Iraq fails to sign contracts with foreign oil majors
Iraq said on Monday it has failed to sign technical support agreements with global oil majors which were aimed at helping boost the war-torn country's oil production.
Iraq is negotiating with Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total, and a consortium of other smaller oil companies, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said at press briefing.
"We did not finalise any agreement with them because they refused to offer consultancy based on fees as they wanted a share of the oil," he said.
"The TSAs (technical support agreements) are only simple consultancy contracts to help us raise the production during the interim period" before the ministry enters into long-term contracts to develop the oil and gas fields.
Clark: Getting 'shot down in plane' doesn't make McCain qualified
Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, a supporter of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, on Sunday questioned whether Sen. John McCain's military experience qualified him to be commander-in-chief.
The McCain campaign called for Obama to condemn the remarks.
The dust-up began with Clark's appearance Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," where moderator Bob Schieffer asked him about his interview with the Huffington Post earlier this month.
In the interview, Clark said McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, was "untested and untried."
A nearly 700-page study released Sunday by the Army found that "in the euphoria of early 2003," U.S.-based commanders prematurely believed their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle the occupation.
President George W. Bush's statement on May 1, 2003, that major combat operations were over reinforced that view, the study said.
It was written by Donald P. Wright and Col. Timothy R. Reese of the Contemporary Operations Study Team at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., who said that planners who requested more troops were ignored and that commanders in Baghdad were replaced without enough of a transition and lacked enough staff.
Gen. William S. Wallace, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, said in a foreword that it's no surprise that a report with these conclusions was written.
U.S. escalating covert operations against Iran: report
U.S. congressional leaders agreed late last year to President George W. Bush's funding request for a major escalation of covert operations against Iran aimed at destabilizing its leadership, according to a report in The New Yorker magazine published online on Sunday.
The article by reporter Seymour Hersh, from the magazine's July 7 and 14 issue, centers around a highly classified Presidential Finding signed by Bush which by U.S. law must be made known to Democratic and Republican House and Senate leaders and ranking members of the intelligence committees.
"The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change," the article cited a person familiar with its contents as saying, and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money."
Hersh has written previously about possible administration plans to go to war to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, including an April 2006 article in the New Yorker that suggested regime change in Iran, whether by diplomatic or military means, was Bush's ultimate goal.
Big trouble for small minds! posted by
Clyde 3:29 AM
With Three Already Down, Eight More House Incumbents Face Primary Worries
Republican Rep. Chris Cannon's loss to challenger Jason Chaffetz in Utah's 3rd District Tuesday marked the third defeat of a U.S. House incumbent in this year's congressional primaries. With Cannon joining the two Maryland representatives, Republican Wayne T. Gilchrest and Democrat Albert R. Wynn, who lost their seats in their state's Feb. 12 party voting, the number of primary-defeated House members already exceeds the total for all of 2006.
With the primary season extending all the way into the early fall, will more members fall to intraparty dissent?
Recent election history suggests there will not be many more incumbents ousted by their own party base. Only two, Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz of Michigan and Democratic Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney of Georgia, were denied renomination by primary voters in 2006, coincidentally on the same day of Aug. 8. Only once in the previous six election cycles were more than three House members denied renomination. A list of incumbent defeats in primary elections dating to 1968, can be found on CQ Politics' "Greg's List" feature.
Yet it is still quite early in the 2008 primary season, with roughly half the states still left to go. The next primary elections aren't until July 15, when Georgia will vote and Alabama will hold Republican runoffs in two congressional districts. And CQ Politics has identified eight incumbents facing primary challenges in the remaining states that are to some degree threatening -- two of which are in Georgia.
Iraqi officials outraged by U.S. raid in prime minister's hometown
Outraged Iraqi officials demanded an investigation into an early morning U.S. military raid Friday near the birthplace of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, saying the operation violated the terms of the handover of Karbala province to Iraqi security forces.
Karbala Gov. Oqeil al Khazaali said U.S. forces killed an unarmed civilian and arrested at least one person in the raid in the southern town of Janaja. The governor's brother, Hassanein al Khazaali, said late Friday that the Iraqi killed in the operation was a relative of the U.S.-backed prime minister.
The U.S. military command in Baghdad had no comment. Two senior aides to Maliki weren't available for comment; one was still in a meeting with the prime minister after midnight. The governor is said to belong to the prime minister's Dawa Party.
Iraqi officials in Karbala said the operation began at dawn Friday, when U.S. aircraft delivered dozens of American troops to the rural Shiite Muslim town of Janaja, which is populated mostly by members of the Maliki tribe.
Keeping the system rigged! posted by
Clyde 3:30 AM
Supreme Court Strikes Down 'Millionaire's Amendment'
The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a law meant to level the financial playing field when rich candidates pay for their own political campaigns.
The 5-to-4 decision, legal experts said, was significant for rejecting the rationale behind the law, known as the "millionaire's amendment," and for confirming the court's continuing skepticism about the constitutionality of campaign finance regulations.
"Supporters of reasonable campaign finance regulation are now zero for three in the Roberts court," said Richard L. Hasen, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "This is a signal of what is to come. What could easily fall following this case are the longstanding limits on corporate and union spending in federal elections."
The law at issue in Thursday's decision imposed special rules in races with candidates who finance their own campaigns. Those candidates are required to disclose more information, and their opponents are allowed to raise more money.
I can't make this stuff up posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 12:13 PM
Larry Craig and David Vitter co-sponsor Marriage Protection Amendment
Two United States Senators implicated in extramarital sexual activity have named themselves as co-sponsors of S. J. RES. 43, dubbed the Marriage Protection Amendment. If ratified, the bill would amend the United States Constitution to state that marriage "shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman."
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who was arrested June 11, 2007 on charges of lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport terminal, is co-sponsoring the amendment along with Sen. David Vitter (R-LA).
No Big Deal, it's just a little ice posted by
Clyde 7:12 AM
No ice at the North Pole
It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.
The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic - and worrying - examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.
Seasoned polar scientists believe the chances of a totally icefree North Pole this summer are greater than 50:50 because the normally thick ice formed over many years at the Pole has been blown away and replaced by hugeswathes of thinner ice formed over a single year.
The polar regions are experiencing the most dramatic increasein average temperatures due to global warming and scientists fear that as more sea iceis lost, the darker, open ocean will absorb more heat and raise local temperatures even further. Professor Peter Wadhams of Cambridge University, who was one of the first civilian scientists to sail underneath the Arctic sea ice in a Royal Navy submarine,said that the conditions are ripe for an unprecedented melting of the ice at the North Pole.
Rut Roh - A camel farted on an oil pipeline! posted by
Clyde 7:07 AM
Oil jumps to new above $142 as equities wilt
Oil leapt to a new record high above $142 a barrel on Friday, extending gains after surging nearly 4 percent in the previous session, as tumbling global stock markets helped to trigger a wider commodities rally.
U.S. light crude for August delivery was $1.70 up at $141.34 a barrel by 8:12 a.m. EDT, off a record high of $142.26.
London Brent crude was $1.39 up at $141.22, off a record high of $142.13.
World stocks fell to a three-month low as a fast deteriorating global inflation picture intensified concerns over the outlook for corporate profits, hastening the rush of investors' funds into commodities.
One good thing about high gas prices: posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:26 AM
Highway deaths down in 35 states
Highway deaths across the nation are down sharply so far this year compared with 2007, according to preliminary data tracked by state police and transportation agencies.
Deaths declined in 35 of the 37 states that provided data for January through April, May or June. Fatalities also were down in the District of Columbia. Many of the declines were significant - more than 10% in 30 states, and more than 20% in 14 states and the District of Columbia.
.....
"The decline in fatalities is great news, and 2008 has the potential to be a banner year for highway safety," says Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which represents state highway safety offices. "However, it's way too early to reach conclusions about what the trend means. It's impossible to draw significant policy implications from one full year of data, let alone the limited data we have for 2008."
Harsha says high gasoline prices discouraging some Americans to drive might be a factor in the decline of fatalities, but it's "premature" to draw that conclusion. Other factors might be stronger laws for seat-belt use and stepped-up enforcement, she says.
But...but....CLINTON!! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:16 AM
75% blame Bush's policies for deteriorating economy
Three out of four Americans, including large numbers of Republicans, blame President Bush's economic policies for making the country worse off during the last eight years, according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released today, reflecting a sharp increase in public pessimism during the last year.
Nine percent of respondents said the country's economic condition has become better off since Bush became president, compared with 75% who said conditions had worsened. Among Republicans, 42% said the country is worse off, while 26% said it is about the same, and only 22% thought economic conditions had improved...
.....
The economic pessimism has deepened sharply in the last year, intensified by higher fuel prices, the poll found. When the question was asked in March 2007, 24% of respondents said Bush's policies had improved the nation's economy and 46% said they had made it worse.
The increased unhappiness is reflected in an all-time low in Bush's approval rating -- just 23% now, compared with 34% in February....
D.L. speaking the truth posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:31 AM
D.L. Hughley on Obama: "He's like a tall Urkel dude'
If Barack Obama ever planned to show up to Tuesday's BET Awards, he'd have done well to prepare for a roasting by host D.L. Hughley.
"He does look like the dude from 'Mad' magazine," Hughley joked of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in an interview with AP Television. "It's so funny because he ain't a cool dude to me. He's like a tall Urkel dude (the bespectacled nerd from the '90s sitcom 'Family Matters'). But for the first black president, I'll take him. ... Like, how bad a president is George Bush, when the country goes, 'You know, we'll try the black guy'?"
Obama's competitors are also possible targets for the 44-year-old actor-comedian, who recently starred on TV's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip."
.....
"And then you've got John McCain. And it's so funny, because you've got a guy who's half-black running against a guy who's half-dead."
McDole getting b*tchslapped posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:21 AM
Obama Leads McCain by 15 Points as Voters Reject Republicans
Democrat Barack Obama has opened a 15-point lead in the presidential race, and most of the political trends -- voter enthusiasm, views of President George W. Bush, the Republicans, the economy and the direction of the country -- point to even greater trouble for rival John McCain.
Illinois Senator Obama, winning support from once skeptical women and Democrats, beats McCain 48 percent to 33 percent in a four-way race, a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll shows. Independent candidates Bob Barr and Ralph Nader get 7 percent combined, with the remainder undecided.
Obama's margin and most of the poll's findings in other areas give the Democrats a commanding advantage more than four months before the November election, says Susan Pinkus, the Los Angeles Times polling director.
"The Obama voters are much more energized and motivated to come out to vote than the McCain voters; McCain is still struggling to win over some of his core groups," she says. "The good news for Obama is also that he seems to be doing better on the issue that is uppermost in voters' minds, and that is the economy."
He rejects Republican's too? posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:19 AM
McClellan Says He Hasn't Ruled Out voting Democrat in November
Scott McClellan - the longtime supporter of President George W. Bush who served as his White House press secretary for nearly three years - said today he hasn't ruled out registering as a Democrat or voting Democratic for president this year. "I haven't made any long-term decisions," McClellan said after an address to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, where he received a warm reception from an audience numbering in the hundreds at the Fairmont Hotel.
McClellan said his 2008 vote may be determined by which presidential candidate - Democratic Sen. Barack Obama or Republican Sen. John McCain - is true to his word about running a positive, issue-oriented campaign that would end the "game of gotcha politics" and change the current destructive and insular political culture in Washington. "I certainly got caught up in it, like a lot of people in Washington do," he said. "You get attacked and you automatically want to attack back. It becomes a cycle of retribution and payback."
McCain top advisor thinks another 9/11 would be a good thing posted by
Wally 11:45 PM
Of course, in Rovian fashion, all he cares about is McCain winning the election. The rest of the country can go to hell.
McCain adviser sorry for terror attack comment
A top adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain apologized on Monday after he was quoted as saying a September 11-type attack before the November election would benefit McCain.
Fortune magazine said Black, in discussing how national security was McCain's strong suit, had said when asked about another terrorist attack on U.S. soil that "certainly it would be a big advantage to him."
Is that the kind of advantage we want our president to be looking for? Only a republican could find that kind of logic reasonable - fuck the country, as long as a republican wins the election.
Boo F*cking Hoo posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:14 PM
Nader to Democrats: Stop Blaming Me for '00 Election
Ralph Nader is angry with Democrats who he says are holding a grudge against him for George W. Bush’s election in 2000. In an interview with The Washington Times Tuesday, the independent presidential candidate expressed frustration over his failed efforts to be invited to testify on Capitol Hill on consumer issues. He also lamented the current political system, which he says is slanted away from allowing third party candidates to have a reasonable run at winning the White House.
Nader said he finds congressional Republicans more approachable than their Democratic counterparts due to the lingering grudge over the 2000 election, when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 537 votes in Florida. Nader won about 96,000 votes in the state, many of which were siphoned from would-be Gore voters.
Nader said Republicans are better at developing relationships and legislation on issues of accord. He accuses Democrats of selling out to corporate interests and noted that Democrats need to realize they lost the past two elections themselves in a thousand different ways.
Nader claimed the grudge extends past the election, and even today he is excluded from testifying in areas of his expertise. A spokesperson for Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, whom Nader used to exemplify his point, denied Nader was being blackballed.
Unity @ Unity posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:29 AM
Former rivals (Obama, Clinton) to meet in Unity, N.H.
Former rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are planning their first joint general election appearance Friday in Unity, N.H.
The location was announced Monday. It was chosen not only for the symbolism of its name, but because each candidate received exactly 107 votes there in the Jan. 8 primary that Clinton won. New Hampshire is a critical battleground state in November.
The rally will be the morning after the two meet privately Thursday at a Washington hotel with former Clinton donors.
How to make a strong dollar... posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 2:39 PM
Gas could fall to $2 if Congress acts, analysts say
Limiting speculation would push prices to fundamental level, lawmakers told
The price of retail gasoline could fall by half, to around $2 a gallon, within 30 days of passage of a law to limit speculation in energy-futures markets, four energy analysts told Congress on Monday.
Testifying to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management said that the price of oil would quickly drop closer to its marginal cost of around $65 to $75 a barrel, about half the current $135.
Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co., Edward Krapels of Energy Security Analysis and Roger Diwan of PFC Energy Consultants agreed with Masters' assessment at a hearing on proposed legislation to limit speculation in futures markets.
.....
"Energy speculation has become a growth industry and it is time for the government to intervene," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the full committee. "We need to consider a full range of options to counter this rapacious speculation."
.......click. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 12:18 PM
FISA Overhaul Set to Clear Senate
Despite a deep divide among Democrats, the Senate is expected to clear legislation this week overhauling electronic surveillance rules that would grant President Bush much of what he has sought in a lengthy struggle with Congress.
With no senators threatening to hold up the bill (HR 6304), one of the last hopes for opponents faded June 20 when Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois announced he would vote for the legislation. Some civil liberties groups that oppose the measure had called on Obama to use his position in the party to derail it.
The bill to rewrite the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, PL95-511) would almost certainly lead to the dismissal of lawsuits against telecommunications companies accused of aiding the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program. In the House, the measure passed with the support of 105 Democrats and 188 Republicans.
Senators agreed to take up the measure quickly and could clear it as early as Monday.
The same publisher that distributed the 2004 best-seller that took aim at John Kerry's Vietnam service is planning a summer release of what's scheduled to be the first critical book on Barack Obama.
Conservative journalist David Freddoso's "The Case Against Barack Obama" will offer "a comprehensive, factual look at Obama," according to Regnery Publishing president and publisher Marjory Ross.
But the book's subtitle makes clear its perspective: "The Unlikely Rise and Unexamined Agenda of the Media's Favorite Candidate."
Ross contends that the mainstream media has offered insufficient scrutiny of Obama and likens the goal of Freddoso's book to that of "Unfit for Command," the scathing assessment of Kerry's war record that rocketed to No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list.
You know it's over when... posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:21 AM
Utah's largest newspaper bashes you:
Bush's crude: President's gas plan is a political ploy
Once an oil man, always an oil man. And once a con man, always a con man. No doubt, President Bush is showing his true colors with a four-prong strategy he erroneously claims will bring skyrocketing gasoline prices back to Earth.
None of his election-year proposals - building new refineries, opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil rigs, drilling in long-restricted areas of America's coastline and bypassing a ban on leasing federal land for oil shale development - will save you a nickel any time soon, if ever.
What the strategy would do, however, is devastate environmentally sensitive coastal areas, hasten the demise of threatened species like the polar bear, open pristine public lands for commercial exploitation, enrich the president's pals in the oil industry and extend our perilous dependence on carbon-based fossil fuels.
Refineries aren't built in a day. And the world's growing gluttony for crude, not the ability to process it, is the primary reason for soaring gas prices.
Offshore oil reserves should remain exactly that - reserves. They should not be viewed as an alternative to accelerated development of the sustainable energy sources that will provide power to future generations.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the home of polar bears and other species in decline, should remain exactly that - a wildlife refuge. The disruption and pollution resulting from rampant drilling would harass wildlife and degrade critical habitat.
And oil shale - rocky deposits that can be brewed into a synthetic crude - isn't the answer. It's environmentally destructive, a drain on dwindling water supplies and, with the current state of the technology, not commercially viable. The president's ludicrous claim that deposits in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming hold 800 billion barrels of "recoverable" oil is at best an attempt to con commodities traders.
Bush's push is also an attempt to con the public into prodding the Democratic-controlled Congress to embrace his fossil-fuel agenda, and, if Congress balks, lay the blame for high gas prices in the Democrats' laps.
Don't be fooled. A wise man would chart a course that weans us, not off foreign oil, but all oil. Wise voters will be looking for such a man in November.
Goodnight funnyman posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:01 AM
George Carlin Has Died
ET breaks the news that comedian George Carlin has died from heart failure. The man who made famous the "seven words you can never say on television" passed away at 5:55 p.m. Sunday at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, his longtime publicist said. He was 71.
Carlin, who has had several heart attacks and a history of cardiac issues, went into the hospital this afternoon after complaining of heart problems.
What could possibly get the racist hate groups' panties in a bunch more than the thought of having a black man as President? That thought has to scare the crap out of the sonsabitches. Good. Except that it's bringing them attention, when they should be ignored as the whack-job fringe groups that they are. Same goes for FoxNews talking heads.
It seems that ever since Barack Obama won the Democratic primary election, the Klansmen, Nazis, etc. - you know, the Republican base - have a new target. They are increasing their recruiting efforts and hoping to once again gain some of the attention they so desperately crave.
Hate Groups' Newest Target White Supremacists Report an Increase in Visits to Their Web Sites
Sen. Barack Obama's historic victory in the Democratic primaries, celebrated in America and across much of the world as a symbol of racial progress and cultural unity, has also sparked an increase in racist and white supremacist activity, mainly on the Internet, according to leaders of hate groups and the organizations that track them.
Neo-Nazi, skinhead and segregationist groups have reported gains in numbers of visitors to their Web sites and in membership since the senator from Illinois secured the Democratic nomination June 3. His success has aroused a community of racists, experts said, concerned by the possibility of the country's first black president.
Such groups have historically inflated their influence for self-promotion and as an intimidation technique, and they refused to provide exact membership numbers or open their meetings to a reporter. Leaders acknowledged that their numbers remain very small -- "the flat-globe society still has more people than us," Roper said. But experts said their claims reveal more than hyperbole this time.
"The truth is, we're finding an explosion in these kinds of hateful sentiments on the Net, and it's a growing problem," said Deborah Lauter, civil rights director for the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors hate group activity. "There are probably thousands of Web sites that do this now. I couldn't even tell you how many are out there because it's growing so fast."
John McCain -vs- Your Ovaries posted by
Wally 8:14 AM
If you know any pro-choice voters thinking about supporting John McCain, please get this video in front of them.
John McCain: "I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned."
In Related News:
The Supreme Court matters next election. Seriously.
The composition of the high court is one of the most important issues at stake in the November election. While the justices cannot bring down gas prices or bring home the troops, their decisions in the coming years will affect just about everything else: your rights regarding privacy, reproduction, speech and religion; how to count your vote and where your kids go to school; as well as your occupational and environmental protections. You name it, they'll decide it. Or they'll decide not to decide it (which may be even worse).
(snip)
Anybody who believes the current Supreme Court looks like America needs to take a few more trips on a Greyhound bus. Justice John Paul Stevens is 88, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75. David Souter is 68, and it's widely rumored in legal circles that he wants out (see, New Hampshire, above). All three of these jurists recently voted against the proposition that the government can call you an enemy combatant based on your last name or area code, then hold you without charges for six years at Guantanamo Bay, on the promise that you're either a bad guy, or will very likely become one after being held for six years without charges at Guantanamo Bay. If just one of these three were to retire, we could easily return to a world in which decisions about who is or isn't a so-called "enemy combatant" are made by the military, in secret, and with roughly the same sophistication that seventh-grade girls use to decide who's "popular."
At the heart of the high court's biggest debates to come - questions about the scope of privacy and claims about presidential secrecy and power - there is a deeper question about the role of courts in this country. So, when you go to the voting booth on Nov. 4, don't think just in terms of which candidate will appoint judges who are "good for women" or "good for property rights." That's terribly important, but it's half the story. For eight years the Bush administration has treated the courts almost like an enemy: meddlers and elitists who cannot understand what it means to be at war. As a consequence, we find ourselves in a country where the rule of law is reduced to an occasional luxury, like heated seats. As you contemplate what you want your next Supreme Court to look like, ask yourself what happens when judges are sidelined - or when they're chosen for their inclination to sideline themselves. If we really want to restore the rule of law in America, and the reputation of the United States as a land in which laws matter, we need to vote for a president who believes that we still call it a Supreme Court for a reason.
The Crying Corporate Toady posted by
Clyde 5:24 AM
Bush says Democrats keep blocking his energy plans
President Bush is accusing Democrats in Congress of blocking his energy proposals, saying they are partly to blame for high gasoline costs pinching Americans' budgets.
In his Saturday radio address, Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling to increase U.S. energy production. Democrats have rejected the idea.
"This is a difficult time for many American families," Bush said. "Rising gasoline prices and economic uncertainty can affect everything from what food parents put on the table to where they can go on vacation."
Bush said offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start.
It is a vintage John McCain performance. Standing in a light-filled atrium at the University of Denver, McCain is espousing his vision for America's future relations with the world. He hits all the right notes, citing liberal icon John F Kennedy and conservative hero Ronald Reagan. He strikes a muscular tone against America's enemies, yet tempers it with restraint. He speaks of a 'common vision' among nations. 'I want us to rise to the challenges of our time, as generations before us rose to theirs,' he says. He addresses the audience as 'my friends' and promises a safer, more reasonable world. 'It still remains within our power to make in our time another, better world than we inherited,' he concludes. As the crowd applaud, McCain plunges into the throng to pump hands and sign autographs.
Welcome to the John McCain show 2008. It's powerful stuff, portraying McCain as the decent patriot of the middle ground and a steady hand for difficult times. For a lot of Americans - including many Democrats - it is a beguiling vision. They see a war hero whose courage was forged in a North Vietnamese POW camp. They see a maverick who spoke against the tortures of Abu Ghraib. They see a reformer who acts against lobbyists and political favours. They see a politician who has spent a lifetime serving his country and won a place in the hearts of the nation.
Now McCain is also trying to win the White House. He has taken his campaign to places far from the projected Republican road map to victory. He has spoken in the 'black belt' of rural Alabama. He has toured Appalachian coal country to talk about poverty. He has gone to the hippy enclave of Oregon to lecture on global warming. In short, he is a Republican that even liberals can love. And many do. McCain's appeal to America's vital middle ground could easily propel him to the Oval Office.
But there is another, very different side to John McCain. Away from the headlines and the stirring speeches, a less familiar figure lurks. It is a McCain who plans to fight on in Iraq for years to come and who might launch military action against Iran. This is the McCain whose campaign and career has been riddled with lobbyists and special interests. It is a McCain who has sided with religious and political extremists who believe Islam is evil and gays are immoral. It is a McCain who wants to appoint extreme conservatives to the Supreme Court and see abortion banned. This McCain has a notoriously volatile temper that has scared some senior members of his own party. If McCain becomes the most powerful man in the world it would be wise to know what lies behind his public mask, to look at the dark side of John McCain.
Setting up a constitutional showdown, the White House on Friday asserted executive privilege in denying a congressional request for thousands of pages of documents related to the federal government's rejection of California's efforts to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.
Congress is attempting to determine whether President Bush played a role in the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to deny California's request for permission to impose tougher air-quality regulations than federal law called for.
California had been granted such waivers numerous times over the years, but the Bush administration delayed and then rejected its request for authority to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions.
"I don't think we've had a situation like this since Richard Nixon was president," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is conducting the investigation.
The Bush administration wants to rewrite the official evidence against Guantanamo Bay detainees, allowing it to shore up its cases before they come under scrutiny by civilian judges for the first time.
The government has stood behind the evidence for years. Military review boards relied on it to justify holding hundreds of prisoners indefinitely without charge. Justice Department attorneys said it was thoroughly and fairly reviewed.
Now that federal judges are about to review the evidence, however, the government says it needs to make changes.
The decision follows last week's Supreme Court ruling, which held that detainees have the right to challenge their detention in civilian court, not just before secret military panels. At a closed-door meeting with judges and defense attorneys this week, government lawyers said they needed time to add new evidence and make other changes to evidentiary documents known as "factual returns
The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.
Lame Duck gets what he wants. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 12:13 PM
Dumb f*cking Dems:
House passes new surveillance law
The House Friday easily approved a compromise bill setting new electronic surveillance rules that effectively shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits arising from the government's terrorism-era warrantless eavesdropping on phone and computer lines in this country.
The bill, which was passed on a 293-129 vote, does more than just protect the telecoms. The update to the 30-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is an attempt to balance privacy rights with the government's responsibility to protect the country against attack, taking into account changes in telecommunications technologies.
"This bill, though imperfect, protects both," said Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., and a former member of the intelligence committee.
Dems, GOP Agree To Take Up Wiretapping Bill Friday
House and Senate leaders have agreed to take up a new surveillance compromise bill, potentially settling a political dispute over whether to shield from lawsuits companies that helped the government tap phone and computer lines without court orders.
About 40 lawsuits have been filed against telecommunications companies from people who believe they were the targets of illegal surveillance. The bill would let a federal district court determine if the telecommunications companies received lawful orders from the government asking them to place wiretaps. If so, the lawsuits would be dismissed.
The decline of U.S. influence posted by
Clyde 9:24 AM
Oil drops as China says it will raise fuel prices
Oil prices dropped Thursday after China said it will raise fuel prices, a move that could dampen the booming Asian nation's oil consumption. Retail gas prices slid overnight.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $2.10 to $134.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but dipped more than $3 at times.
China disclosed that it will raise the prices of gasoline, diesel, aviation kerosene and electricity. It was not immediately clear if those price hikes would be implemented by lowering fuel subsidies.
Growing Chinese demand for oil has underpinned the multiyear rally in oil prices. But higher prices could crimp that demand. Concerns about spiking Chinese demand for diesel due to cleanup operations in the aftermath of last month's earthquake contributed to oil's run-up in recent weeks.
McHanger's woman problem posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 7:52 AM
McCain's support among GOP women shows cracks
The challenges facing Sen. Barack Obama as he tries to woo supporters of former rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton could pale in comparison with Sen. John McCain's troubles with female voters - if the voices of a growing number of prominent Republican women are any indication.
"I cannot see a more counterproductive candidate for women," said Jillian Manus-Salzman, a leading California Republican activist and generous GOP donor in the nation's most populous state, an ATM for presidential campaigns. "I cannot vote for McCain."
Susan Eisenhower - granddaughter of former GOP President Dwight Eisenhower and a Washington, D.C.-based expert on foreign policy and national security issues - said Wednesday she is backing Obama over McCain because the Democrat has shown more understanding of how the Iraq war, the economy and other key issues affect women's daily lives.
And Harriet Stinson, the 82-year-old founder of Bay Area-based Republicans for Choice, said that - after 60 years of Republican registration - she has finally reregistered as a Democrat.
"I couldn't take it anymore," she said, arguing that on issues like funding birth control and support of sex education, McCain "couldn't be worse."
As if this is something new! posted by
Clyde 10:54 AM
Easing of laws that led to detainee abuse hatched in secret
The framework under which detainees were imprisoned for years without charges at Guantanamo and in many cases abused in Afghanistan wasn't the product of American military policy or the fault of a few rogue soldiers.
It was largely the work of five White House, Pentagon and Justice Department lawyers who, following the orders of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, reinterpreted or tossed out the U.S. and international laws that govern the treatment of prisoners in wartime, according to former U.S. defense and Bush administration officials.
The Supreme Court now has struck down many of their legal interpretations. It ruled last Thursday that preventing detainees from challenging their detention in federal courts was unconstitutional.
The quintet of lawyers, who called themselves the "War Council," drafted legal opinions that circumvented the military's code of justice, the federal court system and America's international treaties in order to prevent anyone - from soldiers on the ground to the president - from being held accountable for activities that at other times have been considered war crimes.
McCain's energy plan is getting rave reviews... from Big Oil posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 7:23 AM
McCain's energy plan gets positive reception Most oil execs respond favorably as he touts policy and raises funds in campaign trip here
The oil industry generally approved Tuesday as Republican presidential candidate John McCain charted his policies on energy with a speech in Houston that jabbed the Bush administration, Democratic foe Barack Obama, Wall Street and oil-rich foreign regimes.
McCain said the federal government should ease regulations on offshore oil drilling and refinery construction and expand the use of nuclear energy, but press for eventual reliance on alternate energy sources such as wind and sunlight.
The Arizona senator also was here for a campaign fundraising event that was said to net about $2 million at the chateau-style home of restaurant executive Tilman Fertitta in River Oaks. There, after the energy talk, portable chillers on the lawn blew cold air as some supporters sweltered in the heat for 30 minutes to have their photo taken with the candidate. A dinner to raise more money for McCain was held at a home owned by Houston investor Fayez Sarofim.
Obama vs. Bush & McDole posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM
Midwest Flooding:
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., fills sandbags with volunteers at a sandbag station in Quincy, Ill., Saturday, June 14, 2008.
Democratic lawyer and nonprofit executive Donna Edwards won a special election Tuesday to become Maryland's first black woman elected to Congress.
Edwards beat Republican Peter James in the race to serve the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn's term in Maryland's 4th District. Wynn left office May 31 to take a lobbying job after losing to Edwards in February's Democratic primary by 22 percentage points.
Edwards, 49, will hold the seat for the rest of the year. James also won his party's primary in February, meaning he and Edwards will face each other again in November's general election.
Once she is sworn in, Democrats will have 236 seats in the House to Republicans' 199.
Increasing our addiction on oil. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 5:54 AM
Bush looks offshore for remedy to high oil prices
For a quarter-century, drilling for oil and gas off nearly all the American coastline has been banned in part to protect tourism and to lessen the chances of beach-blackening spills.
Then gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon this summer. Drivers and others began clamoring for federal lawmakers to do something about the record price of oil, much of it produced in foreign countries.
In response, President Bush is renewing his call to open U.S. coastal waters to oil and gas development, arguing that it's high time to battle high prices with increased domestic production. He is planning to ask Congress on Wednesday to lift the drilling moratoria that have been in effect since 1981 in more than 80 percent of the country's Outer Continental Shelf and to let states help to decide where to allow drilling.
"The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time," White House press secretary Dana Perino told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He will explicitly call on Congress to ... pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling."
F*ck 'em: They can eat their oil posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:43 AM
Saudi Arabia to boost oil production
Saudi Arabia plans to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day next month, the kingdom's oil minister told U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Sunday, according to Ban's spokesman.
The U.N. secretary-general met with Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi in the port city of Jiddah during a one-day trip to the world's largest oil producer.
Farhan Haq, a spokesman who is traveling with Ban, said in an e-mail that the U.N. chief said al-Naimi told him Saudi Arabia would increase oil production by 200,000 barrels a day from June to July. In May, the kingdom increased its production by 300,000.
.....
Saudi Arabia is concerned that sustained high oil prices will eventually slacken the world's appetite for oil, affecting the kingdom in the long run.
Al Gore made his debut in the 2008 presidential campaign Monday night, encouraging voters to back Barack Obama because "take it from me, elections matter."
The former vice president's speech at the Joe Louis Arena was part endorsement and part blistering attack on the man who denied him the White House eight years ago.
"After eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure, we need change," Gore said. "After eight years when our Constitution has been dishonored and disrespected, we need changes."
.....
"I feel your determination after two terms of the Bush-Cheney administration to change the direction of our country," he said. He accused Bush of myriad missteps, including a botched response to Hurricane Katrina, economic problems, foreign policy mistakes and allowing lead-tainted toys and poisoned pet food in from China.
"Even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter," he said. "This election matters more than ever because America needs change more than ever."
Those poor, poor, Iowans posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 5:58 AM
Bush plans Iowa flood tour
President Bush will visit flooded Iowa this week, possibly Thursday, congressional aides said today.
It's not yet clear where the president may visit or when, aides said. But Beth Pellett Levine, press secretary to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., said "it's our understanding" that the president will be in the state.
Bush returns to the United States late tonight from a trip to Europe.
White House spokesman Blair Jones confirmed Bush would be touring Midwestern flood damage this week, but did not specify which states he would visit.
"The White House announced today the president will travel to the Midwest on Thursday to inspect flood damage," Jones said.
Surprise surprise posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 5:55 AM
Waxman: "Potentially Thousands of Criminal Cases Involving Fraudulent Contracts in Iraq"
A letter (pdf) from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-Cali.) states that there may be "potentially thousands of criminal cases involving fraudulent contracts in Iraq." Chairman Waxman's letter to Pentagon Inspector General Claude Kicklighter is based on an audit by the DoD IG that found that 4% of 702 transactions examined in a sample worth $1.5 billion "appeared to involve criminal misuse of taxpayer funds." Waxman's staff extrapolated this to the entire pool of 180,000 transactions. Thus, "there may be more than 7,000 potential criminal cases involving more than $190 million in federal spending that have not been identified." He added, "This is an astounding amount of potential criminal fraud."
Waxman requests that the DoD IG spend further resources and dig in to find and prosecute the full extent of the actual fraud. However, unless the DoD IG, Army Criminal Investigation Command and others are fully staffed and empowered to pursue procurement fraud, Waxman's request may be impossible to fully achieve.
But I thought things were going so well! posted by
Clyde 10:15 AM
Taliban fighters take over several Afghan villages
Hundreds of Taliban fighters took over several villages in southern Afghanistan on Monday just outside the region's largest city, and NATO and Afghan forces were redeploying to meet the threat, officials said.
Mohammad Farooq, the government leader in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province, said around 500 Taliban fighters moved into his district and took over several villages.
Arghandab lies just north of Kandahar city - the Taliban's former stronghold - and a tribal leader from the region warned that the militants could use the cover from Arghandab's grape and pomegranate orchards to mount an attack on Kandahar itself.
"All of Arghandab is made of orchards. The militants can easily hide and easily fight," said Haji Ikramullah Khan. "It's quite close to Kandahar. During the Russian war, the Russians didn't even occupy Arghandab, because when they fought here they suffered big casualties."
Desperate Times posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:19 AM
Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders George W Bush
President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House.
Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. "If he can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place," said a US intelligence source.
The Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been taking part in the US-led operations to capture Bin Laden in the wild frontier region of northern Pakistan. It is the first time they have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis.
Intelligence on the whereabouts of Bin Laden is sketchy, but some analysts believe he is in the Bajaur tribal zone in northwest Pakistan. He has evaded capture for nearly seven years. "Bush is swinging for the fences in the hope of scoring a home run," said an intelligence source, using a baseball metaphor.
Swirling around posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:12 AM
Bush Approval Ratings Remain at Record Low Level
For the seven days ending June 14, just 31% approved of the way the President is performing his job. Sixty-seven percent (67%) disapproved. Those figures are unchanged from a week ago and match the lowest level of approval ever recorded.
Currently, just 11% Strongly Approve of the President's performance. Four times as many 49%--Strongly Disapprove. Both those figures are a point worse for the President than a week ago and represent new all-time lows.
In May, the number of Americans who consider themselves to be Democrats remained near the highest levels ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports.
How will the FAUX News wingnuts spin this? posted by
Clyde 7:18 AM
McCain: It can be "tough" to be proud of USA
Republican presidential candidate John McCain admitted on Saturday it can be difficult at times to be proud of the United States.
"I'll admit to you... that it's tough in some respects," McCain said when asked by a questioner at a town hall meeting how to be proud of the country.
"We have not always done things right and we mismanaged the war in Iraq very badly for nearly four years."
McCain's wife, Cindy, pounced on Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama, for saying in February that she was proud of her country "for the first time in my adult life."
House rank and file Republicans are tens of millions of dollars short of meeting fundraising targets set by their own campaign committee in advance of this fall's elections, according to figures circulating among the leadership, heightening concerns inside the party about major losses in November.
Most recent figures show that GOP lawmakers have brought $27 million into the coffers of the National Republican Congressional Committee in the past 17 months, far short of the target of about $58 million. Compounding the challenge, they will soon be asked to raise another $20 million or more to help candidates in selected battleground districts.
Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, chairman of the NRCC, provided the information recently to the leadership and to members of a newly formed committee charged with reinvigorating the campaign effort in the wake of the loss of three seats to Democrats in special elections.The AP obtained a copy of some of the documents involved in the presentations.
The disclosure comes in addition to other unsettling news for Republicans, who trail Democrats badly in cash on hand and are grappling with the alleged theft of more than $700,000 by a former employee.
Sidney hates the rule of law posted by
Clyde 5:54 AM
McCain Denounces Detainee Ruling
Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Friday forcefully sided with President Bush in condemning the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant access to federal courts for the detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, potentially muddying his reputation as a critic of the administration's approach to treatment of suspected terrorists.
"We made it very clear these are enemy combatants," he told more than 1,000 supporters at a town hall meeting here, echoing the president's criticism of the court decision. "They have not, and never have been, given the rights of citizens of this country."
The presumptive GOP nominee then read from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s dissent in the case and predicted the courts will now be "flooded" with lawsuits from terrorism suspects.
"We are going to be bollixed up in a way that's terribly unfortunate," he said. "Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that."
And the hits just keep on coming posted by
Clyde 5:36 AM
Key Iraqi Leaders Deliver Setbacks to U.S. Premier Rejects Terms of Proposed Pacts; Cleric Reactivates Militia
The Bush administration's Iraq policy suffered two major setbacks Friday when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly rejected key U.S. terms for an ongoing military presence and anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for a new militia offensive against U.S. forces.
During a visit to Jordan, Maliki said negotiations over initial U.S. proposals for bilateral political and military agreements had "reached a dead end." While he said talks would continue, his comments fueled doubts that the pacts could be reached this year, before the Dec. 31 expiration of a United Nations mandate sanctioning the U.S. role in Iraq.
The moves by two of Iraq's most powerful Shiite leaders underscore how the presence of U.S. troops has become a central issue for Iraqi politicians as they position themselves for provincial elections later this year. Iraqis across the political spectrum have grown intolerant of the U.S. presence, but the dominant Shiite parties -- including Maliki's Dawa party -- are especially fearful of an electoral challenge from new, grass-roots groups.
"All the politicians are trying to prove that they care more about Iraqis than they do about Americans -- otherwise they know the people and the voters will not support them," said Ala Maaki, a senior lawmaker with Iraqi's largest Sunni political party. "I think we could see al-Maliki and Moqtada Sadr trying to one-up the other today and see who can take the strongest stand against the Americans."
NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:57 PM
Tim Russert, NBC News' Washington bureau chief and the moderator of "Meet the Press," died Friday after a sudden heart attack at the bureau, NBC News said Friday. He was 58.
Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday's "Meet the Press" program when he collapsed, the network said. No details were immediately available.
Russert, the recipient of 48 honorary doctorates, took over the helm of "Meet the Press" in December 1991. Now in its 60th year, "Meet the Press" is the longest-running program in the history of television.
In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Timothy John Russert Jr. was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 7, 1950. He was a graduate of Canisius High School, John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was a member of the bar in New York and the District of Columbia.
As if we expected anything else! posted by
Clyde 10:29 AM
Mukasey: Detainee ruling won't stop terror trials
The Supreme Court's decision on Guantanamo Bay will unleash a torrent of court filings from detainees seeking their freedom but won't affect the military trials planned for some terrorism suspects, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Friday.
The Bush administration disagrees strongly with the high court's decision that the foreigners held under indefinite detention at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba have the right to seek release in civilian court. President Bush said Thursday he would abide by the decision, but also said his administration was evaluating whether to respond to the court's ruling with new legislation.
In Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would reserve judgment on "what we ought to do next" at Guantanamo until he received briefings on the ruling.
"I have often said that ... we would like to close Guantanamo," Gates said. "I think that despite the fact that in many respects Guantanamo has become a state-of-the-art prison now, early reports of abuses and so on unquestionably were a black eye for the United States."
Fiscal Responsibility? posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 9:48 AM
McCains report more than $100,000 in credit card debt
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and his wife reported more than $100,000 of credit card liabilities, according to financial disclosure documents released Friday.
The presidential candidate and his wife Cindy reported piling up debt on a charge card between $10,000 and $15,000. His wife's solo charge card has between $100,000 and $250,000 in debt to American Express.
Another charge card with American Express, this one for a "dependent child," is carrying debt in the range of $15,000 and $50,000.
Cindy McCain reported a wealth of assets, including properties in Arizona and one she sold in La Jolla, Calif. for more than $1 million in profit.
In addition to his Senate salary, McCain received an annual pension from the U.S. Navy that is worth more than $58,000.
Democratic candidate, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), reported no liabilities in his annual financial disclosures.
Not if this guy is president... posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:10 AM
Global poll finds optimism for future U.S. policy
People around the globe widely expect the next American president to improve the country's policies toward the rest of the world, especially if Barack Obama is elected, yet they retain a persistently poor image of the U.S., according to a poll released Thursday.
The survey of two dozen countries, conducted this spring by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, also found a growing despondency over the international economy, with majorities in 18 nations calling domestic economic conditions poor. In more bad news for the U.S., people shared a widespread sense the American economy was hurting their countries, including large majorities in U.S. allies Britain, Germany, Australia, Turkey, France and Japan.
Even six in 10 Americans agreed the U.S. economy was having a negative impact abroad.
Views of the U.S. improved or stayed the same as last year in 18 nations, the first positive signs the poll has found for the U.S. image worldwide this decade. Even so, many improvements were modest and the U.S. remains less popular in most countries than it was before it invaded Iraq in 2003, with majorities in only eight expressing favorable opinions.
Support our troops - unless they disagree with the administration posted by
Wally 10:51 PM
The military rejected a veteran's PTSD disability claim because he's a member of VoteVets.org
Not even a high ranking member - just one of thousands of vets who showed up at a march in DC last year. Yet this was enough to cause the V.A. to deny his hard earned medical benefits.
Staff Sergeant Will King retired from the Army in late 2003, after serving in both the first Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan. As one of the first troops into the Afghan theater after 9/11, Will had been awarded a Bronze Star after participating in fierce fighting in the Shah-e-Kot Valley in March 2002. I know, because I was there with him.
As the months turned to years after his retirement, however, Will started having problems as the Iraq War dragged on. Depressed and unable to sleep, he thought it might be PTSD. Because, as those who study PTSD know, this is perfectly normal: The symptoms of PTSD frequently have a delayed onset that can take months or years to fully materialize. That's why, in April 2007, Will filed a claim with the VA for combat-related PTSD. The VA eventually agreed with Will and diagnosed him with mild PTSD. But Will felt like his condition was worse than that. And to boot, he thought it was getting worse. So Will appealed, and filed another disability claim with the VA in November 2007: He felt his symptoms were serious enough to warrant an increase in his disability rating from "mild" to "moderate."*
Unfortunately for Will, the VA denied his claim six months later, in May 2008. And while I won't challenge the VA's ultimate decision (I'm not a doctor), I find it repulsive that they cited Will's membership in VoteVets.org as a reason to deny his claim.
From the letter that the VA wrote to Will:
The examiner states your PTSD symptoms are still present but you do not report symptoms at a degree or level which appears to suggest more severity. The examiner concurred with the previous diagnosis and assigned Global Assessment of Functioning Score of 52, stating you have occasional suicidal ideation but are able to cope with these symptoms and continue to function. The treatment reports from Memphis show you are currently involved with VoteVets.org, an advocacy group for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. You indicated involvement with this advocacy group makes you feel coping with your symptoms is worthwhile. The treatment note of March 10, 2008, indicates no homicidal or suicidal ideation and no thought disorder.
What really pisses me off about this is that he spent years overseas fighting to defend the Constitution and the rights established therein. Now that he's home, and trying to exercise one of the most basic of those rights - that of "free speech" - he is being punished for it. This is how the government supports our troops. This is how the military, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican National Committee, cares for the veterans who have served it so loyally and given it so much. Now that he's no longer carrying a gun in their name, fuck him. They toss him aside and trade him in for another yellow ribbon magnet for the back of the SUV.
It's a cold day in hell posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 10:38 AM
U.S. violates detainee rights in Guantanamo, top court says
The Bush administration is violating the rights of prisoners being held indefinitely and without charges at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote. The detainees have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts, the justices said. It was the third time the court has ruled against the Bush administration's unlawful detention of foreigners at Guantanamo. In his majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the U.S. Constitution applies even in "extraordinary times." In a dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia said the ruling would "almost certainly" cost some Americans their lives in the nation's war against "radical Islamists."
Captain F*cking Obvious to the rescue posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:22 AM
Fed: High energy, food prices keep economy weak
The Federal Reserve says the economy remained "generally weak" heading into summer as rising costs for energy and food pounded consumers and forced some companies to push their own prices higher.
The Fed's new snapshot of business conditions, released Wednesday in Washington, underscored two big sore spots for the country: listless economic activity coupled with lofty energy and food prices. Those rising prices raise the risks of both spreading inflation and putting another drag on overall economic growth.
Chafing under price hikes, "consumer spending slowed ... as incomes were pinched by rising energy and food prices," the Fed said. Manufacturing activity, meanwhile, was "generally soft" and the housing market remained stuck in a rut.
Businesses also were hit by rising costs, especially for energy, metals, plastics, chemicals and food. Such reports were "widespread," the Fed said. To cope, manufacturers in several areas "noted some ability to pass along higher costs to customers" the Fed said. Retailers, however, reported "mixed results with respect to raising final goods prices," the Fed said.
The Supreme Court is waiting.. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:18 AM
US women voters head to Obama after Clinton departure: poll
De facto Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama has rapidly picked up support from women voters in the wake of Hillary Clinton's withdrawal from the campaign, according to a Gallup poll out on Wednesday.
Between the eve of the final primaries on June 3 and Monday, Obama's support among all women in polling matchups with Republican rival John McCain has jumped to give him a 13-point margin in this voter group.
According to Gallup, in its surveys covering June 5-9, Obama was supported by 51 percent of women voters compared to 38 percent for McCain.
A week earlier, Obama topped McCain with just a 48-43 percent spread.
Gallup pointed out that Obama's support among women voters is now close to the steady 52 percent level Clinton had in earlier theoretical matchups with McCain, whom she led in this group by 12 points.
It said that the shift of older and married women to Obama appeared to explain his surge.
Even "they" hate him posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:15 AM
New Gang of 14 won't back McCain
At least 14 Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse or publicly support Sen. John McCain for president, and more than a dozen others declined to answer whether they back the Arizona senator.
Many of the recalcitrant GOP members declined to detail their reasons for withholding support, but Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) expressed major concerns about McCain's energy policies and Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) cited the Iraq war.
A handful of other Republicans on Capitol Hill made the distinction between "endorsing" and "supporting," adding that while they have not endorsed, they do support McCain.
In recent weeks, much of the discussion and debate about party unity has been on the Democrats' side, amid their protracted presidential primary. Yet achieving harmony is a concern on both sides of the aisle this year.
McLieberman posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:13 AM
Joe Lieberman supports John McCain, and causes friction
Despite his ties to Democrats -- he was their 2000 vice presidential nominee -- the Connecticut senator, an independent, favors the GOP presidential candidate. He knows his choice is 'unconventional.'
In fact, he's become a key Republican Party asset.
Lieberman was in that role Wednesday, defending McCain against Democratic charges that he undervalued the importance of bringing U.S. troops home. And Lieberman took a swipe at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama for being "consistently wrong" on Iraq.
In the interview, Lieberman said he was backing McCain because they agree "almost totally" on national security issues such as the war in Iraq, and he sees the Arizona senator as more able to work across party lines to get things done.
To the Hague! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:22 AM
President Bush regrets his legacy as man who wanted war
President Bush has admitted to The Times that his gun-slinging rhetoric made the world believe that he was a "guy really anxious for war" in Iraq. He said that his aim now was to leave his successor a legacy of international diplomacy for tackling Iran.
In an exclusive interview, he expressed regret at the bitter divisions over the war and said that he was troubled about how his country had been misunderstood. "I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric."
Phrases such as "bring them on" or "dead or alive", he said, "indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace". He said that he found it very painful "to put youngsters in harm's way". He added: "I try to meet with as many of the families as I can. And I have an obligation to comfort and console as best as I possibly can. I also have an obligation to make sure that those lives were not lost in vain."
The unilateralism that marked his first White House term has been replaced by an enthusiasm for tough multilateralism. He said that his focus for his final six months in office was to secure agreement on issues such as establishing a Palestinian state and to "leave behind a series of structures that makes it easier for the next president".
On the record posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:19 AM
Kucinich Forces Vote On Bush's Impeachment
Having failed in efforts to impeach Vice President Cheney, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) escalated his battle against the administration this week by introducing 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush, using a parliamentary maneuver that will probably force a vote today.
Kucinich's impeachment measure accuses Bush of taking the country to war in Iraq under false pretenses; he introduced it as a "privileged resolution," which requires the House to take it up within two legislative days. Any lawmaker may offer a privileged resolution, but it is usually done only by party leaders.
Kucinich, upon introducing his articles of impeachment Monday evening, insisted on reading the resolution into the Congressional Record, a process that took nearly five hours. He finished reading it late yesterday after the close of legislative business.
As they have previously, Democratic leaders staunchly oppose Kucinich's impeachment effort. They expect to table the resolution by referring it to the Judiciary Committee, where they expect it to die.
Now he's getting personal! posted by
Wally 1:13 AM
As if there weren't already enough reasons to fear a McCain presidency, what with the 100 year war in Iraq, his nursing at the teat of big oil and other corporate lobbyists, his promise to complete Bush's transition of the Supreme Court into a government arm of the extremist evangelical god-squad brigade (and the nation into a fundamentalist christian theocracy). But now he's getting personal. Now he's really starting to piss us off.
'I will veto every single beer'
(CNN) – John McCain issued a promise Tuesday that may cause a bit of unrest with a broad swath of voters:
He'll veto every single beer?
"I will use the veto as needed. I will veto every single beer - bill with earmarks," he said, as rumblings from the crowd could be heard. "And every single bill that we have come across my desk I will make them famous. I will veto them, you will know their names."
It's not entirely surprising McCain has beer on the brain: his wife, Cindy, is heiress to her father's Arizona beer distribution company, Hensley and Company, one of the largest distributors in the U.S., for which she now serves as chairman.
Aside from the insanity of his remarks, what's with all the blinking? Is he trying to woo us by batting his eyelashes at us? Or is that just a nervous twitch that lets us know when he's lying?
Your tax dollars at work posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 12:00 PM
BBC uncovers lost Iraq billions
A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.
For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC's Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.
A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.
The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.
War profiteering
While George Bush remains in the White House, it is unlikely the gagging orders will be lifted.
To date, no major US contractor faces trial for fraud or mismanagement in Iraq.
The president's Democrat opponents are keeping up the pressure over war profiteering in Iraq.
Henry Waxman who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said: "The money that's gone into waste, fraud and abuse under these contracts is just so outrageous, its egregious.
"It may well turn out to be the largest war profiteering in history."
In the run-up to the invasion one of the most senior officials in charge of procurement in the Pentagon objected to a contract potentially worth seven billion that was given to Halliburton, a Texan company, which used to be run by Dick Cheney before he became vice-president.
Wouldn't want to piss off their campaign contributors now would they? posted by
Clyde 10:39 AM
Republicans block extra taxes on oil companies
Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline.
The Democratic energy package would have imposed a tax on any "unreasonable" profits of the five largest U.S. oil companies and given the federal government more power to address oil market speculation that the bill's supporters argue has added to the crude oil price surge.
"Americans are furious about what's going on," declared Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and want Congress to do something about oil company profits and "an orgy of speculation" on oil markets.
But Republicans argued the Democratic proposal focusing on new oil industry taxes is not the answer to the country's energy problems.
President Bush's former spokesman, Scott McClellan, will testify before a House committee next week about whether Vice President Dick Cheney ordered him to make misleading public statements about the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.
McClellan's lawyers said he has accepted House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers' invitation to testify June 20. The attorneys said McClellan will appear and be sworn during the proceedings.
McClellan said he was misled by others, possibly including Cheney, about the role of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the leak and has said publicly that Bush and Cheney "directed me to go out there and exonerate Scooter Libby."
Off the table posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:19 AM
Kucinich moves to impeach Bush
Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich took to the House of Representatives floor Monday night to introduce a 35-count resolution to impeach President Bush. Kucinich said Bush "fraudulently" justified the war on Iraq and misled "the American people and members of Congress to believe Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction so as to manufacture a false case for war." Kucinich said in January he planned to launch an impeachment effort against Bush, but delayed his effort after meeting with members of the House Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Commitee hasn't acted on a bid Kucinich launched last year to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.
Bush's last major visit to Europe greeted with hostility
U.S. President George W. Bush is making his last major visit to a continent where many dismiss him as yesterday's man.
As his presidency winds down, Bush - reviled by many Europeans and simply ignored by others - can do little this week but smooth the way for his successor.
His tour kicks off Tuesday with a one-day summit of U.S. and European leaders in Slovenia, where officials have alluded to long-standing misgivings in Europe over Bush's foreign policy in Iraq and its approach to climate change and other issues.
"As in all relationships, the EU and U.S. sometimes have different views," Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel told reporters before Bush's scheduled arrival Monday evening.
Intelligence gathering charities??? posted by
Clyde 7:41 AM
Government Probes at Least 7 Defense Contracts for Charities
The federal investigation of contracting arrangements between the Pentagon and tax-exempt defense firms in Pennsylvania includes multiple deals that go as far back as 2002 and involve more money than was previously known, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
The FBI and the Pentagon's Defense Criminal Investigative Service issued subpoenas two months ago seeking information about a small intelligence firm called Commonwealth Research Institute, or CRI, and its parent company, Concurrent Technologies.Both firms are registered nonprofit charities based in Johnstown, Pa.
Concurrent was established two decades ago and has almost $250 million a year in revenue. Most of its research, program management and other work is for the Pentagon. It also has received more than $226 million in congressionally directed funding known as earmarks in recent years. CRI is a little-known subsidiary with a handful of employees, several of them working as intelligence consultants to the military.
One focus of the investigation is the Air Force's office for security, counterintelligence and special program oversight, which used CRI to hire help for technical studies and research support. Investigators retrieved computers and contracting records from that office to see whether work was properly awarded, according to people familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Iraq will not allow its territory to be used to attack Iran, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said during a visit to Tehran.
He was speaking after meeting Iran's foreign minister and is later due to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The role of the US in Iraq is high on the agenda, with Tehran concerned about a treaty under discussion on the terms of the US military's future in Iraq.
Iran's alleged backing for militants in Iraq is also likely to be discussed.
A party official says the donations were already "in the pipeline" when Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, instituted the standards for the committee.
Republican John McCain does accept money from lobbyists and PACs as does the Republican National Committee and other party committees.
Meantime, on the other side of the aisle, the GOP has two problems. 1) Since they ARE taking lobbyist and PAC money, it's a whole lot harder for them to deny that they are the party of big business, and it makes it obvious who is really looking after "regular Americans". 2) more importantly, they can't compete with Obama's money machine, even including lobbyist and PAC money.
GOP fears Obama's money machine
A review of campaign finance data offers not one ounce of good news and barely any hope for the McCain campaign's ability to compete with Obama's fundraising prowess.
To make matters worse, Obama's campaign, which raised $272 million through April for the primary, now is reaching out to Clinton's fundraisers, who raised another $200 million through April, in an effort to unite forces and bury the historically deep-pocketed Republicans.
The Republican National Committee, which is charged with closing the gap between McCain and Obama, has $40 million in cash. Obama raised almost as much -$31 million - from just his small donors in the month of February. His total for the month, $57 million, exceeded the RNC's cash balance.
Such a massive financial advantage will allow Obama to compete in more states than McCain and force his rival to defend states that should rightfully be Republican wins.
Which raises the next question: after the past 7 1/2 years, are there ANY states that should rightfully be Republican wins?
GOP blocks Senate's global warming bill It follows bitter debate over its economic costs, gasoline price impact
Senate Republicans on Friday blocked a global warming bill that would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases, after a bitter debate over its economic costs and whether it would substantially raise gasoline and other energy prices.
Democratic leaders fell a dozen votes short of getting the 60 needed to end a Republican filibuster on the measure and bring the bill up for a vote. The 48-36 vote failed to reach even a majority, a disappointment to the bill's supporters.
Majority Leader Harry Reid was expected to pull the legislation, in all likelihood pushing the congressional debate over climate change to next year with a new Congress and a new president.
The bill would have capped carbon dioxide coming from power plants, refineries and factories, with a target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 71 percent by mid-century.
I guess the Stun-me-less checks didn't work as expected posted by
Clyde 5:31 AM
Dow Jones plunges about 400 points White House: Bush considering new measures to stimulate economy
Wall Street plunged Friday as oil prices shot up more than $10 and neared $140 a barrel, wiping out investors' recent optimism about the economy in progress. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 400 points, its greatest plunge since February 2007.
President Bush is considering new measures to stimulate the economy, the White House said, although officials acknowledged that time is short. Bush, in his speech on the economy, also said "the stimulus may be working."
Crude oil prices rose at one point more than $11, hitting a new high of $139, before settling around $138. A Morgan Stanley shipping analyst predicts prices could reach $150 a barrel by July 4.
Oil investors' frantic buying of crude futures made it clear that the market could make the Morgan Stanley prediction a reality. And on Wall Street, crude's soaring price intensified worries that ever-expensive fuel will lead consumers to curtail their spending on nonessentials. With gasoline at the threshold of a national average of $4 a gallon, crude's surge higher is expected to propel gas even higher - and make Americans even more reluctant to spend.
Citing new report, Dems rip 'heinous' prewar rhetoric
Democrats blasted the Bush administration's rhetorical road to war in Iraq as "heinous" Thursday, citing a new Senate Intelligence Committee report that said the administration mishandled prewar intelligence.
However, senators stopped short of pressing for criminal charges, and the White House shot back that the report was old news.
A pair of Intelligence Committee reports released earlier Thursday said Bush administration officials gave biased and incomplete assessments of Iraq's threat to the U.S. and inappropriately tried to implicate Iran as a threat to national security.
Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and fellow Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said the reports show Bush and others deliberately shaded or ignored facts in favor of rushing the country into war.
A top adviser to Senator John McCain says Mr. McCain believes that President Bush's program of wiretapping without warrants was lawful, a position that appears to bring him into closer alignment with the sweeping theories of executive authority pushed by the Bush administration legal team.
In a letter posted online by National Review this week, the adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, said Mr. McCain believed that the Constitution gave Mr. Bush the power to authorize the National Security Agency to monitor Americans’ international phone calls and e-mail without warrants, despite a 1978 federal statute that required court oversight of surveillance.
Mr. McCain believes that "neither the administration nor the telecoms need apologize for actions that most people, except for the A.C.L.U. and trial lawyers, understand were constitutional and appropriate in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001," Mr. Holtz-Eakin wrote.
And if Mr. McCain is elected president, Mr. Holtz-Eakin added, he would do everything he could to prevent terrorist attacks, "including asking the telecoms for appropriate assistance to collect intelligence against foreign threats to the United States as authorized by Article II of the Constitution."
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will suspend her campaign and endorse Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday, NBC News confirmed, bringing an end to a ground-breaking presidential race.
Hours after Barack Obama sealed the nomination on Tuesday, Democrats coalesced around his candidacy, sending a strong signal to Clinton that it was time to bow out. The former first lady told House Democrats during a private conference call Wednesday that she will express support for Obama's candidacy and congratulate him for gathering the necessary delegates to be the party's nominee.
"Senator Clinton will be hosting an event in Washington, D.C., to thank her supporters and express her support for Senator Obama and party unity. This event will be held on Saturday to accommodate more of Senator Clinton's supporters who want to attend," said her communications director, Howard Wolfson.
Aides told NBC News that there would be a private staff event Friday in Washington, followed by the public event on Saturday. They said that she would not waive her right to have her name placed in nomination and that she had not negotiated for anything from Obama, such as debt relief for her campaign.
100 more years? How 'bout forever? posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:34 AM
Revealed: Secret plan to keep Iraq under US control Bush wants 50 military bases, control of Iraqi airspace and legal immunity for all American soldiers and contractors
A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November.
The terms of the impending deal, details of which have been leaked to The Independent, are likely to have an explosive political effect in Iraq. Iraqi officials fear that the accord, under which US troops would occupy permanent bases, conduct military operations, arrest Iraqis and enjoy immunity from Iraqi law, will destabilise Iraq's position in the Middle East and lay the basis for unending conflict in their country.
But the accord also threatens to provoke a political crisis in the US. President Bush wants to push it through by the end of next month so he can declare a military victory and claim his 2003 invasion has been vindicated. But by perpetuating the US presence in Iraq, the long-term settlement would undercut pledges by the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, to withdraw US troops if he is elected president in November.
The timing of the agreement would also boost the Republican candidate, John McCain, who has claimed the United States is on the verge of victory in Iraq - a victory that he says Mr Obama would throw away by a premature military withdrawal.
Trouble in Freeperland posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:11 AM
Credit to DU'er sfam for putting these together. I feel for anyone that has to search Freeperland for quotes.
I gotta tell ya, If you wanna get an even higher pick-me-up, nothing's better than lurking over at Free Republic right now. Here's a nice cross-section of a bunch of the comments from Obama's speech:
I work full time in public relations. Let me tell you..this is not the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s...this is the age of the Internet, split second media sound bytes, and IMAGE. Obama has a fire lit right now that McCain can't even touch.
This is a going through the motions and nothing else. The GOP selected McCain because he had earned his dues just like Bob Dole.
We have lost already. I am not one of those doom and gloom people either. McCain can't draw flies from shit. He is boring. He is scripted. He is swarmy. He is arrogant. He is cocky. He is angry. He is NOT going to win.
Can't draw flies from shit? Wow, that's bad...
WOW! Obama KICKED McCain's butt. McCain is in trouble. He can't speak - he is so old that it is turning off voters - Obama has youth/looks/speaking abilities.
McCain better get his act together. His speech sucked tonight.
Good luck on getting his act together. With that Frankenstein "smile" of his, he's got a REAL uphill slog...
Obama has a throng of thousands who show up to hear his speech.
McCain has a throng of a few hundred who showed up to hear his.
(Is the McCain speech available on video yet? I missed it, but from the posts, it was anything but inspiring.)
Here's the response:
You don't want to listen to it- it was embarrassing (though he did get in some shots at Obama and "change")Better to read the transcript..some of what he said was good- his delivery was simply terrible.
Obama scares the crap outta me. Seriously.
There were LOTS of posts saying to just "read" the speech due to how bad McCain delivered it...
McCain's speech was so horrible it had guests at dinner laughing at him and the pathetic crowd response and message. This is an old tired cranky man whose time has passed.
The GOP is such a mess for putting this garbage up there. Obama is talking to 22,000 screaming people right now and McCain had what looked like 2 maybe 300 people barely clapping.
This could be a rout.
22,0000 (32,000 actually) to 300...hmmm...yep, sounds like a rout.
Folks, I think we are gonna have to cling to our guns and bibles alot in the future...
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois claimed the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night, NBC News projected based on its tally of convention delegates. By doing so, he shattered a barrier more than two centuries old to become the first black candidate ever nominated by a major political party for the nation's highest office.
"Tonight, I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States," Obama planned to say in a victory celebration in St. Paul, Minn., at the site of the convention that will nominate his Republican opponent in the fall, Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Hillary Clinton has told congressional colleagues she would be open to becoming Barack Obama's vice presidential nominee, saying she would consider it if it would help Democrats win the White House.
Clinton, a New York senator, made the comment on a conference call with other New York lawmakers Tuesday, according a participant on the call.
The senator's remarks came in response to a question from Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez who said she believed the best way for Obama to win over key voting blocs, including Hispanics, would be for him to choose Clinton as his running mate.
"I am open to it," Clinton replied, if it would help the party's prospects in November.
The numbers game posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:09 PM
AP tally: Obama effectively clinches nomination
Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, based on an Associated Press tally of convention delegates, becoming the first black candidate ever to lead his party into a fall campaign for the White House.
Campaigning on an insistent call for change, Obama outlasted former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a historic race that sparked record turnout in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial divisions within the party.
The AP tally was based on public commitments from delegates as well as more than a dozen private commitments. It also included a minimum number of delegates Obama was guaranteed even if he lost the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana later in the day.
Hillary update: posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 9:58 AM
The race is still on? This is starting to spin out of control.
Clinton camp denies she's ready to concede
Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials told the Associated Press, a move that would effectively end her bid to be the nation's first female president.
The report, which cited two campaign sources, said the former first lady would stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City, but that for all intents and purposes the campaign was over.
The campaign quickly reacted to the report, saying that the AP report was incorrect and that Clinton would not concede the nomination tonight.
Harold Ickes, a top campaign official, said that Clinton would not drop out of the race. Asked on MSNBC what she would say if, after primaries in Montana and South Dakota, Obama had enough delegates to clinch the nomination, he replied, "She will say what she will say when she says it."
Like I was telling Wally, I have to give Hillary credit for one thing. She's a fighter who wouldn't give up. I wish our other Dems in Congress would take note. Anyway, cheers to Hillary.
Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.
The former first lady will stop short of formally suspending or ending her race in her speech in New York City. She will pledge to continue to speak out on issues like health care. But for all intents and purposes, the two senior officials said, the campaign is over.
Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid through June 15, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge her plans
Today's tax 'n spend liberal against eliminating the federal gas tax: posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:01 AM
Vice President Dick Cheney
Cheney calls suspending gas tax a 'false notion'
Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday rejected a suspension of the federal gasoline tax as proposed by his party's presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain. Cheney said it would offer little help to consumers coping with gas prices around $4 a gallon.
The vice president's critique went further than President Bush's own comments on the idea, which appears dead anyway.
"I think it's a false notion, in the sense that you're not going to have much of an impact, given the size of the gasoline tax on the total cost of the gallon of gas," Cheney said when asked about the matter during a luncheon appearance. "You might buy a little bit of relief there, but it's minimal." $
Snotty Scotty isn't the only one with a new book tearing into the Bush presidency. Retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez also has a thing or two to say in his new book "Wiser in Battle: a Soldier's Story".
Bush Administration Guilty of "Gross Incompetence and Dereliction of Duty"
"That decision set up the United States for a failed first year in Iraq. There is no question about it. And I was supposed to believe that neither the Secretary of Defense nor anybody above him knew anything about it? Impossible! Rumsfeld knew about it. Everybody on the NSC knew about it, including Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, and Colin Powell. Vice President Cheney knew about it. And President Bush knew about it.
"In the meantime, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent, and worse yet, too many of our most precious military resource, our American soldiers, were unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result. In my mind, this action by the Bush administration amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty."
"In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I watched helplessly as the Bush administration led America into a strategic blunder of historic proportions. It became painfully obvious that the executive branch of our government did not trust its military. It relied instead on a neoconservative ideology developed by men and women with little, if any, military experience. Some senior military leaders did not challenge civilian decision makers at the appropriate times, and the courageous few who did take a stand were subsequently forced out of the service...I saw the cynical use of war for political gains by elected officials and acquiescent military leaders. I learned how the pressure of a round-the-clock news cycle could drive crucial decisions. I witnessed those resulting political decisions override military requirements and judgments and, in turn, create conditions that caused unnecessary harm to our soldiers on the ground..."
"During the last few months of 2002, while the highest levels of the U.S. government were sparring with Saddam Hussein and setting up the case for an invasion of Iraq, there is irrefutable evidence that America was torturing and killing prisoners in Afghanistan...In retrospect, the Bush administration's new policy triggered a sequence of events that led to the use of harsh interrogation tactics against not only al Qaeda prisoners, but also eventually prisoners in Iraq - in spite of our best efforts to restrain such unlawful conduct."
Cue the fat lady posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 12:28 PM
Sources: Senate superdelegates will throw support to Obama
Most of the 17 Democratic senators who are uncommitted superdelegates will endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president this week, sources told CNN Monday.
Sen. Barack Obama is expected to pick up superdelegate endorsements after Tuesday's contests, sources say.
The lawmakers will wait until after the South Dakota and Montana primaries Tuesday before announcing their support for Obama, two sources familiar with discussions between Obama supporters and these senators told CNN's Gloria Borger.
Obama supporters have been "pressing" for these superdelegates to endorse early this week, but according to one source, "the senators don't want to pound Hillary Clinton, and there is a sense she should be given a grace period."
A series of meetings on the topic have been facilitated at different times by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. Durbin and Daschle are Obama supporters, while Harkin is uncommitted.
The last week? posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 6:09 AM
Hillary Clinton's aides prepare to concede
Senior advisers to Senator Hillary Clinton have prepared the ground for her to abandon her 2008 presidential ambitions within days and not dispute the Democratic nomination all the way to the party convention in August.
Although she won by a wide margin over Barack Obama in yesterday's Puerto Rico primary - with 85 per cent of the vote in, she was leading by 36 percentage points - the former First Lady made no mention in her victory speech of taking her fight beyond this week.
Instead, she made a final appeal to some 178 uncommitted super-delegates - party officials whose convention votes are not tied to the primaries - that she would be the stronger general election candidate against John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.
...Last week, Mrs Clinton said she expected undecided super-delegates to make up their mind quickly after Tuesday. Her rapidly fading hopes rested on her being able to persuade 90 per cent of them to overturn Mr Obama's delegate lead because of her contention that she would be the stronger candidate against Mr McCain.
Mr Obama indicated on Saturday night that he thought Mrs Clinton, in consultation with her husband Bill, would concede this week so that the party could unite against Mr McCain.
Review of the Top 10 airport men's rooms? posted by
Clyde 1:14 PM
Craig to write book for release next year
Outgoing Sen. Larry Craig revealed tonight that he is writing a book.
In a live interview on NewsChannel 7 Tuesday night - Craig, 62 - told Dee Sarton that he is in the process of writing a book on energy - that will also talk about his time in Congress - and the events of the past year.
"There will be a bit of what's happened in the last year, and the way it evolved," Craig said. "I think that's important for Idaho and those outside Idaho who are interested to know."
He hopes the book will be on store shelves in the next year.
Support the Troops, the Bush - Cheney way posted by
Wally 7:16 AM
How many shares of stock does Dick still hold? What were Halliburton's profits since the war began? With the stock price going from $10 before the war to almost $50 now, with the company winning $20 billion in contracts (how many of them were "no-bid" contracts) in Iraq, Cheney did pretty well with that couple hundred thousand shares of Halliburton stock he's sitting on.
How did Halliburton make such huge profits? Here's just one answer to that question.
Bush and Cheney keep telling us to support the troops, and this is how they treat them. Cheney was CEO of Halliburton for years - he has some pull there, or at least he has contacts. If nothing else, he knows the phone number. He's the frikking Vice President of the United States - so he can pick up the phone and it's a safe bet someone will talk to him. Why doesn't he? Why hasn't he yet? Maybe all those shares of stock have something to do with it. Maybe his pals at his old company are more important to him than a bunch of poor strangers.
When he heard rumors of such profiteering, Truman got into his Dodge and, during a Congressional recess, drove 30,000 miles paying unannounced visits to corporate offices and worksites. The Senate committee he chaired launched aggressive investigations into shady wartime business practices and found "waste, inefficiency, mismanagement and profiteering," according to Truman, who argued that such behavior was unpatriotic.
They call themselves Democrats? posted by
Wally 6:18 AM
Angry Clinton supporters tell party leaders: 'Let's go McCain!'
To these people, I say, take your fucking ball, and your votes, and go play with the Republicans. We don't need you, and we sure don't want you.
All of us here at dubyaD40 have gone through our choices for the party nominee, and knocked off at least our first choice when they dropped out. It happens - someone wins an election, and everyone else has to lose. It's politics. If you can't stand to lose, then you have no stomach for the game. Just like if you can't take a punch, maybe professional boxing isn't such a great career choice.
While our regular readers have almost certainly known our preferences over time, we've been careful not to rip down the other Democratic candidates, because, in accordance with the rules of the game, when our favorite gets knocked out of the race, we knew we'd just look at who's left and support them until there was only one left, and then all the way until November.
We know the vast majority of supporters of both Obama and Clinton understand this and feel the same way. That's why it really pisses us off to see this kind of shit. These people make all of us look bad. They're an embarrassment to Clinton supporters. They are an embarrassment to Hillary herself (who should come out and denounce them). And they are an embarrassment to the Democratic party as a whole. They're an embarrassment to the country - which means less to them than getting their candidate on the ballot. Where the hell were they in 2000 when Bush was stealing Florida? Where were they in 2004 when he was stealing Ohio?
But enough of my ranting. Here they are, in their own words, from the CNN story:
As members of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws panel voted in favor of the measures, some supporters of Hillary Clinton's White House bid rose from their seats and began to shout "Don't steal my vote!" and "Let's go, McCain!"
When Barack Obama's name was mentioned, boos filled the room.
"I think what they've done is divisive, destroying the party. I'm disgusted," said Doggett, who expressed hope that the popular vote in Puerto Rico and a shift in superdelegates might still be able to deliver the nomination to Hillary Clinton. "I'm done with the Democratic Party," she added. "I'm an independent voter now."
Good. Get the fuck out of the party, since you're not a real Democrat anyway.
As for the "don't steal my vote" thing? All 3 of us here at dubyaD40 live in Kansas. Therefore all 3 of us are not part of the "popular" vote, since we, like Iowa, and a bunch of other states, hold caucuses, not elections. By pushing the whole "popular vote" issue, Hillary and her supporters are trying to tell us that WE don't count. Even though our states did NOT break the rules, they are trying to "steal OUR votes". If Caucus states don't count, why would any candidate even bother to put their name on the ballot, or campaign, or spend money, or even show up in a Caucus state at all? When caucuses are taken into consideration, the "popular vote" argument falls apart on so many levels it's not even ludicrous. Only a Foxnews watching mouthbreather would buy into it.
To true Democratic Clinton supporters (and Edwards, and Kucinich, and Richardson, and everyone else), I say - it's been a tough fight, but it's over. I'm sorry your candidate didn't win. Had Clinton (or any of the others) won, all of us here would turn our focus 100% towards making damn sure that they win in November, and we hope you'll do the same to make sure that the next President is a Democrat.
To people like this woman (notice that she's from New York - where all the votes were counted) bitching about "not being counted" and saying she's voting for McCain instead of some "inadequate black male", I say, fuck off. Your bigotted ass doesn't belong here. Go home, turn on FoxNews and fantasize about sharing a shower with Bill-o and his falafel. The landslide will happen with or without you.
