The Deans of the Earth are first this day!

In honor of Earth Day - here's an article on Gore. Please let this be true!!!!!!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jht...

Fair and balanced...you decide!

(thanks for your finding these Monica

http://hannah.smith-family.com

http://hannah.webserver.smith-family.com:8080/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0704220038apr22,1,1864749.story?track=rss

Sen. Obama's blunt, tough partner, Michelle, helps shape her husband's politics and life and is integral to his White House run

By Christi Parsons, Bruce Japsen and Bob Secter, Tribune staff reporters
Published April 22, 2007

The featured speaker at a luncheon, Michelle Obama is about to ask a crowd of influential Chicago women to commit their hearts and wallets to her husband's presidential campaign.

But first she's going to make sure they know that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama forgot to put the butter away this morning.

...

Michelle Obama, 43, has a reputation for telling it like she thinks it is -- whether about the butter, her husband's ongoing effort to quit smoking or his political priorities. And though she's lighthearted in her critiques, she never plays the role of the deferential political wife.

"He's a gifted man," she tells the audience, "but, in the end, he's just a man."

The fact that the crowd responds with laughter and a long, warm ovation is a good sign for the Obama team.

One of its most formidable tasks, after all, is to win over Democratic-leaning women tempted to help make Sen. Hillary Clinton the first woman president, and Michelle Obama figures prominently in the promotion strategy. She's a charismatic public speaker, an accomplished professional whose life as a working parent looks familiar to all kinds of women.

More than just a spokeswoman, she's a crucial part of the Obama package itself, complementing and shaping her husband in ways that are politically and personally significant.

The daughter of a tight-knit nuclear family, she's an anchor for a spouse who grew up all over the world and barely knew his father. Her background, deeply rooted in a working-class South Side neighborhood, lends credibility to her husband, who has consistently battled questions from some African-Americans about whether the son of an African father and a white American mother is authentically black.

Michelle Obama has listened to that talk many times before, even directed at her.

"I heard that growing up, 'You talk like a white girl,'
" Obama told the Tribune on Friday in her first solo interview since her husband announced his candidacy for president in February. "There isn't one black person who doesn't understand that dynamic. That debate is about the pain that we still struggle with in this country, and Barack knows that more than anyone.

...

I'll be voting for Obama.

Who is number one?

I haven't made up my mind, yet.  I like them all.  I'm interested in an agenda, a phalanx team approach, and the opportunity for a better future for America. 

5.

Even if he's not on the ticket? LOL

Monica -

In the MA primary and (if he wins the dem primary) in the general election.

I'm not waiting for any new entrants.

Repost from last thread about Mike Gravel's positions:




Nice Interview Reed, but I'm not buying his logic. LOL

While I don't buy a whole lot of stuff in NH, I can attest that not having to pay a sales tax is a boon because it's a time-saver. A Sales tax collected with every sale is very inefficient. I realize that businesses actually like it because they get a fee for the service they perform and they get to hold on to the money as a float for a few weeks or months and earn additional interest from that, if the amounts are large enough.
Sending people back a check equivalent to average basis costs is also highly inefficient. Moreover, I suspect he's heading towards substituting that for Social Security. I wouldn't want every family getting a check every month.
Also, blaming the rust belt on the income tax is disingenuous. The reason manufacturing is no longer 60% of our GDP is because more people are getting paid for providing services, rather than making things and the people who used to operate facilities where things are made were provided with financial incentives by vulture capitalists, to move their operations to new facilities, rather than upgrading their existing plants. First they were prompted to move south and then they were prompted to move overseas to make much more of what we don't even need and send lickety-split to the dump. The amount of our income that goes almost directly to waste is incredible. (Yes, bacteria are now producing methane gas in Vermont dumps, but not from the stuff that's made out of plastic).
If there's one criterion we have to incorporate into our planning it's how much time any activity takes out of a person's life, whose term is definitely fixed, even if we (most of us) don't know how long that term actually is.
In considering the cost of health care, for example, we should start taking into account how much unpaid time is spent by both patients and family in getting adequate care now. You know, like the used to estimate that a homemaker's work was worth thirty or forty thousand when earning nothing.
I really think that instead of constantly adjusting the tax system, which just makes everyone take time to learn the new numbers, we should focus on making sure that everyone who's working for someone else gets paid a wage sufficient to maintain that person and provide for his/her reproductive effort (not necessarily in his/her own person, but as a social contribution). Maybe we just need to redefine what we now call leisure into reproduction of the body and spirit (recreation).
Anyway, if wages are adequate, then the income and social security and health contributions increase automatically.
But, think how unfair it is when people earn a little more and pay more taxes to have those revenues just handed back to the wealthy who paid the higher wages. We're all deprived of the increased government services those monies were supposed to provide.

See, if the rich recipients were really interested in paying less out in taxes, they could just increase the wages of the people they employ. But then the likes of George Bush wouldn't be able to claim they did the rich a big favor, would they?
Wonder how long it will take the "beneficiaries" to catch on that they were bribed with other people's money to close their eyes to the crooks' corruption?

Cokie Roberts and those who speak as her with fork-tongue ...
may they choke on the fat they eat.

Prejudice, racial and otherwise, seems to be pretty common in most communities. When it's based on factual evidence, it's actually pretty useful. Consider, for example, a prejudice against mushrooms in general. Even if some are tasty and nutritious, a prejudice against them is protective, unless it's overcome by real knowledge and investigation.
Exclusive behavior based on a person's physical appearance is particularly pernicious because there's no evidence to support it at all. Which suggests that it's purpose isn't protective, but simply manipulative, designed to keep members of one's own group from interacting with strangers.
In Obama's case it's actually possible that the accusation that he's not black is a subterfuge for a rather widespread antagonism towards foreigners--a prejudice black Americans actually share with whites. And, in the case of the presidence is still legal.
Somebody still has to be less equal than somebody else. LOL

More has been said about the tragic murders at Virginia Tech

than any shame out of Iraq.

I am better for not feeding at the trough of the foul CM. thank you Internets and Deans.

I cannot account for Cokie Roberts. She's the daughter of a liberal legislator who was "lost" in a small plane over Alaska. Her mother, Lindy Boggs, was appointed and then elected to Congress. Her brother is part of Patton Boggs law firm, big wheels in D.C.

My first exposure to authentic American politics was at the annual Louisiana picnic in Washington that was hosted by the Boggs. 'Tis a puzzlement.

cannot account for Cokie Roberts
...a puzzlement.
>
One can only surmise that we are a product of our environment.

I imagine...she takes the feather like a Roman at every good feast.

Paine - You are on such a roll today with your comments. Very enjoyable!

I'll be voting for Obama.  

Now that's a surprise. I won't--at least in the primaries.

 Still hoping for a Gore candidacy. That should finish the other campaigns.

mary vb
>
like is said about the weather...

If you like the things i've said...just wait ten minutes! ~;0

Spector and Schumer on Fauxfoul (retch!) at this moment.

in a week that saw more than 500 civilian deaths from sectarian violence, if one counts only the reported numbers, apparently things are looking good. this is just mind-boggling:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

TOP U.S. OFFICERS SEE MIXED RESULTS FROM IRAQ 'SURGE'
Sectarian Killings Decrease in Capital; Suicide Bombings Across Country Rise
By Ann Scott Tyson; WaPo Sunday, April 22, 2007

BAGHDAD, April 21 -- Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the ongoing increase of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in the country has achieved "modest progress" but has also met with setbacks such as a rise in devastating suicide bombings and other problems that leave uncertain whether his counterinsurgency strategy will ultimately succeed.
...

The commanders search for signs of success. On Friday night at dusk, Petraeus boarded a helicopter to look for scenes of normalcy and progress from above the maelstrom of the capital.
"On a bad day, I actually fly Baghdad just to reassure myself that life still goes on," he said, leaning back and propping his legs on the seat in front of him.

The aircraft banked right and Petraeus caught sight of a patch of relative calm. "He's actually watering the grass!" Petraeus said with a laugh, peering down at a man tending a soccer field, with children playing nearby.

Seconds later, the aircraft pivoted again, exposing boarded-up shops on a deserted, trash-strewn street. A bit farther, along the Tigris River, a hulking pile of twisted steel came into view -- the remains of the Sarafiya bridge, blown up April 12 amid a series of spectacular and deadly suicide bombings.

"That's a setback," Petraeus said, his voice lower. "That breaks your heart."

And so it went, all across the city. Directing the pilot to "break left" or "roll out," he scanned the landscape for even tiny improvements -- a pile of picked-up trash, an Iraqi police car out on patrol, a short line at one gas station -- as if gathering mental ammunition for the next wave of Baghdad carnage. An amusement park, its rides lit up, merited a full circle.

"We have certainly pulled neighborhoods back from the brink," Petraeus said, comparing the signs of revitalization now to his initial shock at the stark deterioration of parts of the capital upon his arrival in February.
...

"That's part of the concrete caterpillar," Petraeus said, pointing out a barrier going up in a neighborhood in west Baghdad. "That market was shut completely down when I took command -- now it has 200 shops," he said.
...

Flying over Baghdad as the lights of the city came on, Petraeus passed by the city's southern flank, where he led the 101st Airborne Division in the invasion of Iraq in 2003. In an earlier interview, he had said he feels a sense of obligation to help Iraqi people, because "General [Colin] Powell was right, it is Pottery [Barn] rules." But on this, his third tour in Iraq, Petraeus returned to a society that is "more fearful, more suspicious, more worried" and therefore more difficult to help.

"I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that this has an effect on all of us," he said. "And so every now and then we just get on the helicopter. . . . You go see some projects that you know have been built. . . . You see some police stations and you see people just sort of driving on, people getting on with their lives, and it sort of reassures you. 'Hey, these people are survivors.' "

=========

Frank Rich is on a roll today. For those with Times-Select, the link is:

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/opinion/22rich.html

Iraq Is the Ultimate Aphrodisiac

PRESIDENT BUSH has skipped the funerals of the troops he sent to Iraq. He took his sweet time to get to Katrina-devastated New Orleans. But last week he raced to Virginia Tech with an alacrity not seen since he hustled from Crawford to Washington to sign a bill interfering in Terri Schiavo’s end-of-life medical care. Mr. Bush assumes the role of mourner in chief on a selective basis, and, as usual with the decider, the decisive factor is politics. Let Walter Reed erupt in scandal, and he’ll take six weeks to show his face — and on a Friday at that, to hide the story in the Saturday papers. The heinous slaughter in Blacksburg, Va., by contrast, was a rare opportunity for him to ostentatiously feel the pain of families whose suffering cannot be blamed on the administration.

But he couldn’t inspire the kind of public acclaim that followed his post-9/11 visit to ground zero or the political comeback that buoyed his predecessor after Oklahoma City. The cancer on the Bush White House, Iraq, is now spreading too fast. The president had barely returned to Washington when the empty hope of the “surge” was hideously mocked by a one-day Baghdad civilian death toll more than five times that of Blacksburg’s. McClatchy Newspapers reported that the death rate for American troops over the past six months was at its all-time high for this war.

At home, the president is also hobbled by the Iraq cancer’s metastasis — the twin implosions of Alberto Gonzales and Paul Wolfowitz. Technically, both men have been pilloried for sins unrelated to the war. The attorney general has repeatedly been caught changing his story about the extent of his involvement in purging eight federal prosecutors. The Financial Times caught the former deputy secretary of defense turned World Bank president privately dictating the extravagant terms of a State Department sinecure for a crony (a k a romantic partner) that showers her with more take-home pay than Condoleezza Rice.

Thankful's now officially on the road. Left at 8 this morning! Will be in Vermont sometime tomorrow. Then at the end of the week she and Jessica will be coming to Free Spirit's Grassroots Retreat near Richmond, where we'll all meet up. WOOt!!

Phil, FWIW, Thankful's in regular touch with Bob. He seems to be doing okay.

Beautiful day here, bright, blue, warm. Mother seems to be showing off on her day.

5. * rdorgan

yeah, i think we figured that one out.

Gore/Dean in 08!

5. * rdorgan
>
I too like Obama very much. Very much. I'm glad he stood up and is running. He's good/great.

21.

Vulture politics.

Two items, very strange.

-------------

Rev. Phelps To Picket VTech Funerals
By: Nicole Belle on Saturday, April 21st, 2007 at 3:13 PM - PDT

Can anyone tell me which version of the Bible Fred Phelps reads? You know, the one that omits all of Jesus's teachings of loving one another and not being judgmental?

An anti-gay religious group known for protesting at the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq is planning on appearing at services for those killed on Monday as well.

read more: http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/04/21...

----------

Lead religious right group does music video: "God hates the world"

by John Aravosis (DC) · 4/20/2007 11:16:00 PM ET

This is for real. It's from one of the most vocal conservative Christian churches in the country. We all know that this is what the religious right thinks of us, thinks of the world, but it's interesting to see them actually admit it. Seriously, watch this. And of course, the irony is that these religious right nuts are the same people who have a problem with gay people having kids. Check out THEIR kids in this video. These are the religious right leaders who oppose passing civil rights laws protecting people from being fired simply for being gay. Is it any wonder they want the right to discriminate? This is what they think God and Jesus stand for

watch the video: http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/04/...

2. mary vb

excellent! i just hope he steers clear of the "let's be oh-so-careful" consultants who screwed things up for him (and the country) the last time around.

Gore/Dean 08!

26.

there are obviously also religious vultures

Susan Rowe
Sun, 04/22/07
10:35 am
___________________________________________________________________________

Ive always said the real terrorists are right here amongst us...................

draftgore.com is at 71,303

Impeachment doings for next Saturday at www.a28.org

Bush loyalists

$$$,$$$,$$$,$$$
Titles of state
American bourgeois pimps and whores

Yes, Susan, "shared antagonism" is an effective and cheap organizing principle. People like being against something together. In this case, the group seems to have convinced itself that it is united with God in its hatred of all other people.

4.

* rdorgan
Sun, 04/22/07
9:26 am

...
Michelle Obama, 43, has a reputation for telling it like she thinks it is -- whether about the butter, her husband's ongoing effort to quit smoking or his political priorities. And though she's lighthearted in her critiques, she never plays the role of the deferential political wife.

"He's a gifted man," she tells the audience, "but, in the end, he's just a man."

The fact that the crowd responds with laughter and a long, warm ovation is a good sign for the Obama team.
...
--------

Yeah..., apparently to be "in the end...just a man" IS a big deal, especially for Presidential candidate..., lol.

terrorists ... here amongst us

>
If you were aware before last weeks PBS program MC ed by Mr Mcneil
or became more enlightened after viewing,
then speak out
about the Islamic terrorists among us, here.
Don't let anyone tell you that the freedom fighters of AL qaeda, Hamas, or Hezbollah and the like are no threat to US, because these wish us the ultimate harm. WE have never had a greater threat to our nation.

29.

Michael Ellis
Sun, 04/22/07
11:02 am

Ive always said the real terrorists are right here amongst us..............
--------

...lol, good for you Mike.

Quite a bit "general" statement but quite a bit the true one, actual terrorism starts at home, imo.

Imn2Paine
Sun, 04/22/07
11:18 am
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

More Americans are killed by............Americans.........witness VA tech, Columbine, national homicide rate, OKC, 1950s nuke tests(and fallout).........etc etc etc

Not to mention suicide rates, domestic violence..........

34.

Imn2Paine
Sun, 04/22/07
11:18 am


...Don't let anyone tell you that the freedom fighters of AL qaeda, Hamas, or Hezbollah and the like are no threat to US, because these wish us the ultimate harm. WE have never had a greater threat to our nation.

-----------
???

I'll tell you that they ARE NOT threat to "US", because, again, there is no "US" exists and NEVER WERE so far.

They ARE THREAT to Bush&Co., which IS NOT "US", or are they?

Without that clarification, mass CONFUSIONS will continue and NO issue American people ("US"!) face COULD be resolved!

OK...let me retract my post at 34.

So then, I believe in
"Death to Al Qaeda"
some of you may not. Such is life.

37.

former
Sun, 04/22/07
11:24 am
> ya know, I thought my post at 34 was more cogent than you lead me to think it might be. ?

and in other news while no one was paying attention:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/health...

In Turnabout, Infant Deaths Climb in South
By ERIK ECKHOLM

HOLLANDALE, Miss. — For decades, Mississippi and neighboring states with large black populations and expanses of enduring poverty made steady progress in reducing infant death. But, in what health experts call an ominous portent, progress has stalled and in recent years the death rate has risen in Mississippi and several other states.

The setbacks have raised questions about the impact of cuts in welfare and Medicaid and of poor access to doctors, and, many doctors say, the growing epidemics of obesity, diabetes and hypertension among potential mothers, some of whom tip the scales here at 300 to 400 pounds.

“I don’t think the rise is a fluke, and it’s a disturbing trend, not only in Mississippi but throughout the Southeast,” said Dr. Christina Glick, a neonatologist in Jackson, Miss., and past president of the National Perinatal Association.

To the shock of Mississippi officials, who in 2004 had seen the infant mortality rate — defined as deaths by the age of 1 year per thousand live births — fall to 9.7, the rate jumped sharply in 2005, to 11.4. The national average in 2003, the last year for which data have been compiled, was 6.9. Smaller rises also occurred in 2005 in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. Louisiana and South Carolina saw rises in 2004 and have not yet reported on 2005.

Whether the rises continue or not, federal officials say, rates have stagnated in the Deep South at levels well above the national average.

Most striking, here and throughout the country, is the large racial disparity. In Mississippi, infant deaths among blacks rose to 17 per thousand births in 2005 from 14.2 per thousand in 2004, while those among whites rose to 6.6 per thousand from 6.1. (The national average in 2003 was 5.7 for whites and 14.0 for blacks.)

The overall jump in Mississippi meant that 65 more babies died in 2005 than in the previous year, for a total of 481.

...

and take a look at the graphic in the left sidebar here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/health...

Gore campaign team assembles in secret
>
I would love to see the nomination of the Democrat's contender be unclear come convention time. Haha, then Howie may become a vote getter AT the convention!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

I'm a little surprised the Gore buzz isn't being chewed, digested, spit out here on our blog. Is it a little bit scary as well as exciting? A little 'be careful what you wish for'? Scary for him? Scary for us? Whatdya think?

Gore campaign team assembles in secret

By Tim Shipman in Washington, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 11:59pm BST 21/04/2007

Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jht...

Paine we did it again!! LOL

fence-building companies (no doubt Halliburton & KBR are involved somewhere) are making a killing these days:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/opinio...

Editorial
Iraq’s Desperate Exodus
April 22, 2007

Four years of war have exacted a terrible toll on Iraqis, with no end in sight. Car bombings and other violence now kill an average of 100 people a day. Two out of three Iraqis have no regular access to clean water. Children are malnourished and too many are dying from preventable diseases and the near collapse of the health care system.

And an incredible total of four million people — one out of every seven Iraqis — have been forced to flee their homes.
...

Half of Iraq’s displaced people have already fled. Jordan, a country of six million people, is now sheltering 750,000 Iraqis. Syria, with a population of 19 million, has about 1.2 million Iraqi refugees. Their governments say they are unable to keep coping with such large inflows. Jordan has already moved to limit new arrivals — barring Iraqi men between the ages of 17 and 35. Others have been less welcoming. Kuwait has completely shut its doors. SAUDI ARABIA IS BUILDING A $7 BILLION BORDER FENCE TO KEEP IRAQIS OUT.
...

Have you voted for your DFA candidate yet. Poll closes tonight I think. I just voted for Larry Kissel because he was only 330 votes short the last time out. Besides, North Carolina definitely needs to go progressive.

43.

Annilow
>
What'd we do, get someone banned? wOOT

for anyone who missed it on Thurs, the full gonzo hearing is on C-Span all afternoon.

47.

I would recommend you have shots of something handy. LOL

What a novelty--a candidate who doesn't campaign. Somebody chosen by the voters.

(rhetorical)If you're watching Cspan...isn't Gonzo is an immature a$$

Annilow, only worth chewing!!! :)


Great news, and something I would suspect that needs to be done if Al Gore would decide to enter in to a campaign to be President.


Great news all around indeed. One would hope he is seeing the heavy requests and support for him and will act upon it.

I know he has much he's been working on, so waiting for a good thing I surely can do.


Time for
A Cool
Change
Al Gore
2008!!!

Happy Earth Day everyone.

much to do, so this is a drive by.
BTW, anyone interested, as some may know, I try not to use sugar. Well, I was successful in making my carrot cake without sugar and with Stevia yesterday, baking on a lower tempature...for hubby's Bday. So, Stevia can be used in all different ways.


Reed, copied the link of your video and will view later. Nice going, as usual.


Have a good Day and do something for our planet today.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Albert Einstein

hi all...
A couple of threads back I mentioned tankless water heaters.

A link for info: http://www.tanklesswaterheaterguide.com/...

I am thinking of a Rheems model as mine at the Michigan home is starting to go.

They can be had for much less then $1,000.

52.

thanks Linda, I will try Stevia.

If one is also watching fat calories as I always have to do, you can lower those by using only egg whites (no yolks) and replacing all or most of the oil with applesauce. I find very little difference in the outcome when used in cakes, cornbread, etc. However, it doesn't work well for most cookies.

33. How very sad.

53 Hey dog, thanks for the info.

linda b was the one mentioning on thread yesterday....I will forward her this link you provided.

45.

I also voted for Kissell (NC) because I liked all of his message, the fact that he is a social studies teacher -- we need more of these, and because I know he will help to turn NC totally blue. He also knows about lost textile jobs and the horrible results of sending jobs out of the country. He's a winner, or should be.

Enjoy the tune:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus...

54 Oh Joan ...:) Pinch Point!

Oh, I was so happy on my lowered version of carrot cake.

I cut the oil to 6 tablespoons, from 1 1/4 cups, instead of 4 eggs, I used 2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. I used to add Maple or Honey as sweetner, making up for the cut in Oil, so I was a bit nervous that those fluids out, I might have a problem with only stevia powder. Had NO problem with the added egg white.

45,
Well Monica, we agree on some things...LOL. I also voted for Larry Kissel, and my reasoning was about the same only I thought about the state first, then the possibility of winning.

As far as sales taxes go, we have one in Vermont and I love it. There is no time burden with it and it taxes everyone (residents and non-residents) who buy something in the state...easing the tax burden on it's residents. We also have an income tax, which N.H. does not have so this apparently makes N.H. more business friendly. You get what you pay for is what I say...here's a ranking state to state...

smartest state
Vt. #1
N.H. #12
http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm

healthiest state
Vt. #1
N.H. #5
http://www.morganquitno.com/hcrank07.htm...

safest state
Vt. #2
N.H. #4
http://www.morganquitno.com/dangsaf07.ht...

most livable state
N.H. #1
Vt. #7
http://www.morganquitno.com/sr07mlrnk.ht...

So while N.H. has a higher rating for livable, most likely due to less taxes, I believe having to pay a bit more for education, health and safety are better in the long run.

I also don't understand why you wouldn't want every family receiving a check if the tax burden were to be fair. If the IRS were eliminated, it would certainly be less time consuming on the people and gov't. You know people's taxes aren't fair now, how would you propose to make them fair?

You say we should focus on making sure that everyone who's working for someone else gets paid a wage sufficient to maintain that person and provide for his/her reproductive effort (not necessarily in his/her own person, but as a social contribution).
How is this accomplished? I agree with it but the reality of it happening is nil!

You then say if wages are adequate, then the income and social security and health contributions increase automatically.

Yes, but the minimum wage is about half of what a livable wage is and when is this going to change? The dispersion of wealth from the economic growth in the US for the last 30 yrs. has been quite unfair to the average workers...
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archive...
What's going to stop this trend?

You then say if the rich recipients were really interested in paying less out in taxes, they could just increase the wages of the people they employ.
I guess that makes the best argument that they're not paying their share in taxes now, or they would do this. I also wonder how many of the "beneficiaries" be crooks themselves, receiving stolen goods is a crime...LOL.

Back to me yard work...bbl

42.

I have some problems with the UK Telegraph's Al Gore article.

First is the horrible pic they choose of Al, one taken from below that makes him looks snooty.

Second was this:

Among the senior officials not yet committed is Michael Whouley, who was national field director for the successful Clinton-Gore 1992 presidential campaign, national campaign manager for Mr Gore when he stood for re-election as vice-president in 1996, and then a senior adviser to Mr Gore in 2000.

Considered one of the most talented Democratic "ground war" experts, he masterminded John Kerry's political resurrection in the New Hampshire presidential primary three years ago, putting him on course for the nomination. Last year, he oversaw the Democratic victory in the mid-term elections.

Whouley did Whaaat???? And all the time I thought that was Howard Dean.

The piece read more like a Hedda Hopper sort of report so I hope that their numerous quotes were authentic and not something someone dreamed up for a story.

dog, the on demand heaters are wonderful. One caveat: make sure you don't have a lot of minerals in your water (good way to check: if the inside of your tea kettle has this white buildup inside, you do). The little nozzles that let the water through to the heaters will clog up VERY fast if you do.

We have very limey water here, and everyone has given up. Taking the heaters apart weekly to clean out the nozzles is no fun. . . .

60.

Reed

Sales taxes are regressive in that they disproportionately effect the poorest of the poor. You have to consider the percentage of income spent on them to realize this.

So-called "flat taxes" are very similar. The Repugs are always calling for them. Don't be fooled. They may be easier to figure but it ends there.

We are in a crunch in Florida now that the  Repugs have thrown away all our hard-won tobacco money. Property taxes are out of sight and control. Though they are trying to fix it, it will only be a matter of time, I believe, before we will see a state income tax here. These will be more fair as long as they are not a flat tax.

60.

I'm not going to argue about specifics. But, when the spouse hires a teenager for casual manual labor that involves no expertise, he pays them $10 an hour. The painter I hired in Georgia charges $22 an hour for himself and any helper he brings along. They worked expeditiously and did a good job, so I felt well served.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that $10 an hour is a fair starting wage, but not enough to maintain oneself and raise a family. Frankly, I don't even think about the current minimum wage because it's a sham. Democrats should really be ashamed.

If we pay people a decent wage, only the truly incompetent will be on welfare. But then there wouldn't be nearly as many people to order around, would there? On every level it's about control.

Joan, that is why an essentials of life prebate would given back. The poor would not taxed on their income and the taxes they pay on the essentials (home, food, clothing, transportation, medical, etc.) would be given back. This would be substantial to the poor and middle-class but a drop in the bucket to the wealthy.


The Economic Impact Of Replacing Federal Income Taxes With a Sales Tax

by Laurence J. Kotlikoff

Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

This study examines the crisis in U.S. saving, its implications for the nation's economic performance, and the contribution our current tax structure has made to the crisis. A computer simulation model is used to evaluate a proposal to raise U.S. saving by replacing all federal personaland corporate income taxes with a national retail sales tax.

The findings are quite dramatic. The shift in tax structures is predicted, in the long run, to raise the stock of U.S. capital by at least 29 percent and potentially by as much as 49 percent and to raise U.S. living standards by at least 7 percent and potentially by as much as 14 percent.

A national sales tax would eliminate many of the distortions of current income taxes. It would do away with the differential tax treatment of corporate and noncorporate businesses, which distorts business decisions; of capital gains and dividends, which affects decisions about retaining earnings; and of investment in equipment, structures, and inventories. A sales tax would also end encouragement of current relative to future consumption, the tax exemption for health insurance premiums, and the work disincentive associated with the progressivity of the present tax structure.

A national sales tax could be made progressive by combining it with a refundable tax credit. Each household could file a form requesting the tax credit and receive a check from the Internal Revenue Service equal to the amount of credit for which the household qualified.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa193.html

All just food for thought as we'll just chug along as usual, the wealthy getting wealthier and the workers doing more and receiving less.

Imn2Paine
Sun, 04/22/07
11:29 am
___________________________________________________________________________

A true patriot would demand research and investigation as to the likes of al qaeda, hamas , hezbollah etc....................any idiot can stand on a street corner and yell kill them death to them and etc......it goes for all sides you know...........

Sounds to me like you have an agenda, and its this very agenda that has got us as a nation into the hole its in with regards to many middle eastern peoples..............the answers are out there..........

if you are proclaiming that the US 9and many other western nations) are squeeky clen in this deal then i am afraid you either do not wish to learn, are afraid to learn, ot your agenda does not allow you to learn............

dont worry............you are amonsgt the majority............but ever so slowly Americans are coming around..............

thats all..............time to plant a tree

This is reasonable to me,...


60.

Reed in VT
Sun, 04/22/07
1:16 pm


...So while N.H. has a higher rating for livable, most likely due to less taxes, I believe having to pay a bit more for education, health and safety are better in the long run...


...but this sure doesn't.

smartest state
CA #47
healthiest state
CA #19
safetest state
CA #42
most livable state
CA #30

Monica, we agree on the product, differ somewhat on the path to take. If we could only get our leaders to have a conscience, eh?

Another Bushie about to bite the dust (we hope)

Hey everyone.

Tho not a promoter of the talking heads, the McLaughlin Group has guessed that the torture czar Gonzo will be gone sometime between May 1 and Memorial Day. Is there a break in there that the boyking could use for a recess nomination, or is that allowed in the Cabinet?

Anyhoo... i've lived in many states at this point in my life, and have been willingly taxed in many ways. For this reason i feel it completely well within my rights, and an obligation to others who don't have the time/voice, to demand accountability from those who use that money in the publics' name.

Florida could go either way if a state income tax was passed - soaking the working folk or sharing the cost of government much more fairly. On my most recent trip to my birth state the number of luxury yachts being transported around was telling. If those folks can avoid Florida's sales taxes well enough, then the roads and ports are a freeby for them to trot about as royalty. The problem will always be who FL trusts with the reigns.

That unfortunately is decided by massive media campaigns, funded by the same realthy who fly in, limosine to the harbor, are served by folks who have to carry the tax burden...then fly out again.

realthy = wealthy

just another hypocritical Dem? so what else is new:

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007...

Obama’s Refusal of Lobbyists’ Money Has its Limits

WASHINGTON - While pledging to turn down donations from lobbyists themselves, Sen. Barack Obama raised more than $1 million in the first three months of his presidential campaign from law firms and companies that have major lobbying operations in the nation’s capital.
...

Obama said in his first-quarter financial report that he received money from 104,000 donors, twice as many as Clinton, suggesting a disproportionate number of small contributions. But the Campaign Finance Institute said Obama still received 68% of his money from donations of $1,000 or more, compared with 86% for Clinton.

...

While refusing money directly from federal lobbyists, who get their income from clients, Obama takes money from those clients. In the first quarter of 2007, he accepted a combined $170,000 from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, two financial services giants that have numerous issues pending in Washington and spent a total of $4.6 million on lobbying in 2006.

Power provider’s largess

Obama’s biggest single source of corporate money - $160,000 - came from executives at Exelon Corp., the nation’s largest nuclear power provider, and its subsidiary, Commonwealth Edison, an Illinois utility.

Exelon spent $500,000 to influence policy in Washington last year. Although Obama took no money from Exelon’s Washington lobbyists, he accepted $1,000 checks from lobbyists John P. Novak and James Monk of Springfield. In Springfield, Novak represents Exelon., and Monk is president of the Illinois Energy Assn., a trade group that represents Commonwealth Edison.

Monk and Novak said they do not lobby in Washington. But their clients care about federal issues, including where to store nuclear waste and what restrictions to place on coal-fired plants.

...

Lobbyists from other states also gave Obama money. In California, Obama accepted $2,300 from a partner whose lobbying firm represents AT&T, United Airlines and the Recording Industry Assn. of America in Sacramento.

In Tallahassee, Obama held a fundraiser attended by several statehouse lobbyists, taking checks from lobbyists for trial attorneys, the insurance industry, fast-food chains and sugar cane growers. State and federal issues often are related, as noted by the law firm Akerman Senterfitt, whose Florida-based members donated $7,000 to Obama. On its website, Akerman notes it combines Tallahassee connections with “an involved federal political action committee” to provide its clients “with an enviable level of access.”

“If you cannot be completely pure, is it worth it to be partially pure? That seems to be debatable,” said political scientist Bruce Cain, director of the University of California Washington Center, based in the nation’s capital.

“We cannot say his policy is completely meaningless,” Cain said. “But it doesn’t insulate him from interests.”

On May 2, Obama is scheduled to attend a $2,300-per-ticket breakfast 10 blocks from the Capitol. ... One lawyer co-hosting the Obama event has represented companies fending off litigation over toxic waste cleanup, and another represents employers on affirmative action requirements, force reduction and early retirement programs, their firms’ websites say.

Attorney Robert Sussman, one of the organizers, said in an interview that he was a registered lobbyist until recently, when he decided to help Obama raise money. So that he might do so, he said, the campaign requested that he drop his registration.

... much to do today but i'll take on the war funding.

Sen. Harry Reid had it right. The boyking's war on the Iraqi national resources is lost.
If the Democrats meld their bills into an optional reduction of American forces, an optional level of training/leave and armament, and an optional prohibition on pre-emptive actions in the ME...

They will have reversed the election of 2006 on their own. The CIC should weigh carefully his veto of funding for the troops and their safe removal from this civil war HE CREATED.

Once he does veto a bill, more like the House version than the Senate's version, he needs to suffer the plunge in public opinion that results - along with the rest of the Republican Party.

No do overs!! If the pResident vetoes this the Democrats need to end the Iraq War, ordering troop withdrawl within 3-4 months tops. The way to hush the bully pulpit then would be impeachment, and the Dems should be clear up front on that.

72.

You're not falling in line there Jean. lol

Thanks, i don't go looking for his faults - he already lied his way out of contention for my support. Plus that gut feeling i get when i hear him say little, not to mention vote wrong.

OHHH, before i go..

Thanks mprov!!! i thought you'd forgotten me. Dang, i'd love to see a live performance!


gotta run
love ya'll. mean it!

Deaniacs!?! Forward!!

In the upcoming election, any candidate wishing to be elected will have to be competitive and raise as much money as possible. Democrats cannot be heard if they can't afford to be.

The important concern about the candidate is will he/she be serious about fixing the problems and insist on passing legislation that will fund candidates who have qualified and that will pass muster with the S.C. as the previous limits on donations have done.

66.

Michael Ellis
Sun, 04/22/07
1:57 pm

true patriot would demand research and investigation as to the likes of al qaeda, hamas , hezbollah
>
Kick the ball down the field, eh? Just like Gonzo and Bush are kicking the ball down the field with our Congress?

I gather from your post and what you have protected in the past that you see no risk to America. Rather, it seems, the three (al qaeda, hamas , hezbollah) are benign and the wieght of fault tips toward America, Europe, and Isreal.


~~~~

>
I don't have an agenda of submission to Al qaeda. I do stand on the side of projecting our power to seek out and destroy violent elements in the ME who advocate the west's destruction and take up arms against *her*.

~~~~~~~~~~~

slowly Americans are coming around...
>
To the notion that we are impotent to resist the will of the extremely violent Al Qaeda allies? Don't fool yourself. There is no evidence to back that up.

Redeploy from Iraq? ~Yes. Withdrawl is a failure as a prophilactic. We will remain in the ME for some time to come seeking, locating, and destroying the root of Islamism.

76. Joan* In*Florida

i would feel better about the candidates if they had the courage of their convictions (or any convictions at all, for that matter, other than the conviction that they are god's gift to America), and enough respect for voters and the process to be truthful and honest, as Howard was.

hypocrisy on something as fundamental as sources of campaign contributions is not good place to start.

Hezbollah
weight
Israel
Withdrawal
prophylactic

73.

Deaniac in GA


war funding...boyking's war

(if) veto ..bill
... suffer the plunge in public opinion that results - along with the rest of the Republican Party
>
Agreed

76.

Jean

I think we may not ever get another chance at a "Howard" like candidate. They probably only come a few times in a lifetime. But of course we can continue to hope. Al Gore is one of those people if only  he would run.

France Picks 2 Candidates for Election Runoff

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/world/...

Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, the two leading candidates, won the first round of the presidential elections in France today, giving French voters a clear choice for the runoff in two weeks time.
[...]
~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~

Key Policies of Sarkozy and Royal

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP...

NICOLAS SARKOZY:

ECONOMY: Wants to make overtime pay tax-free to encourage people to work more.

EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION: Wants to postpone controversial issues in favor of adopting a simpler constitution by 2009, without another referendum.

35-HOUR WORKWEEK: Says it's not creating jobs as intended but would not abolish it. Wants to relax rules to let people work more for more pay.

RELATIONS WITH UNITED STATES: Embraces moniker ''Sarko the American'' and gladly shook hands with President Bush. Admires American ''energy'' and opportunity -- but calls Iraq war a mistake.

------

SEGOLENE ROYAL:

ECONOMY: Wants to raise the monthly minimum wage.

EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION: Wants to negotiate a new treaty and subject it to a referendum. Says the European Union should ensure Europeans across-the-board social protections.

35-HOUR WORKWEEK: Says it has had benefits and drawbacks. Wants to address its failure to create more jobs in a country with high unemployment.

RELATIONS WITH UNITED STATES: Calls the Iraq war a ''catastrophe'' but says she doesn't confuse the Bush administration and its policies with the United States as a whole.

U.S. Gasoline Prices Rise to $2.87 a Gallon: Survey

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/...

[...]
``The average price may not meet or exceed that all-time high because the main reason for the price hike seen this year is rapidly dissipating,'' survey editor Trilby Lundberg said.

Lundberg expects the gasoline supply to expand, helped by foreign imports and a winding-down of maintenance and repair projects at several U.S. refineries that limited domestic supply.

``The domestic gasoline supply situation is normalizing,'' Lundberg said. ``So prices should very, very soon peak and drift down.''
[...]
At $3.37 a gallon, San Francisco had the highest average price for self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline, while the lowest price was $2.65 a gallon in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lundberg said.

BBL

82. Imn2Paine

France Picks 2 Candidates for Election Runoff

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/world/...

does this not put us all to shame?

"More than 85 percent of France’s 44.5 million registered voters cast their ballots, a record in the 49-year history of the Fifth Republic created under Charles de Gaulle."

here's raising a glass to Segolene
and to Gore/Dean in 08!

85. My teenage daughter just read the news about the voter turnout in France. My 12 year old asked her why so few vote in this country. Her response was *because they'd rather pay attention to American Idol than the real news*

How many times have we been - brainwashed.  

NOTE:   Iran has two kinds of armed forces: the regular forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards,  totalling about 545,000 personnel.   PLUS a paramilitary, volunteer militia force called the Basij, which includes about 90,000 full-time members, up to 300,000 reservists, and a further 11 million who could be mobilized[67]

Iran has the largest number of troop mobilization in the world.   They have vast supply of up to date missiles, jets, war ships and submarines, etc.  Iran is not Iraq.       Be careful Mr. President.

You are raising some fine kids Mary, I hope they make the adjustment to a new school OK. Always tough at that age. When is the move, before school starts?

America is full of good kids, and do blame the media for the ones that have empty heads, but there aren't as many as you might think.

People just don't see that their personal participation makes a difference.

NeoCon hogwash.

WE have never had a greater threat to our nation than Ayatolla Cheney and his Bushboy. 

The $5 gas that would result from an attack on Iran would kill the economy dead in the water.$3 gas is taking a toll. as it is.

The portion of the ME population that means us harm on our shores as well as the means to carry out a series of attacks that would equal to the damage of that self inflicted wound doesn't exist.

The only force that can defeat us is ourselves and our brain dead leaders.

       If Cheney doesn't leave for South America before April 27 the T-Town chapter of DFA is going to confront him in person. Cheney... yes the DEVIL himself will be in Tulsa for a fundraising event.  This means our chapter has the honor of kicking off the A28 "Impeach Weekend" in style! Cheney  will be at the Downtown Doubletree Hotel at a fundraiser for Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe

DFA Tulsa has an event planned as well.

fyi - new thread

Hey Phil, need to borrow my Cheney outfit?

Off to bring the wife to work and then fish for walleyes, they're hitting good. bbl

Thankful report: She's in NY State, and will drive a few more hours before settling for the night.