RUMORS OF OUR PROGRESS HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED...
On Monday July 7, 2008, the Democratic Congresswoman from New York Carolyn Maloney will be the guest on the Basham and Cornell Radio Show at 8 am Pacific Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas.
As a young woman, Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney asked her grandmother for career advice. She was shocked by the reply: "Get married."
Though much has changed for women since then, more has remained the same. On a January night in 2008, Maloney and her daughter attended a Hillary Clinton rally in New Hampshire. Some men in the audience held "Iron My Shirt" posters aloft. This small incident provoked outrage, but it provided an important peephole onto larger problems that women face today.
In her groundbreaking book, Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: Why Women's Lives Aren't Getting Any Easier... and How we can make Real Progress, Congresswoman Maloney shatters the myths about how far we've come, highlighting how women’s issues permeate every realm of society, and how political change has provided only a fraction of a solution.
The former co-chair of the Women’s Caucus, Maloney has access to a wealth of cutting-edge research that helps her illuminate how far behind we still fall on gender equality in issues from health care to educational opportunities, from poverty to reproductive freedom. It’s a fact that women are working harder than ever, but they're still only paid three-quarters the salary of their male counterparts. She weaves this vital information with gripping stories of real women, making clear that she’s not taking some abstract political position. She’s talking about real people, real lives.
Maloney also points the way forward, sharing inspiring tales of female activists who have managed to make a difference and presenting readers with "take action" guides that show all women practical ways they can help bring about change in their lives and the lives of others.
___________________________________
If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them. - Adlai E. Stevenson
Now it's time to defeat the "Regressive movement." In light of the unsettling news that Karl Rove is taking over McCain's campaign — and in light of the bizarre news that Rush Limbaugh got a salary raise of $30 million a year — making his total take $400 million until the year 2016 — we need to focus on our Progressive values more than ever. America is a Progressive nation at heart. We can't allow thugs to continue to take over our country. More below on Rove...
MIMI KENNEDY There are so many good people doing good things, the American experiment cannot fail. I had the honor of co-hosting an event for Progressive Democrats of America and C-SPAN with the amazing Mimi Kennedy last night. Mimi is a tireless advocate of all good causes and I am so proud to call her a fellow Progressive activist and actor. You may remember her as Dharma's mom on the hit series "Dharma and Greg." She is someone who actually does the work we all talk about. She's passionate about social justice, nonviolent conflict resolution, and a healthy environment. Check out her inspiring site at: Mimi Kennedy.org and Progressive Democrats of America.org
C-SPAN BOOK TVGreat Interviews: Please listen in the archives at Basham and Cornell Radio to our shocking interview with Diebold whistleblower Steve Heller.
At the C-Span event last night, July 2, 2008 our guest was author, composer-lyricist, record and television producer Christopher Cerf — who was also our guest on the Basham and Cornell Radio Show at 8 am Pacific Time on AM 1230 KLAV in Las Vegas.
He is perhaps best known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for founding National Lampoon, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous articles and books.
Photo: Christopher Cerf and Lydia Cornell
Christopher Cerf is also known to the general public for his work as an author and satirist. In 1970, he helped launch the National Lampoon, serving as a Contributing Editor from its first issue until the mid-1970s, and in 1978, he co-conceived and co-edited with Tony Hendra, George Plimpton and Rusty Unger the journalistic parody Not the New York Times.In 2008, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of George W. Bush's historic (if premature) victory speech aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln, Cerf again collaborated with Victor Navasky to produce “Mission Accomplished! Or How We Won The War In Iraq,” a compendium of misstatements, failed predictions, and outright lies uttered in connection with America's military adventure in Iraq.
______________________
RELAX...IT'S ALL GOING TO BE OKAY * AND STOP TEARING DOWN OBAMA
Despite the uproar from Progressive bloggers over Obama's move to the middle, I truly believe that good will prevail. I personally think Obama was wrong in backing the new FISA bill, and I have firsthand evidence of why this is wrong. But I am not ready to tell my whole story yet - about the death threats and illegal wiretapping that occurred in my home.
But regarding Obama's "Faith Based Initiatives" — please give this a chance. Imagine what good an organization like Union Rescue Mission can do with some government funds. They provide beds, food and clothing for ALL of Los Angeles' homeless men and women. They are a 'Good Samaritan" Christian organization that gives to all, regardless of race, creed, sexual preference or gender.
I think there are more enlightened and motivated faith based groups that need funds to help people in their communities. Many of these people devote all their time to doing "God's work" and are more motivated than those who do not feel a higher calling of service and love to mankind.
On the other hand, if one of these Churches EVER creates a "Creationist Museum" which is where the Bush Faith-based money was wasted, we should protest!!
At a time when Obama is under increasing fire from progressives for moving to the center and sounding like a traditional Democratic pandering pol, the McCain campaign is now morphing into yet another Karl Rove Presidential campaign operation, only this time it’s “unofficial” since Rove doesn’t have an official title or paycheck. But, the Times report confirms, it’s quite real — and those who were counting the days when America would close the chapter on Karl Rove and his style of national politics will have to count for quite a while.
- From The Moderate Voice.com Joe Gandleman
Labels: C-SPAN BOOK TV, Christopher Cerf, Mimi Kennedy, Steve Heller
posted by Lydia Cornell at
5:55 PM
204 Comments:
Barack Obama has clarified his position,
"I will give the Joint Chiefs of Staff a new mission,
End this war .....".
Which is the position he has had all alone.
The MSM still tries to spin it to create controversy .... to help st johnny when he is enlisting the minions of KKKarl Rove to continue the republican war on the middle class of America.
By
clif, at 2:04 PM
No one could be surprised that Flip Flop Johnny has told yet another lie. This is par for the course.
By
Jolly Roger, at 2:09 PM
Oh, and you better believe the Klanservatives are gonna start hauling out the soaked crosses in earnest now. I have said before, and I'll say again, that I don't blame Obama for backtracking on accepting Federal campaign money. He could not go into the game against this bunch hobbling.
By
Jolly Roger, at 2:10 PM
What do you all think of Rovian tactics taking over McCain's campaign?
Rove will do anything to win. He ONLY plays dirty tricks and dishonest tactics, and since they own th media (with Limbaugh's new 400 million dollar salary... -- lies and slander and vote caging seem to be their only way of winning.
But that's why we must only focus on the GOOD in our Progressive values and in our candidate.
By
Lydia Cornell, at 2:15 PM
Lydia, this is no surprise at all. The Klanservatives have been using subtle racism for about the last 4 campaigns they've run (the antigay pogrom of 2004 was more about making it OK to be a bigot openly than it ever was about gays getting married.) We can see watching FOX "News" that they've gotten progressively more racist on a near-daily basis. They will make this a racial campaign because they don't have anything else to offer.
By
Jolly Roger, at 2:19 PM
Lydia, I see it different,
But then again I have lived where you don't bing a knife to a gun fight, in real life.
Sometimes you just fight fire with fire.
But we use facts for our fuel unlike McSame's newly hired Rove minions who use fear, innuendo, lies and spin for their fuel.
By
clif, at 2:28 PM
Clif, can't you see that an "eye for an eye" just makes everyone blind?
By
Voltron, at 3:57 PM
By the way, I had no idea you used to live in Detroit...
By
Voltron, at 3:59 PM
Dolt, fighting Rovian untruths with truth is not the same as the biblical punishment you quote,
But leave it to a shallow hypocritical bible thumper like YOU, to claim it is.
By
clif, at 5:12 PM
Yeah, I really think you could think these out a little better before you post them, dolty. Answering lies with truths seems more than fair to me. I know it sucks that the truth sounds as bad as it does for the wingtards, but it is what it is.
By
Jolly Roger, at 8:36 PM
For those of you who have never seen the Wingtard of the Month feature, this month's wingtard is a standout. How a guy this whacked out can avoid the men in white coats, I have no idea.
By
Jolly Roger, at 9:36 PM
BTW dolt, the gun fight I referenced was a little thingy called Desert Storm,
but being a GUTLESS chicken hawk,
you'd never think of that would ya boy?
By
clif, at 10:10 PM
I love how rusty always shows up when his inbred, nad-deprived self thinks there'll be no one around to show him up yet again for the tool that he is.
So the Boone's Farm thing didn't work out, boy? I suppose you could just take it, but at this hour your father has probably beat you to it.
By
Jolly Roger, at 11:53 PM
Homeless veterans face new battle for survival
By Mike Mount
"I can't find the right words to describe when you are homeless," says Iraq war veteran Joseph Jacobo. "You see the end of your life right there. What am I going to do, what am I going to eat?"
Jacobo is one of an increasing number of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who come home to life on the street. The Department of Veterans Affairs is fighting to find them homes.
Veterans make up almost a quarter of the homeless population in the United States. The government says there are as many as 200,000 homeless veterans; the majority served in the Vietnam War. Some served in Korea or even World War II. About 2,000 served in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The VA and several nongovernmental organizations have created programs that address the special needs of today's veterans returning from war. In addition to treating physical and mental injuries, there are career centers and counseling programs. But the VA still expects the homeless rate among the nation's newest veterans to rise because of the violent nature of combat seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Officials say many more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer post-traumatic stress disorder than veterans of previous wars. The government says PTSD is one of the leading causes of homelessness among veterans.
"They come back, and they are having night trauma, they are having difficulty sleeping. They are feeling alienated," says Peter Dougherty, the director of homeless programs for the VA.
The VA says 70 percent of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan saw some form of combat, either through firefights, rocket attacks or the most common strikes on troops -- roadside bomb attacks on their vehicles.
That is three times the rate of combat experienced by Vietnam veterans, according to the VA.
Jacobo spent more than a year as an Army mechanic in Iraq between 2004 and 2006. He saw many of his fellow soldiers killed during attacks on his base. He suffers from PTSD and found himself homeless after being discharged from the Army in 2006, but recently moved into a VA-funded shelter in Washington.
Until he found the VA facility, he was sleeping in laundry rooms and washing himself in fast food restrooms until he would be kicked out.
And McCrazy supports these policies.
By
Larry, at 3:44 AM
I heard a bit about both of those stories but I have been entertaining a son on leave and have not delved into either but I will have to eventually. About Limbaugh what was that? I thought I heard he was getting that from an Arab country or something?
As for Rove! I haven't heard that at all. In fact I only heard some of those involved with him and Bush were now running parts of McCain's campaign. That in itself is very scary and disconcerting as it means a continuation of underhand lying Politics and 4 more years we will not survive while McCain has many convinced he is honest patriotic and a vote for change. Unfriggenbelievable!
By
an average patriot, at 10:25 AM
Wanna blow a hole as big as George Bush's credibility gap in the wing nuts drill drill drill arguments?
Use this;
ANALYSIS - US oil firms seek drilling access, but exports soar
While the U.S. oil industry want access to more federal lands to help reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, American-based companies are shipping record amounts of gasoline and diesel fuel to other countries.
A record 1.6 million barrels a day in U.S. refined petroleum products were exported during the first four months of this year, up 33 percent from 1.2 million barrels a day over the same period in 2007. Shipments this February topped 1.8 million barrels a day for the first time during any month, according to final numbers from the Energy Department.
The surge in exports appears to contradict the pleas from the U.S. oil industry and the Bush administration for Congress to open more offshore waters and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Why if we have such "high" gas prices and the oil corps say they need more oil do they EXPORT from America what they have?
Greed, pure and simple greed.
More drilling ain't gonna solve that age old problem of whose with the most wanting even more at the expense of those with the least....
Jesus commented on the very same problem 2000 years ago and nothing has changed for the greedy who claimed to be religious while being the most avarice people on the planet.
Jesus decried the greed back then and now a days Christian right wing leaders act so hypocritically when they claim that monetary success means God approves what you have done.
No, it just means your more greedy then spiritual, and nothing else.
BTW, I wonder if God approved the actions of the Rich Pharisees and their rich Roman overlords about AD33?
By
clif, at 10:29 AM
BTW, Jesse Helms just found out in person hell is quite hot.
First comment he made, was seeing Jerry Falwell and saying "fancy meeting you HERE".
By
clif, at 10:31 AM
What the hell is wrong with people in Texas?
One foole runs OUT of his house with a shotgun and shoots two unarmed buglers, THEN has the audacity to claim he was in fear for his life?
Then this;
In Memory of Spc. Nicholas Peters and the other Kelly Park boys
The rules are simple enough for the kids playing in the stickball tournament this morning in Kelly Park: There are to be three people to a team. There are four innings per game. Two outs per inning. You walk on three balls. You strike out on two strikes. The second strike can be a foul ball.
Any ground ball not stopped or caught is a single. If you hit the ball over the double court line without it being caught or stopped, you have hit a double. If you smack the ball hard off the fence, you have a triple. And if you hit it the ball entirely over the fence, of course, you have hit a home run. If you hit a deep foul ball over the fence, it is unclear whether it is to be counted as a foul ball or home run. In that case, the final decision is left to the whim of a grown up or the good will of the opposing team.
If you are eleven years old, and get a chance to bat, there are traditions to maintain: You must wear an oversized Red Sox jersey with the name Papelbom on the back. (That is the Sox’s closer for those not literate in such things. In an earlier time your jersey would have had the name Garciappara on it.) You dramatically roll your head from side to side to get the hair out of the eyes. Then you check the stick to make sure you are hitting at the ball from the ride end. (This is very important; however, you hope that nobody sees you doing this.) Then you dig hard into the pavement with your converse high tops, lean way way back on your heels, and then smack at the ball—eyes closed allowed—with all of your eleven year old might. Whether you hit the ball or not, all is right with the world.
You hope you hit the ball of course. But if you don’t, you still get to have your face painted, hang with the older kids, have a hot dog with anything you want it on it– and then if you are really, really lucky you get to sit on your big brother’s shoulder to watch the dedication of the square to an older boy in the neighborhood.
The corner of Cragie and Summer is to be renamed in dedication for another little boy who once played stick ball in this park. There are two honor guards, one of which will fire off live rounds, interrupting the morning quiet and send singing birds scattering. A representative of the mayor will say a few words.
This is the unveiling of the new street sign dedicating Spc. Nicholas Peters Square.
Nick served a tour of duty in Iraq and came home in one piece. He survived the war but not the peace. Stationed at Ft. Hood, in Texas, someone in a bar did not like the fact that he was wearing a Red Sox jersey, and killed him. ........
Maybe they need to pipe Bobby Kennedy into their churches instead of the hate filled rants of right wing preachers .....
By
clif, at 11:32 AM
Wanna know something, Osama bin laden wanted by attacking the USA?
1. Get US troops out of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which includes the Muslim holy cities.
In an interview bin Laden gave to CNN in 1997, he said the ongoing U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia is an "occupation of the land of the holy places."
In February 1998, bin Laden issued a "fatwa," a religious ruling, calling for Muslims to kill Americans and their allies. Three other groups, including the Islamic Jihad in Egypt, endorse the ruling.
George W Bush did this for him on or about May 2003 right after illegally invading Iraq for it's oil.
THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ; Last American Combat Troops Quit Saudi Arabia
The last few American combat troops pulled out of the Prince Sultan Air Base here earlier this month, officially closing the Persian Gulf headquarters used by the Air Force during both Iraq wars and concluding a nearly 13-year run of extensive United States military operations in Saudi Arabia.
And Bin Laden said he wanted the price of oil to rise to $144 a barrel;
''If bin Laden takes over and becomes king of Saudi Arabia, he'd turn off the tap,'' said Roger Diwan, a managing director of the Petroleum Finance Company, a consulting firm in Washington. ''He said at one point that he wants oil to be $144 a barrel''
West Texas Intermediate price according to upstreamonline;
WTI 145.28
Who has gotten what he wanted outa Georgie's War on Terra?
Osama has said his goal was to break us financially in the same way they believed they succeeded against the Soviets into a long war in Afghanistan:
"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.
Billions wastes each week in Iraq?
He said the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, "using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers."
Sorta the war Bush has created in both iraq and afghanistan, because of the reich wing hubris and incompetence.
"We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat," bin Laden said. ...
We are now 6 1/2 years into the Afghan war with no end in sight, and over 5 years into the illegal occupation of Iraq with no end in sight'
"All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said. ...
Damn he knows the idiot neo-cons and their stupid minions much better then they think he does.
As part of the "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan," bin Laden cited a British estimate that it cost al Qaeda about $500,000 to carry out the attacks of September 11, 2001, an amount that he said paled in comparison with the costs incurred by the United States.
Upwards of 6oo billion and rising.
"Every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars, by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs," he said. "As for the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars. ...
"And it all shows that the real loser is you," he said. "It is the American people and their economy." ...
"So the war went ahead, the death toll rose, the American economy bled, and Bush became embroiled in the swamps of Iraq that threaten his future," bin Laden said.
Who's to say he's not on course to succeed unless we start changing some of our economic and foreign policies that continue to cost us so much financially, and some of our domestic policies which seem increasingly Orwellian in nature?
When the reich-wingers start squawking NOBODY could have predicted. they should listen to this little admission from Brzezinski, jimmy Carters national security advisor;
Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, 24 Dec 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention.
Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into war and looked to provoke it?
B: It isn't quite that. We didn't push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would.
Q: When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against a secret involvement of the United States in Afghanistan, people didn't believe them. However, there was a basis of truth. You don't regret anything today?
B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.
Q: And neither do you regret having supported the Islamic fundamentalism, having given arms and advice to future terrorists?
B: What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war?
The reichwingers think it was all Reagan's idea?
Damn are they dumb;
But just how dumb?
All bin forgotten has done is take the strategy Brzezinski proposed to Jimmy Carter to be used against USSR and use it against the stupid neo-cons and their even dumber minions.
Damn just how stupid is Cheney, Bush and the rest, tricked by bin forgotten with OUR OWN strategies.
Oh yea, they thought Chalibi was working for US and not Iran .............
Idiots like Dolt, crusty and the rest of the trolls think we are traitors for pointing these facts out?
It's a shame you're a traitor for point out truth,
But a patriot for subverting the US constitution .......
Underfunding the troops and their care after getting wounded .....
Lying your way into a war that cost the American people 4113 of it's troops ....
Tens of thousands other troops severely wounded ....
Hundreds of billions of borrowed dollars from the Chinese that the American (but not the rich according to the reichwingers) people will have to repay.
By
clif, at 12:36 PM
'When John McCain was my captive'
By Andrew Harding
BBC News in Haiphong, Vietnam
Tran Trong Duyet - a sprightly retiree and amateur ballroom dancer - must rank as one of John McCain's more unlikely supporters.
Four decades ago, during the Vietnam war, Mr Duyet was in charge of the notorious Hoa Lo prison - the place where Mr McCain says he was brutally beaten and tortured during five-and-a-half years as an American prisoner of war.
"McCain is my friend," said 75-year-old Mr Duyet as he feeds the caged birds he now keeps in his garden in this coastal city.
"If I was American, I would vote for him."
Informal chats
Navy pilot John McCain was shot down during a bombing raid over the North Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, in 1967.
He ejected from his aircraft and parachuted into a city lake - only to be dragged out by an angry crowd, barely conscious, and with two broken arms and a broken leg.
From there he was taken to Hoa Lo prison, known to its American military inmates as the "Hanoi Hilton".
McCain has since described enduring months of solitary confinement and systematic torture which drove him to try to kill himself.
"I don't know how he'd react if he met me again," said Mr Duyet, flicking through old black and white photographs of himself and his American prisoners at Hoa Lo.
"But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners."
Mr Duyet reminisces instead about how he often summoned the future US presidential candidate to his private office for informal chats.
"We used to argue about the war - about whether it was right or wrong," he says.
"He is a very frank man - very conservative, and very loyal to his country and the American ideal.
"He had a very interesting accent and sometimes he taught me words in English and corrected my accent. I have followed his career since he left prison."
Rapprochement
So is Mr Duyet implying that that Senator McCain lied about his treatment at the Hanoi Hilton?
"He did not tell the truth," he says.
"But I can somehow sympathise with him. He lies to American voters in order to get their support for his presidential election."
John McCain's Close Friend Even Admits McCain Was Not Tortured, And That JOHN MCCAIN IS A LIAR.
By
Larry, at 3:53 PM
John Edwards is supposed to debate Karl Rove at University of Buffalo!
By
Mike, at 8:36 PM
Mike - FOR REAL???
Wow. Considering Rove is a crook and should be in jail, this is amazing. The Siegleman case, the missing emails, the caging of voters... the dirty, illegal activities with the RNC.
By
Lydia Cornell, at 7:30 AM
Yep its true.........and your right Rove is none too smart agreeing to a debate with all the criminal charges and litigation he has going........but then we never accused these treasonous Reich Wing idiots of being smart.
By
Mike, at 1:17 PM
john Edwards and Rove that ought to be interesting. I would love to see Rove and Wexler!
By
an average patriot, at 3:21 PM
I saw at daily kos that Rove said he was above law and didnt have to testify before congress
By
Trevor, at 3:54 PM
Rush Limbaugh confesses he has no confidence in his beliefs
By Ed Martin
In the late 1940s Joe McCarthy, an ignorant Senator without conscience, knowingly picked an issue without substance to take him from obscurity to the national stage. The fake issue was communism. He used the non-issue of anti-communism to conduct hearings that ruined innocent people's lives by accusing them of being communists. All the while, few noted that being a communist was not illegal in the United States. And, few noted that McCarthy never found a single communist.
The end result was that McCarthy was shown to be a proven liar. Joseph Welch ended McCarthy's reign of terror with the questions, "Have you no decency, sir? At long last, have you no decency?"
George Bush, another ignorant man without conscience has done the same thing, knowingly grabbing on to another issue without substance, the faked danger of Iraq, to bring him from obscurity to fame and fortune. Bush has been shot down by the many Joseph Welches of today, pointing out that Bush is a proven liar. And, like McCarthy, Bush has never found a single WMD.
Rush Limbaugh, another ignorant, conscienceless man has knowingly picked another issue without substance to bring him from deserved obscurity to the national stage, wealth and notoriety. Limbaugh's issue is hard-right, conservative Republicanism, an issue that has been proven, with devastating effect, entirely false by its prime practitioner, George Bush.
Although Limbaugh will never, ever directly admit that his ideology is flawed, that it has no substance, that it is only a vehicle to make him famous and weallthy, he has indirectly admitted this and confessed that he has no confidence in his beliefs.
He has done this by bring to the attention of his listening public the one devastating flaw in an unsupportable belief. That one flaw that Limbaugh fears is that if there is just one dissent containing truth, reason and logic from his made up, contrived and invented ideology, it is such a danger to his beliefs that he will be exposed as a faker and his whole, fake ideological empire will be destroyed.
This fear of dissent and the need for unanimous agreement is the defining characteristic of unfounded, untrue beliefs and ideologies. Everyone must agree with them or their untruth will be exposed. Those who are confident in their knowledge of the facts and the truth have no fear of being exposed as believing in the false. Their knowledge of the truth will always be supported by the evidence.
That's why Limbaugh must have everyone agree with him, because that is the only support he can get for his unsupportable beliefs. The essence of Limbaugh's quest for unanimity is that those who don't know must have no disagreement with their lack of knowledge, while those who know have no fear of and know that the truth cannot be affected by dissent.
Limbaugh, in his ignorance, doesn't understand that agreement, even unanimous agreement, is not evidence and is not proof of anything that he might choose to believe.
That's why Limbaugh has confessed that his beliefs are unsupportable, by actually admitting that the only support he can get is by having no one disagree with him.
Joe McCarthy died in alcoholic obscurity as a result of Joseph Welch's questions. Joseph Welch's questions to McCarthy are no less appropriate when, at last, they are addressed to Rush Limbaugh. The appropriate result would be the same.
For Whom The Bell Tolls!
By
Larry, at 4:53 AM
trevor
Wanted to make sure you saw this! I left this on my site but
Thanks! I saw your comment on the scum Rove. The slimy bee hive is cocky but right.Remember the Bastard Bush gave him a Presidential pardon and that is for life. That is why he is more dangerous than ever.
He was freed from the white House so he could pull his slimy underhanded strings on the sly and do his dirty work against our nominee. Just keep an eye on all this it is going to get bad!
By
an average patriot, at 5:52 AM
LARRY - this Rush Limbaugh article is FASCINATING!! Is it true? Did he really admit this?
If so, let's get this out there.
By
Lydia Cornell, at 9:55 AM
I heard obama was interview for the military times and mccain is attacking him for it
By
Trevor, at 1:32 PM
Lydia, of course not.
The whole article is contrived.
First, since the CIA released the venona papers in 1999 we KNOW McCarthy was telling the truth, and EVERYONE he accused was at least in communication with communist agents if they weren't ones personally. So no "innocent lives" destroyed there.
Second, have you heard they just transferred 550 metric tons of yellowcake out of Iraq? So much for no WMD's or the capacity to make them.
And lastly Limbaugh has ALWAYS said he won't quit until everyone agrees with him. He KNOWS that will never happen. It's just his way of saying he'll never quit.
By
Voltron, at 4:09 PM
At the risk of being labeled, an insurrectionist, I have to say that Obama, has currently lost my financial support, due to a series of recent shifts, modifications and out and out reverses on important policy decisions.
I will be writing an article in my blog about this shortly, but I wanted to invite anyone here who is sick of parroting party lines, to hold Obama to the same level of accountability that we have all held Bush to for the last 7 and a half years.
And its not just me, or the MSM seeing this. Its strong, liberal activists, like Arrinna Huffington, Keith Olberman, and others, who are warning Obama, that a adopting the programs, strategies and language of the Bush administration is not going to earn him their support, or their votes.
If we want Obama to be the kind of president we want him to be, then his supporters need to start holding him accountable.
Otherwise all we're going to end up with , is Bush lite.
:|
And I hate lite beer.
Sorry to interupt.
As you were.
By
BARTLEBEE, at 4:43 PM
Oh and don't let Voltron Buffalo you with that yellowcake crap.
We knew the Yellow cake was there for years. The deal to sell it to Canada has been in the works for a while. Its yellowcake used for nuclear power, not bombs, which is why Canada is buying it for their nuclear power program.
Yellowcake is not a weapon of mass destruction. And that yellowcake, could not be directly used to make one, without some very advanced science and facilities, and even then, not directly.
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BARTLEBEE, at 5:03 PM
This god damn war was based on on pack of lies just like the lies you spew for your evil masters voltron.........its pathetic that gutless cowards like you are still trying to justify this infamous pathetic and illegal war of aggression and grab for power and try to put lipstick on the pig of a legacy that will be that treasonous benedict arnolds aka bush.
you and your kind make me sick voltron.
By
Jimmy Glover, at 5:40 PM
Is the bush admin such a train wreck, they have stooped to clowns like this to deliver their propaganda bullsh*t .....
Dana Milbank: Economic Anxiety Disorder or One Nervous Bushie
and yes you have to watch that lousy commercial first.
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clif, at 6:35 PM
I very seldom post but I must say these obsessed war mongers cant let this go.The truth is a foreign language to them.
By
cosmiccowboy, at 6:53 PM
I hear ya cowboy, i seldom post either, but its like these warmongering conservative punks havent learned a damn thing from the disaster that was vietnam.
these little punks need to get their asses over there then see how much they love war when they got a gun in their hands.
whats sad is the democrats dont have it together any more now than they did in the sixties.
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Jimmy Glover, at 7:05 PM
regarding that yellowcake load of crap, yellowcake is not wmd, yellowcake is like saltpeter, charcoal or sulpher it can be the precursors to weapons or energy production, just like charcoal can be used to make gun powder or to grill burgers.
things arent as black and white as you conservatives like to make them, i used to make gun powder when i was a youngster, i currently reside in montana and florida and i still occasionally handload, which even though i am firm anti war liberal exposes your sweeping generalizations as the crappy self serving propaganda it is.
Now i dont know all that much about wmd, but i do know that centrifuges are required to make yellowcake into wmd, after all that is what all the sceeching and ranting from the bush war pigs to attack iran seems to be about.
By
Jimmy Glover, at 7:19 PM
As for the dumb right wing screeching about yellow cake and Iraq;
From the IAEA's Iraq Nuclear Verification Office
Indigenous production and overt procurement of uranium compounds
* Imported 4,006 kg of natural uranium and 6,005 kg of depleted uranium (DU) from Italy in 1979
* Imported 1,767 kg low enriched uranium (LEU) from Italy in 1982
* Imported almost 50 kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Russia and France
* Procured 429 drums containing 138,098 kg yellowcake from Portugal in 1980
* Procured 487 drums containing 148,348 kg yellowcake from Portugal in 1982
* Procured 432 drums containing 137,435 kg of yellowcake from Niger in 1981
* Procured 426 drums containing 139,409 kg of yellowcake from Niger in 1982
* Imported 24,260 kg of uranium dioxide from Brazil between 1981-82
* Produced 109 tonnes of uranium in 168 tonnes of yellowcake at Al Qaim uranium recovery plant, which was constructed between 1982-84
* Produced 420 drums containing 99,457 kg uranium dioxide at Al Jesira uranium conversion facility
* Produced UF6 at Rashdiya Engineering and Design Centre
* Processed uranium dioxide to produce UF4, uranium metal and UF6 at Tuwaitha Chemical Laboratories
* Processed UO2 and yellowcake to produce UO2, U3O8, UO3, UO4, UF4, and uranium metal at Tuwaitha
* Experimental Research Laboratory for Fuel Fabrication
* Processed UO2 to produce UCl4 at Tuwaitha Chemical Engineering Research laboratories
No wonder Joe Wilson knew Georgie was a lyin' in his 2003 SOTU address, Iraq didn't need to buy it already held well it held with UN safeguards and no tech to refine it.
Now why would Saddam want yellow cake up to 25 years before Bush would try to start a war over it?
Saddam of course had a nuclear program, the one the Israelis bombed into oblivion in 1981. In 2002, he had no such program. For the minority that do take Reynold's tacked on advice to "read the whole thing" they will learn that:
Israeli warplanes bombed a reactor project at the site in 1981. Later, U.N. inspectors documented and safeguarded the yellowcake, which had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Gulf War. There was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991, the official said.
(from instapundit, but NO I won't link to it.)
If you feared that one day Saddam might possess nuclear weaponry, it wasn't a lack of uranium but a lack of technology which hindered the program, and then it was forcibly shut down. But reichwing war mongers forget that little fact in 2002 and 2003 didn't they?
See Saddam had that yellow cake when Bush the elder allowed him to keep it, well sorta, bush 41 had the UN send in inspectors who DESTROYED all the pretty machines Saddam had assembled to enrich yellow cake, ask Scott Ritter he was there at the time and can tell you all about it
Which is why Scott Ritter was sayin' Bush ET Al were full of SH*T at the time(2002-2003)
Saddam had it for over a quarter of a century but without the tech to refine it, centrifuges to enrich it, (remember centrifuges, bush and the reichwing are all apesh*t about Iran's centrifuges) all he had was yellow cake but NO weapons level grade uranium.
However reich wing liars like Voltron, among others will continue to LIE about this and most everything else.
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clif, at 7:26 PM
Larry, that WAS a GREAT article on limpbaugh!
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Mike, at 9:04 PM
Trevor said...
I saw at daily kos that Rove said he was above law and didnt have to testify before congress"
He DOES seem to think that Trevor.........lets hope he's wrong as usual!
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Mike, at 9:05 PM
BARTLEBEE said...
At the risk of being labeled, an insurrectionist, I have to say that Obama, has currently lost my financial support, due to a series of recent shifts, modifications and out and out reverses on important policy decisions."
Well Bart, i dont like his cowardly pandering to the Reich Wing either, particularly on FISA, on wearing a lapel pin to appease the PHONY patriots.......i also dont like how he is dancing to McSame's tune and not pushing the issues........he is allowing McSame to paint him as an elitist tax increaser that is against drilling.....and i think its a mistake.
I havent contributed to his campaign in a few months for the same reason plus i wanted to be sure he won the primary..........bottom line he is saying what he thinks he needs to, to get elected......i dont like it or think its right or even neccessary.......but we still need him to win.......whats the alternative letting McSame stack SCOTUS with freedom hating goosestepping fascists.
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Mike, at 9:12 PM
Oh look Volt is STILL trying to justify the illegal invasin of iraq based on MORE Reich wing lies spin and BS..............kinda funny how you say you dont defend the treasonous loser then proceed to spin like a top all day defending him and his criminal policies.
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Mike, at 9:15 PM
Mike I posted a little truth for him, some from my post here but funniest of all this quote;
clif said...
BTW this is from the Fox news story dolt;
Israeli warplanes bombed a reactor project at the site in 1981. Later, U.N. inspectors documented and safeguarded the yellowcake, which had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Gulf War. There was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991, the official said.
Even fox says it ain't nothing from when Georgie lied about.
July 6, 2008 10:18 PM
The widdle id-jet it seems doesn't even READ what he quotes from.
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clif, at 9:22 PM
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Clif, didnt the lying welshing troll tex also try to dig up and recycle a decades old story to misrepresent the facts and justify the Reich Wing's lies.
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Mike, at 9:32 PM
Yes mike, but that welsh slunk off into the nether-lands after getting handed his ass over his lying about a bet he lost and realizing just how dumb he looked after the results of Nov 2006 became known, sorta like freedum fraud did also.
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clif, at 9:34 PM
Well I guess at least some of the the trolls have enough pride to go hide their head in the sand and not show their stupid faces out of embarrassment.
By
Mike, at 9:40 PM
Yea mike, but not all of them have a sock puppet like dolt uses crusty, to follow him around the tubes and defend him (if that is what you could call the ignorant rants crusty tries to inflict, crusty reminds me of the dumber of the good cop-bad cop routine .... )
Have you ever noticed, crusty ALWAYS appears, after dolt gets handed his sorry ass, ONE MORE TIME?
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clif, at 9:50 PM
Hi Lydia!
Isn't it pitiful how these losers living in their mom's basements still support these war criminals and defend the war and Constitutional infringements of a failed presidency.
One positive point we need to look at is that the Conservatives used to own the military vote, it used to be a given, not only have the Conservatives lost the military vote, but they have lost the largest generation since the Baby Boomers, my generation for good.
Picture the Conventions this fall, one will be like a rock concert with 70,000 screaming enthusiastic people, the other will look like a funeral with 3000 or so old people who look like they are in mourning because the Republican Revolution is dead.
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sara, at 10:22 PM
Look Bartlebee, I feel your pain bro, I dont like Obama caving in on key issues or pandering to the "Wrong" Wing, but what the hell type of options do you have, you gonna vote for Mcain or straddle the fence and let him use my generation as cannon fodder in the Republicans neverending wars, or stack the courts with loonies for 40 years.
You cant straddle the fence on this one bro, or your gonna get your balls busted and our country will be ruined.
By
sara, at 10:28 PM
Thanks Sara and Jimmy.. Welcome
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Lydia Cornell, at 9:45 AM
Somebody ought to tell St johnny the delusional that the Iraqis really don't want us there for 100 years in fact they really want us to get the hell out of THEIR country we illegally invaded in 2003.
Iraq raises prospect of US withdrawal timetable
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki raised the prospect on Monday of setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops as part of negotiations over a new security agreement with Washington.
It was the first time the U.S.-backed Shi'ite-led government has floated the idea of a timetable for the removal of American forces from Iraq. The Bush administration has always opposed such a move, saying it would give militant groups an advantage.
In a statement, Maliki's office said the prime minister made the comments about the security pact -- which will replace a U.N. mandate for the presence of U.S. troops that expires on December 31 -- to Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates.
"In all cases, the basis for any agreement will be respect for the full sovereignty of Iraq," the statement quoted Maliki as saying.
"The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either for the departure of the forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal."
It said Maliki, who is on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates, was responding to questions from the ambassadors about the security talks with the United States.
U.S. officials in Baghdad had no immediate comment. Last month Maliki appeared to catch Washington off guard when he said talks on the security deal were at a "dead end". Both sides later said progress was being made.
Maliki, dismissed as weak and ineffective for most of his tenure since taking over as prime minister in May 2006, has been increasingly assertive in recent months.
He has launched crackdowns on Shi'ite militias and also al Qaeda militants, with U.S. forces playing a mainly supporting role.
He has also called on Arab states to re-engage with Iraq.
Sunni Arab countries have long been reluctant to extend full legitimacy to the Iraqi government because of the U.S. presence, as well as Baghdad's close ties to non-Arab, Shi'ite Iran.
But Arab ties have begun to improve.
Damn he is more an Arab then a neo-con punk after all .......
I guess McSame ain't gonna hear this one either,
and Murdoch's dishonest press outlets will brand him as a surrender monkey also ....
after all it is how gutless chicken hawks fight wars,
check out how Dolty boy lies about the non-existent 2000-2002 purchases of yellow cake from Niger,
the Iraqis got that yellow cake in 1981-82 while Saddam was Reagan's best friend fighting Iran FOR Reagan like chicken hawks always do let somebody fight THEIR wars.
I guess Forest Gump was right after all, a chicken hawk is as a gutless reichwinger does.
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clif, at 10:22 AM
Hey guys get the popcorn ready, the numbskull reichwingers are gonna try and TELL McSame how to write the reichwing plank he is gonna campaign on;
Conservatives don't want McCain input on GOP platform
damn even the title is funny,
the reichwingers seem to forget McSame won the RIGHT to decide what he runs on .... damn they really are wanna be fascists after all.
All the blather over the democratic primary, this will be the real political fight this year,
whether the republicans continue their FAILED path on failed policies or they actually remove their heads from their rectums and change.
By
clif, at 10:27 AM
Zogby: Obma Leads in Electoral College 273-158;
Barr Badly Hurting McCain
Zogby Poll: Building Mo-bama! Democrat Leads McCain in Electoral College Tally, 273-158
The Democrat also leads 44% to 38% in the nationwide horserace test as Libertarian Bob Barr wins 6%
UTICA, New York – As the race for President passes the Independence Day holiday and heads toward the dog days of summer, Sen. Barack Obama holds a 44% to 38% lead over Sen. John McCain in the horserace contest, but also leads by a substantial margin in a state-by-state Electoral College tally, a new Zogby Interactive poll shows.
The extensive national poll of of 46,274 likely voters also shows Libertarian candidate and former Congressman Bob Barr wins 6% support, eating into McCain’s needed conservative base of support.
The online survey was conducted from June 11-30, 2008. It carries a margin of error of 0.5 percentage points. After nearly a decade in development, the Zogby Interactive survey on a state level was remarkably accurate in the 2006 midterm elections. In 18 U.S. Senate elections polled two years ago, the Zogby online survey correctly identified the winner of 17 of 18 races, and in the 18th race – in Missouri, it was still within the margin of error, though it had Republican Jim Talent winning (he was defeated narrowly by Democrat Claire McCaskill).
Zogby’s Electoral College Count
7-7-2008
Obama: 273
McCain: 158
Undecided: 105
This latest extensive survey of all 50 states reveals that while Obama holds a narrow lead in the national preference test, he holds a substantial advantage right now in the Electoral College. Using this survey - and an average of other public state polls in certain states to corroborate the Zogby results – Zogby calculates that Obama leads McCain, 273-158. A total of 11 states with 105 electoral votes are within the margin of error and therefore too close to call. A candidate needs 270 to be elected President.
Neither Obama nor McCain breaks a 50% favorable rating. Obama is viewed as very or somewhat favorable by 49.7%. For McCain, that number is 43.2%.
Pollster John Zogby: “Obama is in the driver’s seat right now, especially where it really counts - in the electoral votes. Bob Barr could really hurt McCain’s chances. McCain can’t afford the level of slippage to Barr we found among conservatives in this polling. While there has been plenty of talk about Obama’s recent emphasis on his centrist positions, he can get away with it during these dog days of the campaign as McCain finds himself still trying to shore up the conservative base. McCain will have to move to the center because right now Obama is clobbering him among independents. But there is the rub for McCain: Bob Barr has some juice among conservatives and is hurting him in several states. ”
Bob Barr receives the support of 7% of voters who identify themselves as conservative or very conservative voters. Barr gets 43% of libertarians and 11% of independents. McCain’s support among conservatives is 74%. On the left, Ralph Nader gets less than 2% nationally.
Obama has the support of 83% of Democrats, while McCain gets 75% of Republicans.
Independents break 39% for Obama, compared with 31% who support McCain.
For white voters, race doesn’t appear to be playing a significant factor. McCain leads Obama, 43%-39%, with Barr at 6%. Among black voters, Obama wins the vast majority of support.
Obama: 273
Just so's the trolls understand, boys it takes 270 electoral votes to win the White House, and Obama seems to have at least 273 rapped up ........
No Florida or Ohio hi-jinks this time boys .... enjoy.
and this is all before the MSM starts tellin' the real truth about the dishonest flip-floppin' McSame.
By
clif, at 10:43 AM
Oh and BTW boys read fivethirtheight for more understanding why this time the crimes of diebold, Kathrine Harris or Kenneth Blackweell won't help ya ...............
they hold the current election to be;
Obama 309 electoral votes and McSame 229 .... not close enuf to steal this time.
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clif, at 10:47 AM
Did anyone hear our amazing show this morning? We had congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and her new book RUMORS OF OUR PROGRESS HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED... Why Women's Lives Are Not getting better
She discusses the American sex slave trade, the health care system, the ERA (non-existent because of Republicans...)
By
Lydia Cornell, at 11:29 AM
One more thing regarding Obama, i personally dont like his stance on nuclear power as well as his stance on FISA or wearing a lapel pin........I think we need to build as many nuclear reactors as we can along with a huge push for solar and wind.........virtually ALL of our electricity should be coming from wind, solar and nuclear by 2020, that would free up electricity and natural gas to power our transportation needs and vastly reduce our reliance on imported oil.
By
Mike, at 1:21 PM
Mike said..
Well Bart, i dont like his cowardly pandering to the Reich Wing either
Well put.
Because thats what it is, "pandering to the reich wing".
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BARTLEBEE, at 2:41 PM
Lydia said...
RELAX...IT'S ALL GOING TO BE OKAY * AND STOP TEARING DOWN OBAMA
Excuse me, but how exactly is holding our candidate to the same standards we hold the opposition, "tearing him down"?
We have spent years holding the right wing to a very high standard, pouncing on each and everything they say.
How is it then, that we have become complacent at the notion that we should not at least hold our own candidate accountable when obvious position shifts are occuring?
By
BARTLEBEE, at 2:44 PM
Lydia said..
But regarding Obama's "Faith Based Initiatives" — please give this a chance.
You're kidding, right?
First, they're not "Obama's Faith Based Initiatives".
They're Bush's.
And second, is this not the same blog I spent years in where we ALL decried Bush for these constitutionally flawed programs, that re-mingle Church and State?
Is this the Lydia Cornell who was so adament about Bush's crimes in mixing Church and State, or has someone taken over her body?
By
BARTLEBEE, at 2:47 PM
:|
Red Rover, Red Rover, send Lydia right over.
By
BARTLEBEE, at 2:47 PM
Something weirds happening to the "progressive" party.
Every day they sound more and more like the neocons who we used to attack for making similar statements.
In the past two weeks, I've been banned from two progressive blogs, merely for voicing concerns over Obama's apparent "flip flops" on several key issues, which ironically he has put out there over the past two weeks.
In the past two weeks, Obama's gone from being the ultimate candidate, to what appears to be "Bush Lite".
Examples?
1. Voting for FISA immunity for the telecoms
2. Wearing flag pins and cowboy hats (to look more like Bush)when he said he would not wear the flag pin.
3. Parroting word for word the Bush administrations patent excuse for not leaving Iraq; "I'll listen to the commanders on the ground"
4. Declaring he would not only extend Bush's unconstitutional program called "Faith Based Initiatives", but he would "EXPAND" it.
These are just some of the issues that have made Obama seem more like a Bush Lite than a premium brew, and they all happened over the last 2 weeks, (right about the time the clinton camp got involved).
I'm not sure whats going on, but it is NOT a progressive virtue to hold the oppositions candidate to a high standard, and wear blinders when it comes to our own.
By
BARTLEBEE, at 2:54 PM
Churches are already tax exempt.
Establishing laws that mingle church and state, are about as unAmerican, and as far from the framers intent than anything I could ever think of.
Regardless of the "safeguards" put in place, they will ultimately be abused, and severely, as we've seen over the past 7 years, just like the tax exempt status is now so widely abused that all I have to do to stop paying income tax is fill out an add in the back of a comic book, wait for my "ordination" certificate to arrive and thus declare my house a "church" and me its pastor. So I won't have to pay taxes ever again.
Faith Based Initiatives made everyone here, including you Lydia, cringe. We all decried them for years.
So how is it, now that Obama's embracing them, that they're suddenly "ok"?
Hint.... they're not.
By
BARTLEBEE, at 3:00 PM
Part of being "progressive" means holding our OWN candidate, to the same standards we hold the opposition candidate to.
Otherwise, we're just a bunch of partisan hacks.
By
BARTLEBEE, at 3:01 PM
We should never be so afraid of losing elections, that we're afraid of the issues.
Otherwise, our candidates have no incentive to actually hold true to their promises, and the issues we all put forth.
If our candidate knows that we'll vote for them, and give them money, just to keep the other guy from winning, then we've already lost.
By
BARTLEBEE, at 3:04 PM
“Listen up. Our ground game isn’t working.
We’re going to put the ball in the air.
If we’re going to walk into walls, I want us running into ‘em FULL speed.
We’re going to lose some of these battles. We might even lose the White House.
But we’re not going to be threatened by the issues.
We’re going to put them front and center.
We’re going to raise the level of public debate in this country.
And let THAT be our legacy.”
Leo McGarry,
(The late great John Spencer)
The West Wing
Episode 19, “Let Bartlet be Bartlet
By
BARTLEBEE, at 3:07 PM
Bart you either don't hear well or you want to create controversy here where there is none,
3. Parroting word for word the Bush administrations patent excuse for not leaving Iraq; "I'll listen to the commanders on the ground"
OBAMA HAS CONSISTENTLY SAID HE WILL LISTEN TO COMMANDERS ON THE GROUND IN IRAQ
June 2008: Obama: I've Consistently Said That I Will Consult With Military Commanders On The Ground And Be Open To The Possibility Of Tactical Adjustments. Obama said, "I've also consistently said that I will consult with military commanders on the ground and that we will always be open to the possibility of tactical adjustments. The important thing is to send a clear signal to the Iraqi people and most importantly to the Iraqi leadership that the U.S. occupation in Iraq is finite, it is gonna be coming to a foreseeable end." [MSNBC, 6/16/08]
March 2008: Obama Said He Would Give Senior Military Leaders Opinions Great Weight In Implementing His Iraq Plan But As Commander In Chief Would Make His Own Assessment Of The Situation. Obama was asked "what weight will you give to the counsel of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] commander, the combatant commander on the ground in Iraq and current intelligence chiefs on the ground in Iraq regarding an immediate phased withdrawal?" Obama said, "I will give their counsel great weight. But, as commander in chief, it is my responsibility to make my own assessment of the situation. We must send a clear signal to the Iraqi political leadership that we are leaving Iraq on a timeline. Doing so will put pressure on those leaders to begin to resolve the political impasse at the heart of this civil war. But I also want to be clear about another thing. I am worried our Army is overstretched and that we have asked an awful lot from our military families. Many in our senior military leadership are worried about a plan that will keep 130,000 troops on the ground in Iraq for the foreseeable future. So, as commander in chief, I will also have to take into consideration the counsel of other senior military leaders who may be concerned that Iraq is undercutting our ability to confront other security challenges." [Washington Post, 3/2/08]
March 2008: Obama Said The Size Of The Residual Force Will Depend On Consultation With Military Commanders And "Will Depend On The Circumstances On The Ground." Obama said, "The precise size of the residual force will depend on consultations with our military commanders and will depend on the circumstances on the ground, including the willingness of the Iraqi government to move toward political accommodation. But let me be clear on one thing: I will end this war, and there will be far fewer Americans in Iraq conducting a much more limited set of missions that include counterterrorism and protection of our embassy and U.S. civilians." [Washington Post, 3/2/08]
November 2007: Obama Said He Would Leave Residual Troops In Iraq Based On The Levels Of Violence, "It's Not My Job To Specify Troop Levels." Obama said, "If we see a serious effort by the Iraqi leadership to arrive at an agreement and an accommodation and you've seen continued reductions of violence, then you need one level of troop protection for the embassy…If things have gone to hell in a hand basket then you need another ... It's not my job to specify troop levels. My job is to tell our commanders on the ground, 'Here's your mission. Protect our embassy, protect our diplomats and our humanitarian workers in the area and make sure al Qaeda in Iraq, or other terrorist organizations inside of Iraq are not re-establishing bases there." [Fosters, 11/28/07]
November 2007: Obama Said U.S. Has To Make Sure "We Are Not Just Willy-Nilly Removing Troops" And That It May "Take A Little Bit Longer" In Some Areas Where There Is Less Stability. "According to all the reports, we should have been well along our way in getting the Iraqi security forces to be more functional. We then have another 16 months after that to adjust the withdrawal and make sure that we are withdrawing from those areas, based on advice from the military officers in the field, those places where we are secured, made progress and we're not just willy-nilly removing troops, but we're making a determination – in this region we see some stability. We've had cooperation from local tribal leaders and local officials, so we can afford to remove troops here. Here, we've still got problems, it's going to tak