Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Clinton may be running out, but Obama is showing a poor choice of associates. Is anyone going to start the list of people that Obama is severing associations with?

Obama adviser who met with Hamas resigns

May 11, 2008

LYNN SWEET blogs.suntimes.com/sweet

Rob Malley, a Middle East policy adviser to likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, resigned after news surfaced that he had been meeting with Hamas -- something Obama pledged he himself would never do.

Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said Saturday Malley called the Obama campaign on Friday to sever ties with the candidate after learning the Times of London was publishing a story about his contacts with the terrorist group.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/943467,CST-NWS-Sweet11.article

Wow. I made it to the top of Craig's blog.

I know it's true that Hillary's chances of winning are fairly small, but
I want her to continue fighting to the "bitter" end. After all, there are
only a few more States left to vote. I'm weary of pundits prophesying
doom for Clinton. Let the race continue until Senator Clinton decides
to exit. Let's leave the woman alone for gosh sakes. She will demonstrate
class and grace in whatever happens in the next few weeks.

Why is Camp Obama so anxious to stop the process? Could it be because
Obama's weakness are being revealed by Clinton as she continues to win
the white, working class vote and women?

Typo correction:

Why is Camp Obama so anxious to stop the process? Could it be because Obama's weaknesses are being revealed by Clinton as she continues to win the white working class vote and white women?

I may be fortunate enough to meet Senator Clinton this Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club at a fundraiser in Newport Beach, California close to where I live. I have been told there will be only about 100 or so people. I'm thrilled.

Craig, should I tell her anything for you?

Unless it was buried in some long diatribe, only three women (HRC, Pelosi and McCaskill) have been mentioned for potential vps for BHO (Glue forgive if he should be nominee) on this blog. Aren't there other, more viable fem dems out there who would qualify? Govs and former-govs? University presidents? Celebrities with brains and statesmanship? Come on gang, come up with some names.

IMO HRC shouldn't take vp if offered. Bad to be on a losing ticket.
Dems don't treat losers well. Just ask JE.

HRC will only be asked to be VP in such a way as to insure that she will not accept.......there is no way the obama combine wants hillary anywhere near their game........she knows too much.......they want her stomped on and out.....only that.

but she's not so easily stomped and she hasnt quit yet......there is that brokered convention to consider.......

Thomas Friedman's best column ever -- Call Your Mother.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/opinion/11friedman.html?hp

Bowmanc ---------------------------

Obama - Hamas story scheduled for discussion on Fox News at 12:45 PM E - today.

It's about the Hamas endorsement of Obama.

sturgeone,

Maureen Dowd can't see beyond her nose tip on this one. (Surprise, surprise.)

She writes of how Obama cannot perform well around HRC, etc., etc., and must rid himself of her. (And I agree with you about the inevitable washing of hands via Veep offer.)

Howevah...

What if Hillary should replace Harry The-Living-Footnote-To-History Reid as Senate Majority Leader post-election?

For all the superdelegate politicking, there are two thoughts.

One) The Senate Democratic Majority will be interested in asserting its own power... not just over the GOP but over an Executive Branch which diminished it dangerously. President Obama will be useful to them as long as he is... useful to them.

Two) Obama is personally disliked in the Senate. His boredom, lack of collegiality and his indifferent failure to hold hearings of his sub-committee ain't exactly gonna make him a particularly powerful (respected or feared) Prez for at least his freshman and sophomore years.

So... imagine those conditions compounded by Senate Majority Leader HRC.

Oh, yeah. As it happens, I think Congress absolutely needs to reassert its Constitutional roles and powers to the max the moment Bushie Tushie gets his ass out of the Oval....

No matter who replaces him there -- Obama, Clinton or McCain.

Michelle Obama’s Hostility

"And no wonder why Axelrod attempted to recast Michelle Obama five days later into a doyenne of domesticity during a fundraiser for a female politician who happens to be Caucasian. Now that Michelle believes she has thoroughly destroyed the only chance a woman may have to become President of the United States during many of our lifetimes, she must now try to rise from the ashes left in the wake of her incendiary race baiting and misogynistic rhetoric as the phoenix of women’s rights. No wonder why she is hostile toward Hillary Clinton: in order to become Hillary, she must destroy Hillary."

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/05/10/michelle-obamas-hostility/#more-2464

Then there Opus and his.... mom:

http://www.salon.com/comics/opus/2008/05/11/opus/

I havent read much mo dowdy lately.......

Report from a woman whose friend had a blind date with MoDo:

"So how did it go? X. told me that, the whole night, all Maureen could talk about was which women Bill Clinton was sleeping with. Literally. "Do you think he's having an affair with B.? I think he is. But maybe they did and it's over now and he's moved onto someone else. Ya think? Maybe he's messing around with C. -- she seems more his type. I'd bet he'd love to have an affair with D., but I'm not sure she'd fool around with a married man." And on and on and on and on and ON in this vein. The whole night long. X tried to engage her on other topics. The world, after all, is full of a number of things: Books. Movies. Theater. Travel. Music. Food. And how about, not what Bill Clinton was doing with his penis, but what he was doing with his policies?

But alas, in spite of my friend's ministrations, he could not get the lady off Topic A.

Suffice it to say, it was a long night."

http://thegspot.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/my-maureen-dowd.html

sturgeone,

I did! I thought taking a leetle poison would tame how sick I'm feeling this AM.

And I tell you, the NYT opinion columns when Herbert isn't there read like...

Like...

Like...

Blog commenting!

(Alternate ending: A vomitorium!)

Patsi,

Well, the Bill thang is consistent with her personal life... as she's famously addicted to famous addicts like Aaron Sorkin and Michael Douglas.

If we do not all band together and vote for Obama , this country will be doomed! Doomed , I say! You have been warned! *Gee , I kinda sounded like a villian on Scooby Doo , didn't I?* LOL!

Corey,

Who's the Special Guest Star on this episode?

Thompson.........EFF the doomed!

--Richard Milhouse Nixon

I've often wondered if Scooby-Doo and Astro are the same dog..........have you ever seen them in the same room at the same time? I thought not......neither have I.

sturge,

If Nixon had had his own Samoan attorney, he'd still be our President.

there just are not enough samoan attorneys to go around, I guess..........it's been ages since I've even seen one.........

sturge,

There is a freakin' UNIVERSE of identical Hanna Barbera doggies...

Including a "countrified" Scooby clone and Dyno-Mutt (who on Adult Swim was murdered by Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law. Well, that was the promo.)

And all of 'em get their DNA from the Flintstone's Dino.

Not Huckleberry Hound.

Maybe that tag to The Simpsons "Behind The Laughter" episode was telling the truth....

They got burnt out after Thompson repping all those Samoan tag teams back in 80's in the old WWF.

If you ever liked watching (or just looking at) Matinee at the Bijou back in the 80's, its producers want to resurrect it.

I ran across its Web 2.0 reincarnation: a lovely blog, You Tube videos and a very serious attempt to get a once successful franchise back in business.

One of the options it is looking at is RFD TV.

I think "One more cow" modifies nicely into "One more cowboy serial".

Here's the nice blog link:

http://matineeatthebijou.blogspot.com/

hmmm.......sounds good....it'd be nice to see a Wild Bill Elliot movie again........

MAX,

I thought I would include some counter points on some of your work last night with Harborwoman. So measured intelligent easy to read, thank you!

{{{MAXTRUE}}}
Your first item is rather weak because Soros and others are extremely wealthy. What we are witnessing in the NeoLiberal camp is a fusion between poorer more radical camps with extremely rich Liberal people like Gefen, Soros and many others. Even Gore and Kerry are quite wealthy. To say that the Democrats don't have serious money is a mischaracterization. So I wonder about your claim that Bush represents such super wealth. It is just a different kind of wealth. At a certain point wealth is wealth and Obama considers anything over 97,000 per year as "very wealthy". LOL

{{{SHEILA}}
Yes, we (Democrats) have ubber-wealth too. Thank goodness for that. However, if you look in the Forbes 400...which is what I am doing right now and counting the exact number of well known Democrats, we have 14 Multi Mils and Bils to the 386 republicans in that elite list. Now, does that mean anything? For me it says, (1) why has MAX highlighted Soros and the rest and hasn't highlighted the other side? What makes these men so much more heinous than say, the ones like Murdoch who aquired all the Media Conglomerates in the early part of the New Millinium? Max's reasoning is reflecting what we hear on FOX nightly. The vilification of ordinary citizens who are contributing just as much as the other side. So in point, Soros is not evil for contributing to legal campaigns and movements for his Party. Bill Gates is not evil for all of his support and so on

Bush family are heartly enmeshed in Saudi Health. Carlyle Group if a well known "WELL" from which both draw their profits and one of which is OPEC Oil. I say he and his family are seriously set for generations to come.

And lastly, Obama wants to return the tax levels for the rich to where they were before this syphoning off of moneys by the Rich in the name of lower taxes took began.

The rewards are lopsided. the rich are now Ubber Rich, the Middle Class designation has become a thing of the past. OUR government bank account has been prostituted to China and Dubai because our Rich are keeping their share now.

My own BIllionaire Boss said to me that he was blown away by Bush's policies too. He was raise to believe that you make a fortune of the back of others and you give back in proportion. this means back to the government for programs for the poor....he also said that he lived thru WWII and everyone gave to invest in victory....

So I hope I gave everyone some good thinking today. MAX Thanks for the injection of discourse without so much acusortory statements.

Sandy Duncan , 9-11.

Meet the Depressed looks good this morning. I love it when Timmy trys to be more interesting than Terry.... never quite makes it, but the contest is fun.

Ok One more and then I have to leave your Point/Counter rich material from last night alone. I love discussing for more understanding. Even if I don't agree, its absolutely fasinating to get other points.

{{{MAX}}}
Second point- Black Water and other private security firms are essential whether you think so or not. The DOD does not want to provide such services and numerous governments and groups would be in harm's way without them. We can argue about how to regulate them, but they are creations of necessity and not Bush's desire to create a private NAZI security force.

{{{SHEILA}}}
This is nonsense although well reasoned enough.

Now I am not joking about this. BLACKWATER is the result of Bush 41's plan to downsize the military and create "Citizen Soldiers" through the reserves and This side of it was made for profit. How do i know this? I was in a sepcial ops unit back then and when downsizing was happening, the Pentagon was sharing the plans for the future of our defensen.

BLACKWATER consists of former active duty TRAINED military Seals and Rangers and EOD and other special ops soldiers ,sailors, airmen, and marines.

So again, WE train the best of the best and pay for it and then the BLACKWATER CEO and his investors get the profits from us in the end. Plus Blackwater also moved over seas to avoid out tax system....double loss.

Bottom line for the Black water issue? The military was made dangerously small.

The men and women are actively recruited for Blackwater BEFORE they even leave the service. So this private mercenary group is Cherry Picking our Military for pure Profit because THEY don't have the skill and technology that we do.

They are taking well trained service personnell from our ranks at an allarming rate and for the first time in US history, The Special Ops training system such as "BUDS" is fudging on some very important training in order to replace the personnel they have lost.

Not creations of necesity. Creations for Profit and huge profit at that.

Craig, am I just imagining sarcasm in your post today?
I hope I was just misreading it. I look forward to reading
your column every day, but being a Hillary supporter, maybe I'm
just feeling a little defensive. Have you taken sides?

BTW , Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgM61dG9_oI

Another Mother's Day tribute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c7Z_A9ERvo

Obama - Hamas story scheduled for discussion on Fox News at 12:45 PM E - today

Gordo, I would be so uninformed without your posts.
Thanks again for the links and info. on what's going on.
I'll tune in to fox today.

not getting meet the doomed.....uh, I mean press......it's raining in old caroline and the local "storm team" is johnny on the spot.........on the spot.........on the spot.......and ad infinitum on the spot........

Oh And MAXTRUE,

What is a NEO Liberal anyway? Grouping all of us in that title deserves some explanation.

Especially when I began a list of what our Obama SUpporters are turning out to be. Not so different from our fellow Clinton supporters either.

Brian is a Dyed in the Wool (NY) DEM. Horsedooty is Yellowdog, Sheila middle/left leaning Indie who became Dem for 2000. Harborwoman is an Indie, Dog is an Indie, dnd is an Indie, Jennbe is a republican and Proud of it! These are the ones I know about.

What makes this full spectrum of Obama Supporters reresentative of NEO Liberal and what exactly is that anyway?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism

Sheila:
Regarding Blackwater, currently trying to establish a footing here in my county ... what has Sen Obama said about this organization? HRC pledged to do away with them entirely, but I do not recall Sen Obama having done so. Sen McCain, while not specifically mentioning Blackwater, has promised to take a scalpel to DOD (or maybe a machete) ...
BTW, as an almost yellow-dog Dem, I think it behooves all Dems to point out that it was VP Gore's reorganization of DOD that really escalated the outsourcing of functions there. And KBR has been doing jobs for DOD since the time of LBJ, who had financial associations with the company.

Sheila: Definition of a neo-liberal ... someone who admires the viewpoint of those opinion makers who voted for Nader in 2000 ...

Jamie: IMHO, nothing connected with Big Head Russert can be described as "fun" ...

Corey thanks. ;0) You link for Wikipedia just highlights the misuse of the term NEO Liberal.

From Wiki, "" Broadly speaking, neoliberalism seeks to transfer control of the economy from the public to private sector.""

Directly opposite of what Clinton AND Obama Stand for and all of US by they way.

I can only speak for me. I am a Bleeding Heart Liberal with Fiscal Preferances and tendancies.

In other words. I want all of Comglomerates to do their fair share, stop putting their hands in my social security, Get jobs back in the hands of Hard WOrking Americans, Pay as WE GO, and bring back Voulinteerism as a GOOD THING....oh yes.

NEO liberalism is not what I just listed. It IS however, what the extreme Right Wing has been touting. a little Oxymoron this morning?

Maybe Terry McAuliffe should stop calling the place where the POTUS lives the WHITE House - sounds racist when a Clinton supporter says it.

Sheila: That definition in wikipedia doesn't at all match what my understanding is.
Such neolibs as Soros and Huffington, for instance, are basically social libertarians who -- as an example -- want to legalize drug use. There is also a strong strain of moral equivalency in their attitude toward foreign policy ... the idea that Israel and the Palestinians can be seen as equally good or bad (not as people but as entities) and that the US has caused the majority of the world's problems.
The fact that so many people could not understand the strong reaction to Pastor Wright is a good illustration of neoliberalism ... many people found only one or two things he had said to be objectionable, while the rest of us found his blanket condemnation of America and white Americans to have been really troubling.

"Get jobs back in the hands of Hard WOrking Americans, Pay as WE GO, and bring back Voulinteerism as a GOOD THING....oh yes."

In order to do that, you need to send 1/2 of every adult earners in a family home to stay with any children. No support more than two children per family and then bump off about 2 billion people on the face of the earth. It's isn't going to happen, so you might want to look for a few more long term solutions.

Maggisd,

I beg to differ. I was in the white house as a fly on the wall during the set up by the Bish Administration and then all of us in the Military got the plan.

The plan was approved and in place by the time Clinton and Gore got there. There is NO way Clinton and Gore could have over turned what the People wanted. And we the people insisted on it back then.

The republican dominated Congress would never have signed off on that either. Back then The Republicans were in power in congress and they wanted smaller government. The People didn't understand WHY we needed to keep spending all that money on a larger military. The cold war was over.

As with all Democratic dealings, we over compensate and then pay later.

Happy Mother's Day!! 8~)

Mother's Day Secrets

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

Jamie: I have this really really strange notion that the only people who file tax returns should be those who actually make money...but that, by the same token, no one should be listed as a dependent on anyone else's tax return. You choose to get married and have a stay at home wife and 80 children...fine...but why should the rest of the populace have to support those deductions. IMHO, the only tax deductibility should be on the basis of participation in programs the government wants to support ... research and development. solar panels, charitable contributions and the like.

Maggisd, from what I have read all morning, NEO LIberalism has to do with thoughts on ecomony, not ideology.

I thought that was very informative.

Jamie, so there is our division between myself and you. Thank goodness there is a HUGE tent for Democratic leaning people.

Ok...in and out today.

I'm packing....yuk!

Sheila: I agree with you that the plan for down sizing the military began in the Administration of Bush 41. However, it is equally true that the bulk of the actual reorganization was undertaken by VP Gore, and also true that KBR had its hooks into DOD from the time of LBJ.
As for neoliberalism, I am just stating what my understanding of the term is. It is in the foreign policy area that I think the big gulf exists ... even among Democrats. Much of what I think I know I have learned from reading Arianna Huffington...even though I usually wind up screaming and throwing things

Sheila,

It has nothing to do with political leanings. It has to do with enough food, water, and jobs to support the people currently in existence. The main reason all those jobs are going overseas is that slave labor just trying to survive is really, really cheap. Just because we aren't seeing the kids picking up scraps from the dumps or whol villages being wiped out by cancer from pollutants doesn't mean that it isn't happening.

Those conditions have political consequences and what we are seeing in Pakistan, Palestine, India, and China etc are just the warning flags flying. It is going to get a lot worse until the governments of the world are willing to actually deal with the problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

The fact that so many people could not understand the strong reaction to Pastor Wright is a good illustration of neoliberalism ... many people found only one or two things he had said to be objectionable, while the rest of us found his blanket condemnation of America and white Americans to have been really troubling.

Exactly!

I don't think I mentioned this little story from earlier this week. My brother-in-law's sister asked my 9 year-old niece if she had any idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up. My niece replied, "Nothing. I wanna be nothing." My sister was surprised and asked her, "What happened? I thought you wanted to be a veterinarian when you grew up?" My niece replied with, "No. I wanna be nothing! I wanna be like you , Mom!" You see , my sister is a stay-at-home Mom. My sister said , "Oh! So you think that's what I am? I'm nothing?" My niece said , "That's not what I meant , Mom!" She was very upset after this conversation. All she meant was that she wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom like my sister is.

Jenna and Henry's wedding song...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OZ4N25sNNS8

again Craig thank you for your common sense approach to these elections...i always read your opinions everyday

Maggisd and jamie,

I regret starting this and not being able to continue....so i will check back in today. I have to pack though. have to be on the road by Wednesday.

Jamie, I would like to hear more of why Pay as you go or volunteerism has to do with world Hunger and so therefore is trumped.

I don't discount you, I just question whether we are on the same plane of thought.

I hope the Democratic Party doesn't run out of metrics

It's all about Ohio (and some would say Florida)

Ohio, Florida hold keys to election victory
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Sunday, May 11, 2008

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/11/MNK710JSB5.DTL&tsp=1

Meg: I was just astounded in reading the blogs to see how many people defended his speeches and his ideas. Not that I take the position that no American government has ever made wrong choices nor done things that in hindsight seem despicable...but the level of anger was just amazing to me.

BTW, I think the one thing we can all learn from the history of the past 50 years is that we should never again elect a Texan to be President. It must be something in the water.

Bottom line,

Obama and Clinton supporters are not NEO LIBERAL on average.

Corey: Your little story reminds me of my daughter's great-aunt. When my daughter was little, her father's mother took care of her while I worked. It helped me out and helped her out financially, but it also took her away from spending as much time as she might have with her elderly sister. In any case, one day when I came to pick up my daughter, her great-aunt fixed me with a really hostile stare and said, "If you didn't want to take care of your own children, you shouldn't have gotten married."

Corey...that's interesting...I wonder why your niece didn't say, "I want to be a Mom...".

Buckeye Bob: It's my understanding that the Obama campaign doesn't think they really need Ohio or Florida ... they are going to re-draw the map.
I don't know how they get to 270, but apparently they have a plan.. And, except for Indiana, they seem to have gotten it right so far.
It will be interesting ....

Happy Mothers Day to all...especially to Toby...she is the reason we are all here (on the blog, of course!).

On the front page of our local paper...Las Cruces Superdelegate backs Clinton...a wonderful way to wake-up!

http://www.lcsun-news.com/news/ci_9220874

Sheila: I doubt that any Clinton supporters are Neo-Libs. I think a lot of the blogosphere supporters of Obama are ... at least in the terms I have expressed. People who think we can negotiate successfully with anyone.
I have a dear friend, an Obama supporter, (he is my age and white) who is into new-age spirituality; he recently told me that he believed all wars were unnecessary and that we might easily have negotiated to avoid WWII.

Kids say innocent things. They sometimes don't realize how the things they say are going to be interpreted. For instance , I was had a friend whose Mom was a terrible housekeeper. When I was about 5 or 6 years-old , my Mom had to take me over to my friend's house one night to pick up something I had left there. My friend's Mom basically discouraged my Mom from entering their house because it was kinda messy that night. I said , "Yeah , Mom. You don't wanna go inside. She doesn't keep her house clean like you do." That embarrassed my Mom quite a bit , not too mention how my friend's Mom must have felt! LOL!

Sheila,

Discussion postponed. There isn't anything wrong with pay as you go and volunteerism except that the average family cannot afford either of those items due to global circumstances over which they have no control.

There is a reason the dollar has taken a major nose dive, the US is massively in debt to other nations, and most families need two or more incomes just to survive ... they don't have either the time or money to exercise the luxury of having half the family do nothing and still maintain an expected standard of living.

You don't even want to look under the rug at the number of people being "paid" to not work at all at anything actually useful to society just to maintain the illusion of working for a living.

Corey: Kids are such honest creatures, aren't they?

Maggisd, I really haven't found an explanation differing from this traditional definifitin. Since Wiki is easily read, here you go. I will however say that Libertarianism can fit here. That is why I am not and most Obama poeple are not NEO LIBERALS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism

Broadly speaking, neoliberalism seeks to transfer control of the economy from the public to private sector.[3] The definitive statement of the concrete policies advocated by neoliberalism is often taken to be John Williamson's[4] "Washington Consensus", a list of policy proposals that appeared to have gained consensus approval among the Washington-based international economic organizations (like the IMF and World Bank). Williamson's list included ten points:

Fiscal policy discipline;
Redirection of public spending from subsidies ("especially indiscriminate subsidies") toward broad-based provision of key pro-growth, pro-poor services like primary education, primary health care and infrastructure investment;
Tax reform – broadening the tax base and adopting moderate marginal tax rates;
Interest rates that are market determined and positive (but moderate) in real terms;
Competitive exchange rates;
Trade liberalization – liberalization of imports, with particular emphasis on elimination of quantitative restrictions (licensing, etc.); any trade protection to be provided by low and relatively uniform tariffs;
Liberalization of inward foreign direct investment;
Privatization of state enterprises;
Deregulation – abolition of regulations that impede market entry or restrict competition, except for those justified on safety, environmental and consumer protection grounds, and prudent oversight of financial institutions; and,
Legal security for property rights.

Sheila: If this is the accepted definition, then I will have to look elsewhere for a word to describe the segment of the Democratic party about whom I am talking. My concerns are almost entirely in the foreign policy area.

I've watched a lot of programs on WWII lately. It seemed as though there was a lot of distrust between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during that time , especially towards the end of the war when the Allies began looking towards their own interests. They said that Stalin even refused to acknowledge or confirm Hitler's death and that for many years after his death the U.S. were led to believe that Hitler may have escaped Germany alive. To me , it seemed that after 9-11 the sentiment was "Somebody needed to pay for what happened. Even if they weren't quite sure who was responsible for it."

Sheila correctly explains why people support Barack Obama:

"As with all Democratic dealings, we over compensate and then pay later."

Maggi: I think the one thing we can all learn from the history of the past 50 years is that we should never again elect a Texan to be President. It must be something in the water.

Maggi, I've lived in Texas for the last 15 years (from California).
I love living here, but I still agree with you. And I very much like the way you think.

Thanks Jamie, You have such a good grasp of things and I usually agree.

And so it postponed. I just think you are thinking more in obsolutes right now. Even an economically depressed nation like we have been utilsed these notions to become victorious over the Great depression and WWII consecutively.

Corey, it seemed that after 9-11 the sentiment was "Somebody needed to pay for what happened.

I think that's what Bush (along with those close to him) and he proceeded to convince the rest of us.

Corey: As to distrust between us and the Soviets during WWII...our distrust began in WWI when American troops were sent into Russia to fight on the side of the White Army against the Reds. During the 20s and 30s a great many Americans were pro-Soviet (this was before the purges) and it is the opinion of some historians that Roosevelt and the New Deal actually saved America from going communist. (This is not a universally held belief).
On the subject of negotiations, of course, it should be borne in mind that no American President ever met with Stalin except during WWII, and nor did any meetings take place with Hitler or Hirohito.

Jamie , I worked with a guy named Doug when I first started working here in Holland. Doug and I once had a conversation about wives and working. Doug said to me , "You know , a lot of men don't want their wives to work , but I'm not one of them. I told my wife that we need to have that 2nd income."

Meg: My brother was at UTMC Galveston for about two years. I visited him twice. We found the people to be quite friendly but we both agreed that Texas is a tough place for Californians to understand.

Corey: As to wives working ... despite my education I was never a professional ... just a working wife and then a working single Mom. There was never a real choice.

Meg: I am pretty much convinced that Bush would have found a way to take us into Iraq even if 9/11 hadn't happened. PNAC even tried to convince Clinton to go into Iraq in 1998. The necessity to have a giant air base in Saudi Arabia in order to enforce the southern no-fly zone was always a dicey proposition, as it turns out. In hindsight, it might have been better if we had just withdrawn completely from the area after the first Gulf War...but who knows.

"victorious over the Great depression and WWII consecutively."

We need to come up with a better solution than starvation and war. WW I and the influenza epidemic wiped out lots of people and led to a big economic boom. The Great depression and WWII wiped out a lot more people, again an economic boom. We have now passed the point that even if some massive "black plague" type epidemic wiped out 10% of the world's human beings, we would still have too many.

People have simply become the completely disposable commodity, a few hundred thousand here or there wiped out by hurricanes and dengue fever or cholera is barely a blip on the daily pop charts. They are all looking at the west and seeing energy, cars, homes, food ... just a better way of life displayed by a world wide media pushing the "expectation" button. It makes for very, very angry human beings.

Jamie: Not just very angry human beings, but also the ruination of the natural planet. Malthusian economics (oh, I hope I have the name right) prophesied many long years ago that we would populate ourselves out of the ability of the planet to sustain us.
My late brother (a geneticist, and an atheist so not one of those God is punishing us types) said that diseases such as HIV, Ebola, Hanta virus that live in the deep forests are Nature's way of protecting the planet from us. We used to have bitter arguments about that ... but now I wonder.

That's they key maggisd , some families have the choice of whether or not the Mom works , but a lot of families don't. My Mom worked from the time I was 3 years-old. So , that's all I ever knew growing up. Both Moms and Dads working. My Dad was laid off from time to time in the 70's and he was forced to take many odd jobs. Working at a skating rink , mowing lawns and painting etc...We needed my Mom's income to make it.

We found the people to be quite friendly but we both agreed that Texas is a tough place for Californians to understand

Yes. It took years. But things are quite different now that many have moved in from different states into the Houston area.

"...the only "metric" that really counts -- the roll call of the delegates at the Democratic National Convention in August." - Craig

Plenty of time for Obama to "implode, explode or whatever" before the convention. There are many "things" which can cause SDs to leave Obama - they have not yet hit MSM. The Clinton campaign will work to get these stories to the public. Sidney Blumenthal needs to stop playing around and take Obama out - the Clintons have been too nice for too long. "Destroy" Obama now - if the Clintons don't, the Repubs will in the GE.

Corey: I grew up in the 50s; raised by my grandparents. My grandmother never worked but I sometimes think she should have ... raising us was a chore, but our home was so clean you could literally eat off the floor. I think she was often bored. Most of the ladies in our neighborhood worked at least part time, even then...out of economic necessity. Our neighbor was a lunch lady, another friend's Mom was a school bus driver, etc. The only two who didn't work were the butcher's wife and the plumber's wife. Even in the 50s most of us didn't live an Ozzie and Harriet life...and things have just gotten worse. And, actually, most kids turn out quite fine.

Corey: Even when I lived in small town rural Indiana for a brief while in the late 60s, most of the women worked at the local aluminum window-frame factory. I did, as well, (I hated it) for a brief while until I could find something else. My mother in law (born in the 1890s) also always worked...delivering mail, clerking at a local store, etc. It's not a new thing among the working poor that women work too...along with everything else they do.

Maggie

Just to put it in perspective. Mayanmar has been all over the news. We have horrific pictures of the destruction and hear the dismal news that more than 100,000 people could die.

In 1950 their population was 17 million
In 2002 their population was 48 million

Projected for 2025 - 60 million

The friends and relatives of the hundred thousand who died are grieving and that is a shame, but the hard cruel facts are that none of those beautiful human beings are necessary.

Only wealth and power protect the Western nations and that is fading fast, but the media wants to obsess about gas prices.

From the music group "Tears For Fear" greatest hits liner notes about their song "Woman In Chains":

"I was reading some feminist literature at the time and I discovered that there are societies in the world still in existence today that are non-patriarchal. They don't have a man at the top and a woman at the bottom. They're matricentric- the have the woman at the center and these societies are a lot less violent , a lot less greedy and there's generally less animosity...But the song is also about how men traditionally play down the feminine side of their characters and how both men and women suffer for it..." -Roland Orzabal

Jamie: When I first took anthropology many long years ago, our Prof opined that, aside from man and chimpanzees, the other great apes were actually evolutionary dead ends. I think he may have been wrong about humankind ... we seem to be on a path to become a dead end ourselves.

Time to go get ready for my Mother's Day breakfast with the kids. Aaargh...

Craig,
McCain was here last week and had started running GE Ads.I thought they might only run for a couple of days around his visit but here we are over a week later and the ads are still running in fairly heavy rotation. Interesting...

Also, there was an Obama rally here yesterday with some of the paid staff and the State Attroney General (Obama supporter), etc. This was termed as preparing for the General Election. Only 40 people showed up.That didn't seem like a good sign. It was well-publicized since even I knew about it. Doesn't bode well for these legions of "New Democrats" we hear so much about.

We had a county party fundraiser last Friday and they had a difficult time finding anyone to man the Obama booth. On the other hand, there were four paid staff members for Hillary there and they even organized phone banking to make sure the supporters knew about the fundraiser. This is even more interesting when you know that our county chair has now publicly voiced his support for Obama (I outed him but that is another story).

Hey Craig

Clinton is dead, we're just waiting for the corpse to quit twitching. The more the Democrats tear each other down in that liberal scorched earth way, the more they will remind the voters why they never trust them with anything sharp.

As a moderate Republican I've got to say I love it most days.
However, if they keep up this foolishness they are in danger of losing one or both houses of the congress.

That would NOT be good.

To correct this total mess we need divided government, that is the only way to get long term policy that will be stable. Putting the Democrats in control of everything will be just as much of a mess as what we have now. The only difference is they will be screwing up in a different area.

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote for divided government
Vote McCain

Zoey

I'm new to this blog, what your home state?

And are the ads for McCain just shoring up his base or is he reaching out to the swing voters?

Friends don't let friends vote a straight ticket
Vote for divided government
Vote McCain

"However, if they keep up this foolishness they are in danger of losing one or both houses of the congress."

Sounds good to me - both parties would go down in flames - the Dems in Nov and the Repubs after Nov when they overreach.

So...my Mom doesn't wanna do anything for Mother's Day.

Morning Peeps,
Well I see the sour grapes dooms day crowd is out in full force this morning.

Pug,
I am in Iowa. The McCain ads are policy ads...pretty soft in tone so nothing I would call shoring up his base. I think they are intended as an introduction about his stance on the issues. Probably since he ran out of money here and could not campaign the way he wanted to before the caucuses. I tend to not listen to them but I know the theme of the first one was health care and I think he is running something else now. I will try to pay attention and let you know. I have gotten good at tuning out Republican campaign ads.

I would guess you and I don't agree on a lot but I do believe in divided government. You know, as Baron Acton is credited with saying "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." The only person I would trust in that situation is Hillary. I have had the opportunity to talk to her a few times and I do believe she would be fair and not let the whole power thing go to her head...Barack not so much. He has already demonstrated what he would be like if he had all the power. And I rarely vote straight ticket.

I believe in divided government, also. However, we can't afford a Republican POTUS at this time.

Friends don't let friends vote to destroy the SCOTUS!
Vote Democrat in 2008!

vote mccain for SCROTUS

Hillary 08.

Obama just did an outstanding job on Late Edition. Going to be great to have a prez that I can feel proud of again.

sturg...

You are too funny!

HW,
I would agree but I do not think it wise to have the House, Senate, and an Obama Presidency all in one. I will not vote for McCain but I probably won't vote for Obama if he is our nominee. That is a decision I will make later depending upon how things go. (Lest you all want to jump on me for that, forget about it. Nothing anyone on this list has ever said has influenced me in any way, so don't waste your breath, or fingers as the case may be). If we control the House and Senate there is little McCain could do as President. We just need to make sure we elect Senators and Representatives who have some balls.

I hope not........they throw you in jail for having too much funny.........

zoey,

We Obama people defend our candidate, but we are Americans still. We wouldn't never force feed you. Please feel free to make up you own mind.

I would suggest that if you don't want either candidate. Write one in. I did that one time. I was told it was throwing my vote away. But I figured it was more speaking my mind.

Who knew Bry Bry would be proud of President McCain

Write in Tommy Chong for POT US

Zoey...

I'm sure it's obvious that I'm just countering pugnacious' little sign off thingie...but my vote this year does ride on the Supreme Court. I'm not willing to risk SC decisions for the remainder of my life and much of my son's on our being lucky enough to find some electable Dems who also have balls. Pelosi and Reid have proved to be utterly devoid of them!

Sheila,
I wasn't speaking to you and I don't need your permission or advice for any reason.

Pug, "waiting for the corpse to quit twitching" is really going to win over her supporters.

It is the Obama supporters more than anything McCain might do that will push the Clinton supporters to sitting at home with their feet up on election day. He obviously does not need even one of us to succeed.

Zoey,

So sorry you see me as the enemy. Have no earthly idea why. But I respect your feelings.

Zoey sour grapes make for a bitter vintage.

10 Questions:

1. If Hillary is so confident in her candidacy, is so certain she will "be the BEST president", is the ONLY candidate who can get "white" voters, is "ready on day one", why is she LOANING money to her campaign rather than DONATING money like all the rest of the <50K income, non-college educated, hard-working, blue collar white voters who are supporting her?

2. Why is 8% (Hillary among AA voters) of the electorate a winning margin for one candidate when 38 - 41% (Barack among "hardworking, blue collar white voters) of the electorate is a losing margin?

3. Why are the Reagan Democrats who have been voting Republican for four or more election cycles INCLUDING BILL CLINTON'S two elections the ONLY people who can legitimately elect a president?

4. Why is Hillary due or owed the respect, consideration, and time that she has refused to show others?

5. If the circumstances and numbers (all of them) were reversed and Hillary were in the lead as is Barack, would the trailing candidate be referenced by descriptions like "very close", "small margin", "slight lead"?

6. Why is Hillary allowed to win ugly or claim victory as “a win is a win” and Barack has to win by double-digit margins AND meet a 60% or larger margin among various “white ethnic” populations to claim victory?

7. Is it political malpractice or insider trading when you have the answers before the questions are asked (that way you don't have to speak in hypothetical language), you know the exceptions to all the rules of the game (you know to leave you name on the ballot in Michigan / visit a state where no campaigning is sanctioned), you pad your points before the play begins (securing "super" delegates before officially announcing your presidential bid)?

8. Why are 2 states (Michigan / Florida) the only reasons to continue a presidential bid rather than what is best for all 50 states? It seems that the important states of the hour change with the hands on the clock ... first it was Iowa and New Hampshire, then Florida and Michigan, then California and New York, then Florida and Michigan, then Ohio and Texas, then Florida and Michigan, then North Carolina and Indiana, then Florida and Michigan, now West Virginia and Kentucy, next Florida and Michigan, and on and on and on and on.

9. If the primary process has always included states that held caucuses, why are they undemocratic now, why are they not real elections now, why do these voters not understand the election process now?

10. Why is the failure of the Clinton campaign to plan the full term of the primary contests in 50 states the failure of Barack Obama to be a viable candidate, meet the standard to be commander-in-chief, to answer the call at 3:00 am, or to be elected president of the United States?

The Demozoic era (May 11) The Fall of Civility

http://www.denverpost.com/keefe

nick......stop it......jamaican me laugh......

"Democrats don't care about Michigan." - Kanye West?

John McCain visited Holland , he did.

I hope she holds on and it goes to the convention but hasn't she already said that it wouldn't?There is so much speculation posing as fact in the MSM, let alone the blogs, that I have no idea what is fact and what is fantasy anymore.

I do know I personally feel crushed, disgusted and broken-hearted and have changed from Democrat to "unaffiliated" in NJ. Once again the democratic party looks like it will nominate yet another in a long line of kennedy supported losers. Apparently teddy's grudge is so overwhelming that he will do anything he can to bring down the Clintons, regardless of what it does to his party and to his country.
What a mess.

I could never vote for obama, not now.

Ya See Pug,

You got it wrong again.....I like to include everyone. Its all of our site and I don't think any person is more important than the other!

So go ahead and give me so much importance here, but I think you are just as important as I am. That includes zoey too.

corey.....i saw him here in charleston too.....he called democrats "surrender monkeys" my daughter said she wished we hadnt gone because she at least didnt hate him before she actually saw him......

I sense a million pot jokes on the way...........oy.......

I guess if I didn't spend time here it would be easier to look at the remaining candidates without feeling a bit of nausea. I really liked Biden. Wish he had made it.

"remaining candidates"? There are two candidates for prez, Obama and McCain.

Maxtrue...

It is so tempting to say..."What they said!"...and refer you to Warren and Sheila's posts, but I'm sure you've already read them...and I need to respond in my own way.

I'm not going to recite where I stand on each of items you listed. Instead, I'll respond where I have some knowledge and an informed opinion that might merit sharing.

Let me begin by saying that I now see you as an independent thinker. You are probably neither truly conservative or liberal. Me, too.

You support free markets and the promotion of Liberal Democracy.... I'm getting a little hinky on this free market thing. Looks as though it's destroying a way of life that's felt pretty good throughout most of my years. I recognize that can be viewed as selfish, as the rest of the world also has every right to a better standard of living, but I'm hugely concerned by the vast gulf developing worldwide between those who have much, those who have some, and those who have damn little.

Your support of strong national security is a conservative stance. I'm certainly not opposed to strong national security, but I do believe there are ways of providing it that are outside the military...like diplomacy and negotiation...but it takes both. The current administration seems to have promoted the military option at the expense of using common sense in dealing with diplomacy and negotiation.

You do not support the redistribution of wealth and the creation of a welfare state.... Well, what Warren said, but also let me add that that's not what I'm asking for. I do believe that we are to some extent our brother's keeper. Not all were blessed with the marvelous brains some of us on this list were blessed with, nor were they born into situations that fostered their development in ways that have made the establishment and attainment of life goals an easy matter. I also believe it is ultimately up to each of us to determine our own quality of life, but I want the freedom to offer a leg up to those who need it...and there are many of them.

Nowhere did I say that corporations only support Republicans. In fact, I'm pretty sure I said the opposite. Big business goes where they perceive the power to be...the power to make decisions that favor them over the populace. Right now, they're flocking to the Dems in anticipation of a Democratic presidency. It'll be interesting to see how and if that changes as this election cycle progresses. I most decidedly do not believe that big business, in general, has good intentions. I think the drive for ever more dollars has made that increasingly unlikely as a goal of big business. But not all of big business is created equal. Let's single out the oil industry and big pharma for now. I see no philanthropy, no concern for their brother, on the part of either.

You and I absolutely disagree on the need for mercenary armies. Our military, properly funded and trained, can and should provide the services you describe. I will say that I thought the Clinton administrations treated our military more as an arm of the Peace Corps than they should have, but the Bush administrations have all but destroyed our military. And worse, they have allowed to grow up in partial replacement of our military a system of mercenary armies that are for sale to the highest bidder. That's frightening.

Is America responsible for OBL? No...he can handle responsibility for his actions himself. But we, as a nation, have to bear responsibility for our actions...and some of them have been bone-headed, indeed! And they certainly contributed to the anger that led to action by OBL and others. Many of your responses are not replies to what I said, but a counterpoint argument of "Yeah, but they do it, too!" That's a frustrating, unproductive form of argument, and I hate it.

(BTW...you will be happy to play tennis with me!?! I warn you...I've batted the ball around with the likes of Chrissie Evert!...lol)

You think I need to show you how we control oil? I think you need to show me how the US is not TRYING to do everything in its power to control as much of the oil worldwide as possible.

My favorite thing of all that you said is..."they taught me to think for myself." Congratulations! To you and to your teachers. Having spent 33 years in education, I see that as the number one failing of our current system. We MUST get back to teaching critical thinking skills!

That's what I meant , Brian.

"We MUST get back to teaching critical thinking skills!"

Right here would be a great place to start!

HW,
I have seen no indication that Barack - Lieberman is my idol, I reach across the aisle by cowtowing, say anything to get what I want- Obama will appoint anyone better to the Supreme Court than McCain. At least with a House and Senate completely controlled by the Dems, there should be (see previous disclaimer about balls) some controls on McCain regarding who is appointed.

"Lieberman is my idol"
*shudders*

I hope so, Zoey! No matter how this election comes out, I hope our elected representatives will begin actually doing their jobs. That would be such a refreshing change.

US Sen. Barack Obama rallied Connecticut Democrats at their annual dinner Thursday night, throwing his support behind mentor and Senate ...

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/03/31/obama_rallies_state_democrats_throws_support_behind_lieberman/

Nick...

Not sure of the tone of your 1:09 post...you being hostile or friendly?

"To see the light brothers , you must lose the past. In order to win the future , use your mind!!! And if that doesn't work , smoke-a-joint." - Dallas Austin in 1992

Well, I am off to lunch with Mom. Wow, this site is slow to post today. I hope they get that fixed soon.

Happy Mother's Day, Zoey! And all of you!

Maybe you hadn't noticed zoey but this is 2008, not 2006. A lot can happen in two years. Since 2006 Leiberman has proven himself to be quite the scum bag.

President Clinton will visit the following Oregon cities Sunday and Monday:

Pendleton
Baker City
Redmond
Astoria
Tillalmook
Corvallis
Eugene
Portland
Gresham

Tillamook

Too many times when someone is wrong or cannot answer a question they resort to name calling ,swearing or shouting

Ruth.................the racist idiot

ROFL -- Brian hit it on the head when he said critical thinking needs to start here. Just check his mis-reading of Zoey's post. Smoke some more dope Brian.

Wow considering the price of gas I'm amazed Hillary can afford to make all those stops.

"Smoke some more dope"

Excellent idea!

So much acrimony on the list these days, I wasn't sure, Nick...but thanks! However, those were Maxtrue's words about his teachers...that they taught him to think for himself. My teachers were pretty good at that, too...and I'd like to see a much better job of it done in schools today.

Critical thinking song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Fgxj7DKo8

Silly nick, everyone Obama's plan is really to enslave the white race. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Those of you who live only in the MSM world can't even imagine what is "really" known about Obama. When (not if) this "dirt" becomes pubic, the American people will recoil in horror and disgust. So don't count Hillary out - wait for the convention roll call. Blumenthal (nicknamed GK - guess why) will reveal this info some way.

Well, Brian, according to his campaign this is part of the plan:

"He's building a new Democratic infrastructure, regimenting it under his brand, and enlisting new technologies and more sophisticated voter contacting techniques to turn it from a normal GOTV effort into a lasting movement. The short-term goal is to increase voter turnout by such a degree that Republicans will wither in November, not just from a swamp of cash but a flood of numbers. The long-term goal is to subvert the traditional structures of the Democratic Party since the early 1990s, subvert the nascent structures that the progressive movement has been building since the late 1990s, and build a parallel structure, under his brand, that will become the new power center in American politics. This is tremendous news."

This is not the first time I've heard that his campaign is asking monied types to stop contributing to groups like Emily's List. The Brave New World of Change.

see Hullabaloo....