Bring on the debates! It’s gonna be like the Nixon-Kennedy debates, but in color!

I wish I could get excited about the debates. But Kerry won all three against Bush and got nothin’.

Oh sure, harsh my mellow.

The difference this time, of course, is that Obama is going to win. If for no other reason than the price of gas will be $5/gallon by that time. As Carville said, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

It is so crystal clear. McCain sees the US forces as “occupation” forces. He believes that the US should occupy as many countries and/or regions as possible to maintain peace. That is his philosophy. He doesn’t see the forces living and defending the US at home and deploying when necessary. They are to be permanently deployed overseas in permanent bases…coming home occasionally to see their families…for the rest of their lives.

That is the essence of his thinking.

I remember watching the Kerry/Bush debates and being infuriated that Kerry would ignore smears, misrepresentations, and half-truths from Bush. I remember yelling at the TV that Kerry was letting repeated opportunities to slap Bush down pass by without a word.

All Obama has to do is slap McCain down once and watch his head explode.

Hey everybody, I don’t know about you, but I have a nice large ad from McCain’s campaign site right here on the link.

Let’s everybody click it and cost the bastards some money!

This is one sick dude…

Nah, I recall differently. Kerry did well, and he won independents in all three.

He cleaned Bush’s clock.

oops, right here on the lake, I meant to say…

As Carville said, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

The sole contents of the newly released book, “Famous Quotes of James Carville.”

Had it yesterday and clicked it until I lost my din-din. No gots today. Good thing. I just had lunch.

Bring on the debates! It’s gonna be like the Nixon-Kennedy debates, but in color!

lime green jello salad, baby!

Despite the fact that it’s presented as a survey, when you click on a box you find that they’re not actually interested in your answer, they only want to tell you what you should think, and hit you up for money.

they only want to tell you what you should think, and hit you up for money.

It’s the only way they know how to use the intertoobz. Since McShitForBrains is computer illiterate he requires all his staff to follow suit. Damn, I went back to school at 53 and earned a computer science degree. How hard can it be, fer cryin’ out loud?

i guess they are smart enough to at least clean up his golf store
http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10594

Obama’s going to WAX poor McCane in the debates. Almost doesn’t seem fair.

I think johnny macs handlers need to take a cue from Tucker Carlson,when he made a bet that he would eat his shoe if HRC did something,I can’t remember what the bet was,But I remember when crossfire was on she bought out a shoecake for him it was quite funny.That said johnny mac is putting his foot in his mouth so much lately,he deserves some flavoring on that foot.

The occupation was the point of the war.

McCain and Bush keep telling us but the media won’t let the message be heard.

-G

With a side of crackers.

-G

There were so many of those last night, all over their store. Now they won’t let anyone leave reviews, not even ones extolling the virtues of their t-shirts while trolling for sex in airport bathrooms. So disappointing.

Yeppur. They’ve got some real rocket scientists over there. The reviews and comments are hilarious. I particularly liked the review of the product by none other than McShitForBrains hisself, “These balls were modeled after my own. They are hard enough to knock out a terrorist.”

Obama’s going to WAX poor McCane in the debates.

McSame already has the wax thing going on, a la Madame Tussaud.

piling on . . .

Senator Biden -

“Senator McCain’s comment is evidence that he is totally out of touch with the needs of our troops and the national security needs of our nation. I think many of our brave soldiers and their families would disagree that it’s ‘not too important’ when they come home”

Senator Kerry -

“The job of the Commander in Chief is to understand the fundamentals of the conflict in which you have the troops engaged. And it is becoming crystal clear that John McCain doesn’t understand it,” said Kerry. “This is an enormous flaw on his candidacy, which is supposedly hung on his ability to serve as commander in chief… There are series of contradictions in his statements that reflect a fundamental misunderstands of the conflict.”

Obama Campaign -

“He threw out 2013 as the date for American forces to be out of Iraq,” said Susan Rice, Obama’s foreign policy adviser. “And today he says he has no idea.”

Majority Leader Reid -

“McCain’s statement today that withdrawing troops doesn’t matter is a crystal clear indicator that he just doesn’t get the grave national-security consequences of staying the course – Osama bin Laden is freely plotting attacks, our efforts in Afghanistan are undermanned, and our military readiness has been dangerously diminished. We need a smart change in strategy to make America more secure, not a commitment to indefinitely keep our troops in an intractable civil war.”

I reloaded a bunch of times and still didn’t get it. I did, however, get one for Regents University. Clicked through on it a bunch of times. Heh. Take that, Gonzo!

I think this needs to be added in order to put everything into context;

Q: A lot of people now say the surge is working.

McCAIN: Anyone who knows the facts on the ground say that.

and the interviewer let that rediculous statement go unchallenged

I don’t think there is any professional at all who thinks the surge worked for anything but allowing a greater level of troops

Sheesh.

I do believe that McSame is truly incapable of controlling his mouth to the extent that he will continue to throw wrench after wrench after wrench into his campaign transmission. His only real hope of getting elected is the level of stupidity, hate, and fear extant in the general American public – these are the people that will fall for the Willy Horton adds, the Obama-Osama-Muslim innuendo, etc.

It will be interesting to watch the contest between McSame’s self immolation due to his mouth (and by extension, his policies) dragging himself down in flames and the RWNM scare and hate mongering driving him up.

But remember:
No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public –HL Menken

lol, yeah, that was pretty funny.

OT–Second day in a row of big afternoon thunderstorms here. Maybe our drought will end.

Don’t worry, pups. I unplugged and am running on battery until the lightning stops.

there was some good news on the radio today, the polls show that obama has arrowed the bigot devide here in new york

before he won the primary he was an underdog to for white males mccain by quite a few points and now they are tied

but that’s new york, I fear obama might not be able to overcome bigotry where it counts the most

I know, and I certainly wouldn’t go past the sign up page.

But they get charged each time a new person clicks the link, it doesn’t matter if anyone actually signs up.

oh and some guy named Wes -

“I know he’s trying to get traction by seeking to play to what he thinks is his strong suit of national security,” Clark said of McCain while speaking from his office in Little Rock, Arkansas. “The truth is that, in national security terms, he’s largely untested and untried. He’s never been responsible for policy formulation. He’s never had leadership in a crisis, or in anything larger than his own element on an aircraft carrier or [in managing] his own congressional staff. It’s not clear that this is going to be the strong suit that he thinks it is.”

Resume aside, though, Clark also took issue with the Arizona Republican’s instincts on national security. “McCain’s weakness is that he’s always been for the use of force, force and more force. In my experience, the only time to use force is as a last resort. … When he talks about throwing Russia out of the G8 and makes ditties about

bombing Iran, he betrays a disrespect for the office of the presidency.”

Re: Obama withdrawing the troops. I’ll believe it when I see it.

I remember that – Tucker said if she sold X number of books he would eat his shoe.

Her coming on his show with the shoe cake was an incredibly classy way to tell him to shove it up his ass.

All Obama has to do is slap McCain down once and watch his head explode.

I wait in eager anticipation, but Obama was not the best candidate on the debates, let’s hope he rises to that occasion and is well prepared with a barrage that will stun McCain into a babbling old man

let’s hope we get the oportunity to press the issue

Think news of this is getting to the troops?

What can FDL do to get un-blocked from military bases?

Exactly, exactly, exactly…he has no policy formulation experience. He has no national security policy formulation experience. It is BS. Clark lays it out correctly.

Considering how close McCain is currently, it shouldn’t take much of a push.

Why can’t FDL commenters be as funny as the ones on John McCain’s “Golf Gear” link?

McCain is holding on tight to the “put the boot up someone’s ass” vote.

He keeps repeating the permanent bases in other parts of the country like it’s a true analogy. It’s BS. Of course. But the boot/ass people might buy it.

ooops, epu-ed:

Fresh Froomkin up now. Bush’s latest Iraq backfire.

And MSNBC pimpin’ the Nightly News broadcast release tonihgt of first-ever super-duper razzle-dazzle Wall Street Journal poll on Obama-McCain matchup

Lately, I have been finding that SOME blogs are no longer blocked (USAFR). Dkos, Firedog, and a scattering of others are no longer blocked entirely. What is proving impossible, however, is logging in so one can post.

After the election’s over or they stop the blogad, whichever comes first, we must remember to send them a nice thank you note for all the money they gave us so we could continue to hammer him.

McSame is admitting, unwittingly, that CheneyBush’s goal is the permanent occupation of Iraq. Were he not, he would envision an endgame and return of our troops and be devising a plan to achieve them. He doesn’t. He probably can’t imagine why or how they would come home. They’re just there. Shouldn’t they be? Wrong question, St. John.

Keeping our forces — including the half of them comprised of very expensive contractors and mercenaries (arranged under largely still secret, and no doubt, poorly drafted contracts) — in Iraq, would be excruciatingly expensive and serve no purpose other than to inflame passions against us throughout the world. Even assuming that all is peaceful and that none of them come home in a box.

But an occupying army of 300,000+ troops and mercenaries, in a land where they are deeply resented, will suffer repeated heavy casualties. Think France in Algeria, the British in India, America in the Philippines, American in Iraq. Troops will suffer and die. They will come in home in pieces, whether alive or dead.

McCain’s choices, as with those presented to us by CheneyBush, are false. Our options do not include a fifty or hundred year peaceful occupation of Iraq, as if it were suburban Tokyo or Seoul, where the biggest risk is getting drunk, being ripped off in Itaewon, or the embarrassment of an errant GI “merely” raping a few locals. Staying in Iraq means continued warfare, the continued destruction of Iraq, and unnecessarily heightened danger to us at home and abroad. McSame would willingly drive us off the cliff because his only mode of operation is pedal to the metal, full steam ahead.

Gas may be $5 a gallon before election day–part of the re-make of Enron Summer–but betcha gas will be $2 or thereabouts right before election day as Team BushCo counts on total American amnesia…with a little chaser of scary black man coming from the likes of Floyd Brown.

Well I know the mighty informed folks here at the Lake know the facts. But we’re also going to have to chip away at “image” politics as well. Not everyone has caught onto the game.

I hope you are correct, but I’m not sure that the debate won’t center around something like gay marriage. CA has a ballot measure that will be on the ballot in November putting a ban on gay marriage into the constitution. Gas will be much higher by then, but it the debate’s about keeping gays from marrying, gas prices or other priceswon’t matter. Nothing will be more important to the Republics than standing firmly against gays being married, not Iraq, not the economy, nothing.

Many of those same Republic politicians like marriage so much they get married more than once. It might be interesting to ask them why they want to protect gays from divorce.

My niece is a civilian living on a military base. She can see FDL via RSS, but can not log in or play the youtubes.

He’s really a very unintelligent person.

Republics just have to get close and let Dibold do the rest.

Having been one of those “American troops in Japan” in my tenure in the military it was of great comfort to me that no one was shooting at me or putting IEDs under my car when I went off base.

What an incredible jackass. Hmmmm…let’s see, when we “occupied” Japan and Germany it was following their defeat in a agressive war that they had waged and we and our allies won. In the case of Korea we are technically still there as part of the UN Forces called into Korea during that “Police Action”, and left behind as a remnant of the Cold War. Trust me when I tell you that the South Korean army is a very, very capable and fearless force and would give the North K’s as good as they would get, should they ever cross the 38th Parallel southbound. It would be a numbers and weapons game if that balloon ever went up, pure and simple.

So that leaves St John of Dementia and his George Bush’s dirty little civil war. We leave our troops forever in the middle of a civil war, eh? Nice planning from a guy who says he’s all about the military and foreign policy. Sounds to me like he’s got two agendas: to leave a force in place to invade Iran and to see if fellating Bill Kristol makes him gay or just happy.

We are more up against the media than we are McCain.

My favorite golf gear comment

The Golf Pack is Great, But
Reviewer: Lobbyist buddy from Washington DC
When are you going to offer a Joe Lieberman Certified McCain Ball Washer?

why won’t gas prices fall like in ‘06?

Many of those same Republic politicians like marriage so much they get married more than once.

LOL!!

Thanks for saying it more clearly than I can! :]

It’s going to take a real big push to work around the cable TV news blather but I think he can do it.

Just as bad, in an applicant for the world’s hardest job, is that he follows his lobbyists’ lead the same Pavlovian way that Bush heels at Dick Cheney’s command. And McSame would make Cheney his DNI or SecDef. Imagine that one.

I like the nickname for Iraq: “the sand trap”.

When and if companies like GE start losing money in Iraq, the political slant will change.

It is the corporations that own the media that control the message that control the minds of the vulnerable listeners that are the major opponent.

Wow! You get my vote for False Occupation Analogies Pushback spokesperson!!! wtg.

More like this please!!!

Yes, it is really bizarre. Were there American troops getting killed every day in Tokyo or Berlin in 1951?

At first I was offended by right-wing ads on lefty blogs, but then it was explained exactly how those things work…

I can cost the right money while helping the left all by clicking a link… …and then closing the page the second it is done loading.

So click those right wing links people. For extra fun, you can sign up using Worse_than_bush@asshat.com as your email address, that sends an added message!

need a wedge to get outta it

Yes. McCain responded “Hell yeah” when asked if he would use Cheney in his cabinet.

I like the one at the top:

Consolation prize… June 11, 2008
Reviewer: Carol Shepp McCain from Virginia Beach, VA
I got mangled in a car accident and got dumped for a younger richer woman and all I got was this stupid golf gear. Sheesh!

Was this review helpful to you?

too funny.

I also like the fact they have to “dirty” themselves by appearing in DFH territory.

Clearly, the man is not thinking with a full deck.

Carpetbagger’s take on all this is that McCain’s confusion has nothing to do with his age

This morning on Democracy Now, McClellan said that Cheney looked at the oil reserves in Iraq and likely considered controlling those reserves as a reason for war, but he couldn’t be sure…It will replay this afternoon. The transcript on their website didn’t go as far as McClellan talking about the Iraq war, but if you listen to the program you will hear him say that.

When McCain’s advisors and supporters hear this, do they cringe, or pump their fists in a macho frenzy of agreement?

Did Matt Lauer follow up with a question like, “But our armed forces are strained beyond belief – doesn’t that mean we need to bring many of them home? Or, since Afghanistan is not going so well, shift them over there??”

some of us left some of those comments.

Glad someone saved a copy!

How much did it fall? When it soon goes past $5/gallon how much will it have to fall to make voters decide that the Republics are really swell?

Or:

No action left in this old stick June 10, 2008
Reviewer: Wade Long from Eureka, CA United States
This set has no juice, no drive. It’s practically tailor made for doddering old retards who can’t even muster the brainpower to figure out that Putin isn’t “The President of Germany”!!!!! It should have a hollow shaft that you can fill with Geritol, steroids and vitamin-pee just for those occasions when you’re afraid your bones might crumble into dust. Oh, and in case I didn’t mention it, John McCain is a doddering old retard who shouldn’t be allowed out of his wheelchair, let alone into the White House!

That is all.

Ouch!

I’m an idjiot. Where is the ad you are speaking of? Which one and where?

Plus, I don’t think they are smart enough to realize their folly. All they see is they got 10,000 clicks from the lefty blog… …obvious answer is to buy more lefty blog ad space!

When McCain’s advisors and supporters hear this, do they cringe, or pump their fists in a macho frenzy of agreement?

Or maybe a “terrorist fist jab?”

Don’t use Japan as some great measure of how it should/could be. If you have read Chalmer’s Nemesis you would realize that all is not candy and roses even in Japan. The central government of Japan may be 90% OK with the nature of our occupa…err…presence in Japan but the people actually next to, and often smothered by, US bases and their personnel, the feelings are not all that happy.

Personally, I would like Obama to come into office and as soon as possible announce that our military footprint around the world is going to be shrunken and our SOFAs are to all be renegotiated to be more amenable and considerate to our hosts. First, servicemen and women who commit crimes in their host country must NOT be coddled and protected, and second, the Pentagon must be made responsible for protecting the environment of the land they use AND be responsible for cleanup. No ifs, ands, or buts.

As for Japan, I would like to see most of the Japanese bases shut down and the personnel either brought back stateside or consolidated on many fewer bases. There is no way in hell we need close to 40 frickin’ bases in Japan (no more than we need/deserve close to 60 in Iraq). Our footprint is way too big and it is way too costly for we the taxpayer to support this bloody empire.

Well done. I’ve pissed myself.

Blodads rotates the ads, so we don’t all see the same one. I am talking about a black ad pretending to be a poll that asks “Is is OK to meet unconditionally with anti-American foreign leaders?”

When you click it you go to McCain’s campaign website and a plea for money. There is no actual poll. Try reloading, you might get it this time.

It’s like the right-wing lotto… …some lucky lib’s gonna get it.

Late to the table but this is another ‘kosher bacon’ moment from John McCain – it’s ‘fine’ with him if we station people in Iraq on, like a ‘forever’ basis…as long as no one gets hurt? And he thinks no one has gotten hurt in Japan or Korea or Germany(as if no US personnel has ever been hurt over there…or, has not ever hurt any local civilians?)? Hmm? What alternative universe does he live in? If we stay in Iraq, US personnel is guaranteed to get hurt. And THAT, John McNobrain, is NOT FINE.

I’m not doing that. I agree that we shouldn’t have bases in Japan or Germany. I’m merely pointing out that McCain’s comparison is historically bogus.

McCain has given the media a very consistent position: he is an idiot. Now if only the media would pick up on the story he is telling them.

I’ve heard that ROK Marines are second to none. Koreans may resent our presence, but I believe understand it as a mixed blessing whose demerits can be negotiated. And the North hasn’t invaded and its agents aren’t planting IEDs along the South’s roads and in its cities, bus terminals and airports.

The analogies of Iraq to Germany, Japan, Korea are false. McSame has no more plan than Bush; he may not even know what Bush’s “plan” is. From a distance, it appears to be political and financial profiteering from induced chaos. The resulting wealth and power immunizes that plan’s proponents from the physical and legal risks of their conduct.

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission is needed, in part to take away their Linus-like security blanket and to expose them to a little of what they so gleefully brought down on others.

Somehow, we’ve got to get off of the Bush dollar and back to the real AMerican dollar.

with nothing but anecdotal observation to back me up – I disagree

we have seen that little lower the price jit dance again and again – but we didn’t see it this past 3 day week end and I don’t expect to see it for labor day either

could be the extractionists know Republics are on their way out so there’s no reason to risk lower profits on a losing cause

could be the ever increasing demands of the Chinese and Indians, I don’t know – I just know they could’ve helped out the Republics a week ago as they have so often in the past . . .but didn’t

He didn’t get to see his family for five years. Why should they get to see theirs?

He’s just Old Age having a go at Youth, as little Alex would say.

Thanks. I notice that everytime I refresh I get new ads, but they are Snorgtees and Donita. I’ll keep an eye out for the poll one or others.

He’s not necessarily an idiot. He may actually be well on the way to being senile. In either case, we’re doomed if he takes office.

I finally got it. Clicked through close to 20 times. Tried registering an email worse.than.bush@idiot.com (zip code 66666) but it was rejected as invalid email.

Understood.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say we shouldn’t have ANY bases in Japan, Korea, Germany, but I would say we should have FAR fewer – and they should be there on a truly voluntary basis on the part of the host country. No sort of arm twisting or threats involved in getting them or keeping them.

I don’t necessarily think we should have NO footprint around the world amongst our erstwhile allies, just a much, much, smaller and nicer, more tolerable, footprint.

hey Tex! – hope you are well and having a comfortable day -

the easiest way to show it has nothing to do with his age – is showing him expressing the same militaristic and oh so clueless sentiments 20 years ago – and they’re out there believe me. :D

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission is needed, in part to take away their Linus-like security blanket and to expose them to a little of what they so gleefully brought down on others.

Yeah, and hence the need for impeachment hearings to get the evidence that would otherwise be buried under an avalanche of “Executive Privilege” claims. One of the things any “Truth and Reconciliation” Commission should be empowered to do is to ban for life anyone in this administration from any dealings with any future US Governmental agency or commission unless they are duly elected (will of the people and all) since we seem to get the same recycled fuckers in every administration that the republicans grant us. Y’all know, the “Elliott Abramses” of the DC Weenie set, convicted but still in play.

More footprint, less bootprint.

Imagine Dick Cheney as head of national “intelligence” for St. John of Dementia. (h/t JoFish) You could bury your secrets in the back garden and find them gone the next day. FISA would be remembered as an obsolete Italian car. “Private” would replace “Entrance” at the doorway of every government department in Washington.

The strategic plan is actually to move a lot of our Asian presence back to Guam. There are already reports and studies in the works for greatly expanding infrastructure there. Even so it appears that the Pentagon may have more needs than Guam has land or resources.

There’s no “D” in “itiat”, any more than there is in “soljah”. My Fair and Balanced newsreader tells me so.

I will leave the country.

Ding, ding, ding. I agree absolutely. If the goal is to make sure none of these wombats are ever able to either work in government, get elected or lobby, then this is a great idea.

I saw the Nixon-Kennedy debates, and McCain is no Nixon, and Obama is no Kennedy. The core issue was Quemoy and Matsu — nobody but us oldies remembers — two little islands off the coast of mainland China held by the Nationalists. The big issue was whether the United States would back our ‘ally’ China (i.e. Chiang Kai-shek (old transliteration) in the coming conflict. Though the debates were better than later ones, they held all the seeds of the sound-bite fests we have come to know and love.

You have 2 minutes to respond, Senator.

I new dat.

Yeah, I don’t understand why we need troops in Japan. I think it’s nuts.

loosely related – as predicted by this dfh – a certain disgraced adulterer congressman from Georgia was in both houses yesterday, giving pep talks to the downtrodden – bwaahaaahaaa – he’s the key to Dobson and that fundamentalist fools gold – would love if the Party pressured McCrazy pick him as veep

I think the argument is that with troops spread out across the world, some troops could be deployed in any given region much more quickly in an emergency than loading them up here and flying them 10,000 miles somewhere.

All this gloating when the position of the (D) nominee is not so different.

Obama says ‘yes’ to enduring bases,
Obama says ‘yes’ to using mercenaries,
yes to continued occupation, with a different set of neo-liberal policy wonks playing toy soldier with American troops.

Susan Rice, a senior foreign affairs adviser to the Obama campaign, reiterated what we have heard from Bush administration officials over the past five years: that the number of US troops Obama would keep in Iraq “depends on the circumstances on the groundâ€.

Jeremy Scahill: Despite Antiwar Rhetoric, Clinton-Obama Plans Would Keep US Mercenaries, Troops in Iraq for Years to Come
Jeremy Scahill reports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will not “rule out” using private military companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq. Obama also has no plans to sign on to legislation that seeks to ban the use of these forces in US war zones by January 2009. Despite their antiwar rhetoric, both Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton have adopted the congressional Democratic position that would leave open the option of keeping tens of thousands of US troops in Iraq for many years.

also:

A senior foreign policy adviser to leading Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has told The Nation that if elected Obama will not “rule out” using private security companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq. The adviser also said that Obama does not plan to sign on to legislation that seeks to ban the use of these forces in US war zones by January 2009, when a new President will be sworn in. Obama’s campaign says that instead he will focus on bringing accountability to these forces while increasing funding for the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the agency that employs Blackwater and other private security contractors. (Hillary Clinton’s staff did not respond to repeated requests for an interview or a statement on this issue.)

from http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080317/scahill

the Nation is basically a safe, (D) captured lefty site, a member in good standing of the progressive blogosphere due to its devotion to the party of the Least Worst, so take a chance of a waver in your faith, and see if Obama really intends to be that different from Bush, Cheney, and McCain wrt the debacle in Iraq.

Statutorily, I don’t know about the “getting elected” unless a finding from such a commission was equivalent to a felony, and that’s got its own set of legal issues I’m sure. But as for working for/lobbying absolutely. Neither of those things is a “right” and both could be withheld easily I would imagine. As for election, well the person would have to convince their voters that they really really aren’t scumbags when they sort of officially are via a “finding”.

The world has changed a lot in the last 60 years. It’s time to review all those posts and any treaties which are related to them.

As a nation we’re rich, but our government isn’t. We need to consider our national interests, but find ways to effect policy without going bankrupt.

It’s time for a Democratic administration to review our military deployments and our long-standing positions.

Maybe it’s even time for us to get a peace dividend!

BTW the Wednesday EIA numbers are out. Crue oil stocks decreased another 4.6 million bbls last week putting them at the bottom of their average range and about 50 million less than what they were a year ago. The NYMEX near future crude oil contract is back up to $137.60/bbl and the Cushing spot is $137.07. Hedge fund/invesment bank driven speculation continues unabated.

I’ve unfortunately noticed that.

Taking away security clearances and banning them from contracting, directly or indirectly, with the US Government would be a good start. That would require them to work for a living.

Congress could go a long way by reforming permitted lobbying practices. I’d start with not allowing anyone no longer on the Congressional payroll to use any of its facilities not open to the public, and banning lobbyists from paying for any Congressional travel. If it’s worth doing, taxpayers should pay for it. If not, CongressCritters, ie, public employees, shouldn’t be doing it at all: it’s an opportunity cost that taxpayers can no longer afford.

You might like this one on the Status of Forces Agreement
http://www.dailykos.com/story/…..101/533826

Blah blah blah… Look, I’m to the left of Kucinich, but being relieved that violent anti-American neoconservative putsch members won’t be lawlessly wrecking the nation is not the same as slavishly endorsing every one Obama’s centrist policies.

Obama is the best we’re gonna get, so it makes more sense to be happy that someone with a brain and an apparent respect for the Rule of Law is going to be taking over from Chimpy McCokespoon. Am I happy that he’s not committing to pulling every troop out of Iraq by Groundhog Day 2009? No. But I’m a lot happi-ER than I would be with John “Bomb bomb Iran” McCain at the helm.

No argument, Obama is not ideal. In 2000 the same argument about Bush v Gore may have been legitimate… …but in retrospect the candidates couldn’t have been farther apart on a whole host of issues.

Obama is not perfect (not even close), but he is NOT McCain, and for every similarity, there are a host of differences. We can not lose sight of that. We will have years to attempt to hold Obama accountable, and to get actual progressives in the government.

Obama is a step in the right direction… …not the end-game result.

It seems American troops are everywhere but where they need to be; back in America! When are these dolts going to catch on or admit the truth to the American people that we have no strategic reserve left. If there were an additional serious incident somewhere in the world, we would have to train the soldiers to handle the new problems that have cropped up. Hell, we can’t even really handle our current commitments, such as in Afghanistan.

What if some terrorists from Africa assault us. All our troops are in Germany, Korea, Japan and parts of the Middle East. McBush doesn’t even say how, in a strategic tactical way, he would go about fighting a war, which he seems to want to do, with Iran without using troops currently stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Time to cue Nader to explain that there’s no difference between Democrats and Republics…still believing that, Ralph?

I’ve got a McCain ad on FDL right now…clicked on it…went to their site and then closed it.

all the scary brown people might cross the land bridge to our south!

Does it cost the McCain campaign money everytime we click-thru on those ads? Do the poodles get extra treats in their bowls from Jane? In which case I am all for spending McCain’s very limited financial resources supporting FDL. Now that’s money well spent!! LOL!

OT – Jim Johnson steps down from VP vetting post in Obama campaign

msnbc.com

“What if some terrorists from Africa assault us. All our troops are in Germany, Korea, Japan and parts of the Middle East. McBush doesn’t even say how, in a strategic tactical way, he would go about fighting a war, which he seems to want to do, with Iran without using troops currently stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan!”

McCain will argue that troops in Germany and the ME and elsewhere are closer to Africa…

That is what will be a tough argument for keeping them here in the US. Just sayin’.

Yup. LOL

and terrorism is more profitable than tourism.

They pay for every single click.

(multiple clicks from the same computer may be filtered out)

But any time you are on a different computer, click that ad again! And do it on every liberal site you view. The site owners get revenue based on every click as well!

Recorded vote on HR1258, re: impeachment.

Now on CSPAN

Jim Johnson gets a loan at questionably good rates from a troubled lender and resigns to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

Dick Cheney still gets paid by Cheneyburton and gets re-elected, takes us to war and runs the country into the ground and gets even richer. An actual impropriety.

Jeebus, my head has been hurting since 2000.

Obama’s argument is to “redeploy” troops out of Iraq…not necessarily back to the US.

THAT is vote that is bound to depress me!

(yet I’m still signing on to the feed – why do I torture myself?)

Looks like the votes are there to send it to the Judiciary Committee.

Yup, it’s the DEMOCRATS who are voting to send it to committee to die.

The GOP are the only ones voting to debate the bill. Damn Democrats.

Reid…“no matter what he’s has done wrong”, “he’ll soon be gone”, and that’s that. We don’t want to cloud up Congress with impeachment proceedings.

Yup. Now how do we pressure Conyers?

Reid is aiding and abetting the enemy.

Yup, it’s the DEMOCRATS who are voting to send it to committee to die.

To be a Democrat is to have the courage of one’s lack of conviction.

New post up top…

sorry for the redundancy in my post – many seem to have a nuanced view about Obama, but many also are just projecting what they wish he would be onto him.

my stance, Smgumby, is that in so many aspects of American existence there is a hyper-proliferation of acceptable choices, choices used to define and refine one’s identity.

countless choices in wine, micro-brew beers, musical genres from Country to pop to electro-whatever…

choices in personal transport that are broadly approved of at FDL probably range from pedestrianism to bicycle to mass-transit via bus or train, to electric car to sensible honda and even up to and including multiple vehicle suburban or exurban modes. all ok, fine.

why are acceptable political choices limited to the repulsive (R) offering of a Hummer versus a slightly more sensible but still in many ways wrongheaded Ediie Bauer branded Ford Expedition? (Obama)

we are inundated with choices in our lives, except in politics, where the axiom of the least worst is so strong.

though let me clarify – in certain areas of center-left policies this axiom is strong. On the right they’ll sit elections out if the (R) candidate is not crackers enough, there is the broad apathetic middle, and many on the left cannot compromise their principles by voting for and supporting someone who utters Right Wing Talking Points like this:

“ … There is no greater threat to Israel or peace than Iran,” Obama assured AIPAC. “This audience is made up of both Republicans and Democrats. And the enemies of Israel should have no doubt that regardless of party, Americans stand shoulder to shoulder in support of Israel’s security. … The Iran regime supports violent extremists and challenges us across the region. It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race and … its president denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map. … [M]y goal will be to eliminate this threat.”

I’m sure the opposition won’t have the same problem starting on the day Obama is sworn in.

*heavy sigh*

Yup, that speech completely killed my “the primaries are ending” high I had been experiencing.

At least Obama stresses diplomacy, McCain promises a war.

As if it is going to be left up to the next president…

So you’ll let us know when there is a candidate and/or party worthy of your vote?

As if it is going to be left up to the next president…

yep, if they push the button before Nov it will change the electoral calculus in unknown ways.

as Trinity said in the Matrix:

“bad for us”

I’m just hoping that when Obama says words to the effect that he’ll do anything necessary to make sure that Iran does not get the bomb, that his “anything” includes some options that are not on the republican list. Like negotiation.

I’m just a lonely advocate on fdl for the school of thought that a vote for Pres is primarily a token of faith in the legitimacy of the system of govt.

this is how it was touted in the media for example with the prurple fingers in Iraq – “see how valid the system the US cooked up is”

Secondarily, it affirms one’s support for the policies of one’s candidate, and one incurs a bit of the glory or blame for the actions of the candidate.

I don’t want any part of the responsibility for a pres who promised

. [M]y goal will be to eliminate this threat.”

ok – and the fact that some other hobgoblin is worse doesn’t move me, since, after all, in a nation of 200 million people one’s actual influence is basically infinitely small.

this larger debate is unresolvable, both sides have validities – i’m just representin’.

You don’t seem to realize, that if we recognize Irans right under international treaty to complete the nuclear cycle for fuel, and place some reasonable international safeguards, that threat will have been eliminated.

My main concern is that such talk almost invalidates complaint’s when Bush does start war with them. After all, when all the top Dems trot out to talk about the “threat”, they can’t really complain when Bush uses force to remove that “threat”.

correct! it illustrates the extent to which they share the same framework on this issue, utter the same talking points as Dick Cheney and McCain.

so, this is another way of saying “they are not that different.”

eek! Naderitis!

For sushi and soba!

It was early morning, McSame shoulda just said ‘Pancakes!’

And what ever happened to the story about the “bulge” in the back of Bush’s jacket [permitting him to receive answer prompts during the debate]?

Oh, same dustbin as the one about his National Guard records?