Saturday, November 08, 2008

Joe Biden rubs off

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
 
SWEETIE BARACK OBAMA HAS INSULTED MANY INCLUDING WOMEN, AIDS VICTIMS, THE LGBT, THE ELDERLY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN FATHERS, HIS NOW DEAD WHITE GRANDMA AND OH, SO MANY MORE.
 
FRIDAY SOMEONE FINALLY GOT AN APOLOGY.
 
TO NO ONE'S SURPRISE THE APOLOGY GOES TO A REPUBLICAN.
 
HAVING INSULTED AND LIED ABOUT NANCY REAGAN IN YET ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT HIS CHEAP HUMOR, BARACKA THE NON-ENTERTAINER LIED THAT NANCY REAGAN CONDUCTED SEANCES IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
 
FORMER FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN WAS JUST RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL AFTER HAVING A BROKEN HIP.  
 
 
YESTERDAY PUNK ASS CALLED REAGAN TO APOLOGIZE.  TO THE BEST OF EVERYONE'S KNOWLEDGE, HE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO BLAME HIS LATEST ERROR ON HIS NOW DEAD WHITE GRANDMOTHER.
 
 
Tuesday a presidential election was held in the US.  It could have been about something but that would have required actual issues.  Instead it was stroke, fondle and feather-kiss Barack by All Things Media Big and Small while real candidates were shut out of the coverage -- by all outlets and Amy Goodman a crappy once a month nod to Ralph or Cynthia didn't mean s**t when every day you swung that tired ass under the street lamp once more for Barack.  In 2004, we heard "never again."  Never again would we allow the movement to end the illegal war to be derailed by a presidential campaign.   That got tossed aside and ripped to shreds, now didn't it?
 
 
Let's move over to Loony Tune Stephen Zune who lied in a 2008 article, never corrected it and, before you knew it, all the simple minded were running with (Dahr Jamail, come on down!).  No, Hillary did not visit Iraq only once.  "Dr." Zunes, correct your lying mouth.  He, of course, refused to.  And he's back to lie some more at ZNet: "Obama's honest and prescient understanding of Iraq prior to the invasion gives hope that as president he will be less inclined to engage in such acts of reckless militarism."  Apparently Zunes is back on the meds that regulate his intense mood swings (sadly, the meds do nothing for his delusions). The 2002 speech was an embarrassment and nothing for the peace movement to praise.  There's been some question about that speech so let's put Zuney to the side for a moment.  The speech did take place.  It is recorded.  On video.  The reaction from the crowd is the only reason Team Barack had to lie and claim that the speech didn't exist.  The crowd wasn't applauding, they weren't cheering.  It was a meek and embarrassing speech (delivered to a sparse crowd, it should be noted).  When Barack finished there wasn't even polite applause.  But Zuney liked it and, if you're off your meds, you may as well.
 
Loony Tunes Zunes goes on to argue that if the War Hawk Barack isn't a dove, so what, because "he owes his nomination -- and therefore his election -- to those who opposed the invasion of Iraq".  Yeah, try collecting on that, Stephen.  Hey, remember Stephen Zunes' snit-fit at Barack a few months back?  When Barack picked Joe Biden as his running mate?  The Joe Biden who supported the illegal war?  But Loony wants you to believe that Barack's indebted to the 'anti-war' 'movement.'  (That would be the same Barack who punked Iraq Veterans Against the War in Denver -- they were protesting and getting attention, he sent out a Texan known for lying -- one who even lied for W. -- out to trick them and they fell for it and gave the media a lot of statements about how groovy Barack was.  As soon as the protest ended so did Barack's 'promise' to them.)  Zunes uses phrases like "surely Barack is aware of this" and what's really hilarious is that someone who whored his ass for Barack as hard Stephen did has to guess as to what Barack is and isn't aware of. But a debt is owed, Zunes maintains, and pressure will be applied!  In the real world, Mickey Z points out:
 
 

While the savvy strategist/activists of the Left harbor their delusions of grandeur about their ability to sway the Prince of Hope, here's a tiny bit what they--and all of us--have allowed to happen without exerting our "influence": epidemics of preventable diseases; the poisoning of our air, water, and food (including mother's breast milk); global warming, climate change, animal and plant extinctions, disappearing honeybees, destruction of the rain forest, topsoil depletion, etc.; one-third of Americans either uninsured or underinsured in terms of health care; 61% of corporations do not even pay taxes; presidential lies, electoral fraud, limited debates, etc.; the largest prison population on the planet; corporate control of public land, airwaves, and pensions; overt infringement of our civil liberties; bloated defense budget, unilateral military interventions, war crimes committed in our name, legalization of torture, blah, blah, blah...  

Before you know it, the US government will start spying on American citizens and detaining prisoners without charges while allowing corporations to ravage the earth in pursuit of profit, wiping out entire eco-systems in the process.  Oops . . . sorry: they're already doing all that and the mighty Left is fighting back by supporting Obama?   

Everywhere I went on Election Day, I was asked by friend and stranger alike: "Did you vote?" Once the polling booths closed, I could be 100% certain I'd not be asked another politically motivated question by such people for another four years. No one would be rushing up to me and demanding to know if I was planning to do anything about, say, FISA, the death penalty, the PATRIOT Act, homelessness, or factory farming. The election is over. Obama has won. For 99% of the Left, that means their work is done until 2012. It's time to gloat and reap all the rewards, right?   

My prediction: The only pressure that will be consistently exerted by those on the Left will be the pressure of their soft butts on their couch cushions as they sit back to smugly watch Jon Stewart, Keith Olbermann, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher.

 
Zunes can never stick to the facts and, having a word count, has to resort frequently to falsehoods.  Which is how you end up with his claim that the likes of Susan Rice (she works herself into a war frenzy at the drop of a hat) and Our Modern Day Carrie Nations Samantha Power (Sammy, get the axe!) are "innovative and enlightened members of the foreign policy establishment".  Keep dreaming and keep lying Zunes.  If you told the truth at this late date, your head might fall out. For reality on the likes of Sammy Power, see John R. MacArthur's "Pro-War Liberals Frozen in the Headlights" (Common Dreams).  Or maybe you want to refer to  Howard Zinn on Power's "myopia":

She believes that "there is a moral difference between setting out to destroy as many civilians as possible and killing civilians unintentionally and reluctantly in pursuit of a military objective." Of course, there's a difference, but is there a "moral" difference? That is, can you say one action is more reprehensible than the other?  In countless news briefings, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, responding to reporters' questions about civilian deaths in bombing, would say those deaths were "unintentional" or "inadvertent" or "accidental," as if that disposed of the problem. In the Vietnam War, the massive deaths of civilians by bombing were justified in the same way by Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and various generals.
 
 Or maybe you'd prefer Edward S. Herman (ZNet) explaining Power's belief system?

She believes that "there is a moral difference between setting out to destroy as many civilians as possible and killing civilians unintentionally and reluctantly in pursuit of a military objective." Of course, there's a difference, but is there a "moral" difference? That is, can you say one action is more reprehensible than the other?
In countless news briefings, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, responding to reporters' questions about civilian deaths in bombing, would say those deaths were "unintentional" or "inadvertent" or "accidental," as if that disposed of the problem. In the Vietnam War, the massive deaths of civilians by bombing were justified in the same way by Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and various generals.
 
No, it doesn't sound very enlightened but then Stephen Zunes is the Minute Rice 'Scholar' of the campus set.  Here's Noam Chomsky (via ZNet) explaining the basics re: Sammy Power, "I don't think, incidentally, that it would be fair to criticize Power for her extraordinary services to state violence and terror. I am sure she is a decent and honorable person, and sincerely believes that she really is condemning the US leadership and political culture. From a desk at the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Kennedy School at Harvard, that's doubtless how it looks."
 
 
Let's spread the joy and turn to the Pathetic Dave Lindorff who writes (at CounterPunch), "And don't tell me 'Good, we should have all voted for Ralph Nader.'  The political left in the US is a pathetic joke."  Some parts of it are.  Such as Dave Lindorff.  Dave Lindorff is a PATHETIC JOKE.  He will die one because he made himself one.  In February, Third noted a Barack supporter and his IDIOTIC reasons for supporting Barack:
 
I think it is ridiculous not to acknowledge that a black candidate at this level is fundamentally different from all white candidates who have come before or who are now competing. the more so a black candidate who has risked jail by doing drugs, and who has relatives TODAY living in the Third World (Kenya).
 
The person making a PATHETIC FOOL of himself?  That's Dave Lindorff.   Yes, Dave Lindorff supported Barack because he was "a black candidate who has risked jail by doing drugs".  It doesn't get anymore pathetic than that.  Davey-Boy thought Barack was fighting the brave fight, just, no doubt, as Amy Winehouse does on the streets of London today.  The same 'civil rights' battle that River Phoenix gave his life for, Dave?
 
Dave Lindorff is an idiot, he is pathetic and he has proven that In These Times had good reason to end their relationship with him over his 'curious' assertions.  We stood by Crazy Ass back then.  We walked away after he made a frothy-mouthed fool of himself in February.  You can't go home again, Crazy Ass.  This is the world and bed you made, live with it.  Pablo Ouziel (Dissident Voice) tracks the continued disengration of left 'voices':
 
 
The new era of voting for the lesser of the two evils has penetrated the core of America's critical intellectual community, and some of the biggest voices for change have endorsed Obama. In effect, what has taken place is the union between those opposed to imperial ideology and those endorsing it. Although this serious event has gone largely unnoticed, American intellectuals will need to reflect on its consequences seriously if they are to contribute to the building of a stable future for humanity as a whole, and in particular to mending the tarnished corrupt fabric of American society.  
One American intellectual, James Petras, has been able to identify the direct social consequences of such a paradigm shift and prior to the elections has publicly expressed his views in an article titled "The Elections and the Responsibility of the Intellectual to Speak Truth to Power: Twelve Reasons to Reject Obama and Support Nader/McKinney."
As the title of the article clearly states, Petras voices the reasons why intellectuals have the responsibility of voting against Obama just like they should vote against McCain. In regards to those intellectuals who have endorsed Obama he says: 
They are what C. Wright Mills called 'crackpot realists', abdicating their responsibility as critical intellectuals. In purporting to support the 'lesser evil' they are promoting the 'greater evil': The continuation of four more years of deepening recession, colonial wars and popular alienation.   
After listening last night to Obama's first speech after his victory, a victory he said was of the people, what Petras is saying seems disturbingly accurate when looked at through the prism of critical discourse analysis. One can look back now to the presidency of George W. Bush and listen to his rhetoric. What has been his message throughout the last 8 years? When Obama's core messages are compared to Bush's, it becomes apparent that the coming presidential plans are not too different to current presidential policies.  
Even more disturbing, is the fact that when Bush spoke throughout his presidency there was always a slight cynical reaction by the majority of the public, as most of the surveys have shown time and time again. However, last night the cynicism seemed to have vanished and the hope of a new American century was reborn with full force, to the clapping thunder and joyous splendour of the reborn American people. With every word uttered by Obama one could see how the empire was not gone, Bush almost killed it, now Obama the symbol of hope, together with all the American people in unity, are going to reconstruct their country and the world, restabilising America's faltering hegemony.
 
All of the above effects the illegal war.  The defocusing on what mattered, the hijacking of the peace movement result in the illegal war being prolonged.  The decisions Barack will be making (and receiving excuses on from Panhandle Media) will prolong the Iraq War. All of the appointments will say something (usually, "Empire! Empire! Empire!").  We'd planned to be dark after this day so you can see some of the above as raided from what would have been the year-in-review but it's also true that some topics we'll ignore.  Rahm Emanuel is now Barack's Chief of Staff.  I know Rahm.  If he makes a real ass out of himself, we'll call him out here or have a laugh over it, otherwise we'll ignore him.  (You can think back to the way Joe Biden was covered here after he became the v.p. nominee.)  You can go elsewhere community wide for negative criticism of Rahm (Rebecca doesn't like him) and we can highlight that here (or other trusted voices from outside the community) but unless Rahm makes a real ass out of himself on a particular day, I'm not going to be weighing in on him here. (And no compliments or defense unless he's the target of a pile-on.)  Example, Joshua Frank (Dissident Voice) offers, "For starters, Emanuel is a shameless neoliberal with close ties to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), even co-authoring a strategy book with DLC president Bruce Reed." Tariq Ali (CounterPunch) opines, "The same day that Spain denied the son of Osama Bin Laden political asylum, Obama appointed the son of an Irgun terrorist as his Chief of Staff.  Osama's son declared that he did not agree with his father's actions or opinions.  Rahm Israel Emmanuel is an Israel-firster, a pro-war DLC hack and bully."
 

To Nancy, he apologizes

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
 
SWEETIE BARACK OBAMA HAS INSULTED MANY INCLUDING WOMEN, AIDS VICTIMS, THE LGBT, THE ELDERLY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN FATHERS, HIS NOW DEAD WHITE GRANDMA AND OH, SO MANY MORE.
 
FRIDAY SOMEONE FINALLY GOT AN APOLOGY.
 
TO NO ONE'S SURPRISE THE APOLOGY GOES TO A REPUBLICAN.
 
HAVING INSULTED AND LIED ABOUT NANCY REAGAN IN YET ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT HIS CHEAP HUMOR, BARACKA THE NON-ENTERTAINER LIED THAT NANCY REAGAN CONDUCTED SEANCES IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
 
FORMER FIRST LADY NANCY REAGAN WAS JUST RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL AFTER HAVING A BROKEN HIP.  
 
 
YESTERDAY PUNK ASS CALLED REAGAN TO APOLOGIZE.  TO THE BEST OF EVERYONE'S KNOWLEDGE, HE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO BLAME HIS LATEST ERROR ON HIS NOW DEAD WHITE GRANDMOTHER.
 
 
Tuesday a presidential election was held in the US.  It could have been about something but that would have required actual issues.  Instead it was stroke, fondle and feather-kiss Barack by All Things Media Big and Small while real candidates were shut out of the coverage -- by all outlets and Amy Goodman a crappy once a month nod to Ralph or Cynthia didn't mean s**t when every day you swung that tired ass under the street lamp once more for Barack.  In 2004, we heard "never again."  Never again would we allow the movement to end the illegal war to be derailed by a presidential campaign.   That got tossed aside and ripped to shreds, now didn't it?
 
 
Let's move over to Loony Tune Stephen Zune who lied in a 2008 article, never corrected it and, before you knew it, all the simple minded were running with (Dahr Jamail, come on down!).  No, Hillary did not visit Iraq only once.  "Dr." Zunes, correct your lying mouth.  He, of course, refused to.  And he's back to lie some more at ZNet: "Obama's honest and prescient understanding of Iraq prior to the invasion gives hope that as president he will be less inclined to engage in such acts of reckless militarism."  Apparently Zunes is back on the meds that regulate his intense mood swings (sadly, the meds do nothing for his delusions). The 2002 speech was an embarrassment and nothing for the peace movement to praise.  There's been some question about that speech so let's put Zuney to the side for a moment.  The speech did take place.  It is recorded.  On video.  The reaction from the crowd is the only reason Team Barack had to lie and claim that the speech didn't exist.  The crowd wasn't applauding, they weren't cheering.  It was a meek and embarrassing speech (delivered to a sparse crowd, it should be noted).  When Barack finished there wasn't even polite applause.  But Zuney liked it and, if you're off your meds, you may as well.
 
Loony Tunes Zunes goes on to argue that if the War Hawk Barack isn't a dove, so what, because "he owes his nomination -- and therefore his election -- to those who opposed the invasion of Iraq".  Yeah, try collecting on that, Stephen.  Hey, remember Stephen Zunes' snit-fit at Barack a few months back?  When Barack picked Joe Biden as his running mate?  The Joe Biden who supported the illegal war?  But Loony wants you to believe that Barack's indebted to the 'anti-war' 'movement.'  (That would be the same Barack who punked Iraq Veterans Against the War in Denver -- they were protesting and getting attention, he sent out a Texan known for lying -- one who even lied for W. -- out to trick them and they fell for it and gave the media a lot of statements about how groovy Barack was.  As soon as the protest ended so did Barack's 'promise' to them.)  Zunes uses phrases like "surely Barack is aware of this" and what's really hilarious is that someone who whored his ass for Barack as hard Stephen did has to guess as to what Barack is and isn't aware of. But a debt is owed, Zunes maintains, and pressure will be applied!  In the real world, Mickey Z points out:
 
 

While the savvy strategist/activists of the Left harbor their delusions of grandeur about their ability to sway the Prince of Hope, here's a tiny bit what they--and all of us--have allowed to happen without exerting our "influence": epidemics of preventable diseases; the poisoning of our air, water, and food (including mother's breast milk); global warming, climate change, animal and plant extinctions, disappearing honeybees, destruction of the rain forest, topsoil depletion, etc.; one-third of Americans either uninsured or underinsured in terms of health care; 61% of corporations do not even pay taxes; presidential lies, electoral fraud, limited debates, etc.; the largest prison population on the planet; corporate control of public land, airwaves, and pensions; overt infringement of our civil liberties; bloated defense budget, unilateral military interventions, war crimes committed in our name, legalization of torture, blah, blah, blah...  

Before you know it, the US government will start spying on American citizens and detaining prisoners without charges while allowing corporations to ravage the earth in pursuit of profit, wiping out entire eco-systems in the process.  Oops . . . sorry: they're already doing all that and the mighty Left is fighting back by supporting Obama?   

Everywhere I went on Election Day, I was asked by friend and stranger alike: "Did you vote?" Once the polling booths closed, I could be 100% certain I'd not be asked another politically motivated question by such people for another four years. No one would be rushing up to me and demanding to know if I was planning to do anything about, say, FISA, the death penalty, the PATRIOT Act, homelessness, or factory farming. The election is over. Obama has won. For 99% of the Left, that means their work is done until 2012. It's time to gloat and reap all the rewards, right?   

My prediction: The only pressure that will be consistently exerted by those on the Left will be the pressure of their soft butts on their couch cushions as they sit back to smugly watch Jon Stewart, Keith Olbermann, Stephen Colbert, and Bill Maher.

 
Zunes can never stick to the facts and, having a word count, has to resort frequently to falsehoods.  Which is how you end up with his claim that the likes of Susan Rice (she works herself into a war frenzy at the drop of a hat) and Our Modern Day Carrie Nations Samantha Power (Sammy, get the axe!) are "innovative and enlightened members of the foreign policy establishment".  Keep dreaming and keep lying Zunes.  If you told the truth at this late date, your head might fall out. For reality on the likes of Sammy Power, see John R. MacArthur's "Pro-War Liberals Frozen in the Headlights" (Common Dreams).  Or maybe you want to refer to  Howard Zinn on Power's "myopia":

She believes that "there is a moral difference between setting out to destroy as many civilians as possible and killing civilians unintentionally and reluctantly in pursuit of a military objective." Of course, there's a difference, but is there a "moral" difference? That is, can you say one action is more reprehensible than the other?  In countless news briefings, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, responding to reporters' questions about civilian deaths in bombing, would say those deaths were "unintentional" or "inadvertent" or "accidental," as if that disposed of the problem. In the Vietnam War, the massive deaths of civilians by bombing were justified in the same way by Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and various generals.
 
 Or maybe you'd prefer Edward S. Herman (ZNet) explaining Power's belief system?

She believes that "there is a moral difference between setting out to destroy as many civilians as possible and killing civilians unintentionally and reluctantly in pursuit of a military objective." Of course, there's a difference, but is there a "moral" difference? That is, can you say one action is more reprehensible than the other?
In countless news briefings, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, responding to reporters' questions about civilian deaths in bombing, would say those deaths were "unintentional" or "inadvertent" or "accidental," as if that disposed of the problem. In the Vietnam War, the massive deaths of civilians by bombing were justified in the same way by Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon and various generals.
 
No, it doesn't sound very enlightened but then Stephen Zunes is the Minute Rice 'Scholar' of the campus set.  Here's Noam Chomsky (via ZNet) explaining the basics re: Sammy Power, "I don't think, incidentally, that it would be fair to criticize Power for her extraordinary services to state violence and terror. I am sure she is a decent and honorable person, and sincerely believes that she really is condemning the US leadership and political culture. From a desk at the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Kennedy School at Harvard, that's doubtless how it looks."
 
 
Let's spread the joy and turn to the Pathetic Dave Lindorff who writes (at CounterPunch), "And don't tell me 'Good, we should have all voted for Ralph Nader.'  The political left in the US is a pathetic joke."  Some parts of it are.  Such as Dave Lindorff.  Dave Lindorff is a PATHETIC JOKE.  He will die one because he made himself one.  In February, Third noted a Barack supporter and his IDIOTIC reasons for supporting Barack:
 
I think it is ridiculous not to acknowledge that a black candidate at this level is fundamentally different from all white candidates who have come before or who are now competing. the more so a black candidate who has risked jail by doing drugs, and who has relatives TODAY living in the Third World (Kenya).
 
The person making a PATHETIC FOOL of himself?  That's Dave Lindorff.   Yes, Dave Lindorff supported Barack because he was "a black candidate who has risked jail by doing drugs".  It doesn't get anymore pathetic than that.  Davey-Boy thought Barack was fighting the brave fight, just, no doubt, as Amy Winehouse does on the streets of London today.  The same 'civil rights' battle that River Phoenix gave his life for, Dave?
 
Dave Lindorff is an idiot, he is pathetic and he has proven that In These Times had good reason to end their relationship with him over his 'curious' assertions.  We stood by Crazy Ass back then.  We walked away after he made a frothy-mouthed fool of himself in February.  You can't go home again, Crazy Ass.  This is the world and bed you made, live with it.  Pablo Ouziel (Dissident Voice) tracks the continued disengration of left 'voices':
 
 
The new era of voting for the lesser of the two evils has penetrated the core of America's critical intellectual community, and some of the biggest voices for change have endorsed Obama. In effect, what has taken place is the union between those opposed to imperial ideology and those endorsing it. Although this serious event has gone largely unnoticed, American intellectuals will need to reflect on its consequences seriously if they are to contribute to the building of a stable future for humanity as a whole, and in particular to mending the tarnished corrupt fabric of American society.  
One American intellectual, James Petras, has been able to identify the direct social consequences of such a paradigm shift and prior to the elections has publicly expressed his views in an article titled "The Elections and the Responsibility of the Intellectual to Speak Truth to Power: Twelve Reasons to Reject Obama and Support Nader/McKinney."
As the title of the article clearly states, Petras voices the reasons why intellectuals have the responsibility of voting against Obama just like they should vote against McCain. In regards to those intellectuals who have endorsed Obama he says: 
They are what C. Wright Mills called 'crackpot realists', abdicating their responsibility as critical intellectuals. In purporting to support the 'lesser evil' they are promoting the 'greater evil': The continuation of four more years of deepening recession, colonial wars and popular alienation.   
After listening last night to Obama's first speech after his victory, a victory he said was of the people, what Petras is saying seems disturbingly accurate when looked at through the prism of critical discourse analysis. One can look back now to the presidency of George W. Bush and listen to his rhetoric. What has been his message throughout the last 8 years? When Obama's core messages are compared to Bush's, it becomes apparent that the coming presidential plans are not too different to current presidential policies.  
Even more disturbing, is the fact that when Bush spoke throughout his presidency there was always a slight cynical reaction by the majority of the public, as most of the surveys have shown time and time again. However, last night the cynicism seemed to have vanished and the hope of a new American century was reborn with full force, to the clapping thunder and joyous splendour of the reborn American people. With every word uttered by Obama one could see how the empire was not gone, Bush almost killed it, now Obama the symbol of hope, together with all the American people in unity, are going to reconstruct their country and the world, restabilising America's faltering hegemony.
 
All of the above effects the illegal war.  The defocusing on what mattered, the hijacking of the peace movement result in the illegal war being prolonged.  The decisions Barack will be making (and receiving excuses on from Panhandle Media) will prolong the Iraq War. All of the appointments will say something (usually, "Empire! Empire! Empire!").  We'd planned to be dark after this day so you can see some of the above as raided from what would have been the year-in-review but it's also true that some topics we'll ignore.  Rahm Emanuel is now Barack's Chief of Staff.  I know Rahm.  If he makes a real ass out of himself, we'll call him out here or have a laugh over it, otherwise we'll ignore him.  (You can think back to the way Joe Biden was covered here after he became the v.p. nominee.)  You can go elsewhere community wide for negative criticism of Rahm (Rebecca doesn't like him) and we can highlight that here (or other trusted voices from outside the community) but unless Rahm makes a real ass out of himself on a particular day, I'm not going to be weighing in on him here. (And no compliments or defense unless he's the target of a pile-on.)  Example, Joshua Frank (Dissident Voice) offers, "For starters, Emanuel is a shameless neoliberal with close ties to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), even co-authoring a strategy book with DLC president Bruce Reed." Tariq Ali (CounterPunch) opines, "The same day that Spain denied the son of Osama Bin Laden political asylum, Obama appointed the son of an Irgun terrorist as his Chief of Staff.  Osama's son declared that he did not agree with his father's actions or opinions.  Rahm Israel Emmanuel is an Israel-firster, a pro-war DLC hack and bully."
 

Thursday, November 06, 2008

And she smells like urine

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
 
THESE REPORTERS ASKED ROBERT BIANCO OF U.S.A. TODAY HOW LIFE WAS WORKING OUT FOR HIM AND IF HE WAS HAPPY? 
 
SEE, SUNDAY, HE'S GOING TO GET HIS SEXIST PIG ASS SERVED TO HIM BY AVA AND C.I. BECAUSE HE'S GOT A TINY LITTLE MIND THAT GETS STUCK IN HIS ZIPPER AND PREVENTS HIM FROM BEING ABLE TO THINK.
 
FIRST HINT, ASS MUCH BIANCO, FRED ARMISEN IS NOT PLAYING THE 'FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT.'  HE IS PLAYING A 1/2 WHITE AND 1/2 BLACK MAN.  SO IT IS NO GREAT CRIME.  IN ADDITION, YOU STUPID, STUPID F**K, YOU MISS THE REASON MICHELLE'S A PROBLEM FOR THE SHOW.  YOU'RE A STUPID, STUPID OLD MAN.
 
LASTLY, IF TINA FEY WERE A WINNER, GUYS WOULDN''T BE CALLING HER "SKANK" AND TALKING ABOUT HOW "USED UP" SHE LOOKS WHICH, FOR THE RECORD, IS WHAT MOST YOUNG GUYS (NOT THE ELDERLY TWITS LIKE BIANCO) HAVE BEEN SAYING SINCE TINA STARTED SHOWING UP WITH THOSE BANGS AND THAT HAWK NOSE AS SHE TRIES SO DESPERATELY TO LOSE HER WEIGHT GIRTH.  AND THAT BAD SHOW 30 ROCK WOULD HAVE BEEN A HIT LAST THURSDAY AND NOT RANKED 3RD FOR ITS TIMESLOT.
 
 
At the Vatican today, a conference of Muslim and Christian leaders came to a close today.  BBC (text and video) quotes Pope Benedict XVI stating, "Muslims and Christians have different approaches in matters concerning God but must consider themselves members of one family."  The Pope completed his remarks with a request (video, not in text), "Let us work with all people, especially the young, to build a common future."  AP's Frances D'Emilo notes that Archbishop Louis Sako (from "the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk") was among the religious leaders present.  Dr. Seyyed Damdad  (Dept of Islamic Studies at The Academy of Sciences in Iran) and Tariq Ramadan were among the Muslim leaders attending. Asia News reproduces the joint declaration those attending agreed to.  Last month in Iraq, the exodus of Iraqi Christians from Mosul following attacks and threats garnered some press attention.  IRIN reports, "About 400 Christian families, (some 2,400 individuals) have returned to their homes in the northern city of Mosul after a spate of threats and killings led them to flee in early October, according to officials."  Today the Kurdish Globe interviews Nechirvan Barzani, the KRG's prime minister (Massoud Barzani is the region's president and also Nechirvan's uncle).
 
Nechirvan Barzani: There is an unfortunate history of attacks against Christians in Iraq by terrorist groups since the liberation of Iraq in 2003.  For example, in August 2004, churches in Baghdad and later in Basra, Mosul, and Kirkuk were targeted by terrorists.  Christians were assassinated, abducted, and pressured to convert or pay ransom.  Such things continued until nearly 50,000 Christian families had no option but to flee.  Of these, 20,000 families fled to the Kurdistan Region and settled in the Duhok and Erbil governorates.  Other families settled in the towns around the Nineveh Plain, and the remainder left Iraq for Syria and Jordan.  The Kurdistan Regional Government has provided as much assistance as possible to these Christian families.  This assistance has included employing them within the Kurdistan Regional Government, reconstructing approximately 100 villages, and helping around 10,000 families with monthly stipends.  The KRG has been helping Christian families with assistance through churches and cultural and community centers.  When the exodus of Christians became know, the KRG allocated 250,000 ID to each family to help them until the federal government in Baghdad can find a permanent solution.  Other KRG institutions, like the Parliament and the governorates of Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaimaniya, have also offered financial and material aid to those in need, through churches and civil society organizations.  The KRG Council of Ministers convened to condemn attacks against the Christians.  Even before this, many KRG cabinet members, parliamentarians, and governors visited locations where the displaced Christian families have fled.
 
Barzani goes on to reject the talk that the Kurds were behind the assaults and threats on the Christians stating, "The Kurds would politically lose most from these incidents, since the Arab proportion of the population would rise.  Those wishing to lay the blame for these incidents on our doorstep are enemies of democracy, enemies of a federal Iraq.  They wish to make blatantly false claims in order to undermine the basic rights of freedom, democracy, and fair representation."  That may be but those pointing the fingers at the Kurds were not claiming that the assaults were meant to push Christians out of the area for all time.  The assertion was that Kurds wanted to send in the Pershmerga and had created a situation that only they could be the 'heroes' and 'saviors' of.  This would, the accusations argued, allow the Kurdish region to get a stronghold in an area that is not widely seen as up in the air as to who has dibs on it.  True or false, that was the accusation.  (At this point, no group has been found responsible for the attacks and threats.)   

 
Meanwhile Baghdad's Bishop Shlemon Warduni speaks with Asia Times which reports: "The auxiliary bishop of Baghdad had far harsher words for the 'slashed representation' of minorities in the upcoming provincial elections.  On Monday 3 November the Parliament approved a resolution, by 106 votes out of 150, to reserve only 6 seats for all minorities: three for Christians (Baghdad, Nineveh and Bassora), one each for Yazidis and Shabaks in Nineveh and the last to the Sabei, in the capital.  'It is pittance -- dencounces Msgr. Warduni - but we don't want it.  We want equal rights'. The Chaldean bishop recalls the battle launched by the Church 'for the reinstatement of article 50 of the electoral law', which would have guaranteed 15 seats (out of a total of 440) to minorities, 13 to Christians, one to the Shabaks and the last to the Yazidis. 'We met with Premier al-Maliki, the president and the Muslim religious leaders among them the great Ayatollah al Sistani, the Sheiks and tribal chiefs.  All of them promised the article would be reintroduced based upon the principal, enshrined in the constitution that all Iraqis are equal and enjoy equal rights.  Evidently they preferred to give us this pittance; but we won't accept it, we want equal rights'."  Alaa Majeed (UPI) explains, "Elections are one of those factors of the Iraqi Constitution that rely on transparent principles as a guide for the people.  Democratic elections are an achievement in Iraq that will enable the people to decide for their future.  The upcoming provincial elections, scheduled tentatively for January, give reason for the people to participate in forming a solid foundation for their country."  Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) noted yesterday, "The elections will feature political races heavily influenced by Iraq's complex and sectarian conflicts.  They could exacerbate tensions in southern Iraq between U.S.-backed Prime Miniter Nouri Maliki's nationalist Islamic Dawa Party and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the two main Shiite Muslim parties in the country.  The results of the internal Shiite rivalry are likely to determine whether Iraq is broken up into semiauntonomous regions or retains a strong central government." 
 
But some will not be participating due to a number of reasons.  For religious minorities, it's the seat assignment which they find insulting and which is less than Article 50 guaranteed them (before it was stripped) and less than what the United Nations was recommending.  Qassim Khidhir (Kurdish Globe) reports that the bill is now before Iraq's presidency council and "Christians, Shabaks, and Yazidis have warned the presidency council not to approve it.  Nevertheless, the Iraqi presidency spokesman stated that the Iraqi presidency will still approve the bill despite the warning.  Mahma Khalil, a member of Iraqi Parliament from the Kurdistan Alliance list who is a Yazidi, threatened that Yazidis will merge their territories with Kurdistan Region if the bill is approved."
 
From the elections to the treaty masquerading as a Status Of Forces Agreement.  This morning  AP reported that the US has 'officially' responded to Iraq's requests for amendments and  Reuters quoted Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesperson for al-Maliki, stating, "America has responded and the Iraqi side has received the American response. They had some remarks on some of the amendments, which now requires meetings with the Americans to reach a common understanding."  At the White House this morning, Dana Perino told the press, "We have gotten back to the Iraqis with a final text.  Through this step we've concluded the process on our side, and now it is their court to move forward with their process."  Asked about the ticking clock (December 31st the UN mandate expires), Perino responded, "We've been trying to get it done and we recongizne that there's a deadline for when the UN security mandate expires.  But we're moving forward.  Now they have our response to the request of the changes that they had.  So they'll move forward now.  I think their parliament is in session for the next two weeks.  I don't know all the details in terms of how -- what the next steps are on their end, but we've returned a final text to them."  Later this morning, the State Dept's spokesperson briefed the press.  Robert Wood declared, "Yeah, we've gotten back to the Iraqis with a final text, and so the process has concluded on our side and we look forward to hearing back from the Iraqis. . . . We believe the process has -- on our side, has been concluded.  So it's now the Iraqis' turn for them to move the document through their internal polticial process."  He stressed that "the negotiating process has come to an end" but despite the US having 'finished' on their end ("the process has concluded") according to Wood, he refused to provide any details.  He was no more specific on when Iraqis were informed of the official response: "Last night or early this morning."
 
Yesterday Ryan Crocker entertainined Iraqi officials at the fortress US Embassy in the Green Zone and Suadad al-Salhy and Katherine Zoepf (New York Times) explain that approximately "250 Iraqi officials, diplomats and dignataries" gather "Wednesday morning" where they were served "green-tinted fruit punch" and a huge sheet cake (which was dry -- not a detail in the paper).  Gina Chon (Baghdad Life, Wall St. Journal) notes. "The U.S. embassy used the elections as the reason to have its first official function at the new embassy in Baghdad."  Staying with so-called diplomacy, Joshua Frank (Dissident Voice) examines possible cabinet members in Barack's administration and we'll focus on The Problem From Hell Samantha Power because that War Hawk is so rarely called out:
 
Samantha Power, cheerleader for humanitarian intervention, also has Obama's ear and may even entice him to put U.S. forces in Darfur. 
"With very few exceptions, the Save Darfur campaign has drawn a single lesson from Rwanda: the problem was the US failure to intervene to stop the genocide. Rwanda is the guilt that America must expiate, and to do so it must be ready to intervene, for good and against evil, even globally. That lesson is inscribed at the heart of Samantha of Power's book, A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. But it is the wrong lesson," writes author Mahmood Mamdani in the London Review of Books. 
As Mamdani continues: "What the humanitarian intervention lobby fails to see is that the US did intervene in Rwanda, through a proxy … Instead of using its resources and influence to bring about a political solution to the civil war, and then strengthen it, the US signalled to one of the parties that it could pursue victory with impunity. This unilateralism was part of what led to the disaster, and that is the real lesson of Rwanda … Applied to Darfur and Sudan, it is sobering. It means recognising that Darfur is not yet another Rwanda. Nurturing hopes of an external military intervention among those in the insurgency who aspire to victory and reinforcing the fears of those in the counter-insurgency who see it as a prelude to defeat are precisely the ways to ensure that it becomes a Rwanda."
 
Prior to Our Modern Day Carrie Nation visiting England and imploding, Amy Goodman was all over Power and how amazing it was and how she was going to be the next Secretary of State (and as bad as Goody was on DN!, she was far worse on WBAI airwaves as she yammered on about Samantha endlessly in one Friday's pledge drive) and of course Jeremy Scahill was all up in some Samantha Power because the Bloody War Hawk had been acting as one of his unnamed sources.  But then Power went to England and imploded.  She talked smack about Gordon Brown (which never got publicity here -- apparently the US doesn't give a damn if Power insults a world leader who is one of America's closest's allies), called Hillary Clinton a "monster" (which got all the attention) and told the BBC Barack's 'promise' that US troops would be out of Iraq in 16 months wasn't for real.  Samantha Power was not called out for those March remarks.  Instead, Tom Hayden showed up July 4th wanting to know why they were ignored.  Ask John Nichols (busy lying that Samantha and Hillary were close friends to excuse the "monster" remark), ask David Corn who shot down Samantha's remarks repeatedly in press briefings with the Hillary campaign, ask ALL THE LIARS WHO REFUSED TO CALL THE WAR HAWK OUT.  As irritating as Tom-Tom can be and as much as he's sold out in 2008, it does bear noting that in 2007, he was among the few willing to call out Samantha Power or her running buddy and fellow counter-insurgency cheerleader Sarah Sewall.  Whatever happened to that Tom Hayden?  As Bananarama once sang, "He was really saying something . . . "
 
 
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Bi-bi Barack

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
 
"I AM KING OF THE WORLD!" SCREAMED BARACK OBAMA TODAY BEFORE TELLING THESE REPORTERS HOW EXCITED HE WAS TO BE "THE FIRST BI-SEXUAL PRESIDENT."
 
WE ASSUME HE MEANT BI-RACIAL BUT WE REFUSE TO PLAY LIKE THE MSM IN 2000 AND 2001 BY CLEANING UP A LOSER'S REMARKS. 
 
 
 
 
There's no rush to leave Iraq or even a desire.  That needs to be grasped.  Iraqi General Nasier Abadi made that pretty clear during Sunday's press conference in the Green Zone.  Questioned by the Washington Post's Mary Beth Sheridan as to when the Iraqis would be able to handle "their own internal security . . . how many years are you away from reaching that goal," Abadi tried to distract by listing duties before declaring, "We have no duties or missions to protect the air on the borders of the country.  But in case we have this responsibility, there is a brief that -- to the minister of defense, if he ask us to -- task us with that, a reportw ent also to the Prime Minister, what are the capabilities and the army's specifics to do those duties?"  Asked how many years again, he responded, "Building an aerial force, building an Army is not easy, but it's still easier than building naval and air force.  The naval force, as I said before, that the first ship will come in 2009 and the fourth will arrive in . . . at the end of 2011.  In regard to 200- . . . Air Force, the first aircraft we will receive in 2011 until 2015.  And that depends on the support and the help that the coalition forces can secure to Iraq so we can be able to maintain and defend our airspace and territories.  Without that, there will be also agreements with the neighboring countries on the security of Iraq.  But it's possible that we will go with those missions without having an air force or naval force because this is a common battle, it's not just an army's duty."  Setting aside the naval force and focusing only on the air, if the period they'll be taking possession of aircraft will last from 2011 through 2015, how likely is it that they will be prepared to handle their own airspaceby the end of 2011?
 
At the Pentagon today, spokesperson Bryan Whitman informed reporters that there was a plan in place for transition from the Bully Boy to the winner of today's election. A comparison was rightly made between LBJ and Tricky Dick.  Nixon didn't end the illegal war, he only continued it.  Whitman declared, "One of the important components of this is ensuring that we've identified and highlighted some of the key department events, actions, milestones that a new administration will face in its first 90 days."
 
Turning to the topic of the Status Of Forces Agreement masquerading as a treaty, CNN reports Sami al-Askari (Nouri al-Maliki adviser) states that the White House "has signaled to Iraqi officials that it is seriously considering proposed changes to an agreement that would set the terms for U.S. troops in Iraq".  Al Jazeera notes that al-Askari has no official response from the White House and that Iraq's Sunni vice president Tareq al-Hashemi is advocating that the treaty be put up for approval to all Iraqis (not just the Parliament), "This agreement is an important and sensitive subject . . . Iraqis should have their say."  Khalid al-Ansary, Missy Ryan and Kevin Liffey (Reuters) add that al-Hashemi is indicateing that the agreement be placed on the ballot with "provincial elections scheduled to take place by the end of January."  At which point, who would be in Iraq?  The United Nations mandate that governs the occupation expires December 31st at which point, if no new agreement has been reached, there is no legal authority for foreign forces to be on Iraqi soil.  The White House has attempted political blackmail insisting that they will cut off this and that if Baghdad won't sign off on the treaty. Richard Tomkins (UPI) notes, "Iraq, with no air control capability at present, nonetheless would have to take over air traffic control and also assume total responsibility for guarding its borders."  Al Bawaba notes that today's "Baghdad edition of the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat said the Americans had agreed to three of the five latest changes proposed by Iraq.  It said, quoting unnamed sources, that Washington had dropped the clause that authorises Baghdad and Washington to seek an extension for retaining troops in the cities beyond 2009 and in the country beyond 2011."  Maria Appakova (UPI) explains:
 
However, Americans are in no hurry to raise this question at the U.N. Security Council.  Staying in Iraq in accordance with an international mandate is one thing, but having a strategic partnership treaty and receiving dividends from it is quite another matter.   
Yet Washington has no choice -- it cannot take offense at Iraqis and pull out its troops from Iraq.  It won't be able to attach the blame for withdrawal to Russia, since Moscow does not mind Americans continuing their presence there for a while, and Russia is not in favor of an upsurge of terror in the region, after all.
[. . .]
[US} House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton stated that he is "deeply concerned" with what he heard.  Skelton is referring to the agreement's provisions that recently leaked to the press, which include, for example, the Iraqi government's ability to put American servicemen and private security companies' personnel on trial for cirmes they committed while on leave and outside military bases. 
It must be said that if this provision really has been included in the draft, it is quite a victory for the Iraqi government.
 
Meanwhile Gulf Daily News notes continued conflict between the Baghdad government and the Kurdish one with the country's President Jalal Talabani stating the US cannot set up bases anywhere in Iraq "without the approval of the central government" in Baghdad which was a strong rebuke to KRG president Massud Barzani who stated last week that, should the US and Baghdad not sign off on a treaty, the US could just set up bases in the Kurdish region.  The tensions between the Kurdish region and Iraq are never not on display.  Last Wednesday, at the White House, Barzani was being translated when he cut in to correct the translator:
 
Translator: And in terms of SOFA, we do believe that it is in the interest of the Iraqi government --
 
Massud Barzani: Iraqi people.
 
Translator: -- it's in the interest of this country and we have been and we will continue to support it and support its ratification.
 
Hoda Abdel-Hamid (Al Jazeera) notes that the US popularity in the Kurdish region is sinking (after years of sucking up) and quotes Barzan Mohamed stating, "America was not honest with the Kurds.  They've let them down in the past and they only follow their interests.  They can leave the Kurds any time and I don't trust having an alliance with them or even friendship.  Yes, they rid us of dictatorship, but they came here to control the region and the Middle East."  Iran's Press TV states that Talabani made a point to praise Iran Sunday for their help with Iraq's security and that Talabani also cited Syria and that, on the treaty, Talabani "said that Iraq is a unified country and no one has the right to object the Iraqi government's decision, should it refuse the security deal.  Talabani was referring to a recent interview by Massud Barzani, the president of the local government of Iraq's Kurdistan during which he said that the Kurdistan region would provide the U.S. with military bases if Baghdad refuses to sign the security deal with Washington."
 
 

Monday, November 03, 2008

Facts is hard!!!!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- KOOL AID TABLE.
 
 
TODD GILLFACE AT THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS WAS DOING STAND UP AND FAILING. GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN RELEASED A 2 PAGE LETTER FROM HER DOCTOR ON HER MEDICAL HISTORY.  TODD THOUGHT THAT WAS HILARIOUS.
 
HILARIOUS IS THAT BARACK DID THE SAME THIS SUMMER AND NEVER PROVIDED ANYTHING ELSE.  TODD GILLFACE IS FUNNIER THAN HE REALIZES -- EVERY ONE WAS LAUGHING AT HIM.
 
 
 
KATE, YOU DAMN LIAR, BARACK RELEASED 1 PAGE WHILE MCCAIN "RELEASED 1,173 PAGES OF FULL MEDICAL RECORDS".  GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT, YOU DAMN LIAR.
 
 
 
 
Turning to the US presidential election.  To The Contrary's Bonnie Erbe (US News & World Reports) notes, "The only prediction I have made, and with which I shall stick, is that Tuesday is going to be a long, long night."  Erbe also notes, "If nothing else is obscene about this presidential election (and plenty is IMHO), then the fact that together the candidates will be spending $8 per vote to win the White House clearly meets and exceeds the obscenity descriptor."  Erbe's referring to the Democratic presidential ticket and the Republican ticket only.  There are other candidates.  But starting with the Republican presidential ticket, John McCain is the nominee and Sarah Palin is his running mate.  Scott Conroy (CBS News) reports Palin's agenda today was "six cities in five states" and that she flies late tonight back to Alaska to vote Tuesday morning only to fly to Phoenix later Tuesday.  At the McCain - Palin '08 blog, Matt Lira offers:
 
This is a historic election and, because of your activism and support, we will achieve victory on Election Day. Our campaign has defied expectations, not because of beltway pundits, but because of people like you who have always been there when it mattered most.

Click here to find your voting location and to get out the vote for John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin.
 
Cindy McCain (disclosure, I know and like Cindy) is John McCain's spouse and they have four children  -- one of whom, Meghan McCain (McCainBloggette), wrote the following at her site yesterday:

"America is worth fighting for" is my favorite line of my father's speech. I think it is so poignant, and essentially, it captures the reason why I have always loved, supported and believed in my father. It is why I believe he would be the best President for our country now, at a point where we face many challenges abroad and also at home, where so many of our fellow Americans are going through difficult times. The fact that our country is and always will be worth for fighting for is the essence of why I have been so inspired to participate in this campaign, and throughout this process I have been even more inspired by the people and the places I have encountered along the way, around our great country.

We are truly the luckiest people in the world, and I have been very fortunate to be a part of this experience on the campaign, and to be able to share it with so many of you. The next three days will fly by and no doubt be pretty crazy, so let me just say thanks right now for getting involved too. This is what was at the heart of what I hoped to achieve with my blog, and it has gone beyond my expectations. Stay tuned for more from the trail tomorrow!

 
John and Cindy McCain issued a statement today: "We offer our deepest condolences to Barack Obama and his family as they grieve the loss of their beloved grandmother.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives."  Meanwhile Brian Montopoli (CBS News) reports that Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama finally found an 'issue' he could sink his teeth into: "Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants.  You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear showing.  What's wrong with that?  Come on."  Come on, indeed.  Barack with an issue that matters to him and finally a concrete plan for an issue.  It only took until the day before the election for the fashionista and Men's Vogue cover boy to find an issue.
 
But the press bias towards Obama doesn't represent a simple revulsion for the Republican party. It was on display in the Democratic primaries with the persecution of Hillary Clinton. Worst of all, in the primaries, the press let the Obama campaign get away with continuous insinuations below the radar that the Clintons were race-baiters. Instead of exposing that absurd defamation for what it was - a nasty smear - the media sedulously propagated it.
Clinton made the historically correct and uncontroversial remark that civil rights legislation came about from a fusion of the dreams of Dr Martin Luther King and the legislative follow-through by President Lyndon Johnson. The New York Times misrepresented that as a disparagement of King, twisting her remarks to imply that "a black man needed the help of a white man to effect change". This was one of a number of manipulations on race by the Obama campaign, amply documented by the leading Democratic historian, Princeton's Sean Wilentz. Clinton came close to tears in a coffee shop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which many thought helped her to win an upset victory there. MSNBC television gave a platform to the Chicago congressmen, Jesse Jackson Jr, where he questioned her tears and claimed that she'd not shed any tears for the black victims of Katrina, and that she'd pay for that in the South Carolina primary, where 45% of the electorate would be African-Americans.
In fact, MSNBC ran a non-stop campaign for Obama propelled by the misogyny of its anchors, Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and David Shuster. Chelsea Clinton joining Clinton's campaign prompted Shuster to report she was "pimping" for her mother.
 
Meanwhile Democrat Jerry Nadler raised the issue of Jeremiah Wright in Florida.  Jake Tapper (ABC News -- link has video) quotes Nadler stating, "Think of the history here.  You have a guy who's half-white, half-black.  He goes to an Ivy League school, comes to Chicago . . . to start a political career.  Doesn't know anybody.  Gets involved with community organizing -- why?  Because that's how you form a base.  OK.  Joins the largest church in the neighborhood.  About 8,000 members. . . . Why did he join the church? . . . Because that's how you get to know people.  Now maybe it takes a couple years [before Barack's thinking] 'Jesus, the guy's a nut, the guy's a lunatic.'  But you don't walk out of a church with 8,000 members in your district. . .   He didn't have the political courage to make the statement of walking out."
 
Ralph Nader is the independent presidential candidate and Matt Gonzalez is his running mate.  Tomorrow Ralph will be holding a one-word response press conference:
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marc Abizeid, 202-471-5833, marcabizeid@votenader.org

TUESDAY, NOV. 4 - Nader to Hold One-Word Response Press Conference

*NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

Special questioning/interview opportunities for members of the foreign media

In deference to the sound bite journalism that dominates presidential political media coverage, independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will host a press conference at which he will only issue one-word responses to questions for the first 30 minutes.

Who: Ralph Nader

What: Special One-hour Press Conference. For the first half of the Press Conference, Mr. Nader will answer all questions with just a one-word response. For the second half of the press conference, foreign press credentialed media will be given priority.

Where: National Press Club, Murrow Room, 13th Floor - National Press Building, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC

When: 12 Noon, Tuesday, November 4

 
Many people will be breaking the two-party strangle-hold.  Team Nader periodically highlights voices who have made the break and here is the latest:
My name is Pat and I am a resident in Nutley, N.J. Today, I took my ten year old son to the Nutley Public Library, where a mock election was being held for all elementary school students. Over the last two weeks, flyers came home with my son's homework about the event. The flyer promoted the event to kids and told them they could have their photos taken with their favorite candidate.
My son, who is aware of my support for Mr. Nader, said me "Dad, I bet they don't have a picture of Mr. Nader there at the library." I agreed with him and he deceided he wanted to participate in the mock election on November first.
We left for the library with our camera in hope of seeing Mr. Nader. Upon arrival, we were directed to the Stockton Room, where the election was being held. As we entered the room, two life sized cardboard cutouts of Sen, Obama and Sen, McCain were in the center of the room. I laughed to myself when I saw that Sen. McCain was standing on the left and Sen. Obama on the right. Mr. Nader's cardboard cutout was nowhere to be found. We were greeted by two women and a young girl, who were poll workers.
They greeted us and asked my son his name. They had him sign his name in a book and proceeded to give him a ballot. This ballot contained only two names: John McCain and Barack Obama. Again, Mr. Nader's name was not on the ballot. The children were not even given a place for write in candidate. After giving my son the ballot , he was directed to one of three voting booths, where he could make his selection. From behind the cutrtain my son called to me, "Hey Dad, how do you spell independent." I told him I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T. He told me he wrote that below the other choices and placed a large check mark next to the word. He also wrote down Mr. Nader's name and placed his ballot in a collection box.
Upon emerging from the voting booth, my son was asked if he would like to have his picture taken with his candidate. He said he would and he stood off to the far left away from the two cardboard cutouts, next to an American flag standing in the corner. As, I flashed the picture, the two women said, "No, stand next to your candidate and take the picture" With that my son said, "But my candidate is not here" All we heard from the women was a puzzled "Oh!!"
Teach civics in the schools.
-- Pat Sweeney
  Nutley, NJ

 
Independent journalist John Pilger (Information Clearing House) speaks the harsh truth many so-called 'independent' journalists refuse to: 
 
Obama's job is to present a benign, even progressive face that will revive America's democratic pretensions, internationally and domestically, while ensuring nothing of substance changes.
Among ordinary Americans desperate for a secure life, his skin colour may help him regain this unjustified "trust", even though it is of a similar hue to that of Colin Powell, who lied to the United Nations for Bush and now endorses Obama. As for the rest of us, is it not time we opened our eyes and exercised our right not to be lied to, yet again?
 
And finally, Cynthia McKinney is the Green Party presidential candidate and Rosa Clemente is her running mate. We'll again note Kimberly and Ian Wilder's "Vote Green Party On Tuesday!" (On The Wilder Side):

November 1, 2008
This is an exciting time for us! The Green Party has never been as relevant

as it is today. As Congress offers trillion-dollar bailouts to Wall Street,
people living on Main Street struggle to stay in their homes and pay for
basic needs. Why is Congress bailing out corporations while the public
slides into economic insecurity? Because the industries that will benefit
from the bailout are some of the largest campaign contributors to political campaigns.
But never fear because you can VOTE GREEN on Tuesday and choose People Power over corporate power. Support
Cynthia McKinney for President and
Rosa Clemente for Vice President; and, support other Green candidates
running in your community. Greens are running for office across the
country for 60 types of office. Check them out! To find out who's
running in your community, click here.
Once elected, Greens will not betray the public interest for corporate

cash. We accept no corporate money because we believe corporate
influence is what's wrong with politics.
If you believe healthcare is a right for all, not to be governed by the

profit motive of insurance companies, support the Green Party and
our campaign for Single Payer Healthcare.
If you believe offshore drilling furthers our national addiction to fossil

fuels; and want to see positive solutions like renewable energy, local food production, local businesses and better public transportation- Help
elect Greens who will make it a reality.
If you believe every vote must be counted, that higher education should

be available to everyone, that climate change is real, that the war on
drugs is racist, and that the privatization of public goods and services
is wrong and that we need to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW stand
up and support the party that will stand up for you The Green Party.
If you want to see a clean, healthy future for our children, make sure

we have a strong Green Party today