The scared candidate

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.

THESE REPORTERS WERE SUMMONED TO A MEETING WITH THE "CHRIST-CHILD" ONLY TO DISCOVER THINGS WERE NUTTIER THAN USUAL IN BARACK-LAND.

SENATOR BAMBI OBAMA GREETED US HOLDING HIS BLANKETA AND WEARING JUST HIS DIAPERS WHILE HE CRIED ABOUT HOW SCARY BIG STATES AND DEBATES WERE (SEE PICTURE BELOW).




WE ATTEMPTED TO ASK HIM WHAT WAS THE VETTING PROCESS IN HIRING SAM GRAHAM-FELSEN AND HOW THAT HIRE INDICATED ANY 'SUPERIOR' JUDGEMENT ABILITY ON HIS PART BUT BARACK WAS TOO AGITATED AND KEPT REFERRING TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION AS "MINE!" AND STOMPING HIS FEET.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Starting with war resistance, war resister Camilo Mejia will join Shontina Vernon, Viggo Mortensen, Staceyann Chin, Sarah Levy and others for a May 5th reading of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States at the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave in Portlan Oregon. Kristi Turnquist (The Oregonian) notes that tickets are $20 (ten dollars for students) and posts a video of Mortensen providing a voice over to illustrations of Howard Zinn's life. Camilo is among the first known war resisters. Along with being the first known Iraq War veteran to resist and being the chair of Iraq Veterans Against the War, he documented his story in Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.

In Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Turning to Iraq, AFP reports that Lt Gen Lloyd Austin ("number two commander of US forces in Iraq") wants Moqtada al-Sadr's help in the ongoing assault on the Sadr City section of Baghdad, "We hope that Moqtada al-Sadr will influence his elements to stop violence and that he will work in favour of peace." The only problem with that request is that US Secretary of State Condi Rice stood in Baghdad Sunday calling Moqtada al-Sadr a coward. Did anyone think about that before she made that talking point? It was an effective one for the White House to make if they were completely turning their back on al-Sadr but if Austin's now publicly asking for al-Sadr's help, there is a problem. And it's a problem Crispin Thorold (BBC News) explains: "It is now clear that although the initial military planning was Iraqi, US and British forces are deeply involved. In the capital's neighbourhood of Sadr City, US infantry troops are fighting alongside Iraqi soldiers, to try to secure areas that were once firmly under the hold of the Mehdi Army, which is loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr. Reports suggest that US combat units have also been deployed at short notice to Basra from elsewhere in Iraq and the Middle East." It would appear the puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki has yet again been exposed as inept. Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) quoted Moqtada al-Sadr's statement over the weekend: "I am giving my last warning and my word to the Iraqi government to the Iraqi government to take the path of peace and stop violence against its own people, otherwise it will be a government of destruction. If it does not stop the militias that have infiltrated the government, then we will declare a war until liberation." The assault on Basra last month turned Moqtada al-Sadr from possible waning influence to the face of Iraqi pride. On the assault on civilians that al-Maliki thought would increase his (and the Iraqi military's) own standing, Sean Rayment (Telegraph of London) reported Monday that unnamed "British commanders" were scathing in their critique: "incompetent officers and unattrained troops . . . sent into battle with inadequate supplies of food, water and ammunition," "unmitigated disaster at every level," Iraqi General Mohan Furayji is characterized "as a 'dangerous lunatic' who 'ignored' advice" and al-Maliki was responsible for the "disaster which felt as though an amateur was in charge." William S. Lind (UPI) observes, "When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent his 'army' to fight the Mahdi Army in Basra, U.S. President Bush called it 'a defining moment.' It turned out instead to be a confirming moment. It confirmed that there is no state in Mesopotamia -- the geographical territory known as the nation of Iraq." Pakistan's The Post notes, "Since Sadr issued his threat, which could unravel months of security gains in Iraq, on Saturday the US military says it has killed around 65 militiamen in Sadr City and other Shi'ite parts of Baghdad." The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a field report today on Sadr City noting that "several hospitals have exhausted their stocks of medical supplies as a result of the ongoing fighting. The ICRC has had difficulty transporting food and medicines where they are needed because of the ongoing fighting. Earlier today the ICRC managed to distribute some three tonnes of medical items to Sadr City General Hospital, Al Imam Ali General Hospital and Ibn Al Baldi Paediatric Hospital in Sadr City. The items included equipment for intravenous infusion, injection and dressing materials, and anaesthetics."



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Pouting Barack

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.

 

THESE REPORTERS WERE SUMMONED TO A MEETING WITH THE "CHRIST-CHILD" ONLY TO DISCOVER THINGS WERE NUTTIER THAN USUAL IN BARACK-LAND.

 

SENATOR BAMBI OBAMA GREETED US HOLDING HIS BLANKETA AND WEARING JUST HIS DIAPERS WHILE HE CRIED ABOUT HOW SCARY BIG STATES AND DEBATES WERE (SEE PICTURE BELOW).

 

 

 

WE ATTEMPTED TO ASK HIM WHAT WAS THE VETTING PROCESS IN HIRING SAM GRAHAM-FELSEN AND HOW THAT HIRE INDICATED ANY 'SUPERIOR' JUDGEMENT ABILITY ON HIS PART BUT BARACK WAS TOO AGITATED AND KEPT REFERRING TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION AS "MINE!" AND STOMPING HIS FEET.

 

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

 

Starting with war resistance, war resister Camilo Mejia will join Shontina Vernon, Viggo Mortensen, Staceyann Chin, Sarah Levy and others for a May 5th reading of Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove's best-selling book Voices of a People's History of the United States at the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave in Portlan Oregon.  Kristi Turnquist (The Oregonian) notes that tickets are $20 (ten dollars for students) and posts a video of Mortensen providing a voice over to illustrations of Howard Zinn's life.  Camilo is among the first known war resisters.  Along with being the first known Iraq War veteran to resist and being the chair of  Iraq Veterans Against the War, he documented his story in  Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.

 

In Canada, many US war resisters are currently hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

 

 

Turning to Iraq, AFP reports that Lt Gen Lloyd Austin ("number two commander of US forces in Iraq") wants Moqtada al-Sadr's help in the ongoing assault on the Sadr City section of Baghdad, "We hope that Moqtada al-Sadr will influence his elements to stop violence and that he will work in favour of peace."  The only problem with that request is that US Secretary of State Condi Rice stood in Baghdad Sunday calling Moqtada al-Sadr a coward.  Did anyone think about that before she made that talking point?  It was an effective one for the White House to make if they were completely turning their back on al-Sadr but if Austin's now publicly asking for al-Sadr's help, there is a problem.  And it's a problem Crispin Thorold (BBC News) explains: "It is now clear that although the initial military planning was Iraqi, US and British forces are deeply involved.  In the capital's neighbourhood of Sadr City, US infantry troops are fighting alongside Iraqi soldiers, to try to secure areas that were once firmly under the hold of the Mehdi Army, which is loyal to the Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr.  Reports suggest that US combat units have also been deployed at short notice to Basra from elsewhere in Iraq and the Middle East."  It would appear the puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki has yet again been exposed as inept.  Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) quoted Moqtada al-Sadr's statement over the weekend: "I am giving my last warning and my word to the Iraqi government to the Iraqi government to take the path of peace and stop violence against its own people, otherwise it will be a government of destruction.  If it does not stop the militias that have infiltrated the government, then we will declare a war until liberation."  The assault on Basra last month turned Moqtada al-Sadr from possible waning influence to the face of Iraqi pride.  On the assault on civilians that al-Maliki thought would increase his (and the Iraqi military's) own standing, Sean Rayment (Telegraph of London) reported Monday that unnamed "British commanders" were scathing in their critique: "incompetent officers and unattrained troops . . . sent into battle with inadequate supplies of food, water and ammunition," "unmitigated disaster at every level," Iraqi General Mohan Furayji is characterized "as a 'dangerous lunatic' who 'ignored' advice" and al-Maliki was responsible for the "disaster which felt as though an amateur was in charge."  William S. Lind (UPI) observes, "When Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent his 'army' to fight the Mahdi Army in Basra, U.S. President Bush called it 'a defining moment.'  It turned out instead to be a confirming moment.  It confirmed that there is no state in Mesopotamia -- the geographical territory known as the nation of Iraq."  Pakistan's The Post notes, "Since Sadr issued his threat, which could unravel months of security gains in Iraq, on Saturday the US military says it has killed around 65 militiamen in Sadr City and other Shi'ite parts of Baghdad." The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a field report today on Sadr City noting that "several hospitals have exhausted their stocks of medical supplies as a result of the ongoing fighting.  The ICRC has had difficulty transporting food and medicines where they are needed because of the ongoing fighting. Earlier today the ICRC managed to distribute some three tonnes of medical items to Sadr City General Hospital, Al Imam Ali General Hospital and Ibn Al Baldi Paediatric Hospital in Sadr City.  The items included equipment for intravenous infusion, injection and dressing materials, and anaesthetics."

 

 

 

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Bad MoJo

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.

 

(415) 321-1700 IS THE CONTACT NUMBER FOR MOTHER JONES 'MAGAZINE' BUT WHEN YOU CALL IT, YOU FIND OUT THAT THEY NOT ONLY DON'T WANT TO BE CONTACTED, THEY THINK THEY DO NO WRONG.

 

A FIVE MINUTE AND 17 SECONDS CALL TO THEM BY ___ THIS MORNING YIELED NO RESULTS UNLESS YOU CONSIDER BEING SCREAMED AT OVER THE PHONE "RESULTS."

 

THE CALLER, A COMMON ILLS COMMUNITY MEMBER, PHONED TO SEE WHY MOTHER JONES HAD REFUSED TO CORRECT DAVID CORN'S IDIOTIC CLAIM THAT BILL CLINTON PARONDED SUSAN ROSENBERG AND LINDA EVANS.

 

IT WAS NOT PRETTY.  "THIS WOMAN WOULD NOT STOP YELLING, SHE CUT ME OFF REPEATEDLY AND I FINALLY HAD TO YELL BACK AND STATE I WANTED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE. AT WHICH POINT SHE TOLD ME THAT I COULDN'T.  EVERYONE ELSE WAS 'BUSY IN PRODUCTION'."

 

PRODUCING MORE LIES OBVIOUSLY.  MOTHER JONES IS A SICK LITTLE MAGAZINE THAT DOESN'T HAVE A FACT CHECKING DEPARTMENT AND REFUSES TO CORRECT THEIR ERRORS WHEN THEY ARE POINTED OUT.

 

THEY ARE ALSO IN VIOLATION OF THEIR TAX STATUS -- 501 (C) (3) -- BECAUSE THEY HAVE REPEATEDLY ATTACKED HILLARY CLINTON NON-STOP WHILE STROKING BARACK OBAMA AND THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENDORSE.  SINCE THEIR ATTACKS HAVE INCLUDED LIES AND DISTORTIONS, THEY SHOULDN'T CALL THEMSELVES JOURNALISTS.

 

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU IDENTIFIED YOURSELF AS A TAX ATTORNEY?

 

"AFTER THE WOMAN FINISHED HER SCREAMING FIT, I INFORMED HER I WAS A TAX ATTORNEY AND THAT MOTHER JONES WAS IN VIOLATION OF THEIR TAX STATUS.  I ASKED TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE REGARDING THAT AND SHE REFUSED AND STARTED SCREAMING AT ME AGAIN.  HAVING WASTED OVER FIVE MINUTES ON THE PHONE WITH THE BANSHEE, I HUNG UP."

 

MOTHER JONES, THE CRAP LEFT FLOATING IN THE TOILET.  FLUSH IT DOWN, I.R.S., FLUSH IT DOWN.

 

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

 

Starting with war resistance.  Lou Michel (The Buffalo News) reported Sunday on US war resister Patrick Hart who is seeking safe harbor in Canada and explains, "This is home for me now.  I love Canada.  A lot of us have been here a few years and planted roots."  Hart is an Iraq War veteran who was stationed in Iraq from 2003 (April) to 2004 (March) and who self-checked out and went to Canada in August of 2005.  He, his wife Jill and their son Rian have made Canada their home.  Michel notes that, "The Canadian House of Commons is expected to vote soon on a resolution that would allow him and the other deserters to seek residency there.  It's considered a last resort -- a political solution -- because the Canadian courts have determined they lack the jurisdiction to rule on deserters' claims that the war in Iraq is illegal and make them eligible for asylum as refugees."

 

The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

 

Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           

April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 

That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.

 

 

Today William Branigin (Washington Post) reports, "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates chided the U.S. armed forces today for not providing enough intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance help to troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying it has been 'like pulling teeth' to get the services to change old habits."  Gates was speaking at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and he opened with memories that drew (intentional) laughter -- four times at the start of his speech.  Getting more serious, Gates began pushing counter-insurgency: "Furthermore, the counterinsurgency manual issued by the Army and Marines is over 200 pages long and yet only four pages are dedicated to air, space and cyberspace.  Not long ago, the Air Force published a doctrine document on irregular warfare, but as future leaders of air power, you should consider whether there is more the service might do to articulate and codify the unique role of air power in instability operations."  He pushed predators and other "unmanned systems" (they "cost much less and offer greater loiter times") which is only surprising if you missed the hard sell done by the military last week (Thursday) in the US House Armed Service Committee's Strategic Forces Subcommittee when THAAD was being pushed hard.  If you caught that hearing, you know drones are being pushed hard by the military which is being creative with the funding aspect.  Mark Thompson (Time magazine) observes, "Gate's comments richoeted at supersonic speed around the Pentagon and across broader defense networks, as officers -- and contracters -- tried to parse their implications.  His bottom line: The Air Force ought to be less concerned with buying more $350 million F-22 fighters for use in future wars that may never happen, and do more to deliver what is needed to fight the wars currently underway 'while their outcome may still be in doubt'." Of course the pitch may have been undercut by the fact that a US drone crashed today in Musayyib. Gates also took a swipe at the intelligence communtiy noting that "the intelligence community has wrestled with this over the years and, I would say, mostly unsuccessfully.  And one example is the role of the national intelligence officer for warning.  Now, this is supposed to be the out-of-the-box thinker who spots the threat coming down the road that nobody else can spot.  But since most of the time, most threats don't materialize, eventually that person gets sidelined, and they don't play a constructive role."  Okay, who's job was national security on 9-11?  Condi Rice.  Her title was National Security Advisor.  Today she's the US Secretary of State and she just finished a for show trip to Iraq.

 

 

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David Corn tumbles from his high horse

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.

 

 

DAVID CORN MADE A REAL ASS OUT OF HIMSELF -- MORE THAN USUAL IN FACT.  ON A MEDIA CONFERENCE CALL WITH THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN, DAVID CORN-NUTS INSISTEAD, "ON THE BILL AYERS FRONT, . . . JUST CALLED IT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES, YOU GUYS OBVIOUSLY KNOW, WE ALL KNOW THAT PRESIDENT CLINTON PARDONED TWO WEATHERMEN."

 

BUT THERE WERE NO PARDONS!

 

WE ALL KNOW, DAVID CORN?  WE ALL KNOW SOMETHING THAT NEVER HAPPENED?

 

WHEN WE FOUND DAVEY CORN-NUTS HE WAS IN A SPECIALITY STORE FLIPPING THROUGH THE LATEST ISSUE OF HONCHO AND SOBBING.

 

WHEN THESE REPORTERS ATTEMPTED TO QUESTION HIM, HE MUMBLED SOMETHING ABOUT "LOVE WAND" AND FLED THE BUILDING.

 

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

 

Starting with war resistance.  Chris Carr (KBS Radio) reports the latest on Kyle Snyder. Before the latest, Kyle Snyder self-checked out of the military after serving in Iraq (and being lied to repeatedly -- before joining and after).  He then moved to Canada.  Following Darrell Anderson's returning from Canada to the US and turning himself in, others wondered about that.  Ivan Brobeck would be among the ones who did.  Kyle did as well.  At the end of October 2006, he came back to the US and turned himself in under the agreement that had been worked out.  The military that lied to him before had lied again.  Kyle self-checked out again.  He went on a speaking tour.  The unit that tracks AWOL and deserting soldiers (the one that doesn't exist to read most press accounts) phoned in a tip to the local police on the West Coast hoping to have Kyle arrested while speaking out.  Kyle was too smart for them and when they showed up, he showed up to speak by phone.  He went back to Canada to reclaim his life.  He was set to be married and the US military was getting antsy.  With the help of the Nelson police, they managed to get him arrested. Right before his wedding.  Drug him off in handcuffs, his robe and underwear.  The Nelson police changed their story multiple times.  Kyle had to be released because he was arrested on trumped up charges.

 

Coming at the same time as the US military crossing into Canada and posing as Canadian police to locate US war resister Joshua Key, it helped create an incident.  There would be an investigation!  And of course the best person to investigate what happened in Nelson was . . . the best friend of the Nelson police chief.  It was always going to be a white wash.

Carr reports that the white was has found charges "unbsubstantiated."  What a shocker.  Kyle Snyder did get married.  He is now the husband of a Canadian citizen.  Translation, the US military can't touch him.

 

However, in Canada, other US war resisters are waiting to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

 

Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           

April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 

That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.

 

 

Yesterday at the Pentagon, US Defense Dept flack Geoff Morrell did a song and dance before reporters.  Reuters Kristin Roberts asked a question:

 

Can you help me understand how it is that there are 163,000 troops in Iraq now that you're even beyond the halfway point of pulling the surge brigades out?  And 163,000 is even higher than what was originally expected when the surge was announced, for all five BCTs [Brigade Combat Teams].  Now you have three out out.  How do you have 163,000 troops?

 

Yes, how does Morrell explain that?  By ignoring it and stating he isn't "the best person to ask in terms of the daily numbers as to where we are in terms of forces in Iraq."  He concluded with, "I'm sorry if that's not a satisfactory answer.  I'm just not the expert on that one."  Numbers are hard for Geoff.  No doubt they're hard for the Bully Boy as well which must why the press avoided asking him about them during his joint press conference yesterday with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Gordon Brown -- apparently chafing at his lack of nickname (Tony Blair was "poodle") -- kissed up big time: "The world owes President George Bush a huge debt of gratitude for leading the world in our determination to root out terrorism, and to ensure that there is no safe haven for terrorism and no hiding place for terrorists."  He chatted up the "special relationship" between the UK and US.  He claimed that Iraq (and Afghanistan) was the topic "of much our discussions" and went on to declare, "We praise the commitment of the troops of both America and Britain and all who serve in these two countries. And we believe that our program of overwatch in Basra in the south of Iraq is making substantial progress."  In response to a question, Brown delcared Iraq "now a democracy, that democratic rights have been restored to the Iraqi people, that we're now building schools and hospitals" -- you know, the usual lies.

 

Andrew Porter and Thomas Harding  (Telgraph of London -- link also provides video of the press conference) report, "The Prime Minister faced questions" throughout his visit, "over the decision for British troops not to get involved in the recent fighting in the city of Basra".  The Telegraph of London asks readers whether the time has come for British troops to leave Iraq?  Meanwhile Sam Coates (Times of London) finds the correct verb for Brown's brown-nosing: "lavishing" and notes how it was a "coup" for Brown to meet face-to-face with Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.  (Obama blew off Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during his recent visit and Coates notes only Clinton met with France's president "during his visit").  At the White House press conference, Brown declared, "It is, if I might answer your second question, it is for Americans to decide who their President is going to be.  I was delighted to meet the three presidential candidates who remain in the field.  What I was convinced of after talking to each of them, and talking about the issues that concern them and concern the world, is that the relationship between America and Britain will remain strong, remain steadfast, it will be one that will be able to rise to the challenges of the future."  Yes, there are other candidates for president besides the ones offered by the Democratic and Republican Party, take it up with Gordon Brown. 

 

AP's Terry Hunt asked Bully Boy, "You said last week that Iraq was not an endless war, but others have called it an open-ended war and a war with no end in sight.  Do you agree with those descriptions?"  Bully Boy, never one to miss a chance at laughing at the deaths his illegal war caused, joked, "One of those three has a good chance of winning."  He then claimed that Iraq was "succeeding" in terms of security, "getting better" in terms of economy and "improving" with regards to politics.  Sadly, those remarks weren't also received as jokes.  In the real world, Jonathan S. Landay and John Walcott (McClatchy Newspapers) report, "The war in Iraq has become 'a major debacle' and the outcome 'is in doubt' despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute. The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions. The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations."

 

 

RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
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Call him Poop, er Scoop Tapper!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE.

 

FRESH OFF THE HEELS OF HIS LATEST EXCLUSIVE, ABC NEWS JAKE TAPPER REPORTS THAT 71-YEAR-OLD GRANNY MADGE JOHNSON WAS ARRESTED AND ESCORTED TO A SQUAD CAR IN DOWNTOWN BOCA RATON TODAY FOR POSSESSION OF CRACK COCAINE.

 

WHEN THESE REPORTERS CAUGHT UP WITH MS. JOHNSON, SHE INVITED US INTO HER HOME, ASKED US IF WE KNEW HOW TO PROGRAM HER VCR (SHE HAD TIVO) AND LAUGHED ABOUT HER "ARREST." 

 

"I FELT DIZZY TODAY," SHE EXPLAINED.  "THE NICE POLICE OFFICER JUST HELPED ME CROSS THE STREET."

 

WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, JAKE TAPPER RESPONDED, "WELL HE ESCORTED HER!  I GOT THAT PART RIGHT!"

 

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

 

 

Starting with war resistance.  Aidan Delgado explains, in his book  The Sutras Of Abu Ghraib: Notes From A Conscientious Objector In Iraq, the mind-set in Iraq when Abu Ghraib had to be discussed:

 

There's no doubt now that everything we've heard about is true, and it must be even worse than we thought, for the commander himself to get on our backs about it. All a family? I laugh. We're only a family when the captain wants us to do his bidding or conceal some wrongdoing. The Army has tried that rhetoric before, talking about family and Army pride and everything else to try to get you to buy into what they do. When the Army talks about "handling something internally," it's only because they've done something so obviously wrong, they can't allow the rest of the country to see it. This doesn't surprise me. After all, if Americans back home saw Iraqi prisoners shot dead for throwing stones, saw the wretched conditions inside Abu, or saw the way the MPs dealt with the prisoners, what would they think of our glorious and righteous invasion? The truth about Abu Ghraib has to be concealed, has to be "kept in the family," because if the average citizen saw what we're doing to the people here, they would know in their guts that it's un-American.

 

Family is the hide-behind, the thing that is supposed to stop all discussions. War resisters have to stand up to a lot to stand up.  Is Robert Przyblski a war resister?  Who knows?  What is known is that he went missing, turned himself in and now awaits . . . what? [See here and here and here and here)]  John Vandiver (Stars & Stripes) reports that "months after being charged, his case remains in legal limbo.  No Article 32 has been held.  Futhermore, Army officials in Europe would not say whether the captain is still in Baumholder or has taken residence someplace else."

 

 

In Canada, US war resisters are waiting to find out whether they will be granted safe harbor. The Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.         

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

 

Last month Iraq Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier took place and KPFA has a live program coming up April 22nd:

Live On Air and Online at kpfa.org!           

April 22 from 10am-1pm      
Join us on April 22nd for this very important follow up to Pacifica's groundbreaking Winter Soldier live coverage. We will be following the San Francisco trial involving wounded vets and the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this first class action lawsuit U.S. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder sue the VA, alleging a system wide breakdown in the way the Government treats those soldiers.
During this special broadcast we will be bringing our listeners live updates from the San Francisco federal courthouse, we'll speak with wounded Veterans attorney Gordon Erspamer, (taking this case pro bono because his father was permanently disabled in World War II and never received proper health care) and speak with Veterans advocates including Veterans for Common Sense, and Vets for America.
Read more about the broadcast here.

 

That announcement will appear in the snapshots until the broadcast. If you missed Winter Soldier you can stream online at Iraq Veterans Against the War, at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage.

 

 

 

Yesterday, the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity reviewed proposed bills on veternas healthcare with US House Rep Stephanie Herseth chairing the committee (due to the ranking member being on the House floor) and noting that they were discussing "thirteen bills before us that seek to: protect our nation's veterans from possible foreclosure and financial burdens incurred while serving one's country; update VA housing construction guidelines; expand education programs while meeting the current retention needs of the Armed Forces; strengthen employment and reemployment rights for returning service members and veterans; and minimize recidivism among incarcerated veterans."  Along with US House Rep John Boozman, Herseth has introduced  (April 2nd) the Veterans Education Improvement Act. US House Rep John Yarmuth addressed the Second Chance for America's Veterans Act (which was signed into legislation by the White House on April 9th) that seeks to assist IVTP's (Incarcerated Veterans Transitional Program). US House Rep Robin Hayes brought up the reality that National Guard members are returning to the US to find out that their deployment did, in fact, effect their employment.  We'll zoom in on the issue of employment.

 

First, on the issue of employment itself.  US House Rep Sternes explained HR 3646, the Veterans Effective Training Job Opportunities and Benefits Act of 2007 ("or the Vets job act"):

 

I think this bill is an important step in helping our veterans gain gainful employment when retiring from the service.  When warriors return home from combat, they often face an uphill battle.  For many service members, the transition from active duty to veteran status and returning to a full, meaningful civilian life is daunting frought with many challenging obstacles and buraucratic barriers.  Many times these brave service men and women require job training for entirely new careers. . . .   My legislation would provide better information to veterans on their local job market needs.  The VET JOBS Act directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Labor to conduct a joint study on the greatest employment needs in various job markets around the country and post the results on the VA website. These results would then be updated annually to reflect the current and possibly changing needs in the local job market.  With this tool, veterans could plug in their zip code and see a list of the occupations that are most in demand within their commuting area, and subsequently use their federal job training most effectively.  The Department of Labor already has the infrastructure in place for this kind of research, so this is a practical, low cost solution.  In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has unofficially scored this proposal as having "insignificant" costs. Insignificant costs for immeasurable benefit to our veterans.

 

Rep Hayes' The National Guard Employment Protection Act of 2007 addresses the issue of jobs already held being kept while serving. Hayes' state (North Carolina) has a National Guard call up rate of 97 percent.  US House Rep Artur Davis noted Congress' actions in 1994 ensuring that jobs would be intact when those serving in the Guard returned home but USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) is being ignored.  Davis referenced Jill Carroll's "While Reservsts Serve, Their Jobs Don't Always Wait" (Chistian Science Monitor) which examined this crisis.  Steve Duarte was among the veterans Carroll reported on.  Duarte was employed at a company for nearly 20 years but upon returning from serving in Iraq, his employers "told his job was ending in a week."  He explained to Carroll, "There was that initial shock -- and then the shock of 'What am I going to do?'   As Davis explained, "When his efforts with the Departments of Labor and Defense led nowhere, Duarte hired a private attorney and spent $12,000 of his own money for fees.  Several years later, he won his lawsuit and was awarded almost $400,000.  Duarte is not an isolated case."  Davis listed statistics --

 

*10,061 formal complaints were filed with the Department of Labor from October 1, 1996 through June 30, 2005.

 

* For fiscal years 2004-2005, the Office of Employment Support for the Guard and Reserve received approximately 10,000 complaints. 

 

Davis noted how a move towards employers use of arbitration has allowed the existing laws protecting members of the Guard to be weakened.  To no surprise, the administration sees that differently.  Thomas L. Bush is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secreteary of Defense for Reserve Affairs at DoD.  Last month he was telling the press that increasing education benefits for service members will increase "the risk that many who enter for the benefits will leave as soon as they can use them."  Yesterday he repeated his assertion that DoD "does not believe that the basic structure of the Montgomery GI Bill is broken."  On the issue of securing the jobs and, let's be honest, enforcing the law, Thomas L. Bush made it clear that the DoD doesn't give a damn what happens when the Dept is done with reserves.  "We are concerned," he explained, "about the negative message its enactment may send to the nation's employers."  That pretty much sums up the White House's sole concern.  But this really should get attention because the White House wants to maintain that they and only they care about the US service members.

 

[. . .]

 

Turning to the US presidential race in the Democratic Party.  Barack Obama lost last night's debate. [For community coverage of the debate see  Elaine, Kat, Ruth, Marcia, Mike, Rebecca and Wally & Cedric (joint-post on the last two).]  What to do when you lose big in front of the country (in the most watched debate)?  Wah-wah-wah.  Cry like a big baby.  And have your cult -- the same cult text-messaged to hit message boards last night during the debate -- do things like create videos on the death of George Stephanopoulos.  George and Charlie Gibson hosted and the Cult of Saint Bambi proves just how thuggish they are.  Thuggish and childish and it's really getting old.  To the nation, it's really getting old.  They had to tone down their attacks on Hillary Clinton -- Common Dreams, CounterPunch, The Nation, The Progressive, their 'traffic' was down.  They had to pull it just a little back.  And they've been sitting on all the HATE inside them this whole time so now they're going to go after George.  George isn't a journalist in any trained sense and ABC knew that when they hired him.  He also isn't 'in the bag' for Hillary Clinton.  He asked questions and they were questions about issues people were raising.  Hillary supporters are not circulating Death of George videos around the web today.  She was asked about Bosnia.  But heaven forbid Saint Bambi should be asked about Jeremiah Wright, heaven forbid he should be asked about Bill Ayers.  It's time to cry, and scream, and threaten.  The mob mentality of the Cult of Saint Bambi. 

 

Marc Cooper showed up at one of The Socialite's Cat Chow blogs last night to smear Hillary because a summer job after college found her working for someone who might be a Communist.  Today, Bill Ayers' brother embarrasses him (and his brother) at one of The Socialite's Cat Chow blogs by screaming that asking Obama about Bill Ayers is like McCarthyism!  No, it's not.  What Marc Cooper did was like McCarthyism.  Bill Ayers and Obama are friends.  Bernardine Dorhn -- top of the FBI Most Wanted List at one point and proud of that fact -- and Ayers hosted a fundraiser for him.  Mark Rudd (Weather Underground alumni) has publicly endorsed Barack.  Whether you think the Weather Underground was evil or not (I don't), they did break the law, they were wanted by the FBI.  They were part of an armed revolution struggle.  Richard Nixon was breaking every law in sight and the Weather Underground was in response to that.  Their actions were criminal.  They were in response to a criminal administration.  But Barack could get honest about that and many other things.  Instead he went, last night, with calling Bill Ayers' actions "detestable."  (What a prissy word.)  Well, if that's how he feels, why is he hanging with the man?  It goes to Jeremiah Wright.  "Disowned" him Bambi indicated in the debate until George caught that and Bambi clarified he only disowned Wright's words (the damning of America from the front of a church in a sermon). 

 

Don't hide things.  If you want to keep them hidden, don't run for office.  If you do and some things (these are not the big things) come out, don't blame the press.    But Saint Bambi was questioned and the Cult will not have it.  So they lash out at George and circulate "Death" videos.  They really are thugs.  (I'm not referring to Obama supporters.  I'm referring to the ones stirring this up and that's never been a bottom-up thing.  This is stirred from the top.)  They are as Cultish as were the followers of George W. Bush after 9-11.  And don't we all know how that worked out for the country?  George Stephanopoulos tells Robin Abcarian (Los Angeles Times), "The questions we asked were tough and fair and appropriate and relevant and what you would expect to be asked in a presidential debate at this point.  The questions we asked . . are being debated around the political world every day."  They did, for example, ask Barack about the man who is suing him and claiming the two of them did drugs and had sex.  This was not The National Enquirer.  These were valid questions. 

 

Many Americans consider Ayers and Dohrn terrorists (some consider them heroes for their past actions, some grasp those were very complex times) and it certainly is a question that should be on the table.  As for Wright, Obama chose to bore the nation with a really bad speech.  So when he controls what is and isn't said, that's okay?  He spoke to the nation about Wright.  Now it's off limits?  That's nonsense.   The thugs are sending out the groupies to do their bidding.  Do your best.  The media circles wagons.  You're only harming your own candidate and showing what a trashy campaign relies underneath Bambi's "HOPE" and "CHANGE" talk.  You're showing the whole country just how trashy, how thuggish and how undemocratic you are.  The "death video" isn't funny, it's not cute and George doesn't deserve it.  Make fun of him all you want, question his judgement, but you better grasp that you crossed a line.  I know George and I don't think it's funny nor do I believe it was intended to be funny.  It is revealing about what's really behind Barack Mania. 

 

Hillary won the debate.  She won it because she is the better candidate.  Things were tossed at her as well.  She handled it.  Bosnia was brought up, she said she apologized for the story she had told.  She called it something embarrassing.  She owned her mistake.  It doesn't need to be brought up again, because she dealt with it.  That's what a real candidate does.  She had her policy down, she knew her facts, she had the audience laughing.  Barack doesn't inspire that because he doesn't come off human.  He's wooden.  He's wooden . . . and . . . he . . . creates . . . pauses . . . where none should . . . be.  He's responsible for his bad performance.  He could have done Hillary and taken control of the moment.  He didn't.  He bombed.  Those questions weren't new.  Not Bosnia to Hillary, not Wright to Barack.  An experienced candidate knew what to do.  That Barack didn't, that all these months later he's still not experienced go to his own faults and his own immaturity.  His groupies can't threaten and stomp their feet but he lost.  He lost because he was wooden, he lost because he said "uh" over and over, he lost because it was a conversational style and Barack doesn't want to talk, he wants to lecture.

 

The Daily Pennsylvanian has endorsed Hillary:

 

...Sen. Hillary Clinton, her public service, political experience and tenacity tell us not only "Yes we can" but also "How we can." As such, we endorse Clinton for the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

...

...[C]hoosing the president of the United States is too important a decision to make based on hope alone. After finishing his term in the Senate and better showing us what he can do for the American people, Obama could one day be a remarkable president.

Clinton, on the other hand, is ready to lead this nation now. A successful champion for change, her experience in the Senate and as first lady gives her a better understanding of how Washington works. She has the ability to turn policy into reality. And her mastery of causes central to the Democratic Party's platform makes her better suited to challenge presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.

...

...[I]n New York, her senatorial campaigns united a surprisingly wide coalition of supporters across political and socioeconomic boundaries. She can do the same this November.

...

Ultimately, we are confident in Clinton's ability to implement her agenda. It's this quality that has brought leaders like Mayor Michael Nutter and Governor Ed Rendell to her side. And it's this quality that convinces us to support her as well.

...

 

 

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