Howard Dean is first. Donna is a close second tonight.

You're welcome, Donna. It was truly my pleasure to help someone as good as you to help the rest of us.

In this day of you tube - one would think that they would think before they attack another for *plagiarizing*. Whoops!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ7Cs3QvT...

"Obama wasn't in town to vote, but at least said he would have voted against it."

More  words.  I would prefer that he had been there.

Who would work harder to end war? To answer, I think we have to examine their relationship with Israel.  We know that they both support AIPAC and this subject seems to have been studiously avoided.  They both have spoken to AIPAC members.  JE never did.

I'm going to run look on their websites. 

57.

Sitka
Fri, 02/22/08

Never heard of JFK saying that. As puddle asks, please provide the quote.

66.

puddle
Fri, 02/22/08

Nobody seems to mind that JFK's saying it gets most of the credit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No way, Jose. Find me the quote. Please

==================================
Right, my mistake, I must have been thinking of this one

"So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof.

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate"

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_F._Ken...

Danny 
 Communications Director

Hello Danny,
as the Communications Director could you communicate to us why this blog is in such bad shape in regards to it's technical functioning?
Is it the job of a communication director to facilitate communication?

Thanks for your response.

The diehards want to know~

More  words.

In contrast to the anti-Israel version of Hillary portrayed during parts of the 1970s, some sources claim this trip gave Hillary an inspired appreciation for the state of Israel, and if so, it may have mitigated her alleged pro-PLO sympathies, giving more balance in her perspective. A friend of the Clintons says: "Bill and Hillary understood the profound effect that Israel has on American Jews and around the world and share a feeling for the security and stability of the State of Israel."

Several months later, while attending a meeting of the Palestinian National Council, Hillary praised Yasser Arafat's leadership and again called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

In 1999, while traveling in the Middle East, Hillary had a joint appearance with Yasser Arafat's wife, Suha. Ms. Arafat took the occasion to accuse Israel of poisoning her people. It was an outlandish accusation, but it did not stop Hillary from giving Suha a kiss when she finished talking.

Roll forward 8 months. Hillary, now a candidate for the Senate, called for moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, "the eternal & indivisible capital of Israel."

In this day of you tube - one would think that they would think before they attack another for *plagiarizing*. Whoops!

I guess it's ok to "plagiarize"  your spouse, but not your friend.

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate

Obama quoted that last night. Seemed like a winning point to me. 

as the Communications Director could you communicate to us why this blog is in such bad shape in regards to it's technical functioning?

As one who never complains about it, I must say that it seems reasonable to expect someone from HQ to show up just once and say, "OK. Here's the deal with the blog." 

 March 16, 2007
The Problem with Barack Obama's Israel Pose
by Joshua Frank

Sen. Barack Obama isn't quite sure how he feels about the lopsided situation between Israel and Palestine. Less than two weeks after Obama gloated to AIPAC about his love for Israel, he unexpectedly admitted the truth while campaigning in Iowa recently. "[N]obody is suffering more than the Palestinian people..." said Obama, "the Israeli government must make difficult concessions for the peace process to restart..." The truth hurts indeed, and Obama has been feeling the wrath of the pro-Israel activists since his statement last week.

Nonetheless, Obama shouldn't be trusted on the issue. While Rep. Dennis Kucinich hired avid pro-Palestine advocate Noura Erakat to sit on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Obama has been backpedaling – assuring AIPAC and others that he is unwavering in his support for Israel's continued bullying of Iran and occupation of Palestine.

"[Iran] is a genuine threat" to the United States and Israel, expressed Obama at a forum sponsored by AIPAC on March 12 in Washington D.C., only one day after his lucid remarks in Iowa. At the event Obama also reiterated that he would not rule out the use of force in disarming Iran, a position shared by the other leading Democratic presidential contenders, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.

Earlier this month on March 2, Obama spoke at an AIPAC Policy Forum in Chicago where he clearly laid out his full stance on Israel, promising he would not alter the U.S./Israeli relationship. "[W]e must preserve our total commitment to our unique defense relationship with Israel by fully funding military assistance and continuing work on the Arrow and related missile defense programs," he said. "This would help Israel maintain its military edge and deter and repel attacks from as far as Tehran and as close as Gaza."

So while Obama admits that Palestinians suffer more than Israelis, he still won't do a damn thing to balance out the asymmetrical relationship. In fact, Obama has made it clear that U.S. taxpayers will continue to foot the bill for Israel's ever-growing arsenal of weapons and missiles if he is indeed elected president in 2008.

In Obama's March 2 speech, he even had the audacity to declare that "we have to press for enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which demands the cessation of arms shipments to Hezbollah, a resolution which Syria and Iran continue to disregard. Their support and shipment of weapons to Hezbollah and Hamas, which threatens the peace and security in the region, must end."

If Obama is truly interested in invoking U.N. Resolutions to prop up his case for a military assault on Iran, we may as well note the some 65 Resolutions the senator has blatantly ignored that condemn Israel's actions – past and present – including Resolution 242 which calls for the withdraw of "Israeli armed forces from territories occupied" during the Six-Day War of 1967.

Sen. Obama, despite his acknowledgment of Palestinian suffering, has little to offer those who recognize that lasting peace in the Middle East will only begin when the U.S. radically alters its relationship with Israel. Continued funding of Israel's illegal occupation won't end the violence – it'll only continue it.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=Uh6&q=obama+on+israel&btnG=Search 

Wonder why MSM is not picking up on this story.

A judge in Los Angeles yesterday allowed Hollywood mogul Peter F. Paul to begin taking sworn testimony in his $17 million fraud suit against former President Bill Clinton, but a technicality delayed establishment of a trial date.

California Superior Court Judge Aurelio N. Munoz ruled Paul's legal team can begin seeking depositions from a host of big names – including Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton – that allegedly were witnesses to an effort by the Clintons and top Democratic leaders to extract millions of dollars from Paul in illegal donations and then cover it up.

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57009

Clinton campaign spending worries supporters.

Stunning how consultants can charge so much for bad, losing, advice and ineffective services.

But this line was the kicker for me..... 

"It’s easy to be critical, but had she won Iowa, none of this would have mattered.

I guess their excuse will be, "We were good consultants; Hillary was just a bad candidate." 

So..after hunting about, we have two cands who will continue our disatrous foreign policy in the ME, run largely by ÅIPAC and the Olmert gov't and, of course, the multis.

Maybe some troops will be brought home...while others will be sent off to ??  Iran?  Pakistan?  Syria?  To find out, we have to ask Israel.

Will BO stand up to Israel?  So far, he's been backing down.  HC will continue the charade.

And you people wonder why I don't want either one of them as prez.  If there's no peace bet I and P, there can be no ME peace..not anymore.  Putz made sure of that.

Both their hearts are prolly in the right place but the powers that be have grown way too powerful.  It would appear that we've had only figureheads for presidents for many years now.

http://www.counterpunch.org/frank03162007.html

Sen. Obama, despite his acknowledgment of Palestinian suffering, has little to offer those who recognize that lasting peace in the Middle East will only begin when the U.S. radically alters its relationship with Israel. Continued funding of Israel's illegal occupation won't end the violence – it'll only continue it.

15.

seashell :-)
Fri, 02/22/08

Will BO stand up to Israel? So far, he's been backing down. HC will continue the charade.
==================================

seashell - I feel for ya, but you are trying to put the chicken before the egg. Nobody will ever get elected ranting and raving about the injustice of Zionist Israel. If they don't get elected, it doesn't matter what they will do, because they won't be President to do it.

19.

s m
Fri, 02/22/08

Reply to this

Wonder why MSM is not picking up on this story
============================================

Give them a day or two.

Wow this is hot - could be the tie-breaker. It's no wonder no news company wants to be the first to do it.

nite-all

Of course you're right, Fred.  I'm wondering if BO would actually do something about this ME disaster if he were elected.  His remark about the suffering of the Palestinians gives me some hope.  The fact that he backed down is indicative of the great power ÅIPAC has over all our critters, right up to and including the presidency.

The world knows this but our hapless voters do not. 

Tidbits and goodnite to you all.

CIA Corrects Itself; UK Territory Was Used in Rendition
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022108T.shtml
Stephen Grey and Maddy Sauer, ABC News: "In a serious embarrassment to the CIA's official record on rendition flights, the agency acknowledged today that a UK territory was twice used as a stopover point for planes transporting terror detainees, in contradiction to previous statements that the UK was not involved."

British Columbia Introduces Carbon Tax
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022108EA.shtml
Jonathan Fowlie and Fiona Anderson, The Vancouver Sun, report, "Driving and other fuel-dependent activities are about to get more expensive as British Columbia becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a consumer-based carbon tax."

Shell Scales Back Proposed Arctic Drilling Plans
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022108EB.shtml
From Yereth Rosen, Reuters: "Royal Dutch Shell has offered to scale back its oil drilling plans in the Beaufort Sea in order to win the lifting of an injunction against the activity, but the move is unlikely to placate opponents of the plans."

Thank Carbon for Air Cars
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/022108EC.shtml
Green Energy News says, "Soon cars running on compressed air will go into production - in India. MDI Industries, of Carros, France, which develops the air-powered cars and engine technology, has signed a licensing agreement with Tata Motors that allows that company exclusive rights to manufacture and market an MDI car and its technology in the world's second-most populous nation."

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

It's just amazing how Senators Clinton and McCain insist on being the incredulous Washington insider elite. They're both in denial and still living in the past. They voted for Bush's war. Period. Their votes help to put our brave troops in harms way and caused a lot of unnecessary pain, injury and suffering to our troops, their families, the American people and damaged our economy. They both have weaken American foreign policy and America's good will in the world by voting for Bush's war. So now since they both think they should be our next President they both get to take all the credit for creating the mess in Iraq. It's just awful the way Mrs. Clinton is using the suffering she caused to happen to try to gain political points to be the next Commander and Chief of OUR great nation. What she needed to do a long time ago is to apologies to the American people for making a very grave mistake and using poor judgment. I thought her comments at the end of Texas debate were disrespectful. Her words showed a total lack respect for the integrity of our brave men and women in uniform and the intelligence of the American people. Clinton and McCain both made a HUGE mistake when they voted for Bush's war and they both need to admit that fact.

Mr. McAuliffe clueless comments below only reinforce that fact that he to is still living in a state of denial and fear. He is acting out the drama of being a tyrannical victim. Why would anybody choose to be in that state of mind when freedom offers them so much more?

What is that saying? Two wrongs don't make it right.

---

----- Original Message -----
From: Terry McAuliffe, Hillary Clinton for President
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 10:10 PM
Subject: It was the moment of the debate


There was a remarkable moment in tonight's debate that we had to share with you. Watch it here:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/tonight

Pass it on.

Sincerely,

Terry McAuliffe
Chairman, Hillary Clinton for President

hmm, close to one thousand comments in about 7 hours - what does THAT remind me of?  and it ain't broke...  it's wonderful to see the engagement and enthusiasm of democrats this time around -thank you, Howard, for starting this train rolling - it's picking up quite a head of steam!  you must be smiling right about now!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/samgrahamfelsen/gGC4bY#comments

are Terry and Friends starting to feel a bit of panic setting in?  to come so far and to fall so fast - to see that golden ring begin to move further and further away from the horse they're a ridin' - dang those American voters, those pesky grassroots, trying to take their country back!

A quote from Hillary last nite...................."whatever happens, we,re gonna be fine...........I just hope the Americna people are gonna be fine".

Interpretation: Bil and I are millionaires, lots of money..we will never go hungry or never have a roof over our heads................as for the American people?  Good luck.................suckers"

BO..............you are wrong, we are NOT at war..........Congress has not decared war on anyone.........but it does seem, over the last 30 years or so, due mainly to our policies and poor support...........alot of angry people are at war with us.......................

It was nice to see BO get the chair for Hillary as she got up.chivalry is not dead (sorry women libbers out there...........dotn worry tho, I never give up my bus seat these days. (except pregnant, sick or old)

Mike - re: Hillary's ending comments - the pundits pointed out that she was using John Edwards' lines from a previous debate - I wonder if she asked him if it was okay?  she certainly didn't give him credit for the words...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/21/debate.transcript/index.html

transcript of the debate

my take was nothing changed because of it, Hillary still has to win for the nomination to regain status as a possibility for her

plagerism is the last charge any politician should use because to win you have to say basically the same thing and there are only so many ways to say it

Hillary's speech at the Democratic Party's post debate gathering was better than Obama's but she never said it that way in the debate. The debate reaches tens of thousands of undecided voters in Texas and Ohio, those post debate remarks work in a state like Iowa three months out.

Whoever has the best ground game and grassroots volunteers and supporters wins this nomination. money has to be on Obama right now

His secret weapon is rae flying in from Alaska.

Good morning, everybody

Mind fart here, I think.  I could have sworn I'd already posted.  Maybe I just got sidetracked with that message from McAuliffe recommending the instant YouTube.  They must have scripted that to get it out so fast.  Nice that the audience was prepared to cheer Senator Clinton's non-answer.  I have put the clip up on Hannah.  Also the one of Terry's non-answer.  Why they wanted the latter removed is a puzzlement.  The alfter-event commentary was very supportive. 

donating to Obama right now is going to deliver names for the GOTV in November as they organize city by city

the Party is the big winner of the contest going on this deep into the calendar

I still regret the names weren't gathered four years ago instead by Howard, but that is water over the dam, the country is way past ready for change now

Dear Donna. please KEEP your progressive values. Once you are on the hill, don't change.

Thanks

19.  Worldnetdaily is not a credible news outlet.  It's one of those entities that was set up on the net during the 2004 election cycle, mainly to collect lists of conservatives that could then be sold to generate advertising revenue--sort of an electronic version of the direct mail business.  Trashing democrats was sort of a side-line that came in various versions, one of which was Talon news, the outfit that managed to get a billet for JeffGannon on the White House press contingent.

Anyway, as the story was related on KOS, it's about a supposed commitment by Bill Clinton to act as a spokesperson or front for an enterprise after he left office that he renegged on--behavior which is supposed to have sunk the enterprise.  We need to keep in mind that anybody can sue anyone over anything.  Supposedly, the Clintons are no longer defendants but can be called to provide evidence (which may go no further than to say, "we haven't a clue what's being alleged")  Any enterprise whose success depends on Bill Clinton's words needs to be suspect.  On the other hand, both Clinton and Gore have gone into business with Hollywood people and Hollywood people are used to putting together "deals" that are very speculative (movies) on the basis of the reputations of participants and many are probably not as suspicious as I would be (I would never entrust money matters to Clinton for the simple reason that he's always late and "time is money" is a meaningful equation).

blog still erratic

from the transcript: 

OBAMA: So I've said that if you are making $75,000 a year or less, I want to give an offset to your payroll tax that will mean $1,000 extra in the pockets of ordinary Americans. Senior citizens making less than $50,000, you shouldn't have to pay income tax on your Social Security.

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

I still wish Democratic politicians would stop pandering to the middle income voters by promising a tax cut because supply side economics has proven a failure.

we are much more in need of a sound currency which will lead to slowing inflation which is ravaging the middle class more than taxes

remember they took food and energy out of the inflation numbers but groceries and gas are sure a part of families budgets and they are going to be up 20% or so over last year and this one

please

end the buying of votes by always promising tax cuts, you are just putting another brick in the backpack of third graders and they are the ones who will make your social security check not bounce

Michael Ellis has reminded me that I wanted to mention that the advantage Obama has is that he's unfailingly polite.  In that he's a true democrat, a person whose behavior is inner- or self-directed--i.e. not dependent on what someone else does.

There's a difference between that and working for a script, which isn't reponsive to the immediate situation either, but is responsive to some anticipated situation, or not.  It's because Hillary Clinton hasn't internalized her positions that she can't count on having a proper response to a question and has to come prepared with talking points.  She's memorized her script, but she's not the author.

I get the sense that Obama is the author whose words are edited for style and effect.  But the ideas are his.  Clinton doesn't have any ideas of her own other than that she should be in charge because 'she's earned it.'

Remember those l'Oreal ads?

l'Obama or l'Oreal? 

7:30 AM EST

Nice thank you video from Donna Edwards.

Monica,

Thanks for the info about worldnetdaily.  I had no idea. 

... 

His secret weapon is rae flying in from Alaska.

+++

Bush Pilot ?  ([smile] rae would kill me for envoking our fearless current leader, who can't pronouce nuclear right, into this but I was jokingly referring to the Alaskan bush pilots who get around a huge amount of territory with an air of CAN DO)

Phil, I suspect that in this instance there's been a study which shows that the amount of money being collected at those income levels is hardly worth processing.  For people on social security whose income is less than $50,000 for a couple, they're hardly paying any tax anyway and the biggest beneficiaries of their need to file are the preparers who charge a good fee for, essentially, no service since its up to the payers to keep all their records and documentation.  Think how many hours are consumed keeping track of checks and bills and other information that's, increasingly, only available electronically.  Who files for people in nursing homes--people who, by definition, have extra income because otherwise they couldn't afford such care?

Perhaps this is a way of phasing out the income tax and moving to a version of your funds transfer tax. 

7:35 AM EST

My whole take on the prez race between Obama and Clinton is that it reminds me of another race to the end finish:

http://www.screen-novelties.com/tnh/index.html

...

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent 1 hour, 25 minutes ago

AUSTIN, Texas - Hillary Rodham Clinton accused presidential rival Barack Obama of political plagiarism Thursday night, but drew boos from a Democratic debate audience when she ridiculed him as the candidate of "change you can Xerox."

Obama dismissed the charge out of hand, then turned the jeers to applause when he countered, "What we shouldn't be spending time doing is tearing each other down. We should be spending time lifting the country up."

The exchange marked an unusually pointed moment in an otherwise civil encounter in the days before March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio — contests that even some of Clinton's supporters say she must win to sustain her campaign for the White House.

s m

I think worldnet daily may have attracted my attention rather early because of the similarity of the name to "Womenswear Daily" which used to be published in NY when manufacturing women's clothing was still a major activity in Manhattan.  WWD was a sort of "inside baseball" rag--a standard to which worldnet daily doesn't even measure up.  What I did learn was that the republican net presence was/is largely illusiory, albeit effective in destroying some candidates.  Daschle seems to have been done in by "reports" generated by a couple of people under different names which then found their way into the MSM.  Joshua Franks did similar stuff targeting Howard Dean.

I sometimes wonder if sticking Jeff Gannon in the White House wasn't simply designed by the RNC to give credibility to a smear campaign being conducted by these "fake" news organizations.  I say "fake" because although they follow press formats and scripts, there's not even any pretense to present facts.

On the other hand, and I just thought of this, if Republicans are mainly gossips, then perhaps we shouldn't expect anything more.  If belief (fiction) has the same weight (or more) as reality (fact), then why should we expect lazy reporters to present anything else? 

8:31 AM EST

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/20/vicki-isemans-bio-pulled_n_87698.html

February 20, 2008 09:47 PM

Within hours of the New York Times story going public, Vicki Iseman's bio was pulled from the web site of her firm, Alcade and Faye.

We've captured a screenshot (click for a larger image), and here's a cached version still available online:

...

Phil Specht
Fri, 02/22/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I agree Phil, it IS pandering and many of these egg heads will go and blow it and Wal mart or the nearest gambling casino..............how'bout invest that $ in the manufacturing of light rail syatems or trolley to be installed in all major American cities and espeically in commuter driven populations............for those patriotic flag waves, just call it "the new American flyer"..............a throwback to our old train sets we had as kids..........remember?

OK, somebody tell me that the still for the YouTube doesn't remind you of Lucy and Ricky.

The spouse says the show that became "I Love Lucy" started out as "My Favorite Wife"  

9:05 AM EST

John is F --

no, not F as in first, rather in terms of fidelity and financially challenged:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/21/AR2008022103141.html

FEC Warns McCain on Campaign Spending

Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, February 22, 2008; Page A01

The nation's top federal election official told Sen. John McCain yesterday that he cannot immediately withdraw from the presidential public financing system as he had requested, a decision that threatens to dramatically restrict his spending until the general election campaign begins in the fall.

...

The prospect of being financially hamstrung by the very fundraising system he helped create is the latest in a series of bitter challenges for the presumed GOP nominee, who still faces a fractured conservative coalition as he assumes the mantle of party leadership.

Yesterday, McCain blasted the New York Times for an article that alleged that he had an inappropriate, romantic relationship with a female lobbyist eight years ago.

...

http://www.blogforamerica.com/view/23955...

New thread.