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Gen Petraeus Report.....Part Two
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As expected, there were no surprises in the testimony given by Gen Petraeus on Capitol Hill. The purpose of his report to Congress was to give an honest assessment of the progress (or lack of) in Iraq. I was a bit struck by how the report was very close to nothing more than a re-cycled, re- print of his testimony of last year. He advised against any troop withdrawal, claimed the Military needs six more months, then wait forty five days, with an assessment to come in Sept. Identical to last years report. The plan is undoubtedly to keep U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely, six months at a time.
I've had a hunch for some time now. The hunch that the "Decider" has decided to just try and run out the clock and pass his mess off to the next Pres. His surge strategy being designed to give him the necessary time to pull it off. The next Pres most likely being a Democrat, who will get stuck with making a tough decision. The decision that enough lives, money, and time have been wasted. The tough decision that it's finally time to begin bringing our troops home. Then the next Republican myth of "We were on the brink of being poised for Victory" until those Democrats began withdrawing the troops, leading to our defeat, will be born. Yes, I can already see how it will be spun in the future by the Republicans that "The Democrats" lost the war in Iraq, not us Republicans. It would be comical, if it all weren't so deadly serious.
Again we've heard how a hasty withdrawal could lead to the region falling into chaos. As if the past four years in Iraq wasn't chaos! The fact is we really don't know what the outcome will be if we begin a withdrawal of the troops. Yet this "the region will descend into chaos" theory is going unchallenged and accepted as absolute fact, when we really just don't know what will happen. During the Viet Nam war, the U.S. stayed for much longer than it should have, resulting in a doubling of U.S. troop deaths. One of the leading factors for this was the acceptance of a theory know as "The Domino Theory". According to the Domino Theory, if the U.S. tried to withdraw from Viet Nam the surrounding Countries would then fall to the Communists also.
It never happened! When the U.S. finally realized it couldn't win, it decided to cut its losses by beginning a troop withdrawal. The surrounding countries in the region never fell to the Communists as promised by the Nixon administration. The Domino Theory proved to be just that. A theory. An incorrect theory that cost many more U.S. troops to die than had to. It's time for this chaos if we withdraw "theory" in Iraq to be challenged. Will the phrase we've been hearing for so long now "If we withdraw our troops the region will descend into chaos" prove to be this Iraq wars incorrect Domino Theory. Will it result in our staying much longer than we should have, and many more U.S. troop deaths that didn't have to be?
Jeff Morris-Saugerties, N.Y.- DeJaVu57
Show: Expand All Reply
Well put Phil. And where, pray tell, are the Democratic Presidential candidates on the issue?
(Rhetorical question-- they're too busy making certain that the "winner" of the nomination will lose to McCain)
15.
Monica Smith
Thu, 04/10/08
...Being honest is really the only option left...
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Interesting, precise point, Monica, thanks!
That’s why I consider the value of Ron Paul’s revealing truth about American “imperial” Policy been about of the same importance as Dean’s “you have power” stance.
Demos have no options but to go to the very heart of this discussion, because today, when Cold War is over, there is no difference between military bases in Iraq, in North Korea, in Japan or in Europe.
9:56 AM EDT
Obama -- seeing both sides of an issue:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-na-obamamideast10apr10,1,2280318.story?track=rss
Allies of Palestinians see a friend in ObamaJoe Raymond / Associated PressDemocratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, addresses a rally at South Bend Washington High School Wednesday April 9, 2008 in South Bend, Ind.They consider him receptive despite his clear support of Israel.By Peter Wallsten, Los Angeles Times Staff WriterApril 10, 2008 CHICAGO -- It was a celebration of Palestinian culture -- a night of music, dancing and a dash of politics. Local Arab Americans were bidding farewell to Rashid Khalidi, an internationally known scholar, critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinian rights, who was leaving town for a job in New York.
A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking....Today, five years later, Obama is a U.S. senator from Illinois who expresses a firmly pro-Israel view of Middle East politics, pleasing many of the Jewish leaders and advocates for Israel whom he is courting in his presidential campaign. ...
And yet the warm embrace Obama gave to Khalidi, and words like those at the professor's going-away party, have left some Palestinian American leaders believing that Obama is more receptive to their viewpoint than he is willing to say.
Their belief is not drawn from Obama's speeches or campaign literature, but from comments that some say Obama made in private and from his association with the Palestinian American community in his hometown of Chicago, including his presence at events where anger at Israeli and U.S. Middle East policy was freely expressed....
IF DEMS TALK ABOUT "WINNING", EVERYONE LOSES
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/81574/
The renewed violence of these last weeks, and the prospect of more to come, gave war critics ample ammunition for a powerful counterattack. Congressional Democrats did a fine job of pinning the general under their verbal fire, trapping him in his own rosy but increasingly unbelievable promises of "progress."
Yet who was the trapper, and who really got trapped?
Democrats would have been smarter to refuse the bait, to insist that this is not an old-fashioned World War II- style conflict, where force can produce a clear-cut winner. There's still time to make that strategic switch. Then they could refocus the debate on the crucial truths: We have no right to be in Iraq. The sooner we get out the sooner we can begin to heal the terrible damage the war has done to us here at home.
VTers have been busy... from my VT Dem newsletter:
Democrats tackling high gas prices
Every day, working Vermonters feel the pinch of skyrocketing prices of things like health care, energy and food. Nowhere are those rising costs on display more than the gas pump.
Democrats in the legislature, statewide officials and in D.C. are committed to standing up for working Vermonters and proactively finding solutions to make essentials like gas affordable for Vermont families and businesses.
Last week, the Vermont Senate called for an investigation into whether soaring costs are due to illegal price-fixing, fraud or other violations by big oil companies. "At the same time that we are paying $3 and $4 a gallon for gas and oil, the oil companies are making record profits, billions and billions of dollars," said Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin. "It's puzzling to us that so few politicians, both on a state and national level, are saying enough is enough."
In Washington, Congressman Peter Welch and Senator Patrick Leahy are also taking the lead to rein in skyrocketing gas prices. Earlier this year, Welch called for suspending the flow of oil to the nearly full Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- which would provide immediate relief of around 25 cents a gallon to working Vermonters at the pump. Both Congressman Welch and Sen. Leahy have also fought to end tax breaks for big oil companies and promote energy independence.
re: Democrats would have been smarter to refuse the bait, to insist that this is not an old-fashioned World War II- style conflict, where force can produce a clear-cut winner.
apparently this author didn't watch the whole 'show' or wasn't listening. some folks hear only what they want to hear - I've noticed that a lot from alternet.
Too much participation? Since when does the Democratic Party have too many members? What a sorry excuse for acting like a bunch of scaredy cat elitists wimps. Why doesn't the Democratic just allow their candidates to pick their own delegates like the Republicans. At least they're up front and more honest about it to their party activivts. This DNC rule gives an illusionary appearance of fairness but in reality it is based in fear and deception.
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http://origin.mercurynews.com/centralcoa...
Obama supporters left with sour taste
Hundreds of delegate wannabes won't be going to Democratic National Convention
By KURTIS ALEXANDER - Sentinel Staff Writer
Article Launched: 04/09/2008 08:03:59 PM PDT
Record interest in Barack Obama's soaring presidential bid became too much for the state campaign to handle this week.
In a move some Obama backers called undemocratic but campaign officials said was unavoidable, hundreds of supporters were barred Tuesday from competing in the state's 53 caucuses this weekend that will determine who represents the candidate at the Democratic National Convention.
Campaign officials said too many people had signed up to become district-level delegates and Sunday's Iowa-style contests simply can't accommodate the crowds.
District delegates represent the vote of their Congressional District at the party's nominating convention in Denver. Based on California's Feb. 5 primary results, 107 delegates will be selected to represent Obama and 134 to represent Sen. Hillary Clinton. About 2,500 people signed up to vie for the slots by last week's deadline.
"We've got an unwieldy amount of delegate candidates," said Don Morrison, spokesman for the Obama campaign in the 17th Congressional District. "There's just no way you're going to get through the lists on a Sunday afternoon."
In some districts, more than 90 people had signed up to run for as few as three delegate positions. In the 17th District, which includes most of Santa Cruz County as well as Monterey and San Benito counties, 26 people had signed up for two posts.
But after the cuts, which campaign officials announced on the state Democratic Party Web site
Tuesday afternoon, only nine candidates remained eligible in the 17th District.
Santa Cruz resident Nick Lefevre, who signed up to be a delegate, wasn't one of them.
"I'd like to know how this came about," said Lefevre, who understood that trimming the lists was necessary but, like many Obama supporters, had expected some notice that cuts were being made and details of what criteria were being used.
Local campaign officials did not know how the decisions had been reached, and state officials did not return repeated phone calls Tuesday.
"I wish there would have been a little more transparency for us local folks," said Lefevre.
By Tuesday evening, critiques of the cuts were circulating on the Blogosphere, expressing both outrage that candidates had been "slashed and burned" and sadness that hard-working volunteers had been passed over.
Santa Cruz resident Robin McDuff, who is helping organize Sunday's delegate caucus in the 17th District, said shutting out candidates is not easy to do but ultimately the campaigns have every right to do so.
"These are their delegates. They earned these delegates. They want people they know and who worked hard to go to Denver," she said.
McDuff said the candidates who remained eligible in the 17th District, who include Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty, Watsonville attorney Luis Alejo and former state Assemblyman Fred Keeley, were the best of the bunch.
Campaign officials for both candidates have said they want to make sure this year's delegates, normally volunteers awarded for their service, are especially strong and dependable because the tight nominating race could be decided on the convention floor where the delegates cast their votes.
District delegates are committed to casting their initial vote for the winner of their district. But if there's no majority, traditional politicking begins and delegates can be swayed to throw their support elsewhere.
An initial review of the delegate lists posted on the Democratic Party Web site Tuesday suggests that about 900 Obama candidates and 40 Clinton candidates had been cut.
Bob Mulholland, a spokesman for the Democratic Party, said that cuts are necessary every election year because some people might be supporters of another candidate or have "extenuating circumstances." But the number of reductions this year, he said, is unprecedented.
Live Oak resident Kristin Carter, who signed up for a slot in the 17th District, made the cut but says she feels bad that others won't get the chance.
"Isn't this a democracy where people can run?" she added. "I don't understand."
Obama blowback begins: Clips on the delegate cuts
http://www.calitics.com/showDiary.do?dia...
re: the delegates being cut - Phil has been explaining this for weeks, now. as a strong supporter who had been cut (of either candidate) I would be pissed, but as a strong supporter I would also understand the necessity of it. imagine, 90 people showing up for three openings...... and you think the candidate's supporters are at each other's throats NOW!
if this year hasn't pointed out some of the largest flaws in our party structure, I don't know what will. but it sure is nice to see each and every state have a say in the final outcome, for once. and that prepares us well for the next race, imo.
10:27 AM EDT
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_041008_politics_obama_oregon.4d9f338d.html?npc
Former Oregon governors endorse Obama for president06:49 AM PDT on Thursday, April 10, 2008Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. --
...
Former Democratic governors Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber said they're supporting the Illinois senator for the Democratic presidential nomination.
...
Kitzhaber says he's backing Obama because Oregon voters want change, while Roberts praised Obama's stand against the war in Iraq and his environmental policies.
I also want to know WHO made the cuts - the Obama and Clinton campaigns or the California party insiders.
The Obama's hacks have their activists doing prayer circles for Obama in Indiana. It should be the arrogant greedy elitist hacks who's souls they need to be praying for.
Obama blowback begins:
The Obama campaign did what it had to do and what is often done in the name of expediency. Their supporters who got cut need to realize that and get over it. This is a non-story about some whiners IMO.
Rule #1 of campaign volunteer efforts - Never make a volunteer feel unwanted or unneeded!
California (or whoever is making the decision) is making a major mistake. There were other ways to deal with this without deciding which pigs were more equal than others.
It's a recoverable mistake, but it's a mistake.
I wonder how many responded to the radio clip of Shirley Golub running for Fancy Nancy's job. Does anyone know whether Cindy is running? Listen to Shirley's radio ad. shirley08.com
Susan wrote "Too much participation? Since when does the Democratic Party have too many members?"
Never. If your question is when does it have too many supporters trying to become state delegates, 2,500 vying for 107 slots would definitely qualify
rich wrote "There were other ways to deal with this without deciding which pigs were more equal than others."
You haven't suggested any.
* rdorgan
Thu, 04/10/08
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ill always give credit where it is due.....BO I think is on the right track with regards to certain, lets say, "controversial" ME topics................and I applaud him for at least considering "alternatives" to our failed policies of the past...............
Will he face the storm head on like a REAL leader would? Or coward away under the enormous presures and occasional unpolularity of his convictions?
Give him a try i say...............
as for Obama having cut so many more than Clinton, I would guess this is because his list of potential delegates was so much larger. just a guess, but to me Hillary doesn't seem likely to be one to be 'more fair' to the grassroots supporters....
You haven't suggested any.
I was going to leave that as an exercise for the student (like getting the "pigs" reference, but...
Sign up in advance, written statements, written ballot with IRV.
That's one.
The bottom line is, no candidate (or party) should ever be in the position of discouraging participation. There are always alternatives. Discouraging participation is done by people who want to control the process (insert favorite Karl Rove reference here).
I am handling our caucus here in Newport News, Va. I need 21 Obama and 6 clinton. I have been calling to get people out. Those people who get the slots can be challanged by the campaign. If someone sees and knows that that person is NOT for the candidate or is not a registered voter, they can be challanged.
I can be challanged too. That is the game.
I am going to challange a person at our 3rd district conv that is now going for Obama but is a huge Clinton person.
That is the game, or so I am told.
rich wrote "The bottom line is, no candidate (or party) should ever be in the position of discouraging participation."
It's culling an unwieldy sized group to insure that the delegates are loyal to the candidate. This is a function of necessity. Clinton is making statements to the effect that there are no pledged delegates, and the numbers of applicants involved are unprecedented. It's like the swollen number of applicants that Ivy League schools are having to choose from.
I don't really see how any of your proposed methods are superior to the research based screening that was used. I'm surprised the Democratic process is as open as it is. Republicans just go you, you and you.
rich, as I'm sure you know there are usually more who apply to be a delegate than open slots available, so there is always the chance of a 'volunteer feeling unwanted or unneeded' or who feels like their 'participation has been discouraged'. you say there are always alternatives - so what are they? and how does it change the dynamic when SO MANY want SO FEW slots?
perhaps they should have had a vote on the blog calitics or simply asked the applicants to drop out so they wouldn't have to make these decisions. and perhaps we should just trust that no 'ex-republicans' or supporters for the 'other' candidate were planning on playing dirty tricks....
I will be truly disappointed if I learn that Obama's delegates are all old party elites, but I will understand. until we grassroots are around a bit longer and prove that we're in it for the long haul - and for the right reasons - there will be others, better known, who will get the nod before we do.
How do you know what a person is doing when they just join the committee or party at the last minute? You hope they have good motives.
but in my community I know who works for the committee, who works the precincts, etc.
Should those people be the delegates or just some joe blow off the streets??
You tell me.
It may be good that so many people signed up for delegate but if the list is that long, something is up.
Gov Roberts endorsing Obama today.
Barbara Roberts was inaugurated as Oregon's first woman governor on January 14, 1991. She completed her term as thirty-fourth governor in 1995.
Barbara Roberts began her career in public service as an advocate for handicapped children. She started as an unpaid lobbyist in 1969 spurred by concerns for her autistic son, Mike. She served on the Parkrose School Board, the Mt. Hood Community College Board, and the Multnomah County Commission before her election to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1981.
Roberts' environmental record is documented in the Environmental Project Records and the Natural Resources Records. Both of these series include topically arranged files covering a broad range of issues such as the Columbia River Gorge, the spotted owl, rivers and water, salmon and the restoration of fish runs, forest practices, and mining legislation.
Gov Kitzhaber endorsing Obama today.
His T-shirt logo We Can Do Better. Sounds like a slogan from someone we all love and respect. He's an M.D. too.
Mini Bio
John Kitzhaber served as Oregon Governor from 1995 to 2003. He was President of the State Senate from 1985 until 1993. Gov. Kitzhaber has been closely involved with natural resource issues in Oregon and the West during his entire public service career. As governor of Oregon, he an advocate for finding innovative and cooperative solutions to the natural resource issues confronting the region. He served as cochair of the Western Governors’ Association efforts that developed a comprehensive strategy to address forest health and the risk of catastrophic fire throughout the West. He took the lead on Columbia River management issues. His administration developed and implemented the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds as a way to involve local communities in the recovery of threatened and endangered salmon runs. Gov. Kitzhaber joined with former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt to develop the “Enlibra “ approach to resource management, and led the effort to address the forest health crisis in the Northwest through his work with the Blue Mountains Demonstration Area. Kitzhaber earned his bachelor of science degree from Dartmouth College and his medical degree from the University of Oregon Medical School.
Sorry for the length of this post. Just wanted to say I'm so impressed with these endorsements.
You think this has never happened before? It happened four years ago in Virginia, when I went to the caucuses to select delegates to the DNC. There were dozens of people running for just a few delegate seats.
It took a few hours, but we got it done, and everyone had their say.
How can you tell people "We have the power" and then let some group take that power away.
rich wrote "I was going to leave that as an exercise for the student (like getting the "pigs" reference, but..."
Now that I know this is a student exercise, the pigs are from Orwell's Animal Farm.
Susan, thanks for trying to stir up trouble. and the lady that was left off ran against jane harman.
Who cares, take care of what goes on in your communtiy.
If I don't get to be a delegate to the convention, so what. I tried..
rich wrote "How can you tell people 'We have the power' and then let some group take that power away[?]"
When your applicants number in the thousands, I don't see a practical alternative. I see that this entire offense surrounds whether someone is permitted to make a one minute speech or not.
I was afraid it might come to this...
Fearful about the prospect of human rights protesters ruining the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China today announced a plan to move the summer games to a remote location where no one can find them.A spokesman for the Chinese ministry of sport, Wu Qingxiu, said that the plan to move the Olympics to an undisclosed location has "advanced from the planning stage into the doing stage."
The reasoning behind the move was simple, Wu told reporters: "You cannot protest what you cannot find."
While rumors swirled about where the Olympics might be relocated, the Chinese official said that all such speculation is futile: "China is a very large country, and if you want to hide the Olympics, it is a very easy thing to do."
In order to keep the new location a secret, Wu revealed that China had not even disclosed it to NBC, who has a contract to televise the 2008 summer games.
This decision drew an outraged response from NBC chairman Jeff Zucker, who told reporters in New York, "If NBC doesn't know where the Olympics are, no one will watch them."
Wu took exception to Mr. Zucker's comment about no one watching the Olympics, responding, "That sounds like a typical NBC show to me."
On the campaign trail, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) blasted China's human rights record, telling an audience in Pittsburgh, "I have always fought for human rights in China, which is why I risked my life in Tiananmen Square."
Mrs. Clinton spent the day crisscrossing Pennsylvania while former president Bill Clinton wrapped up a successful trip to Bogota.
h/t to Andy Borowitz!
12.
Jo*in*Vermont
Thu, 04/10/08
The 'pruning' (that is what the DNC insiders are calling the process) were made by the party DNC insider Co-Chairs for the Candidates' campaigns in California. Obama's went for the big donors and Clinton's went for all the insiders with connections to their past. Clinton's camp in our district removed one female party activist who was a huge supporter and replaced her with another female who is a local elected official that wasn't even on this list to begin with.
Squealer consoles the animals, saying, "Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure. On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
Susan wrote "The 'pruning' (that is what the DNC insiders are calling the process) were made by the party DNC insider Co-Chairs for the Candidates' campaigns in California."
That's because it's the candidates' decision to make.
31.
rae hart
Thu, 04/10/08
Yes, the Democratic Party sure does need to do a whole lot better.
one more thing. I wrote, " will be truly disappointed if I learn that Obama's delegates are all old party elites, but I will understand. until we grassroots are around a bit longer and prove that we're in it for the long haul - and for the right reasons - there will be others, better known, who will get the nod before we do."
and please remember, one day WE might be considered the 'party insiders' and the 'new' grassroots might be distrustful of us!
"We've got an unwieldy amount of delegate candidates," said Don Morrison, spokesman for the Obama campaign in the 17th Congressional District. "There's just no way you're going to get through the lists on a Sunday afternoon."
In some districts, more than 90 people had signed up to run for as few as three delegate positions.
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those sleeper cellmates from Rush Limbaughs Operation Chaos need to be sorted out by the campaign and that is fair
I like Rich's proposal:
Sign up in advance, written statements, written ballot with IRV.
That's one.
The bottom line is, no candidate (or party) should ever be in the position of discouraging participation. There are always alternatives.~~
~~~~~~~~~~
another is the election of a second alternate and then a vetting processs, but too much effort has gone into public participation to let the Candidate hand pick delegates, voters need to be involved
my rules might state a written ballot with voting allowed for up to twice as many as the slots to be awarded in the first round and then take the top vote getters in that round for double the slots, and then voting as ususual for a voter narrowed field of the top half of those left
any election requires rules, and you need a eliminate those without widespread support or you would indeed be voting for days, and the candidate does need to be sure of the "pledge"; but this problem has the potential for harm to Obama if they don't get a handle on it
Michael...
Give him a try? yes, but Howard Dean is the only one as VP who will help him stand up and not coward away as you say. Otherwise we'll just be waiting out another eight years.
Can someone please notify the delegation applicants that all the candidates are looking for is someone they know with lead pipe certainty will vote for the candidate on the first ballot? Any other skills or qualifications, however charming or remarkable, are irrelevant for purposes of selecting delegates. It's not a personal slight.
11:21 AM EDT
My wife in particular was always most impressed with California over the years, and it's trendsetting populace.
Well, after what she saw of the outcome of this past super Feb 5 dem primary Tues in that state, her conclusion: "What a dissappointment CA is, they pushed to move up from June to Feb but they seemed like they weren't ready or organized at all -- early voting, early biases, still dominated".
My impression is that plus I think that many folks in CA thought they were going to have more of an influence in this election but rather it's states like SC, MO, WA, ME, OK, TX, VA, WI, etc. that have had more of an influence, more of a trendsetting than CA. IMO it's left a bit of sour grapes taste in the mouths of some in CA.
By the way, if someone is now rethinking their support of the candidate because they were dropped from the list of potential delegates, it's a damn good thing they dropped in the first place. The main criterion for settling on a delegate pool should be that the idea of looking at another delegate would never have occurred to them in their wildest fantasies or otherwise.
until we grassroots are around a bit longer and prove that we're in it for the long haul - and for the right reasons - there will be others, better known, who will get the nod before we do."
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I'm hoping those voting consider me a long time party leader who has always believed in the grassroots. Anyone who has worked with me on the "inside" know that to be true.
a party requires infrastucture and can't be put together ad hoc but it sure better be open to a continuous inclusion
so fix this f'in blog, already!
Rumor that Randi Rhodes has not just been suspended but fired.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...
What she said about Hillary (not on the air) was so wrong but I sure like her radio show.
loyalty to the candidate is indeed the test of "pledged" delegates Tom, because they are not "bound"
you have to expect to pass a vetting by the campaign
and I would add that it is the responsibility of any candidate for any position, to understand what it is you are seeking, and as a pledged delegate you have been part of an allocation process that the candidate worked very hard to win their share
FYI--in New Hampshire, the delegate slates for each candidate were chosen BEFORE the primary--in early December, if i remember correctly. There was a provision for delegates to be selected AFTER the primary, in case there weren't enough delegates available for a particular candidate.
For example: I don't think Gravel held delegate selection caucuses. If, by some chance, the majority of votes had been registered in his name, there was an opportunity to select delegates committed to him later. What we need to keep in mind is that the mechanics of the selection process were, for the most part, hidden from the general public. The intricacies didn't become apparent until a whole lot of people paid attention to what they were happy to ignore before, and leave to the professional party people.
I think Howard Dean was stung by the fact that he went into something that he didn't fully comprehend and he's spent the last four years rectifying that, by opening up the process to public involvement. It's a great lesson in civics. In a sense, this is a mess that Dean made, but only in the sense of opening the secret rituals up to the public. It's a little like the Catholic mass going from Latin to the vernacular. (Which I, personally, don't like.LOL)
Schweitzer criticizes Obama in interview.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/4...
I like Schweitzer a lot but I don't think he's a huge Barack supporter. Just my take.
According to this article Randi Rhodes quit -- either way I'll miss her.
ttp://rawstory.com/news/2008/Rhodes_done_with_Air_America_0410.html
11:55 AM EDT
whiner's convention in NYC tomorrow:
http://www.hillaryclintonforum.net/april11/
<embed src="http://web.splashcast.net/go/so/1/p/KRVS4500ZW/s/YWQY9561NW" wmode="Transparent" width="400" height="300" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" /><table width="400" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"><tr><td><a href="http://web.splashcast.net/add/?code=XBYV9195ZA" target="_blank"><font face="Arial">Add Speak Out. April 11 Protest to your page</font></a></td></tr></table>
here's the link.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Rhodes_don...
41.
rich^kolker
Thu, 04/10/08
Squealer consoles the animals, saying, "Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure. On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?"
---------------
!!!
Closer to the point Rich, thanks!
It’s seems however too wide to discuss further.
How big is the forest, how many “comrades” there tens, hundreds of millions or just about hundreds or less? What made them get together?
It might make difference.
perhaps this will spawn a new thread... ;)
This was in the sacbee on Sunday – coupled with Hllary’s public comments on taking over Obama delegates, is it any surprise the ‘culling’ has begun? is it any surprise they are choosing a handful of people they actually know when so many ‘unknowns’ have applied?
The Feb. 5 primary votes have long been counted and the delegates awarded, so there's no question that California winner Hillary Clinton will receive 204 pledged delegates and Barack Obama 166 from our state, right?
Not necessarily.
Democratic National Committee rules say pledged delegates "shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them," but that does not bind them legally to choose the candidate for which they have been designated.
In interviews last month, Clinton, who trails Obama by more than 100 pledged delegates nationally, surprised some when she said so-called pledged delegates are up for grabs even though they are initially awarded on the basis of primary and caucus results.
"And also remember that pledged delegates in most states are not pledged," she told the Philadelphia Daily News. "You know, there is no requirement that anybody vote for anybody. They're just like superdelegates."
While attention has been focused on superdelegates, the elected officials and party leaders who can vote for whomever they want at the August convention, Clinton's recent comments make clear that even pledged delegates could be in play.
It's fueling some suspicion at the local level, where Sacramento volunteers for Obama have questioned whether those running to be delegates in his name may be inclined to switch at the convention if they haven't backed Obama from the beginning.
Kim Mack, chair of Sacramento for Obama and a delegate candidate, said she didn't recognize most o
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By Phil Specht on Apr 10, 2008 9:03 AM EDTHoward Dean is first in calling out John McCain as last.