rights <a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/unmasking-mccain-his-reac_b_103580.html?page=8" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">couldn't be more appalling</span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">.</span> There, we said it! We said it because the corporate media won't confront McCain on the real issues in this election. They won't tell you, for instance, that McCain has consistently <a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/mccain.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">received a big fat zero from</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">NARAL</span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"> </span>on its pro-choice scorecard. Nor will they tell you that McCain has <a href="http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/11/19/mccain-now-supports-the-immediate-overturn-of-roe-v-wade/" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">flip-flopped on Roe v. Wade</span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"> </span>and now supports overturning this all-too-crucial case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Because the corporate media has failed to do its job, we have to work extra hard to do ours. And so we've created McCain's Clinic, a sneak peek at what a women's health clinic could look like if McCain were elected. Yes, we're presenting McCain's reproductive rights record through comedy, but our hope is that it will help get our point across effectively.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/watch/21345250/41461?utm_source=rgemail" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">For more information on this issue, watch the video</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We must spread awareness about McCain's record now, especially considering <a href="http://www.ppvw.org/pressReleases/PPAF_poll.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">a recent Planned Parenthood poll</span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"> </span>found that half of female voters in 16 battleground states don't know enough about McCain's views on reproductive health. What's more, one in four pro-choice McCain supporters would be less likely to vote for McCain after knowing he opposes Roe v. Wade and backs abstinence-only education.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Here's what you can do: send this video to everyone you know and <a href="http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/McCain_s_a_Zero_with_Women_send_this_to_your_girlfriend" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">digg it</span></span></a>! By taking these steps, you can help educate female voters in battleground states about McCain's anti-choice record. And don't forget to <a href="https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/552/p/10040/bravenewpac" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">donate to Brave New PAC</span></span></a> so we can continue our campaign to bring you the REAL McCain.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We're talking about a man who <a href="http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/mccain_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">has voted anti-choice 123 out of 128 times</span></span></a>. A man who wouldn't require prescription coverage for birth control. A man who voted against allocating $100 million to preventative health services that would have reduced unintended and teen pregnancies. A man who could irreparably damage women's rights in our country unless we get the word out about him now.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But it wasn't until 2000 that McCain, possibly emboldened by Clinton's survival of his scandals, became the first confessed adulterer to have the nerve to run. Now, just a few years after infidelity was considered a deal breaker for a presidential candidate, the party that presents itself as the arbiter of virtue may field an unprecedented two-timing trifecta.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />McCain was still married and living with his wife in 1979 while, according to The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof, "aggressively courting a 25-year-old woman who was as beautiful as she was rich." McCain divorced his wife, who had raised their three children while he was imprisoned in Vietnam, then launched his political career with his new wife's family money.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In 2000, McCain managed to deflect media questioning about his first marriage with a deft admission of responsibility for its failure. It's possible that the age of the offense and McCain's charmed relationship with the press will pull him through again, but Giuliani and Gingrich may face a more difficult challenge. Both conducted well-documented affairs in the last decade--while still in public office.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >John McCain's Record on the Issues</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >A vote for John McCain is a vote against women's issues.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >During his long Senate career, John McCain has racked up a poor record when it comes to supporting issues important to women. Learn the facts so you can make an informed voting decision.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >For the past 25 years, John McCain has consistently voted against women's health. From opposing funding for family planning programs to voting against requiring insurance coverage of birth control, McCain has taken extreme positions. He has voted against women's health and has not supported legislation that would help reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies and the need for abortion. This has earned him a zero rating - the lowest rating we give in the U.S. Senate. (Source: Planned Parenthood)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >A poll conducted by Planned Parenthood in 16 likely battleground states uncovered the following:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >Despite his extreme voting record, 51 percent of women voters in battleground states have no idea what John McCain's positions are on women's reproductive health issues.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >Forty-nine percent of women currently backing McCain express pro-choice views, and 46 percent of women supporting McCain over Obama/Clinton want to see Roe v. Wade upheld – yet McCain supports overturning the legislation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);font-size:100%;" >Help spread the word that John McCain is not a candidate women can count on to advocate issues important to us. His record speaks for itself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">VOTING RECORD</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION2"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">WOMEN'S ISSUES</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION3"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">GENERAL ISSUES</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION4"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">RATINGS</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION5"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">MEDIA COVERAGE</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In addition to his terrible record on women’s issues, McCain also has a troubling record on general issues of interest. Following is a summary, for details about his complete legislative record in the U.S. Senate, search online at the <a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" href="http://thomas.loc.gov/" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(217, 217, 217);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Library of Congress</span></span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">.</span><br /><br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION6"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">HEALTHCARE</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION7"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">EDUCATION</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION8"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">ENERGY & OIL</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION9"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">JOBS & FREE TRADE</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION13"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">SOCIAL SECURITY</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION11"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">DEFENSE & HOMELAND SECURITY</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION12"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">GUN CONTROL</span> </span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><br /><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION14"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">TAX PLAN vs. OBAMA</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" ><a href="http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/McCain.html#LOCATION14"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>On The Issues.org <a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">ontheissues.org</span></span></a></i></span><span style=";font-size:100%;color:black;" > / </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><a href="http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu.c.aVBI4JQAY1JXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyY3Mza3JxBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDOARjb2xvA2FjMgR2dGlkA0gxMjFfNzQ-/SIG=13ddnl203/EXP=1213315774/**http%3a/www.crooksandliars.com/2008/06/07/mccain-and-womens-issues-its-more-than-just-roe/"><span style="font-weight: normal;color:blue;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Crooks and Liars " McCain and women's issues: It's more than just Roe</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A McCain presidency would be very, very bad for women even if not a single ... the kind of impact McCain policies can and would have on women's lives every day. ...<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/41461-why-do-women-give-mccain-a-zero"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Why Do Women Give McCain a Zero?</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/arw-yNas2xc&hl=en"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/arw-yNas2xc&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://bravenewfilms.org/posts/invite/41461-why-do-women-give-mccain-a-zero"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Click here to forward this video to all the women you know</span></span></a><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/john_mccain_and_the_iraq_war.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/john_mccain_and_the_iraq_war.html</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The foremost reason given by supporters of John McCain for why he should be president is that McCain is best qualified to lead the country during this "time of war." Indeed, fighting and winning the Iraq War is the<i> raison d'etre</i> of McCain's presidential campaign. It was the main theme of his campaign announcement speech in April 2007, and it was his most compelling talking point during the Republican presidential debates. Exit polls consistently showed that McCain was the overwhelming favorite among Republican primary voters whose top concern was Iraq.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The question is whether McCain's steadfast support for a war that is deeply unpopular with the American people can propel him into the White House this November?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After five years of fighting, approximately $500 billion in expenditures, and nearly 4,000 dead and 30,000 wounded, McCain advocates an even larger military, economic, and political commitment to Iraq. In sharp contrast with President Bush, who received the loudest bipartisan applause during last month's State of the Union Address when he declared that, due to the success of "the surge," he was planning to bring troops home from Iraq, McCain promises to<i> increase</i> troop levels. See <a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" href="http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/fdeb03a7-30b0-4ece-8e34-4c7ea83f11d8.htm"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">here</span></a>. And McCain adamantly opposes any timetable for withdrawal. At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on January 3, 2008, McCain went so far as to declare that it would be "fine with me" if American troops remained in Iraq for "maybe a hundred years."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Unfortunately for McCain, a large majority of the American people -- including significant numbers of Republicans -- strongly disagree with his positions on the war.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll from February 1-3, 2008, reported that 64% of adults nationwide oppose the war in Iraq, while only 34% favor the war -- despite the fact that 52% agree that the U.S. military "is making progress in improving conditions in Iraq and bringing an end to the violence in that country."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A Rasmussen Reports poll from January 29, 2008, reported that 59% of Americans want U.S. troops to be brought home from Iraq immediately or within one year, while only 35% want U.S. troops to remain in Iraq "until the mission is complete." According to this poll, not only do 80% of Democrats favor withdrawal within a year, so do 38% of Republicans.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Similarly, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll from January 18-22, 2008, reported that 63% of registered voters think the United States should withdraw its troops from Iraq right away or within the next year, including 90% of Democrats, 66% of independents, and 32% of Republicans.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It is clear that even with the undeniable success of the surge in reducing sectarian and terrorist violence in Iraq, most Americans -- including large numbers of Republicans -- prefer to end the war (which, at this point, would be better described as a police action or peacekeeping mission) and bring our troops home. Yet, unless McCain changes his publicly stated position on Iraq, a vote for McCain is a vote to continue and even expand the war. Given that the Iraq War is (currently) the second most important issue on the minds of voters, after the economy, this does not bode well for McCain this November.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In my opinion, to improve his chances of winning the general election, McCain should re-think his approach to the Iraq War and reject the Bush Administration's current project of trying to turn Iraq into the leading edge of a movement for "freedom" and "democracy" in the Middle East.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Let us remember why we invaded Iraq in the first place: Because in the aftermath of 9/11, President Bush recognized -- properly so -- that the preeminent national security threat of our time is the risk that Islamic terrorists, who are dedicated to the destruction of the United States and its way of life, will acquire weapons of mass destruction from "rogue" regimes, and use these weapons against us. As President Bush explained at West Point in June 2002, thereal danger "lies in the perilous crossroads of radicalism and technology," specifically, "chemical and biological and nuclear weapons." With such weapons, "even weak states and small groups could attain a catastrophic power to strike great nations." It was the risk posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups that provided the principal justification for the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 (whether or not, in hindsight, U.S. and European intelligence regarding Saddam Hussein's WMD program was flawed).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Based on our original national security objectives, the Iraq War was "won" more than four years ago, on December 13, 2003. This was the day that U.S. troops captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, famously pulling him from of a "spider hole" near his hometown of Tikrit. By that point in time, the Iraqi military had been routed, Saddam's regime had been deposed, and -- most importantly -- Saddam's ability to develop weapons of mass destruction and to support Islamic terrorism had been eliminated. These objectives were achieved in spectacular fashion in only nine months.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As I previously <a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/09/why_americans_oppose_the_iraq.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">argued</span></span></a>, up to that point in time, the Iraq War remained broadly popular among the American people. In the post-9/11 environment, most Americans recognize that protecting our national security requires taking a more "muscular" approach to confronting and deterring Islamic terrorists and their state sponsors. But Americans, by a wide margin, do not support President Bush's more grandiose vision for "transforming" the Middle East. While the surge has succeeded in reducing the number of U.S. and Iraqi deaths in Iraq -- and in removing the war from newspaper and TV news headlines (for now) --<i> it has not produced any increase in support for the war among the American people.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">While only a minority of Americans want the U.S. to pull out of Iraq "immediately," most Americans are eager for a reasonable plan to end our occupation of Iraq in the foreseeable future. This means in the next year or two, not a decade or more from now. The prospect, which John McCain currently endorses, that significant numbers of U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for years to come, is simply unacceptable to most Americans -- including, I reiterate, large numbers of Republicans, without whose support McCain cannot win in November.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I do not disagree that, compared to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, John McCain is the best candidate to lead this nation during these times of increasing international conflict, which includes not only the threat of a nuclear Iran, but also unrest in already-nuclear Pakistan, China's rise as a global superpower, and the re-emergence of a hostile Russia. Both Clinton and Obama are woefully unprepared to serve as Commander-in-Chief. I suspect that most Americans would agree with this assessment.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But the Iraq War is so unpopular that it may end up electing the Democrats' candidate this November, despite McCain's inherent foreign policy advantage. To avoid this result, McCain must offer the American people a new strategy for Iraq, something between the Bush Administration's unpopular democratization strategy, with its open-ended commitment to staying in Iraq, and the "cut-and-run" alternative offered by the Democrats.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I predict that if John McCain were to come out with an "Iraqi Peace Plan" that proposed significant reductions in U.S. troops by the end of his first term, he would neutralize the Democrats' ability to use the war as a rallying cry, and all-but-guarantee himself election as the next president of the United States.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Things have changed and I wouldn’t go that far. John cannot help himself but to attempt to resurrect the war as a campaign issue, dragging it kicking and screaming over the economic depression that is setting in. It is all is he comfortable with. This is his one dimension, his one issue, save that he is more experienced. That didn’t work for Hillary and it’s not going to work for the old man war monger.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/04/whats_wrong_wit.php"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">What’s Wrong With John McCain (Some it seems rather familiar)</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/04/whats_wrong_wit.php"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/04/whats_wrong_wit.php"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/04/whats_wrong_wit.php</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/04/whats_wrong_wit.php"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Above Top Secret.com (Loaded) <a href="http://www.abovetopsecret.com/tags/john+mccain.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">http://www.abovetopsecret.com/tags/john+mccain.html</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.abovetopsecret.com/tags/john+mccain.html"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Real John McCain <a href="http://therealmccain.com/"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">http://therealmccain.com/</span></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://therealmccain.com/"><span style="color:blue;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">No matter how you slice it John McBush or a Bush Third Term it’s all the same or worse! And by the way, Yes John McCain may have more experience at some things than Barack Obama, but I’m not sure they are either good experiences or that they qualify him for the Presidency…Quite the contrary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">End Post…<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-80440344975160760512008-06-09T20:05:00.001-07:002008-06-10T05:14:07.875-07:00Contact Every Member Of The Judiciary Committee!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0ntUvf4fSe4kvVUDLCVHLWUtX6ns8rGApo27f57NXZ89vVRGdAYr8M1PJ1JpsRvguGfI2RuK8ZiEcTBfa2w7IKyR0M7isLEcCTi_ddUDWX26pQNGB7kU74j5zyqOlpzGoIlXI9Q0W5o/s1600-h/impnow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO0ntUvf4fSe4kvVUDLCVHLWUtX6ns8rGApo27f57NXZ89vVRGdAYr8M1PJ1JpsRvguGfI2RuK8ZiEcTBfa2w7IKyR0M7isLEcCTi_ddUDWX26pQNGB7kU74j5zyqOlpzGoIlXI9Q0W5o/s400/impnow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210083900061644626" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlibK9yUfwTXwxZx930B7_Pp3iPnAlFyqr1OBRkUj5FIPLFnmeVtSv0gCMmNJRk6itkbrzWynnRvYe6BWaDNsDzXBaCgKlLp0UpEPqyfa_UH-n7cCuKd6Xds8p_eFE1kBo_ZClhuvq7Ko/s1600-h/Ratatouille.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlibK9yUfwTXwxZx930B7_Pp3iPnAlFyqr1OBRkUj5FIPLFnmeVtSv0gCMmNJRk6itkbrzWynnRvYe6BWaDNsDzXBaCgKlLp0UpEPqyfa_UH-n7cCuKd6Xds8p_eFE1kBo_ZClhuvq7Ko/s400/Ratatouille.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210083789858111138" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkwSXWTsqZcgD14n4XBp3xhWcGmkIQVZygZA8h7slnwtQMLB2NhvSoPXOJnlOmDMVqUTlVh1yHWuEXNk3ZWrPLqBaLWlSc0meJQlFa6-MOgC-DwwxtZcRgQgTJfp2hv3bTNePlcsRdYI/s1600-h/stone.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkwSXWTsqZcgD14n4XBp3xhWcGmkIQVZygZA8h7slnwtQMLB2NhvSoPXOJnlOmDMVqUTlVh1yHWuEXNk3ZWrPLqBaLWlSc0meJQlFa6-MOgC-DwwxtZcRgQgTJfp2hv3bTNePlcsRdYI/s400/stone.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210083640272545378" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Impeachment Is Within Our Reach.<span style=""> </span>Dennis Has Rolled The Table Tonight.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >With The Kucinich Actions Of This Day And With The Unraveling Of The Bush Administration And The Initiation Of Several Hearings And Subpoena Fights Being Conducted By The House Judiciary Committee It Is Time To Flood The Switch Boards, Fill The Email Boxes, heat up the fax machines of the House judiciary committee members and then every other member of the house to move on the Impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney, delivering the message that those who do fulfill their duty and their oath will receive our support and those who do not will earn our opposition in their reelection campaigns, (all Democrats and Republicans alike).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >All the tools needed for contact are found in the links below:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >CALL THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: (202) 225-3951</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><a href="http://capwiz.com/aauw/dbq/media">REACH THE PRESS</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx">THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html">IT’S THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE STUPID!</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/Congresswoman+Debbie+Wasserman+Schultz/articles/2/Judiciary+Committee+Stupid+Program+Leave+No">http://www.zimbio.com/Congresswoman+Debbie+Wasserman+Schultz/articles/2/Judiciary+Committee+Stupid+Program+Leave+No</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=%2FCongresswoman%2BDebbie%2BWasserman%2BSchultz%2Farticles%2F2%2FJudiciary%2BCommittee%2BStupid%2BProgram%2BLeave%2BNo&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.efax.com%2F"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=%2FCongresswoman%2BDebbie%2BWasserman%2BSchultz%2Farticles%2F2%2FJudiciary%2BCommittee%2BStupid%2BProgram%2BLeave%2BNo&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.efax.com%2F">(commercial software for sending faxes from your computer, no</a><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=%2FCongresswoman%2BDebbie%2BWasserman%2BSchultz%2Farticles%2F2%2FJudiciary%2BCommittee%2BStupid%2BProgram%2BLeave%2BNo&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.efax.com%2F"> fax machine required)</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=%2FCongresswoman%2BDebbie%2BWasserman%2BSchultz%2Farticles%2F2%2FJudiciary%2BCommittee%2BStupid%2BProgram%2BLeave%2BNo&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fjudiciary.house.gov%2FCommitteeMembership.aspx">Judiciary Committee website/emails</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >CALL THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: (202) 225-3951<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://capwiz.com/aauw/dbq/media"><span style="line-height: 115%;">REACH THE PRESS</span></a><br /><a href="http://capwiz.com/aauw/dbq/media"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://capwiz.com/aauw/dbq/media</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE</span></a><br /><a href="http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">IT’S THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE STUPID!</span></a><br /><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >THE LETTERS<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><strong style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style="">“Open Letter To Nancy Pelosi”</span></strong><b><br /></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/open-letter-to-speaker-pelosi.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/open-letter-to-speaker-pelosi.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong></strong></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><strong><span style="line-height: 115%;">“Open Letter To John Conyers”</span></strong></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/open-letter-to-john-conyers.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/open-letter-to-john-conyers.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><strong style="font-style: italic;"><span style="">“Open Letter To Steny Hoyer”</span></strong><span style=""><br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/open-letter-to-congressman-hoyer-basis.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/open-letter-to-congressman-hoyer-basis.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><strong style="font-style: italic;"><span style="">“Open Letter To Judiciary Committee Members”</span></strong><b><br /></b></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/dear-congressmen.html"><span style="line-height: 115%;">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/dear-congressmen.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Encourage them also to provide all time necessary to question and hear Scott McClellan and John Yoo.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/dennis-kucinich-makes-his_b_106193.html" title="Permalink"><span style=""><br /></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/dennis-kucinich-makes-his_b_106193.html" title="Permalink"><span style="">Dennis Kucinich Makes History Again - Impeach Bush!<br /></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo">Joseph A. Palermo</a></span></p> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><h1 style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></h1> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Representative Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio,</span> just finished reading on the House floor a 35-count impeachment resolution against President George W. Bush. Kucinich's lengthy and detailed indictment of this wayward president is the most thorough and powerful case made to date. He outlined a litany of high crimes and misdemeanors and showed without a shadow of a doubt that George W. Bush deserves to be impeached and removed from office. Kucinich made clear that Bush has violated his oath of office and his Constitutional duty that the laws be "faithfully executed."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Kucinich's impeachment resolution comes after the shocking revelations contained in the 107-page Senate Intelligence Committee's report that confirmed, once and for all, (and with the vote of two Republican Senators), that President Bush lied the American people into war. There can be no more dire and serious offense than a president lying to his fellow Americans on issues of war and peace. Bush should be impeached forthwith. The House Judiciary Committee should vote on the Kucinich resolution and split it up into Articles of Impeachment. All the committee needs is one Article to impeach Bush, Kucinich has provided dozens of potential Articles.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I've agreed all along with the Center for Constitutional Rights and other groups on the need to impeach Bush. It is not a "political" issue; it is a Constitutional issue. He must be impeached and removed from office even if the proceedings don't start until January. The Democrats chickened out on impeachment when they took the Congress in January 2007. That was the most disillusioning decision of the 110th Congress -- taking impeachment "off the table." It was also giving the Congress's consent to Bush's behavior.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">People will scream about how impeachment might backfire on the election of 2008. But that was never the issue. The president is guilty of grave crimes against the republic and should be held accountable. He does not have to be found guilty in a court of law; impeachment has a different standard. Bush has committed crimes against the nation. There are 4,100 dead Americans and 500,000 to 1 million dead Iraqis as a result of his lies and deceit. The Scott McClellan book just drives home everything the Intelligence Committee uncovered. It is time for the truth! If Bush can keep the prospect of attacking Iran "on the table," then the Congress should keep impeachment on the table too.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thank you Dennis Kucinich.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">You once again demonstrated that you are the most courageous and principled member of Congress.</span></p><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="font-family:georgia;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/09/Kucinich_introduces_impeachment_resolution/UPI-19361213067270/">WASHINGTON</a>, <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/09/Kucinich_introduces_impeachment_resolution/UPI-19361213067270/">http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/09/Kucinich_introduces_impeachment_resolution/UPI-19361213067270/</a> <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >June 9 (UPI) -- Rep. <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Dennis_Kucinich/">Dennis Kucinich</a>, D-Ohio, introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/George_W_Bush/">George </a><a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/W._Bush/">W. Bush</a> in the U.S. House of Representatives Monday night. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Kucinich read into the Congressional Record a litany of alleged illegal and improper acts on the part of the president, <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/The_Politico/">The Politico</a> reported.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Kucinich has previously introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Dick_Cheney/">Dick Cheney</a>. That resolution has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which has taken no action on it, Politico said.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">House Speaker <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Nancy_Pelosi/">Nancy Pelosi</a>, D-Calif., and other leading House Democrats have said Congress will not pursue impeachment of Bush. During the 2006 election campaign, Pelosi told CBS' "60 Minutes" impeachment was "off the table."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Kucinich and others in Congress -- including Rep. <a href="http://www.upi.com/topic/Robert_Wexler/">Robert Wexler</a>, D-Fla. -- have pressed for impeachment of Bush and Cheney, accusing the administration of multiple offenses, including lying to Congress and the public about its reasons for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf">The Kucinich Articles</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf">http://chun.afterdowningstreet.org/amomentoftruth.pdf</a></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://republicansforimpeachment.com/">Republicans for Impeaching Bush and Cheney</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> : not an option, a duty </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><a href="http://republicansforimpeachment.com/">http://republicansforimpeachment.com/</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Approximately</span> 7:50 EST tonight <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/6/9/191519/7181/915/533004">Rep. Dennis Kucinich was reading 35 articles of impeachment</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_House_Resolution_333">Nov. 6, 2007, articles of impeachment against Cheney</a>, C-Span did what C-span never does: it did not re-run it. That was how they buried it, nothing in the newspaper the next day, so it never happened. This time we call C-span to demand they re-run this to death like they do everything not nearly as interesting. <a href="http://www.c-span.org/about/contact.asp">C-Span contact page.</a></span> against George Bush. The last time he did this on </p> <p face="georgia"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">C-span is a private corporation, so it pretty much does what it wants, but since the airwaves are, you know, public property and all, what the public can do is <a href="http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm?sid=d1e640&id=d1e697"><span style="">revoke their broadcast license.</span></a> As treasonous collaborators with the Bush-Cheney Neo-Con cabal.</span></p> <div style="font-family: georgia;" align="center"> <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border: medium none ; border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="border: 1pt solid black; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 6.65in;" valign="top" width="638"> <p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=55fd8d78-74bd-4b94-b5c7-70ade575b72a"></script><noscript><span style="font-size:100%;">Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/republicans-for-impeaching-bush-and-c-eddickau-1">Republicans for Impeaching Bush and Cheney</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/galleryhome/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</span></noscript></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:10;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/09/mcclellan-to-testify-befo_n_106128.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >http://www.huffingtonpost.com</span><wbr style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >/2008/06/09/mcclellan-to</span><wbr style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >-te</span>stify-befo_n_106128.html</span></span></a></span><span style=""> </span></span></u></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><u><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-28642779740702884322008-06-09T19:23:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:11.729-07:00Black Water Is Back In The News!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5dTA70ecEZd7cXs3u1skFMvYmqlMSMcY-UkMMs63dj6gEtOs6ZcNl-4Am14hEhd71QmY6irDcyCPoABXFozPEpEl43mW-MpzfZo1X9skbg4YhrsmsKtmu2QnD7WUVtKAlr2gg8bVF5o4/s1600-h/bwjs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5dTA70ecEZd7cXs3u1skFMvYmqlMSMcY-UkMMs63dj6gEtOs6ZcNl-4Am14hEhd71QmY6irDcyCPoABXFozPEpEl43mW-MpzfZo1X9skbg4YhrsmsKtmu2QnD7WUVtKAlr2gg8bVF5o4/s400/bwjs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210072870484842210" border="0" /></a><br /> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><span style="font-size:130%;">Black Water Is Back In The News!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p>I've got some bad news. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">My friends at the Courage Campaign asked me to convey it to you personally by email, given this community's activism against Blackwater over the last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Last Thursday, after a federal judge cleared the way, Blackwater opened a large training facility in San Diego, just three blocks from the border that separates California and Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">As you may know, I wrote a book ("Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army") chronicling how this dangerous private security corporation leveraged over $1 billion in taxpayer dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan to build an elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror." Now, Blackwater is setting its sights on the so-called "war on drugs" and recently opened its own private CIA, called "Total Intelligence Solutions," marketing "CIA-type services" to Fortune 500 companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Blackwater is aggressively building up a parallel infrastructure to the U.S. national security apparatus as its owner, Erik Prince, promotes Blackwater as the "Federal Express" of the military industrial complex.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">And now Blackwater has set up shop in California a stone's throw from the Tijuana International Airport. <span style="">But this battle with Blackwater is not over. </span>Grassroots activists in San Diego, led by relentless local groups like Citizens' Oversight Projects, Activist San Diego, and the Peace Resource Center of San Diego, are ramping up their campaign to shut down Blackwater's base of operations on the border.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">This Wednesday, June 11, from 3-5 p.m., these local groups are organizing a major protest outside the Blackwater facility at 7685 Siempre Viva Road in Otay Mesa.</span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"> I will be there and I hope you will as well, even if you do not live in the San Diego area. After all, Blackwater's beachhead on the border threatens everyone's security in California.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/m/6744847216f365f2/n5bAKV/VEsF/" target="_blank"><span style="">The Courage Campaign has also invited me to join you on a special statewide conference call this at 4 p.m. this Thursday, June 12. On this "Courage Campaign Conversation", you can talk with me directly about the San Diego situation, Blackwater's ominous contract renewal in Iraq, and how the outsourcing of our security to these mercenaries threatens our democracy. Please reserve a phone line now by RSVP'ing at:</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/m/6744847216f365f2/n5bAKV/VEsC/" target="_blank"><span style="">http://www.couragecampaign.org<wbr>/JeremyScahill</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Chris Hedges, the former Middle East Bureau Chief for the New York Times, brilliantly captures the threat that Blackwater represents to us in this excerpt from his review of my book:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">"These hired guns... appeared on the streets of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. They operate, at home and abroad, beyond the bounds of legal constraints and are controlled by secretive puppet masters, such as Erik Prince, who have close ties to the radical Christian right.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Should our nation enter a period of instability following another terrorist attack on American soil, an economic collapse, or a series of environmental disasters, <span style="">the tyranny that groups such as Blackwater impose on others could become the tyranny they impose on us.</span> The rise of this unchecked mercenary force... could presage the final stage in the collapse of American democracy."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Those are harrowing words, I know. But this is not hyperbole -- it's reality. And that's why we need to spread the word that Blackwater has just opened a base of operations inside California. If we don't act soon to push these mercenaries out of California, the nightmare scenarios described above could be realized right before our eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/m/6744847216f365f2/n5bAKV/VEsD/" target="_blank"><span style="">I'll be talking more about what it will take to stop Blackwater on Thursday's "Courage Campaign Conversation" as well as during my book tour across California this week. By clicking here, you can RSVP for Thursday's 4 p.m. conference call now, submit your questions, and review a list of my appearances in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Berkeley:</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/m/6744847216f365f2/n5bAKV/VEsA/" target="_blank"><span style="">http://www.couragecampaign.org<wbr>/JeremyScahill</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">If you know any friends who would like to join us at 4 p.m. on Thursday's call -- or at any of this week's events in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Berkeley -- please forward this message to them. <span style="">Space is limited on Thursday's Courage Campaign Conversation, so please hurry to RSVP before lines fill up.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Thank you for taking time to read this message and send it to your friends. I'm looking forward to talking with you on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Jeremy Scahill<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">P.S. If you are interested in reading more about Blackwater, and would like to buy my book, please consider making it a two-for-one action by making a donation to my good friends at the Courage Campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/m/6744847216f365f2/n5bAKV/VEsB/" target="_blank"><span style="">If you contribute at least $50 to the Courage Campaign, I'll sign a copy of "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" and Courage will send it to you as soon as possible:</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/m/6744847216f365f2/n5bAKV/VEsO/" target="_blank"><span style="">http://www.couragecampaign.org<wbr>/JeremyScahill</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div align="center"> <table class="MsoTableGrid" style="border: medium none ; border-collapse: collapse;" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="border: 1pt solid black; padding: 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/subscriber/InsertWidget.js?appId=d5dc7a6b-9688-4ad3-9d55-89bde4c9e801"></script><noscript>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/courage-campaign">Courage Campaign</a> widget and many other <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/galleryhome/">great free widgets</a> at <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>!</noscript><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-74772583130168739282008-06-09T17:36:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:11.729-07:00This Is The Nature Of Things...A Large Map!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9CMKY60vnwDAxr2oe07i92Wb5RhFR9EqQNV97bhvfLdcfZw_zp83aooksx21PRXHoyOBMlMAOzmYhrIQ6-NQhL47e3SXHvG-PIiPe5rVezgCclv4VNjAFYxWYlTXPrLoAWDsjrnOL1A/s1600-h/denver_downtown.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9CMKY60vnwDAxr2oe07i92Wb5RhFR9EqQNV97bhvfLdcfZw_zp83aooksx21PRXHoyOBMlMAOzmYhrIQ6-NQhL47e3SXHvG-PIiPe5rVezgCclv4VNjAFYxWYlTXPrLoAWDsjrnOL1A/s400/denver_downtown.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210045468463272818" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><br /><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >The Democratic Party Is Far From Having A Lock On The 2008 Elections.</span></p><br /><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Click On The Map For Full Viewing!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/democratic-party-is-far-from-having.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/democratic-party-is-far-from-having.html</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >The Streets Of Denver Could Trash Every Hope As Problems Left Unresolved By The Party May Well Finally Prove To Be The Undoing Of Our Party.<span style=""> </span>The Voice Of Rage Voters And More Radically Inclined Activists Is At Hand!<span style=""> </span>Will All The Democratic Party Dreams Go Up In Smoke In The Summer Heat In The Streets Of Denver And Minneapolis?<span style=""> </span>Will They End In Blood Steel And Fire In Summer Convention Protest Turned Riots?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graphic-political-commentary.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graphic-political-commentary.html</a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-81734539147645960702008-06-09T12:37:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:11.730-07:00The Democratic Party Is Far From Having A Lock On The 2008 Elections.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yXxKRm4-ahKewTUSjy9s1UzPS4vSxRrhwifOnLgDaEpVOKww0jKQwZLprVcSjoq0lQzlQG2jM9ATDEXD0CnPfNd9ay57AYfnbZbC-DtckMFvuqZGFsLJAEOUpfY45Ktrgh0z_tJ9-Ew/s1600-h/A14.fcc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yXxKRm4-ahKewTUSjy9s1UzPS4vSxRrhwifOnLgDaEpVOKww0jKQwZLprVcSjoq0lQzlQG2jM9ATDEXD0CnPfNd9ay57AYfnbZbC-DtckMFvuqZGFsLJAEOUpfY45Ktrgh0z_tJ9-Ew/s400/A14.fcc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209968472865841938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkM9VWesWXMnfF2wFhyphenhyphennVw9Rkt-iSBhLNrBVaGPFO7k-tNqHKtR8TaF5Xgrjy2DdbUP8YgSewVRYFDWUWF-0lCYkL5Mahwl61xJgAbHFY16OzxNz7nedhE6bhHzTlt_vvWJEvlmWk0yfw/s1600-h/A13.time.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkM9VWesWXMnfF2wFhyphenhyphennVw9Rkt-iSBhLNrBVaGPFO7k-tNqHKtR8TaF5Xgrjy2DdbUP8YgSewVRYFDWUWF-0lCYkL5Mahwl61xJgAbHFY16OzxNz7nedhE6bhHzTlt_vvWJEvlmWk0yfw/s400/A13.time.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209968380311231202" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" >The Democratic Party Is Far From Having A Lock On The 2008 Elections.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style=""><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The Streets Of Denver Could Trash Every Hope As Problems Left Unresolved By The Party May Well Finally Prove To Be The Undoing Of Our Party.<span style=""> </span>The Voice Of Rage Voters And More Radically Inclined Activists Is At Hand!<span style=""> </span>Will All The Democratic Party Dreams Go Up In Smoke In The Summer Heat In The Streets Of Denver And Minneapolis? <span style=""> </span>Will They End In Blood Steel And Fire In Summer Convention Protest Turned Riots?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graphic-political-commentary.html">Current Related Graphic Political Commentary:</a><span style=""> </span>(1) Political Piranha, (2) Ed’s McCain Button, (3) McCain Rambo Bomb Iran, (4) Save Us From K Street, (5) Voters Are Not Dumb, (6) Bush Guilty, (7) We’ll Swear, (8) Obama Veep, (9) Denver/Minneapolis {#s} : 1,2,3,4 and 5.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >One danger in Denver may have been eliminated by Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Closure but as long as she has not released her delegates, (the stated reason being the legal ability to continue fund raising to pay down her debt), the potential for a problem still exists and will remain in the fore front of the minds of those prepared to protest in Denver.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The issue of Barack Obama’s nomination integrity seems well in hand, but issue concerning the integrity of the Party, Racism, Iraq and Iran , Justice and Impeachment, and the legion long list of War Crimes and Constitutional defiance by this administration still stand and answers will be called for in the streets of Denver and Minneapolis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The situation remains dangerous.<span style=""> </span>My next post with be from Denver with an update from the inside…but for now…currently estimating that 100,000 demonstrators will fill the streets of Denver.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Those protesters will come responding in anger to the Democratic Party’s obvious belief that <span style=""> </span>“if you do nothing; there will be no consequences”, or least that has been the party line from the day that Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared Impeachment “Off The Table” and laid waste to her position in history.<span style=""> </span>There are consequences for inaction as surely as there are for ignoring a melanoma spreading on one’s arm in the belief that it will simple go away on its own.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >There are two components to the dilemma facing the party as it begins the journey towards Denver: (1) That harpy line that we can’t do anything that “might” generate sufficient controversy to endanger the election of Democrats and the recapture of The White House in November 2008, and (2) that which they do not wish to even whisper, let alone acknowledge, the fact that a vast majority of the Congress are as guilty of a collaboration with the administration in both unconstitutional and criminal enterprises as flagrant as Nazi collaborators in World War II, either by design or by incompetence…and they know it, and we know it and we will carry that knowledge to Denver seeking redress.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >They know full well that their guilt is so egregious that the only way that they can avoid the clear focus, exposure and definition in the media in editorial tabloid sensationalism is to move obliquely ahead ignoring every mention and diverting the attention of the electorate in whatever direction is necessary to affect deflection. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>They need not fear for that media is a tainted as the administration and the congress.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As the Bush Administration has begun to unravel as of late, as Gasoline prices soar over the record $4.00 mark headed for Fourth Of July pyrotechnic explosion at $5.00, as consumer choices now food, gasoline, medications and just paying the mortgage and monthly bill, all imperiled, and the electorate’s feeling of impotent hopelessness is giving way to rage and some very ugly thoughts and words…finally.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >There are more people worried about their personal economic survival than there are those enthralled by the success of Barack Obama.<span style=""> </span>That is not good!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As you read further and consider the sources and personalities of the restless radical protestors determined to have their say and make their points one way or another, just tuck this thought in the back of your mind; what would happen if in the midst of the potentially explosive mix in the streets the labor unions of America, principally the Teamster Truckers would say: ”We have had enough, and the big rigs descended on Denver with a vengeance”.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The veil of oil pricing is being lifted and explained in terms that even the layman can grasp and now understand that he is being bled dry by design, raped by speculators who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves or this nation’s welfare and the Congress is impotent, incompetent and to politically timid to lift even its little finger.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Iraq may once again become a campaign issue because that is all War Hawk McCain knows, but it has languished because it was not personal to a sufficient population of America. <span style=""> </span>The economic crunch facing America is local; it is personal and for all but the elite rich it is becoming increasingly intolerable by the day.<span style=""> </span>It is the stuff of which social and political explosives are fashioned…and it being carried to Denver and Minneapolis!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The out front lead in Denver protest/resistance organization is Re-Create “68”.<span style=""> </span>There have been break- aways and there have been new organizations join the fold either under the umbrella or in confederated alliance mode.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.recreate68.org/">http://www.recreate68.org/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.recreate68.org/album1_dnc_015.htm">http://www.recreate68.org/album1_dnc_015.htm</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4693&Itemid=223">World Can’t Wait</a><span style=""> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >What if people came forward and put out a political pole in opposition to the Democratic convention in August? What if THIS was the new terms of things? The Democratic nominee in 2008 will not speak for us. We have to challenge their accommodation to the Bush program.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4693&Itemid=223"><span style="">World Can’t Wait</span></a> is endorsing the ReCreate 68 coalition, and forming our own working group for Denver.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.ruckus.org/">http://www.ruckus.org/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://dncdisruption08.org/">http://dncdisruption08.org/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://dncdisruption08.org/?p=74">http://dncdisruption08.org/?p=74</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.unconventionalaction.org/">http://www.unconventionalaction.org/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >It is not a matter of no one being aware of a build up of<span style=""> </span>protest elements in Denver, Minneapolis and across the country; it’s more a function of people not paying attention, more of the “it can’t happen ostrich syndrome: and simple damn dumb denial.<span style=""> </span>It really doesn’t matter that within the protest elements and organizations that there has been a sifting out of those dedicated to non-violence from those either inclined to confrontation or violence, or at least suspected of that inclination, because when is all said and done, it’s a matter of over 100,000 people in the streets with a multiplicity of concerns, grievances and advocacies in the rarified Denver atmosphere, the<span style=""> </span>heat of August and pent up frustrations of trying to gain access to exercise free speech, and whatever it is that folks have in mind.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >There are elements of the far left and far right that will be close contact, police powers dealing with a situation that they have no experience with.<span style=""> </span>All it takes is one mistake one flash and you have hell to pay.<span style=""> </span>No reason or rationale for calm and preserving the victory that Democrats thirst for matters; some of these folks just don’t care; some of them want a revolutionary change within our party, and some are willing to allow, or even cause things to get worse in the hope that the inevitable reaction will usher in the paradigm shift in American politics that will truly right the ship of state.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >There are too many accumulated issues, political, social, economic, philosophic, world-versioned and local all in the stew pot.<span style=""> </span>That can make for a bad brew.<span style=""> </span>I have said so often that such confrontations are the result of multiple movements and ferment coming together.<span style=""> </span>We are there.<span style=""> </span>Chicago “68” was labeled a police riot.<span style=""> </span>It is so easy to drag that label and vitriol back out.<span style=""> </span>Any act of resistance and arrest can suddenly became “police brutality” in the streets and the mob move into action!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.westword.com/2008-01-24/news/anarchists-stalk-democratic-convention/"><span style="">Anarchists Stalk Democratic Convention</span></a> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Published: January 24, 2008</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Unconventional Action hopes to see the largest gathering of anarchists in American history in Denver in August. The group that may be the most prepared for the 2008 Democratic National Convention is also the least likely to be prepared. It doesn't represent labor unions or mainstream progressives, but anarchists. A loose coalition of anti-authoritarian factions from across the nation have formed an outfit called Unconventional Action, with the express goal of disrupting and shutting down the DNC and RNC. Activists say that anarchists in this country have never planned such a large-scale action so far in advance of a specific event, and certainly not with such openness and strategy.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The stylized website <a href="http://www.unconventionalaction.org/">www.unconventionalaction.org</a> includes mission statements, how-to guides and downloadable posters, maps and zines. "Only direct action will stop the war," reads one flier. "Start organizing to smash the conventions," says another. Resources includes a printable map of downtown Denver, with the Pepsi Center and hotels where delegates will be staying clearly marked, as well as such other potential targets as the offices of Halliburton, Northrop Grumman and Newmont Mining. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, where the RNC will be held, anarchists operating as the RNC Welcoming Committee are compiling maps, photographs of the city and timetables of political events where they may stage such disturbances as blockades, infiltrations and other actions.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.unconventionalaction.org/strategies/strategies.html">American anarchists regard both Democrats and Republicans as enforcers of the same imperialist system,</a> and their drive this time is fueled by disappointment with the 2004 convention protests. Though tens of thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of New York and Boston, many radicals felt the actions led by large liberal groups like ANSWER and United for Peace and Justice had little impact. So this election cycle, affinity groups such as the Black Bloc and Crimethinc are spurring the radical movement to take the lead.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"There's nothing better than the convention to encapsulate the essence of the Democratic Party and the two-party system," says Clayton Dewey, an organizer for Denver's Unconventional Action. "It is a sham democracy. The candidates have been chosen, the platform has essentially been chosen by the party leaders. They bring in some delegates, and really, all they do is cheerlead for these scripted events. The media fawns over it. It's a multimillion-dollar party at the expense of taxpayers and Denver residents."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Chapters have been formed in San Francisco, New York and at least a dozen other cities. Since last August, planning conferences called "consultas" have taken place in St. Paul and Denver. Along with building a "horizontal, inclusive framework for protests," groups have even begun fundraising. Organizers estimate that each city will need $50,000 for convergence centers, legal costs and other expenses.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"We are not going to let the Democrats have a free ride," says Dewey.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Their theme: Anarchists Arise!”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=606">http://www.thedenverdailynews.com/article.php?aID=606</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://thedrunkablog.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-lunch-and-dnc-disruption-training.html">http://thedrunkablog.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-lunch-and-dnc-disruption-training.html</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h2 style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://midwestgreenscare.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/fbi-seeking-informants-in-the-twin-cities/" title="Permanent link toFBI seeking informants in the Twin Cities">FBI seeking informants in the Twin Cities</a></span></h2><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://midwestgreenscare.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/fbi-seeking-informants-in-the-twin-cities/">http://midwestgreenscare.wordpress.com/2008/05/14/fbi-seeking-informants-in-the-twin-cities/</a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/05/15/fbi-seeking-out-informants-in-twin-cities/"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/05/15/fbi-seeking-out-informants-in-twin-cities/">http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/05/15/fbi-seeking-out-informants-in-twin-cities/</a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/01/28/anti-dnc-landmarks-in-denver/"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/01/28/anti-dnc-landmarks-in-denver/">http://crashtheconventions.com/2008/01/28/anti-dnc-landmarks-in-denver/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://newsds.org/bulletinfiles/sdsbulletin3-electronic.pdf"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://newsds.org/bulletinfiles/sdsbulletin3-electronic.pdf">http://newsds.org/bulletinfiles/sdsbulletin3-electronic.pdf</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.workers.org/2008/us/conventions_0228/"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.workers.org/2008/us/conventions_0228/">http://www.workers.org/2008/us/conventions_0228/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Republican National Convention</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Republican National Convention (RNC) will be held on Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn. On Feb. 9-10, in St. Paul’s twin city of Minneapolis, the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War met with more than 60 other organizations to plan events protesting the Republican agenda.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The coalition consists of local anti-war and solidarity organizations, unions and social justice groups. Three national anti-war coalitions were also represented at the conference: <a href="http://www.troopsoutnow.org/"><span style="">Troops Out Now Coalition (TONC)</span></a>, the <a href="http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_homepage"><span style="">ANSWER Coalition</span></a> and <a href="http://www.unitedforpeace.org/"><span style="">United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Other organizations present included <a href="http://www.iacenter.org/"><span style="">the International Action Center</span></a>; <a href="http://www.freedomroad.org/"><span style="">Freedom Road Socialist Organization</span></a>; <a href="http://web.mac.com/clshc/Latinos_Against_the_War_in_Iraq/Welcome.html"><span style="">Latinos Against the War</span></a>; <a href="http://raleighfist.wordpress.com/"><span style="">Fight Imperialism-Stand Together</span></a>; <a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070416/phelps"><span style="">Students for</span></a> a <a href="http://www.detroitsds.org/resources/"><span style="">Democratic Society</span></a>; <a href="http://www.newjerseysolidarity.org/"><span style="">New Jersey Solidarity-Activists for the Liberation of Palestine</span></a>; <a href="http://www.freericardopalmera.org/"><span style="">the National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera</span></a>; <a href="http://www.teamsters743.org/"><span style="">Teamsters Local 743</span></a> and <a href="http://www.afscme3800.org/"><span style="">AFSCME Local 3800</span></a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A press conference for local and national media included speakers from <a href="http://protestrnc2008.org/"><span style="">the Coalition to March on the RNC</span></a> and Stop the War, TONC, UFPJ, ANSWER and the <a href="http://www.aaan.org/"><span style="">Arab American Action Network.</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Conference on RNC and DNC in Olympia</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">On the same weekend as the Minneapolis conference, youth and students met in Olympia, Wash., to discuss preparations to counter both the Republican and Democratic national conventions. About 100 people attended, mostly students from Seattle and surrounding areas, with others from Minneapolis and the states of Colorado, Oregon and California. <a href="http://www.nlg.org/"><span style="">The National Lawyers Guild</span></a> and a few educators were there to listen, observe and offer advice when asked.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Protest organizers from Minneapolis and from Denver, where the DNC will be held on Aug. 24-28, gave presentations on the preparations that had been made, problems encountered and the significance of the respective conventions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">For the DNC, two activists who are part of the Recreate 68 Alliance spoke. Glenn Spagnuolo of the All Nations Alliance and Larry Hales of the youth group Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST) presented to the audience in the late evening for an hour and a half. Spagnuolo explained that R68 was formed in January last year by local Denver activists from the Latin@, African-American, Native and white communities, representing such different issues as racism, imperialism, anti-war, anti-globalization, for immigrant rights and Indigenous rights. They agreed to work together to create a week of political solidarity in resistance and protest.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The idea of Recreate 68 is being used to move communities forward by looking back at a time of great resistance to war and racism.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Spagnuolo made reference to <a href="http://www.blackpanther.org/"><span style="">the Black Panther Party</span></a> for Self-Defense and its <a href="http://www.blackpanther.org/TenPoint.htm"><span style="">Ten-Point Program,</span></a> where the party provided security, free breakfasts for children programs and education in many communities.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He also spoke of the government’s brutal attacks in response to the party’s activism, the anti-war positions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, the mass movements against oppression headed by organizations such as the American Indian Movement, the Young Lords, the Gay Liberation Front and many other groups.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Racism, imperialist war, poverty—all the things that come with capitalism—are still with us, Spagnuolo explained, and though Cointelpro is not around in name, the government has other forms of surveillance and of targeting activists, such as the massive Homeland Security apparatus.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Larry Hales Issue will be prominent on The Denver Table!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.raisethefist.com/index1.html"><span style="">http://www.raisethefist.com/index1.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Larry Hales of FIST spoke about the numerous cases of police brutality in the Denver area, such as the case of Loree McCormick-Rice and her then-12-year-old daughter Cassidy McCormick, who were both beaten by an Aurora, Colo., cop. He spoke of the occupation of the oppressed communities by police and the role of police in capitalist society.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2007/12/larry-hales-denver-activist-attacked-by.html"><span style="">http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2007/12/larry-hales-denver-activist-attacked-by.html</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.workers.org/2008/us/hales_0424/"><span style="">http://www.workers.org/2008/us/hales_0424/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.iacenter.org/actions/hales0208/"><span style="">http://www.iacenter.org/actions/hales0208/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://fistyouth.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/fist-leader-at-aa-picket-line-fighting-a-common-enemy/"><span style="">http://fistyouth.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/fist-leader-at-aa-picket-line-fighting-a-common-enemy/</span></a><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.proletarians.com:8080/2007/us/dem-con-0405/"><span style=""><br /></span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.proletarians.com:8080/2007/us/dem-con-0405/"><span style="">http://www.proletarians.com:8080/2007/us/dem-con-0405/</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hales asked the students to be mindful of the communities and the people whom they are claiming to represent. The residents of communities of color are faced with police terror all the time, not just during marches and rallies. Police brutality is a daily reality for many working and oppressed people.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He told them that they must be sensitive to the needs of the people and be aware of history that is being made today. For instance, Hales said, a white woman and a Black man are running for president. Though they both represent the interests of the imperialist U.S. ruling class and their agenda would be to appease the ruling elite, there are many oppressed people who see the fact that they are running and that one or the other may likely win the general election as a milestone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">People will be out in the streets for many reasons, and activists have to keep focused on the issues while at the same time being aware that some people are looking at these candidates as a victory for women and Black people. It will take time for them to see what the development really means, as the next president goes about her or his business running the U.S. imperialist colossus</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A whole week of activities, rallies and marches is planned for the DNC by Recreate 68. To find out about them, visit recreate68.org.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The loose coalition of groups opposed to American involvement in the Iraq war, which helped defeat Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections, is considerably less sympathetic to the Democrats and plans massive protests at the party’s national convention next summer in Denver, said <a href="http://www.polisci.ufl.edu/people/faculty/heaneym.shtml">Michael T. Heaney</a>, a <a href="http://www.polisci.ufl.edu/">political science</a> professor.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“We see a very clear shift in the anti-war movement against the Democratic Party just in the last couple of months,” said Heaney, who has written an article on anti-war activists that appears in the July edition of American Politics Research journal. “And the basic reason for that is the anti-war forces are very disappointed that the Democrats have not kept their promise to bring the troops home, which was their mandate after the 2006 election.”</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The upshot is that instead of focusing their energies on demonstrating at next year’s Republican Party convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul as they did at the party’s 2004 convention in New York, the key players in the anti-war movement have decided to shift their emphasis to the Democratic gathering in Denver, Heaney said.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“We’re going to see tens of thousands of people protesting outside the Democratic National Convention,” he said.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The danger for the Democrats is that the news media will seize upon the disunity and project an image of the party not having its act together, which will ultimately create public uneasiness with the idea of a Democratic candidacy, he said.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“It definitely has the risk of costing the Democrats the election,” he said. “And this should be an election that the Democrats walk away with just based on the fact that the American public is so dissatisfied with the war in Iraq.”</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Contrary to conventional wisdom that anti-war groups are aligned with the Democratic Party, Heaney and <a href="http://mypage.iu.edu/%7Efrojas/">Fabio Rojas</a>, a sociologist at <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/">Indiana University</a>, found divisions within the movement. Roughly 40 percent of these activists support the Democrats, 20 percent a third party such as the Green Party and 2 percent the Republicans. Another 39 percent identified themselves as independents. (Percentages total 101 percent due to rounding).</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >We’ve been working with national organizations, among them <a href="http://answer.pephost.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ANS_homepage">A.N.S.W.E.R.org, </a><span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.unitedforpeace.org/">United for Peace and Justice,</a> <a href="http://www.codepink4peace.org/">CODEPINK</a> and others, as well as numerous Colorado organizations, to prepare for this event.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.tentstate.org/">Tent State University</a>, Adam Jung Alliance for Real Democracy</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://raimd.wordpress.com/turn-the-world-upside-down/">RAIM-Denver</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Just Bear In Mind That These Groups Are Determined to Rain On The Democratic Party Parade!</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://www.politicswest.com/democratic_national_convention/9101/anti_abortion_groups_announce_convention_protest_plans"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://www.politicswest.com/democratic_national_convention/9101/anti_abortion_groups_announce_convention_protest_plans"><br /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://www.politicswest.com/democratic_national_convention/9101/anti_abortion_groups_announce_convention_protest_plans">Anti-abortion groups set DemCon '08 protest plans</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.survivors.la/">Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust</a>, <a href="http://christiannewswire.com/index.php?module=content&SectionID=2">Christian Defense Coalition</a>, <a href="http://www.operationrescue.org/?p=755">Operation Rescue</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Since 1988 the Christian Defense Coalition has been protesting the national conventions of both parties. In their first year, Mahoney said, hundreds were arrested during the Democratic convention in Atlanta for protesting at abortion clinics.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/groups/christian_defen/index.html">http://www.rightwingwatch.org/groups/christian_defen/index.html</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The new coalition, called Alliance for Real Democracy, is a network of local and national groups, including Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, the Green Party of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Colorado Street Medics, and Students for Peace and Justice.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On The Net all Of The Following lead back to “ ReCreate “68”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul type="disc" style="font-family:georgia;"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.recreate68.org/"><span style="">DenverDNC.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://coloradoconfidential.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1330"><span style="">2008DenverDNC.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Denver2008DNC.org<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Denver2008DNC.com<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">2008DNCDenver.org<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">2008Denverconvention.com<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">ChangetheDNC.org<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">ChangetheDNC.com<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Stopthe2008DNC.com<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Stopthe2008DNC.org<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">NoDNC2008.org<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">NoDNC2008.com<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Recreate68.com<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Recreate68.org<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >And we have these types of things being said with increasing escalating frequency!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">“We need a revolution of the oppressed over the oppressors. Obama and the democrats need to be overthrown also.”</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">On “Recreate 68.” It seems that every liberal with a bone to pick says something about the name.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">GET OVER IT, THAT SHIP HAS SAILED.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">For anyone who has been listening, Recreate 68 has stated their intentions quite clearly.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I’m not a cliff-notes for liberals who are at the moment too busy vouching for the democrats to listen for 2 seconds, so I guess they can stay lost in their sectarian fog.<span style=""> </span>They have been warned, informed and alerted of<span style=""> </span>t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he plan(s)--developed in association with local groups like Recreate '68.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><a href="http://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/unconventional-action-to-target.html">Anarchists and Anti-Authoritarians: join us in Denver, Colorado</a>, August 24th-28th as we engage in coordinated Direct Actions against the Democratic National Convention, its corporate sponsors, and the military/police occupation of public space. Respecting diverse tactics and the autonomy of affinity groups and individuals, Unconventional Action has created the following framework to maximize our impact as we disrupt the DNC.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Unconventional Action’s strategy at the Democratic National Convention will hold the Democratic Party accountable for promoting unjust policies: environmental degradation, the enforcement of arbitrary borders, attacks on the poor, complacency in war, and racist policing. We will expose to the nation that the Democrats and Republicans are two sides of the same coin, both parties funded by the same corporations and upholding the same unjust political system which fails to meet the needs of the vast majority of people. Anarchists and Anti-Authoritarians are urged to engage in a broad variety of tactics to disrupt fundraising events and prevent Democratic delegates from voting for no-choice candidates. Unconventional Action will honor and support autonomous actions while coordinating a highly publicized assault on the pageantry, violence, and abuses of the Democrats and the two-party capitalist system.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Unconventional Action will target a variety of the 1,500 proposed fundraisers, countless delegate hotels, and designated institutions perpetuating global injustice. Using space reclamation, street theatre, direct confrontation, positive action, and a broad array of other tactics, we will force the national media to question the Democratic Party’s failures, hold Democratic candidates accountable for their abuses of power, and engage in direct actions that reflect our ultimate goals of joy and liberation through creativity and confrontation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Asked whether the Recreate ’68 will bring a repeat of the rioting and violence that gripped Chicago during the ’68 convention, Spagnuolo said: "That will be up to the Denver Police Department. Any violence would be at the hands of the Denver Police Department."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h2 style="font-weight: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In today's Denver Post</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> June 06, 2008 : Greens Advocate Peace</span></h2><h2 style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></h2> <h2 style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></span></h2> <h2 style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></span></h2> <h2 style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Denver Greens chair and Colorado Greens co-chair, Claire Ryder, emphasizes that the Green Party stands by its </span><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://www.gp.org/tenkey.shtml">Ten Key Values</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> and the principle of non-violence:</span></span></h2><br /><br /><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">We are proud of our commitment to this credo -- we stand for peace in Iraq, we stand for peace in the United States ... and in Denver, Colorado.</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Link: <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9495375" title="Convention protest hit by groups' split - The Denver Post">Convention Protest Hit By Groups' Split | Denver Post</a></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9495375" title="Convention protest hit by groups' split - The Denver Post"><br /></a></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.afsc.org/">The American Friends Service Committee,</a> <span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.coloradogreens.org/">the Green Party of Colorado</a>, <span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.rmpjc.org/">the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center</a>, <a href="http://ivaw.org/">Iraq Veterans Against the War</a>, <a href="http://dncdisruption08.org/?page_id=11">Colorado Street Medics</a>, and <a href="http://sfpj.org/Students_for_Peace_and_Justice/Home.html">Students for Peace and Justice</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">(In can tell you after my last multi-state tour that not all of the members of these organizations support or are inclined to follow their leadership, so don’t be misled into believing that great solidarity exists within all of them.)</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Activists who plan to protest at the Democratic National Convention this summer are splitting with the umbrella organization, Re-create 68, because of concerns over its rhetoric and tactics.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The new coalition, called Alliance for Real Democracy, is a network of local and national groups, including Code Pink, United for Peace and Justice, the American Friends Service Committee, the Green Party of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Colorado Street Medics, and Students for Peace and Justice.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"We've separated ourselves; we're not part of Re-create 68," said Claire Ryder, chairwoman of the Denver Green Party.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ryder said many activists had attended Re-create 68 meetings and were not comfortable with its organizational techniques.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Nevertheless, she said, "This has all been very difficult because a lot of them are our friends. We've worked together on a lot of other issues over time."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Glenn Spagnuolo, an organizer with Re-create 68, said he doesn't mind the new structure.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"More power to them," he said.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Spagnuolo characterizes the groups that are splitting with his as liberal Democrats who are largely white and middle-to-upper class and want their party to guide the country out of the war in Iraq.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">(To Spagnuolo and those of like mind; these are the same people who celebrated the 2006 elections and were betrayed by the very people and party they supported, activists that have explored every peaceful passive path of </span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">”proper resistance” to bring the Iraq War to closure and Bush and Cheney to Impeachment, both failed goals as they are viewed as</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">noisy talkative, petition signing, meeting going failures.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">They are seen as Ghandi lovers and supporters of The Declaration of Independence.)</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He described Re-create 68 as representing minorities, anarchists, communists, socialists and "radicals" who don't support Democrats or Republicans.</span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">(People of this cast of mind don’t care who is elected because they don’t see anyone as an improvement so long as the system remains intact so that line of logic and plea falls on deaf ears.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Change has to be more than cosmetic and symbolic; and promises have to have substantive programs behind them, the meat on the bone, not just altruistic rhetoric.)</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Both his organization and the Alliance oppose the war, he said, and neither one advocates violence.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">(Obviously, there are those who don’t believe those words.)</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style="">However, the statement of nonviolent principles listed on the Re-create 68 website includes the right to self-defense, which has raised questions within the moderate flank of the local activist community.</i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Adam Jung, a University of Denver student who represents Tent State University, which pulled out of Re-create 68 in May, said he doesn't think Re-create 68 is planning violence. <b style=""><i style="">But he expressed concerns about Spagnuolo's insistence that he would resist police.</i></b></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">"This isn't like Cuba or the Revolutionary War," Jung said. "If attacked by a police officer, I wouldn't respond violently. I'm going to comply."</b></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And that is where the two sides part company if and until something goes very wrong in the streets of Denver or Minneapolis; then all bets are off!</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Michael Heaney, a political science professor at the University of Florida who has studied the antiwar movement, looks at the local split against the larger backdrop of the new political scene now that Sen. Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic nominee.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"This forces them to strategically rethink the whole idea of protest (tactics).</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Do they really want to create chaos in the Democratic Party at a time when the Democrats are poised to nominate the first African-American candidate in history who many are satisfied with?"</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">For some the answer is yes.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">For The far Right their issues are not Obama’s issues.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;">Posted on June 06, 2008</span></p><p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;">New to the mix, avoiding the internet pretty much, is a new element Resistance “08”.<span style=""> </span>This organization is a truly radical shadows group that I am still in the process of becoming familiar with their operations.<br /></span></p><p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;">Their intent is clear and it is not peaceful.<span style=""><br /></span></span></p><p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></p><p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;">As soon as I am able to ferret out the working and full agenda of the group I will be reporting.</span></p><p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" face="georgia"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="post-footers" style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graphic-political-commentary.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graphic-political-commentary.html</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p> <p class="entry-footer-info" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >But for now; take care I am off for Denver.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-4801830079435071772008-06-09T12:18:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:11.730-07:00Graphic Political Commentary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nDhv-eR5UnY2kCKFeeTYiaFkVkhWhHOfj9ov_pFIj1ibJ9v0_X8QF6FS4jiV8vfw4aaiWYvVmDKvDyy_ede5V-8QXV4IEh0VU4CseU-zntY_8HkCgl0zOGbRAV2AHxwnvq84azw9gjI/s1600-h/A0.TPP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nDhv-eR5UnY2kCKFeeTYiaFkVkhWhHOfj9ov_pFIj1ibJ9v0_X8QF6FS4jiV8vfw4aaiWYvVmDKvDyy_ede5V-8QXV4IEh0VU4CseU-zntY_8HkCgl0zOGbRAV2AHxwnvq84azw9gjI/s400/A0.TPP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964910969360370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXhNjMSpaTMzxQxki0Fe-PmUu2wbtCOnK1cw66OVayrFCO9MNoljjW_20OAT3rwq86JhkkHRULdLKdzod2q-GsQ-UGm3oV-CbLVQPsrmWXT5zyEHVRRPjjgD2ngE-O1wRIbNPxemvn8o/s1600-h/A1.From+Eds+Button+Factory.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuXhNjMSpaTMzxQxki0Fe-PmUu2wbtCOnK1cw66OVayrFCO9MNoljjW_20OAT3rwq86JhkkHRULdLKdzod2q-GsQ-UGm3oV-CbLVQPsrmWXT5zyEHVRRPjjgD2ngE-O1wRIbNPxemvn8o/s400/A1.From+Eds+Button+Factory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964818662996530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ush3NthbUTnESz_HuAplMmcm7XRfyhUaYAASJRyodi_2AGlI_gjXTpEYGcnAz-h0gV43XpGot_Uc13HIcZthTR5NqnJPwDm0c2pmacYGaJCZ6V9bTJiiVN4_3cH5A6rvuqR9EBM4Sz8/s1600-h/A2.voteinsane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ush3NthbUTnESz_HuAplMmcm7XRfyhUaYAASJRyodi_2AGlI_gjXTpEYGcnAz-h0gV43XpGot_Uc13HIcZthTR5NqnJPwDm0c2pmacYGaJCZ6V9bTJiiVN4_3cH5A6rvuqR9EBM4Sz8/s400/A2.voteinsane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964704813912434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rKahFlGPhou8cnYlWzcKwcNMP5ayUoTc-lChgQ7Y_NLKuOa9yUtd9CpbEbPB3j1Bi9Sjqk7NdWHQC60vjUAePGszcHp-5kpXXcQu0tRVzBnm9DabpEhyyTeJ9JkXxZ3grXc1yZ4s9HQ/s1600-h/A3.PFISHPAN.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rKahFlGPhou8cnYlWzcKwcNMP5ayUoTc-lChgQ7Y_NLKuOa9yUtd9CpbEbPB3j1Bi9Sjqk7NdWHQC60vjUAePGszcHp-5kpXXcQu0tRVzBnm9DabpEhyyTeJ9JkXxZ3grXc1yZ4s9HQ/s400/A3.PFISHPAN.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964612992626466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMTl4aCPsU-5iqarmyFwsfx4PRCI9XCaU5KPR2CsyGNQFwugQlX2ImbTAW5aI0YkHo7GhepnR1S5FYwXuXRpaO_pzOQKV6wrtsk1EJlDCWW605BHsFfTdSdbwThVp1PaiZ6_G15saii4/s1600-h/A4.fish+float.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMTl4aCPsU-5iqarmyFwsfx4PRCI9XCaU5KPR2CsyGNQFwugQlX2ImbTAW5aI0YkHo7GhepnR1S5FYwXuXRpaO_pzOQKV6wrtsk1EJlDCWW605BHsFfTdSdbwThVp1PaiZ6_G15saii4/s400/A4.fish+float.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964525486137794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosBj1eIIk0TMGkURIINMaZ_cuLX8MQby1dcJt3WrdOB5SqFb2lVt6StrakEvSgxRTarsp3CbgnQNpl3fTMZxhv3ePxfLbXzZ6NzZduH_FmvLzRupfC-GcaVYtuU407pinP3AcXfVAJsY/s1600-h/A5.GUILTY.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosBj1eIIk0TMGkURIINMaZ_cuLX8MQby1dcJt3WrdOB5SqFb2lVt6StrakEvSgxRTarsp3CbgnQNpl3fTMZxhv3ePxfLbXzZ6NzZduH_FmvLzRupfC-GcaVYtuU407pinP3AcXfVAJsY/s400/A5.GUILTY.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964412966531986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxNo0LcGwKFWwma1JiSUmwLLSbRKRb4AZGPTWkz3gm_sni_M0AWOVqYRsTH1wpP51iPjVR-nPM9RpASg2iGEv_UwFl4gD72xsckM5nSP_H23CSQq2noz8gdH0tbk526pkmzOQplqf79I/s1600-h/A6.swear.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxNo0LcGwKFWwma1JiSUmwLLSbRKRb4AZGPTWkz3gm_sni_M0AWOVqYRsTH1wpP51iPjVR-nPM9RpASg2iGEv_UwFl4gD72xsckM5nSP_H23CSQq2noz8gdH0tbk526pkmzOQplqf79I/s400/A6.swear.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964283595483554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESFBuJeWYg8SBNxup3f2GCrqVL0AcqD4YD_XZKnMozrzOba7k_y3zfePV-dRxwmQdlpifFIxhrkASG79IXXsm_1KZqO5N520qtBn8vrqBoO7csV7-SWzO-uTq7bJyQCbiN6O33G2CZtk/s1600-h/A7.veep.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESFBuJeWYg8SBNxup3f2GCrqVL0AcqD4YD_XZKnMozrzOba7k_y3zfePV-dRxwmQdlpifFIxhrkASG79IXXsm_1KZqO5N520qtBn8vrqBoO7csV7-SWzO-uTq7bJyQCbiN6O33G2CZtk/s400/A7.veep.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964188264065858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCNyPJwT90u0lHKl_mLl4IsZxIWdE7iZr627XcDQfujptnjjXqg-VhnKyOsmpCRVyZQAUCZcnhdtlXNhDeWnfGkSgmy6t4rg4mpojENe3FOPNjmcxpme4hcl1lRaLW8SnRwYvxlPgIOc/s1600-h/A8.DCDCNDM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCNyPJwT90u0lHKl_mLl4IsZxIWdE7iZr627XcDQfujptnjjXqg-VhnKyOsmpCRVyZQAUCZcnhdtlXNhDeWnfGkSgmy6t4rg4mpojENe3FOPNjmcxpme4hcl1lRaLW8SnRwYvxlPgIOc/s400/A8.DCDCNDM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209964076487576690" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfvM4onf4d8LDxsIXjC0IDF0lpnJexCAVQGKzOaGXKKmobppGXGmPW2tuuUQjgBEZfkqupHhtxwZTPiyrC1eYzNgw1lbIPnWrTNj0MjVlAfrLMu3-3ZTV41vlAdKePAkeDqFanmIYmag/s1600-h/A9.disrupt68.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfvM4onf4d8LDxsIXjC0IDF0lpnJexCAVQGKzOaGXKKmobppGXGmPW2tuuUQjgBEZfkqupHhtxwZTPiyrC1eYzNgw1lbIPnWrTNj0MjVlAfrLMu3-3ZTV41vlAdKePAkeDqFanmIYmag/s400/A9.disrupt68.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209963943959552562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4sWtts5N3mp13r1kljF7QHZP9YMCWobVD7UoAG2Jk-SNhb6sEWiHKIA1ekTntt1RpS2VNAnfWretBH2Z0cYARawGrrNhskJHQ4NHIxBWrvsRKEU5jmeDYcMN2fqxvs6tv2gFxhN6gYU/s1600-h/A10.r68burn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4sWtts5N3mp13r1kljF7QHZP9YMCWobVD7UoAG2Jk-SNhb6sEWiHKIA1ekTntt1RpS2VNAnfWretBH2Z0cYARawGrrNhskJHQ4NHIxBWrvsRKEU5jmeDYcMN2fqxvs6tv2gFxhN6gYU/s400/A10.r68burn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209963858991476066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYQV0-3Hc803JZYFmG_G6TsPO1Wl5hILZX4XAEtW5-tXOI26bh25oOAeqCT6KkjJVkt5g2vtzTfRuOSYfa_Lb1vzylGmz8yMrRasasJQjDFgt4rSNo3nL2ufwjT1WzH5N0o40vcN62KQ/s1600-h/A11.RCD.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYQV0-3Hc803JZYFmG_G6TsPO1Wl5hILZX4XAEtW5-tXOI26bh25oOAeqCT6KkjJVkt5g2vtzTfRuOSYfa_Lb1vzylGmz8yMrRasasJQjDFgt4rSNo3nL2ufwjT1WzH5N0o40vcN62KQ/s400/A11.RCD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209963719111714898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42Ael6806awm8tffgR7PB2BB1EGcKJk-6M26PT3-bLLqG1uxPp-3WtIZ3n_QXoiflwp_qvz6Nem5OHGhkz4m5RvyZPpbvNcat8RkVzLZ1JVptNBAuD4YSES0VLPWqpMzkOpVY_pseuv4/s1600-h/A12.the+future+is+now.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi42Ael6806awm8tffgR7PB2BB1EGcKJk-6M26PT3-bLLqG1uxPp-3WtIZ3n_QXoiflwp_qvz6Nem5OHGhkz4m5RvyZPpbvNcat8RkVzLZ1JVptNBAuD4YSES0VLPWqpMzkOpVY_pseuv4/s400/A12.the+future+is+now.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209963621684278178" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-71956457497371986282008-06-08T20:49:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:11.731-07:00Gas Price Hits Record High; Senate Committee Looks Like Fools<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKqgv9K1snHt4Lu0eBq9fELEyr0j7RpcR1wCwVvyAVNbIeMyFK07Sq0NOKe9MIYAgbh7mfXoEUCLXOqVhDFad4clSERQHI3Yl71FyVpGRFL_x-SIy_CQMi_o9Lb9AQaZXMn9XtzPG-uE/s1600-h/impact.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKqgv9K1snHt4Lu0eBq9fELEyr0j7RpcR1wCwVvyAVNbIeMyFK07Sq0NOKe9MIYAgbh7mfXoEUCLXOqVhDFad4clSERQHI3Yl71FyVpGRFL_x-SIy_CQMi_o9Lb9AQaZXMn9XtzPG-uE/s400/impact.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209724566491707138" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoP4E92ZW9utAqT_dqwoT3oc4Ob3J9xWQOB32c2ORYy3PtuPBFmggzJPTf5SnroSrNLHAsngctv2otkeZ66uMd93_6BKn7qu7fa3PH3hs5B4qss0m_P8jFr0Fxoat_1cadnV4sO68Mlg/s1600-h/pumpit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoP4E92ZW9utAqT_dqwoT3oc4Ob3J9xWQOB32c2ORYy3PtuPBFmggzJPTf5SnroSrNLHAsngctv2otkeZ66uMd93_6BKn7qu7fa3PH3hs5B4qss0m_P8jFr0Fxoat_1cadnV4sO68Mlg/s400/pumpit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209724416198138770" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%; font-weight: normal;font-size:130%;" >Gas Price Hits Record High; Senate Committee Looks Like Fools And American Business Is In Russia This Weekend Planning For An Even Bigger Worldwide Screwing.</span><br /></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Do you ever get the feeling that the Congress is totally useless, totally out of the loop, totally incompetent or bought off?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gasoline rose to a <a href="http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/">milestone</a> mark Sunday as the national average compiled by motorist group <a href="http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/Outreach/GasInfo">AAA</a> reached $4 a gallon for the first time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The average price of gasoline <a href="http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/PGA/NewsReleases">jumped</a> up another 20 cents a gallon in the past three weeks to a record-breaking $4.00 a gallon for self-serve regular.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The milestone was expected after a surge in crude oil prices added more than $16 to a barrel of oil over the last 2 trading days. Crude settled at a record $138.54 a barrel Friday, up by $10.75, after setting an all-time intraday high of $139.12.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The $10.75 gain was the biggest one-day advance in dollar value ever, nearly doubling the previous mark of $5.49 set Thursday. Weakness in the dollar, geopolitical concerns and an analyst's prediction of $150-a-barrel oil by July 4 helped spur Friday's advance.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The average price is $4 a gallon or more in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the survey. California pays the most for gasoline, averaging $4.436, with Alaska and Connecticut both at $4.296. Other states above $4 are Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia. The area with the highest average gas prices was Stockton, Calif., which posted $4.41 per gallon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The price of diesel fuel, used by truckers hauling goods across the country, rose 0.8 cent to $4.762 a gallon.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >On its Web site, AAA says the information is gathered by Oil Price Information Service based on credit card swipes at 85,000 gasoline stations across the nation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Soros Gives The Senate Commerce Committee A Lesson and They Look Totally Blank Faced and Stupid.<span style=""> </span>I Watched The Hearing and I felt Sick! (ed.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style="">WASHINGTON</span></strong><strong><span style="">:</span></strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> The growth of funds designed to mimic the price of crude oil and other energy futures is reminiscent of a similar craze that precipitated the stock market crash of 1987, billionaire financier George Soros told lawmakers Tuesday.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The surge in popularity of commodity index funds is "intellectually unsound ... and distinctly harmful in its economic consequences," Soros told a Senate hearing. When speculators enter a market mostly on one side — in this case, betting on rising oil futures — it "distorts the otherwise prevailing balance between supply and demand."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He likened it to the rush to invest in portfolio insurance more than 20 years ago. When those investors tried to exit the market at the same time, stock markets around the world crashed.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Soros said he has spent years studying market "bubbles" that begin with a trend based in reality, but are then followed by some misinterpretation of that data. He sees no imminent crash in oil prices, however, and said a decline in consumption will not occur unless the U.S. and other developed nations' economies fall into recession.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"That makes it desirable to discourage commodity index trading while it is still inflating the bubble," Soros said. He has urged regulators to improve market oversight and to place limits on speculative positions.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Crude prices have risen more than 42 percent since early December and were trading near $127 a barrel Tuesday morning. U.S. gasoline prices are nearing a national average of $4 a gallon ($1.05 a liter), up from about $3.16 a year ago.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week said it was six months into a probe of U.S. oil markets focused on possible price manipulation. The commission said it is investigating potential abuses in the way crude oil is purchased, shipped, stored and traded nationwide.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The CFTC said it would immediately require monthly reports from large institutional investors with a dual goal of quantifying such index trading and ensure it was "not adversely impacting the price discovery process."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But Sen. Maria Cantwell on Tuesday said the CFTC's latest actions do not go far enough and that the agency must fully regulate all trading of U.S. energy products and close foreign-based trading loopholes.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"It is abundantly clear to me that the CFTC is not doing everything it can to protect American families and businesses from the possible oil price manipulation," Cantwell said, adding that if the commission does not do so on its, she will introduce legislation to force them to do so.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sen. Byron Dorgan noted that the CFTC's staff is roughly 10 percent smaller than a few years ago, while commodity trading has exploded.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A CFTC spokesman was not immediately available Tuesday morning.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/08/business/08oil.php"><span style="">Manufacturers feel the squeeze from high oil costs</span></a></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/08/business/08oil.php"><span style=""><br /></span></a></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/09/business/09markets.php">Record oil prices knock down Asian shares</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >West's business elite swarm to Russia's honey pot this WEEKEND!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><span style=""><a href="javascript:;" title="Click to view map"><span style="">ST. PETERSBURG</span></a>:</span></strong></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> The lineup told it all about <a href="http://www.blogger.com/West%27s%20business%20elite%20swarm%20to%20Russia%27s%20honey%20pot"><span style="">Russia's importance today</span></a>. <b style=""><i style="">There, rarely on one stage, sat the chief executives or chairmen of BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Total, Schlumberger and Dow Chemical, plus the chairman of the Russian energy giant Gazprom and the president of the Russian oil company Lukoil</i></b>.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">The busy big men of energy, accustomed to jetting around the globe, seemed scarcely to believe themselves that they were all in one place, and, indeed, in this place, a conference center on the Gulf of Finland, in the grand capital that Peter the Great forged from the swamps 300 years ago.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">While Alexei Miller of Gazprom exuded pride (that, too, characteristic of today's Russia) at attracting such a group to his hometown, Andrew Gould of Schlumberger, which provides equipment to extract oil and natural gas rather than doing that job itself, voiced some concern this weekend at being with "six of my top 10 customers at the same time."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Regardless of the conflict over BP's partnership with some of Russia's most ambitious billionaires</span></i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> - a conflict that a senior government official suggested Sunday could end badly for the British oil giant (Page 12) - big Western businesses seem here to stay, swarming around the Russian honey pot for large contracts and access to its resources.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">And if politicians in Western Europe fret over their own inability to develop a cohesive energy policy - and some fan fears of a newly resurgent, aggressive Russia, and Gazprom, as a result - many of the sharpest minds gathered here at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum seem focused on something quite different: ensuring that, this time, Russians benefit from economic plenty.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jim O'Neill of <b style=""><i style="">Goldman Sachs</i></b>, who coined the phrase "BRIC countries" to describe Brazil, Russia, India and China becoming leaders among world economies, surprised the crowd by predicting a conservative overall average of 3.3 percent annual economic growth by 2020.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Russia, he said, would have a 4 percent share of world gross domestic product, compared with 2 percent now, but weaker relative to Brazil, India and China because of far fewer people at work (India alone would grow by 300 million people - twice Russia's current population - by then).</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="">Michael Klein, chairman and chief executive of the institutional clients group of Citigroup</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">, was ebullient: "The future will exceed by a big stretch the plans for 2020" - the government target date for certain improvements. "Russia is clearly one of the most successful economic stories of the decade," and possibly "the first scale economy to sustainably avoid the resource curse," the evils often brought by easy money from such fast-rising commodities as oil and natural gas.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Anatoly Chubais, despised by poorer Russians for the way he privatized the economy in the 1990s but a clever survivor of politics and business here, even broached a subject normally taboo: the moribund, regimented state of politics, which have crystallized around the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, the prime minister and last president (who this weekend left his protégé, Medvedev, to shine alone in their hometown).</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"We can't avoid discussing the political component of the state's impact on the economy," Chubais said in careful language. "The state must be judged from the point of view of quality of services that it provides for the country as a whole. In my understanding, it is impossible to evaluate the quality of this service without real give-and-take and a truly competitive political mechanism."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">If the big energy men gathered on Saturday had a clear worry, it was this: that the huge investments they must make to get to Russia's oil and natural gas would fail to yield returns because the government changed the rules, as happened, most recently, to Shell over Sakhalin Island and may now be happening to BP. In both cases, the Kremlin asserts that it has not interfered directly.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But, like some Europeans in the military and energy spheres, the companies are wary.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="">Russia, emphasized Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">, "must improve the functioning of its judicial system, and its judiciary. <b style=""><i style="">There is no respect for the rule of<span style=""> </span>law in Russia today."</i></b></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></b></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In both cases, differences stretch back beyond the past decade of prosperity to the 1990s. In the West today, some paint Russia as newly defiant of NATO expansion, ignoring that Russia in the 1990s did, too, but was too weak to be convincing.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As Klein of Citigroup put it, for the West, the 1990s was the "period of transformation in Russia," when Communism crumbled and free markets and democracy got their start.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Russians, Klein suggested, preferred to emphasize the radical changes of the 2000s. But these successes are based on the export of such basic resources that Western consumers, attuned to China's conspicuous brands and advances, are almost suspicious, he said. "The High Street and Main Street do not understand the Russian achievement."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the same vein, Miller of Gazprom said he found it "simply astounding" that anyone should fear its advance from energy supplier into direct delivery to European customers.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Misunderstanding has plagued Russia's complex relations with the outside world for centuries. In St. Petersburg, Peter's window to the West, this weekend produced a royal show of at least momentary unity, foreign and Russian business elites plunging together into a world where their money might talk even louder than the missiles and military prowess from which Russia traditionally has drawn strength.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" >Do you ever get the feeling that the Congress is totally useless, totally out of the loop, totally incompetent or bought off?</span><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-84584833386880125962008-06-07T16:38:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:42.330-07:00Hillary Bows Out…For The Record Posting.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguysBlPJ-T7vpaDUdYeLwY9mu9g9u6nGxhDS731dV9ITn1twALzZeKoMIQUmohKw8MsAMNuANqVcqR62yu2mic_MR8jD7h5_s7jiM0fb7_NsSBJAXEodCQbNaOb52fox4yKq3M9v_nhA8/s1600-h/hill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguysBlPJ-T7vpaDUdYeLwY9mu9g9u6nGxhDS731dV9ITn1twALzZeKoMIQUmohKw8MsAMNuANqVcqR62yu2mic_MR8jD7h5_s7jiM0fb7_NsSBJAXEodCQbNaOb52fox4yKq3M9v_nhA8/s400/hill.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5209288181736406450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Hillary Bows Out…For The Record.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you so much. Thank you all. <a name="www_hillaryclinton_com_splash_"><o:p></o:p></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""></span><a href="http://links.hillaryclinton.com/ctt?kn=2&m=1098814&r=NzQ3OTU5OTYxOQS2&b=0&j=MTEwNjQ4MDE1S0&mt=1" target="_blank"><span style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Click here to watch the video excerpt of Hillary's speech.</span></span><span style=""></span></a><span style=""></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25021292#25021292" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24993082/" target="_blank"><span style="">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id<wbr>/24993082/</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Well, this isn’t exactly the party I’d planned, but I sure like the company. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you – to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors, who emailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, “See, you can be anything you want to be.” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />To the young people like 13 year-old Ann Riddle from Mayfield, Ohio who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World, and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her Mom and volunteer there as well. To the veterans and the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans who traveled across the country and telling anyone who would listen why you supported me. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />To all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before women could vote who cast their votes for our campaign. I’ve told you before about Florence Steen of South Dakota, who was 88 years old, and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot. She passed away soon after, and under state law, her ballot didn’t count. But her daughter later told a reporter, “My dad’s an ornery old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard mom’s vote wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years. But he voted in place of my mom.” <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />To all those who voted for me, and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />18 million of you from all walks of life – women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich, poor and middle class, gay and straight – you have stood strong with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you, every time, every place, and every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting for. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Remember - we fought for the single mom with a young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, “I’m doing it all to better myself for her.” We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand, and asked me, “What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?” and began to cry because even though she works three jobs, she can’t afford insurance. We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, “Take care of my buddies over there and then, will you please help take care of me?” We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care, who can’t afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction: that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I’ve had every opportunity and blessing in my own life – and I want the same for all Americans. Until that day comes, you will always find me on the front lines of democracy – fighting for the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />The way to continue our fight now – to accomplish the goals for which we stand – is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I have had a front row seat to his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer, in the state senate, as a United States Senator - he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Now when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House, and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity, and progress. And that's exactly what we're going to do by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and it’s now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We may have started on separate journeys – but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around because so much is at stake. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We all want an economy that sustains the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford that gas and those groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month. An economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We all want a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance. This isn’t just an issue for me – it is a passion and a cause – and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured – no exceptions, no excuses. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality – from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We all want to restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />You know, I’ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. During those forty years, our country has voted ten times for President. Democrats won only three of those times. And the man who won two of those elections is with us today. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We made tremendous progress during the 90s under a Democratic President, with a flourishing economy, and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world. Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years – on the environment and the economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Imagine how far we could’ve come, how much we could’ve achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Now the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can’t do it. That it’s too hard. That we’re just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject “can’t do” claims, and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />So today, I am standing with <span class="yshortcuts"><span style="cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; background-attachment: scroll;" id="lw_1212881190_2">Senator Obama</span></span> to say: Yes we can.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Together we will work. We’ll have to work hard to get universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our President. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We’ll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must elect Barack Obama our President. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We’ll have to work hard to foster the innovation that makes us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children’s future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we have to help elect Barack Obama our President. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />We’ll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq, and get them the support they’ve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that’s as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our President. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />This election is a turning point election and it is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together or will we stall and slip backwards. Think how much progress we have already made. When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Could a woman really serve as Commander-in-Chief? Well, I think we answered that one. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />And could an African American really be our President? Senator Obama has answered that one. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Together Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Now, on a personal note – when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for President, I always gave the same answer: that I was proud to be running as a woman but I was running because I thought I’d be the best President. But I am a woman, and like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter’s future and a mother who wants to lead all children to brighter tomorrows. To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and mothers, and that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect. Let us resolve and work toward achieving some very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the twenty-first century. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the President of the United States. And that is truly remarkable. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />To those who are disappointed that we couldn’t go all the way – especially the young people who put so much into this campaign – it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you’re knocked down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />As we gather here today in this historic magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes. Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot-soldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end to segregation and Jim Crow. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote. Because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together. Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them, and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can yes, become President of the United States. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />When that day arrives and a woman takes the oath of office as our President, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream and that her dreams can come true in America. And all of you will know that because of your passion and hard work you helped pave the way for that day. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />So I want to say to my supporters, when you hear people saying – or think to yourself – “if only” or “what if,” I say, “please don’t go there.” Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next President and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />To my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and mayors, elected officials who stood with me, in good times and in bad, thank you for your strength and leadership. To my friends in our labor unions who stood strong every step of the way – I thank you and pledge my support to you. To my friends, from every stage of my life – your love and ongoing commitments sustain me every single day. To my family – especially Bill and Chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me and I thank you for all you have done. And to my extraordinary staff, volunteers and supporters, thank you for working those long, hard hours. Thank you for dropping everything – leaving work or school – traveling to places you’d never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your families as well because your sacrifice was theirs too. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />All of you were there for me every step of the way. Being human, we are imperfect. That’s why we need each other. To catch each other when we falter. To encourage each other when we lose heart. Some may lead; others may follow; but none of us can go it alone. The changes we’re working for are changes that we can only accomplish together. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are rights that belong to each of us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom, our happiness, are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when we do work together. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />That is what we will do now as we join forces with Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make history together as we write the next chapter in America’s story. We will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of progress we share, and for the country we love. There is nothing more American than that. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives. So today, I’m going to count my blessings and keep on going. I’m going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what I’ll be doing long after they’re gone: Working to give every American the same opportunities I had, and working to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God-given potential. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />I will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country– and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead. This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that in this election we add another Democratic president to that very small list of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again move with progress and commitment to the future. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /><br />Thank you all and God bless you and God bless America.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-59118154145443346572008-06-05T11:04:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:42.330-07:00Is Hillary Sincere?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vmVZSdw-YqBjvJI-G1i5GGWn-1jfDtXwx4mq-QEwT-JKw1N5Ku6BDkEQLKxQLAJcHvavdtX8eJ1RB49-AxBVbJIaerROr4NVDUqBFFZvTc517pTOdDcYIK0tza1fQdmWAp_NTkOUjlY/s1600-h/hilwhat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vmVZSdw-YqBjvJI-G1i5GGWn-1jfDtXwx4mq-QEwT-JKw1N5Ku6BDkEQLKxQLAJcHvavdtX8eJ1RB49-AxBVbJIaerROr4NVDUqBFFZvTc517pTOdDcYIK0tza1fQdmWAp_NTkOUjlY/s400/hilwhat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208460299164411794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineyNkX99G04nxyifubB_ZzzBrYtW9JjZMXTpuX7iESiop0L9kad2UnZ6EvxnV9Rul9gJbu70KYH_dxjK_SNE-KTDIduKFn2uJL4zjgHkDIFLIgEuGEViX255LK5LlPdXTvY6Ef8-Zz7Y/s1600-h/Old+Man+McCain.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEineyNkX99G04nxyifubB_ZzzBrYtW9JjZMXTpuX7iESiop0L9kad2UnZ6EvxnV9Rul9gJbu70KYH_dxjK_SNE-KTDIduKFn2uJL4zjgHkDIFLIgEuGEViX255LK5LlPdXTvY6Ef8-Zz7Y/s400/Old+Man+McCain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208460188015699330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbeQbxSY_nH-QHAR4iIOHRqBOMyLHt_umofOnhxSL6is5uZ_uqivyaiqU8aj_WBEAtfxHVnxdVhZEyZap5kVUZXuucZah6vovKloNdbaBhD3POu3WWf8LxrL0anlBubuIjks2zFWyQvA/s1600-h/voteinsane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbeQbxSY_nH-QHAR4iIOHRqBOMyLHt_umofOnhxSL6is5uZ_uqivyaiqU8aj_WBEAtfxHVnxdVhZEyZap5kVUZXuucZah6vovKloNdbaBhD3POu3WWf8LxrL0anlBubuIjks2zFWyQvA/s400/voteinsane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208460080215316402" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Hillary Clinton… I'm Skeptical At The Moment, BUT, Let’s See How Sincere This Turns Out To Be.</span></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Dear Ed., <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party's nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />I made you -- and everyone who supported me -- a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I'm going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br />In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Sincerely, </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hillary Rodham Clinton</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And Here Is A good Reason To Hope That Hillary Is Telling The Truth For A Change!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><object 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value="&displayheight=135&file=http://therealnews.com/permalinkedvideorss/videoembedrss.php?oneid=yes%26bw=300%26myrn=%26searchfor=1606%26campaigncode=&height=154&width=240&frontcolor=0x333333&backcolor=0xffffff&lightcolor=0x666666&screencolor=0xffffff&autoscroll=true&bufferlength=5&shuffle=false"><embed src="http://therealnews.com/permalinkedembed/mediaplayer.swf" allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="&displayheight=135&file=http://therealnews.com/permalinkedvideorss/videoembedrss.php?oneid=yes%26bw=300%26myrn=%26searchfor=1606%26campaigncode=&height=154&width=240&frontcolor=0x333333&backcolor=0xffffff&lightcolor=0x666666&screencolor=0xffffff&autoscroll=true&bufferlength=5&shuffle=false" height="154" width="240"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/ 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value="&displayheight=135&file=http://therealnews.com/permalinkedvideorss/videoembedrss.php?oneid=yes%26bw=300%26myrn=%26searchfor=1587%26campaigncode=&height=154&width=240&frontcolor=0x333333&backcolor=0xffffff&lightcolor=0x666666&screencolor=0xffffff&autoscroll=true&bufferlength=5&shuffle=false"><embed src="http://therealnews.com/permalinkedembed/mediaplayer.swf" allowfullscreen="false" allowscriptaccess="always" flashvars="&displayheight=135&file=http://therealnews.com/permalinkedvideorss/videoembedrss.php?oneid=yes%26bw=300%26myrn=%26searchfor=1587%26campaigncode=&height=154&width=240&frontcolor=0x333333&backcolor=0xffffff&lightcolor=0x666666&screencolor=0xffffff&autoscroll=true&bufferlength=5&shuffle=false" height="154" width="240"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">End Post…</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-9936612150900820592008-06-04T10:09:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:52:42.331-07:00An Open Letter To Hillary Clinton: You Disgust Me.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tlGSCOsBqiYBIwML1aNyR-ETDJQfil_3lvZv6dqZCrJpB6cw-53mfUpJ7hz3YTsXbhz1qq4FPw5dMqLSUl_VocuwwHZm4pxvQ5oUhlpuEFpcuNx4NmIyp2Rur1d-0pKWihOnFsQWgsc/s1600-h/hillary.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3tlGSCOsBqiYBIwML1aNyR-ETDJQfil_3lvZv6dqZCrJpB6cw-53mfUpJ7hz3YTsXbhz1qq4FPw5dMqLSUl_VocuwwHZm4pxvQ5oUhlpuEFpcuNx4NmIyp2Rur1d-0pKWihOnFsQWgsc/s400/hillary.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208074786380179506" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:180%;">An Open Letter To Hillary Clinton: You Disgust Me.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Dear Hillary,</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >I have long embraced the notion that when one who aspires to being a political office holder, as opposed to a public servant, and needs the position as desperately as an alcoholic needs the next drink or an addict needs the next fix, they should be rejected.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >I listened to your speech given from the communications sheltered New York venue and what I heard were the words of a “Single Issue” candidate; the issue: “Me”, “I”, “Mine” with a few obligatory and manipulative, almost after thought <span style=""> </span>“you(s)” and “we(s)”.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >I have no use for single issue candidates and am deeply troubled by the dangerous myopic impact of single issue voters, including “The Right To Life”, Anti Gay and hysterical Xenophobia anti-immigrant crowds.<span style=""> </span>But I am even more deeply troubled and alarmed by what I hear in your words, see in your eyes and the road you have walked in this campaign, a road of deceit, lies, exaggerations, spin, misrepresentations, racism and that <a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/05/sunday-editorial-hillary-and-self.html">“Assassination Card”</a> marks you forever as one cannot be trusted.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your smiling plastic demeanor cannot hide the rot of your soul revealed in that moment.<span style=""> </span>I shall never trust you or any word you ever utter again.<span style=""> </span>The words “Hillary and Respect” will never again be linked after the period at the end of this post.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >The talking heads, babbling pundits and self-anointed political experts will fill the air ways with their dissection of why “The Inevitable” candidacy failed.<span style=""> </span>It really does not need a microscopic examination because in the most basic terms it failed because you are a remnant of politics past, a corporate Democrat, a hypocrite, an egomaniac who tried to pass herself off as a modern Joan of Arc, victimized by an anti-feminist media, (you are always the victim of some conspiracy…this time not the right wing), over confident and boastful to the point of being embarrassing you declared you entitlement, your right to the Oval Office as if by some right of Royal Coronation…and we rejected that.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your managers, “the business as usual”, manipulators who hold the voting public in utter piss ant contempt as mere numbers to be manipulated by every subterfuge of public opinion formation sucked up your Tom Sawyer White Wash invincibility job in their typical arrogance, matched only by your own; they miscalculated everything from delegate allocation formulas to no preparation after Super Tuesday, after all the sky was to open the next day and behold the shining light gracing the crown of “Queen Hillary I”.<span style=""> </span>It was ordained.<span style=""> </span>Super Tuesday was to have been end game.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >The game was to open and finish with a grandstand long distance pass and touch down; you we’re not prepared to have to grind <span style=""> </span>it out on the ground in a 50 state full length game.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Though the nation’s involvement with the Iraq War was waning, the fade did not come fast enough for you to avoid being found in the corner hiding in the shadows of the wrong side of the issue, the Bush side.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your message never became consistent beyond “I am Woman” and “I am Experienced”.<span style=""> </span>The themes were recast almost daily looking for a resonance that never came.<span style=""> </span>The old parliamentary adage comes quickly to mind: “Confuse; you lose!”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your financial planning was a disaster and it became so obvious and crystal clear that the tons on initial cash poured into your campaign came in legally squeezed maximum $2,300 checks, one each for the primaries and the general election.<span style=""> </span>This was the coin of the wealthy not the common man.<span style=""> </span>You bought every pontificating pundit and pollster that money could buy and assembled a with brew stew of ego driven planners, schemers and manipulators.<span style=""> </span>The brew was bad and the stench spread as did division and competition within your own campaign.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your field operation was infected with the same arrogance, certainty, hesitancy, confusion and miscalculations.<span style=""> </span>It cost you $23 million to finish third in Iowa.<span style=""> </span>That should have told you something other than go back to the bank rollers.<span style=""> </span>It did not.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >In debate you became the cliché candidate of opportunistic deflection, evasion and non answers.<span style=""> </span>This says a great deal about your own lack of intelligence and native ability…certainly nor Presidential!</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >You consistently refused to admit errors preferring to simply lie your way out, or so you thought.<span style=""> </span>America has had enough lies with George Bush and you were seen paddling in the same canoe.<span style=""> </span>And in that canoe you started on the long drift down river in steady decline.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >One self-inflicted wound followed another undermining every claim you made to foreign policy expertise, and your integrity went to hell with the “Bosnia Fiasco” and hero Hillary was seen as a simple fraud.<span style=""> </span>You started to blame the media, accusing them of sexism, as you have accused so many others of other things in the past, when they began to seriously examine what you were saying.<span style=""> </span>You just couldn’t get away with lying at will any longer.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Surprised, Obama proved to be more than just a traditional opponent, and your usual Clintonista <span style=""> </span>tactics — big-scale fundraising, high-powered political connections, failed in the face of old-fashioned grit and determination and a <span style=""> </span>breath of<span style=""> </span>fresh air calling for change and not more of the same old garbage of the past.<span style=""> </span>You simply were no match for Obama and a candidacy uniquely suited to the moment, the change this nation was thirsting for.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">As you faded away you said: "I've really enjoyed the process of being able to go out and see this country anew." <span style=""> </span>But what you have not understood is that this is a country that wants someone new, and not you.<span style=""> </span>It’s not about a woman being rejected; it’s about what you stand for and represent that is being rejected.<span style=""> </span>Marin Luther King Jr. immortalized the words “content of one’s character” and the content of your character has been found to woefully deficient.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >"I want to hear from you," you told your cheering supporters last night. "Go to <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_on_el_pr/storytext/what_hillary_wants/27738400/SIG=10rducl2f/*http:/hillaryclinton.com"><span class="yshortcuts">hillaryclinton.com</span></a> ...and… That was not a moment of unity.<span style=""> </span>It was a moment of further <a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/tonight-night-hillary-clinton-once.html">divisiveness</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >And so Hillary; what is it that you want that we are all so stupid as to not be able to figure it all out?</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >You want more money from your mesmerized folk to forgive your debt.<span style=""> </span>The conjecture has already surfaced that you are prepared to negotiate with Barack’s people to buy your support in return for the coin.<span style=""> </span>If that is factual it is contemptuous, and if it is not it should demonstrate to just what gutter depths folks believe you are capable of sinking.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your seeming quest and obsession to press your case for relevancy at the risk of widening the divide between <span class="yshortcuts">Barack Obama</span>'s supporters and your older, whiter, working-class coalition is seen as a deliberate attempt at self preservation at the expense of all else including the Party.<span style=""> </span>We all take it for granted, that no matter what happens that you will demand a prime-time speaking role at the <span class="yshortcuts">Democratic National Convention</span>.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Your ego can take no less.<span style=""> </span>I would not extend you that courtesy as we’ve heard enough of your pre-fabricated hollow rhetoric, hypocritical pretentious verbal lint.<span style=""> </span>I am convinced you will say anything to please with no sincerity of conviction.<span style=""> </span>You have no vision but that of you sitting in the Oval Office.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >"This has been a long campaign, and I will be making no decisions tonight," you said last night, begging patience of a party desperate to unite. "In the coming days, I'll be consulting with supporters and party leaders to determine how to move forward with the best interests of our party and our country guiding my way."<span style=""> </span>What a pile of rubbish.<span style=""> </span>You beckoned your troops to keep the fires fanned and to serve you, not the party, not the nominee, not the nation.<span style=""> </span>You must really take us for fools.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >You are circling like a vulture.<span style=""> </span>We all know that all that matters to you at this moment is retaining some portion of your political leverage. Your “advisers” have admitted that fact privately, eying a spot on the ticket, a convention role and perhaps “other benefits”.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >You ran as the establishment candidate against the headwinds of change, a hawk in a party of doves, a Clinton for better and worse, you failed to match Obama's timing. His celebrity was too big, his political savvy too much and Internet-driven ground game too powerful for the candidacy of the '90s.<span style=""> </span>He represents change; you do not; you cannot!</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >We all know that you <span style=""> </span>want to be president — still — and that you wants the respect you feel you are due and that line that Obama has to respect your voters is a declaration of blackmail.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >You have become an ugly transparent obsessed self-serving blot on the party and even your peers are now moving to put an end to your ambitions.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">With the final primary concluded barely hours before, top Democratic Party leaders in Washington early this morning ratcheted up the pressure to force all remaining uncommitted superdelegates to make their choice of candidate known by Friday -- and thus end your now hopeless, one-time front running campaign.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">In a joint statement obviously pre-planned in anticipation of your continued machinations and timed for issue shortly after you refused to concede the presidential nomination's victory to <strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style=""><a href="http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/barack-obama" target="_blank">Barack Obama</a></span></strong>, who's gained sufficient delegates to clinch the party's nomination, <strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style=""><a href="http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/howard-dean" target="_blank">Howard Dean</a></span></strong>, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, House Speaker <strong><span style=""><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/nancy-pelosi" target="_blank">Nancy Pelosi</a><span style="font-weight: normal;">,</span></span></strong> Senate Majority Leader <strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style=""><a href="http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/harry-reid" target="_blank">Harry Reid</a></span></strong> and West Virginia Gov.<strong></strong></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong></strong><span style="line-height: 115%;"> Manchin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Assn., issued the brief statement for unity just minutes ago:</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style=""><strong><span style=""><span style=""> </span> </span></strong></span><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">"The voters have spoken," they said, adding later, "Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted super delegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week, so that our party can stand united."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Their carefully-worded statement, which does not urge the superdelegates to go one way or the other, is a clear step to force an end your efforts to manipulate and use the voices of the nearly 18 million voters who cast ballots for you in recent months.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Your hand is <span style=""> </span>being forced by the Friday deadline, with no meeting with party leadership.<span style=""> </span>You have worn out your welcome.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">The move, quite frankly Hillary, is also a very <span style=""> </span>sly one politically, since it leaves Obama free of any appearance of forcing you to quit and, thus, alienating your millions of supporters and greatly lessens and hopes you had for quick grand meeting with you trying to show America who will be the boss if you are on the ticket…unthinkable.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">In exit polls throughout the just-concluded primary season, an unusually high number of your voters indicated they were likely to reject Obama and vote for the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, Sen. <strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style=""><a href="http://topics.latimes.com/politics/people/john-mccain" target="_blank">John McCain</a></span></strong> of Arizona.<span style=""> </span>That comes as no surprise to me because your followers are rather cult-like in their adherence and there is really no difference between you and McCain on many issues, including the war that will reemerge as an issue in the Fall.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">The complete text of the Democratic Party leader's joint statement is available below.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a name="more"></a><u><span style="">Joint Statement by Democratic Leaders on the End of the Presidential Primary Process</span></u></span></p><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><u><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><u><span style=""><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">"We have come to the end of an exciting primary and caucus process - the voters have spoken. As the Democratic leaders of the Senate, House of Representatives, the Governors and the Democratic National Committee we commend all of the participants of the 2008 primary process, especially Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for making this such a transformational election.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">"Because of the enthusiasm our candidates have inspired, our party has brought record numbers of voters to the polls, gained millions of newly registered Democrats and now has advantages in states many thought were difficult to win. We are grateful to the millions of Independents and Republicans who have crossed over to vote for a Democratic candidate for President.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">"Democrats must now turn our full attention to the general election. To that end, we are urging all remaining uncommitted super delegates to make their decisions known by Friday of this week so that our party can stand united and begin our march toward reversing the eight years of failed Bush/McCain policies that have weakened our country.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">"We once again congratulate all of the candidates for their leadership and dedication to providing this country with a New Direction. We look forward to working with them and with all Democrats to win the White House, congressional seats and state capitals so we can deliver the change the American people deserve and demand."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >There is no excuse left for HRC to not end this now, help bring the party together and move forward. The longer you delay to gain some negotiation advantage the more marginalized you become. You have lost a great opportunity last night. Let's hope you can stop the narcissistic grandstanding and quickly wrap this up – for your own <span style=""> </span>sake as well as the party's.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >I fear you are stuck on obsessive stupid and yet you <span style=""> </span>say you want to do what is best for the party.<span style=""> </span>Prove it.<span style=""> </span>Concede, support Obama, <a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/05/hillary-should-be-expelled-from-party.html">or get out of the party</a>!</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >And to all other Hillary lovers, if you care that much to vote for the opposition, then that <span style=""> </span>is just as dumb as a spoiled brat youngster taking his football home because he can’t be on the team he wants to be, or play the position he wants to play, or folks don’t want to play by his/her rules.<span style=""> </span>Is that all America is worth to you.<span style=""> </span>If it is you are a member of a cult or personality and your crazed leader is Hillary Clinton.<span style=""> </span><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/it-is-time-to-put-end-to-clinton.html">These things do not come to good ends.</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Let me close Hillary, with an excerpt from an email I received today that goes even further in angry expression than I have: <i style="">“She's despicable. Obama is an angel compared to her lowly selfish, bottom feeding, divider, conniving witch self. <span style=""> </span>Leave the country now Hillary. We don't want you anymore. You've shown your true colors. They are bigot black and white.”</i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Hillary we don’t need you and we don’t want you on your terms.<span style=""> </span>Stop looking in the mirror and asking: :” Mirror, mirror on the wall; am I still the fairest woman of all?” <span style=""> </span>You are not!</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal" ><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">In Disgust, Ed. Dickau -50 years a Democratic Party Member-</span></span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-83512593460888326082008-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:002008-06-10T04:53:22.985-07:00The Forgotten Iraq War Will Return.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAx_sXXB0NWKgU6lbg72jVBqaedS3dM4YXZO8izj0g6puIqxgOEd3xlngAHSxbgqA34S1SL4RwoGXq3ZSE8wTrifvCm5o9kcFfX_xuiVGoaH4ItR1Ym69gPfZk9i7Drf7ngPNWaenbXM/s1600-h/off.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtAx_sXXB0NWKgU6lbg72jVBqaedS3dM4YXZO8izj0g6puIqxgOEd3xlngAHSxbgqA34S1SL4RwoGXq3ZSE8wTrifvCm5o9kcFfX_xuiVGoaH4ItR1Ym69gPfZk9i7Drf7ngPNWaenbXM/s400/off.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207870241841317874" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6-ltaMKUbkYFNY4TyO-wNd4CtIQbbOHCHxmhf5cEQDdAg50zdwSzrv8npqjGtBZdnB9r3ljR7OXs9fjlzvt3-xh5WC4yhJurhw8_ERZ2PYOQeiCLcy1LOay9smKHCGaqxEGNvROBZ1I/s1600-h/JRMC.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6-ltaMKUbkYFNY4TyO-wNd4CtIQbbOHCHxmhf5cEQDdAg50zdwSzrv8npqjGtBZdnB9r3ljR7OXs9fjlzvt3-xh5WC4yhJurhw8_ERZ2PYOQeiCLcy1LOay9smKHCGaqxEGNvROBZ1I/s400/JRMC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207867602513219794" border="0" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4515">From The American Journalism Review</a> : Whatever Happened to Iraq? It will Return!</span></div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">June/July Preview » How The Media Lost Interest In A Long-Running War With No End In Sight</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By <span style="">Sherry Ricchiardi</span><br />Sherry Ricchiardi (sricchia@iupui.edu) is an AJR senior contributing writer.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="paragraphmarker" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">A</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">rmando Acuna, public editor of the Sacramento Bee, turned a Sunday column into a public flogging for both his editors and the nation's news media. They had allowed the third-longest war in American history to slip off the radar screen, and he had the numbers to prove it.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The public also got a scolding for its meager interest in a controversial conflict that is costing taxpayers about $12.5 billion a month, or nearly $5,000 a second, according to some calculations. In his March 30 commentary, Acuna noted: "There's enough shame..for everyone to share."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He had watched stories about Iraq move from 1A to the inside pages of his newspaper, if they ran at all. He understood the editors' frustration over how to handle the mind-numbing cycles of violence and complex issues surrounding Operation Iraqi Freedom. <i style="">"People feel powerless about this war,"</i> he said in an interview in April.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Acuna knew the Sacramento Bee was not alone.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">For long stretches over the past 12 months, Iraq virtually disappeared from the front pages of the nation's newspapers and from the nightly network newscasts.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">The American press and the American people had lost interest in the war.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="paragraphmarker" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">T</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">he decline in coverage of Iraq has been staggering.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">During the first 10 weeks of 2007, Iraq accounted for 23 percent of the news hole for network TV news. In 2008, it plummeted to 3 percent during that period. On cable networks it fell from 24 percent to 1 percent, according to a study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The numbers also were dismal for the country's dailies. By Acuna's count, during the first three months of this year, front-page stories about Iraq in the Bee were down 70 percent from the same time last year. Articles about Iraq once topped the list for reader feedback. By mid-2007, "Their interest just dropped off; it was noticeable to me," says the public editor.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A daily tracking of 65 newspapers by the Associated Press confirms a dip in page-one play throughout the country. In September 2007, the AP found 457 Iraq-related stories (154 by the AP) on front pages, many related to a progress report delivered to Congress by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Over the succeeding months, that number fell to as low as 49. A spike in March 2008 was largely due to a rash of stories keyed to the conflict's fifth anniversary, according to AP Senior Managing Editor Mike Silverman.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">During the early stages of shock and awe, Americans were glued to the news as Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Baghdad and sweat-soaked Marines bivouacked in his luxurious palaces. It was a huge story when President Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, and declared major combat operations were over.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By March 2008, a striking reversal had taken place. Only 28 percent of Americans knew that 4,000 military personnel had been killed in the conflict, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Eight months earlier, 54 percent could cite the correct casualty rate.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">TV news was a vivid indicator of the declining interest. The three broadcast networks' nightly newscasts devoted more than 4,100 minutes to Iraq in 2003 and 3,000 in 2004. That leveled off to 2,000 annually. By late 2007, it was half that, according to Andrew Tyndall, who monitors the nightly news (<a href="http://www.tyndallreport.com/">tyndallreport.com</a>).</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"In broadcast, there's a sense that the appetite for Iraq coverage has grown thin. The big issue is how many people stick with it. It is not less of a story," said Jeffrey Fager, executive producer of "60 Minutes," during the Reva and David Logan Symposium on Investigative Reporting in late April at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">The number of Iraq-related stories aired on "60 Minutes" has been consistent over the past two years. The total from April 2007 through March 2008 was 15, one fewer than during the same period the year before.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="paragraphmarker" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">D</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">espite the pile of evidence of waning coverage, <i style="">news managers interviewed for this story consistently maintained there was no conscious decision to back off.</i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"I wasn't hearing that in our newsroom," says Margaret Sullivan, editor of the Buffalo News. Yet numbers show that attention to the war plummeted at the Buffalo paper as it did at other news outlets.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Why the dramatic drop-off? Gatekeepers offer a variety of reasons, from the enormous danger for journalists on the ground in Iraq (see "<a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4301">Obstructed View</a>," April/May 2007) to plunging newsroom budgets and shrinking news space, competing mega stories on the home front like the presidential primaries and the sagging economy figure into the equation. So does the exorbitant cost of keeping correspondents in Baghdad.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">No one questioned the importance of a grueling war gone sour or the looming consequences for the United States and the Middle East. Instead, newsroom managers talked about the realities of life in a rapidly changing media market, including smaller news holes and, for many, a laser-beam focus on local issues and events.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Los Angeles Times' foreign editor Marjorie Miller attributes the decline to three factors:</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">• The economic downturn and the contentious presidential primaries have sucked oxygen from Iraq. "We have a woman, an African American and a senior running for president," Miller says. "That is a very big story."</span></p><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">• With no solutions in sight, with no light at the end of the tunnel, war fatigue has become a factor. Over the years, a bleak sameness has settled into accounts of suicide bombings and brutal sectarian violence. Insurgents fighting counterinsurgents are hard to translate to an American audience.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">• The sheer cost of keeping correspondents on the ground in Baghdad is trimming the roster of journalists. The expense is "unlike anything we've ever faced. We have shouldered the financial burden so far, but we are really squeezed," Miller says. Earlier, the L.A. Times had as many as five Western correspondents in the field. The bureau is down to two or three plus Iraqi staff.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Other media decision-makers echo Miller's analysis.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When Lara Logan, the high-profile chief senior foreign correspondent for CBS News, is rotated out of Iraq, she might not be replaced, says her boss, Senior Vice President Paul Friedman. The network is sending in fewer Westerners from European and American bureaus and depending more on local staff, a common practice for media outlets with personnel in Iraq. "We won't pull out, but we are making adjustments," Friedman says.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Friedman defends the cutbacks: "One of the definitions of news is change, and there are long periods now in Iraq when very little changes. Therefore, it's difficult for the Iraq story to fight its way on the air against other news where change is involved," such as the political campaign, he says.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">John Stack, Fox News Channel's vice president for newsgathering, has no qualms about allotting more airtime to the presidential campaign than to Iraq. "This is a very big story playing out on the screen every night... The time devoted to news is finite," Stack says. "It's a matter of shifting to another story of national interest."</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Despite diminished emphasis on the war, Fox has no plans to cut back its Baghdad operation. "We still have a full complement of people there, operating in a very difficult environment. That hasn't gone down at all," he says. Fox has two full reporting teams in Iraq as well as a bureau chief and some local staff, for a total of 25 to 30 people, according to Stack.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In late 2007, the networks — CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox — entertained the notion of pooling resources in Iraq to cut expenses. After much discussion, the idea was tabled. "It turned out not to be possible," Friedman says. "To some extent, our needs are very different." Cable TV is all about constant repetition; even during lulls it features correspondents standing in front of cameras making reports. "The networks don't do that and don't need the same kind of facilities," Friedman says.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McClatchy Newspapers maintains a presence in Baghdad — a bureau chief, a rotating staffer generally from one of the chain's papers and six local staffers — but the decline in violence since the U.S. troop buildup last year has resulted in fewer daily stories, says Foreign Editor Roy Gutman. "We produce according to the news.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">During the [Iraqi] government's offensive in Basra [in March], we produced lengthy stories every day." To add another dimension to the coverage, McClatchy tapped into its Iraqi staff for compelling first-person accounts posted on its Washington bureau's Web site (<a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/">mcclatchydc.com</a> — see "<a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4302">A Blog of Heartbreak</a>," April/May 2007).</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">New York Times Foreign Editor Susan Chira says she is content to run fewer stories than in the past. "But we want them to have impact. And, of course, when there are big running stories, we will stay on them every day."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="paragraphmarker" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">M</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">idsize dailies around the country face a different set of challenges. Many operate under mandates from their bosses to push local stories over national or international news in hope of boosting readership and advertising. In those publications, it often takes a strong community tie to propel Iraq onto page one.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Case in point: During the first week of February, the one story about Iraq that made 1A in the Buffalo News was headlined, "Close to home while far off at war." It told how the latest gadgetry helps local service members stay in touch with loved ones. During the same week a year ago, four Iraq-related stories made 1A. None appeared to have a local angle.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"There is strong local interest because we have a lot of service members over there and we have had quite a few deaths of local soldiers," Editor Sullivan says. "In my mind, there is no bigger nonlocal story. It's the expense, the lives, the policy issues, and what it means to the country's future. There is a general feeling that the media have tired of Iraq, but I have not."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">At Alabama's Birmingham News, it takes a significant development to get an Iraq-related story prominent play without a local link, says Executive Editor Hunter George. During the first week in February, the Birmingham paper ran only one story related to the war. The topic: "Brownies send goodies, cards to troops in Iraq."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Editors did not sit in a news budget meeting and make a conscious decision to cut back on Iraq coverage, George says. He believes the repetitiveness of the storyline has something to do with the decline. "I see and hear it all the time.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It seems like a bad dream, and the public's not interested in revisiting it unless there is a major development. If I'm outside the newsroom and Iraq comes up, I hear groans.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">People say, 'More bad news.' Stories about the economy are moving up the news scale."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It was big news for Pennsylvania's Reading Eagle when a wounded soldier came home from Iraq and was met by some 50 bikers at the airport. The "Patriot Guard," as they are called, provided an escort. Townspeople slapped together a carnival to help raise money for a wheelchair ramp. "For us, it comes down to the grassroots level," says Eagle reporter Dan Kelly.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Earlier that day, Kelly's editor had handed him an assignment about a Marine from nearby Exeter Township who rushed home from the war zone to visit his ailing grandfather. By the time he got there, he was facing a funeral instead. "We look for special circumstances like this," Kelly says. "We pick our battles."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Indianapolis Star ramped up coverage in January when the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Indiana National Guard was redeployed to Iraq. The newspaper created a special Web page to help readers stay in touch with the more than 3,000 soldiers from around the state, including graphics showing their hometowns and how the combat gear they wear works in the war zone.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"I don't want to mislead you and say our coverage has been consistent over the past 12 months. It has rolled and dipped. We have had calls from people who believe we underplay events like bombings where several people are killed," says Pam Fine, the Star's managing editor until early April. Front-page coverage of Iraq was the same in the first three months of 2007 and 2008. A total of 23 stories ran in each period. Fine left the paper to become the Knight Chair in News, Leadership and Community at the University of Kansas.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The reader representative for the San Francisco Chronicle doesn't think placement of stories about Iraq makes much difference. He reasons that five years in, most readers have formed clear opinions about the war. They're not likely to change their minds one way or another if a story runs on page one or page three, says Dick Rogers. "The public has become accustomed to the steady drumbeat of violence out of Iraq. A report of 20 or 30 killed doesn't bring fresh insight for a lot of people."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Americans might care if they could witness more of the human toll. That's the approach the Washington Post's Dana Milbank took in an April 24 piece titled, "What the Family Would Let You See, the Pentagon Obstructs."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When Lt. Col. Billy Hall was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in April, his family gave the media permission to cover the ceremony — he is among the highest-ranking officers to be killed in Iraq. But, according to Milbank, the military did everything it could to keep the journalists away, isolating them some 50 yards away behind a yellow rope.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The "de facto ban on media at Arlington funerals fits neatly" with White House efforts "to sanitize the war in Iraq," and that, in turn, has helped keep the bloodshed out of the public's mind, Milbank wrote in his Washington Sketch feature. There have been similar complaints over the years about the administration's policy that bans on-base photography of coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. (See <a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3691">Drop Cap</a>, June/July 2004.)</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="paragraphmarker" style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">D</span></i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">espite the litany of reasons, some journalists still take a "shame on you" attitude toward those who have relegated the Iraq war to second-class status.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sig Christenson, military writer for the San Antonio Express-News, has made five trips to the war zone and says he would go back in a heartbeat. "This is not a story we can afford to ignore," he says. "There are vast implications for every American, right down to how much gasoline costs when we go to the pump."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Christenson, a cofounder of the organization MRE — Military Reporters and Editors — believes the media have an obligation to provide context and nuance and make clear the complexities of the war so Americans better understand its seriousness. "That's our job," he says.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Along the same lines, Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor & Publisher, faults newsroom leaders for shortchanging "the biggest political and moral issue of our time."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"You can forgive the American public for being shocked at the recent violence in Basra [in March]. From the lack of press coverage that's out there, they probably thought the war was over," says Mitchell, who wrote about media performance in the book "So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits — and the President — Failed on Iraq."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Both journalists point to cause and effect: The public tends to take cues from the media about what is important.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">If Iraq is pushed to a back burner, the signal is clear — the war no longer is a top priority.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It follows that news consumers lose interest and turn their attention elsewhere. The Pew study found exactly that: As news coverage of the war diminished, so too did the public interest in Iraq.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ellen Hume, research director at the MIT Center for Future Civic Media and a former journalist, believes the decline in Iraq news could be linked to a larger issue — profits. "The problem doesn't seem to be valuing coverage of the war; it's more about the business model of journalism today and what that market requires," Hume says.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"There is no sense that [the media] are going to be able to meet the numbers that their corporate owners require by offering news about a downer subject like Iraq. It's a terrible dilemma for news organizations."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Still, there has been some stunningly good reporting on Iraq over the past year.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Two of the Washington Post's six Pulitzer Prizes were war-related. Anne Hull and Dana Priest won the public service award for revealing the neglect of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (see <a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4295">Drop Cap</a>, April/May 2007). Steve Fainaru won in the international reporting category for an examination of private security contractors in Iraq.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McClatchy's Baghdad bureau chief, Leila Fadel, collected the George R. Polk Award for outstanding foreign reporting. Judges offered high praise for her vivid depictions of the agonizing plight of families in ethnically torn neighborhoods.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">CBS took two Peabody Awards, one for Scott Pelley's report on the killings of civilians in the Iraqi city of Haditha (see "<a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4158">A Matter of Time</a>," August/September 2006) on "60 Minutes," another for Kimberly Dozier's report about two female veterans who lost limbs in Iraq on "CBS News Sunday Morning." Dozier herself was wounded in Iraq in May 2006.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff, who was injured in Iraq in January 2006, received a Peabody Award for "Wounds of War," a series of reports about injured veterans.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">There have been a series of groundbreaking investigations over the past year. In one of the most recent, the New York Times' David Barstow documented how the Pentagon cultivated military analysts to generate favorable news for the Bush administration's wartime performance. Many of the talking heads, including former generals, were being coached on what to tell viewers on television.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Times continues to have a dominant presence on the ground in Iraq, sinking millions into maintaining its Baghdad complex, home and office to six or seven Western correspondents and a large Iraqi staff. Foreign Editor Chira says it has been more challenging to recruit people to go to Baghdad, but "we remain completely committed to maintaining a robust presence in Iraq."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Those are notable exceptions; no doubt there are more. But overall, Iraq remains the biggest nonstory of the day unless major news is breaking.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, points to May 24, 2007, as a major turning point in the coverage of U.S. policy toward Iraq.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">That's the day Congress voted to continue to fund the war without troop withdrawal timetables, giving the White House a major victory in a clash with the Democratic leadership over who would control the purse strings and thus the future of the war.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Democrats felt they had a mandate from Americans to bring the troops home. President Bush stuck to a hard line and came out the victor. "The political fight was over," Jurkowitz says. "Iraq no longer was a hot story. The media began looking elsewhere."</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Statistics from a report by Jurkowitz released in March 2008 support his theory. From January through May 2007, Iraq accounted for 20 percent of all news measured by PEJ's News Coverage Index. That period included the announcement of the troop "surge."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"But from the time of the May funding vote through the war's fifth anniversary on March 19, 2008, coverage plunged by about 50 percent. In that period, the media paid more than twice as much attention to the presidential campaigns than the war," according to PEJ.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"You could see the coverage of the political debate [over Iraq] shrink noticeably. The drop was dramatic," says Jurkowitz, who believes the press has an obligation to cover stories about Iraq even when the political landscape changes. "It is hard to say that the media has spurred any meaningful debate in America on this."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Is there anything to the concept of war fatigue or a psychological numbing that comes with rote reports of violence? Susan Tifft, professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, believes there is.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">She reasons that humans do adapt when the abnormal gradually becomes normal, such as a bloody and seemingly endless conflict far from America's shores. Tifft explains that despite tensions of the Cold War, America's default position for many years had been peace. Now the default position — the environment in which Americans live — is war. "And somehow we have gotten used to it. That's why it seems like wallpaper or Muzak. It's oddly normal and just part of the atmosphere," she says.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Does an acceptance of the status quo indicate helplessness or rational resignation on the part of the public and the press? Is it a survival mechanism?</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Harvard University Professor Howard Gardner, a psychologist and social scientist, has explored what it is about the way humans operate that might allow this to happen.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Gardner explains that when a news story becomes repetitive, people "habituate" — the technical term for what happens when they no longer take in information. "You can be sure that if American deaths were going up, or if there was a draft, then there would not be acceptance of the status quo," Gardner wrote in an April 17 e-mail.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">"But American deaths are pretty small, and the children of the political, business and chattering classes are not dying, and so the war no longer is on the radar screen most of the time. The bad economy has replaced it, and no one has yet succeeded in tying the trillion-dollar war to the decline in the economy."</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof is one who has tried. In a March 23 op-ed column, he quoted Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz as saying the "present economic mess" is very much related to the Iraq war, which also "is partially responsible for soaring oil prices." Stiglitz calculated the eventual total cost to be about $3 trillion.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Kristof tossed out plenty of fodder for stories: "A congressional study by the Joint Economic Committee found that the sums spent on the Iraq war each day could enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start or give Pell Grants to 153,000 students to attend college... [A] day's Iraq spending would finance another 11,000 border patrol agents or 9,000 police officers."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In Denver, Jason Salzman has been thinking along the same lines. The media critic for the Rocky Mountain News suggested in a February 16 column that news organizations "treat the economic costs of the war as they've treated U.S. casualties." After the death of the 3,000th American soldier, for instance, his newspaper printed the names of all the dead on the front page. To mark economic milestones, Salzman would like to see page one filled with graphics representing dollars Colorado communities have lost to the war.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"It's hard for me to realize why more reporters don't do these stories about the impact of the cost of the war back home," he said in an interview.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Another aspect of the war that could use more scrutiny is the Iraqi oil industry: Where is the money going? Who is benefiting? Why isn't oil money paying for a fair share of reconstruction costs?</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Similarly, much more attention could be paid to the ramifications of stretching America's military to the limit.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And what about the impact of the war on the lives of ordinary Iraqis (see "<a href="http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=4078">Out of Reach</a>," April/May 2006)? In April, Los Angeles Times correspondent Alexandra Zavis filed a story about a ballet school in Baghdad that had become an oasis for children of all ethnic and religious backgrounds.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">"Now, more than ever," Zavis wrote in an e-mail interview, it "is the responsibility of journalists to put a name and a face on the mind-numbing statistics, to take readers into the lives of ordinary Iraqis, and to find ways to convey what this unimaginable bloodshed means to the people who live it."</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="paragraphmarker" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">J</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">urkowitz's March 2008 report cited the "inverse relationship between war coverage and the coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign — an early-starting, wide-open affair that has fascinated the press since it began in earnest in January 2007.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As attention to Iraq steadily declined, coverage of the campaign continued to grow in 2007 and 2008, consuming more of the press' attention and resources.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Moreover, the expectation that Iraq would dominate the campaign conversation proved to be wrong," the report said. It was the economy instead. Jurkowitz cites what he calls an eye-catching statistic: In the first three months of 2008, coverage of the campaign outstripped war coverage by a ratio of nearly 11 to 1, or 43 percent of news hole compared with 4 percent.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But all that soon could change. "The [Iraq] story, we believe, remains as important as ever, and the debate about the future conduct of the war and the level of American troop presence in Iraq during the presidential campaign makes it crucial for the American public to be well informed," says the New York Times' Chira.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jurkowitz agrees. That's why he's predicting a renaissance in Iraq coverage in the coming months. Battle lines already have been drawn: Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican candidate, has vowed to stay the course in Iraq until victory is achieved. The Democrats favor withdrawing U.S. forces, perhaps beginning as early as six months after taking the oath of office.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"When we get in the general election mode, Iraq will be a big issue. The candidates will set the agenda for the discussion and the media will pick it up. This could reinvigorate the debate," Jurkowitz says. "The war will be back in the headlines."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Senior contributing writer Sherry Ricchiardi (sricchia@iupui.edu), who writes frequently about international coverage for AJR, assessed reporting on Iran in the magazine's February/March issue. Editorial assistant Roxana Hadadi (rhadadi@ajr.umd.edu) contributed research to this report.</span><span style=""></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p></o:p></span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-45550341240770967262008-06-03T20:23:00.000-07:002008-06-03T20:35:26.890-07:00Tonight night Hillary Clinton once again proved that she is not fit to be either the President or Vice President of The United States.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT0HJdjLDZwCCjxDqZzkfEzihzG1mKEdhDrl1F9fOf-fPQp1P7bOf2RWavKF3CUQJEh6tq3t3NRh2MjnhF-OSnnUkVwoGBMIZAa3icPsSZXpcKhuKSvzmAzWuqfiuCU-BWAZmUYvWkg4/s1600-h/Obama1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT0HJdjLDZwCCjxDqZzkfEzihzG1mKEdhDrl1F9fOf-fPQp1P7bOf2RWavKF3CUQJEh6tq3t3NRh2MjnhF-OSnnUkVwoGBMIZAa3icPsSZXpcKhuKSvzmAzWuqfiuCU-BWAZmUYvWkg4/s400/Obama1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207862352832938562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Tonight Hillary Clinton once again proved that she is not fit to be either the President or Vice President of The United States.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In a speech that should have been humble, complimentary, healing and full of promise for unity; we found instead yet another confrontational display of egotistic arrogance filled with:<span style=""> </span>I, Me, My, Mine with the words: " we "and "you "in short supply.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">It is still all about Hillary.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was a speech given in a New York Venue without even Wi Fi, black berry or cell phone access and ability to connect to the outside world. <span style=""> </span>It was a room of controlled isolation where she was comfortable in delivering yet another rally the troops exhortation, an exhortation to blackmail Barack Obama into getting down on his knees to kiss her hand and beg her to become his Vice Presidential running mate.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All the talk of ridding herself of her "Billy Baggage" by sending him home to his foundation work and the prep pep talks of Bill the last two days are nothing more than another temporary smoke screen.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Clinton’s represent the past and they should be left there.<span style=""> </span>Their self-anointed “ownership of and dictation to” The Democratic Party must end if there is to be any shred of integrity to emerge from the chaos of the primary campaign and hope at any semblance of the restoration of our party.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do you for one moment think that I or you would select as a running mate a person who held out the specter of assassination as a reason for continuing her drive to stay in, and be a part of ,the process, let alone now nearly demanding her debts be paid off by the Obama Campaign and that she be given the second chair, a heartbeat from the Oval Office.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Not on your life; not on the life of Barack Obama.<o:p></o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-88858184399030110352008-06-03T08:31:00.001-07:002008-06-03T20:33:49.822-07:00Further Report On US Prison Ship Matter: Daily Coffin Nail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl1D9bSQWTbfbPxP7LC2av202mQJWTpqQ6VpfqSWcGPUPHX9GfYcusd0m2zBwcP6RWfGPN4wQ-i7pIWTQ2cvaQWf0bsvVkZYIZfSR6ZV3fqH_3tnONSragQzKnSqT3ANwcXV3B8f4ZMU/s1600-h/DAILY+COFFIN+NAIL2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl1D9bSQWTbfbPxP7LC2av202mQJWTpqQ6VpfqSWcGPUPHX9GfYcusd0m2zBwcP6RWfGPN4wQ-i7pIWTQ2cvaQWf0bsvVkZYIZfSR6ZV3fqH_3tnONSragQzKnSqT3ANwcXV3B8f4ZMU/s400/DAILY+COFFIN+NAIL2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207678566258931938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpNFVF0lxoTAwKNpNgNFv-wln0ZJH4hKUQ2Vx-REk8ufrNnXez13q3cIOpW7FrJswXj5V-hi47s2ARrokTWJ3Us9thMHxB16EutXMDC_0Di3vTN5ITsEo3JkRaE5Lv5lKKt4Ain8B0sc/s1600-h/REP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpNFVF0lxoTAwKNpNgNFv-wln0ZJH4hKUQ2Vx-REk8ufrNnXez13q3cIOpW7FrJswXj5V-hi47s2ARrokTWJ3Us9thMHxB16EutXMDC_0Di3vTN5ITsEo3JkRaE5Lv5lKKt4Ain8B0sc/s400/REP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207678469225397474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglZfbHpLITDR-pPQEiClIF8Wy2pDvsRx0EgGTBa56ObZQ_UtkWQWkUmrV5TfzMiKqxMEILj7jlAjo9lkl1H_WgVH0sF3V7D9IHioL28XXW2SZOl0BIC_6PSHLXrD8EXI4Ungt04kDIqj8/s1600-h/prisonships.2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglZfbHpLITDR-pPQEiClIF8Wy2pDvsRx0EgGTBa56ObZQ_UtkWQWkUmrV5TfzMiKqxMEILj7jlAjo9lkl1H_WgVH0sF3V7D9IHioL28XXW2SZOl0BIC_6PSHLXrD8EXI4Ungt04kDIqj8/s400/prisonships.2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207678334478334882" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fworld%2F2008%2Fjun%2F02%2Fusa.humanrights&ei=iydFSMX4Bo2seZmr1KoI&usg=AFQjCNGYbzO_j4AHp3ws59JvugecO6kZ_A&sig2=yi5r7DM7-BfQsUzOzQZ_rQ">US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships | World news ...</a> North America is operating 'floating prisons' to house suspected terrorists, say human rights lawyers.<br /><br /></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/usa.humanrights">www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/<span style="">us</span>a.humanrights</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.reprieve.org.uk/">http://www.reprieve.org.uk/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">The United States is operating "floating prisons" to house those arrested in its war on terror, according to human rights lawyers, who claim there has been an attempt to conceal the numbers and whereabouts of detainees.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Details of ships where detainees have been held and sites allegedly being used in countries across the world have been compiled as the debate over detention without trial intensifies on both sides of the Atlantic. The US government was yesterday urged to list the names and whereabouts of all those detained.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Information about the operation of prison ships has emerged through a number of sources, including statements from the US military, the Council of Europe and related parliamentary bodies, and the testimonies of prisoners.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">The analysis, due to be published this year by the human rights organization <a href="http://www.reprieve.org/home.htm">Reprieve</a>, also claims there have been more than 200 new cases of rendition since 2006, when President George Bush declared that the practice had stopped.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">It is the use of ships to detain prisoners; however that is raising fresh concern and demands for inquiries in Britain and the US.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">According to research carried out by Reprieve, the US may have used as many as 17 ships as "floating prisons" since 2001. Detainees are interrogated aboard the vessels and then rendered to other, often undisclosed, locations, it is claimed.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Ships that are understood to have held prisoners include the USS Bataan and USS Peleliu. A further 15 ships are suspected of having operated around the British territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which has been used as a military base by the UK and the Americans.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Reprieve will raise particular concerns over the activities of the USS Ashland and the time it spent off Somalia in early 2007 conducting maritime security operations in an effort to capture al-Qaida terrorists.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">At this time many people were abducted by Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian forces in a systematic operation involving regular interrogations by individuals believed to be members of the FBI and CIA. Ultimately more than 100 individuals were "disappeared" to prisons in locations including Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Guantánamo Bay.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Reprieve believes prisoners may have also been held for interrogation on the USS Ashland and other ships in the Gulf of Aden during this time.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">The Reprieve study includes the account of a prisoner released from Guantánamo Bay, who described a fellow inmate's story of detention on an amphibious assault ship. "One of my fellow prisoners in Guantánamo was at sea on an American ship with about 50 others before coming to Guantánamo ... he was in the cage next to me. He told me that there were about 50 other people on the ship. They were all closed off in the bottom of the ship. The prisoner commented to me that it was like something you see on TV. The people held on the ship were beaten even more severely than in Guantánamo."</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve's legal director, said: "They choose ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their legal rights.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">"By its own admission, the US government is currently detaining at least 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and information suggests up to 80,000 have been 'through the system' since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are, and what has been done to them."</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on extraordinary rendition, called for the US and UK governments to come clean over the holding of detainees.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">"Little by little, the truth is coming out on extraordinary rendition. The rest will come, in time. Better for governments to be candid now, rather than later. Greater transparency will provide increased confidence that President Bush's departure from justice and the rule of law in the aftermath of September 11 is being reversed, and can help to win back the confidence of moderate Muslim communities, whose support is crucial in tackling dangerous extremism."</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">The Liberal Democrat's foreign affairs spokesman, Edward Davey, said: "If the Bush administration is using British territories to aid and abet illegal state abduction, it would amount to a huge breach of trust with the British government. Ministers must make absolutely clear that they would not support such illegal activity, either directly or indirectly."</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">A US navy spokesman, Commander Jeffrey Gordon, told the Guardian: "There are no detention facilities on US navy ships." However, he added that it was a matter of public record that some individuals had been put on ships "for a few days" during what he called the initial days of detention. He declined to comment on reports that US naval vessels stationed in or near Diego Garcia had been used as "prison ships".</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">The Foreign Office referred to David Miliband's statement last February admitting to MPs that, despite previous assurances to the contrary, US rendition flights had twice landed on Diego Garcia. He said he had asked his officials to compile a list of all flights on which rendition had been alleged.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">CIA "black sites" are also believed to have operated in Thailand, Afghanistan, Poland and Romania.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">In addition, numerous prisoners have been "extraordinarily rendered" to US allies and are alleged to have been tortured in secret prisons in countries such as Syria, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt.</span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="drhed">Discussion:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Andrew Sullivan / <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/" target="_self">The Daily Dish</a>: <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/black-sites-at.html" target="_self">Black Sites At Sea?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/" target="_self">Think Progress</a>: <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/02/thinkfast-june-2-2008/" target="_self">ThinkFast: June 2, 2008 — Australian troops “ended … </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Nick Juliano / <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/" target="_self">The Raw Story</a>: <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Report_US_continuing_rendition_secretly_holding_0602.html" target="_self">Report: Detainees held in ‘floating prisons’</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.buzzflash.com/articles" target="_self">BuzzFlash.org</a>: <a href="http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/dailybuzz/548" target="_self">Barbara's Daily BuzzFlash Minute for June 2, 2008</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cheryl Rofer / <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/" target="_self">Washington Monthly</a>: <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_06/013831.php" target="_self">EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION CONTINUED....Reprieve, a human rights … </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.julescrittenden.com/" target="_self">Jules Crittenden</a>: <a href="http://www.julescrittenden.com/2008/06/02/prison-ships/" target="_self">Prison Ships — Breathless UK Guardian article parrots … </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Michael / <a href="http://www.discourse.net/" target="_self">Discourse.net</a>: <a href="http://www.discourse.net/archives/2008/06/us_accused_of_regime_of_secret_floating_prisons.html" target="_self">US Accused of Regime of Secret Floating Prisons</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Paddy / <a href="http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/" target="_self">The Political Carnival</a>: <a href="http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-accused-of-holding-terror-suspects.html" target="_self">US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press_us_govt_must_reveal_information_about_prison_ships_02.06.08.htm">US government must reveal information about prison ships used for “terror suspects”</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">02.06.08</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In June 2005 the UN's special reporter on terrorism spoke of “very, very serious” allegations that the United States was secretly detaining terrorism suspects in various locations around the world, notably aboard prison ships in the Indian Ocean region. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Reprieve, the legal action charity, believes that the US has operated a number of ships as floating prisons (possibly as many as 17), where prisoners have been interrogated under torturous conditions before being rendered to other, often undisclosed locations. Details regarding the operation of prison ships have emerged through a number of sources, including the US military and other administration officials, the Council of Europe, various parliamentary bodies and journalists, as well as the testimonies of prisoners themselves.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Prisoners believed by Reprieve to have been held on US prison ships include Ibn Al Sheikh Al Libi, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, John Walker Lindh and David Hicks.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Following his capture by Northern Alliance forces in November 2001, John Walker Lindh, the so called ‘American Taliban’, was transferred first to the USS Peleliu and then to USS Bataan. On board, he received medical treatment for dehydration, hypothermia and frostbite. In addition, the bullet wound he received two weeks previously was removed from his leg.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The alleged number three in Al Qaeda, Ibn Al Shaykh Al Libi was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001. He was soon handed over to US custody, and taken to the USS Bataan. Information derived from Sheikh Al Libi under torture in Egypt – later recanted and admitted by the Administration to be false – was relied upon by George Bush and Colin Powell as justification for going to war in Iraq. Instead of being taken to Guantánamo Bay in September 2006 with the fourteen other “high-value detainees”, Sheikh Al Libi was returned to Libya where he is apparently being held incommunicado and is dying of untreated tuberculosis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A former Guantánamo prisoner told Reprieve about conditions aboard the USS Bataan:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There were about 50 other people on the ship. They were all closed off in the bottom of the ship. The prisoner commented to me that it was like something you see on television. The people detained on the ship were beaten even more severely than in Guantánamo.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The USS Bataan is also known to have been operating in the Indian Ocean region. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Reprieve believes that prisoners held aboard the USS Bataan were routinely photographed and examined by medical personnel in between interrogations, and that such records are held by the US administration.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When questioned in December 2001 regarding the purpose of holding prisoners on ships, Rear Admiral John D. Stufflebeem, Director of the Navy Staff, said:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">I don’t know the specifics … central command determines for either medical considerations, for the protection of those individuals, for the isolation in the sense of not having forces that would try to come get somebody out of a detention centre, for a security aspect, and obviously an interest to continue interrogation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Reprieve will be issuing a full report on the use of prison ships later this year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve’s Director, said: “The US administration chooses ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their human rights.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He added: “By its own admission, the US government is currently detaining at least 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and information suggests up to 80,000 have been ‘through the system’ since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are, and what has been done to them.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="">For further information, please contact Andy Worthington at Reprieve’s Press Office on 020 7427 1099 or email Andy@reprieve.org.uk</span></span><o:p></o:p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-25675311753610266222008-06-03T06:44:00.001-07:002008-06-03T20:34:48.823-07:00Call In Day Plus: Ship Board Prisoners, Throwing McCLellan Over Board + Hillary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdllvfEj_pnNlufDd55bZTy1gnWeclbAXS-jR_l5MSSWju_elUaHM-6UInb31AtpeEAfy8hVexSGD2VrPn7KvG8SJppvYTNSKb4RvvkbWBupxIMZF8hbyWc7Hs4Vp5GBLjmPqQuShL8qw/s1600-h/McLELLAN.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdllvfEj_pnNlufDd55bZTy1gnWeclbAXS-jR_l5MSSWju_elUaHM-6UInb31AtpeEAfy8hVexSGD2VrPn7KvG8SJppvYTNSKb4RvvkbWBupxIMZF8hbyWc7Hs4Vp5GBLjmPqQuShL8qw/s400/McLELLAN.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207651135140789890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUz04AOlk75tupou4H31xy1p4cUALyLvmMuaeyQWqpgjyLPFrMFe0zMCxQeg8jOPqCltHvUTQSqTZbawsxq3rnJM0Fin4uZ38Qk-d_BZTXaaHGqu6PB5G4qMCBbJ5xEErk1GsfwSlDHSg/s1600-h/SCREWED.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUz04AOlk75tupou4H31xy1p4cUALyLvmMuaeyQWqpgjyLPFrMFe0zMCxQeg8jOPqCltHvUTQSqTZbawsxq3rnJM0Fin4uZ38Qk-d_BZTXaaHGqu6PB5G4qMCBbJ5xEErk1GsfwSlDHSg/s400/SCREWED.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207650986705444850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyMkBm9wNuUedoRC6v5FDozNmY7mCI_PH2qM5RBEvMFJr67kOwGEpnyqf7MUYd9pERRBIGtZspkiyYkc9ERwP49rG9IF9te4_xRaGN-wWZCm1R5cUnvwAWOP75fm_B3TEXtL00-2Lz2I/s1600-h/question.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyMkBm9wNuUedoRC6v5FDozNmY7mCI_PH2qM5RBEvMFJr67kOwGEpnyqf7MUYd9pERRBIGtZspkiyYkc9ERwP49rG9IF9te4_xRaGN-wWZCm1R5cUnvwAWOP75fm_B3TEXtL00-2Lz2I/s400/question.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207650882046450178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUz2hBNpyiXdBc32iI-hNqzTlxY6z9CPg2JfAyDiIoV-q2a6AmSUBqJD0hj08y084na4DWscY3DAiehLSGsC1RRpnODQx82ISTATlyjTWGVZNH3a9Rr9ajQciKrKCriE4gjIzaRCBXhvw/s1600-h/Ratatouille+Impeachment+KEY.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUz2hBNpyiXdBc32iI-hNqzTlxY6z9CPg2JfAyDiIoV-q2a6AmSUBqJD0hj08y084na4DWscY3DAiehLSGsC1RRpnODQx82ISTATlyjTWGVZNH3a9Rr9ajQciKrKCriE4gjIzaRCBXhvw/s400/Ratatouille+Impeachment+KEY.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207650729716207954" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:130%;" >By Ramsey Clark — Join the Tuesday (TODAY), <a href="http://www.impeachbush.org/site/PageServer">June 3rd Call-in to John Conyers.</a> <span style=""> </span>(Plus Additional News)</span></p><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Jam the capitol switchboard with our demand to restore justice and reclaim democracy. Capitol Hill Switchboard — Toll call: 202.224.3121 — Toll-Free call: 800.828.0498 — 800.459.1887 — 866.340.9281 — 866.338.1015 — 877.851.6437.</span></p><br /><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >When you get the operator ask for John Conyers' office. Contact the House Judiciary Committee too. <a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html"><br /></a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html"><br /></a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html"><br /></a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html">http://courtofimpeachmentandwarcrimes.blogspot.com/2007/11/its-judiciary-committee-stupid.html</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >More toll-free numbers at <a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt">Call Congress.org.</a> — New York City Ny — Every Day Brings Another Reason For George Bush To Be Impeached.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >We Have A Duty To Act And We Can Make A Difference. <a href="http://www.zimbio.com/Congresswoman+Debbie+Wasserman+Schultz/articles/2/Judiciary+Committee+Stupid+Program+Leave+No">http://www.zimbio.com/Congresswoman+Debbie+Wasserman+Schultz/articles/2/Judiciary+Committee+Stupid+Program+Leave+No</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Explaining that his "loyalty to the truth" overrode his "loyalty to Bush," former White House spokesman Scott McClellan published a new memoir this week, which details the ways in which the administration regularly lied to and deceived the American public. McClellan asserts that the White House had managed the debate leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq in a way that "almost guaranteed that the use of force would become the only feasible option." In this "culture of deception," the corporate media acted as "enablers" to the Bush administration's war of aggression.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >McClellan undoubtedly wrote the book for the sake of his career, to distance himself from an increasingly detested president. But the fact is that the longstanding beliefs of the anti-war and impeachment movement have now been confirmed by a Bush insider. The president lied about going to war; it was not just a case of "bad intelligence," but intentional deception. This is an impeachable crime.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Our relentless efforts for impeachment have helped change the political climate. Everyone's actions have made a difference. More than 1 million people have voted to impeach. This is a stunning example of grassroots democracy in action.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Judiciary Committee and its Chairman have failed to act in the face of overwhelming evidence of the most grievous high Crimes and Misdemeanors ever to imperil our nation and its place among nations. The time to act is now.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >We are asking you to take a moment on Tuesday (Today), June 3rd, to call Rep. John Conyers, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, to act on the impeachment resolution in the hands of his committee. This is not a matter of electoral politics or partisan politics. It is a matter of right-and-wrong, whether the Constitution is still adhered to, or if it is just a piece of paper.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Please call John Conyers Tuesday (Today), June 3rd, at the numbers listed above. Let Mr. Conyers know, "You have a constitutional and legal obligation to act on impeachment. The Bush administration intentionally deceived the public to go to war, and the people of this country demand that they be held accountable."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >This impeachment drive is part of a two-month intensive effort, announced by Ramsey Clark, to have the House Judiciary Committee commence impeachment hearings by July 4. This movement is making a difference.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iqHPsDWRykY&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iqHPsDWRykY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://kindlingman.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/impeach-for-self-respectsome-say/">Impeach.. for self-respect..some say…</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://kindlingman.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/impeach-for-self-respectsome-say/">http://kindlingman.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/impeach-for-self-respectsome-say/</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/01/9347/" target="_blank">Common Dreams has an article about the need for our country to impeach the President to obtain our self-respect.</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="">The American people have a choice ahead of them. They can continue to be shamed as a nation of torturers, or they can put a stop to this administration’s ongoing crimes against humanity.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">More thoughts from the article:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">These laws include the Geneva Conventions, the 1984 U.N. Convention Against Torture and the U.S. Constitution. These laws are not invalidated, as the Bush team alleges, if prisoners are not on U.S. soil.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Torture laws are just covens, meaning “compelling law,” said constitutional law Professor Marjorie Cohn, in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. “There can be no immunity from criminal liability for violation of a just covens prohibition.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Which country will eventually arrest one of the Bush Administration for torture?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Eventually, some of our highest officials will be tried for war crimes in a court of international law.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Already, charges of condoning torture are advancing against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in France. Author Philippe Sands quotes a judge with experience in international criminal cases who says “It’s a matter of time” before members of the Bush administration are arrested for war crimes while traveling abroad.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Today was an exciting day as we all watched Fox News circle the wagons around the Bush Administration. The blue bloggers once eviscerated Scott McClellan as Press Secretary but now it is the Nationalists that are eating Scotty’s lunch.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >-Fox News readers questioned the value of Scotty’s disclosures. (FOX READERS!)</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >-<a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004444892_scott29.html" target="_blank">Karl Rove says</a>:Former top Bush aide Karl Rove compared McClellan to a “left-wing blogger.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >-<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,359666,00.html" target="_blank">Gingrich says: </a>Well, a lot of Americans feel that way — and I have two comments about what Scott did. The first is I assume this is all designed to sell books, and of course, he got a lot of publicity, a lot of attention. The second is, if these allegations are true, why didn’t he resign?</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >-<a href="http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/thursday/nation/ny-usbush295705850may29,0,2282061.story" target="_blank">Fleischer says:”</a>I’m really stumped,” former press secretary Ari Fleischer, once McClellan’s boss, said on MSNBC. “If he had these misgivings in 2002 … why did he take the job, if he thought it was propaganda?”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/28/perino-on-mcclellan/" target="_blank">-The White House says</a>:”Scott, we now know, is disgruntled about his experience at the White House. For those of us who fully supported him, before, during and after he was press secretary, we are puzzled. It is sad - this is not the Scott we knew.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >“The book, as reported by the press, has been described to the President. I do not expect a comment from him on it - he has more pressing matters than to spend time commenting on books by former staffers.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Soon Scotty will be discovered wearing women’s clothes in a European brothel and will have no place to call home.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Piranha are feeding….</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fworld%2F2008%2Fjun%2F02%2Fusa.humanrights&ei=iydFSMX4Bo2seZmr1KoI&usg=AFQjCNGYbzO_j4AHp3ws59JvugecO6kZ_A&sig2=yi5r7DM7-BfQsUzOzQZ_rQ">US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships | World news ...</a> </span><span style="font-size:100%;">North America is operating 'floating prisons' to house suspected terrorists, say human rights lawyers.<br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/usa.humanrights">www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/<span style="">us</span>a.humanrights</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The United States is operating "floating prisons" to house those arrested in its war on terror, according to human rights lawyers, who claim there has been an attempt to conceal the numbers and whereabouts of detainees.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Details of ships where detainees have been held and sites allegedly being used in countries across the world have been compiled as the debate over detention without trial intensifies on both sides of the Atlantic. The US government was yesterday urged to list the names and whereabouts of all those detained.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Information about the operation of prison ships has emerged through a number of sources, including statements from the US military, the Council of Europe and related parliamentary bodies, and the testimonies of prisoners.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The analysis, due to be published this year by the human rights organization Reprieve, also claims there have been more than 200 new cases of rendition since 2006, when President George Bush declared that the practice had stopped.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >It is the use of ships to detain prisoners; however that is raising fresh concern and demands for inquiries in Britain and the US.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >According to research carried out by Reprieve, the US may have used as many as 17 ships as "floating prisons" since 2001. Detainees are interrogated aboard the vessels and then rendered to other, often undisclosed, locations, it is claimed.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Ships that are understood to have held prisoners include the USS Bataan and USS Peleliu. A further 15 ships are suspected of having operated around the British territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which has been used as a military base by the UK and the Americans.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Reprieve will raise particular concerns over the activities of the USS Ashland and the time it spent off Somalia in early 2007 conducting maritime security operations in an effort to capture al-Qaida terrorists.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >At this time many people were abducted by Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian forces in a systematic operation involving regular interrogations by individuals believed to be members of the FBI and CIA. Ultimately more than 100 individuals were "disappeared" to prisons in locations including Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Guantánamo Bay.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Reprieve believes prisoners may have also been held for interrogation on the USS Ashland and other ships in the Gulf of Aden during this time.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Reprieve study includes the account of a prisoner released from Guantánamo Bay, who described a fellow inmate's story of detention on an amphibious assault ship. "One of my fellow prisoners in Guantánamo was at sea on an American ship with about 50 others before coming to Guantánamo ... he was in the cage next to me. He told me that there were about 50 other people on the ship. They were all closed off in the bottom of the ship. The prisoner commented to me that it was like something you see on TV. The people held on the ship were beaten even more severely than in Guantánamo."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Clive Stafford Smith, Reprieve's legal director, said: "They choose ships to try to keep their misconduct as far as possible from the prying eyes of the media and lawyers. We will eventually reunite these ghost prisoners with their legal rights.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"By its own admission, the US government is currently detaining at least 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and information suggests up to 80,000 have been 'through the system' since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are, and what has been done to them."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on extraordinary rendition, called for the US and UK governments to come clean over the holding of detainees.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"Little by little, the truth is coming out on extraordinary rendition. The rest will come, in time. Better for governments to be candid now, rather than later. Greater transparency will provide increased confidence that President Bush's departure from justice and the rule of law in the aftermath of September 11 is being reversed, and can help to win back the confidence of moderate Muslim communities, whose support is crucial in tackling dangerous extremism."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Liberal Democrat's foreign affairs spokesman, Edward Davey, said: "If the Bush administration is using British territories to aid and abet illegal state abduction, it would amount to a huge breach of trust with the British government. Ministers must make absolutely clear that they would not support such illegal activity, either directly or indirectly."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >A US navy spokesman, Commander Jeffrey Gordon, told the Guardian: "There are no detention facilities on US navy ships." However, he added that it was a matter of public record that some individuals had been put on ships "for a few days" during what he called the initial days of detention. He declined to comment on reports that US naval vessels stationed in or near Diego Garcia had been used as "prison ships".</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Foreign Office referred to David Miliband's statement last February admitting to MPs that, despite previous assurances to the contrary, US rendition flights had twice landed on Diego Garcia. He said he had asked his officials to compile a list of all flights on which rendition had been alleged.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >CIA "black sites" are also believed to have operated in Thailand, Afghanistan, Poland and Romania.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In addition, numerous prisoners have been "extraordinarily rendered" to US allies and are alleged to have been tortured in secret prisons in countries such as Syria, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span class="drhed" style="font-size:100%;">Discussion:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Andrew Sullivan / <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/" target="_self">The Daily Dish</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/06/black-sites-at.html" target="_self">Black Sites At Sea?</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/" target="_self">Think Progress</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/02/thinkfast-june-2-2008/" target="_self">ThinkFast: June 2, 2008 — Australian troops “ended … </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Nick Juliano / <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/" target="_self">The Raw Story</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Report_US_continuing_rendition_secretly_holding_0602.html" target="_self">Report: Detainees held in ‘floating prisons’</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.buzzflash.com/articles" target="_self">BuzzFlash.org</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/dailybuzz/548" target="_self">Barbara's Daily BuzzFlash Minute for June 2, 2008</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Cheryl Rofer / <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/" target="_self">Washington Monthly</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_06/013831.php" target="_self">EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION CONTINUED....Reprieve, a human rights … </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.julescrittenden.com/" target="_self">Jules Crittenden</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.julescrittenden.com/2008/06/02/prison-ships/" target="_self">Prison Ships — Breathless UK Guardian article parrots … </a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Michael / <a href="http://www.discourse.net/" target="_self">Discourse.net</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://www.discourse.net/archives/2008/06/us_accused_of_regime_of_secret_floating_prisons.html" target="_self">US Accused of Regime of Secret Floating Prisons</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Paddy / <a href="http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/" target="_self">The Political Carnival</a>:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <a href="http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-accused-of-holding-terror-suspects.html" target="_self">US accused of holding terror suspects on prison ships</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Well today maybe the day for a BIG HALLELUJAH, it will be over. (Maybe)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Clinton claims to have won the most popular votes since the primaries and caucuses began in January, but that includes results from Michigan and Florida. Obama leads Clinton by nearly 450,000 votes in primaries and caucuses where delegates were at stake, according to an Associated Press analysis.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/hillaryclinton.uselections20081">Hillary: my part in her downfall</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/hillaryclinton.uselections20081">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/02/hillaryclinton.uselections20081</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >As Hillary Clinton's doomed presidential bid draws to a painful close, one man has been cast as the scapegoat. In his first interview, Mark Penn, the candidate's former chief strategist, talks to Oliver Burkeman about what went wrong.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >It is a little surprising that Mark Penn has agreed to talk. You might have assumed these would be reclusive, wound-licking times for the original architect and former chief strategist of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign - a man described on the jacket of his latest book as "America's most perceptive pollster", but more commonly referred to, over the last few weeks, in far less flattering terms.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >As the Clinton bandwagon shudders to a halt and the blaming begins, Penn has been blamed more than anyone: for being arrogant and complacent, for urging Hillary to run as the "inevitable" winner, for failing to see the electorate's hunger for change, for devising a victory plan based on elementary misunderstandings of the voting system, and for hubris in refusing to give up his lucrative lobbying work while masterminding her candidacy.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >When the New Republic magazine asked Clinton staffers to explain, off the record, why her campaign went so wrong, one responded with a list: "1. Mark Penn, 2. Mark Penn, 3. Mark Penn."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Yet here we are, in Penn's gleaming top-floor office at the Washington headquarters of Burson-Marsteller, the PR firm, where he is "worldwide chief executive", and where the walls serve as a shrine to his successes: there's a newspaper front page reading "Clinton Acquitted", signed with a thank-you from Bill, and an autographed photo of Tony Blair, whom he advised in the 2005 election ("You were brilliant - Tony"). Since losing his official position on Hillary's team - it was revealed that he'd been helping the Colombian government to lobby for a trade deal that she opposed - Penn has kept a low public profile, refusing to discuss the campaign as defeat draws near. So why does he want to do so now?</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Well, actually, he doesn't. "Now, my understanding is that this interview is for the paperback edition of Microtrends," Penn begins, referring to his book, a work of popular sociology. "I think I've made it clear that I'm not doing on-the-record interviews about the campaign." Nobody told me about any restrictions on what we could talk about, I reply.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >There follows an uncomfortable silence, which I attempt to lighten with a remark about how there's surely plenty of overlap between book and campaign. Penn, a portly 53-year-old who is invariably described by friends and reporters alike as "socially awkward", looks at me expressionlessly. "I've made it clear I'm not doing on-the-record interviews about the campaign," he repeats. Mentally, I start rephrasing all the questions I'd planned to ask about the race for the Democratic nomination so that they don't mention Clinton, or Obama, or politics.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"It's not much of a political book," Penn explains, but it's hard to believe he honestly thinks this. To everyone else who has an opinion on the matter, Microtrends encapsulates his approach to campaigning. Society, it argues, is becoming ever more fragmented into tiny yet influential demographics, defined not by class but by lifestyle choices: Penn gives them slightly cringe-inducing names, such as "old new dads", "young knitters", "extreme commuters", "tech fatales" (women who like technology) and "powerful petites" (women who are small and proud of it).</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Penn philosophy of both politics and marketing involves identifying such groups through polling, then micro-targeting them with messages crafted precisely to their unique concerns. It's not pandering, he insists: it's an expression of faith in voters as smart and rational creatures who vote according to self-interest, not airy intangibles or well-packaged personalities. "They're not really voting for people on the basis of the color of their tie," he says.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"They're voting for people on the basis of [what it] means for them and their families at the time." One campaign anecdote has an aide urging Clinton to "show a little bit of humanity", the kind of woolly advice Penn detests. "Oh, come on," he is supposed to have replied. "Being human is overrated."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Thus it was that Bill Clinton's successful 1996 election strategy, overseen by Penn, targeted "soccer moms", a label he coined. And thus it was, Penn's critics argue, that for too long Hillary's campaign was a muddle of small, contradictory, cautious messages, when what the moment required was passion, inspiration, and a promise of change.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Penn also argued that "the numbers" - the polling that Clinton paid his firm to conduct - showed that she shouldn't apologise for having backed the Iraq war, and should "go negative" against Obama. The former tactic helped her rival; the latter led to the notorious "3am" ad, questioning whether Obama would be able to keep America safe, which arguably helped her stay in the race. Despite the loss of his official status in the campaign, he remains closely involved.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"Americans overwhelmingly favor small, reasonable ideas over big, grandiose schemes ... There is no One America any more, or Two, or Three, or Eight," he writes. "In fact, there are hundreds of Americas."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >A message more opposed to Obama's call for unity would be hard to imagine.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia; font-style: italic;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >What about the possibility that voters might be intelligent without being fixated on narrow self-interest - that they might, for perfectly smart reasons, favor a more ambitious message of unity or change? I mean, just hypothetically, obviously, since we're not discussing the campaign. Could a candidate with a message like that, even if he was relatively inexperienced, ever stand a chance against a more cautious, more experienced ... Oh, for goodness' sake.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Penn chuckles uneasily. For a man so often described as arrogant and prone to shouting matches with fellow campaign advisers, there's a disarming nervousness in his manner. "As I say, it's not a political book," he begins. "[But] if you look at Hillary's campaign, she has been for ending the Iraq war, for universal health care ... all big ideas. [It's] been, really, a very big campaign." The trick is to find the balance between big ideas and small, targeted proposals. "The campaign is a balance, and she has shown the balance."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >But she's not going to win. "Well, more people will have voted for her than have ever voted for a presidential candidate in the history of this country."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >But she's not going to win. "Well, you know, when the campaign's over, either successfully or not, we'll talk about that." I'm pretty sure I'm being filed away as a member of the "impressionable elites", a micro trend Penn identifies whereby working-class voters get ever more adept at making rational choices based on data, while only the more privileged - people who aren't "living through the difficulties with health care, and the economy, and the mortgage, and the job loss" - can afford to indulge in frivolous chatter about hope and change. Naturally, from Penn's perspective, this includes many journalists.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The book has not met with universal acclaim. "Micro trends is so bad that the question ... isn't whether it will destroy [Penn's] own reputation, but whether it is so epically awful as to take the entire polling industry down with it," wrote the liberal commentator Ezra Klein, who berated Penn for misusing statistics. "If Bin Laden could convert just 1% of the world's 1 billion Muslims to take up violence," Penn writes in a section on terrorism as a trend, "that would be 10 million terrorists." This is undeniably correct. But "just 1%" implies that it would be a breeze; Penn offers no evidence as to whether, or how, or why it might actually occur.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >He has been accused of far worse, numbers-wise. In recent days, Penn's enemies in Washington have been amusing themselves over a campaign leak suggesting that he based his election strategy - focusing resources on America's largest states - on the erroneous belief that states awarded delegates on a winner-takes-all basis. (Democratic party primaries don't work that way.)</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"How can it possibly be," the senior Clinton aide Harold Ickes was quoted as saying, "that the vaunted chief strategist does not understand proportional allocation?" Penn denies the misunderstanding, and it's difficult to imagine he could be so mistaken. Nor is he the campaign's only scapegoat these days: many blame Patti Solis Doyle, Clinton's former campaign manager, and fund raising was a constant problem, too. But the big-state strategy undoubtedly damaged Clinton, allowing Obama to win in the states she ignored, while still picking up plenty of votes in the big states' urban areas.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The other charge against Penn holds that he is more concerned with profit than principle. That's hardly a new allegation at Burson-Marsteller, his PR firm, whose clients have included GM food giant Monsanto, the private military outfit Blackwater, and the Chinese toy manufacturer that last year shipped millions of products to the US contaminated with the "date-rape drug" GHB. Penn could have chosen to take a leave of absence from lobbying; his firm has so far earned more than $13m from the Clinton campaign.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Even Karl Rove put aside his direct-mail business when recruited by George Bush. Instead, Penn kept fingers in multiple pies - a decision that culminated in embarrassment for Clinton last month when it emerged that he had met the Colombian ambassador to help lobby for a free-trade agreement that Hillary opposed. The meeting, he conceded, had been an "error in judgment". Days later, Colombia fired Burson-Marsteller, complaining that Penn's apology showed "a lack of respect to Colombians".</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Does he wish he'd taken a sabbatical from lobbying? Penn's answer is the closest he comes to expressing any regrets about his campaign work. "I think that we - you know, with the benefit of hindsight, we might have done things somewhat differently. I'll spend some time analyzing that." He won't quite admit to having any regrets about the campaign as a whole, though. "In these races, if you win you all win, and if you lose you all lose. You have to take your share of the responsibility. There is always, in everything, something that could have been done differently."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >While we're discussing Colombia, Penn's blackberry chimes. He peers at it through wire-rimmed spectacles, and his face clouds over. For several long moments, he reads in silence, then sighs. Later, I learn that this coincided with the news of Clinton's foot-in-mouth comments about Robert F Kennedy, which gave the impression that she was remaining in the race in case Obama was assassinated.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Penn is on much more comfortable ground discussing his work with overseas politicians, including his contributions to Blair's 2005 campaign, which include dreaming up the slogan "Forward Not Back". "Part of the reason I've been so successful in so many different foreign countries," he says, "has been that I'll come to people who are locked into a world that they see only from their political context ... and be able to say 'No, no, no - let's take a look at the numbers.'" He seems remarkably sanguine about the current prime minister's problems.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"Look, obviously, Labor and Gordon Brown are in a tough spot," he says. "But these are situations that he has time to work out before a scheduled election ... Oftentimes; these [tough spots] can be a spur to taking the kind of action that's ultimately successful. There's plenty of time." Take a hard-headed, numbers-based approach to the way society and the economy are changing, he insists, and you'll see that "the changes should favor Labor over a return to the Tories".</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >It's time for Penn's next meeting. He shows me from his office to the lobby. As we walk, he says abruptly: "You know, I got an email from Tony recently ... Just saying how pleased he was." Pleased with what? "Pleased with my work on his campaign back then. He just said he was really pleased at how it went."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >I don't know it yet, but as he speaks, hordes of television commentators are beginning to dissect Clinton's RFK gaffe, driving another nail into her all-but-certainly doomed campaign.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"2005 ... You know, I really enjoyed that campaign," Penn says, in a tone it would be easy to interpret as wistful.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h3 style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a style="font-weight: normal;" href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/docs/news-2886682" target="_blank">Five Questions About The End of the Democratic Primaries</a><o:p></o:p></span></h3> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Tuesday marks the final contests of the Democratic primary season. So what happens now? <span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/docs/news-2886682" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70); text-transform: uppercase;">Read More</span></a></span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h3 style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002886667" target="_blank">Senate Democrats Reluctant to Push Clinton From Presidential Race</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></h3> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >A handful of the Senate's officially uncommitted superdelegates met privately Monday to talk about the timing of their presidential preference declarations, and said they intend to meet again Wednesday. <span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002886667" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70); text-transform: uppercase;">Read More</span></a></span></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://vbonnaire.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/why-would-pelosi-want-hillary-clinton-out-of-this-race-what-might-this-have-to-do-with-ethics-and-the-fec/" target="_blank">Why would <span style="">Pelosi</span> want Hillary Clinton out of this race? What might <span style="">...</span></a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >By vbonnaire </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br />Two political action committees linked to House Minority Leader <span style="">Nancy Pelosi</span> have been charged with attempting to circumvent to legal limits on campaign giving, the Federal Election Commission has ruled. <span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://vbonnaire.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" title="http://vbonnaire.wordpress.com"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);">Valentine Bonnaire - http://vbonnaire.wordpress.com </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;font-family:";font-size:100%;" >End Post…</span><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-76048325775807605792008-06-02T20:29:00.000-07:002008-06-03T20:33:49.822-07:00One Dare Not Call It Treason…Impeach and Prosecute Now!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnNNRSSXBLZdFWf8GZJM6uWqkEO0MbWQZ2LpaE-JME5YoI1EWmneW7ODhsYI21H7gi3hOp5apf6VaHxdxp7xSNaRqufZMmaurS289LN4LcCpfkPuFzE_InP81_PsC5OmOF6j9Se2vwBQ/s1600-h/SCOTT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKnNNRSSXBLZdFWf8GZJM6uWqkEO0MbWQZ2LpaE-JME5YoI1EWmneW7ODhsYI21H7gi3hOp5apf6VaHxdxp7xSNaRqufZMmaurS289LN4LcCpfkPuFzE_InP81_PsC5OmOF6j9Se2vwBQ/s400/SCOTT.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207492455531462594" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">One Dare Not Call It Treason…Impeach and Prosecute Now!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:12;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Treason usually involves betraying one's country to a foreign power. But, there is nothing inherent in the definition or legal interpretation of treason that limits the crime to this. In the present case, George W. Bush, acting on behalf of the Bush Group, has tried to wrest control of the United States from the people of the United States and deliver it into the hands of a small group of extremely powerful domestic business interests. Their motivation, of course, is the same as in any normal takeover of a country: to steal the wealth of that country. The fact that the plotters are working from within the country in no way exonerates them from the charge of treason: an overthrow is an overthrow, whether it comes from within or without.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >And That Ladies and Gentlemen is TREASON!<span style=""> </span>We have already, long ago determined that George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney are guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, acts of nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance for which they can and should have already been Impeached and Convicted under our Constitution.<span style=""> </span>We have long ago also determined that they both are guilty of Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes as determined by the Geneva Conventions for which they could either be imprisoned or face the gallows.<span style=""> </span>Now add Treason, and ask yourself: “What the Hell are we Americans waiting for?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As the response to former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s new book enters its second week, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/06/02/BL2008060201318.html?hpid=opinionsbox1">the focus has shifted to the messenger rather than his message.</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But the significance of McClellan’s book is that his detailed recounting of what he saw from the inside vindicates pretty much all the central pillars of the Bush critique that have been chronicled here and elsewhere for many years now. Among them:</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">* That Bush and his top aides manipulated the country into embarking upon an unnecessary war on false pretenses;</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">* That Bush is an incurious man, happily protected from dissenting views inside the White House’s bubble of self-delusion;</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">* That Karl Rove’s huge influence on the Bush White House erased any distinction between policy and politics, so governing became about achieving partisan goals, not the common good;</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">* That Vice President Cheney manipulates the levers of power;</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">* That all those people who denied White House involvement in the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity were either lying or had been lied to;</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">* That the mainstream media were complicit enablers of the Bush White House and that its members didn't understand how badly they were being played.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">By coming back again and again to the CIA leak story, McClellan also validates a key theme of the Bush critique: That the Plame case was a microcosm of much that was wrong with the way the Bush White House did business.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">No one could have predicted that the Plame case would play such a central role in McClellan's personal conversion to Bush critic. But his eventual recognition that Rove and then-vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby had flatly lied to him when they denied any involvement in the leak, along with his sudden realization that Bush and Cheney declassified secrets when it was politically convenient, were evidently two major factors. (A third was his unceremonious firing by Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.)</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">McClellan's revelation that on Oct. 4, 2003, Bush and Cheney directed him to vouch for Libby's innocence once again raises the question of how the president and particularly the vice president have been able to avoid any kind of public accountability. McClellan even raises the possibility, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/05/29/BL2007052901024.html">repeatedly</a> hinted at by special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, that Cheney directed Libby to disclose<span style="font-size:100%;"> Plame's identity.</span></span></p><br /><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806020002">Despite contrary evidence, CNN's Townsend insisted "facts" show neither Rove nor Libby outed Plame as CIA operative</a></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h1 style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200806020002" target="_blank">http://mediamatters.org/items/200806020002</a></span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">On the May 28 edition of <em><span style="">CNN Newsroom</span></em>, national security contributor Fran Townsend twice made the false claim that neither former deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove nor former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby had "outed Valerie Plame" as a CIA agent and that the lea was former deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. In fact, Rove was <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200805280011?lid=336201&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/items/200805280011">a source</a> of the information about Plame's CIA employment for at least two journalists -- columnist Robert Novak and <em><span style="">Time</span></em> magazine's Matthew Cooper -- while Libby was <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707080001?lid=336202&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/items/200707080001">a source</a> of the information for both Cooper and <em><span style="">The New York Times</span></em>' Judith Miller.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Townsend was discussing former White House press secretary <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121209803493730619.html?mod=Declarations">Scott McClellan's claim in his new book</a> that Rove misled him regarding Rove's involvement in the leak. During the discussion, anchor Brianna Keilar noted that contrary to what McClellan had told the press in October 2003, "Karl Rove did talk to the media about Valerie Plame" and that "Libby was convicted for lying about his role, or about what he said to authorities." In response, Townsend asserted that "we know from the outcome of the [Special Counsel Patrick] Fitzgerald investigation" into the leak that "it wasn't Karl Rove nor Scooter Libby who outed Valerie Plame. That was a senior official in the State Department." After Keilar stated that McClellan had "said they [Rove and Libby] were not involved, and the facts now show that indeed they were involved," Townsend asserted that "what the facts have showed is they weren't the ones who outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. That's -- that was done by somebody else." She later said that "[t]hey weren't the ones who outed him [sic: Plame]." Keilar then said that it was "Dick Armitage, of course, the original source there for the outing of her name."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In fact, Novak has <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707190003?lid=336203&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/items/200707190003">identified</a> both <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.townhall.com%252Fcolumnists%252FRobertDNovak%252F2006%252F07%252F13%252Fmy_leak_case_testiony&lid=336204&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2006/07/13/my_leak_case_testiony http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2006/07/13/my_leak_case_testiony">Rove</a> and <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.townhall.com%252Fcolumnists%252FRobertDNovak%252F2006%252F09%252F14%252Farmitages_leak&lid=336205&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/rd?http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2006/09/14/armitages_leak">Armitage</a> as the sources for his July 14, 2003, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.townhall.com%252Fcolumnists%252FRobertDNovak%252F2003%252F07%252F14%252Fmission_to_niger&lid=336206&rid=8913623" target="_blank">column</a>, and Cooper named Rove as his source who identified Plame as an employee of the CIA during a telephone conversation on July 11, 2003. In Cooper's <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.time.com%252Ftime%252Fmagazine%252Fprintout%252F0%252C8816%252C1083899%252C00.html&lid=336207&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="This external link will open in a new window">first-person account</a> of his testimony before the grand jury in the leak investigation, he identified Libby as his confirming source. Miller <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200706190010?lid=336208&rid=8913623" target="_blank">testified</a> on January 30, 2007, that Libby disclosed Plame's CIA employment to her at a breakfast meeting at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 8, 2003, the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200707140002?f=h_top&lid=336209&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/items/200707140002?f=h_top">same day</a> as the meeting in which Armitage disclosed Plame's employment to Novak -- and six days before Novak's July 14 column was published. A Justice Department investigation into the leaks resulted in Libby's indictment and <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2007%252F03%252F06%252Fwashington%252F06cnd-libby.html&lid=336210&rid=8913623" target="_blank">conviction</a> on charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators that he had learned Plame's identity from NBC's Tim Russert, rather than other Bush administration insiders. Libby's 30-month prison sentence was <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.cnn.com%252F2007%252FPOLITICS%252F07%252F02%252Flibby.sentence%252Findex.html&lid=336211&rid=8913623" target="_blank" title="blocked::http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/02/libby.sentence/index.html">commuted</a> by President Bush on July 2, 2007.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Townsend is a former homeland security and counterterrorism <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.whitehouse.gov%252Fgovernment%252Ftownsend-bio.html&lid=336212&rid=8913623" target="_blank">adviser</a> to President Bush.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">One Dare Not Call It Treason…Impeach and Prosecute Now!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Bush Group: Guilty of Treason?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Treason usually involves betraying one's country to a foreign power. But, there is nothing inherent in the definition or legal interpretation of treason that limits the crime to this. In the present case, George W. Bush, acting on behalf of the Bush Group, has tried to wrest control of the United States from the people of the United States and deliver it into the hands of a small group of extremely powerful domestic business interests. Their motivation, of course, is the same as in any normal takeover of a country: to steal the wealth of that country. The fact that the plotters are working from within the country in no way exonerates them from the charge of treason: an overthrow is an overthrow, whether it comes from within or without.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">George W. Bush: Not a Bad President<br />By Chris Rowthorn<br />The Smirking Chimp, Nov 15, 2006<br /><a href="http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/3058">Straight to the Source </a></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Traitor: One who violates his allegiance and betrays his country; one guilty of treason. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Treason: The offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance. -- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. -- Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />It is clear that George W. Bush is a bad president. He may have allowed 9-11 to happen because he ignored clear and repeated warnings about terrorist plans. He invaded Iraq based on outright lies, causing the death of over 2800 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. He gave no-bid Iraq reconstruction contracts to his cronies, thereby robbing the American public of billions of dollars. He has presided over a regime in which enemies are tortured and citizens are spied on. Thus, it is clear that Mr. Bush is a bad president -- probably the worst president in American history.<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But to call George W. Bush merely a bad president is to miss the point entirely. For George W. Bush is far more than just a bad president. George W. Bush's misdeeds go far beyond mere inept statesmanship or run-of-the-mill political corruption. If one looks carefully at the means by which Bush took office, the way he has governed since taking office, and the clearly stated beliefs and aims of his administration, one cannot help but conclude that George W. Bush is guilty of a crime against his country. And that crime is treason.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />George W. Bush is a traitor to the United States of America.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Please read the definition of traitor at the start of this article one more time. A traitor is someone who betrays his country, or someone who is guilty of treason, the offense of attempting to overthrow the government.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is precisely the crime that George W. Bush is guilty of. For George W. Bush is the representative of a small group of people and corporations who have made a very public attempt to overthrow the United States government.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The exact nature and membership of this group is debatable and partially hidden from public view, but its existence is beyond dispute and its aims are clear. For the sake of brevity, I will refer to this group as the Bush Group. George W. Bush is the representative and figurehead of this group, but he is by no means its leader.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The Bush Group consists of highly placed figures in the oil industries and related industries, most notably companies like Halliburton and Bechtel, as well as figures in the Carlyle Group, a Washington-based private equity firm. Of course, these are only the most visible and most powerful members of the Bush Group. Other members can be identified by looking at a list of major Bush campaign contributors and recipients of large government contracts since Bush took office.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The companies and individuals who make up the Bush Group used their vast political influence and capital to place George W. Bush in power. They did this for one reason only: to use the apparatus of the government of the United States to channel money into their pockets.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Of course, this would merely be politics as usual if it weren't for the fact that the Bush Group originally took power illegally and has sought to maintain and increase its power by non-democratic means. The Bush Group, acting through the Republican National Committee, local Republican organizations, and various allied groups, used a variety illegal means to insure a Bush victory in the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Those who doubt this are urged to read Mark Crispin Miller's book "Fooled Again" or Robert F. Kennedy Jr's article "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />After placing George W. Bush in office through illegal means, the Bush Group sought to cement its grip on power by rewriting and reinterpreting American law to make the executive branch of government supreme above the judicial and legislative branches. That is, to make the president the supreme power in the land, unanswerable to Congress, the courts and, ultimately, the people of the United States. Needless to say, this is a stunning violation of both the letter and the intent of the Constitution, and a direct breach of the Oath of the Office of the President, in which the president swears to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.".<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />What is most remarkable about the Bush Group's power grab is their brazen frankness about their intents and their beliefs. The Bush Group has declared that they are guided by the "unitary executive theory." This term describes a government in which one man, the president, holds supreme power in the land, or, to use Bush's formulation, "I am the decider and I decide." Even the briefest reflection on the term "unitary executive" leads to one simple conclusion: "unitary executive" is a euphemism for dictator.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />According to the "unitary executive theory," the executive, or president, has power over the other two branches of government. The most famous example of Bush exercising the power of the unitary executive is in the warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) passed by Congress in 1978.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />A clearer insight into the Bush Group's practical application of the "unitary executive theory" can be found in Bush's use of the "signing statements" which Bush routinely appends to laws passed by Congress. Bush's signing statements challenge the validity of the laws in question and declare that the president can either interpret the laws as he wishes or ignore them completely.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />At last count, Bush had signed 139 signing statements, containing challenges to over 750 individual laws. These signing statements amount to 139 written declarations that George W. Bush and the Bush Group consider themselves to be unconstrained by the laws of the land, the Congress of the United States and the will of the people. Or, to quote Mr. Bush: "(The Constitution) is just a goddamned piece of paper!"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />The Founding Fathers took great pains to frame a Constitution that would prevent one individual or one branch of government from taking power over the other branches. In the words of James Madison, "the accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." Having lived under a king, they created a sacred document that was intended to prevent a king from taking power in their new country.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />What the Bush Group has tried to do is install a new king over the United States. They took control of the government of the United States by illegal means and then announced that their man, George W. Bush, is no longer bound by the Constitution. This is not politics as usual. This is a takeover of the government of the United States. This is treason.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Remember that article II, section 4 of the United States' Constitution states that, "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Of course, treason usually involves betraying one's country to a foreign power. But, there is nothing inherent in the definition or legal interpretation of treason that limits the crime to this. In the present case, George W. Bush, acting on behalf of the Bush Group, has tried to wrest control of the United States from the people of the United States and deliver it into the hands of a small group of extremely powerful domestic business interests. Their motivation, of course, is the same as in any normal takeover of a country: to steal the wealth of that country. The fact that the plotters are working from within the country in no way exonerates them from the charge of treason: an overthrow is an overthrow, whether it comes from within or without.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />All of Bush's crimes are secondary to this one. And Congress must look beyond craven political calculation to do what is right to answer this fundamental challenge to American Democracy. Now is not the time to think only of maintaining a Congressional majority in 2008. Now is the time to do the will of the Founding Fathers and strike down this vulgar would-be king and the people he represents. Now is the time to try George W. Bush for treason in the United States Congress. Our very Democracy is at stake.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >At 3 minutes into the Today Show interview with Meredith Viera, McClellan relates a moment on Air Force One where Bush admitted to him that he had authorized Scooter Libby to leak Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.daily.pk/world/americas/99-americas/3789-george-w-bush-authorized-911-attacks-says-government-insider.html">http://www.daily.pk/world/americas/99-americas/3789-george-w-bush-authorized-911-attacks-says-government-insider.html</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Oft4K3f8364&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Oft4K3f8364&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SNk8J9jKXcA&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SNk8J9jKXcA&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >And That Ladies and Gentlemen is TREASON!<span style=""> </span>We have already, long ago determined that George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney are guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, acts of nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance for which they can and should have already been Impeached and Convicted under our Constitution.<span style=""> </span>We have long ago also determined that they both are guilty of Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes as determined by the Geneva Conventions for which they could either be imprisoned or face the gallows.<span style=""> </span>Now add Treason, and ask yourself: “What the Hell are we Americans waiting for?”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Something astonishing happened the other day in the House: The Democratic leadership found some courage. After over a year of demoralizing, often inexplicable capitulation, they actually gathered the fortitude to push back slightly against Republicans on so-called national security issues. The Republicans' response was swift: They took their ball and went home, after a brief stop at a prearranged press conference on the Capitol steps.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Two issues caused the dispute: One, in a stunning display of rudimentary oversight, the House issued contempt citations for two former Bush staffers, Harriet Meiers and Josh Bolten, who've been ducking House subpoenas for months now. This was predictably dismissed by weepy Minority Whip John Boehner as a "partisan fishing expedition," a boilerplate cliche if ever there was one.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The second issue, which the indignant Republicans preferred to discuss, for obvious reasons, was the House Democrats' refusal to cave on retroactive immunity for telecom companies, like AT&T and Sprint, for collaborating with the White House in spying on domestic internet and phone communications, which, to be clear, was tremendously illegal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What's less encouraging, but interesting, is that the Democrats were ready to sign off on extending the repugnantly named Protect America Act, except for telecom immunity. To Bush, this made the bill dead on arrival. That's right; Bush promised to veto the bill if it reached his desk without a get out of jail free card for Comcast.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It's hard to line that up with the apocalyptic tenor of Bush's exhortations regarding the bill. If the warrantless domestic spying provisions of the Act were not renewed, Bush warned, Osama bin Laden would rain fire upon us all. But he was planning to veto them if they came to him without immunity. Naturally, this makes no fucking sense. Either Bush is willing to risk another 9/11 to embarrass the Democrats, or he's lying when it comes to the threat posed by having to get a FISA warrant -- retroactively, after the fact -- for domestic surveillance. I think he's lying, but I suppose it could be both.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It's interesting that these issues are what it takes to really outrage Republicans -- threaten huge corporate giants with lawsuits, or exercise congress's constitutional oversight powers. Of course, it's only natural that the Republicans would shudder at the prospect of effective investigations being conducted in the House. If the Democrats actually start following through on the legal options to compel testimony, it's only a matter of time before everyone's implicated. But telecom immunity?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Republicans are, of course, fundamentally pro-corporate, even more so than modern Democrats. But to go to bat this hard on behalf of an industry seems anomalous even for them. All a congressman usually has to do for his biennial bribe is vote in a corporation's interests, not engage in tantrum theatrics. There's more than pedestrian corruption at work here.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Of course, there is the terror issue, and in a most perilous election year, Republicans would like nothing more than to be able to run on the "Dems are sissies" platform. If they can keep people frightened and badly misinformed, they may manage to make telecom amnesty into a winning issue for them come November.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But to do that, they have to lie. A lot. They have to feign outrage, and actual concern for the wellbeing of their fellow Americans. They're doing their level best. To hear Republicans tell it, requiring a rubber-stamp warrant, after the fact, to spy on Americans is like mailing plutonium to Iran. Bush's spiel was grade A horseshit from start to finish:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Because Congress failed to act, it will be harder for our government to keep you safe from terrorist attack. At midnight, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence will be stripped of their power to authorize new surveillance against terrorist threats abroad. This means that as terrorists change their tactics to avoid our surveillance, we may not have the tools we need to continue tracking them--and we may lose a vital lead that could prevent an attack on America…. Instead, the House held partisan votes that do nothing to keep our country safer. House leaders chose politics over protecting the country--and our country is at greater risk as a result."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 5pt; line-height: normal;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Then sign the bill without the telecom amnesty provision, and work on that part later. If it's nearly as vital as Bush says, he's providing aid and comfort to the enemy by not compromising, right?</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"If the Protect America Act is allowed to expire, Americans will be at risk," echoed Boehner, despite having just voted against a three-week extension on the bill, like all his fellow Republicans in the House.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What the hell is going on here? When you compare the truths of this dispute with the rhetoric from the White House and its mouthpieces, there's really no other conclusion than that this country has gone fucking bonkers. Reality and public perception don't even share a zip code anymore. After years of constant, obvious lies, their ridiculousness compounded by countless revelations of their falsehood, Bush is still sticking with the same despicable, transparently manipulative bogeyman bullshit he started with. And like-minded jackasses in the media, like Bill Kristol on <span style="">Fox News Sunday</span>, still have the inconceivable gall to say things like, "I think it's kind of unbelievable, frankly, that -- it's a judgment call, we don't know -- not to give the administration the benefit of the doubt."</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The benefit of the doubt? A <span style="">judgment call</span>? Sorry Bill, but fuck you. Your judgment's been shit; your President's judgment's been shit, and both of you are documented liars. So forgive the hell out of the rest of us if there's no doubt to benefit from when it comes to whether the president is a fucking fraud. The entire administration is a fraud. Every department is a fraud, staffed by fraudulent people, hostile to its stated mission and intent on its nullification, by death or paralysis. There may never be proof, especially if Bush gets his way. But what thinking person can muster much doubt that the administration is listening not just for terrorist chatter, but to anyone they want -- political enemies, reporters, chicks they're into --whoever?</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In 2006, after Andrea Mitchell asked <span style="">New York Times</span> reporter James Risen, who broke the domestic spying story, out of the blue, "You don't have any information, for instance, that a very prominent journalist, Christiane Amanpour, might have been eavesdropped upon?" Risen did not, but NBC scrubbed the question from its transcripts of the interview, later explaining that the story had been "released prematurely," that they had not "completed" their reporting. But they didn't call the allegation irresponsible, or speculative, or any other dismissive adjective they could have used. They essentially confirmed that they had reason to believe that Bush was secretly wiretapping a prominent CNN reporter.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And why the hell wouldn't he, after all? Without a reviewable record of warrants, it's not as if anyone can possibly find out -- unless somebody sues the telecoms, and specific, decidedly non-terrorist surveillance targets are identified in the ensuing discovery process. And that is why the Republicans are going apeshit over retroactive immunity, not just to protect the telecoms, but to cover their own asses. If it ever comes out that their secret, illegal domestic wiretaps were not targeting al Qaeda, but Al Gore, the jig is finally up. The entire "trust us, we're hunting terrorists" rationale, as thin as it always was, will lose any residual integrity, and the GOP may never recover. And they know it. And maybe, hopefully, the Democrats finally know it too.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"> </p><p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/5804" target="_blank">The <span style="">Impeachment</span> of Bush is Imminent, Just in Time</a><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">So now, thanks to his revelations those tilling the ground for <span style="">impeachment</span> have proven that the soil was fertile. The former press secretary has painted a picture perfect image of what most of us could only see from afar. <span style="">...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);"><a href="http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/" target="_blank" title="http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com"><span style="color: rgb(247, 150, 70);">Democracy for New Hampshire -... - http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/02/goldfarb/">Newest McCain official: President has "near dictatorial powers</a>"<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">So, consistent with his President-as-Dictator vision, McCain's <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=Michael+Goldfarb&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a">new communications official believes that</a> -- as I <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/10/19/weekly_standard/index.html">wrote at the time</a> -- when "federal agents" come knocking at your door and issue orders, you better "damn well" obey -- you had better not "resist" -- even if the orders you're being given are illegal, even if they're designed to spy on Americans in violation of the law, and even if they're intended to facilitate the torture of detainees. That's what patriotic Americans do -- they obey the orders of their near-dictatorial Leader, so sayeth the heel-clicking Michael Goldfarb. That's a superb, and very mainstream, new addition to the maverick McCain team.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">John McCain <a href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/06/kristol_so_long_for_a_while_to.asp">just hired</a> the <em><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-style: normal;">Weekly Standard's </span></em><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Michael_Goldfarb">Michael Goldfarb</a> to be his number-two communications guy. <a href="http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/02/goldfarb/index.html">Glenn Greenwald points out</a> that this isn't a particularly encouraging sign when it comes to reining in <a href="http://www.reason.com/news/show/126020.html">executive power</a>. Goldfarb has written (falsely, by any reasonable reading of the Constitution, Federalist Papers, or diaries of the Constitutional Convention) that the founders believed the president should have "near dictatorial" powers when it comes to war and foreign policy.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> <br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This administration genuinely believes that we cannot handle freedom and that freedom is a very dangerous commodity.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p face="georgia"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p face="georgia"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-49324575791286229712008-06-02T11:22:00.001-07:002008-06-03T20:33:49.823-07:00We're Being Gassed!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNJCXJuCpbMPALAdztOdmlkCC15GJELu86cT7yukEEgWrjPdYNjcAwA7eBBfaoZwyaRC5rYpFfLFb8MVhn8crxjbTQfoxpSrEIhyBx-YfA0byVVMpvqpIIim2rAZQIu1Ve2ySd_Ax1sg/s1600-h/The+Piss+Ant+Gas+Credit+Card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNJCXJuCpbMPALAdztOdmlkCC15GJELu86cT7yukEEgWrjPdYNjcAwA7eBBfaoZwyaRC5rYpFfLFb8MVhn8crxjbTQfoxpSrEIhyBx-YfA0byVVMpvqpIIim2rAZQIu1Ve2ySd_Ax1sg/s400/The+Piss+Ant+Gas+Credit+Card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207351430907296642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7Jq65plsdx5gM0LSZqGRMoqwsPFF5a_diDOGngdvGFHchGQ0bzRs9inEpDXiaMs6Lo4elfjNSdj3b0w0pCx-hQe03doStf6YNQh3uJL-b_9WYHF0B_i-Gh5nyRff0Czuvkx0Ht4jSxY/s1600-h/John+McRambocain.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh7Jq65plsdx5gM0LSZqGRMoqwsPFF5a_diDOGngdvGFHchGQ0bzRs9inEpDXiaMs6Lo4elfjNSdj3b0w0pCx-hQe03doStf6YNQh3uJL-b_9WYHF0B_i-Gh5nyRff0Czuvkx0Ht4jSxY/s400/John+McRambocain.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207351307205819138" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:130%;" >We’re Being Gassed!</span></p><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >PARIS (AP) <a href="http://zfacts.com/p/35.html">— Feeling woozy</a> about the fortune you've just pumped into your gas tank? Drivers around the world share the sensation.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Consumers, gas retailers and governments are wrestling with a new energy order, where rising oil prices play a larger role than ever in the daily lives of increasingly mobile people. But as the cost of crude mounts, the effect on the price at the pump varies startlingly — from Venezuela, where gas is cheaper than water, to Turkey, where a full tank can cost more than a domestic plane ticket.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Taxes and subsidies are the main reasons for the differences, along with lesser factors such as limited oil refining capacity and hard-to-reach geography that push up prices.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"I don't know why it is but... it hurts," says Marie Penucci, a violinist filling up her Volkswagen at an Esso station on the bypass that rings Paris.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >As she pumped gas worth $9.66 a gallon she looked wistfully at a commuter climbing onto one of the city's cheap rent-a-bikes, an option not open to her since she travels long distances to perform.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" align="center"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >For Up To Date Local Area Pricing In Any State, and more go to:<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.gasbuddy.com/">http://www.gasbuddy.com/</a></span></p><p style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" align="center"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.gasbuddy.com/"><br /></a></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h1 style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >$11.29 A GALLON IN TURKEY? CONSUMERS WORLDWIDE WRESTLE WITH RISING GASOLINE PRICES<o:p></o:p></span></h1> <h1 style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></h1> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="byline"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >By ANGELA CHARLTON ,</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > Associated Press <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="timestamp"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Last update: May 31, 2008 - 1:12 AM</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="timestamp"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >PARIS - Feeling woozy about the fortune you've just pumped into your gas tank? Drivers around the world share the sensation.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Consumers, gas retailers and governments are wrestling with a new energy order, where rising oil prices play a larger role than ever in the daily lives of increasingly mobile people. But as the cost of crude mounts, the effect on the price at the pump varies startlingly — from Venezuela, where gas is cheaper than water, to Turkey, where a full tank can cost more than a domestic plane ticket.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Taxes and subsidies are the main reasons for the differences, along with lesser factors such as limited oil refining capacity and hard-to-reach geography that push up prices.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"I don't know why it is but... it hurts," says Marie Penucci, a violinist filling up her Volkswagen at an Esso station on the bypass that rings Paris.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >As she pumped gas worth $9.66 a gallon she looked wistfully at a commuter climbing onto one of the city's cheap rent-a-bikes, an option not open to her since she travels long distances to perform.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >High taxes in Europe and Japan have long accustomed consumers to staggering pump prices, which now are testing new pain thresholds — and it could have been even worse, if a strong euro hadn't cushioned some of the blow. As a result, plenty of European adults never even bother to learn to drive, preferring cheap mass transit to cumbersome cars.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Subsidies in emerging economies such as China and India, meanwhile, shield consumers but hurt governments, which must find a way to afford rising market prices for oil.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Increasingly, they can't. Indonesians are staging protests against shrinking gasoline subsidies in a nation where nearly half the population of 235 million lives on less than $2 a day. And there are now 887 million vehicles in the world, up from 553 million vehicles just 15 years ago, and on track to nearly double to a billion by 2012, according to London-based consultancy Global Insight.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In Europe, taxes are often the focus, since the high tax burden means crude itself is a smaller part of the burden.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"The pain of a rise in prices is much less in Europe, because we may be paying a lot more here, but the rise in a percentage sense is a lot smaller," said Julius Walker, oil analyst at the Paris-based International Energy Agency.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The United States, with its relatively low taxes, is considered to have retail prices closer to what energy data charts call the "real cost" of gasoline — which is closely linked to the price of oil.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >So as oil prices have soared, average U.S. prices have gone up 144 percent in the past five years — from $1.67 in May 2003 to $4.02 a gallon this month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Over the same period, gas prices in France went up 117 percent to $9.66 a gallon.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Proposals by U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton to suspend federal gas taxes this summer would lower the price tag — but have little effect on the underlying oil price. French President Nicholas Sarkozy has urged the EU to cut value-added tax on fuel.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >French fishermen and farmers, who need fuel for their trawlers and tractors, say their livelihoods are threatened by soaring prices and have blocked oil terminals around France and shipping traffic on the English Channel to demand government help. Italian, Portuguese and Spanish fisherman joined them and went on strike Friday. British and Bulgarian truckers are staging fuel protests, too.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Russia is proof that big oil-producing nations are not in any better shape when it comes to gasoline prices. Gas in the world's No. 2 oil producer runs about $3.68 a gallon — nearly that in the United States, where the average wage is about six times higher.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Much of the Russian cost comes from taxes, which run between 60 and 70 percent. Limited refining capacity and the costs of transporting gasoline across the country's vast expanse also push up prices.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Turkey faces similar problems — and even higher prices — $11.29 a gallon, which for a full tank in a midsize car can reach nearly $200, enough for a domestic plane ticket.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In China, government-mandated low retail gasoline prices have helped farmers and China's urban poor but also have hurt conservation. In the first four months of 2008, gasoline consumption was up 5.5 percent from the same period last year.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Venezuela, too, is a gas-guzzler's wonderland. A gallon costs just 12 cents and consumers are snapping up SUVs even as Americans are shunning them. Thanks to long-held government subsidies and plenty of oil, Venezuelans see cheap fuel as a birthright.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Some policymakers in less oil-flush nations look to Brazil's use of ethanol as a potential solution. Ethanol from sugarcane is widely available in the world's No. 1 sugar producer and its 190 million people. Eight out of every 10 new cars sold are flex-fuel models that run on pure ethanol, gas or any combination of the two. The price for ethanol in Sao Paulo is currently running about half the price of gas, which runs $5.67 per gallon.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In Japan, gas station owners say some customers aren't filling up their tanks all the way.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"It's been tough. I had to switch to regular gasoline from premium class," said Hiroyuki Kashiwabara, a company employee in his 50s whose monthly spending on gasoline has increased by nearly 10,000 yen ($96) over the last couple of months. "My salary doesn't change and I can't cut back on my spending on food or anything else."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Americans, too, are beginning to trim their hearty gas appetites.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"We're beginning to see a slowdown in the U.S. in gasoline demand in particular. That's not so visible in other parts of the world," the IEA's Walker said.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Jean-Marc Jancovici, a French engineer and co-author of a philosophical treatise called "Fill It Up, Please!" despairs rising thirst in the developing world for shrinking oil resources.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >"The real question is ... how to save peace and democracy in this context," he asks.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >His answer? To rich-country consumers, at least, he says: Pick up your bike and "stop being petroleum slaves."</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:";" ><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" >Associated Press writers David Nowak in Moscow; Robin McDowell in Jakarta, Indonesia; Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela; Alan Clendenning in Brasilia, Brazil; Joe McDonald in Beijing; Mari Yamaguchi and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo; Ashok Sharma in New Delhi; and Franziska Scheven and A.J. Goldmann in Berlin contributed to this report.</span></span></p><br /><p><br /></p><p>I wonder what it costs to fill up Bush and Cheney's Limos?<br /><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-48373880003872284462008-06-02T05:45:00.000-07:002008-06-03T20:34:08.267-07:00A Strategist Aids Kennedy Once More<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe9QUyGoGTsrSS9nApoVnp7Nd2b6zi20cYD96ugKnnu8RbghYvzuvfyehYICaEFA2IHQCWbS2RjRraaw4Ax5NTOWn9WcYzjvfGATtAC0mnJeqnhYSELigH-H3xnB2uAv9Oe1vNTRUGOc/s1600-h/TED2008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCe9QUyGoGTsrSS9nApoVnp7Nd2b6zi20cYD96ugKnnu8RbghYvzuvfyehYICaEFA2IHQCWbS2RjRraaw4Ax5NTOWn9WcYzjvfGATtAC0mnJeqnhYSELigH-H3xnB2uAv9Oe1vNTRUGOc/s400/TED2008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207264573629778930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A Strategist Aids Kennedy Once More : Doctor Marshals The Experts As Senator Weighs Treatment Options<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">By Matt Viser</span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/02/a_strategist_aids_kennedy_once_more/?page=1">Globe Staff / June 2, 2008</a></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In the days after being diagnosed with potentially inoperable brain cancer, Senator Edward M. Kennedy began crafting a strategy for his health, one not altogether different than those he's devised to pass healthcare legislation, run for president, or win regattas on Nantucket Sound.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">And to lead the methodical, analytical approach, the 76-year-old senator has turned to one of his most trusted former aides, Dr. Lawrence C. Horowitz. A Yale-trained doctor who has played a role in steering medical treatment for others in the Kennedy clan, Horowitz is organizing a group of experts and former Kennedy staff members to scour medical literature and research experimental treatments to help Kennedy decide which cutting-edge cancer treatments to pursue.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"Horowitz is trying to organize all the flying objects," said Gerard Doherty, former chairman of the state Democratic Party and a longtime friend of the Kennedy family. "He's a two-fer: a medical man who . . . knows Teddy."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Doherty said Horowitz and the Kennedys are looking at a doctor at Duke University Medical Center, which has a brain tumor research center that is conducting several clinical trials on malignant glioma, the type of tumor with which Kennedy has been diagnosed. Also on the list of places where Horowitz probably would seek opinions are M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and a major brain tumor center at the University of California, San Francisco.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Horowitz devised diets for Kennedy as the senator contemplated running for president in 1984. He treated Patrick Kennedy when the 12-year-old suffered an asthma attack on a flight from Wichita, Kan., in 1980. And when Edward M. Kennedy Jr. was diagnosed with a dangerous bone cancer in his right leg, Horowitz helped the family find the innovative treatments that saved the 12-year-old boy's life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">To many in the vast network of Kennedy family members, friends, and staff members, it seemed logical that he would turn to Horowitz as the senator pursues a path similar to millions of other patients in this age of Internet information: conducting independent research in addition to consulting with a doctor.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">But in this case, Kennedy's own analysis is being carried out by a deep bench of knowledgeable current and former staff members who have vast experience with medical research and bureaucracy - most of it gained through working for Kennedy himself.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"My role is to reach out to everybody everywhere - Mass. General, Brigham, anywhere across the country," said Horowitz, who since Kennedy's diagnosis has had dozens of discussions with doctors and researchers from the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, research hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">"You try to present the range of alternatives," Horowitz said. "He discusses them; he sees the advantages and disadvantages of each decision, like any other patient would."<a style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255); font-style: italic;" href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/02/a_strategist_aids_kennedy_once_more?page=2">Continued...</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-57500484154549376572008-06-01T05:57:00.000-07:002008-06-01T17:28:24.041-07:00It Is Time To Put An End To The Clinton Nonsense.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiud7_1_b83WnuOi1g1cnhYPRgUFlcrS-pEkLO0lNqQsAqzn6pIFjdC-RGaqHVN9Az6a_7AaoNV7fKMcgDct_utI6a8ztPMDlkqzcyrhaUIKZuFHDXoDXmmPKo_yChwlJruoFiu7qbk8n4/s1600-h/hillybitch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiud7_1_b83WnuOi1g1cnhYPRgUFlcrS-pEkLO0lNqQsAqzn6pIFjdC-RGaqHVN9Az6a_7AaoNV7fKMcgDct_utI6a8ztPMDlkqzcyrhaUIKZuFHDXoDXmmPKo_yChwlJruoFiu7qbk8n4/s400/hillybitch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206896664294496818" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It Is Time To Put An End To The Clinton Nonsense. Read and Go To The Uncommitted Super Delegate List at the end of this post and contact anyone you know or from your State.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080601/ap_on_el_pr/primary_scramble"><span style="">WASHINGTON</span></a> - Democratic Party leaders agreed Saturday to seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half-votes at this summer's convention with a compromise that left Barack Obama on the verge of the nomination but riled Hillary Rodham Clinton backers who threatened to fight to the August convention.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Hijacking four delegates is not a good way to start down the path of party unity," said adviser Harold Ickes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Clinton's camp maintains she was entitled to four additional Michigan delegates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The decision by the party's Rules Committee raised slightly the total delegates Obama needs to clinch the nomination. Clinton advisers conceded privately he will likely hit the magic number after the final primaries are held Tuesday night, but said the ruling threatened to dash any hopes of a unified party.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Mrs. Clinton has told me to reserve her right to take this to the Credentials Committee" at the convention, said Ickes, who is a member of the Rules Committee that voted Saturday.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The resolution increased the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination to 2,118, leaving Obama just 66 delegates away from the majority needed to secure the nomination.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Our main goal is to get this resolved so we can focus on winning Michigan and Florida," Obama said while campaigning in South Dakota. "There were compromises. ... I'm glad the DNC worked it through and I hope we can start focusing on substance as opposed to process."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The deal was reached after committee members deliberated for nine hours, including three where they met privately and argued fiercely over their eventual deal, according to several people inside. They voted in front of a raucous hotel ballroom that frequently interrupted proceedings and reflected deep divisions within the party.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"How can you call yourselves Democrats if you don't count the vote?" one of the many hecklers in the audience yelled loudly and repeatedly before being escorted out by security. "This is not the Democratic Party!"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A senior Clinton adviser, speaking on a condition of anonymity about internal campaign decisions, said the decision could be used to help her raise campaign donations for a scaled-down campaign that might focus on a signature issue — such as health care reform — rather than a traditional fight for the nomination.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The advisers said no decisions had been made, and it was still possible that Clinton would bow out once Obama goes over the top.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Clinton and her supporters wanted the Michigan and Florida delegations fully restored, according to January primaries that she won. But those contests were not recognized by the party because they were held too early, and both candidates agreed at the time they would not count.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But as Clinton tried to catch up to Obama's delegate lead, she has argued that the votes of the 2.3 million people who participated in the elections must be recognized.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Obama supporters argued that they did compromise by allowing her to take the majority of delegates in two contests where he didn't campaign.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The sticking point was Michigan, where Obama's name was not on the ballot.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Clinton's camp insisted Obama shouldn't get any pledged delegates in Michigan since he chose not to put his name on the ballot, and she should get 73 pledged delegates with 55 uncommitted. Obama's team insisted the only fair solution was to split the pledged delegates in half between the two campaigns, with 64 each.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The committee agreed on a compromise offered by the Michigan Democratic Party that would split the difference, allowing Clinton to take 69 delegates and Obama 59. Each delegate would get half a vote at the convention, according to the deal.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The deal passed 19-8. Thirteen members of the committee had endorsed Clinton for president, so she wasn't even able to keep her supporters together.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Allan Katz, a Rules Committee member and Obama supporter, said the Obama campaign had enough votes on the committee to support the campaign's proposal to split the delegates 50-50 in Michigan. Ultimately, the campaign agreed instead to support the compromise negotiated by the Michigan Democratic Party as a way to resolve the matter.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"The ironic thing is Obama had the majority of that committee," Katz said. "The Obama campaign wants to move on and compromise. We did not muscle our way through it. It was a wise decision from a well run and wise campaign that will reverberate."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">But the irate reaction from Clinton's campaign and her supporters in the sharply divided audience shows Obama will have a long way to go to bring the party together after a long and divisive primary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"We just blew the election!" a woman in the audience shouted. The crowd was divided between cheering Obama supporters and booing Clinton supporters.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"This isn't unity! Count all the votes!" another audience member yelled.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Jim Roosevelt, co-chair of the committee, tried repeatedly to gavel it to order. "You are dishonoring your candidate when you disrupt the speakers," he chided.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There are three primaries left in the contest — Puerto Rico on Sunday and Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday. Obama should get at least 30 delegates in the remaining primaries, meaning he has to pick up no more than about 30 more superdelegates even if he loses Puerto Rico and South Dakota.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He will not clinch the nomination this weekend, barring a barrage of super delegates Sunday.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The committee also unanimously agreed to seat the Florida delegation based on the outcome of the January primary, with 105 pledged delegates for Clinton and 67 for Obama, but with each delegate getting half a vote as a penalty.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Proponents of full seating continuously interrupted the committee members as they explained their support of the compromise, then supporters of the deal shouted back.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Shut up!" one woman shouted at another.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"You shut up!" the second woman shouted back.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Obama picked up a total of 32 delegates in Michigan, including super delegates who have already committed, and 36 in Florida. Clinton picked up 38 in Michigan, including super delegates, and 56.5 in Florida. Obama's total increased to 2,052, and Clinton had 1,877.5.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A proposal favored by Clinton that would have fully seated the Florida delegation fully in accordance with the January primary went down with 12 votes in support and 15 against.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Tina Flournoy, who led Clinton's efforts to seat both states' delegations with full voting power, said she was disappointed by the outcome but knew the Clinton position had "no chance" of passing the committee.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"I understand the rules. ... I can tell you one thing that has driven these rules was being a party of inclusion," Flournoy said. "I wish my colleagues will vote differently."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Alice Huffman, a Clinton supporter on the committee, explained that the compromise giving delegates half votes was the next best thing to full seating.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"We will leave here more united than we came," she said.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Some audience members heckled her in response. "Lipstick on a pig!" one shouted.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h1 style="font-weight: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Clinton's supporters vent their frustration</span></h1><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >They converge on Washington feeling robbed -- by Obama, Democratic Party leaders and the media.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >By Faye Fiore, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer<br />June 1, 2008</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-campaign1-2008jun01-gb,0,7217198.graffitiboard"> Discuss Article</a> WASHINGTON -- The hotel where the 30 Democratic rule makers met Saturday -- to decide whether rules are rules or whether rules are made to be broken -- was within howling distance of the National Zoo.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Outside the stately Marriott Wardman Park Hotel were clusters of women with "Hear Me Roar" placards in their fists who came from all over the country -- $4 a gallon be damned -- to make what could be a last stand for their Hillary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Inside was a ballroom filled with suits who were looking for a "dignified and high-minded resolution" to a problem threatening the Democratic Party, which should be in the driver's seat en route to the White House. Instead, it felt like they were preparing to throw one of the party's rock-star candidates under the bus.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br />So as far as people like Mary Alyson Pilagin, who drove from Raleigh, N.C., were concerned, the zoo was a fitting metaphor.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"The rules are insane," said Pilagin, 26, an office manager for a restaurant company. It was hot and she had on sunscreen as she marched with her "Count Every Vote" sign past sidewalk cafes where Washingtonians calmly sipped mimosas.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >A civil war -- that's how it felt. Democrat against Democrat. Not long ago, they were united in the cause to wrest the White House from the Bush legacy, end the war, stop global warming, empower the middle class.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >But now many of them were so angry they said they planned to defect from their party for the first time if Hillary Rodham Clinton did not emerge as the nominee.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"This should never have gotten this far, especially after the mess of Florida," Pilagin said.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >A reprise of Nightmare 2000, the Florida ballot debacle, but this time the party sticking it to the Democratic Party was the Democratic Party.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"It's always messed up when it comes to Florida, and we're sick of it," said Johnnie Mae Collins, 60, who had ridden a tour bus for 10 hours with her friends from Jacksonville, Fla., stopping more than usual to be sure nobody got a blood clot.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >This was all so stupid, Collins had decided. All the Florida Democrats did was vote. The party made some rule that the votes of Florida and Michigan wouldn't count because the primaries were too early. None of that was the voters' fault (did they set the calendar?), and who winds up getting punished? The voters.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >And not just the voters who voted, but also the voters who didn't vote -- the ones who might have turned out had they not been told about a million times that their votes weren't going to count. Who knows how they would have spoken?</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >From outside, it was clear that the suits inside needed to find some way to count the votes. If not, a bunch of irritated Democratic women in two key swing states might stay home in November -- or, worse, cast their lot with Republican John McCain.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Clinton's campaign didn't organize what her supporters did, but it didn't dissuade them, either; Barack Obama's camp discouraged its supporters from demonstrating, mindful not to offend Hillaryites whom they hope will come their way by Nov. 4.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Judging by the anger index out there Saturday, that wasn't going to happen any time soon. They felt robbed -- by Obama, by the Democratic National Committee, but mostly by the media.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"I'm about ready to kick you guys down the street," said one woman from Minnesota when approached by a reporter.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"And it wasn't the bloggers -- it was the mainstream," said Julianne Dickson, 65, who owns an insurance agency and came from Lancaster, Pa., with two friends in hats, cropped pants and Hillary buttons. People they used to like -- such as Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann -- had spoken of Clinton in voices that fairly dripped with sarcasm. How could it not have hurt her?</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"Doesn't she remind you of a wife telling you to take out the garbage?" they repeated with disgust, unable to recall which talking head had uttered it. (It was author Marc Rudov on a Fox News broadcast.)</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Emotions were running high. Over the last 17 months, these women, who had once called their field of candidates an embarrassment of riches, had chosen one and fallen in love -- hard.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"I'm not sure I can vote for Obama," said Maria Diaz Vivian, 44, who owns a computer business in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was out of breath from climbing the long hill to the hotel's Starbucks for an iced chai tea, only to be turned away because she didn't have a credential that would get her past security.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >That's the kind of day it was.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"I'm tired of the treatment Hillary's been getting. We go to other countries to monitor elections, but in our country, the votes in two states don't count?"</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >She was also mad at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat whom she suspects is an Obama supporter, for not speaking out against the misogyny she thinks Clinton has suffered. It felt as though women were letting down women.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"What will I tell my daughter?" she asked, beads of sweat from the Washington humidity trickling down her face -- colliding with a couple of tears.</span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="mailto:faye.fiore@latimes.com">faye.fiore@latimes.com</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="mailto:faye.fiore@latimes.com"><br /></a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a name="s_0"></a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-scene1-2008jun01,0,3899002.story"><span style="">Clinton's supporters vent their frustration</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(111, 111, 111);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Los Angeles Times </span>-</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > 5 hours ago</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters watch as votes are counted during a meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Washington. They converge on Washington feeling robbed -- by Obama, by Democratic Party leaders and by the media.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="javascript:NVF_toggleBox('001',%20'http://www.youtube.com/v/DA1YoStP0NQ','s-_m7t07awNpE1ZSamtjjwVA:u-AFrqEzdVhimeKOmtKOTSocxt7OerxmwypA:v-0-0-1_1217954284',%20'n');">Video: Florida, Michigan Delegates Get Half-votes</a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA1YoStP0NQ"><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span>Video: Florida, Michigan Delegates Get Half-votes</a> <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">AssociatedPress</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/01/accord_furor_over_mich_fla_delegates">Accord, furor over Mich., Fla. delegates</a> <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);">Boston Globe</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.dems01jun01,0,2259265.story">Baltimore Sun</a> - <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/us/politics/01rules.html?em&ex=1212379200&en=393fad3614090350&ei=5087%0A">New York Times</a> - <a href="http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=3&docID=news-000002886123">CQPolitics.com</a> - <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN3144368520080601">Reuters</a></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://news.google.com/nwshp?tab=mn&ncl=1217954284&hl=en&topic=h"><span style="">all 4,897 news articles »</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Dear Ed., <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Hillary has consistently stood up for the voters of Michigan and Florida. She, like you, has insisted that the voice of all Americans be heard. Today, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee announced their decision on seating Florida and Michigan's delegations. In recent days, almost 350,000 of Hillary's supporters wrote in to the committee to make clear what an important principle it is for our party to count every vote. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a name="blog_hillaryclinton_com_blog_m"></a><a href="http://links.hillaryclinton.com/ctt?kn=6&m=1091217&r=MTk3MzgxMjQ2NAS2&b=0&j=MTA5NzM1NTkxS0&mt=1" target="_blank"><span style="">Our campaign has released an official statement about the results of the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting and I'd like to share it with you, our most dedicated supporters.</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />I know how passionate you are about the importance of counting every vote cast in Florida and Michigan and I appreciate everything you are doing. <span style=""> </span>(What A Crock!)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Sincerely, Maggie Williams Campaign Manager - Hillary Clinton for President <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p><a href="http://blog.hillaryclinton.com/blog/main/2008/06/01/013330">http://blog.hillaryclinton.com/blog/main/2008/06/01/013330</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Hillary has consistently stood up for the voters of Michigan and Florida. She, like you, has insisted that the voice of all Americans be heard. Today, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee announced their decision on seating Florida and Michigan's delegations. In recent days, almost 350,000 of Hillary's supporters wrote in to the committee to make clear what an important principle it is for our party to count every vote.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Our campaign has released an official statement about the results of the Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting and I'd like to share it with blogHillary readers. I know how passionate Hillary's supporters are about the importance of counting every vote cast in Florida and Michigan and I hope that they continue to express their feelings with the respect and thoughtfulness they've shown during the course of this campaign.</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Harold Ickes and Tina Flournoy made the following statement:</span></p><p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Today’s results are a victory for the people of Florida who will have a voice in selecting our Party’s nominee and will see its delegates seated at our party’s convention. The decision by the Rules and Bylaws Committee honors the votes that were cast by the people of Florida and allocates the delegates accordingly.</span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />We strongly object to the Committee’s decision to undercut its own rules in seating Michigan’s delegates without reflecting the votes of the people of Michigan.</span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />The Committee awarded to Senator Obama not only the delegates won by Uncommitted, but four of the delegates won by Senator Clinton. This decision violates the bedrock principles of our democracy and our Party.</span></p> <p style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p><span style=""><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">We reserve the right to challenge this decision before the Credentials Committee and appeal for a fair allocation of Michigan’s delegates that actually reflect the votes as they were cast.</span></span></p><p><br /><span style=""><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p><span style="">CONTACT THESE UNCOMMITTED SUPER DELEGATES AND TELL THEM IT IS TIME TO END THE NONSENSE AND SUPPORT BARACK OBAMA THIS WEEK!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><span style=""><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Bud Cramer (AL)<br />Gabrielle Giffords (AZ)<br />Nancy Pelosi (CA)<br />Jerry McNerney (CA)<br />Mike Honda (CA)<br />Sam Farr (CA)<br />Bob Filner (CA)<br />Susan Davis (CA)<br />Mark Udall (CO)<br />John Salazar (CO)<br />Jim Marshall (GA)<br />Rahm Emanuel (IL)<br />Nancy Boyda (KS)<br />Dennis Moore (KS)<br />William Jefferson (LA)<br />Charlie Melancon (LA)<br />Don Cazayoux (LA)<br />Rep. Michael Michaud (ME)<br />John Sarbanes (MD)<br />Steny Hoyer (MD)<br />Chris Van Hollen (MD)<br />John Olver (MA)<br />Niki Tsongas (MA)<br />John Tierney (MA)<br />Edward Markey (MA)<br />Collin Peterson (MN)<br />Gene Taylor (MS)<br />Rep. Travis Childers (MS)<br />Rep. Rush Holt (NJ)<br />Rep. Bob Etheridge (NC)<br />Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC)<br />Rep. Tom Udall (NM)<br />Charlie Wilson (OH)*<br />Marcia Kaptur (OH)*<br />Rep. Zack Space (OH)*<br />Rep. Dennis Kucinich (OH)*<br />Rep. Dan Boren (OK)<br />Bob Brady (PA)*<br />Jason Altmire (PA)*<br />Tim Holden (PA)*<br />Rep. Mike Doyle (PA)*<br />John Spratt (SC)<br />Rep. Jim Clyburn (SC)<br />Lincoln Davis (TN)<br />Bart Gordon (TN)<br />Nick Lampson (TX)<br />Jim Matheson (UT)<br />Alan Mollohan (WV)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Distinguished Party<br />Leaders</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Jimmy Carter (GA)*<br />Al Gore (TN)*</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Fmr. Senator and Majority Leader</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >George Mitchell (NY)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Fmr. DNC Chair Bob Strauss (TX)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Senators</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Ken Salazar (CO)<br />Joe Biden (DE)*<br />Tom Carper (DE)<br />Tom Harkin (IA)<br />Mary Landrieu (LA)<br />Ben Cardin (MD)<br />Carl Levin (MI)<br />Max Baucus (MT)<br />Jon Tester (MT)<br />Harry Reid (NV)<br />Frank Lautenberg (NJ)<br />Sherrod Brown (OH)*<br />Ron Wyden (OR)<br />Jack Reed (RI)<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Jim Webb (VA)*<br />Herb Kohl (WI) <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br />Governors</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Bill Ritter (CO)<br />Steve Beshear (KY)<br />Brian Schweitzer (MT)<br />John Lynch (NH)*<br />Phil Bredeson (TN)<br />Joe Manchin (WV)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:130%;" >Add-Ons</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Terry Goddard (AZ)<br />Jay Nixon (MO)<br />Rusty McAllister (NV)<br />Jerry Lee (TN)</span></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">DNC Members</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Joe Turnham (AL)<br />Nancy Worley (AL)<br />Don Bivens (AZ)<br />Lottie Shackleford (AR)<br />Art Torres (CA)<br />Hon. Carole Migden (CA)<br />Bob Mulholland (CA)<br />Christine Pelosi (CA)<br />Robert Rankin (CA)<br />Steve Ybarra (CA)<br />John Perez (CA)<br />Nancy DiNardo (CT)<br />Donna Brazile (DC)<br />Christine Warnke (DC)<br />John Daniello (DE)<br />Harriet Smith-Windsor (DE)<br />Richard Ray (GA)<br />Edward Smith (IL)<br />Helen Knetzer (KS)<br />Jennifer Moore (KY)<br />Nathan Smith (KY)<br />Chris Whittington (LA)<br />Claude "Buddy" Leach (LA)<br />Elsie Burkhalter (LA)<br />Sam Spencer (ME)<br />Jennifer DeChant (ME)<br />Hon. Heather Mizeur (MD)<br />Susan Turnbull (MD)<br />John Sweeney (MD)<br />Belkis Leong-Hong (MD)<br />Debra Kozikowski (MA)<br />James Roosevelt Jr (MA)<br />Carnelia Pettis Fondren (MS)<br />John Temporiti (MO)<br />Yolanda Wheat (MO)<br />Leila Medley (MO)<br />Hon. Robin Carnahan (MO)<br />Hon. Maria Chappelle-Nadal (MO)<br />Dennis McDonald (MT)<br />Margarett Campbell (MT)<br />Sam Lieberman (NV)<br />Hon. Yvonne Gates (NV)<br />Hon. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)<br />Philip D. Murphy (NJ)<br />Raymond Buckley (NH)<br />Irene Stein (NY)<br />Ralph Dawson (NY)<br />David Parker (NC)<br />Muriel Offerman (NC)<br />Carol Peterson (NC)<br />David Strauss (ND)<br />Hon. Chris Redfern (OH)*<br />Ronald Malone (OH)*<br />Patricia Moss (OH)*<br />Hon. Joyce Beatty (OH)*<br />Ivan Holmes (OK)<br />Jim Frasier (OK)<br />Jay Parmley (OK)<br />Frank Dixon (OR)<br />Wayne Kinney (OR)<br />Gail Rasmussen (OR)<br />Hon. Bill Bradbury (OR)<br />Eliseo Roques-Arroyo (PR)<br />Hon. Gilda Cobb-Hunter (SC)<br />Cheryl Chapman (SD)<br />Gray Sasser (TN)<br />Dr. Inez Crutchfield (TN)<br />Boyd Richie (TX)<br />David Hardt (TX)<br />Denise Johnson (TX)<br />Betty Richie (TX)<br />Linda Chavez -Thompson (TX)<br />Helen Langan (UT)<br />Jim Leaman (VA)*<br />C Richard Cranwell (VA)*<br />Hon. Alexis Herman (VA)*<br />Jerome Wiley Segovia (VA)*<br />Howard Dean (VT)<br />Eileen Macoll (WA)<br />Ed Cote (WA)<br />Sharon Mast (WA)<br />David McDonald (WA)<br />Nick Casey Jr. (WV)<br />Alice Germond (WV)<br />Paula Zellner (WI)<br />Cynthia Nunley (WY)<br />Marylyn Stapleton (VI)</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-30943286590815400442008-05-29T08:50:00.001-07:002008-06-01T06:07:21.607-07:00Today’s Graphic Commentaries: Rise Up, Strike, Son Of Belcher, Pelosi, Pump Rise Robbery, Corsair Security, Mark Twain…The Mood I’m In!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3HV9ldDPdxKoa0RcMWOzltJRXauIDK9REwvLeJjcMhgVWKmrEGx54STAazQl_oJlWos5dgE1uJR6kcGZIyc-lUlDJ8FUWZ_tbCOO4_f_KJDCmbnhshSkLE0Oo0vjLxAQSyGp_l0zMAg/s1600-h/14.BLOG+FORM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3HV9ldDPdxKoa0RcMWOzltJRXauIDK9REwvLeJjcMhgVWKmrEGx54STAazQl_oJlWos5dgE1uJR6kcGZIyc-lUlDJ8FUWZ_tbCOO4_f_KJDCmbnhshSkLE0Oo0vjLxAQSyGp_l0zMAg/s400/14.BLOG+FORM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205836869916424354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLYlkBDDi9TTFPMPfZ2UV83T3wGyT0Y7D3Kr9ZHqlCZWoBXf5Lkdjzy05QXX3YsFku4jMLzyhLhRE9U6rpiyupJtpP-SL0b8X_Bj4WIVnjyjm3QxQDuRWCcFdV7PGzdoeiIfmnXI8icY/s1600-h/13.RUA2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvmjnVtuYoUNczD_wopWLEuMHuLoOu5Zx93WcvjqhcjKXwOzBXXKMwuOw9n2U3xM4dFk7u6UN6vtFb2uFLZGT4LVN2pC2JDVXNwu1QK-Oew5lLLlb1LCiehf6u0BHM1GX6cWzgBP9wRg/s400/2.drive.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205834846986827762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtUzf7ow3qEW-B4OpnZpGLylKMzAPW2n8VekS1Qa7m94DJO0_RfTqnusZkjocWNOwnSsMJ8_Wayw9wBnQvXPhqSfG0kIcvSzB6OAWaXptngS37eV3BAtbHqbDxX624vz1PfvuYa9jLQo/s1600-h/1.twainblog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBtUzf7ow3qEW-B4OpnZpGLylKMzAPW2n8VekS1Qa7m94DJO0_RfTqnusZkjocWNOwnSsMJ8_Wayw9wBnQvXPhqSfG0kIcvSzB6OAWaXptngS37eV3BAtbHqbDxX624vz1PfvuYa9jLQo/s400/1.twainblog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205834030943041506" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:130%;">Stop The Snooping: Corsair Survivor Flash Drive: Tough and Encryption Available</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.corsairmemory.com/products/survivor.aspx"><span style="">http://www.corsairmemory.com/products/survivor.aspx</span></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Today’s Graphic Commentaries: Rise Up, Strike, Son Of Belcher, Pelosi, Pump Rise Robbery, Corsair Security, Mark Twain…The Mood I’m In!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >An Earlier Cry For Justice In The Face Of Fear, Bigotry and Systemic Corruption</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >From The Famous Emile Zola Open Letter In <a href="http://www.marxists.org/history/france/dreyfus-affair/index.htm">The Dreyfus Affair</a> (Well worth a re-read)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >We are told of the honor of the army; we are supposed to love and respect it. Ah, yes, of course, an army that would rise to the first threat that would defend French soil, that army is the nation itself, and for that army we have nothing but devotion and respect.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >But this is not about that army, whose dignity we are seeking, in our cry for justice. What is at stake is the sword, the master that will one day, perhaps, be forced upon us. Bow and scrape before that sword, that god? No!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >This is the plain truth, Mr. President, and it is terrifying. It will leave an indelible stain on your presidency. I realize that you have no power over this case, that you are limited by the Constitution and your entourage.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >You have, nonetheless, your duty as a man, which you will recognize and fulfill.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >As for myself, I have not despaired in the least, of the triumph of right. I repeat with the most vehement conviction: truth is on the march, and nothing will stop it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Today is only the beginning, for it is only today that the positions have become clear: on one side, those who are guilty, who do not want the light to shine forth, on the other, those who seek justice and who will give their lives to attain it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;">I said it before and I repeat it now: when truth is buried underground, it grows and it builds up so much force that the day it explodes it blasts everything with it.</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >We shall see whether we have been setting ourselves up for the most resounding of disasters, yet to come.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >"The action I am taking is no more than a radical measure to hasten the explosion of truth and justice. I have but one passion: to enlighten those who have been kept in the dark, in the name of humanity which has suffered so much and is entitled to happiness. My fiery protest is simply the cry of my very soul. Let them dare, then, to bring me before a court of law and let the enquiry take place in broad daylight!"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >- </span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/03/30/when_zola_wrote_jaccuse/"><span style="">Emile Zola</span></a><span style="">, <a href="http://www.marxists.org/archive/zola/1898/jaccuse.htm">J'accuse!</a> (The Rare English Translation) - (1898) -</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >..we all know that in all matters of mere opinion that [every] man is insane--just as insane as we are...we know exactly where to put our finger upon his insanity: it is where his opinion differs from ours....All Democrats are insane, but not one of them knows it. None but the Republicans. All the Republicans are insane, but only the Democrats can perceive it. The rule is perfect: in all matters of opinion our adversaries are insane.<br />-Mark Twain- <span style="">Christian Science</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >The way it is now, the asylums can hold the sane people, but if we tried to shut up the insane we should run out of building materials.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >-Mark Twain-</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4995785605755308485.post-59576099037756117582008-05-29T04:18:00.001-07:002008-06-01T06:07:21.608-07:00State and Local Prosecutors Can Take Down Bush: + The Goodman's Book<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATj2FykOuW9UixfKIno4mzKYSdkdxTBcjLLTB9xOsVOjOXGea2eftbog7M8-oNZguvfj0fq5we1BUGMYb-FAYm-rZwzrhlws603a8-DRanJL89vDAHRtt61tRzBhbiwEDUN-qDpeosQs/s1600-h/look.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATj2FykOuW9UixfKIno4mzKYSdkdxTBcjLLTB9xOsVOjOXGea2eftbog7M8-oNZguvfj0fq5we1BUGMYb-FAYm-rZwzrhlws603a8-DRanJL89vDAHRtt61tRzBhbiwEDUN-qDpeosQs/s400/look.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205757868287981298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugJpgBRzHkcZkjPPBANcCVkgbgk9VpiTadA0DPCVUvB2vU2K7O8U81AVw7L63Kkm0HRbalStc6JKEPPviEuZmkH1PSfc9aIzIKJJVfCam0s2yXtQPGcdbV83kFDbtLIjSHClFwwQGtYc/s1600-h/GWB.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugJpgBRzHkcZkjPPBANcCVkgbgk9VpiTadA0DPCVUvB2vU2K7O8U81AVw7L63Kkm0HRbalStc6JKEPPviEuZmkH1PSfc9aIzIKJJVfCam0s2yXtQPGcdbV83kFDbtLIjSHClFwwQGtYc/s400/GWB.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205757700784256738" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_david_sw_080527_state_and_local_pros.htm">State and Local Prosecutors Can Take Down Bush</a>:<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Unless He Takes Up Residence In Paraguay!<br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-size:130%;">(<a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=%22The+Prosecution+of+George+W.+Bush+for+Murder%22+&btnG=Google+Search">1 of 712,000 items</a>)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33654">http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33654</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=%22The+Prosecution+of+George+W.+Bush+for+Murder%22+&btnG=Google+Search">Former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's</a> new book <a href="http://www.alternet.org/rights/86232/">"The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" i</a>s not just a particularly good addition to the ten-foot high stack of rants against Bush's crimes and abuses of power. It's also an argument that state and local prosecutors have the necessary jurisdiction to try Bush for <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/09/8834/">murder and for conspiracy</a> to commit murder, at least once he's out of office.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This is not a scheme based on some harebrained theory that Bush faked the suicide of a former staffer. In fact, this scheme is based on nothing more than universally accepted facts. Bush chose to send US troops into Iraq. He did not do so in self-defense or as a last resort or under an international mandate, but rather went out of his way to concoct false motives for war and to rush its launching. By sending troops into war, Bush was knowingly and needlessly but certainly condemning some of them to death.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Iraqis who killed those soldiers in predictable and legally justifiable defense of their country fall into the legal category of "third-party innocent agent." This does not mean they are innocent, but rather that their actions do nothing to lessen the guilt of George W. Bush as murderer of those soldiers. Bugliosi calls this the "vicarious liability rule of conspiracy." Bugliosi explains:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"In other words, if Bush personally killed an American soldier, he would be guilty of murder. Under the law, he cannot immunize himself from his criminal responsibility by causing a third party to do the killing. He's still responsible. George Bush cannot sit safely in his Oval Office in Washington, D.C., while young American soldiers fighting his war are being blown to pieces by roadside bombs in Iraq, and wash his hands of all culpability.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">It's not quite that easy. He could only do this if he did not take this nation into war under false pretenses. If he did, which the evidence overwhelmingly shows, he is criminally responsible for the thousands of American deaths in Iraq." In addition, Bugliosi argues, Bush could be found guilty of murder under the rule of "aiding and abetting," because he instigated the killing of American soldiers by ordering the invasion of Iraq.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Did Bush have "malice aforethought"? Yes, according to Bugliosi. We convict people of murder for driving 100 mph through a school zone and hitting a child, or for blowing up a building while unaware that someone is inside. These are cases where the murderer does not know he is committing murder but where he is reckless enough to take an unreasonable risk of doing so. In Bush's case, he absolutely knew that invading Iraq would involve US casualties, and yet he ordered the invasion, thereby acting with the intent that American soldiers be killed. Bugliosi strengthens this argument by pointing out that we often <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vincent-bugliosi/the-prosecution-of-george_b_102427.html">convict people of murder</a> for...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h2 style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >We Hate To Bring Up the Nazis, But They Fled To South America, Too</span></h2><br /> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Our paranoid friends over at Bring It On have put together a story that hasn’t exactly made Washington Whispers. It’s real short and real simple:</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Cuban news service reports that <a href="http://wonkette.com/tag/george-w%27-bush/" title="Click here to read more posts tagged GEORGE W. BUSH">George W. Bush</a> has <a href="http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B2DA7BAE4-061B-49B6-983F-3D69A4396E37%7D%29&language=EN">purchased 98,840 acres in Paraguay,</a> near the Bolivian/Brazilian border.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://wonkette.com/tag/jenna-bush/" title="Click here to read more posts tagged JENNA BUSH">Jenna Bush</a> paid a secret diplomatic visit to Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte and <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Ambassador James Cason. There were no press conferences, no public sightings and no official confirmation of her 10-day trip which apparently ended this week.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The Paraguayan Senate voted last summer to “grant <span class="caps">U.S. </span>troops immunity from national and International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction.”</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <ul style="font-family: georgia;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Immediately afterwards, 500 heavily armed <span class="caps">U.S. </span>troops arrived with various planes, choppers and land vehicles at Mariscal Estigarribia air base, which happens to be at the northern tip of Paraguay near the Bolivian/Brazilian border. More have reportedly arrived since then.<br /></span></li></ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >What the hell, after the jump. Plus a <span class="caps">BREAKING UPDATE </span>involving, of course, The Moonies!</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Now, Prensa Latina is a Cuban-government operation that is not exactly friendly toward Washington, what with Washington trying to kill Castro for 50 years and all.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >But Prensa Latina didn’t invent the story. It’s all over the South American press — and not just Venezuela and Bolivia.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Here’s a <a href="http://www.maracaju.news.com.br/geral/view.htm?id=61722&ca_id=15">version from Brazil.</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Here’s <a href="http://www.telam.com.ar/vernota.php?tipo=N&idPub=39830&id=106051&dis=1&sec=1">one from Argentina.</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >And here’s one <a href="http://www.neike.com.py/pls/wow/neike2.detalle?icontenido=168107">from Paraguay itself.</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >As far as we can understand, all the paperwork and deeds and such are secret. But somehow the news leaked that a new “land trust” created for Bush had purchased nearly 100,000 acres near the town of Chaco.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >And Jenna’s down there having secret meetings with the president and America’s ambassador to Paraguay, James Cason. Bush posted Cason in Havana in 2002, but last year moved him to Paraguay.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Cason <a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/15149.htm">apparently gets around.</a> A former “political adviser” to the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Atlantic Command and <span class="caps">ATO’</span>s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, Cason has been stationed in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama … basically everywhere the <span class="caps">U.S. </span>has run secret and not-so-secret wars over the past 30 years.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Here’s a fun question: Why might the president and his family need a 98.840-acre ranch in Paraguay protected by a semi-secret <span class="caps">U.S. </span>military base manned by American troops who have been exempted from war-crimes prosecution by the Paraguyan government?</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/2939">Here’s a little background on the base itself,</a> which Rumsfeld secretly visited in late 2005:</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="caps" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">U.S.</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > Special Forces began arriving this past summer at Paraguay’s Mariscal Estigarribia air base, a sprawling complex built in 1982 during the reign of dictator Alfredo Stroessner. Argentinean journalists who got a peek at the place say the airfield can handle B-52 bombers and Galaxy C-5 cargo planes. It also has a huge radar system, vast hangers, and can house up to 16,000 troops. The air base is larger than the international airport at the capital city, Asuncion.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Some 500 special forces arrived July 1 for a three-month counterterrorism training exercise, code named Operation Commando Force 6.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />Paraguayan denials that Mariscal Estigarribia is now a <span class="caps">U.S. </span>base have met with considerable skepticism by Brazil and Argentina. There is a disturbing resemblance between <span class="caps">U.S. </span>denials about Mariscal Estigarribia, and similar disclaimers made by the Pentagon about Eloy Alfaro airbase in Manta , Ecuador. The United States claimed the Manta base was a “dirt strip” used for weather surveillance. When local journalists revealed its size, however, the United States admitted the base harbored thousands of mercenaries and hundreds of <span class="caps">U.S. </span>troops, and Washington had signed a 10-year basing agreement with Ecuador.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span class="caps" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Breaking, Update, Little Siren Graphic</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >:</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >We’ve been directed to yet another parapolitical theory <a href="http://rigint.blogspot.com/2006/10/moonshadow.html">here at Rigorous Intuition,</a> where it is reported that Rev. Moon bought 600,000 <em><span style="">hectares</span></em> — that’s 1,482,600 acres — in the same place: Chaco, Paraguay.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Another twist: <a href="http://www.neike.com.py/pls/wow/neike2.detalle?icontenido=168107">The first story,</a> from Paraguay, apparently refers to the senior George Bush as the owner of the 98.840 acres in Moon’s neighborhood.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bush 41 was the first bigshot politician to go prancing around with Rev. Moon in public. <a href="http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/02/life-and-moonie-times-of-george-hw.html">Especially in South America:</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >“In the early stages of the Reagan Revolution that embraced the Washington Times and Moon’s anti-Communist movement, it was embarrassing to be caught at a Moon event,” wrote The Gadflyer last year.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >“Until <a href="http://gadflyer.com/articles/?ArticleID=131">George <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);" class="caps"><u>H.W.</u></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 102);"> </span>Bush appeared with Moon in 1996,</a> thanking him for a newspaper that ‘brings sanity to Washington.’” That was while on an extended trip to South America in Moon’s company.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >A Reuters’ story of Nov 25 of that year describes the former president as “full of praise” for Moon at a banquet in Buenos Aires, toasting him as “the man with the vision.” (And Moon helped Bush out with his own vision thing, paying him $100,000 for the pleasure of his company.)</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Bush and Moon then traveled together to Uruguay, “to help him inaugurate a seminary in the capital, Montevideo, to train 4,200 young Japanese women to spread the word of his Church of Unification across Latin America.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" >Isn’t that special?</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Oh, and both the Moonie and Bush land is located at what Paraguay’s drug czar called an “enormously strategic point in both the narcotics and arms trades.” And it sits atop the one of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaran%C3%AD_Aquifer">world’s largest fresh-water aquifers.</a></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <h2 style="font-family: georgia; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/may2008/good-m27.shtml">True To Form, The Goodmans Provide A Fig Leaf For The Democrats In<span style=""> Standing Up To The Madness</span></a></span></h2><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><h5 style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="line-height: 115%;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: normal;">By Christie Schaefer - </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">27 May 2008</span></span></h5><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Amy Goodman and David Goodman, Hyperion, 2008 (Hardcover), $23.95</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Amy Goodman is well-known as the host of <span style="">Democracy Now!</span>, the independent news program broadcast on a variety of public radio and television channels, as well as the author or co-author of a number of books on political events. Her views are firmly located on the liberal left, with an orientation toward “left’ elements in and around the Democratic Party, such as Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and the Greens.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >David Goodman, Amy’s brother, has written for a number of left-liberal magazines including <span style="">Mother Jones</span> and the <span style="">Nation</span>, as well as more mainstream outlets such as the<span style=""> Washington Post</span> and <span style="">The News Hour with Jim Lehrer </span>on PBS.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Standing Up to the Madness</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > begins with a well-known citation: “When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the American flag.” This saying, attributed to various people, has become something of a mantra in certain circles on the American left. The litany of complaints which follow—eroding civil liberties, increasingly stark economic divisions, the war in Iraq—are presented with no close examination. Each ill is viewed as having a single unifying cause, to wit: the Bush Administration.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">No mention is made of the connection between the breakdown of democracy and the growth of social inequality, or between the predatory war aims of the US elite and the attacks on democratic rights at home. In a word there is no suggestion that the policies of the Bush administration reflect more than the “madness” of one individual or perhaps, at most, neo-conservative circles. The book never raises the larger question of the failure of the social and economic order, capitalism.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The question asked by the authors in the midst of it all is, “Where is the outrage?” To ask such a question is to insult the millions of people who have indeed expressed outrage, and who are suffering from the attacks described.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">By implicitly blaming the population for the lack of opposition to the assault on democratic rights the Goodmans shift attention away from the critical role played by the Democratic Party—the supposed opposition party—in enabling the rise to power of the Bush Administration through the hijacked 2000 election, the passage of the Patriot Act, the war on terror and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In <span style="">Stop the Madness</span> the Goodmans seek to set out positive examples of citizens who have taken on the powers that be, “grassroots activists [who] have taken politics out of the hands of politicians,” in the words of a commentator.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Such individuals may be courageous and sincere, but their efforts become part of a political argument the Goodmans are constructing: these local, “grassroots” efforts obviate the need to challenge the overall political set-up and, specifically, to make a conscious break with the Democrats.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >While few of the cases detailed in the book’s chapters will be new to listeners of <span style="">Democracy Now!,</span> since many of the subjects have appeared as interviewees on the show, there is value in reviewing the stories as part of a whole, in terms of painting a broader picture of the crisis and breakdown of American bourgeois democracy.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The first subject, Malik Rahim, of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward provides special insight into what the residents of that area faced before, during and since hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It was through his and his neighbors’ efforts, along with an unexpected visit from a detachment of Veterans For Peace, that the area saw any relief in the initial aftermath of the storms. Unwilling to play games with people’s lives, he and his group offered help even to the racist vigilantes who had recently threatened them with violence.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Malik’s story is an anomaly in the book, as he is the only one who seems to have any sense of the history which brought his city to that desperate point. One of the founders of Common Ground Relief, a collective dating from the first few weeks after Katrina hit, Rahim and his neighbors are determined to salvage and rebuild whatever they can while offering help to others in the Gulf area. Of all the narratives in the book, his is the most affecting, and certainly the most dramatic.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >While Rahim’s organization surely is doing good works, the area affected is far beyond the scope of any small organization to fix. The treatment of the survivors of Rita and Katrina continues to be abysmal, and resources continue to be lacking on the scale needed.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Coming up on three years after the catastrophe, the people still face official stonewalling, constant threats to cut off what little aid they do receive and demonization by the press (not coincidentally around the expiration deadlines for aid packages).</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The work of Common Ground is heartfelt and needed. However, it is not nearly enough. Rahim’s experience serves to point out the continuing neglect by the US government of pressing social needs as it pursues the war in Iraq and makes permanent tax cuts for the wealthiest citizens with bipartisan agreement.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The case presented in Chapter 3, “Librarians Unbound,” begins with a visit by two FBI agents to the office of the Library Connection of Connecticut (a consortium of 27 libraries that share a computer network).</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">The agents were in possession of a “National Security Letter” (NSL) seeking “any and all subscriber information, billing information and access of any person or entity” using the library systems’ computers on February 15, 2005, between 2 and 2:45 p.m.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The executive director of the Library Connection, George Christian, noted in particular one clause stating that recipients of the letter could not disclose “to any person that the FBI has sought or obtained access to information or records.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Christian, however, did tell a few people in the library system, and the executive committee met with its lawyer (an action that may very well not be legal under the draconian National Security Letter provision of the Patriot Act).</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The librarians realized that they had two choices—either comply with the NSL, or sue. They elected to sue then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and engaged the national office of the ACLU to represent them. With their case, John Doe vs. Gonzales, they sought an injunction against being forced to comply with the National Security Letter, and launched a challenge to the constitutionality of the NSLs. Over the course of the trial, the librarians were required to keep mum and their names were only released inadvertently when a judge ordered the release of certain court documents.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >As they do throughout the book, the Goodmans focus exclusively on the role of Bush when discussing the assault on civil liberties. We read, for example, that the Patriot Act was “rammed through a compliant Congress three months after the 9/11 attacks.” A page later:</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">“When President Bush rammed the PATRIOT Act through a fearful Congress shortly after 9/11.” The complicity of Congress, and particularly the Democrats, in erasing the separation of powers and its leadership’s co-operation in passing and re-passing the sinister and authoritarian Patriot Act goes unmentioned except in terms of their supposedly being “forced” to comply.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In the chapter on American scientist James E. Hansen’s fight against official censorship of his findings on global warming, we are treated to a sub-chapter entitled “Showdown,” in which Rep. Henry Waxman, Democrat of California, is presented in the mold of Mr. Smith from the Frank Capra film “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”—i.e., boldly challenging the powers that be on points of scientific freedom. Also featured are Reps. Peter Welch, Democrat of Vermont, and John Yarmuth, Democrat of Kentucky, both of whom are presented in a very positive light.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The role of villain is played by Rep. Darrell Issa, Republican of California. <i style="">Waxman is one of the Democratic Party’s leading frauds, a demagogue who issues subpoenas and stages hearings without serious consequences for anyone.</i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Goodmans point out that both Bush and Cheney have deep connections to the oil industry.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Unmentioned are the Democratic participants’ own backgrounds—for instance, Yarmuth’s previous career as both a Republican and as the heir to a family fortune derived in part from holdings in Ashland Oil Company. <i style="">His current party affiliation, it seems, shields him from careful scrutiny by the Goodmans.</i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Hansen’s scientific career goes back decades, and the Office of Management and Budget had censored him during the previous Bush Administration. He also spoke about his disappointment with the Clinton administration in a January 2007 <span style="">Frontline</span> interview, stating that although the latter did not question the science, it did not do enough to act on the information provided, and noted that, “The United States’ portion of global emissions actually increased during the Clinton-Gore administration.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The outcome of the more recent hearings into the Hansen case is left up in the air. While the authors note that certain low-level Bush loyalists involved lost their positions, there is no deeper analysis, with the chapter segueing into an account of the actions of author Bill McKibben relating to his April 2007 “Step It Up Day,” and a variety of other “actions,” including Ted Glick’s “No War No Warming” non-violent civil disobedience action on Capitol Hill in October 2007,” which incorporated polar bear costumes and at which 61 people were arrested.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">It is a peculiar transition, and the authors’ spotlighting <b style="">impotent civil disobedience actions </b>is a transparent attempt to focus the energies of the population on pressuring the Democratic Party and Congress.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The chapter ends with a quote from Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize speech: “We have everything we need to get started, save perhaps political will, but political will is a renewable resource. So let us renew it, and say together: ‘We have a purpose. We are many. For this purpose we will rise, and we will act.’”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Meanwhile, as noted on the <a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/gas-a30.shtml">WSWS</a> April 30, 2008, the proposals from the Democratic presidential candidates on global warming “are no more serious [than Bush’s suggestions to open ANWAR to drilling, and a moratorium on domestic emissions targets].</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >In addition to the [gasoline] tax moratorium, Clinton is proposing a suspension of oil input into the Strategic Petroleum reserve, a marginal increase in spending on alternative energy sources, and an increase in fuel economy over a period of 20 years.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Obama has rejected the tax moratorium on the grounds that companies would just increase their prices to make up the difference, and supports fuel economy standard increases and alternative energy investment.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >While <span style="">Standing up To the Madness</span> provides numerous stories illustrating the current assault on civil rights, its recommendations in no way add up to a viable policy to oppose war, racism and poverty.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">The “Conclusion,” entitled “We are the leaders we have been waiting for,” is made up of tepid and unserious propositions</span></i></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >. In a subsection titled “Challenge the Corporate Media,” there is first a call to support the stations that air <span style="">Democracy Now!</span>, a passage which makes for embarrassing reading in its shameless self-promotion. It is then suggested that we “Post ... stories, photos, and media at indymedia.org.”</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >We are urged to become active in the “national media reform movement”; web addresses are given for such entities as the identity politics-oriented Media Action Grassroots Network, as well as Free Press, which, while more even-handed, is still thoroughly reformist in its outlook and activity.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >On page 288, the Goodmans write, <i style="">“Democrats and Republicans alike have been served notice that lip service and deception will not satisfy the new generation of activists that is demanding real change, and real democracy.”</i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" > <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">Yet, there is neither a call for the building of a third, independent or socialist party, nor any critique of the capitalist profit system. There is, in short, no “or else” issued at all.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style="">The warning is proffered as an idle and impotent threat—one which reveals the role of the Goodmans as a pressure group on the Democratic Party.</span></i></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><i style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >See Also:<br /><a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/nasa-f15.shtml">Bush appointees censor scientists at government agencies</a><br />[15 February 2006]</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /><a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jan2008/paul-j22.shtml">Antiwar “Lefts” embrace ultra-right Republican candidate Ron Paul</a><br />[22 January 2008]</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /><a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/feb2008/obam-f15.shtml">The “circularity” of hope: The Nation endorses Barack Obama</a><br />[15 February 2008]</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >An Ohio Update<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.2pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size:12;"><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://www.ohiodailyblog.com/content/news-and-notes-ohio-congressional-races-39"><span style="">http://www.ohiodailyblog.com/content/news-and-notes-ohio-congressional-races-39</span></a></span> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0