Howard is first.

good going Dorgan

Some of this will be on  C-span on Friday beginning at 10:00 AM ET.

Howard Dean will be talking as well as many of the candidates.

The Democratic National Committee will hold its annual fall meeting in Vienna, Virginia from November 29, to December 1, 2007. On Friday, November 30, the Democratic presidential candidates, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter will address members of the DNC.

More than 400 DNC members from around the country are expected to attend. This will be the last meeting of the full DNC membership before the Democratic Convention in Denver next August. Video of the candidates' remarks will be available on the DNC's web site, democrats.org, shortly following their appearance.

WHERE:
Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner
8661 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia 22182
Grand Ballroom -- General Sessions

WHEN:
DNC Meeting: November 29 to December 1, 2007
General Session 1: November 30, 2007 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
General Session 2: November 30, 2007 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m

Congratulations to Bill Hedrick on earning Democracy for Riverside's endorsement!

DFR's members and the larger DFA community look forward to supporting your campaign for the CA-44th! 

Joan, mainefem, donna ... we are definitely on the same wavelength in re Mr. Hyde ... who had no Jekyll side whatsoever. ♥ ♥ ♥ ... but not for him ... for sure!

I'll take my own lumps with the Other Life, thank you, to those who seem to think that I should be chided for expressing my heartfelt point of view. I remember only too well the harm that Hyde visited on so many. I am totally and completely unrepentant for expressing my point of view.

The main problem with Hyde, however, is that he was not alone. So I am in neither a forgiving nor a forgetting mode now that he has ... FINALLY ... gone wherever because there are still too many like him with us.

Anytime people think that we should be mellow about monsters living or dead, I would invite them to remember what Rethugs did to the memory of Paul Wellstone, who was NOT a monster in any way, shape or form.

*************
It is getting late around here and quite cold. I hope that those in the Caribbean who were affected by this latest earthquake fare well.

Interestingly, DU comes up as one of the top results on Google for earthquake and Martinique, which apparently received the worst of it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...

Another one popped up.....

The voters did speak, the decision was made,

enough is enough, away with afraid.

The replacements arrived, and they brought with them Nancy.

None like her had lead, but she soon proved too fancy.

Hopes were so high when they rode into town

to rid us of lies and "Evil the Clown".

Direction did change, but not as expected

for soon they forgot why they were elected.

Some had great fear, and some were enabled

by riches and power, and "Impeach off the Table".

We miss our great leader, who's courageious race

took him to fight in some other place.

He fired us, inspired us, and took us by hand,

to show us the way we could take back our land.

Go Pat Leahy! How do the aides fight this finding? By admitting that putz DID have involvement in the firings? Won't that put the cat among the pigeons?

=================
Leahy: White House aides must comply with subpoenas
From Tedd Barrett
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected White House claims of executive privilege and demanded Thursday that key White House aides testify in the case of the controversial firings of U.S. attorneys.

The committee's investigation has found "significant and uncontroverted evidence that the president had no involvement in these firings," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, said. Thus, the White House can't claim executive privilege or immunity, which are meant to protect private communications between a president and White House aides, he ruled.

The committee has issued subpoenas for White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former political advisor Karl Rove, among others.

The Bush administration has insisted that last year's firing of the attorneys was handled properly, but critics have charged that they were forced out for political motives and, in one case, to allow a protégé of Rove's to take one of the posts.

The ruling, which was expected, is a formal step necessary before the committee can vote to find the White House in contempt. Such a move would require a vote of the full Senate before being turned over to the U.S. attorney in Washington.

[...]
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/29/s...

audrey ... another blog poet!

Nice one!

s/b courageous....

MoDo really does have Condi nailed here ... Rice is so totally out of her depth, it is pathetic ... and frightening.

=================
November 28, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Jump on the Peace Train
By MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON

Condi doesn’t want to be Iraq.

She wants to be a Palestinian state. It has a far more hopeful ring to it, legacy-wise.

The Most Powerful Woman in the History of the World, as President Bush calls her, is a very orderly person.

Like her boss, she loves schedules and routines and hates disruptions. As a child, she was elected “president” of her family, a position that allowed her to dictate the organizational details of family trips, according to “Condoleezza Rice: An American Life,” a new biography by The Times’s Elisabeth Bumiller.

As an adult, Condi was worried about taking the job of top diplomat because it would mean traveling and being away from her things and habits.

So it is telling that in Annapolis she is running such a seat-of-the-pants operation, which seems designed to rescue the images of a secretary of state and president who have spent more time working out in the gym than working on the peace process.
[...]
In 2006, when Israel invaded Lebanon and many civilians died, including children, Condi and W. drew Arab and U.N. ire for not forcing Ehud Olmert to broker a cease-fire faster.

That same year, in another instance of spectacular willful ignorance, she was blindsided by the Hamas win in the Palestinian elections.

As she described it to Bumiller, she went upstairs at 5 a.m. the morning after the Palestinian elections in 2006 to the gym in her Watergate apartment to exercise on her elliptical machine. She saw the news crawl reporting the Hamas victory.

“I thought, ‘Well, that’s not right,’ ” she said. She kept exercising for awhile but finally got off the elliptical trainer and called the State Department. “I said, ‘What happened in the Palestinian elections?’ and they said, ‘Oh, Hamas won.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, my goodness! Hamas won?’ ”

When she couldn’t reach the State Department official on the ground in the Palestinian territories, she did what any loyal Bushie would do: She got back on the elliptical.

“I thought, might as well finish exercising,” Rice told Bumiller. “It’s going to be a really long day.” It was one of the few times she was prescient on the Middle East.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/opinio...

There has been a spate of anti-Chavez news lately. Here's a good reminder of what's really behind it.

=================
intercepted CIA memo on attacking democracy in Venezuela

If you have only heard bad things about Hugo Chavez in the media, you might not have heard that his election, re-election, and triumph in a US-backed recall by wide margins were certified by international monitors, and that network whose broadcast license he refused to renew actively helped the US backed coup against Chavez and bragged about it on the air while the coup was going on. He also refused the IMF economic program that would have cut social spending and left Venezuela with only 1% of their oil income, the rest going to oil companies and the debt run up by past corrupt governments.

[...]
And if you believe the criticism of him in the media, consider what our ally, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is doing right now: sentencing a gang rape victim to 200 lashes for being in the company of men. There is no election of the Saudi family, recall, or referendum on their power, but the CIA isn't trying to remove them because big oil thinks they've already got the best deal they can get there.

Now there is another vote in Venezuela on amending their constitution, and even the CIA concedes 57% of Venezuelans support Chavez.

That is not stopping them from planning the kind of economic disruption and military take over that led to the coup in Chile in 1973 and decades of torture, mass executions, and economic policies that enriched a handful of the already wealthy and eroded the middle class.

[...]
http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...

Damned straight, Judy.

Hyde has been working his *intentional* misogynistic legislation since 1974.

Esp. welfare deform (1996)--alongside incessant anti-choice legislation.

Parenting isn't a "countable work activity"-complete and utter BULLSHIT.

Shame on Democrats who voted it in, too (esp. useless "Big Dog").

His extramarital affair w/Snodgrass was nothing, vs. the damage (economic) he's inflicted upon millions of women & children in this country.

To laud his life (and/or, to be empathic of his death) is beyond the pale.

Hell, noooooooooooooo.

Any politican (Dem, or Rethug--male, or female) who treats women as chattel will never gain my respect, vote, money, or freebie labor.

EVER.

The fact that Hyde lived until age 83 is all the more sickening.

Yes, there are others still in positions of power in D.C./state legislatures; who are carrying on his systemic misogyny as we type (Dems included).

All of 'em need to be voted out on their asses in '08.

No more of this "go along to get along" enabling bullshit.

Sitka - what happened to Fred?  anyway, my answer to him.

He doesn't keep me apprised of his activities. But I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's been de-blogged after his latest obscene outbursts against about thalf the people who frequent this place. 

I sincerely hope that Scoot Ritter is wrong. But ...

=================
Bombs away?
Arms expert Scott Ritter says the U.S. plans to attack Iran. MT asks why he's so sure
by Curt Guyette and W. Kim Heron
11/28/2007

It seems that with each passing week there are more stories raising the specter of George Bush turning Iraq and Afghanistan into a bloody trifecta by attacking Iran.

In mainstream daily papers we see pieces like one by Gannett's John Yaukey, who wrote in early November that "confrontation could be near" because "Iran continues to taunt the United States with its aggressive posturing in Iraq and Lebanon while pushing ahead with its nuclear research ..."

We are also witnessing what appears to be a chilling rerun of the Iraq debacle. Confronted with evidence that calls into question the status of Iran's nuclear program, the Bush administration is shifting its rhetoric.

"The Bush administration has charged that Iran is funding anti-American fighters in Iraq and sending in sophisticated explosives to bleed the U.S. mission, although some of the administration's charges are disputed by Iraqis as well as the Iranians," the Los Angeles Times reported in October. "Still, ... diplomatic and military officials say they fear that the overreaching of a confident Iran, combined with growing U.S. frustrations, could set off a dangerous collision."

Look beyond daily papers — from Seymour Hersh's reporting in The New Yorker to articles in The Nation — and the picture emerges of an administration that is determined to attack Iran.

John H. Richardson's "The Secret History of the Impending War With Iran That the White House Doesn't Want You to Know" in the November issue of Esquire magazine is particularly eye-opening. Richardson, using two former high-ranking Middle East experts who worked for the White House as his primary sources, warns that the Bush administration is "headed straight for war with Iran" and that "it had been set on this course for years."

[...]
A former Marine Corps intelligence officer, Ritter served as chief United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998 when he left as a pointed critic of the Clinton administration's commitment to weapons inspection and its Iraq policy. Before the United States' 2003 invasion, Ritter loudly disputed the Bush administration's claims regarding weapons of mass destruction under Saddam's control and predicted that, instead of the quick and easy war being promised, Iraq would turn into a quagmire, though not necessarily of the type he envisioned. His analyses have been embraced by both the right and the left at various points. He portrays himself as the straight-shooting analyst unconcerned by who supports him or whom he offends.

To learn what he thinks the future holds for Iran, and the consequences of a U.S. invasion, we recently sat down for a 90-minute phone interview with Ritter. What follows is a condensed version of that conversation.

[...]
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/stor...

You go, mainefem!

**********
Sorry for the typo upthread, not *Scoot* but *Scott* Ritter .. guess that I had Libby on the brain.

**********
And PillowLand is calling ... I am working this week and next, so have to watch the clock a bit more.

Take care!

audey.nc  Poem stolen for Hannah

I am sorry for the loss of ANY human life, even a low one like Hyde.  He never should have been in a position of power.  He was a fraud.  Let that be his epitaph.

Thank you Monica, and Judy too.

Haven't thought of a title for either, maybe they come later. This is new to me.

California News

http://www.californiafordemocracy.net/wh...

Who's Behind the Right-Wing's Effort to Defeat Prop 93?

Aside from Wanna-be Governor/MIA Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner and the prison guards union, who's funding the right-wing effort to defeat term limits reform (Prop 93)?

Turns out it's an inside-the-beltway money launderer by the name of Howie Rich. The Pro-Prop 93 campaign has a new website that explores Rich's attempts to funnel and cover up contributions from wealthy conservatives to fight for right-wing causes. Check it out here.: http://www.followthefraud.com/index.php?...

Environmental Watchdog Group Asks Poizner to Reveal Source of $1.5 Million From Out-of-State Interests Opposing California Term: http://www.californiafordemocracy.net/en...

---

Nestle Wants to Own Your Water: Time for Californians to Act
[courtesy of California Progress Report]By Brian Stranko

As part of the expansion of its bottled water business worldwide, the Nestle corporation has proposed the largest-ever US water bottling plant for the pristine Mt. Shasta region of California. The proposed 1,000,000 square-foot plant would remove more than 500 million gallons (1,600 acre-feet) of Northern California’s pure, clear water each year—to the tune of 600 trips per day by large tanker trucks. The Nestle proposal also includes a 50 to 100 year water monopoly, and allows for unlimited drilling of bore holes to extract even more water. full article:http://www.californiafordemocracy.net/ne...

Well, there is something else Venezuela could do.  Chavez could invite China to set up missiles to protect its oil interests.  LOL

I was actually surprised to discover that other than Guantanamo and some basing rights in Paraguay, the U.S. has no real military presence in either Central or South America.  A strange sort of defense.  Having the majority of our assets overseas. 

http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.ph...

Dems Cancel LA Debate
by Steven Maviglio
November 29, 2007

Despite moving up its primary to attract more attention, California won't get to see the Democratic presidential contenders go at it in a freewheeling debate after all.

The Democratic National Committee today pulled the plug on the December 10th debate because of the Writers Guild authorized strike with CBS News writers. The candidates were all but certain not to cross a picket line by the writers.

LA TIMES BLOG

TOP OF THE TICKET

Breaking News: Dems cancel Dec. 10 LA debate
The Democratic National Committee announced this afternoon cancellation of next month's candidate debate on CBS-TV in Los Angeles.

"Due to the uncertainty created by the ongoing labor dispute between CBS and the Writers Guild of America," the statement said, "the DNC has canceled the Dec. 10 debate in Los Angeles. There are no plans to re-schedule."

This is a different labor dispute than the Hollywood writer's strike. On Nov. 20 CBS news writers, graphic artists and other staffers who work for the network's TV and radio news operations voted for a work stoppage after more than two years without a contract. The walkout could come at any time. full post: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washingt...

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/storie...

DNC Cancels Democratic Presidential Debate in Los Angeles

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - The DNC issued the following statement regarding the final DNC sanctioned debate:

"Due to the uncertainty created by the ongoing labor dispute between CBS and the Writers Guild of America, the DNC has canceled the December 10th debate in Los Angeles. There are no plans to re-schedule," said DNC Communications Director Karen Finney.

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, HYPERLINK "http://www.democrats.org/" http://www.democrats.org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Indeed, Chris Dodd is the ONLY Presidential candidate in the Senate to repeatedly vote against bankruptcy legislation that failed to protect children and families.
And consistent with Senator Dodd's leadership throughout this race, he is introducing a bill to help American families feeling an economic squeeze that's costing them their homes and driving them towards bankruptcy.
Read Senator Dodd's fair and practical Bankruptcy Reform Plan and pass it along to your friends.
http://chrisdodd.com/issues/bankruptcy

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

Monica that is one discussion I did have with him last week and he has a very good grasp and record on the issue (as well he should as Chair of Banking)

Monica Smith
Thu, 11/29/07
5:18 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How many South Americans make up the Congress?

audrey the poet is on fire

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

I'll be back after a barn check.

I heard some ditto head on talk radio ranting about Obama being a islamic-extremist, which is enough for me to rally to his defense

may Henry Hyde rest in peace, but let's stop his god-children still in Congress

NYT--ONE SIDE OF THE STORY

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_dave_lin_071129_news_not_fit_to_prin.htm

The New York Times had a news article about Venezuela in Thursday’s edition, but it was about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saying he would cut diplomatic ties with neighboring Colombia. There wasn’t a word about a memo from a CIA operative in Caracas to CIA Director General Michael Hayden, uncovered yesterday, outlining a plan for interfering with a Venezuelan referendum set for Dec. 2, and laying out the steps for instigating and backing a coup.

The plot, called “Operation Pliers,” and laid out in the letter to Hayden by an undercover operative named Michael Steele, who reportedly works in the US Embassy as a “regional affairs officer,” was intercepted by Venezuelan intelligence and released publicly on state TV yesterday.

Among the tactics Steele recommends in his letter are:

* Promoting street demonstrations and violent protests
* Creating a climate of ungovernability
* Provoking a general uprising
* Working through the US military attaché at the embassy to coordinate with ex-military officers and former coup plotters against Chavez.

Even more darkly, the letter calls for initiating “military actions” to support opposition mobilizations and strategic building occupations, involving US military bases in neighboring Curacao and Colombia to provide support, and even taking control of parts of Venezuela in the days after the referendum, while encouraging a “military rebellion” inside the Venezuelan National Guard.

The CIA communication has been reported in articles filed by the Associated Press, but the Times and other major US news organizations have not mentioned it
.
Instead, the Times today ran a column by Roger Cohen, which compares Chavez to the fascists of 1930s Europe, and which calls for defeat of the referendum. (Are Cohen and the Times part of the CIA's propaganda campaign?)

The Cohen column is so rabid that it would be almost comical, were it not for the fact that there is a real threat of a bloody CIA-inspired coup in the democratic nation of Venezuela.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

(OR MAYBE YOUR GRANDCHILDREN'S)

Phil.....

Stop that talk, you'll just encourage me.

PEACE BEFORE PARTY

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_ze_071129_two_candidates_expli.htm

In recent debates the candidates were asked whether they will support the nominee of their party.  Despite increasingly harsh rhetoric between the candidates only two candidates had the courage to put peace before their party and refused to issue blanket support for their party nominee. Rep. Ron Paul and Rep. Dennis Kucinich responded they would not support the nominee unless the nominee opposed war as an instrument of foreign policy.

This deserves loud applause from the peace movement.  No doubt both candidates will pay a political price for taking such a stand.  They may get the “Gravel Treatment” – presidential candidate Mike Gravel was harshly critical of the top tier candidates of the Democratic Party and now is excluded from the debates because the Democratic National Committee no longer considers him a serious candidate and the corporate media, which walks lock-step with the corporate parties, has refused to invite him to any debates. His campaign has all but disappeared.

Kucinich and Paul face other potential repercussions for putting the life and death issue of war and peace before party loyalty.  Both are incumbent congressmen and if they are unsuccessful in getting their party’s presidential nomination will seek re-election to Congress. Will they find themselves with a well-funded primary challenger?  And, if elected, will they find their committee assignments downgraded?  Will they be appointed to subcommittee or committee chairmanships or passed over in favor of party loyalists?  There are many ways for a political party to punish lack of party loyalty.  So, Kucinich and Paul deserve a great deal of credit for publicly standing up for peace before party.

And, Kucinich and Paul did not just come out in opposition to the current disastrous occupation of Iraq.  They came out more broadly for an end to the aggressively interventionist U.S. foreign policy that is dominated by militarism.  This is the type of paradigm shifting policy change that is needed in U.S. foreign policy. 

audrey

once they start to "pop up" you have them bubbling away in the back of your brain and there are more where that one came from lol

get pen and paper by bedside, you never know when

DEATH TO THE FREAKIN BLOG CLOCK!

It's now 1831

Phil.....

lol, I knew something was rattling around back there. There was a first bubble, Sun. or Mon., I liked it better, but I don't really have a clue.

Monica Smith
Thu, 11/29/07
6:35 pm
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I watched Dodd answer some questions about Iraq the other day..............he should read his history a bit better..................he forgot that THE main reason we went into Iraq in the FIRST place was WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION..............Im sorry, hes as phoney as all the rest excpet for Gravel and Kucinich..............

Reposting rd's sane and factual comment:

Fox -

Not so fast.

Next (last) quarter of this year is expected to only be 1.5 growth rate.  Not so impressive:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071129/jobless_claims.html

AP
 

Jobless Claims Jump Sharply
 

Thursday November 29, 8:48 am ET

Number of People Seeking Unemployment Benefits Rises Sharply

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 23,000 to 352,000. It was the highest level since Feb. 10.

The report surprised economists. They were forecasting claims to hold steady around 330,000.

The economy, which grew at a brisk 4.9 percent pace in the summer, is expected to slow to a pace of just 1.5 percent or less in the current October-to-December period as housing and credit troubles take their toll on consumers and businesses alike.

Ben Smith and Politico have discovered under a Freedom of Information Act inquiry some material exposing Rudy Giuliani's bureaucratic technique of hiding and/or billing travel and security expenses incurred during a marital affair within what appear to be inappropriate agencies in New York.

Read the whole article, but here's the core of what's at issue:

As New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons, according to previously undisclosed government records.

The documents, obtained by Politico under New York's Freedom of Information Law, show that the mayoral costs had nothing to do with the functions of the little-known city offices that defrayed his tabs, including agencies responsible for regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for indigent defendants.

At the time, the mayor's office refused to explain the accounting to city auditors, citing "security."

The Hamptons visits resulted in hotel, gas and other costs for Giuliani's New York Police Department security detail.

Giuliani's relationship with Nathan is old news now, and Giuliani regularly asks voters on the campaign trail to forgive his "mistakes."

It's also impossible to know whether the purpose of all the Hamptons trips was to see Nathan. A Giuliani spokeswoman declined to discuss any aspect of this story, which was explained in detail to her earlier this week.

But the practice of transferring the travel expenses of Giuliani's security detail to the accounts of obscure mayoral offices has never been brought to light, despite behind-the-scenes criticism from the city comptroller weeks after Giuliani left office.

The expenses first surfaced as Giuliani's two terms as mayor of New York drew to a close in 2001, when a city auditor stumbled across something unusual: $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board.

When the city's fiscal monitor asked for an explanation, Giuliani's aides refused, citing "security," said Jeff Simmons, a spokesman for the city comptroller.

But American Express bills and travel documents obtained by Politico suggest another reason City Hall may have considered the documents sensitive: They detail three summers of visits to Southampton, the Long Island town where Nathan had an apartment.

Auditors "were unable to verify that these expenses were for legitimate or necessary purposes," City Comptroller William Thompson wrote of the expenses from fiscal year 2000, which covers parts of 1999 and 2000.

The letter, whose existence has not been previously reported, was also obtained under the Freedom of Information Law.

(hat tip:  Steve Clemons, The Washington Note) 

6 - Nice one Audrey!  Thanks

Good god, you'd think there wouldn't BE any Log Cabin Republicans any longer, sheez......

A Republican gay rights advocacy group accuses Mitt Romney of "Mitt-flops" in a new radio ad that criticizes the former Massachusetts governor on his tax record.

The ad by the Log Cabin Republicans notes that Romney signed legislation in 2003 that increased taxes on New Hampshire residents who worked in Massachusetts. It also says Romney raised taxes on businesses, a point Romney disputes by saying he was merely closing tax loopholes.

"Mitt Flops — sounds like something you'd wear to the beach, but they could cost you," the ad states. "Let's see. Running for governor, Mitt Romney said he'd balance the budget without raising taxes. So what'd he really do? He raised taxes on some New Hampshire residents who worked in Massachusetts, taxing their income and their pensions."

The ad represents yet another anti-Romney campaign by an independent political group that is hitting the airwaves with six weeks before the New Hampshire primary. This weekend, the Republican Majority for Choice, a group that advocates abortion rights, is running television and newspaper ads in New Hampshire and Iowa accusing Romney of flip-flopping on abortion.

John Edwards on Keith tonight.

"Ooo yuck, he looks like a lizard"

<  A random comment on the appearance of a candidate for POTUS in Party of hate and bigotry.

Can you guess?

 Psst! What About the Damn Economy?
Robert Borosage
Let's cut to the chase. From now on, presidential debates need to focus on serious discussion of the economy

 http://commonsense.ourfuture.org/psst_what_about_damn_economy?tx=3

______________________________

http://www.economist.com/

Banks are gripped by worries about liquidity. How long will they go on?

Movement in national benchmark ratesNov 29th 2007

___________________________

Britain's most spectacular moneymakers have tripped up. Over the next year or so, the fall will hurt not just them but Gordon Brown and the rest of the country too

How long will the dollar remain the world's premier currency?

I'm guessing Rudy on the "lizard".

No cC.  I may be wrong, but you might have thought so for his personality, but alas, it was Sen Cain (R-AZ).  You can see that, can't you?  Yes, I thought you could.

SYDNEY, Australia  - Australia's new leader on Friday said he would pull his country's combat troops out of Iraq by the middle of next year, making good on election promises.

The withdrawal will likely disappoint the U.S. government, which has counted Australia as among few staunch allies in the unpopular war in Iraq.

____________________________________________________________________________

Sooooooo, that leaves the US in that hell hole for the next 20 years..................I always said, "DONT EVER GET INVOLVED IN THAT REGION".....................

Real Audio: "Willie Nelson (Tired of War)".

nice try, Mike.

 Australia - Australian involvement in Iraq (designated Operation Catalyst by the Australian military) consists of around 1,000 troops divided amongst several specialized units in and around the country, with several hundred personnel jointly supporting Australian military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (the latter are collectively designated Operation Slipper). On 17 November 2007, an Australian opposition party spokesman said that 550 combat troops would be withdrawn from Iraq if his centre-left Australian Labor Party were to win national elections set for 24 November 2007, (which they did) leaving around 500 non-combat troops in the country.[21] The largest contribution is the Overwatch Battle Group (West), based at Camp Terendak in Talil (Southern Iraq) and consisting of 515 soldiers. This unit was previously known as the Al Muthanna Task Group, which had about 450 troops and was deployed on February 22, 2005 for the purpose of replacing the withdrawn Dutch contingent. Other Army deployments include a security detachment (SECDET) composed of 110 troops protecting the Australian embassy in Baghdad, an Australian Army training team of 100 troops, 95 liaison officers distributed throughout Iraq, a small number of Australian troops as part of the Coalition Counter IED Task Force, and 110 personnel who form a 'Force Level Logistic Asset', fulfilling a support role. The Royal Australian Air Force has deployed three C-130 Hercules transport aircraft (~330 personnel). Jointly supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are periodic rotations of Anzac class frigates in the Persian Gulf, currently the HMAS Anzac[22] (~170 personnel), and two Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.[23]. There have been several injuries but no deaths of Australian troops in Iraq attributed to hostile action, however, a SASR commando was killed in a vehicle accident in Kuwait, and a soldier Jacob Kovco assigned to the Baghdad SECDET, died from an accidental discharge of his pistol.[24] (See also: Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq)

Imn2Paine
Thu, 11/29/07
8:58 pm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well paine, thats from the front page off the internet.............dont worry, the groups of peoples that wanted us there have gotten theor wish..and they werent Iraqis.................price tag?  american soldiers and down the line civilians I woul guess, that seems to be the trrend

Yes Mike, WE made a mistake.  I know you don't take any responsibility, which comforts you to no end?  I don't know.

Oh boy, this'll be good.

Mark Fiore

http://www.markfiore.com/surge_home_0 

An interesting turn of events.  Hagel as VP?

Trouble in the GOP Heartland: Retiring Senator Chuck Hagel Rips Bush a New One: "This is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen personally or ever read about," Hagel said. He would also consider being on a Dem ticket.

 He would also consider being on a Dem ticket.  

>

Oh, like hell he would.  Silly. 

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/11/progressive_videos.html

CAP Launches New Awareness Campaign

Do You Write Like a Terrorist? (3 comments) A federally-funded artificial intelligence lab is figuring out how to track people over the Internet, based on h

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected White House claims of executive privilege and demanded Thursday that key White House aides testify in the case of the controversial firings of U.S. attorneys.

Wait a minute there, Pat. You said you were going to do this BEFORE allowing Mukasey to be rubberstamped!

This looks like another one those tricks to make us forget we were betrayed that DCDems have found they can get away with every time. 

The ruling, which was expected, is a formal step necessary before the committee can vote to find the White House in contempt. Such a move would require a vote of the full Senate before being turned over to the U.S. attorney in Washington.

Let's see. That would be the full Senate that just confirmed "Waterboard" Mukasey 53-40 -- with Biden, Clinton, Dodd, and Obama not even voting and making a statement on torture. 

"Australia now has the Labor Party (our progressives) in power in every single Australian State and Territory. There is not a single Conservative in power anywhere in the country."

Signs Are Pointing South on Wall St.
Credit Woes Foster Bets on Bad Times

By Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 27, 2007; A01

Wall Street is betting on a recession.

Investors in stocks and bonds are paying prices that indicate they believe a snowballing housing crisis and worsening credit crunch will soon tip the U.S. economy into a recession, analysts said. Many economists, including leaders of the Federal Reserve, don't think things will get that bad, but some say the risk of a serious downturn has risen in recent weeks.

Investors were so eager to buy ultra-safe government bonds yesterday that they were willing to accept sharply lower interest rates. The rate on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 3.84 percent from 4 percent Friday. The low rates indicate investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates aggressively in the coming year to ease the pain of recession.

--read entire article--

_________________________________________________________________

Investors eager to buy Treasury bonds are walking the economic plank, blindfolded with a sword at their backs.

Test case: Buy $100,000 in bonds. Ten years later, when the bonds mature, you've received $38,400 in interest--but at the rate the dollar has been falling, you get a 40% devalued dollar, worth $60,000 in adjusted dollars. Total for the ten year investment, $98,400, a $1,600 loss.

Which is exactly why China and Japan have been putting their money elsewhere.

Investors in bonds can count every bit as well as I can and it says volumes about their prediction of a coming crash that they are willing to take only a $1,600 loss.

If George Bush, in a frantic effort to keep the stock market from crashing while he's still in office, does as Wall Street expects and keeps dropping interest rates, the dollar (outside America) will be virtually worthless.

Hoping to leave before the curtain falls, he will have delayed an American crash by guaranteeing a world-wide crash.

Some choice.

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5007 

"This is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen personally or ever read about," Hagel said. He would also consider being on a Dem ticket.

Just what the Democratic party nedds -- another conservative tubhead who voted to invade Iraq. Talk about going backward.

New Home Prices: Worst Drop In 37 Years

I watched two episodes of Buffy, first season, tonight, including the first time she saved the world, in her new white prom dress. Then I watched Act III of Die Walkure which ends with Brunhilde being made to sleep on the mountain in a ring if fire by her father the God Wotan, . Only the bravest warrior can wake her from her slumber. At first, in anger, Wotan sentenced her to a life of being a wife, instead of a warrior. But she convinced him to have a change of heart. I think Buffy is more operatic altho the music was better in The Valkyrie. And The Valkyrie is more fantastical and has more plot turns. Both Buffy and Brunhilde are warriors of great courage and heart, much better role models for girl children than Cinderella and Snow White.

Lott's Brother-In-Law, Nephew Indicted On Federal Bribery Charges

If this isn't a hoax - it's one of the most interesting things I've ever seen.  Supposedly from Google Earth.  Is the ice melting in Greenland?  And what IS that thing?   In the middle of Greenland....coming out of the ice... thousands of miles long...?

Bill’s passionate but level-headed approach to issues from national defense to health care clearly resonates across party lines with Democratic and Republican voters alike. 

I wouldn't want to condemn Bill without seeing his record and proposals, but this rhetoric sounds like the DLCDems we have now.  "Level headed," usually means DLC/GOP-lite, and "across party lines," collaborating with the GOP to serve corporate interests.

Yes Mike, WE made a mistake.

I refuse to accept responsibility for the Iraq disaster nor forgive those who are responsible for it.

i was born in riverside county, corona to be exact.

ok, phil, dfa organizer email asked for letter writing to iowa caucus goer's to advocate for progressive pres candidates.

question is: is this effective? and at what level? would a barrage of letters persuade caucus goer's? how about phone calls?

i remember the fatigue that was being cited by iowans in 2003. same mistake redoubled???

Lott's Brother-In-Law, Nephew Indicted On Federal Bribery Charges 

It becomes clear why he dicided to resign. Now he can become a lobbyist and do the bribing. 

i remember the fatigue that was being cited by iowans in 2003. same mistake redoubled???

Not to mention the fatigue of the letter writers. Personally, I wouldn't even open a letter from someone I don't know.

70.

mprov
Thu, 11/29/07
10:42 pm


The letters are written to DFA members only who live in Iowa.

mprov

Call me if you have any questions.

letter writing to iowa caucus goer's to advocate for progressive pres candidates.

I also wonder which candidates are considered liberal -- is it up to the letter writer to decide? According to Republicants, they all are.

From his latest post over at Swamp Land regarding the Frank Luntz GOP focus group he attended during last night's debate:

In the next segment--the debate between Romney and Mike Huckabee over Huckabee's college scholarships for the deserving children of illegal immigrants--I noticed something really distressing: When Huckabee said, "After all, these are children of God," the dials plummeted. And that happened time and again through the evening: Any time any candidate proposed doing anything nice for anyone poor, the dials plummeted (30s). These Republicans were hard.

Umm, yeah.

But wait, there's more...

But there was worse to come: When John McCain started talking about torture--specifically, about waterboarding--the dials plummeted again. Lower even than for the illegal Children of God. Down to the low 20s, which, given the natural averaging of a focus group, is about as low as you can go. Afterwards, Luntz asked the group why they seemed to be in favor of torture. "I don't have any problem pouring water on the face of a man who killed 3000 Americans on 9/11," said John Shevlin, a retired federal law enforcement officer. The group applauded, appallingly.

Raise your hand if you're shocked. Anyone? Anyone at all.

Truthfully, this could only come as a surprise to someone who dismisses principled criticism of the right by the left as "partisan bickering;" someone who, for every criticism levied on the right, feels the need to balance it out with a similar criticism of the left as though both parties, both sides were created equal. No, Mr. Klein, they really are out of their minds. Welcome to the world.

Signs Are Pointing South on Wall St.
Credit Woes Foster Bets on Bad Times

By Neil Irwin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 27, 2007; A01

Wall Street is betting on a recession.

Investors in stocks and bonds are paying prices that indicate they believe a snowballing housing crisis and worsening credit crunch will soon tip the U.S. economy into a recession, analysts said. Many economists, including leaders of the Federal Reserve, don't think things will get that bad, but some say the risk of a serious downturn has risen in recent weeks.

Investors were so eager to buy ultra-safe government bonds yesterday that they were willing to accept sharply lower interest rates. The rate on the 10-year Treasury bond fell to 3.84 percent from 4 percent Friday. The low rates indicate investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates aggressively in the coming year to ease the pain of recession.

--read entire article--

_________________________________________________________________

Investors eager to buy Treasury bonds are walking the economic plank, blindfolded with a sword at their backs.

Test case: Buy $100,000 in bonds. Ten years later, when the bonds mature, you've received $38,400 in interest--but at the rate the dollar has been falling, you get a 40% devalued dollar, worth $60,000 in adjusted dollars. Total for the ten year investment, $98,400, a $1,600 loss.

Which is exactly why China and Japan have been putting their money elsewhere.

Investors in bonds can count every bit as well as I can and it says volumes about their prediction of a coming crash that they are willing to take only a $1,600 loss.

If George Bush, in a frantic effort to keep the stock market from crashing while he's still in office, does as Wall Street expects and keeps dropping interest rates, the dollar (outside America) will be virtually worthless.

Hoping to leave before the curtain falls, he will have delayed an American crash by guaranteeing a world-wide crash.

Some choice.

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5007 

Good morning, BFA!

***********
donna, I like the epitaph you proposed.

***********
In re Hagel considering a run on the Dem ticket as Veep: change parties right now to show what your real political stripes are. and be a counterweight to Lieberman, the traitor. Otherwise, fuggatit!

**********
TIME has a new story out with a patently oxymoronic title (not for the first time).

==================
Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007
George W. Bush: Diplomat
By Massimo Calabresi

The greatest sign of hope for peace in the Middle East didn't come on Nov. 27 in Annapolis, Md., when President George W. Bush convened a new round of Arab-Israeli talks. It came a month earlier, across the Chesapeake Bay in the little village of St. Michaels, as Bush signed an Executive Order protecting red drum fish and striped bass. Bush was on his way to lunch with Vice President Dick Cheney, who has a waterfront home there, and the President opened his signing remarks by saying that Laura Bush had gone ahead to the lunch. "I guess you could say she's the taster," Bush said.

O.K., so it was a joke. But that unguarded comment offered a rare glimpse at the split that has opened up between Bush and his hard-line Veep. Since 2001, Cheney has been against just the kind of U.S. involvement in Arab-Israeli affairs that Bush is embracing, arguing that the early creation of a Palestinian state could jeopardize Israel's security. And the peace talks are part of a larger trend. In the past two years, Bush has negotiated with the North Koreans over their nuclear weapons and offered the Iranians incentives to talk about their nuclear ambitions, sometimes directly overruling Cheney and his allies in the process. Skeptics say the flurry of diplomacy is designed to distract attention from the war in Iraq. But whatever the motivation, the result is clear: if the spectrum of Republican foreign policy has Cheney and the unilateralists at one end and Bush's father George H.W. Bush and the multilateralists at the other, then W. has come home.

The Annapolis summit was an echo of the elder Bush's 1991 Madrid Conference.

[...]
o be sure, Bush isn't as good a diplomat as he thinks he is. He likes to tout two tactics: a hard-knuckle approach he credits with bringing the North Koreans to the table, and the personal rapport he claims to have developed with leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin. Being able to look fellow leaders in the eye and call them by their first name, Bush thinks, makes it easier to put tough demands on the table. But foreign diplomats say he lacks subtlety in both approaches, forcing black-and-white decisions on adversaries and focusing on individual leaders instead of their countries' interests. "I don't have much to say for his diplomatic style," says a senior Arab diplomat involved in the Israeli-Palestinian talks, after cataloging Bush's shortcomings.

[...]
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816...

I am never able to watch these Republican *debates* more than a few minutes at a time, as the blood pressure gets dangerously high, so I only know what I read about them.

But is this remark one reason why several people thought that *Cain* (h/t to Paine) *won*?

What a sorry group of pretenders to the so-called throne!

==================
November 30, 2007
NYC
Sanctuary Was a Lovely Word. Then the G.O.P. Got Hold of It.
By CLYDE HABERMAN

When they finally got down to business, after being serenaded by a guitarist on YouTube, it took the Republican presidential candidates 11 ½ minutes Wednesday night for one of them to acknowledge that illegal immigrants are human beings.

Not bad. Nearly 26 minutes passed before any of them — New York’s former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani broke the ice — got around to uttering the word “Bush.” You’d have thought from the general mood that the president’s name carried the MRSA bacterium.

Illegal immigrants fared better, though not by much. After a good deal of talk about how undesirable they are, Senator John McCain of Arizona chose to inject a more humanistic note into the debate. Sure, let’s secure the borders, Mr. McCain said, but don’t forget another dimension.

“We need to sit down as Americans and recognize these are God’s children as well,” he said, “and they need some protections under the law, and they need some of our love and compassion.”

Those remarks practically made him a radical at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the debate was held.

Until then, the immigration discussion had turned on “so’s your old man” name-calling between Mr. Giuliani and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/nyregi...

E.J. Dionne has several nice turns of phrase in this piece about the debate.

===============
Know-Nothings Who Know Better
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, November 30, 2007; A23

Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani did a fine job achieving their objectives in Wednesday's Republican presidential debate: Each thoroughly discredited the other.

They also disgraced themselves as they pandered relentlessly to the growing anti-immigrant feeling in their party.

Mike Huckabee and John McCain were the only candidates willing to suggest what now seems unmentionable: Immigrants, even those here illegally, are human beings and shouldn't be used as political playthings.

At least Tom Tancredo, the Colorado congressman whose railing against immigration has become his mission in life, was consistent with his past. He had every right to say, with glee, that his rivals were "trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo." It was a perfect description of the evening.

The CNN/YouTube debate was a depressing spectacle. There was little inspiration for the future, no sense that Republicans are grappling with why their party has become so unpopular, and few departures from rigid adherence to the party line on taxes, guns, gay rights and a slew of other questions.

Oh, yes, the candidates were all for big spending cuts -- but only of the vague, across-the-board variety. When the brave foes of Washington's largess were confronted with a question about eliminating farm subsidies, they morphed into big-government guys.

Bold about slashing budgets earlier in the debate, Giuliani was judiciousness itself when it came to farmers. Farm spending cuts, he insisted, should not be done "simplistically." No, no, "we've got to do this very carefully."

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

This is nearly five years after the invasion ... and after billions of dollars have been poured into so-called reconstruction projects.

Contrast the difference after five years of the Marshall Plan in post-WWII Europe.

It makes a difference when there are people in charge who really do want to improve quality of life rather than simply to line their own pockets.

It also makes a huge difference when a population is more or less glad to have our presence there. We helped to remove the unlawful occupier in WWII; in Iraq we are the unlawful occupier. That's a huge difference and will not change so long as we remain there, whether long-term bases are agreed to by the puppet government or not.

======================
Iraqis' Quality of Life Marked By Slow Gains, Many Setbacks
Worries Abound That Government Isn't Up to Task of Providing Services
By Amit R. Paley and Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, November 30, 2007; A01

BAGHDAD, Nov. 29 -- This war-battered city, according to U.S. statistics, now receives an average of 11.9 hours of electricity a day, far more than earlier this year. But don't tell that to Ghaida al-Banna.

For three straight days this week, the 50-year-old housewife's home in the once ritzy Mansour neighborhood received no power at all. Barely any water came out when she turned on the faucet. One thing Banna's area does have in abundance is uncollected garbage, piled into giant, malodorous heaps dotting the street.

"What kind of government allows its people to live like this?" Banna asked. "They don't know how to provide services. They don't know how to do anything. Everything is getting worse and worse."

As violence continues to dip across Iraq, U.S. officials say they will increasingly shift their barometers of success from security to basic services -- electricity, gasoline, water and sanitation -- that reflect whether life for Iraqis is returning to normal.

But according to interviews with more than two dozen people in neighborhoods throughout Baghdad, the effort to boost services has been uneven, marked by gradual successes and frequent setbacks. In some neighborhoods, residents have seen government workers spruce up their parks or provide a few more hours of electricity, while residents of other districts report conditions continually deteriorating.

The quality of life for Iraqis is expected to be at the center of an assessment Congress will receive in March from U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, according to U.S. diplomats and military officers. Yet officials are still struggling to determine how best to measure the normalcy of Iraqi life, a notion harder to quantify than attacks or corpses.

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

BW is not always welcome, even in the US.

===============
US security firm runs into new trouble - and this time it's closer to home
Rural community opposes expansion by company at centre of Iraq allegations
Dan Glaister in Potrero, California
Friday November 30, 2007
Guardian

Randel Parks pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and rocked back on the heels of his cowboy boots. "I've been here 30 years," he said, staring at the ground, "and I've spent most of my adult life working on this property, turning it into my piece of paradise. I'll be damned if I'm going to let them spoil it."

A mile away, around a bend in the mountain road that runs past Parks's property, his new neighbours spread a map out on the ground to discuss plans for the 325-hectare (800-acre) site they are in the process of buying. "There will be eight 100-yd carbine ranges here, and three 50-yd pistol ranges here. And we'll have a 10,000-sq ft armoury and a bunkhouse for 360 students over here."

Welcome to Blackwater West, the latest expansion from the company that dominates private security operations in Iraq. Last month Blackwater's chief executive, Erik Prince, appeared before Congress to defend the company's role in the alleged shootings of unarmed civilians. This week, reports alleged that it had turned a blind eye to the use of steroids among its employees.

Now the company is looking to expand domestically. So it has come to the border hamlet of Potrero, population 850. Eight miles from Mexico and 40 miles inland from San Diego, Potrero has found itself at the centre of a controversy.

But it is a dispute that goes beyond the rights and wrongs of a large company intent on developing farmland. Opponents fear that it will be the first step towards Blackwater moving in on the potentially lucrative and politically sensitive job of patrolling the US-Mexico border. While Congress has authorised increased recruitment for the Border Patrol, the federal agency that polices the border, many have asked how it is going to be paid for and who is going to do the training. Enter Blackwater West.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33141...

George W. Bush: Diplomat

Monoplat, actually. That's why he's failed every time will always do so.

I have been watching events in the Philippines with some apprehension.

We have not served that country well, and it has always been fiercely loyal to us. Having Clueless Condi in charge of our foreign policy when she has already been asleep at the switch so much is not an encouraging sign.

=====================
Philippine coup fails as troops storm hotel
· Rebel soldiers arrested after stand-off in Manila
· Arroyo quashes third challenge in six years
Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
Friday November 30, 2007
Guardian

The Philippine president, Gloria Arroyo, imposed a curfew last night after troops stormed a luxury hotel to quash a coup attempt by renegade soldiers.

The rebel soldiers and their supporters - including several Roman Catholic priests - were led away in handcuffs to be charged after about 1,500 troops smashed their way into the Peninsula Hotel in Manila using an armoured personnel carrier backed by sustained bursts of automatic fire and tear gas grenades.

There were no reports of any injuries despite the gunfire, and the rebel ringleaders - who demanded Arroyo quit - surrendered, claiming they feared a bloodbath among the hundreds of journalists who had crowded into the hotel before the arrival of the soldiers outside.

Coup leaders allowed guests at the hotel to leave after initially denying them the chance to go. The group of about 30 soldiers and their supporters barricaded themselves in a second-floor conference room from where they broadcast live their demands on national television. Arroyo appeared on television shortly afterwards to assure people she was in control and commanded the army's loyalty.

The abortive coup was the third in the six-year reign of Arroyo, who was herself propelled to power when the army backed street protests against her predecessor, the former movie star Joseph Estrada.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33141...

Hi, Sitka ... thought I was solitary blogging yet again!

Must head off now. But first, here's Krugman's latest.

=================
November 30, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Mandates and Mudslinging
By PAUL KRUGMAN

From the beginning, advocates of universal health care were troubled by the incompleteness of Barack Obama’s plan, which unlike those of his Democratic rivals wouldn’t cover everyone. But they were willing to cut Mr. Obama slack on the issue, assuming that in the end he would do the right thing.

Now, however, Mr. Obama is claiming that his plan’s weakness is actually a strength. What’s more, he’s doing the same thing in the health care debate he did when claiming that Social Security faces a “crisis” — attacking his rivals by echoing right-wing talking points.

The central question is whether there should be a health insurance “mandate” — a requirement that everyone sign up for health insurance, even if they don’t think they need it. The Edwards and Clinton plans have mandates; the Obama plan has one for children, but not for adults.

Why have a mandate? The whole point of a universal health insurance system is that everyone pays in, even if they’re currently healthy, and in return everyone has insurance coverage if and when they need it.

And it’s not just a matter of principle. As a practical matter, letting people opt out if they don’t feel like buying insurance would make insurance substantially more expensive for everyone else.

Here’s why: under the Obama plan, as it now stands, healthy people could choose not to buy insurance — then sign up for it if they developed health problems later. Insurance companies couldn’t turn them away, because Mr. Obama’s plan, like those of his rivals, requires that insurers offer the same policy to everyone.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/opinio...

Sheesh, my Krugman piece was posted AFTER Sitka's remark.

The blog clock doesn't bother me that much, but the rearranging of posts does.

Please HQ, our very first blog iteration was better than this.

Now gone.

Edwards clearly has the best Health Care Plan that isn't single payer.

Good morning, everybody

Yes, Phil, it's the payment system that needs fixing in health care.  As our Senate candidate, a doctor, rightly points out, we all pay now and will in the future.  So, "single payer" is a mis-nomer even though it does identify the locus of the problem.  Which is why I've come up with the suggestion that we need pre-paid and preventivei health care.  When people enroll and where will be left largely up to them.  According to Dodd's plan, they'll be enrolled whenever they access the system for care.  If they don't need or want care, fine.  If they want to get health care overseas and pay whatever other systems charge fine.  (My mother used to go back to Germany for dental word and family visits combined).

What I'm finding increasingly unattractive is his shrillness.  And the "promise" that he's going to take health care away from Congress, if they don't fix the broken system is a bunch of hooey.  It's not something the President can do.  Making promises you know you can't keep is not nice.   

My LTE--

Leaving aside the fact that fixing America's broken health care system isn't a presidential responsibility anyway, what's wrong with the Clinton, Obama, and Edwards plans is that they leave in place the insurance middle men which are the root cause of the problem to begin with. Until a problem is properly diagnosed, it can't be fixed.
What's broken in our health care system, in addition to it being in the hands of a private bureaucracy whose added value is less than zero, is the payment program. What we need is simply a pre-paid and preventive program in which people become enrolled as they access it for services.
When and where they seek access will be entirely up to them. Nothing mandatory on the recipient end. Providers, however, will have a mandate to provide service and the fund's administration will have a mandate to pay them.
Where the money for the fund comes from and who keeps it solvent is another matter. I would assume that, initially, all health care dollars in the various programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration, DoD, & Workmen's Comp would be put in one pot. And, if the medical coverage component in vehicular insurance is to be retained, then those premiums should flow into the general health care fund, as well.
But, these particulars will be up to the Congress. All we need from a President is a willingness and the competence to administer such a program and carry out Congressional directives.
Since the latter is not likely to be found in the Republican field of candidates, if the American people want a rational health care payment and delivery system, they need to elect a Democrat to the White House and insure a Democratic congress.

Edwards challenge to Cogress to "pass it or else" is a challenge to stopping giving themselves something they deny others, and dare them to vote there usual pattern since health care isn't the only thing they vote wrong on.

He has become more relaxed in person which to me means he is now speaking truth to power.

We know from Dean's experience that the press is sure to brand "angry" anyone that does that.

Monica

The banking industry has themselves in pretty deep, and may well want a President who understands them and back Dodd. They would pick a better horse than any Republican in the race.

What would a voice for the "little guy" sound like? If "shrill" is the worst it is called the media is slacking off.

The political gamble for Edwards is that the people he has decided to use his current bully pulpit for don't vote. No health insurance and no civic involvement go hand in hand.

The deal about elections is, that if a President is elected that makes health care for all a priority for his campaign, then a momentum is developed that makes it do-able.

The Wellstone carburation formulation combining anger and love in the right proportion comes into play. If you aren't angry you aren't paying attention. If your actions aren't driven by love you will fail.

`````````````````````````````````

when I made my middle of the night barn check it was starting to snow, but I fear the CO storm today will be my mess Sat. night, I'm in a race to get ready for winter, since harvest took so long, so won't be posting much for a few days 

If the Packers hadn't lost Brett to that helmet to his throwing arm it would have been a different outcome Cowboy fans. Wait til next time.

JudyforDean wrote, "The blog clock doesn't bother me that much, but the rearranging of posts does."

>

Which sums it up for those here who poo-poo others for voicing spontaneous frustration with the randomness of the clock and the disorder festered.

One never knows, Phil.  The Packers lost, plain and simple.  Actually, this loss can be a character builder for the Pack and spoil the effort of the boys from Dallas.

 On another note:  I did not find out til yesterday morning that the game was available only on the NFL network.  Yup, this after a week of hype?

Imn2Paine
Thu, 11/29/07
9:10 pm
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I fail to understand the rationale behind this post, perhaps you can define it more clearly for me.....Im not sure just how much "responsibility" you expect an average citien like me to take for the worlds ills. 

Remember, after watching JFK, RFK, MLK etc get bumped off in this land of the free, I have always advocated that the smartest people decide to remain outside of politics..............its too bad that some of the dumbest clucks make the laws for the rest of us.............

Yes Mike, WE made a mistake.  I know you don't take any responsibility, which comforts you to no end?  I don't know.  

...let's see:  (1) the war was a "mistake"  (2) many folks will not move on from that point (they are calcified){funny, a "trucker" like me using such words} and continuously flail-about ranting for the past four years how they have the moral high ground. 

Something like that:  it was my frustrated rant. 

MICKEY MOUSE ECONOMY?

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5026

The chief economist over at Bank of America is named Mickey and one has to restrain the temptation to tag him Mouse for a last name.

"The Fed is saying it will ease as necessary to restore order to the financial markets and avoid a recession," said Mickey Levy, chief economist of Bank of America.

Every possible economic indicator is in the dumper

• the dollar has fallen by half in value
• national debt has been tripled in six years
• the fallout from sub-prime crime has not yet been checked
  
• investors are avoiding America and turning elsewhere
• yearly balance of payments are the worst in 40 years
• the 3rd-worlding of America to haves and have-nots is in full swing

But Wall Street finds it comforting that interest rates may drop. So comforting that it has its best two-day rise in six years on the rumor of rate cuts (which will further devalue the dollar and drive investment in federal bonds elsewhere).

The market sucks. Those who find consolation in rumors of mythical band-aids are deluded. Mickey Levy or not, it has become a Mickey-Mouse economy. An international monetary crash is so close you can smell its breath.

let's see:  (1) the war was a "mistake" 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

pain,

Hate to clue you in, but the "war" was NOT a mistake..........havent you been reading any of Monicas posts for the past 3 years?  IMO it was a carefuly planned and eventualy executed set of ideas by politicians, military men and "foreigners" to goad the US into a permannt presence i the ME................is been in the works for decades.............

And IF you are one of those 'truckers" on the roads..........dirve carefully, get some sleep and always remember a car weighs 1/10 that of your 18 wheeler...........

Off to workies

Michael Ellis
>

Flail away, Mike old boy.  You don't know how wrong you are in some of your comments, but go ahead and continue to post your speculations...

Later.

Hope for a better future.  Aim high.

102.

Huron -

Nice pic cartoon.

Indeed, ok now I'm in favor of pushing to get Massachusetts first in the nation primary.  What better way to get all the leaves in my yard raked for me by candidates. 

new thread

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/23131...

Edwards challenge to Cogress to "pass it or else" is a challenge to stopping giving themselves something they deny others, and dare them to vote there usual pattern since health care isn't the only thing they vote wrong on.

Pointless primary bluster that he would shed like a snake's skin if he miraculously secured the nomination.