Howard Dean is first.

ditto

3690

http://www.counterpunch.org/floyd08132007.html

Our text for today is from the New York Times:

"Even as they call for an end to the war and pledge to bring the troops home, the Democratic presidential candidates are setting out positions that could leave the United States engaged in Iraq for years. John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, would keep troops in the region to intervene in an Iraqi genocide and be prepared for military action if violence spills into other countries. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York would leave residual forces to fight terrorism and to stabilize the Kurdish region in the north. And Senator Barack Obama of Illinois would leave a military presence of as-yet unspecified size in Iraq to provide security for American personnel, fight terrorism and train Iraqis."

My word, this is certainly a surprise! Who ever would have thought that the most "serious" Democratic candidates would take such a position? Why, I suppose this means that if a "serious" Democrat gets elected president, the war crime in Iraq (which is what the old-timers used to call it when you aggressively invaded a country that hadn't attacked you and occupied their land with your troops) will go on -- just the same as if a "serious" Republican gets elected!

And they say there is no unity in our politics, no bipartisan consensus in Washington!

The nation is nearing a state of collapse as a direct result of the war that was launched by Bush, approved by Congress, countenanced by the American people and set to continue under every "serious" Democratic candidate running for president.

Up to eight million people are now in need of emergency assistance. This figure includes:

o four million people who are 'food-insecure and in dire need of different types of humanitarian assistance'

o more than two million displaced people inside Iraq

o over two million Iraqis in neighbouring countries, mainly Syria and Jordan, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world....

"Iraqis are suffering from a growing lack of food, shelter, water and sanitation, health care, education, and employment. Of the four million Iraqis who are dependent on food assistance, only 60 per cent currently have access to rations through the government-run Public Distribution System (PDS), down from 96 per cent in 2004.

BBC reports:

"Iraq's national power grid is on the brink of collapse, the country's electricity ministry has warned. Water supplies to Baghdad have also been cut off for days at a time, with summertime pressures on key systems said to be more intense than ever. The ministry blamed poor maintenance, fuel shortages, sabotage by insurgents and rising demand for the problems, and said some provinces hold onto supplies."

And what is the answer of the occupying power to this crisis? Not surprisingly, it is an echo of Vice President Cheney's famous remarks to Senator Pat Leahy on the floor of the Senate: GFY.

"The US Army told the BBC that Iraq must now take charge of fixing the problems. The general in charge of helping Iraq rebuild its infrastructure, Michael Walsh, said that although Iraqi authorities only have one-quarter of the money needed for reconstruction, solving the problem was now up to them."

Most people persist in believing that the Bush Administration has "mishandled" or "bungled" the war in Iraq, when in fact they have achieved almost all of their goals. They have vastly enriched their cronies. They have installed a U.S. military presence in Iraq. They have expanded the size, power and scope of the armed forces and the intelligence services (which now have their own secret armies) beyond the wildest dreams of the most hawkish Cold War militarist. They have not only gutted the Constitution but proved that you can get away with it.

Out--Now

 No Foreign Entanglements! George Washington warned us.

 We the People have to take things into our own hands.

All Incumbents up for election must be replaced with Out of Iraq Candidates. 

Peace, Freedom and Prosperity! 

No Foreign Entanglements. 

As the presidential campaign heats up and tension increases, the candidates need to be reminded of the critical issues that still trouble our society today.  Issue such as global poverty needs to be address by our candidates to each and to the general public. As one of the nation that has pledge to fulfill the goals of Millennium Development Project, whose goal is the elimination of world hunger and poverty, the Bush Administration has not shown any substantial action to bring this fundamental problem to a stop.  According to the Borgen Project, dedicated to fighting and ending Poverty around the world, only $19 billion dollars are needed annually to stop world wide poverty, hunger and malnutrition.  However, more than $340 billion dollars has been poured into this “war on terror.”  And each year, our country has a military budge of $522 billion dollars.  It's time for a new leader who will be addressing an issue that affects 1.2 billion people everyday worldwide.

Idol thought -- diary up on KOS about Afghan poppies and Sibel Edmonds. Wonder if we went to Afghanistan not to get OBL but to topple the Taliban so the poppies can grow anew. Diary says poppies go to Turkey to be industrially turned into heroin and altho I don't think the diary says so outright, maybe there are some Americans and others who have a vested interest in keeping the poppies agrowin'. Maybe the whole war isn't about oil, it's about drugs.

The KOS diary is http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/8/13/...

snip to
Before I proceed, let's start with a little background into Sibel's case. When Sibel worked as a translator for the FBI, one of the main cases she was working on was a counter-intelligence operation against Turkey's equivalent of AIPAC, the American Turkish Council (ATC).
snip to
In other words, the folks who supply much of the world's heroin break bread (and share lots of dough) with their American counterparts at places like the American Turkish Council.

"as usual, you have not answered the question...."

It isn't reputable to put quotation marks around words that weren't  said.

===============

Here it is Sitka, quite parsing the literal aspects.  It is what you said

58.   Sitka
Mon, 08/13/07
1:19 am

You criticized me, and wrote a lot of words, but failed to answer the questions or refute the assertion -- as expected.

Failing to garner enough votes to pass Immigration Reform

is according to the lady Donahue the debate for Rep Marty Meehan's seat in Mass

DEFACTO AMNESTY

Jamie Eldridge mentioned DFA as a PAC which he has taken money from

Jamie Eldridge - MA-5Visit Website The Massachusetts special election for Congressional District 5 is heating up! With lots of great candidates in the race, only one has caught fire with the grassroots. State Rep. Jamie Eldridge has shown his progressive stripes during his three terms in the legislature. He made history as the first victorious Clean Election candidate and didn't stop there. Jamie's top priority is making health care a right that can never be taken away. When he joins our Democratic majority in Congress this fall, his first act will be to co-sponsor the United States National Health Insurance Act, improving and expanding Medicare to cover all Americans. Jamie will fight for our progressive values. Can he count on you to fight for him? Contribute $20.07 today and take Jamie over the top!

You criticized me, and wrote a lot of words, but failed to answer the questions or refute the assertion -- as expected 

========================== 

THIS IS HOW I "CRITICIZE" SITKA

116.  First of all, we are talking about the Democratic head of the Senate foreign Relations Committee, not Bush..Your question is a legitimate question but a bit pretentious in tone.

The plan should start saving lives immediately.  Just the commencement of it should start giving desperate groups hope for a voice, and pause for violence.  Biden does not intend to drag it out.  He understands the U.S. has lost credibility in the region.  He does not intend to do this unilaterally.  He has already meet with the Security Council at the UN, who would be the ones to negotiate a forum with the regional players.

All Biden really needs to begin implementation is 2/3 majority in Congress to override a veto.  Maybe that's why he is rubbing elbows with Lugar and Brownback, who support this kind of political solution as a pretext for an exit strategy, as does Boxer, who has recently reiterated her support.

117. There is no stipulation in the plan  to be "certifying" what groups are "known" to be using terror. This is common knowledge and they would not want to be a part of any plan anyway.  They want to continue a civil war because they think they can win.

Since a similar plan in Bosnia has been implemented  (a plan  which Biden helped formulate and about which he is extremely  knowledgeable) there has not been a single sectarian or military death.  Amazing but true.  That was Clinton's initiative and we should be proud, as Democrats.  NATO participated, but if you recall, nothing happened until USA showed  leadership and took the first step.

 This plan is not "breaking up"  Iraq.  It is Federalization, of Iraq, which is actually called for in the Iraqi Constitution.  So much for "imposing."  The central government will still have control of borders, and the national army (but not a national police force, as presently.)  They will still   control the currency, and represent the "United States of Iraq" (as it were) internationally.

Maliki has betrayed his role by ignoring Sunni demands for power sharing and he looks the other way as the Shiites radical groups have tried to make all of Iraq a Shiite country.  This will only get worse when U.S. forces leave and he has no incentive to behave, in exchange for training and arms.

leave it alone Fred

y'all are caught in a continuous loop of energy loss

I've dedicated three decades of my career to fighting for all of America's veterans, and I will carry that track record on to the White House as the only presidential candidate who has presented a comprehensive plan to restore our nation's commitment to the soldiers that this president has so carelessly ignored.

Under my plan, veterans will have access to fully-funded healthcare services and facilities. No more military budget cuts in times of war. No more lax standards. I will guarantee 12 months of family medical leave and health care for family members caring for wounded soldiers, and adequately screen for and treat traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

My plan will update and simplify the disability determination and claims processing system, as well as establish a lawyer corps to represent veterans free-of-charge during the adjudication process. Finally, my plan will assist veterans with job placement and educational services by increasing funds to job training programs and allowing Reservists and National Guard members who have been deployed while enrolled in college to return to school with the same academic standing that they had before they were called up.

There is much work to be done, and the next president will have no margin for error upon taking office. We have the opportunity to literally change the world in these next few years, and I deeply appreciate your support in these exciting months as we work to get our country back on track.


Sincerely,

Joe Biden
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a positive post for Fred

yeah! Biden... four more years, four more wars. yyyiipppeeeee

NOT

14,  15.

I really don't want to get into any major food fights like two weeks ago, but Sitka makes slanderous statements and innuendoes all the time.  And since he has many fans on the blog, they are often taken as fact, and reiterated.  They start taking on a life of their own.

I try to ignore most of his nonsense, but either by mood or by principle, I sometimes feel compelled to respond - to set the record straight.  Of course, this can get into a lengthy loop because Sitka is a master of put-down and slander and won't take my candor lying down.

hey sitka, sit up dude! What's with all the lyin' down?

Whut's wrong Biden will fix Iraq, heck just ask him.

... :~b

Thanks, Phil.

I do think Biden is the most capable person of restoring this country and liberal values, with his experience, knowledges, character, and intelligence - as well as his ability to persuade moderate republicans.

But I really don't care about his winning - as much as I care about how he is unjustly trashed on this blog, just because he doesn't have the money and star power of other very decent candidates.

He's been too busy doing his job to go out and raise cash.

FRED from OR

Now that's was decent

20.

You missed one attribute, or Biden doesn't have it that is

... judgement, ya know just like Howard said.

However, that bit about attracting Republicans sounds very DLC/BlueDog. Maybe i should take another look at him.

NOT

Ran into a couple a guys today...said they liked Biden

don't like Cinton

Obama's growing on them

Said yes to Dodd...he's OK

Please pass this along to your network: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilqe6oQZrP8

Mainer4mike@yahoo.com

However, that bit about attracting Republicans sounds very DLC/BlueDog. Maybe i should take another look at him.

============

Republican moderates like him because he is congenial, polite, and a decent human being, not because they like his voting record.   You should back up such slanderous innuendoes with facts and links.

8. I think I was having an idle thought about poppies, not an idol thought. My idol thoughts are about Astor Piazzolla, the Argentine composer. At 64 I just discovered him and I feel like I just discovered chocolate. I just spent $66 at Amazon on Piazzolla albums. I'm b o r e d and it's a good thing school starts next week -- I'll be out of y'all's hair at least a little bit.

add to oil and heroin - illegal immigrants

and consider Bush's opening of the boarders to Mexican trucks...does anyone check them for Colombian cocaine?

Sheesh, somebody got a joint?

The local news said a New Hampster poll had higher negative for Romney, than Sen Clinton.  Romney's negative is 55%

I've dedicated three decades of my career to fighting for all of America's veterans, and I will carry that track record on to the White House as the only presidential candidate who has presented a comprehensive plan to restore our nation's commitment to the soldiers that this president has so carelessly ignored. 

 =======================================

AND LET US NOT FORGET THIS EITHER

Leading Gulf War Researcher Presents New Data

September 2006, Our Toxic Times

John Wilson

Robert Haley MD has received $15 million a year for five years to complete his studies on  Gulf War illnesses and the established a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' designated Gulf War illness research center....

Haley found damage in 3 different areas of the brain.  In addition, each of the veteran sub-groups differed from each other and from the controls in the type of damage and the severity.  The veterans with the worst symptoms also had the most damage.....

Dr. Haley also said the reason that the country wasn't seeing any Gulf War related-illnesses from the current conflict in Iraq is that no nerve gas stock piles were found, so none had to be destroyed.  There is a direct connection between the illnesses coming out of the first Gulf War and the soldier proximity to the plumes from destroying nerve gas stock piles.

Robert W. Haley, MD is a professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Division of Epidemiology in the Internal Medicine Department at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and holder of the U.S Armed Forces Veterans Distinguished Chair for Medical Research Honoring America's Gulf War Veterans.

I don't have an internet link to this entire article but back issues and magazine subscriptions to Our Toxic Times 

http://www.ciin.org/

But here is something I googled up

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/syndrome/interviews/haley3.html#note

Paine I watched the video and I like it but I can't figure out what we are s'posed to do. I can't find it on youtube and not sure how to promote a video there anyway.

That's two of us, Annilow

Articles that make suggestions and "facts", like Sitka and cC do about MCS and other chemically-induced nerve-system disorders, are easy to find.  It's spawned a cottage industry of books and lecturerers kissing up to corporate liability concerns and insurance companies.

For instance:

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

The "MCS" Connection

Ever vigilant for new recruits, MCS advocates have embraced "Gulf War Syndrome" as their own. But the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses has found no connection. In fact, its 174-page book dismisses MCS in two paragraphs:

There is no consensus ...

. Although the trail remains cold, conspiracy theories and claims that Gulf War Syndrome is a strange or new disease (or is MCS) still flourish. And research projects are still under way.

The concept of a "Gulf War Syndrome" is appealing. It comes at a time when public distrust of Government is at an all-time high. It turns on conspiracies, a favorite theme of television producers. It provides the media with an endless parade of self-perceived victims. It provides a feeding trough for serious scientists, since funding is abundant, and for every charlatan with a newsworthy theory. It is a field day for politicians who solemnly promise to "get to the bottom" of the problem. The big losers in all of this are the ailing veterans whose confusion about what happened prevents them from getting on with their lives.

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/gws.html

In this heat, who wants to drive (or cook)?  Come let us take care of dinner for you!  Join us for a barbeque dinner Tuesday night, August 14th at 6:30pm right out front of the Obama office on Mulberry Street

 John Edwards will be in Dubuque on Saturday the 18th.  He'll be at the Alliant Amphitheater in Dubuque at 10:45 in the morning giving a policy speech about education

Hillary Clinton will be at the Grand River Center Tomorrow, Tuesday August 14th   at 3 pm

Like I said, it isn't reputable to put quotation marks around what wasn't written. 

Thank you for your overwhelming response -- a testament to how seriously Iowans take their responsibility as the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

We received questions from every part of the state on nearly every topic important to Americans. The 10 people selected and profiled below are just a small sample of the many who submitted thoughtful questions.

I look forward to a great dinner and even better conversation. We'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,

Barack Obama

P.S. -- I'll be traveling around Iowa answering your questions all week during my five-day Road to Change tour. I hope you'll have a chance to come out and talk with me.

Now that's was decent

=========

Thanks, sometimes I get it right.

You know, isn't it slanderous to keep accusing someone else of that behavior when they aren't? It's just one person may not like what one says, and like the rest of us when we do, we are recipients of being called names and having nasty accusations against us that seem to get pulled out of no where.

Why can't one just discuss what someone says if you disagree, without resorting to you name calling and attacking?

http://www.hawkeyelabor.org/content.asp?ID=3321&Date=8/18/2007

Workers for a Better Iowa
Aug 18, 2007, 5:00 PM-9:00 PM
 
Come join us at the Premiere Iowa Political event of 2007! Raffles, drawings, food and fun!

candidates for President have committed their attendance including: Hillary Clinton, Barack
Obama, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden and John Edwards! Event will take place at the Hawkeye Downs Expo Hall located at 4400 6th St. SW Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Doors to the event will open at 4:30pm

stop by the Hawkeye Labor Council offices! You won't want to
miss this great event! Individual Event tickets are $25 per person and
include dinner and beverages.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dfa

State Fair Big Boar =1203 lbs.

Big Bull =3302 lbs. I can hardly wait. the butter cow too!

Hillary will be there Wed. paine

this is the first week ordinary Iowans tune in

Fred

you may have too much stuff on your table.

  You could wipe it clean, so that you don't become overly attached to things.

Like I said, it isn't reputable to put quotation marks around what wasn't written.

===============

I hope this marks the beginning of your own "reputable" standards of posting.

Manchester, IA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

this all started when someone posted a ride share offer to Hillary's event on our local party web site followed by everyother campaign chiming in 

Fred

you may have too much stuff on your table.  You could wipe it clean, so that you don't become overly attached to things

==========

You must be psychic - my kitchen table's been full of computer junk for a week. - I wiped my operating system clean but managed to dig up most of the data from the old one.  You're right, the machine runs better. 

Iowans sure do have a lot goin' for themselves.  All the candidates test the water all the time, it seems.  Then ya got yer State Fair and the corn maze come fall (kidding, cause I'm much more favorably disposed with Iowa than ever before.  Real inspiration that state.

Get Hill to milk the bull, Phil.  That'ld be somethin'.

Does your state really want to be first?  lol

Gravel needs to get his tail out here and join the parade.

I am always right, Fred.  After all, I'm a chip off the old block and he's perfect ...or so he often said.

new thread: http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/21857...

hittin' the hay, y'all

be good and stay out of trees.

http://www.healthcareforall.org/

Universal Health Insurance Campaign:
California's 365 Cities Demand Reform
Quality, Affordable Healthcare is your Right!
The California OneCareNow Campaign is the nation's first-ever statewide grassroots campaign for universal health insurance. Teams in more than 365 California cities are conducting grassroots educational and public awareness "action" events--one event per day, in a different city, for one year--to demand quality, affordable healthcare for all Californians.
The OneCareNow Campaign is sponsored by HealthCare for All- California

Quality, Affordable Healthcare Is Your Right!

The Largest Rally for Real Universal Health Insurance in U.S. History!

August 11, 2007

pictures of rally: http://www.onecarenow.org/index.html


Fresno Event: http://www.onecarenow.org/events/8607.ht...

365 City Events: http://www.onecarenow.org/events/archive...

August Events 2006
September Events
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August Events 2007


Affiliates: Chapters and Associate Organizations: http://www.healthcareforall.org/affiliat...

Chapters

Alameda-Vote Health |Butte | Central Valley | Kern County | Long Beach/;South Bay | Los Angeles | Marin | Monterey Bay| Nevada County | Orange County | Riverside (Southwest) County | Sacramento Valley | San Diego | San Fernando Valley | San Francisco | S.F./Mid-Peninsula | San Joaquin County | San Luis Obispo County | Santa Barbara | Santa Clara County | Santa Cruz | Sonoma County | Sonoma Valley | Tulare/Kings Counties | Ventura County | Yolo County


Associate Organizations
AFSCME Retirees, Chapter 36
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Vote Health (Alameda County)
Contact: Dan Hodges, 510.848.5230 or dmhodges@pacbell.net or daniel.hodges@fkilogistex.com

Other Organizations
CaPA (California Physicians' Alliance, chapter of PNHP): http://capa.pnhp.org

California Nurses Associationsingle payer website: http://www.SinglePayer.com

Healthcare-Now, New York: http://www.healthcare-now.org

Families USA, Washington, D.C.: http://www.familiesusa.org

Just-Health Care, Pennsylvania. http://www.just-healthcare.net

About Us Statewide Health Care for All—California: http://www.healthcareforall.org/statewid...

Health Care for All California regards health care as a human right and is dedicated to ensuring that all Californians have comprehensive, reliable, and affordable health insurance. Universal health insurance is critical to the health, security, and economic well-being of our country.

HCA was founded in 1995. Since then our work has put single payer in the center of the debate about fixing California’s broken health care system. To find out about the campaigns HCA has led, read a summary of ten years of accomplishments in Organizing History.


HCA is governed by a board of directors, who are elected representatives of HCA affiliates. To contact the affiliate in your area, go to About Us/Affiliates, Chapters, or find your chapter in the list above. The HCA board meets four times a year at various cities throughout the state. Members of the public are invited to attend.

HCA is a member-based organization. An individual joins HCA by paying annual dues. Members typically belong to an HCA chapter that is located in their community. People are coming together to form new HCA chapters all the time. To join HCA, see the link below this text.

HCA is working to pass Senate Bill 840, authored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl. To learn about SB 840, go to Get Started and also The Latest on our homepage.
We are building a movement for universal single payer health care. We call it the OneCare campaign. To learn more, go to www.OneCareNow.org.
Health Care for All-California is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization. Contributions to HCA are not tax deductible. We also have a 501(c)3 nonprofit entity, the Health Care for All-California Education Fund. To learn more, go to www.healthcareforalleducationfund.org. You may wish to make a tax deductible contribution to the Education Fund.


We hope you will join HCA and become active in the OneCare campaign. Please contact the HCA affiliate in your area. To contact the office of our Executive Director, Andrew McGuire, go to Contact Us.

Governor talks reform in Fresno
Schwarzenegger pushes his health-care plan at forum; some loudly protest.

Gov. Schwarzenegger came to Fresno on Saturday to push his ideas for health-care reform -- but not everyone wanted to listen.

A handful of hecklers interrupted his speech during a forum at the Fresno Convention Center, which was televised live to similar gatherings held simultaneously across the state.

"Health-care reform is important because our health-care system is horrible," Schwarzenegger told about 450 invited attendees at the California Speaks event. "Government is responsible to fix this problem once and for all."

Both Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders have proposed health-care plans that would require most employers to help provide health insurance for their workers, or pay into a state health-care fund to help cover the uninsured. They say they are working toward a compromise.

Schwarzenegger's speech was mostly well-received, but a few supporters of another health-care reform bill -- one that would create a state-run system -- made their displeasure clear.

Shouting "single-payer," "nonprofit, not for profit" and "no veto" -- a reference to Schwarzenegger's veto last year of an identical proposal they supported -- the protesters accused the governor of folding to pressure from the health-insurance industry.

"Health care is a right, not a privilege," Janine Nkosi, 32, of Clovis said afterwards. "California can lead the way." ...full article with pictures: http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/11034...

I hope this marks the beginning of your own "reputable" standards of posting.

There's little hope it will mark the beginning of FRED's.