Howard Dean is First

Howard is so first, as are all the Howard-Empowered activists working diligently to Take Our Country Back!

Nite and ♥'s to all

Kindness is free!

...from end of last thread.  I must be charmed. :-)

Isn't there some creative way to combine unions with a WPA type program?  Are they really mutally exclusive?

************************

Susan, I picked up "The God Delusion" at the library.  But first, I have to finish "Sandworms of Dune,"  written by Herbert's son, who appears to be as talented as his father.  It's spellbinding, keeping me up till the wee hours.

Last thread Michigan jobs topic:
I think that McCain really talked himself out of the White House
by standing up and telling the working people that the lost jobs were not coming back.

Attended Bill Clinton event in Macon, GA yesterday.

Student asked what would Hillary do to stop outsourcing of jobs.
BC said "you can't keep a company from outsoucing jobs."
He did advocate that the tax cide ought to be reformed so that there were no tax advantages to companies that moved jobs out of country.

I didn't like that answer any better than McCain's.  By that single response, it seems that Bill Clinton still believes his trade agreements were accomplishments rather than mistakes.

The next President ought to recognize that promoting globalization as a virtue has been reckless with our economic security and our citizens' prospects for upward mobility.

Had to wait for some people to leasve event before law enforcement let us in, so I missed his 45 minute speech, it might have held some of the old Clinton spark.  However, during the hour plus Q&A, he came off old and tired.  And there were several answers that indicated
he has not kept up policy wonk wise on some issues since he left office.

At this event, BC was not as good a campaigner as HC has been. 
She MIGHT be better off w/o him.  He does bring the crowd though.

  

Hi Ronald,

Thanks for the first hand report. I personally think she's better off without him both politcally and in her personal life but I doubt she'd ever launch him now. She had her chance.

So many jobs heading out of the country the past fifteen years or so. That's a problem with no easy solution.

Quote

I want to say something simple and clear.

There's one campaign that has been distorting and smearing the record of another's since the results of the Iowa caucuses. There's a reason for that.

When everybody pays attention to the lies and distractions, there's no way Hillary Clinton can't win. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton know that, and that why they are distorting everything they can about the record, integrity and campaign of Senator Barack Obama.

also

Take the fake, engineered, and hyped brouhaha about the comments of Senator Obama regarding the legacy of Ronnie Reagan. Do you know what Barack Obama said BEFORE he mentioned Ronald Reagan in that interview? Do you know the real context of his remarks?

It's not surprising that you might not. Senator Clinton and President Clinton and a whole bunch of other people simply don't want you to hear them.

Barack Obama was talking about the 50 State Strategy

Unquote

Barack Obama and the 50 State Strategy
by kid oakland [Subscribe]

Tue Jan 22, 2008 at 06:42:46 PM PST

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/22/...

Quote from email:

Dear Ann,

I support Barack Obama because he doesn't seek to perfect the politics of Swiftboating -- he seeks to end it.

This is personal for me, and for a whole lot of Americans who lived through the 2004 election.

As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove's twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone's character just to win an election. But as someone who cares about winning this election and changing the country I love, I know it's not enough to complain about a past we can't change when our challenge is to win the future -- which is why we must stop the Swiftboating, stop the push-polling, stop the front groups, and stop the email chain smears.

The truth matters, but how you fight the lies matters even more. We must be determined never again to lose any election to a lie.

This year, the attacks are already starting. Some of you may have heard about the disgusting lies about Barack Obama that are being circulated by email. These attacks smear Barack's Christian faith and deep patriotism, and they distort his record of more than two decades of public service. They are nothing short of "Swiftboat" style anonymous attacks.

These are the same tactics the right has used again and again, and as we've learned, these attacks, no matter how bogus, can spread and take root if they go unchecked.

But not this time -- we're fighting back.

And when I say "we," I mean that literally. I know Barack is committed to fighting every smear every time. He'll fight hard and stand up for the truth. But he can't do it alone.

We need you to email the truth to your address books. Print it out and post it at work. Talk to your neighbors. Call your local radio station. Write a letter to the editor. If lies can be spread virally, let's prove to the cynics that the truth can be every bit as persuasive as it is powerful.

The Obama campaign has created a place where you can find the truth you'll need to push back on these smears and a way to spread the truth to all of your address book.

Take action here:

http://my.barackobama.com/factcheckactio...

So when your inbox fills up with trash and the emails of smear and fear, find the facts, and help defeat the lies.

Barack Obama is committed to bringing our country together to meet the challenges we face, but he knows that power gives up nothing without a struggle -- and to win the chance to change America, we must first defeat the hateful tactics that have been used to tear us apart for too long.

With your help, we can turn the page on an era of small, divisive politics -- but only if next time you hear these attacks on Barack, you take action immediately:

http://my.barackobama.com/factcheckactio...

The fight is just heating up -- we won't let them steal this election with lies and distortions.

Thank you,

John Kerry

unquote

Study: False statements preceded war
By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer
42 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_o...

Hi Denise,

The President of the USA first needs to recognize it as a problem and begin to behave as a democratic leader of a sovreign people rather than blithely accept it as a law of nature and tell the little people to get used to it. 

If interested, here is a look at at how the money spent on a domestic corporation's product imported from a factory in China is circulated. 

Shortcut to: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200801/fallows-chinese-dollars

This is an insane arrangement.

Just imagine if about the time Nixon went to China in 1972, some prophet had told us about this symbiotic corporate communist arrangment that was coming in our lifetime.
Then, we would have put the prophet in the looney bin.
Now, we put the profiteer in the White House.
 

New York Observer endorses Barack.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/22...

Future Sen. Tom Allen (Good Dem.-ME)  and Diana, natch!

A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist

And what do Bush and the DCDems think about it?

3931

Phil, please take care of yourself -- we NEED you!!

11:38 pm EST

 Stephen king (and Tabitha--Good Dems from lil' ol' Bangor, ME

Gotta love 'em.

Rock and politics at the Sundance Film Festival

• Former Vice President Al Gore was seen walking into the U2 film sans entourage, then sitting with the band at the screening after being photographed by fans in the lobby amid screams of “We love you!”



Hard to tell who was the bigger rock star that night — Bono or Gore.

____________________

 Then, apparently sprinting to Sweden,

New award for climate-change campaigner Gore



STOCKHOLM (AFP) — Al Gore picked up his latest award for campaigning on climate change issues when he was handed the Gothenburg Prize for sustainable development Tuesday, organisers said.

The former United States vice-president and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel peace award, alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was handed his prize by Crown Princess Victoria, heir to King Carl XVI Gustaf's throne.

"Like no other person, he has called on mankind to save the planet," event spokesman Stefan Gadd told AFP after a ceremony attended by over 6,000 people in the south-western city.

Just a few days ago Al Gore released two videos.  The first on a Womans Right to choose what affects HER body and the second on Gay rights where he calls for Gay marriage!  Woohoo!.

Who Makes the Decision?

Gay Men and Women Should have the Same Rights!

Kindness is free!

What is this supposed to mean?

 As far as my expierience tells me there is absolutely nothing that is free.
Everything needs effort.

Now, is kindness a good thing?  Even that is questionable. I'd say most of the times but not always.
Do we want to strive for kindness? Sure.

But do we get it by sloganeering? Not in my book.

Sorry all, I'm not in the best of moods. As little as I agree with Mr. Prediction (Mike) I also have this bad feeling that McCain will be the next president.

Well, good thing that my feelings have absolutely nothing to do with anybodies reallity.

Phew, now I can relax.

I'm dreaming for Obama.
See, I came out of the closet. Wasn't  to difficult~

I know what Obama said in that interview

Senator Obama:I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times. I do think that for example the 1980 was different. I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing." 

 4. Ronald Cloud: 

My email to Congress this date through Moveon.org:


The corporate DLC Congress and the Bush administration are trying to bring the United States down to a 3rd world country to equalize the cost of labor to meet the requirements of their corporate DLC's globalism Slum Lord Plan, so the wealthy can be slum lords in the United States like Mexico.  The corporate DLC Slum Lords of Congress and the Clinton/Bush administrations have been doing their best to make a 3rd world country of the United States' 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION ever since the Slum Lord Trade Agreements were enacted and it is coming to fruition.
 
Anyone agreeing that the wealthy need more money from the people has their Slum Lord spot picked out.  If you don't have your SLUM LORD spot picked out, then the wealthy will have to restart the economy by being required to give back ALL the money they have already taken in undue taxes from the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION, and more, to start work projects to keep people employed, building new infrastructure, repairing old infrastructure, bridges, dams, building projects, community centers, repairing community centers, etc. ANYTHING CONSTRUCTIVE   FOR WORK to get money flowing in the nation.  The solution to the world's economy is not to destroy our own country's economy to benefit the few in order to make the United States economy a  billionaire slum lord economy.  How can a few wealthy slum lords in the world be of any benefit to anybody?  How could any intelligent Congressman have ever agreed to anything so greedy and destructive, but our Congress, the Clinton and Bush administrations have.  It is time you STOP.  DESTRUCTION IS NEVER THE SOLUTION TO ANYTHING.    The United States economy can be turned around, if Congress will STOP DESTROYING THE ECONOMY IMMEDIATELY and START CONSTRUCTIVELY BUILDING THE ECONOMY BACK.  The corporate DLC Project For the New American Century is an evil SLUM LORD PLAN. Do not continue to be deceived and start investing in the United States and bring back the economy. It can be done if you will not have fear and do it -- Congress can turn from destruction to construction--from destroying the wealth of the nation to reinforcing the wealth of the nation.  You can do it.  Throw away the Project For the New American Century and do what is right for the United States of America as a nation and the world will follow.

God help the members of Congress to quit throwing America away and do what I have stated to the best of my ability for the American people in the United States, in the Name of Jesus and for the sake of Jesus.   Amen

Martha A. Miller

12:14 am

Hard to tell who was the bigger rock star that night — Bono or Gore.

Gee, who wants to have a rock star for president?
Ah, I forgot, America wants stars.

That's how they try to kill Obama: By declaring him a rock star....

12:18 am

sunlight ~~ the republicans never win they've screwed up the economy so that even bus drivers and waitresses notice. If they do it big enough, they can knock themselves out of power for fifty years. I think this may be the fifty year recession coming up, just now.

Kindness may not be free, but it sure is cheap: doesn't cost a bit more to be kind than to be cruel.

♥

win when. . . .

Florida is having trouble with frozen iguanas dropping from trees.  Yes, really.  Some are in a trance, so are dead.   Also the state is planning on destroying the Sacred Ibis as it is not native.  Also the iguanas.  Kind of sad.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1777

 Kindness may not be free, but it sure is cheap: doesn't cost a bit more to be kind than to be cruel.  ♥

Wow, cheap is even worse than free!~

My personal experience is that when you can get something for free you don't value what you are getting nearly as much as when you have to expand effort to get it.

True,
expanding efforts to be kind doesn't take any more effort than being cruel.
 

12:30 am

It does take effort to keep track of time.~

I also have this bad feeling that McCain will be the next president.

Well, first he has to win FL and then limp on to UberTuesday against Romney and his megamillions -- with Huckabee working the fundy side of the street. Who knows? Maybe the GOP will be the ones with a brokered convention -- in which case the Bush Mafia will choose the one most likely to lose and set the table for Jeb.

Obama is saturating PHX with positive ads. Hillary may be holding out till ST gets closer. 

http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/sub...

CLINTON LEADS OBAMA BY 12
POINTS IN CALIFORNIA. BIG
DIFFERENCES IN PREFERENCES
ACROSS VOTER SUBGROUPS.

By Mark DiCamillo and Mervin Field

Hillary Clinton’s lead over Barack Obama in California now stands at 12 percentage points – 39%
to 27%, with 14% preferring other candidates and a relatively large proportion (20%) of likely
voters undecided.
Clinton’s lead is largest among women, Latinos, lower income voters, non-college graduates, and
seniors. Conversely, Obama is preferred among blacks, college graduates and Democratic primary
voters with household incomes of $80,000 or more. Clinton and Obama run about even among
men, liberals, and white non-Hispanics.
Both of the leading candidates are viewed by likely Democratic primary voters in a very positive
light. Yet, Clinton is perceived by voters as holding a big advantage over Obama as being the
candidate with the right experience and who has the best chance of winning in the November
general election. Obama, on the other hand, is viewed by more voters as being the candidate who
best represents change.
Clinton voters are much more likely to consider jobs/the economy as being the most important issue
to them when deciding whom to support for President. By contrast, Obama supporters are more
likely to view the war in Iraq and foreign policy as their top concerns.
These are the main findings from the latest Field Poll of 377 likely voters in California’s February
5th Democratic primary conducted January 14-20.

That's how they try to kill Obama: By declaring him a rock star....

I'm expecting a saturation bombardment of negative ads from Hillary right before Ubertuesday. 

LOL... a poll of 377 likely voters. But I do know that Hillary is very popular out here. But if bumper stickers and signs mean anything, I do see more for Obama. I haven't seen one for Hillary yet.

I often wonder how Bruce Springsteen would do if he ran for president - not that I'm advocating it and I'm sure he'd loathe the idea. Crazier things have happened in politics.

LOL... a poll of 377 likely voters.

The RCP average has the same 12% margin for Clinton. 

From the same Field poll - not that it means too much

Edwards supporters favor Obama

If Edwards, who is running a distant third with 10% of voter preferences, were to drop out of the race, more than twice as many of his supporters say they would prefer Obama (29%) than Clinton (11%). Another 12% would favor other candidates, while nearly half (48%) are undecided.

17. ah, sunlight :-) Yes, sometimes it takes effort, but really - kindnes becomes effortless over time. It is so much more than a slogan for me, personally. How one behaves is a choice ~ albeit an unconscious choice for many. Just as most everyone here, I've seenmy own form of fire and rain (though not in the drug sense of which Taylor spoke.) Choosing a 'kindness-perspective' (a great deal of which I owe a debt of thankfulness to 2 bloggers here) makes a smile and/or kind comment effortless, not to mention quite liberating. In my nearly 51 1/2 years, way too much was wasted on the varied negatives all of us encounter life. When events transpired to help me realize that, I chose kindness.

Is kindness a good thing? Well, that's a long discussion. What is kindness? It's not enabling, it's not smarmy, it's not smothering... for me, it's taking into account that others are coming from a another perspective than mine, and honoring that.

Am I always kind? or always think kindly upon others. Yeah, right. But, "Kindness is free" ~ it's *so* *much* *more* than a slogan, for me. It is my heart.

:-)

Be well and have hope. There are very good former Deaniacs working in BO's HQ. Not to mention... ya never know!
~ ~ ~ ~
BTW ~ my belief is that cruelty takes great effort and exacts greater tolls.

Nice Thankful - now I can sleep with a smile on my face.

Sitka at least the trend is going down for Hillary and up for Barack here, but it's still a decent enough gap with less than 2 weeks to go now.

Los Angeles is trending more for HC than the Bay area where I live.

At work, those I do talk politics with seem to be for HC except for one person.

oh, btw. The accurate est time is 1:14 am

{{{{Denise}}}} hugs and smiles. can't believe I posted that.

Does this sound Bushy or what?

Hillary abandons assumption that race will be decided Feb. 5th

Jan-12-08 Mrs. Clinton spoke on the weekend when several of her advisers and donors said that the campaign had abandoned what was one of the fundamental assumptions of its strategy — that the nomination would be effectively decided on Feb. 5, when 22 states hold nominating contests. Her campaign has started to create an organizational hierarchy for its donors to accelerate fund-raising to pay for increasingly expensive advertising, travel and voter-outreach efforts, with a goal of raising more than $10 million by the end of January, according to several of the donors.

That target is important because several Clinton advisers and donors now believe that the Democratic presidential fight between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama may not end on the mega-primary day of Feb. 5, as Mrs. Clinton and others had initially expected.

Advisers and donors said Saturday that they wanted to have enough resources — building on the $20 million or so that they currently have on hand — to advertise heavily in the expensive media markets of California, New Jersey and New York, which vote on Feb. 5, and still have money to compete strongly in the primaries later that month.

The new Clinton donor hierarchy involves the appointment of national finance leaders — major donors who will take a key role coordinating fund-raising goals across the country and ensuring that financial pledges are delivered on time.

I can't believe you're still awake! LOL

Must have been a good phone call :)

Sitka at least the trend is going down for Hillary and up for Barack here, but it's still a decent enough gap with less than 2 weeks to go now.

Hard to say. If Obama wins SC big it seems that would get him lots of good buzz and shake the Clinton inevitabilty myth.

National finance leaders - what a bunch of hooey.

John Edwards was great on David Letterman....and David asked if he could mess up his hair. LOL He said "sure" and HE DID.

Ciao!

1:24AM 

45

Hope you're right. I was checking out the graphs at the Field poll link I posted that showed the past few months' trends.

He seems to be getting key endorsements, but nowhere near the volume Hillary has received.

People worried about the economy are flocking to her. I guess that makes sense if they are recalling the good years during her hubby's administration.

This is was SC 6 months ago......

In the latest South Carolina poll by the American Research Group, Obama still trails front-runner Hillary Clinton by a daunting margin. As noted in the AngusReid Global Monitor, Hillary is first with 37 per cent, followed by former North Carolina senator John Edwards with 22 per cent, and Illinois senator Barack Obama with 21 per cent.

Now Hillary has abandoned SC, leaving behind Bill to smear and Chelsea to wow, while Edwards is a distant third.

LOL. waiting for a call back, things got delayed. It's only...

1:29 am est

I'm a natural night-owl, what can I say? :-)
~ ~ ~ ~

46. dismay
~ ~ ~ ~

47. wish I'd seen that!

John Edwards was great on David Letterman....and David asked if he could mess up his hair. LOL He said "sure" and HE DID.

Awwwwwwwww! I heard that was going to happen. 

If Dave hadn't shaved, John could have pulled his beard and made a real lovefest out of it :)

Cute :-D

Must call it a night. See ya on teh morrow....
~ ~ ~ ~

12:37 am est

♥'s to all

Kindness IS Free!

I better head out, too. Early training tomorrow on our transition to the Mac, even though I've been using one for 4 years now. Protocol and all that - I'll take the free breakfast :)

Sweet dreams all!

Good morning, BFA!

********
Ronald Cloud ... what a beautiful name.

********
Yes, Howard is the firstiest and TONIGHT is the big night for me.

I can't stop smiling.

********
And yes, T2, I too believe that it takes effort to be deliberately cruel.

However, there are those who are also cruel by omission, thoughtlessness and laziness. putz and his minions and enablers personify both deliberate and negligent cruelty.

And we are all affected by this.

*******
I am not a Hillary supporter. But I do take issue with those who say that she is only a bit better than a Repo.

That was exactly the smear used to tear down Al Gore in 2000 ... that he and putz were basically the same.

NOT. SO.

Fool us once ... and you know the rest.

Don't fall for that.

So sorry to hear that a talented young actor has left us, apparently by choice.

He helped to do a lot of consciousness-raising.

RIP, Heath.

===============
A Rough-Edged Actor Who Carved An Indelible Image
By Hank Stuever
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 23, 2008; Page C01

A young movie star dies and the mind automatically cues up the clip reel and FFs through the footage, even before it occurs to you to simply turn on the television and just watch the actual, endless loop:

Here is Heath Ledger -- fresh and hunky and unknown -- singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" and dancing on the school stadium bleachers in a teen flick adaptation of Shakespeare ("10 Things I Hate About You," a reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew"). Here is Heath Ledger caressing that empty, soiled cowboy shirt kept by his dead lover in "Brokeback Mountain." And Heath Ledger as one of the Bob Dylans in "I'm Not There," in sunglasses and a dour expression, one of the Bob Dylans who were impossible to be around.

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

Whoodda thunk? Capitalists have met the enemy and he is THEM.

===================
Capitalism's Enemies Within
By Robert J. Samuelson
Wednesday, January 23, 2008; A19

Amid the mayhem on world financial markets, it is becoming clear that capitalism's most dangerous enemies are capitalists. No one can have watched the "subprime mortgage" debacle without noticing the absurd contrast between the magnitude of the failure and the lavish rewards heaped on those who presided over it. At Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, large losses on subprime securities cost chief executives their jobs -- and they left with multimillion-dollar pay packages. Stanley O'Neal, the ex-head of Merrill, received an estimated $161 million.

Everyday Americans will conclude (rightly) that this brand of capitalism is rigged in favor of the privileged few. It will be said in their defense that these packages reflected years of service, often highly successful. So? It's not as if these CEOs weren't compensated in all those years. If you leave your company a shambles -- with losses to be absorbed by lower-level employees, some of whom will be fired, and shareholders -- do you deserve a gold-plated send-off? Still, the more serious problem transcends the high pay itself and goes to the wider consequences for the economy.

Wall Street's pay practices perversely encourage extreme risk-taking that can destabilize the economy. Subprime mortgage losses may simply be chapter one. Now there are signs of problems involving securities known as "credit default swaps." Never mind the details. Concentrate on the possible fallout. If banks and investment houses sustain more losses, the nation's credit system will be further wounded and so will the economy. The Federal Reserve cut its key overnight interest rate yesterday from 4.25 percent to 3.5 percent -- a huge move -- in part to shore up this wobbly credit system.

By "Wall Street," I mean all the commercial banks, investment banks, mutual funds, hedge funds and the like that comprise the financial sector -- but particularly investment banks. Pay is eye-popping.

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

I guess that when it's your time to go, you do.

One way or another.

=============
January 23, 2008
Man Shot in Rescue From Crocodile
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 2:13 a.m. ET

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- A man rescued his colleague from the jaws of a crocodile in northern Australia but accidentally shot the unlucky co-worker in the process, police said Wednesday.

The two farmhands were collecting wild crocodile eggs on a riverbank Tuesday in Northern Territory when a crocodile snatched one of them, Jason Green, by the arm, the Northern Territory Police said in a statement.

''The male colleague shot at the crocodile, causing it to let go of the victim's arm, but a further shot hit the victim in the upper right arm,'' the statement said.

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

Jim Wallis, author of "The Great Awakening" was on JS  (jon stewart)

Finally, a dialogue is beginning between the difference between spiritual and religious.  Finally.  

He claims the RW RR is over, done.  May it be. 

Hi, Judy. I'm very excited for you tonight.  Give him a hug for all of us if you can.  :-)

I'm very disappointed in all three for not addressing this dangerous issue.This coming year will be a time when the damage Bush and Cheney have done so far will seem miniscule, compared to what they can and will do if allowed to continue running the US into the ground.

In the SC debate,  yesterday, the DEM candidates agreed that Bush has been incredibly destructive.Failure to impeach and quickly end the occupation will send the US into an irreversible nosedive.

The world is entering a time of chaos. It will be a time of fluctuations-- in power, finance, alliances, war...

Many things will not be as they seem.

The next year, with such massive instability, will be a time of great danger to the middle class. If you are afraid, you have good justification.

This coming year will be a time when the damage Bush and Cheney have done so far will seem miniscule, compared to what they can and will do if allowed to continue running the US into the ground.

Today, to intervene, hoping to damp the expected crash that the rest of the world experienced yesterday, the Fed cut a key interest rate 3/4s of a point. We still see, an hour into the market day, the market down 350 points-- with a massive rate cut. The Bush/Cheney administration is clueless and don't have any answers. It's not suprising, since they have made appointments based on loyalty, not competence. 

In the SC debate, yesterday, the candidates agreed that Bush has been incredibly destructive.

Hillary said, "We will inherit a huge amount of damage from President Bush." and Obama said, "When you look at Bush and Cheney and what they've done for us... They have given their party a very bad name. "

It is criminally insane for the congress to allow Bush and Cheney to continue, without holding impeachment hearings. The candidates, at least the Democratic candidates, should be challenged on impeachment at every opportunity. "If you know the damage Bush and Cheney are doing to the nation, why are you not supporting impeachment?"

It is screamingly obvious that the war in Iraq is siphoning off, sucking out the spine of our economy and without those funds, we are hurting.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_080122_is_the_dem_congress_.htm 

The above was all quote from the article, except the first sentence. 

I am relieved to see that saner ... and more compassionate ... policies have at least resulted in Israel's easing of sanctions on fuel supplies to Gaza.

Why people don't *get* the basic truth explained in this article is beyond me.

Many do seem to understand how torture is wrong when it is applied to one person. How about when it is applied to an entire people?

Collective punishment is not only a war crime. It simply does not work. It did not discourage resistance efforts in Occupied Europe, for example. People believed that they would ultimately die either way and preferred to do so by inflicting harm on as many of the hated occupiers as possible. I do NOT support the tactic, but it is a basic truth that is conveniently overlooked in the I-P situation, just as it is in Iraq.

People must have something to live FOR.

=====================
This brutal siege of Gaza can only breed violence
Palestinian suffering has reached new depths. Peace cannot be built by reducing 1.5m people to a state of abject destitution
Karen Koning AbuZayd in Gaza City
Wednesday January 23, 2008
The Guardian

Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and - some would say - encouragement of the international community. An international community that professes to uphold the inherent dignity of every human being must not allow this to happen.

Across this tiny territory, 25 miles long and no more than 6 miles wide, a deep darkness descended at 8pm on January 21, as the lights went out for each of its 1.5 million Palestinian residents. A new hallmark of Palestinian suffering had been reached.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/...

59. Thanks, sea, I will. It is difficult to focus on more mundane daily activities in the meantime, however.

We need impeachment on the table NOW.

Pre-emptive nuclear strike a key option, Nato told The west must be ready to resort to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to try to halt the "imminent" spread of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, according to a radical manifesto for a new Nato. Two changes are: No role in decision-taking on Nato operations for alliance members who are not taking part in the operations,and the use of force without UN security council authorization when "immediate action" is needed.

Yesterday's bumpy ride in the markets was not unexpected.

Lots of scurrying behind the scenes now apparently.

We'll see what today holds.

But anyone who has most of their investments in the stock market may be badly hurt.

Diversification is the best rule, but if one wasn't diversified before, now is a difficult time to begin.

==================
Rate cuts expected as governments try to calm markets
· Brown to meet French, Italian, German counterparts
· Demand for new regulations as US Fed slashes rates

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/...

These people are so desperate and the US does nothing, nothing, nothing to help them.  It's genocide. 

Palestinians blow up border wall Hundreds of Palestinians have surged into Egypt from the Gaza Strip after masked militants blew several holes in a border wall. The Gazans rushed to buy food, fuel and other supplies that have become scarce because of an Israeli blockade.

Here's what The Nation thinks about Monday night's debate.

Please do stay the course, John. Let the chips fall where they may.

And before Sitka flames me (LOL), I just want to say that his comments are sounding more and more dyspeptic of late and deliberately caustic rather than witty.

I hope that he is well.

================
Opinion
Clinton, Obama Come to Blows; Edwards Wins

The Nation -- In the edgiest debate of the Democratic presidential race, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton repeatedly engaged on Monday night in bitter and at times personal exchanges with one another.

And John Edwards effectively pointed to the heated squabbling between the two frontrunners in anticipation of Saturday's South Carolina Democratic primary as a deviation from the issues that matter.

[...]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/200801...

REALLY miss mprov!

If you are lurking, please don't be a stranger ... we need your voice here.

***********
Dave Lindorff is noticing exactly what is making me very nervous right now. It should make all of us nervous.

And this is the last for now. Have good ones.

==================
Dave Lindorff: The Bush Dollar Trap
Submitted by BuzzFlash on Tue, 01/22/2008 - 5:01pm. Dave Lindorff

The first government response to America's sinking economy was denial. We were told as recently as a month ago by administration officials and Wall Street charlatans that the economy was robust and that there would not be a recession. Now we are told the economy is in trouble, but the government is taking decisive action to shore it up.

We saw how effective the first "decisive" proposal was. Bush announced a plan to give every adult taxpayer (no poor people, thank you) $800 in a tax rebate this April. The stock market responded to this idea by dropping a few percent. The idea, as I wrote in my last column, was stupid to begin with because, with the U.S. no longer producing much of anything, all that bonus borrowed cash would end up getting spent on imported goods anyhow, doing next to nothing for the U.S. economy.

So now the Federal Reserve has weighed in with a ¾ percent cut in the Federal Funds rate. Even though commercial banks followed suit, lowering the prime lending rate by a similar ¾ percent, the stock market showed how much good that move would do, dropping almost 300 points at the opening bell today -- about what it had been expected to do even without an interest-rate cut.

There was one place where the Fed's action did have an impact though: the exchange value of the dollar in foreign currency markets. No sooner was word of the interest rate cut announced, than the dollar fell against major currencies such as the British Pound, the Euro, and the Japanese Yen.

And there's the rub. The Fed is in a trap. It cannot cut interest rates much more without causing a collapse in the dollar, which, because of the huge U.S. trade imbalance, and all those consumer goods and raw materials -- especially oil -- that are imported would lead to serious and politically dangerous inflation. And there is another constraint: with the current rate cut, the U.S. now has the third lowest interest rates in the world. If the Fed makes another cut, as it has hinted it might in a week or so, only Japan would have a lower interest rate environment than the U.S. That makes the dollar a very undesirable currency for foreigner investors, which means they won't want to hold dollars, and they won't want to hold U.S. stocks.

[...]
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/lindor...

I have no hope that any of the 3 will reign in this country.

Leading article: An unlawful policy of collective punishment Israel has attempted to get around this by arguing that it is no longer bound by the law governing the administration of occupied territories because it withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005. But that is thoroughly unconvincing. Israel still controls Gaza's borders, airspace and territorial waters. It may have begun referring to the Strip as a "hostile entity", but this is plainly an area still under Israeli control.

reign in  s/b rein in...but maybe the former is also true.  LOL

begin quote in middle of article

****************** 

".....That said, Edwards had the best night of his campaign tonight. He had the advantage of not being in anyone else's sights, but it was more than that: He kept the discussion on higher ground. His rhetoric was inspired. I welcome his participation in this campaign. Obama did very well too, especially given the siege he was under. But each of our already-formed impressions of the candidates affects the way we see these debates.

For their supporters, Hillary was a gusty firebrand tonight while Obama was eloquent and Edwards spoke truth to power. Their opponents had very different impressions. I'm trying to take a step back from any of those perceptions to ask myself: Which of these leaders has the best chance of carrying my message to the country, of turning my values and aspirations into reality?

I'll also be looking to see what each of these candidates brings out in their followers. Every advocate for a candidate, whether in public or private, tells us something about the forces that candidate is bringing forth. (Talk to any randomly-selected Bush supporter,if you don't believe me.) We can all disagree, and I've been as imperfect as anyone in stating my opinions. But insularity, defensiveness, and hyper-aggression don't advance any candidate's cause.

"...I'm guessing that the person you choose will disappoint you, too - unless you're so blinded by admiration that you stop paying attention.

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/12321 

National finance leaders - what a bunch of hooey.

I'm dreaming for Obama.
See, I came out of the closet. Wasn't  to difficult~

+++

sunlight -

Thanks for that comment.

ok, Tom has a point when he says, in essence, that my attempt at humor on the blog, is lame (and I was wondering why Comedy Central wasn't returning my calls but was returning my forwarded copies of some of my material).

Well, I'll watch The Oprah Winfrey Show today, to see if I can pick up any comedic tips from --

-- a guy named Chris:

http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml

...

What Makes America, America

See what happens when Chris Rock finds out about his roots. Then, it's a celebration of all things American! Hamburgers, a music legend and a priceless American treasure.

Good morning, everybody

Perused the last thread and found the quote from Obama's meeting.

Put it up on Hannah on "Sweet Obama"

brb 

    Tuesday 22 January 2008

    Organized labor, a fundamental constituency of the Democratic Party, is unhappy about lots of things these days, even though Democrats are in the majority in Congress.

    Its latest disappointment involves the economic stimulus package that soon will start moving on Capitol Hill. Some union leaders are worried that they are not being heard, particularly in the Senate, and that a group of Wall Street Democrats led by former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin is getting more attention.

    Case in point, labor leaders say, are the two initial hearings by the Senate Finance Committee on the stimulus bill. One will feature Jason Furman, director of the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project, a group heavy with Wall Street backers such as Rubin. The other will feature Peter R. Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, who is a former director of the Hamilton Project.

    "The Finance Committee is a bit more of a challenge for labor and progressives," said Bill Samuel, legislative director of the AFL-CIO. Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, said the labor federation is "working on" the finance panel's chairman, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), to persuade him to include labor's voice in later sessions.

    But Leo W. Gerard, president of United Steelworkers International, said organized labor's concerns go well beyond a couple of hearings. "We have a problem in the Democratic Party," he said. "There's way too much influence from K Street lobbyists and Rubinistas" - his term for Wall Street Democrats.

    "These aren't the guys you ought to be listening to. These are the guys who brought the economic insanity we're dealing with now," Gerard said. "This is the same crowd that helped engineer the credit crunch and the collapse of mortgages."

    On substance, labor economists such as those at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute like the idea of pouring money into infrastructure, such as road and bridge construction, as a way to create jobs and spur growth. Hamilton Project economists disagree, asserting that kind of spending takes too long to help the economy.

    On broader issues, Hamilton Project folks prefer free trade and abhor budget deficits; labor economists

    Tuesday 22 January 2008

    Organized labor, a fundamental constituency of the Democratic Party, is unhappy about lots of things these days, even though Democrats are in the majority in Congress.

    Its latest disappointment involves the economic stimulus package that soon will start moving on Capitol Hill. Some union leaders are worried that they are not being heard, particularly in the Senate, and that a group of Wall Street Democrats led by former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin is getting more attention.

    Case in point, labor leaders say, are the two initial hearings by the Senate Finance Committee on the stimulus bill. One will feature Jason Furman, director of the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project, a group heavy with Wall Street backers such as Rubin. The other will feature Peter R. Orszag, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, who is a former director of the Hamilton Project.

    "The Finance Committee is a bit more of a challenge for labor and progressives," said Bill Samuel, legislative director of the AFL-CIO. Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, said the labor federation is "working on" the finance panel's chairman, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), to persuade him to include labor's voice in later sessions.

    But Leo W. Gerard, president of United Steelworkers International, said organized labor's concerns go well beyond a couple of hearings. "We have a problem in the Democratic Party," he said. "There's way too much influence from K Street lobbyists and Rubinistas" - his term for Wall Street Democrats.

    "These aren't the guys you ought to be listening to. These are the guys who brought the economic insanity we're dealing with now," Gerard said. "This is the same crowd that helped engineer the credit crunch and the collapse of mortgages."

    On substance, labor economists such as those at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute like the idea of pouring money into infrastructure, such as road and bridge construction, as a way to create jobs and spur growth. Hamilton Project economists disagree, asserting that kind of spending takes too long to help the economy.

    On broader issues, Hamilton Project folks prefer free trade and abhor budget deficits; labor economists tend to think the opposite way.

    "On a lot of issues, they are definitely at odds," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. At the moment among Democrats, he added, "the Hamilton people have the upper hand."

    Labor officials are boiling over the prominence given by Democrats to Rubin and his successor at Treasury, Lawrence H. Summers. "If the agenda that Max [Baucus] pushes forward represents the interest of the Hamilton Project, it will be a terrible disservice to the middle class," Gerard said.

    But at least labor might get its say in the Senate. A day after The Post asked the Finance Committee about labor's complaints, the AFL-CIO's Samuel e-mailed to say that the committee had agreed to invite a labor person to testify - eventually.

    Another Union Complaint ...

    Democrats are holding their presidential nominating convention in Denver this summer. You would think, then, that there would be plenty of unionized hotels there to accommodate the delegates and please the party's union friends.

    In fact, local officials say Denver has only one unionized hotel, a Hyatt at the convention center - and organized labor is unhappy about the shortage. Stay tuned.

*******************************

Go Unions.  NO FEAR.  FREE AMERICA is in the balance.

54.

JudyforDean
Wed, 01/23/08

Hope you did take or are taking pictures of your big night.

Sitka is not the only dyspeptic one around here lately, myself included. We will prolly stay that way until the Dem candidate is decided. I don't know why I would really like to know if there are any among regular bloggers here who are paid to do so. It changes the color of things for me from a regular old coffee shop where you hang w/ like minded friends to a place where 'professionals' come in to influence, unfairly imo, b/c it changes the issue of trust, a little like infiltration. I guess like anything else in life you have to be an informed 'consumer.'

To me Mahatma Ghandi is much too precious to have jokes made about him.  Here is HRC making one though.  Of course she later apologized.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDHbHcOV1N4

    "These aren't the guys you ought to be listening to. These are the guys who brought the economic insanity we're dealing with now," Gerard said. "This is the same crowd that helped engineer the credit crunch and the collapse of mortgages."

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

Thanks for finding that Martha. You don't have to be in a Union to know they are fighting for you. and if you are fighting Unions in this Party you made a wrong turn somewhere

this is what a 10-year civil war helps produce and what a new government inaugurated this past Nov has to tackle :

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080122/ap_on_re_af/unicef_world_children_2

Child mortality highest in Sierra Leone

By ELIANE ENGELER, Associated Press Writer

Tue Jan 22, 1:19 PM ET

GENEVA - A newborn in Sierra Leone has the lowest chance in the world of surviving until age 5, and the prospects are almost as bad for children in Angola and Afghanistan, according to a U.N. report released Tuesday.

...

In 2006, the latest year for which statistics were available, Sierra Leone had the highest child mortality rate, with 270 deaths per 1,000 births. Angola was second with 260 deaths, followed by Afghanistan with 257.

The rate worldwide in 2006, in contrast, was 72 deaths per 1,000 births. The average rate in industrialized countries was six deaths per 1,000 births.

...

Zogby on SC

43 - Obama
25 - Clinton
15 - Edwards

1/5 of blacks 'undecided'
Whites tied 32 32 (I think) Clinton/Edwards. Obama 18 whites.

High undecided in AA's says 'they may not vote.' Obama must energize AA vote. Clinton must raise questions about Obama. If Edwards went to Clinton, or if Clinton gets w/in 5 votes or so, could be 'moral victory' and Obama would not have impetus into super Tue. Risk in SC - wounds open up in black/white in SC - would hurt Clinton in November.

This is an unofficial transcript of Zogby on Cspan. LOL.

Annilow

It is pretty easy to spot "paid" disrupters. We unfortunately once in while think a lurker that speaks up is one and chase away legitimate posters.

the military teams that roam the internet for Poindexter's project are a little harder to spot

bbl

To me Mahatma Ghandi is much too precious to have jokes made about him.  Here is HRC making one though.  Of course she later apologized.

...

+++

rae -

Indeed, just like Sitka, I got Clinton fatigue (from their hit [attack/demean] and run [standard line of apology] and Bill's "facts are facts" -- "I never had ...).

I don't want a third term for Bill to continue, mainly just for him and his wife to save his legacy, from the first two lackluster terms.

I'm tired of dynasties in America -- be they Bush or Clinton.

Phil -

How's your eye this morning ?

Just for the record, the following respected (by me anyway) newspapers have endorsed Obama:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sacramento Bee

in addition the State reportedly largest newspaper in South Carolina has endorsed Obama.

Would be interesting to see if/who the SJ Mercury News endorses, considering the long and happy relationship btw Silicon Valley and Clinton (the other one, the one not running for President).

This is way off topic, but if you have the inclination please read the entire article.  This woman was amazing. 

Smith Jones was well-known in Alaska and beyond as an activist, and a feisty one. She took on her own Native corporation in a fight against clear-cutting on ancestral lands near Cordova. She oversaw the repatriation of bones when the Smithsonian Institution was forced to give them back. And she spoke at a United Nations conference on indigenous peoples.

She was a tiny woman who smoked like a chimney and wasn't afraid to say exactly what she thought. And reporters far and wide wanted to know.

She once told a writer from The New Yorker who knocked on her door to buzz off. She reconsidered when the fresh halibut brought as tribute wouldn't fit in her mailbox, leaving her no choice but to open the door.

http://www.adn.com/rural/story/291119.html

This newspaper has a link to a video about her. 

http://www.adn.com/rural/story/291119.html

745:am

Impeach!

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_080122_is_the_dem_congress_.htm

In the SC debate, yesterday, the candidates agreed that Bush has been incredibly destructive.

Hillary said, "We will inherit a huge amount of damage from President Bush." and Obama said, "When you look at Bush and Cheney and what they've done for us... They have given their party a very bad name. "

It is criminally insane for the congress to allow Bush and Cheney to continue, without holding impeachment hearings. The candidates, at least the Democratic candidates, should be challenged on impeachment at every opportunity. "If you know the damage Bush and Cheney are doing to the nation, why are you not supporting impeachment?"

It is screamingly obvious that the war in Iraq is siphoning off, sucking out the spine of our economy and without those funds, we are hurting.

It is time for the Democrats in congress to stand up to the failed, incompetent, but loud-mouthed right wing financial, economic, military incompetents who have led our country to the brink of ruin. If Pelosi and Reid fail to take action now, they should be drummed out of congress. They have a historic opportunity to rescue America. Waiting a year, until the next president is inaugurated is far too long. They must act courageously, now.

It is essential that the democrats in congress get the message that simple tax breaks are not going to ingratiate them to the public. Simple tax breaks will not persuade the public that the congress has a handle on the economic problems we face. On the contrary, people see this as a weak, shallow, meaningless, almost insulting gesture.

The way the congress can help America is to get Cheney, then Bush out, and put someone in who can function competently and intelligently-- maybe James Baker. Yes, he is a Republican. But he is competent and it is not possible to put a Democrat in. That will have to wait.

87.

Annilow -

cChalfonte, pinsocal, Denise, etc. might have a better feel for CA voting patterns this prez election cycle but it appears (from what I've read) that Northern CA (ie. San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, etc.) is leaning to Obama, whereas Southern CA (ie. Los Angeles, San Diego, etc.) is leaning to Clinton.

Question of the day:

What demographic group has been the most loyal in voting democrat (ie. in local, state and national elections) over the years ?

I'm not sure how IndySteve proposes to "deal" with Obama's race.  There's really nothing Obama can do about it.  He is what he is.  And, if we were to be historically accurate, he'd be referred to as "mulatto."  That's how the early census lists referred to mix-raced individuals.  The problem, of course, is that there are no racial categories in the human species that have any genetic significance.  Humans have superficial differences that make some appear more distinct than others, but that's a matter of perception.  You know, the "eye of the beholder" thing.  There really isn't any way that any person can affect what another sees, whether he's looking in the mirror or looking at someone else.

Can we affect how someone interprets the significance of what he sees?  Certainly we do that when children are first learning to talk.  We make them aware that there's a difference between a rabbit and a cat, etc.  And we teach them the names of colors, some of which are likely to be preferred over others.  Who knows why.  My brother-in-law hates green. 

Has Obama been culturally affected by the fact that his father was born in Africa?  Probably not as much as he was affected by the fact that the father departed before he was old enough to remember him as a person.  It gives him something that he has in common with a lot of people--an awareness that, when you come right down to it, fathers are not all that important.  And that's a reality that a lot of men are going to resent--a lot of men who want to be important without being responsible.

Women, on the other hand, have long had to be responsible without being recognized as important and that may well be what women are looking to see changed  in Hillary's ascendance.  If so, then to the extent she demonstrates herself to be just as irresponsible as Bill, she's going to be in trouble.  Indeed, to the extent that she fails to compensate for Bill's irresponsible behavior, she's going to lose stature.

Obama's rap on the transformative nature of Reagan's reign may have been a bit too sophisticated, but Bill and Hillary ascribing a value judgement to him ("good" and "better") was, IMHO, a big mistake.

What Hillary said was:

My leading opponent the other day said that he thought the Republicans had better ideas than Democrats the last 10 to 15 years 

What Bill said was:

(My wife's) principal opponent said that since 1992, the Republicans have had all the good ideas....I'm not making this up, folks. 

Of course, to anyone who's paid attention to Bill, I'm not making this up is a dead give away that he is.  Unlike Bush Two, Bill is a lousy liar, probably because he knows when he's doing it.

Now, aside from the fact that Obama didn't use the words better or good, what his rap implied was that in his estimation the American people have HAD it up to here with the Republican way of doing things and are ready for a real change--not a little bit of tweaking around the edges or an add on, but a transformation or what someone else might refer to as a revolution.  You know, that thing that's not going to be televised.  Prompting him to be more explicit and make the point that the Clinton interlude was just an add-on was stupid.  But then, of course, the Clintons have been promoting themselves as Republican-lite all along and the only reason the real Republican didn't get in in '92 was because the electorate was split three ways.  

Surely they didn't pounce on Obama because they thought he was stealing their thunder!

But, why else make the point that "we're all the heirs of Ronald Reagan" and give him an opportunity to disavow that interpretation?

Maybe it's all just a consequence of being wedded to the public relations model of society--a bunch of sheeple just waiting to be led.

Whatever.  What I find particularly telling is the repeated use of the word opponent . This suggests a mind-set that's really out of synch with the electorate.  It's one thing to invent enemies with which one is going to engage in mortal combat; it's another to portray a candidate for public office with whom many citizens already identify as the enemy.  Will they take the next step and refer to him as an insurgent as several people in the media (Mark Shields and Robert Brownstein) did after New Hamphire?  One reason I think the word was planted is because, although he used it in a National Journal article, Brownstein tempered it by referring to Clinton as "resurgent," thereby diluting the "insurgent" tag he put on Obama.  It's my sense that the script calls for a subliminal association to be made between the Muslim brotherhood (vide Robert Johnson's in the hood reference) and Muhamad Ali and the turmoil of the 1960s on which the Reaganauts have been fixated ever since.

As Howard Dean correctly observed, the Republican candidates are all old men from the 1950s.  If they have a theme song, it should probably be "Where Have All Our Powers Gone?"   Remember flower power?  Now there's a phrase that meant one thing to some people and something entirely different to others.  To some people it meant peace; to others it meant impotence.  So, what the Republicans have put forward is a bunch of impotent old men whose potency is supposed to be restored by being transformed into a POTUS.

And, how does Bill Clinton differ from them?  See Ronald Cloud's report from Macon, GA above. 

At the risk of offending some, let me just suggest that the difference between colonialism and globalism is the difference between begin raped at the point of a knife and being raped after being drugged. 

* rdorgan
Wed, 01/23/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Italians?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080123/pl_nm/usa_politics_poll_dc_1

Obama leads Clinton in South Carolina: poll

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

Wed Jan 23, 1:11 AM ET

...

The economy was listed as the top issue among South Carolina voters, by 49 percent, with the war in Iraq second at 24 percent.

Obama led consistently among almost all sub-groups, including men, women, liberals, conservatives, young voters, low-income voters, high-income voters and union households.

Clinton edged Obama out among the oldest voters, above age 70, usually her greatest strength. Edwards led Obama among Republicans.

...

Unfortunately, the high time for unions is long gone. My dad was a teamster and shop steward for over 30 years. His pension allowed him to have a nice retirement. He had a degree but never really used it. The Sun Cities of this world used to be populated by pensioners from GE and the big 3 auto. They made enough to live a solid middle-class life for their entire lifetimes. Those days are over.
The Taft-Hartly act in 1947 was the real start of the union downfall. Rambo accelerated the fall by laying off the air-traffic controllers. He was almost shrill in urging the big 3 auto managers to bust the unions. It grates on Repubs to have to pay someone with a high school diploma the same as white-collar workers. I hear that all the time from business leaders. Who do these unwashed slaves think they are? The counter argument is low-skill union jobs were overpaid for their benefit to the company. Someone tell me what value financial geniuses who mismanage their companies into near bankruptcy add to the bottom line – especially with their severance agreements.
Having been in the business world all of my life, managers are both opportunistic and lazy. They will always take the easy way out and will gleefully screw anyone for a buck. I don’t know if we have too many lawyers, but we have way too many MBA holders who are totally clueless about the role of business in our society.
Outsourcing trades jobs for products. The jobs that are being added may not require advanced training and pay less. Unions are stuck trying to unionize workers in low skilled service jobs. Right-to-work laws guarantee they will eventually fail. If hotel workers go on strike in Ohio, they can be easily replaced with other workers.
If I had my way, the Taft-Hartly law would be modified to allow easier union organizing, protect striking workers by not allowing scabs and prevent employer retaliation.

Hi all.  This is a quickie--on my way out the door to work.

Monica, I wondered the same re. Indy's comment about "dealing" with it. 

rd, I'll check to see if I can find those stats...CA voters.

have a great day, all. 

80.  The Mahatma Ghandi clip is a good example of racial insensitivity serving as the glue of social intercourse.  It's actually rather abusive of the audience because it makes them complicit in, at a minimum. rudeness towards someone who doesn't deserve such treatment.

What it leads me to think is that instead of pointing out racially insensitive or dismissive remarks, we should categorize the people behave in that manner more accurately by pointing out their rudeness.

Rude is a word that everyone understands.  A nice Anglo Saxon four letter word whose meaning is crystal clear.  

It is just going to take awhile for the voters to sort it all out Monica, hopefully there is no "winner" on Feb 5th because the Clinton's have successfully swiftied Obama, right at this point, and we have not successfully changed the "transformative" debate and linked it to the new economy (the marriage of Edwards' and Obama's messsage).

that change is going to come however much the Clinton's try to muddy the waters because they are part of the old way of thinking

92.

As the usual highly-thought-through analysis of Monica's, she hit this one out of the park too.  Good comment.

96.

Thanks.

98.

this prez election cycle reminds me of the 1968 one --

-- where there was a generational clash, a change vs status quo battle, a new to politics vs old guard struggle

Let's hope it turns out better than that one 40 years ago.

When I was hiring folks, all personel attributes were removed from HR. I got a resume sans name; just a HR number.
I had no pre-conceived notions. Several times I read the resume of some really wonderful person who developed really creative financial chains. Great stuff. Twice they were grandmothers. I hired them on the spot.

If I were Obama supporters I would want to deal with the race issue before the vote becuase Clinton is going to lose and then blame it on the exit polls that show 80% of the black vote went to Obama. and try to identify him as a "transformative" candidate based on his race, so very much diminishing what he really stands for.

I do reject Steve's argument, those voters are all reThugs already.

I got my first lesson in the meaning of rude from a nun, when I was about thirteen years old, who told me that it's rude to comment on someone's attire or appearance, even if the comment is complementary, unless that person is a familiar or close associate.  I'd think that would also apply to making rude comments about people who aren't present to defend themselves.

Don't be rude  is, of course, the short form of if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all or the eleventh commandment that applies only to Republicans.

Of course, if we call them on their rudeness, we might be accused of being PC.  But, IMHO, a little more PC is long overdue.  I mean, when so-called political leaders can get away with threatening to drown things in the bath-tub, a little political correction is definitely called for.  I mean, that was way beyond rude. 

* rdorgan
Wed, 01/23/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Italians?

+++

Michael -

Nice try.

African Americans.

95.  If you've got some spare time, you might be interested in exploring the role of work contracts negotiated by slaves and their relationship to the perennial problem of plantations going bankrupt.  Our history books tell us that the slave economy was not able to be sustained because the slaves were not sufficiently productive.  What I would suggest this really means is that the plantations didn't produce enough to permit owners to continually live beyond their means--to spend winters in the capitals of Europe and ship home boatloads of fancy furnishings and clothes and jewels without borrowing more than the crops brought in the market.

Our history books tell us that slaves were prevented from forming families because they were sold.  What they don't tell us is that the reason for the sale was most often bankruptcy--the exact same pattern we are seeing played out today.

BTW, in the old days, the middlemen were referred to as "factors."  What we've got today is too many factors. 

90% of what passes for political humor is rude Monica

If I were the Obama campaign I would be making an all out push for hispanic voters in California

if I were swiftie minded I would just send out Hillary's Iowa immigration mailing

If you think race is a tough issue, immigration is tougher, but the candidates seemed determined to let the rovian framing stand, so as the recession deepens they have their scapegoat, and the damage done to the dollar's buying power by the Bush tax cuts goes unchallenged.

worse a bidding war for tax cuts in a "stimulus" package is unfolding 

If I were the Obama campaign I would be making an all out push for hispanic voters in California

...

+++

Phil -

They beat ya to the punch on that suggestion.

They've been doing that well before the Nevada caucus. 

There's two problems for Obama with hispanic voters:

1) they [hispanics] are the least active (nationally, not locally, where they're very active) regarding politics and thus a lot of them are going on name recognition:

2) there's been friction between AAs and Hispanics that goes back a long way in America (a lot of it happens to be a competition for jobs, especially lower-paying ones; also, there's the idea that hispanics have not had to "pay their dues" as much as AAs have had to do; etc.)

! Se si puede ! has been a campaign slogan for a long time with the Obama '08 campaign as well as hispanic groups for Obama.

It's just that the Obama campaign is up against years of history to overcome.

I think he will overcome it -- I have "hope" (and sometimes, that's the strongest emotion and the strongest attraction).

Endorsements from CA's U.S. Rep Linda Sanchez, etc. helps.

Monica

I want to thank you for all the countless well thought out posts you bring to this blog. Our mix makes this the best in the business despite all of the handicaps we endure to post here.

as we move to Florida, thanks too to the gang from that fair state, because we all have a better understanding of Florida politics than most

and I am really looking forward to the next report from overseas

107.  OK, fine, so call me a prude.  LOL

The HC ghandi gas station "joke" was particularly obnoxious since she's obviously trying for a another group that's "safe" to target.  Indians and Pakistanis who have managed to make a living out of really marginal roadside enterprises like old motels and gas stations and defunct fast-food establishments are a sensitive issue with whites and some blacks who can't figure out where the financing comes from and conclude, perhaps accurately, that financial institutions have engaged in preferential treatment.

Preferential treatment is not, btw, prohibited by civil rights statutes, even in regulated industries.   

* rdorgan
Wed, 01/23/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK, so whats your point? AAs basically have not had any reason to vote for the Republicans? You state the obvious...........perhaps you should better ask the question, why did so many Democrats defect to become Reagan Democrats in the 1980s? 

Tax cuts = welfare for accountants.  Sort of like hamburger for the guard dogs.

BTW, thanks for the kind words yesterday and today.  Now I've got to take care of some grandmother chores.  Our grandson is coming to live with us. 

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/latinoshome/

Obama

Coalition of California Latino Leaders Announce Endorsements of Obama: Former Supporters of New Mexico Governor Richardson Now Backing Obama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3vDxvnxuqU

The Clinton attempt to define Obama for him is what is distasteful about Carville style politics, but it is a mild, mild version of Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh's.

I just write off the ditto heads, but why is it the working class women are favoring Hillary when her economics plans are "Rubinistos"; Obama has to do better at explaing how his transformed economy lifts those boats, because for a brief few years in the nineties they were coming up off the rocks. 

ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATES

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080122_who_will_take_on_the_banks/

It was smart of the top Democrats to cut presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich out of that South Carolina debate, where they lamely attempted to deal with the dire consequences of the banking meltdown without confronting the banks. They made all the proper concerned noises about millions of folks losing their retirement savings and homes, but none was willing to say what Kucinich would have said: Bankers are crooks who will steal from the public unless the government holds them accountable.

I bring this up now not to push a Kucinich presidential candidacy, which seems quite forlorn given the power of big money and big media to set the stage for permissible political debate, but rather to hold out a yardstick for measuring the “progressivism” of the top three Democrats. Sure, they all would be preferable to their likely Republican alternatives, although Sen. John McCain has been far better than all three Democrats on both campaign-finance reform and taking on the defense contractors who have been bleeding us dry since 9/11. I got a little worried when Sen. Hillary Clinton said she could do the best job in confronting McCain on national security; she is shameless in throwing money at war profiteers, while McCain has held the line on some of the more egregiously wasteful military expenditures.

With a military budget that has more than doubled since 9/11, soaking up trillions of dollars in obligations for future generations, it is stupid to argue about whether the Democrats or Republicans would spend more on needed domestic programs, because the money for those programs will not be available. Kucinich was the one candidate on the Democratic side willing to do what Rep. Ron Paul has in the Republican debates—challenge the phony patriotism of ripping off the taxpayers for war-fighting expenditures in Iraq and elsewhere, leaving us less secure.

dogsoldier 

I usually hire the person who needs a paycheck the worst, work with them to build on their strengths and send them on to a better paying job. That would be my workplace if the rest of the economy wasn't so dependent on cheap food, lol. my tasks are a little too physical to hire grandmothers(put the bat away grandma) but I did hire the only one who applied,  gender wise I'm about 50/50 over the years, and men dump juggling child care and transportation issues on the women, so I have to be more flexible

I can really understand the appeal of a woman President. If only they came out of the workplace, we have them in the Progressive Caucus in the House. how about doubling child care credits as a Democratic stimulus

Unions of today have come along ways; there was a period when they had the "I've got mine Jack" attitude and fought against universal health care because they had won theirs after a long struggle, the same for pensions.

The comments seem to be screwy over at HEP, so I'm cross-posting here. (Dogma is my mom) for those that might want to send some positive vibes towards Rochester, NY.

*************************************

Hi everyone.

Dogma is in surgery now and I am in the waiting room, trying not to be a nervous wreck. They said the surgery could take up to 4 hours and they just started.

At least they have an internet connection here...
Jessica | 01.23.08 - 9:15 am | #

How come there's no time stamp here anymore? How do you know if people are around?

The  biggest problem facing our economy has been the rip-off of productivity gains preventing the workforce from keeping up with buying power

that is why macro numbers look so much better than ground truth 

bbl

sending vibes jjem

All the best vibes to Dogma, Jessica.

♥  Sending positive vibes and white light to you and your Mom.

118,
Asking personel finance questions violates the law. Even couching them in terms that seem just smalltalk can be used in a court of law. It is too easy to be sued for discrimination if I hired on the basis of need. This way, I only use job qualifications and cannot be sued (some have tried).

the damage done to the dollar's buying power by the Bush tax cuts goes unchallenged

The dollar is weak because our interest rates are lower than in Europe.  The rates are lower because our rate of inflation is 25%-40% lower than most European economies.  Pay less interest on each dollar and it reduces its international appeal.  People would rather hold Euro's at 6% than dollars at 3.5%.  Tax cuts have nothing to do with it.  Next up, how the tax cuts five years ago caused the current cold spell.  Film at 11:00.

122,
The productivity gains are a mirage. They are really labor arbitrage where labor is traded for goods. The only gain in productivity comes from cheap foreign labor.

Jessica -

Good luck and godspeed with your mother's surgery.

(I don't know about anybody else, but this humanizing aspect of this blog, where members come to get encouragement, etc., is nice to see and reminds me very much of Sunday service where blank prayer cards are passed around and then given back to the one doing the service, to read outloud and pray and hope on)

127,
You are spot on Fox. Also, the tax cuts could cause the dollar to no longer be held by foreign governments. So far the dollar beats the Euro because the Euro is a currency without a country; but this advantage may be undone by how worthless the dollar is.
Why pretty soon, the dollar will be so low that China will not fund the Iraq War anymore.

Jessica,
I hope your mother's surgery and recovery go well.

Ah there you are Jessica!

Taking the timestamp helped stop this blog from jumping around so much.

It is now 6:35 PT

Sending love to you and mom

The  biggest problem facing our economy has been the rip-off of productivity gains preventing the workforce from keeping up with buying power

What does that sentence mean??  Productivity per worker is measured by total GDP divided by the work force to produce the same.  Technology over the last 150 years has steadily increased productivity average per worker.  1.  How is that a "rip-off"  2.  What does that increase in GDP produced by the workers have to do with buying (I think you mean purchasing) power of the individual worker?  It does not make any sense.

Thanks everyone!

Sorry for the delay. I went out to have a cigarrette in the smoking shelter..."conveniently" located like 1/2 mile from the hospital entrance.

Jessica, good wishes to you and your Mom. Hope all goes well.

HC could lock this thing up if she came out with a program that resonates with women.
Phil suggested increased child-care credits. How about increasing the survivor option for SS receipients. It would require the SS IOUs to be paid back and additional funding streams to be improved (remove the upper level exemption), but it is doable. How about putting a moratorium on forecloseures which kick women and kids into the streets. Force lending institutions to work with the borrowers including discounting the loan for a while, refinancing at lower rates; there are all sorts of options. True universal health care will remove the fear of getting sick. How about a security policy that talks before shoots and works to remove tension before causing it?

133,
Not quite true. Productivity includes the work done for a company by foreign workers.

I agree that it is so sad that what was known as a community of like minded people, all considered to be some what friends, for their commonality, have been lowered to members resorting to accusing, name calling and making slanderous accusations against the members here when they are talking about politics and our politicians.

It has changed this place dramatically.

137,
This productivity has caused profits and company working capital to increase; but this benefit has not transferred to the American worker. The benefit has gone exclusively to the stock holders.
So outsourcing has increased company profits while decreasing wages for all. Current productivity is not the result of new and more efficient plants and equipment which allows workers to make more goods and make more money.

The rates are lower because our rate of inflation is 25%-40% lower than most European economies

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

excluding the "volitile" food and energy componenets lol

So if we want to improve long-term wage positions and at the same time allow for good ROI, then invest in people and equipment that stays here. To do that, chose industries that haven't been outsourced yet. This is becoming harder and harder to do as coporate america is looking off shore first before building here. They have to be coaxed into spending here and that will take subsidies.

140,
but we all know the rate is artificial and cannot be sustained for very long. Countries are already abandoning the dollar as a reserve currency. If that accellerates then the FED will have to raise interest rates which will fuel inflation which will really hurt.

82.

my second home -- Sierra Leone (just like with Howard Dean, I offer kudos to another doctor -- Samuel Kargbo for staying with the struggle):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7202278.stm

Last Updated: Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 12:32 GMT

In the past ten days I have seen dozens of newborn babies and I have been present at several births.

But although all children may be born equal, their life chances very much depend on where they are born.

In Sierra Leone one in four children will die before their fifth birthday. In Sweden it is one in 350.

...

Little infrastructure

The almost total lack of infrastructure is one reason.

The roads - or tracks - are in appalling condition making the transport of medical supplies - and sick patients - a lengthy struggle.

In Kabala itself, a sprawling settlement of more than 100,000 people, there is no mains electricity or sanitation.

...

Samuel Kargbo stayed in Sierra Leone throughout the horrendous civil war.

He brought basic health services and vaccines to children who lived in the rebel areas.

He had to negotiate his way across checkpoints and his life was frequently at risk.

Now he is one of just two doctors in a region of nearly 300,000 people.

Having trained in Russia, Germany and the UK, Dr Kargbo could easily get a job overseas.

But he refuses to leave. "A lot of doctors who qualify in Freetown, go abroad", he said.

"Some forget that the greatest need is here".

He earns around $200 - £100 - a month.

Emergency operation

We watched as he performed an emergency Caesarean section.

The baby was blocked and would die unless it was delivered.

Apart from the operating table and an overhead lamp there is almost no equipment in the room.

Facilities are rudimentary

The matron acts as anaesthetist; the mother's blood pressure is checked by holding her wrist.

And yet despite the severe limitations a baby boy is safely delivered.

Dr Kargbo says that had this happened a year ago before the maternity unit opened the baby and possibly his mother, would have died.

...

there has been a historic record of the division of productivity gains, economists measure everything, and this recovery (period since the last recession)has had productivity gains

read a little of the current discussion of this by Robert Reich is you need a primer

and the historic share of productivity gains has not been matched for labor in the Bush era

and a currency is valued for the full faith and credit of the printer of such currency, and giving away revenue in the form of tax cuts creating a deficit calls into question it's value

I understand the purposeful undervaluing of our currency to match the manipulations of the Chinese bad money but it didn't work

the end result is $90 oil in dollars

I wouldn't expect a Republican to understand what $3 gas does to the average family budget since Exxon has record profits.

new thread

fyi - new Front thread

They have to be coaxed into spending here and that will take subsidies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

or closing loopholes favoring outsourcing

Phil,
The price of oil is also due to demand by India and China. Our monetary policy hasn't helped, but world-wide demand for energy has also hurt us.

147,
I think it is better to remove the systemic need first. We can limit foreign visas, but some companies simply hire foreign workers as employees and bypass the restrictions.
A true living wage is discussed by Wallis in "God's Politics" which tends to put everyone on equal footing.
We could also charge tariffs on foreign goods or impose a tax on companies that outsource by simply having a booster on their outsource payroll. This is hard to do also as many companies to thru a domestic shell which outsources; oftern to two or three levels. These practices tend to be inflationary but may be necessary.

67. --  And before Sitka flames me (LOL)

If you don't flame me for stating my own facts and opinions we'll get along fine. 

LOL. 

116.  They think she's a working woman?

One who's made it big?

That's why I think letting Bill out was a big mistake.  

Personally, I could have supported Hillary, if she had reputed the war in Iraq and the planning that went into it.  She wasn't there at the planning stage and the fiction that she was involved in all aspects of the Clinton reign (the source of her experience) didn't hold up anyway.  But, where she stands now is in the posture of cleaning up behind not just Bubba, but Bushie, as well.  All we can count on is more sweeping under the rug.  Which is, of course, just how Poppy likes it.  All sub-rosa stuff.