Dean is first and so is honesty!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvLuAW12kAU

Nunes' attitude is so typical of the ultra right-wing elite. He has his head stuck down in the sand most of the time.

---

'Sole survivor' veteran seeks benefits

'Hubbard bill' seeks to alter discharge rules.

By Michael Doyle / Bee Washington Bureau

04/15/08

WASHINGTON -- The Army honorably discharged Jason Hubbard after both his brothers died in Iraq. Then the Army demanded he give back an enlistment bonus.

Now, Congress is stepping in. A bill being introduced by more than 180 lawmakers Wednesday would ensure that "sole survivors" like Hubbard keep their enlistment bonuses -- and complete veterans benefits -- even if they're discharged early on compassionate grounds.

"This is something that needs to be fixed," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, on Tuesday. "Jason is an exceptional man, a patriot."

The only surviving son of his Clovis family will appear today at a Capitol Hill news conference to help unveil legislation that some lawmakers are already informally calling "the Hubbard bill."

Hubbard, a Fresno County sheriff's deputy, joined his brother Nathan in enlisting a year after their brother Jared died in Iraq in 2004. In August 2007, Nathan died when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed.

Jason Hubbard, now 33, received an honorable discharge in October under "sole survivor" provisions, which are designed to prevent an entire family from being killed in action.

He soon ran into trouble. The Army told him that he had to repay several thousand dollars of an enlistment bonus, since he had served only 30 months of his three-year tour of duty.

The Army also told Hubbard that he wasn't eligible for transitional health care, even though his wife was pregnant. Nor was he eligible for educational benefits under what's commonly called the G.I. Bill.

"I don't think anyone meant it to happen this way," Nunes said, blaming the hang-up on mid-level bureaucrats.

Pentagon officials said they were simply following the rules.

...full article: http://www.fresnobee.com/263/story/52990...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgq5suMXCV8

The $3 Trillion Shopping Spree

www.3trillion.org

I guess the Annie Oakley routine didn't go over so well. American Hunters and Shooters just endorsed Barack. LOL

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...

Is there a debate tonight?

debate

8 pm eastern

abc

Just a thought: I wonder if Al  Gore had any influence in the endorsement by Bruce Springsteen.

Things are certainly going Obama's way now, fast and furious.

We just watched the rerun of Michelle on Colbert's show last night which we missed. She will make an extraordinary first lady: smart, gorgeous, outgoing, informed, liberal and more. Excellent!

No way we will be watching George Steph. on ABC while Olbermann's show is on. The period for debates is over -- Obama has already won!

Do you like irony?  I love it.  Linda in NM who likes to make comments here like these -- "people need to get facts for themself" and "What surprises me is that such an email of an Obama supporter would be forwarded without facts first being verified with their own links provided" -- has a diary up at myDD, claiming in the headline that "38 Lobbyists Money Bundling for Obama."

Some of the responsive comments follow:

"That's such a horseshit argument, diarist."

"Obama has taken NO MONEY from federal lobbyists, Hillary has taken a boat load."

"[T]he diary title should be changed, because it is misleading at best."

"This has been refuted elsewhere, . . . They're not lobbyists and they aren't money bundling."

"You really need to remove the blatant lie from the title of your diary.  These 38 people are NOT lobbyists, as explicitly stated in the article you quote."

"38 lobbyists are bundling for Obama? According to your sources, 0 out of the 38 are lobbyists. 10 are FORMER lobbyists (yes, the problem with lobbyists is what they are doing at that time, they are still real people), and the rest work for law firms that lobby. But none of them are lobbyists. So saying 38 lobbyists is a lie."

"[T]he fact remains, Obama does not take money from lobbyists. He actually sends them their money back if they do send him any."

"Bitter Linda needs to look up the meaning of 'former.'"

I guess Linda's factual reporting is getting a similar reception elsewhere as here.

"Bitter Linda needs to look up the meaning of 'former.'"

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

Some of them are likely to be regretful penintent former lobbyists, as well, who saw the filth first hand, and have many stories to tell.

This has three iffy words in it which I will fake off. Totally off-topic. I was in getting the car serviced this am w/ 2 other senior types sitting there - remember we are in the deep south. There was one other southern belle and one gent. The gent started playing riddles. They were silly but passed the time. Then he said, "name 17 body parts that are 3 letters." Well - we started in - ear, toe, etc. Turns out 3 of his 17 words were vernacular for breast, buttock, and testicle. The other little old lady and I were in shock. I still am. LOL

13. Annilow - LOL!!!!!

LInda in NM - wha happened??

No way we will be watching George Steph. on ABC while Olbermann's show is on. The period for debates is over -- Obama has already won!
------
I think it would be worth it to see if Annie is wearing cowboy boots! LOL - won't be watching tonight - my son has a game all the way near the Canadian border.

Just got back from Medford (the "big city" in these here parts) and picked up at Barnes and Noble the book - which I will be reading

The Iron Cage - The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. 

- by Rashid Khalidi, who holds the Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies at Columbia University, where he heads the Middle East Institute.

Just finished Dreams from my Father.  About the last third of the book is about his trip back his father's country where he learned many surprizing facts about his heritage and ancestors, the attitudes about the British, etc.

He states that the most damage of the British colonization was the complex it put the country through.  Entering the modern age people became obsessed with preserving traditions and defended them, even the bad ones, like abuse of women, etc, because they were forced to abandon tradition by the British. 

It was a kind of national complex.  Traditions people would normally have abandoned in the modern age, were nostalgically restored when the British left.  Since it was the British who FORCED people to abandon them in the first place, generations before.  So all the old traditions were given a new life, whether they were good or bad.

From Huffpo (also a diary over at DKos) - Clinton said in 1995 about white voters: *screw em*.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/16...

Tom - I can't see Linda in NM supporting Barack even if he is the nominee. Just my opinion - I've always enjoyed Linda but I just don't support for Barack forthcoming judging from the candidate hopping - Edwards to Clinton.

s/b I just don't see...

I'll multi-task with one eye on debate and one eye on Wings playoff game. :~)

Phil wrote:

................the weak dollar has lead to the record energy costs which is the main driver in higher costs.

That's true Phil, but the uncertainty about the ME is also fueling speculation and driving up prices

Karen the real playoffs are about to start

Charlie Gibson is the moderator tonight if George was I wouldn't watch either, but it gives Obama another great "shot" of free media, and I expect it will put him over the top in PA. 

Huron John 

fertilizer prices have out paced gasoline and are dollar weakness driven, we actually don't have much of a rise in prices in real (un-inflated) dollars

the problem with oil is that it has become a dog chasing its tail price wise as it is dollar determined with global demand

the three trillion dollar question is not only the cost of the war but as well which American companies the OPEC countries vulture capitalists will buy with their windfall

the scavenging of the rust belt carcass,  keep those guns are handy for keeping away the vultures from the stock that's still alive

but if we attack Iran then the subsequent additional doubling would be all war driven

so Saudi Arabia is probably goading Cheney into attacking Iran so they can clean us out quicker

Chris Matthews is a first class a**hole. He just played a clip of the Pope saying *God bless America* and then Chris said *sure beats Jeremiah Wright*.

vb wrote "[Chris Matthews] just played a clip of the Pope saying *God bless America* and then Chris said *sure beats Jeremiah Wright*."

To middle class white people, I'm sure that's the prevailing sentiment.  Whites constantly pretend that the racial divide has been largely bridged since the Civil Rights movement because it makes them feel better.  It's a smug form of self-delusion we practice as an instrument of guilt deflection.

"name 17 body parts that are 3 letters."

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

don't go to puddle's baby blog right now Annilow or those last three will smack you in the face

(just kidding, it is a can't miss follow up to your story)

good news from the fall from the ladder, shoulder, elbow, and the bone inbetween broken but no spinal or head injuries

and you know you had a worse week than Annie Oakley when that is the "good" news

Glad you're neighbor is okay, Phil.

Off for our little trek near Canada. Will have to catch highlights from the debate. This must be number 21 or close to it. Sheesh.

Sarah Baxter / London Times | April 13, 2008

A PAST association with a former terrorist has returned to haunt Barack Obama as the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination nears its end game.

Republicans are turning on Obama for his connection with William Ayers, once a member of the Weather Underground, a terrorist group that bombed the Capitol, the Pentagon and the State Department in the 1970s.

Ayers was loosely involved in Obama’s election as an Illinois state senator in the late 1990s, when he was introduced to local activists at a meeting in his house. He also donated $200 to Obama’s reelection campaign in 2001.

Obama served with Ayers on the board of the Woods Fund, a philanthropic foundation, for three years and shared a platform with him at two academic conferences.

Republicans believe they have found new evidence that Obama lacks judgment and patriotism just as the controversy over the Rev Jeremiah Wright, his pastor, who said, “God damn America”, is dying down.

The Weathermen, a small band of extreme leftists who got their name from lines in a Bob Dylan song - “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” - conducted a bombing campaign against targets such as police headquarters, prisons and courthouses for three years to “bring the [Viet-nam] war home”.

Two police officers were killed in 1981, when members of the Weathermen and Black Liberation Army stole $1m from an armoured car. It was their last action

wasn't Obama in high school in Hawaii at the time of the Weathermen, sheesh is that a stretch

Tom wrote:

 Whites constantly pretend that the racial divide has been largely bridged since the Civil Rights movement because it makes them feel better.  It's a smug form of self-delusion we practice as an instrument of guilt deflection

WELL SAID

AMEN BROTHER!!!

There were indeed a couple of dozen on the hard fringe of SDS who went off the deep end and rejected non-violence, when they did the Stalin show trial of the Chicago Seven though the only one in shackles was the Black Panther

come on now Republican slime machine surely you can find at least one former Black Panther that has sent Obama $200

get your story straight when combining the sixties and bitter and guns

anti-war there were tens of millions of us

One of the best reasons for putting up Obama as the nominee is that generational fight from the sixties doesn't apply to him so all of that Republican anger machine just doesn't work.

time to turn the page