End of the World Cafe

Perry: "Here we come South Carolina!!!"

2012-01-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

Perry Tweet

After a poor fifth place showing in Tuesday's GOP Iowa caucuses and saying he'd reassess his campaign, Texas Governor Rick Perry is now saying he'll forge on to the South Carolina primary. After discussing his prospects with wife, Anita, and going for a run to "clear his head," he Tweeted: "And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State...Here we come South Carolina!!!"
Surely there will be much gnashing of teeth over Perry's seeming reversal. By the time the sun came up this morning, the MSM had almost universally declared his campaign over.
Could Perry's decision to soldier on have anything to do with a private"emergency" meeting being called for next weekend in Texas? According to Politico, e-mail invitations are going out now and will be hosted by movement conservative leaders including Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, Don Wildmon, former chairman of the American Family Association and Gary Bauer, a former failed presidential candidate. Their focus will be which conservative candidate to get behind in order to stop Mitt Romney's candidacy.

Bachmann's Waterloo: candidate leaves race after last place finish

2012-01-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

Image Source Page: http://jeffersonsrebels.blogspot.com/2011/03/michele-bachmann-current-united-states.html

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has formally dropped out of the race for the 2012 GOP nomination after finishing last in the Iowa Caucuses. The Iowa native and self-styled leader of the Tea Party claimed a meager 5 percent of the vote. She held a press conference in Des Moines today and said, "Last night, the people in Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to step aside." She did not endorse any other candidate in her remarks.

The race for 2012 begins tonight

2012-01-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

After months and months and months of GOP campaigning and debates, and a constantly changing slate of front-runners, the moment has arrived. Tonight is the Iowa Caucus, the official kick-off for the race to determine who the 2012 Republican nominee will be. I'm already worn out.
The race boils down to three factions fighting for the top spot in Iowa and the big 'mo that follows: the establishment pick (Mitt Romney), the outsider (Ron Paul) and the evangelical standard-bearer (?). As of today, it's being reported that some 40 percent of (mostly evangelical) voters are still undecided. With that big a number of undecideds, it's just about impossible to say who the top tier going into New Hampshire will be.
Conventional wisdom and polls now say former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum (Flavor #5) has a strong shot at landing in the top 3 tonight. It's possible. He's put more time and effort into winning over Iowa's electorate, especially its social conservatives than any other candidate, save Ron Paul. And Iowa is known for picking religious fundamentalists with no real shot. If Santorum doesn't come in third place, at least, he's done.
It looks like it will be a showdown between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul, with the former holding a very slight lead in the polls. However, Paul's support could be underrated because many of his supporters use cell phones and aren't polled as much as older voters with landlines.
The big question is who will evangelicals support? Will they go for Santorum, who has no money and no game beyond Iowa? Will God bestow a real live miracle on Michele Bachmann's crashing campaign and keep her in the game to New Hampshire? Or will these voters coalesce around Rick Perry (who does have the machine and money to get through to Super Tuesday)?
And then there's Newt Gingrich (Flavor #4)... no matter where he winds up in tonight's total, he won't drop out. He's got books to sell and big-money speeches to make; and being a candidate gives him a spotlight PR money can't buy. He's also still, for whatever reason, polling high in states like South Carolina and Florida. Tonight could change that, though, if he fails to crack the top 4.
I predict Paul will win the Iowa Caucus with Romney coming in second. I also predict Perry will beat expectations and come in third or fourth. With an unfriendly SC primary looming, that would be Romney's biggest nightmare.

Iowa wild card: Christian conservatives

2011-12-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

Image from Washingtonpost.com

With two weeks to go until the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus, the great unknown in that race continues to be who evangelical Republicans will get behind. According to Boston.com, the majority of them are still undecided and torn between Ron Paul (TX), Michele Bachmann (MN) and Rick Santorum (PA).
The article did a good job of barely mentioning Rick Perry (TX), who's spending these final weeks before the Caucus on a bus tour of the state, focusing on these very voters. The media has completely written him off. That may be a mistake. If he gets in there and starts connecting with values voters on the ground, as a fellow Christian and governor, he may appeal to them far more than Paul, Bachmann and Santorum combined. He speaks their language on faith, foreign policy and limited government, has a record of executive leadership and honestly, he's not a woman (with this crowd, it does matter).
At this point every one's envisioning and girding themselves for a Paul upset in Iowa. For good reason. He's got a lock on the ground game and the most passionate supporters. At the same time, all the big guns are blazing away at Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for epic flip-floppery and corruption, destroying voters' trust in them and cancelling each other out.
If evangelicals decide at the last minute that Paul is too off his nut on foreign policy and Bachmann and Santorum are just too weak, they could easily coalesce around the candidate that most comprehensively appeals to their vision of a leader - that male, conservative Christian, Southern governor. At this point, a win for Perry in Iowa isn't just possible, it would be the biggest upset of all.

Romney snags endorsement from the Des Moines Register

2011-12-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images North America

I don't know what's more exciting, Christine "I'm not a witch" O'Donnell's endorsement of Mitt Romney or the one he just got from Iowa's largest newspaper, the Des Moines Register. The paper acknowledges it didn't endorse Romney in 2008, but that was then and this is now. Now it's all about his "sobriety, wisdom and judgement." This year it's "a different field" (read: full of pandering psychos) and he's matured as a candidate. The paper tries weakly to explain away his myriad flip-flops by claiming he's evolved politically - and besides, they all do it! In closing ranks with the establishment, they argue Newt Gingrich is an alienating, unelectable bomb thrower and Ron Paul would bring about "economic chaos and isolationism." While they may be right about Gingrich and Paul, it's still fun to watch the establishment squirm over the possibility of Dr. No taking Iowa. It would be the right-leaning version of OWS, occupying the Iowa Caucuses. There would be no greater discombobulation. And if that happens, expect the MSM to go into collective hyperdrive to (a.) diminish the Iowa victory by claiming the Caucuses no longer matter and (b.) by going "Dean Scream" on Paul to shut down his momentum. Here's the memo to come: He can't win! He can't win! He can't win! Got it?

From the So What? dept.: SC gov. Nikki Haley endorses Romney

2011-12-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

South Carolina governor Nikki Haley (R) has endorsed Mitt Romney for the GOP nomination. My first thought when I heard that was, really? How politically dumb can she be? I agree with this writer at TPM, who suggests the endorsement won't do much for Romney in the Palmetto primary. Haley isn't exactly popular down yonder these days, even among Republicans. And SC conservatives just do not like or trust Romney, so it's a mistake to think her endorsement will help him. Maybe Haley's angling for the VP spot with Romney?

Rolling Romney $tyle

2011-12-15T09:59:00.000-08:00

Image from The Washington Post

The colors are coming home: US military officially ends war in Iraq

2011-12-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama can cross off the list his greatest campaign promise - to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. Nine years after the invasion and ouster of Saddam Hussein, and with the loss of 4,500 of our service members, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta took part in a ceremony packing up the flag U.S. forces fought under.

NDAA (indefinite detention bill) no longer faces veto threat from White House

2011-12-14T16:49:00.000-08:00

The White House has withdrawn its veto threat of the National Defense Authorization Act which states the U.S.A. is a battlefield (WOT) and okays the detainment and indefinite detention of U.S. citizens identified as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. The White House rescinded the veto threat after changes were made to the controversial provision. Those changes take the power of who to detain away from the Department of Defense and gives the authority to the president. Our founding fathers would be rolling in their graves if they knew just how much of our rights and freedoms we've given away since 9-11. As Ben Franklin said, "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.”

Doing delegate math with Mittens!

2011-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

Here's your word problem for the day: Based on the delegate math, his performance in 2008 and the cosmic variable unknown, can Mitt Romney overcome a possibly hostile early primary schedule to win the GOP nomination?

Is Mittens the Hillary Clinton of 2012?

2011-12-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

From an interview with Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman at Politico:

"When the (Des Moines register poll) came out showing Romney in third I actually had a shot of PTSD,” said one former Clinton adviser. “Four years ago, (the) biggest factor was opposition to Bush - and Obama skillfully managed to paint Hillary as timid on Bush … Now (the) biggest thing is hatred of Obama, and Gingrich … makes Romney seem timid. Or he seems it himself. So that’s why Romney is in the box of being third in Iowa. And counting on a New Hampshire firewall that is shrinking away.”

Newt/Romney a lock on Iowa? Don't bet on it

2011-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Image: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/09/08/am-the-republican-debate-social-security-and-minimum-wage/

As we get closer to the Iowa Caucuses Jan. 3, most folks are laser-focused on the slug fest that is Newt/Romney. I blame the political chatteratti for that. They conveniently forget there are a few other contenders in the race. The race could go down as predicted by most polls, showing Mitt Romney's support crashing and Newt Gingrich's surging from Iowa to Florida. But then again, being the strange and volatile season it is, other weirdness could ensue.
Take Ron Paul. His rising poll numbers in Iowa now have him in second place. His base is probably the most passionate and his ground operation is well-organized and strong. He's also been making a lot of noise with a great TV ad campaign that appeals to young voters and skeptics of Newt/Romney. Dr. No may be one of the oldest guys to ever run, but the kids love him. He shouldn't be underestimated in Iowa.
Then there's Rick Perry. Most everyone in the media has written him off because of his gaffes and space-outs. Sure, that dopey behavior puts off the elites and freaks out a lot of regular folks who still watch the news. But in Iowa, and especially South Carolina, those aren't exactly the voters Rick Perry is gunning for. Unlike Romney and Gingrich, his primary focus from now until Jan. 3 will be winning over the Hawkeye state's Christian conservatives. They are legion. If they decide they can't trust Romney and that Gingrich is too foul, Perry seems far more likely to be their candidate. And if he takes Iowa, he probably takes SC, too.
Then there's Jon Huntsman and New Hampshire. He's put all of his eggs into that crazy, independent basket. Who can really know which way Granite state voters will go? Not even the Magic 8-Ball has an answer for that one.
I know this much, if Paul or Perry pulls an upset in Iowa and Huntsman comes in first or second in New Hampshire, it will throw the race and entire media narrative into a realm of political weirdness we have not witnessed in decades. If political junkies thought the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008 was epic, they could be in for yet another nominating spectacle for the ages if the battle goes down to a brokered convention in Tampa.
I'm tempted to bet 10 Large Perry winds up with the nomination.

President Obama trailing GOP front runners?

2011-12-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not buying the numbers being offered in a new round of USA Today/Gallup polls.They surveyed registered voters across 12 battleground states: Romney 48 - Obama 43; and Gingrich 48 - Obama 45. I'll bet you $10,000 they surveyed a bunch of older voters on land lines, leaving out the youthful multitude of voters who use cell phones. I'd love to see those numbers.

House, Senate agree on defense bill authorizing indefinite detentions of U.S. citizens

2011-12-12T23:05:00.000-08:00

Donna Cassata at The Huffington Post reports: House and Senate negotiators late Monday agreed to a sweeping $662 billion defense bill that requires military custody for terrorism suspects linked to al-Qaida, including those captured within the U.S., and indefinite detention without trial for some suspects.
The big question now is whether President Barack Obama will follow through on his threat to veto it.

Savage offers Gingrich $1 Million to drop out of GOP race

2011-12-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

Image: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/03/gingrich-prepares-to-make-his-move.html

Conservative radio host Michael Savage has offered "fat, old, white" Newt Gingrich, current GOP front runner, $1 million to drop his candidacy "for the sake of the nation." At his web site, Savage lists the reasons why he opposes Gingrich and mentions terms to the agreement. Gingrich has 72 hours to accept.

Taibbi discusses the declaration of Battlefield U.S.A.

2011-12-12T21:53:00.000-08:00

The elites are feeling the heat from Occupy Wall Street and are striking back using their useful idiots in congress. If the National Defense Authorization Act passes (including the provision declaring the U.S.A. a battlefield), any U.S. citizen deemed by the government to be a terrorist or terrorist sympathizer could be detained indefinitely by the U.S. military. That means possibly anyone involved in domestic protest (OWS, Tea Party). All it would take to go after protesters is for an act of domestic violence to occur and be pinned on whatever movement it chose. Protesters could be accused of being in collusion with "associated forces." Make no mistake, this legislation has little to do with terrorists, but a lot to do with crushing dissent.

House bill could make diplomacy with Iran illegal

2011-12-12T20:31:00.000-08:00

The Orwellian/NeoCon nonsense continues. Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Pete Stark (D-CA) warned colleagues in a letter that the Iran Threat Reduction Act (H.R. 1905), expected to pass this week, would make it illegal for U.S. officials to negotiate with Iranian officials in certain cases. In Nov., Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) also warned that "the sanctions against Iran mandated by this legislation are definite steps toward a US attack on Iran."

NDAA: Handing our nation's enemies the biggest victory ever

2011-12-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

According to a new article in The Huffington Post:

A measure that Congress will likely pass this week allowing indefinite detentions of Americans by the U.S. military will mark a significant loss in the war on terrorism, says a former admiral who ran the Navy legal system.

The National Defense Authorization Act, passed by the Senate just over a week ago after a heated debate, includes a provision that requires the military to hold foreign-born terrorism suspects, and also lets the military grab U.S. citizens for indefinite detention.

The House and Senate are expected to release the final legislation as soon as late Monday, and in spite of a personal lobbying effort by President Obama, it is expected to include the controversial language.

A growing list of current and former government officials and national security experts oppose this measure. One of them is Adm. John Hutson, Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 1997 to 2000 and dean emeritus of the University of New Hampshire School of Law. The way Hutson sees it, the United States chipping away at one of its fundamental principles of civilian law enforcement is a win for terrorists.

"The enemy is just laughing over this, because they will have gotten another victory," Hutson told The Huffington Post. "There'll be one more victory. There won't be any bloodshed or immediate bloodshed, there's not a big explosion, except in a metaphorical sense, but it is a victory nonetheless for the enemy. And it's a self-inflicted wound."

Romney jabs at Gingrich, gets punched right back

2011-12-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, a desperate Mitt Romney challenged Newt Gingrich to return the money he received from consulting with Fannie and Freddie.
Newt's reply: "I would just say: if Governor Romney would like to give back all the money he's earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain, then I would be glad to then listen to him. And I will bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won't take the offer."
Oh, snap!

Andrew Sullivan sums up tonight's debate quick-like

2011-12-10T21:54:00.000-08:00

"10.54 pm. Tapper is playing up the $10,000 Romney bet - and I suspect he's right to. It leapt out at me, along with the "Newt Romney" line from Bachmann. Other than that, Newt wins; Romney loses; Paul rises. Have yourself a shot. I sure will."
A few thoughts of my own...
I predict Romney's glib $10k bet offer to Perry will be the equivalent of George H.W. Bush's epic space-out on the price of a gallon of milk. We all remember how that turned out. Just to drive that point home, Jon Huntsman, who was MIA tonight, bought www.10KBet.com. Can't wait to see what they do with that.
Romney went into this race desperately needing to neutralize Newt Gingrich's new front runner status. Instead, he received a knock-out blow from Gingrich at the very beginning when the former House Speaker reminded voters that Romney would've been a career politician if only he could've gotten elected.
Ron Paul did well and got much applause, but as usual, the talking heads refused to acknowledge it. The political press is mind-numbingly predictable. He's polling in second place right now in Iowa. I'd pay good money to see the look on the faces of a dumbstruck intelligentsia if Dr. No actually pulls a Huckabee and wins the Iowa Caucus.
Rick Perry did better than expected tonight. He gave good, heartfelt answers to two important questions re: character (if you lie to your spouse, who won't you lie to?) and where he came from (modest beginnings). As doofy as he is, I've been saying that it's foolish to count him out just yet. With an upcoming Iowa bus tour, he could still win the coveted Christian vote. As for Bachmann and Santorum, their role tonight was useful, but I doubt it'll do them any good.

ABC News-Iowa GOP debate: Will the real front-runner please stand up?

2011-12-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

With the fur now flying between the Romney, Gingrich and Paul campaigns, tonight's ABC News,Yahoo News, WOI-TV, Des Moines Register, Iowa Republican Party debate should be very entertaining. With the Iowa Caucus just weeks away, the stakes are higher than ever.
Questions to ponder while we wait for the fun to begin... will there be an open bar? Will a desperate Mittens locate his cajones and go after Newt face-to-face for screwing up his front-runner status by reminding everyone about his voluminous record of ethics violations and personal scandals? Will Newt drop the "I'm above it" act and go medieval on Mittens by rubbing his flip-floppery in his face like a dog's nose in poo? Will they both make each other look so petty and stupid that Ron Paul actually gains his opening to win the Caucus? (He is right up there with them in the polls.) What kind of Bush-league buffoonery will Rick Perry bring tonight? Will Jon Huntsman's rich daddy buy him some air time? And, will anyone notice those other two clowns still hanging around?
Seriously, I can only hope moderators Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos give Gingrich a good grilling over his recent comments regarding his disdain for child labor laws and saying that Palestinians are an invented people. I also hope she questions Mittens over why, as outgoing MA governor, he and his staff bought all those hard drives and scrubbed whatever records they could, as well as making him defend his record of ever-shifting positions. It would also be nice to hear Paul questioned over what he would do as president in his first 100 days in office, should he be nominated and beat President Barack Obama. I know, I know... it'll never happen. I'd still love to hear what Dr. No's big plan would be, just the same.
The debate is being held on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines and starts at 9 p.m. Eastern/8 p.m. Central. To watch, tune into ABC TV or watch the live-stream at ABCNews.com, Yahoo.com, MyABC5.com or DesMoinesRegister.com.

Mother Jones: 13 reasons Newt will not be the GOP nominee

2011-12-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

In a recent column, conservative big-thought guy George Will described Newt Gingrich as unstable as water. That quote he plucked from Genesis nails it. Unfortunately for the rest of the Republican field (most notably Mittens), GOP primary voters haven't gotten the memo. In a recent article, Mother Jones gives readers a list of 13 reasons Gingrich will never be the GOP nominee. The list is devastating; but the jury's out on whether it will matter to Republican voters this go 'round. The harder the conservative intelligentsia goes after the former House Speaker, the higher his poll numbers rise. It's truly baffling.
As mercurial as this nominating contest has been, there's just no divining who will win the nomination. However, the Magic 8-Ball does say there's no way Gingrich, an epically flawed candidate can beat President Barack Obama in the general election.

Word association game - GOP primary edition

2011-11-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

Photo: Aikenstandard.com

Instead of wasting time writing a detailed analysis of where today's GOP contenders stand, I've opted to go the simple route. A variation on word association. Why not? Since this is the most intellectually-challenged group of presidential nominees I've ever seen in my life, it's best to keep it simple. So here we go!

Mitt Romney: Can't buy me love
Newt Gingrich: Icarus
Rick Perry: Second coming of Dubya
Michele Bachmann: Delusional
Herman Cain: Not ready for prime time
Jon Huntsman: Better luck next time
Ron Paul: Still no chance
Rick Santorum: Yah right!
Buddy Roemer: Error message
Gary Johnson: File not found

The Mayor who cried "Lone-Wolf"?

2011-11-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

AP Photo: Jefferson Siegel

I was watching CNN with a friend Sunday evening when they started reporting that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was going to give a live press conference at 7:30 p.m. It was some sort of announcement having to do with terrorism.
I rolled my eyes. If they weren't going live for another hour and a half that meant it wasn't actually that important. But CNN sure did keep reminding everyone to watch.
I thought of the bad press Bloomberg's been getting hammered with since he ordered his cops to remove Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zucotti Park. It hasn't been pretty. While there's plenty of competition out there for the top spot, he's become the poster boy for oppression against the movement.
Of course that made me suspicious. How convenient, I thought, that all of a sudden some terrorist event would happen and steal away all those bad headlines. No more bad press about terrible decision-making, suppression of first amendment rights and needless brutality. The hot glare would be removed.
So, finally we got the news. On Saturday, Bloomberg's crack cop squad busted up a one-man terrorist operation getting ready to blow up a bunch of good New Yorkers and recently returned veterans. The one-man act arrested was Jose Pimental, a 27 year-old Manhattanite born in the Dominican Republic. Bloomberg described him as an "al Qaeda sympathizer." Shazam - a Latino convert to Islam with al Qaeda-ish sympathy! Spooky stuff!
According to the story, Pimental was planning to blow up police cars, post offices and target returning vets. That's where the story got a bit weird for me. What do you get when you blow up police cars? Sympathy for cops. What do you get when you target a post office? Outrage. And targeting returning vets? Is Pimental psychic or something? Did he have some master list of soldiers? My bullshitometer was going off and wouldn't stop.
And for just a moment, people weren't talking about Bloomberg's stupidity and heavy handedness with regard to the OWS movement.
As of this morning, it appears my skepticism was well-founded. Multiple sources are reporting that the FBI declined to take the case when New York City officials offered it to them. According to Tom Hays of the Associated Press, an FBI official said that after reviewing the evidence, the bureau found Pimentel did not have the “predisposition or the ability” to carry out the terror plot.
It sounds like a case of entrapment more than anything. But it sure did change the subject, for a moment, anyway.

Who really chooses our presidential candidates?

2011-11-18T04:59:00.000-08:00

Image: Adam

Former Bush political strategist Matthew Dowd brings up a question many of us have been asking for a long time - why are certain qualified presidential candidates excluded from the debates [former Republican governors Buddy Roemer (LA) and Gary Johnson (NM)] and given far less time in them when they (Ron Paul) clearly have just as much of a shot or better than some of those who are there? Establishment parrots always say Ron Paul doesn't have a shot at the nomination. How would they know? They've never given voters a chance to make that decision. Paul's poll numbers have been high and he has a larger following than Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman combined. His fundraising ability also leaves theirs (collectively) in the dust.
The only sensible answer is that some candidates are acceptable to the establishment and some are not. And big media does its best to serve those interests. So, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If the system wasn't rigged in this way, Paul would get as much air time in debates as Mitt Romney, Roemer and Johnson would be included in the debates and it would be left up to the voters to decide who's viable and who isn't.
The way it is, it's no wonder so many people don't trust big media. Why should they? It can't even come up with a plausible excuse as to why it ignores candidates who might actually just steal the show. When it comes to experience in governing, independence and common sense, Paul, Roemer and Johnson are all head and shoulders above the current crop of candidates (Huntsman excluded). But then, that's probably what makes them so unacceptable to the powers-that-be.

Image source

What's with the secrecy, Mittens?

2011-11-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

Photo: Corbis

This just in, "Just before Mitt Romney left the Massachusetts governor’s office and first ran for president, 11 of his top aides purchased their state-issued computer hard drives, and the Romney administration’s e-mails were all wiped from a server, according to interviews and records obtained by the Globe." Sounds kinda hinky. It'll be interesting to see if this story grows legs.

Thursday morning chatter

2011-11-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

Rummaging through the GOP clown car... In "The Rise and Fall and Rise of Newt Gingrich," Bob Cesca reminds us in painful detail why the disgraced former Speaker of the House would be nothing short of a disaster as the GOP's nominee.

The Herman Cain Art Project goes dark... After totally pooching an easy question about U.S. foreign policy toward Libya on Monday in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Herman Cain's campaign has decided it's better to be seen than heard. Who can blame them? Add his clueless response to the Libya question to the list of his other blunders (the Right of Return, Uz beki beki beki...) and what it adds up to is a whole lot of stupid. Cain was scheduled to sit down with New Hampshire's influential Union Leader newspaper today for an interview but cancelled. According to AP reporter Steve Poeples, it was due to a disagreement over timing. Sure, sure. This morning, Michael Calderone at Huffington Post reported the Cain campaign requested the hour-long interview be cut to 20 minutes and that no cameras/video be allowed. It sounds like the newspaper balked at his request. After all, it takes Cain 20 minutes, alone, to figure out what country it is his questioners are talking about.

Occupy Wall Street marks its two-month anniversary... Mayor Boss Hogg Bloomberg may have had Zucotti Park cleared, but the movement is alive and well, celebrating its two-month anniversary with a day of protest around New York's financial district. Similar events are also scheduled for today around the country. Ah, beautiful chaos...

From the You Gotta Be Kidding Me department... In some weird, desperate gambit, debate Gaffe Master Rick Perry challenged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to a public debate on Monday. Ba ha ha ha. At her news conference this morning she responded to the request mockingly, “He did ask if I could debate here in Washington on Monday — it is my understanding that such a letter has come in. Monday, I’m going to be in Portland in the morning, visiting some of our labs in California in the afternoon, that’s two … I can’t remember what the third thing is." Classic!

Mitt Romney: the Bob Dole of 2012?

2011-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

Canadian Press Images

Reading Steve Kornacki's piece "The GOP and electoral suicide" at Salon.com I got to thinking, the race for the 2012 Republican nomination is the strangest, most fluid nominating contest I've ever followed (going back to the early '90's). Analytical skill and instinct be damned, there is just no predicting who will win it. Or is there?
Rachel Maddow (one of the most brilliant minds in politics & media today), predicts with certainty Mitt Romney will take it. She's the one with the doctorate and a staff of researchers, so maybe she's right; but I'm not convinced. She may be failing to grasp the depth and intensity of GOPers distrust and dislike of Romney.
Once the good 'ol boy party poo bahs decide to get behind one candidate (which I believe will be Rick Perry), the pretenders (Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann) will fade and the race will end somewhere between South Carolina and Florida. It's worth noting that in 2008 Romney couldn't buy the race. He tried mightily but got shellacked in Iowa by cash-strapped insurgent Gov. Mike Huckabee. Talk about embarrassing. Then he got beat by a weak John McCain in New Hampshire and SC (where he didn't have a prayer).
In Romney I see Groundhog Day. Why would voters be any more inclined to support him now than they did in 2008? His elitism and Olympic-level flip-floppery is even more evident now than it was then. If there's one thing voters from across the political spectrum agree on, it's having a general disgust for politicians with no moral core. Romney's campaign slogan might as well be I'll Tell You Whatever You Want to Hear!
If the GOP establishment does get behind Romney, he will most likely go down in history as the Bob Dole of 2012 (a mere sacrificial lamb). The meaning? They'll be done with him once and for all; and are already focusing on real presidential aspirants for 2016.
But like I said before, who knows. This race and political climate is unlike any other in modern times. If Maddow winds up being right and Romney becomes the GOP nominee, I will bow down before her brilliance and courage in making this early call. If my instinct is right and Perry wins his party's backing, she should hire me.

The stillest of days

2011-09-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

It's Sept. 11, ten years to the day after we were attacked. After our world was turned upside down. Hard to believe it's been so long. So much has happened since. So much in life has changed.

This morning Bruiser and I were out for a walk. I was struck by the stillness and of how beautiful a day it is. Just like that day a decade ago. Just like it.

As I ironed my shirt for work that morning, I noticed how everything outside was bathed in a bright lemon light. Fresh early morning air came in through the open bedroom window. Until I turned on the radio, the only sound outside my window came from the happy little birds chirping in the low hanging branches. I was happy. It seemed like the most perfect day of the year.

How ironic.

This morning was as perfect as that morning was. Walking with Bruiser, I noted the only sound to be heard - besides the birds, was the sound of an airplane flying far off in the distance. It was eerie.

GOP's disrespect toward the president and his office is a disgrace

2011-09-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

Until 2003, I was a lifelong Republican and proud of it. Coming of age in the 1980’s and beyond, I was conservative when it so wasn’t cool. But I greatly admired President Ronald Reagan’s leadership and what the GOP represented: fiscal discipline, a strong national defense and traditional values.

My, how times – and the GOP has changed.

These eyes were opened wide beginning with the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. At the time, I argued in The Charlotte Observer against the invasion – as a Republican and U.S. Army veteran of the Persian Gulf War. I believed it would be disastrous to our nation and to Iraq. Because I put what I saw as the good of the nation above the priority of a president and a political party, many fellow Republicans gave me the tongue lashing of a lifetime in response.

It was at that point I realized that today’s GOP demands loyalty to the party and to achieving power over loyalty to the constitution and the good of the nation. Defy the party line and you are branded a liberal and traitor.

If the Gipper could see the state of politics today and hear the viciousness in the right’s rhetoric toward Democrats and this president, he’d be rolling in his grave.

Anyone who served in his and his predecessor’s Army knew well that it’s one thing to dislike an officer, a general, or the commander-in-chief; but quite another to disrespect any of them up the chain of command. That behavior was unprofessional and unacceptable.

This leads me to the insufferable behavior of today’s congressional Republicans and their leadership. As President Barack Obama prepares to give his jobs speech tonight to a joint session of congress, certain members have been telling the media they won’t be attending. And House and Senate leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell openly encourage this odious and disrespectful behavior.

If Democratic lawmakers showed such a vile and public level of disrespect towards a Republican president, the GOP, right-wing pundits and voters’ heads would collectively explode. As with so many other forms of the right’s hypocrisy, the same standards don’t apply to them.

For a member of congress to flaunt such profound disrespect for the president of the United States and his office is beyond disturbing. It’s also unprofessional, unacceptable and a terrible example to set for our nation’s children.

Those legislators who sit out tonight’s speech have no business serving in public office. Their priority is not the good of the nation, but to destroy Obama’s presidency and the social safety net. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that first goal plainly shortly after Obama took office.

In today’s political climate, I often wonder what President Reagan would think of it all if he were still on the scene. Based on his record, he probably wouldn’t feel much at home with today’s GOP. It’s important to remember, he never saw the Democratic Party as an enemy, but as the loyal opposition. He refused to demonize his opponents on the other side of the aisle by party or name. And it’s commonly known that he had a warm, albeit combative relationship with legendary Democratic House Speaker Tip O’Neil.

Reagan was a realist, not an ideologue. His flexibility and independent-mindedness in governing served him well and explains why he was so highly regarded across the political spectrum. He raised taxes when it was called for, argued in favor of raising the debt ceiling to ensure the U.S. government’s full faith and credit, deplored the use of torture against enemies and rightly chose to bring our Marines home from Lebanon rather than risking more of their lives in someone else’s civil war. He also refused the advice of Republican elders to not trust Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Because his realist instincts were right, the Cold War was won without a shot fired.

Today’s Republican Party in no way resembles the party Reagan once led so successfully. All reason and good faith is gone. The GOP may not see it now, but if they continue down the path of contempt and putting the interests of the wealthy and corporate elites before the interests of the working class just to hurt this president, it could very well go the way of the Whigs.

It’s time for Republicans to stop paying lip service to the greatness of our former president and start acting like him, instead.

The president gets tough and the public is with him

2011-07-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

White House Photo, Pete Souza

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, voters are not buying the Republican mumbo jumbo on the debt talks. The numbers strongly favor President Obama and his positions. So much so, he should roll the study up like a news paper and smack Eric Cantor upside the head with it.

President Barack Obama is finally getting tough and pushing back on debt ceiling negotiations. Yay! On Wednesday, he went all commander-in-chief on Eric Cantor, giving him a good rhetorical spanking in front of everyone over his unwillingness to compromise. Cantor promptly covered his ears, closed his eyes and started chanting "nah, nah, nah, nah..."

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker should polish up his resume over his summer vacay. After taking a blow torch to union rights last winter and pissing everyone off, voters are gearing up to send him a pink slip in 2012.

The "Morning Joe" crew chatted with Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.-Mo.) this morning about the debt talks. She conceded that Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) has "lost his mind." You know it's bad for the Republican position when even Mr. Morning Joe (Scarborough) is agreeing with a Democrat. Loop holes! Loop holes! Loop holes!

Cenk Uygur, the Young Turks/MSNBC host shares some clips of Michele Bachmann's husband making some truly head-scratching comments about homosexuality. Here at the Cafe, we're taking bets on how long it takes for Mr. Bachmann to come (or be pried) out of the closet.

Cainiac reveals Herman Cain's musical past

2011-07-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Image from The Daily Caller

Following in the footsteps of epically dorky politician-crooners Orrin Hatch and John Ashcroft ("Let the Eagle Soar"), presidential wanna-be Herman Cain recorded a gospel album back in the day. That's the kind of crap people do when they get too rich and bored. Ugh. He was, however, good enough to bury it for the good of the nation, but then some crazy Cainiac had to go drop it on the interwebs.

Afghan president's brother assassinated by body guard

2011-07-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

Afghan President Hamid Karzai's half brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai was assassinated by a bodyguard in his home Tuesday. Though he was the head of the Kandahar provincial council, controversy surrounded him. He was accused of drug trafficking and being on the CIA payroll.

"In matters of national security, the best politics is no politics." - Scoop Jackson

2011-07-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, ca. 1972, Courtesy UW Special Collections

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan awarded Henry "Scoop" Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. To Reagan, giving the nation's highest civilian award to the legendary Democrat was a no-brainer. In Reagan's White House diaries he noted Jackson's passing as "a real loss." At the award ceremony the president called him "one of the greatest lawmakers of our century..." It's hard to imagine any of today's high profile Republicans offering such affection and admiration for any member of the Democratic party, for any reason.

President Reagan's remarks from the ceremony (from Wikipedia):

Scoop Jackson was convinced that there's no place for partisanship in foreign and defense policy. He used to say, 'In matters of national security, the best politics is no politics.' His sense of bipartisanship was not only natural and complete; it was courageous. He wanted to be President, but I think he must have known that his outspoken ideas on the security of the Nation would deprive him of the chance to be his party's nominee in 1972 and '76. Still, he would not cut his convictions to fit the prevailing style.I'm deeply proud, as he would have been, to have Jackson Democrats serve in my administration. I'm proud that some of them have found a home here.

Monday morning musings

2011-07-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Live press conference with President Obama.

In the latest issue of Newsweek, Sarah Palin boldly claims she can beat President Obama in the 2012 election. If she runs. According to daughter Bristol, the decision has already been made; but the former governor is currently having too much fun messing with every one's heads to jump into the race right now. Priorities, people.

The New York Times' brilliant and cranky economist Paul Krugman blasts the Beltway blabbermouths for being totally wrong on why our economy's been stuck in the ditch for the last year and a half.

Talks between the president and House Speaker John Boehner to secure a deal on the debt-limit have fallen apart. Big surprise. It's next to impossible to work with moral and intellectual zeroes like House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R.-Va.) and his TeaTard contingent. The grown-ups can't get anything done with them throwing their hissy fits on behalf of the nation's poor & needy wealthiest citizens.

Case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn falling apart

2011-07-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

Whenever the TV media goes into a frenzy over something or someone - such as former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn being accused of rape on May 14, I get suspicious. Especially when the accused is a real threat to the powers that be (as DSK was as the head of the IMF and as a possible French presidential candidate). The one-sided and irresponsible TV coverage, ruining this man's career and character before he was ever tried in court, convinced me to refrain from judgement until all the facts were in.

My distrust of the media's motives and hesitance to embrace its salacious narrative was vindicated late yesterday when it was reported that the case against Strauss-Kahn is collapsing. Apparently, the accuser has lied to investigators repeatedly and is connected to some pretty shady characters. Their dealings include drug trafficking, money laundering and depositing at least $100,000 into her bank account over the last two years.

The new evidence doesn't mean Strauss-Kahn and the Guinean-born maid didn't have relations. DNA evidence does point to some kind of interaction. However, with these new revelations of the accuser's untrustworthiness and criminal connections, the felony charges will probably be dropped and strict bail conditions lessened. Strauss-Kahn will be in court today for a previously unscheduled hearing.

My only question now is will the TV media spend several days harping on the accuser's sketchy connections and the possible setting-up of Strauss-Kahn to take him out politically? And will it take responsibility for its part in destroying this man's reputation before a jury could ever hear the facts? I highly doubt it.

Wisconsin protestors ruin Scott Walker's day

2011-06-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

The Magic 8-Ball just dropped a prediction. Wisconsin governor and anti-union crusader Scott Walker will have a short career in politics.

Old GOP ally "B-1" Bob Dornan blasts Newt Gingrich

2011-06-27T10:44:00.000-07:00

Holy cow! Who knew former fire breathing conservative congressman Bob "B-1" Dornan was still alive?! He recently got The Daily Beast's Bryan Curtis on the horn to blast his former House colleague, Newt Gingrich over his bid for the 2012 GOP nomination. "B-1" absolutely can't stand the guy and is chomping at the bit to ~~confront~~ yell him at the next GOP debate. That should be fun!

Here's a little taste from Curtis's article:

Bob’s argument is that Newt is a pseudo-intellectual gasbag, a moral basket case, and a political performance artist whose campaign is less a bid for the White House than a marketing blitz to pump up “Gingrich Inc.” When I call him back, Bob says he wants to do the nation a service. “I want to get this man the hell out of America’s hair!” he roars.

A pseudo-intellectual gasbag and moral basket case... Yah, that's about right.

Michele Bachmann announces bid for 2012 GOP nomination

2011-06-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, the self-styled leader of the Tea Party Caucus, formally announced her bid for the 2012 GOP nomination today. In honor of her big day, Huffington Post put together a wonderful little compilation of Bachmann's most memorable public moments and quotes. Folks, there's never a dull moment with this one!

Kimmel spoofs Jon Hunstman campaign ad

2011-06-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

It's official! Jon Huntsman, the former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China is running for the 2012 GOP nomination. Please try and contain your excitement. In this clip, Jimmy Kimmel has some fun pointing out the weirdness of the candidate and this ad. Apparently, it's a Republican virtue to not take your wife to that fancy restaurant she's been dying to go to.

Don't underestimate Michele Bachmann, Taibbi warns

2011-06-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

Illustration by Victor Juhasz

For the current issue of Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi has written a great piece on Michele Bachmann, the comely and cunning Minnesota Congresswoman running for the GOP presidential nomination. The article, Michele Bachmann's Holy War, is both funny and frightening. Taibbi quotes Ezra Klein (who nailing it) half-jokingly said, "Bachmann is the candidate Sarah Palin was supposed to be." The current crop of Republicans running for the 2012 nomination would be foolish to underestimate her. For anyone following the 2012 presidential race, this is a must-read.

Somebody tell Gingrich his "campaign's" over

2011-06-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

This just in! Basically, Newt Gingrich's whole presidential campaign staff has resigned. That's what he gets for not taking them all with on his vacay to the Greek Isles (and for not heeding their um, wisdom to actually campaign among real-life voters). So, can we cross Gingrich off the list of "credible" GOP candidates, already?

US media too hot for Peckergate to cover real news

2011-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

David Sirota deserves a medal for pointing out 10 stories the media missed because they were too into covering Weiner's Weaner. We are clearly moving into a state of Idiocracy. Sirota, a media critic at Salon, introduces the list:

As of my writing this, it takes less than two-tenths of a second for Google News to register 15,500 hits for the name "Anthony Weiner." Those are the kind of rare numbers that come along only when the media and political establishment is expressing full-blown Howard Beale Outrage -- the kind of scandal-addled rage that was once reserved for break-ins at Washington office buildings and arms-for-hostages deals.

But, of course, after those controversies created constitutional crises and almost brought down presidencies -- well, then came the real scandals: Bill Clinton staining that blue dress, Larry Craig's wide stance in the Minneapolis Airport, Mark Foley's instant messages, Chris Lee showing off his chest... and now, of course, Anthony Weiner. These are scandals that come with made-for-24-hour-cable-news visuals and require no investigative reporting whatsoever. These are scandals, in short, that are better sculpted for the 21st century Idiocracy that we call America circa 2011 -- so they are presented as even more important than anything that might actually affect the future of the nation or the planet.

Still, for some odd reason -- I don't know, call me old fashioned or crazy or both -- an irrelevant congressman's bizarre behavior in a silly 140-character-limited medium strikes me as a tad less offensive and less worthy of media focus than at number of other less-covered stories that broke at the same time as the Weiner Scandal. I think these 10 stories from this week are far more offensive -- and involve what should be considered more egregious infractions -- than Anthony Weiner's half-naked sexts.

Thatcherites to Palin: Bugger off!

2011-06-09T07:17:00.000-07:00

Getty images (2)

The Daily Beast's Alex Massie reports that Sarah Palin is looking forward to meeting her idol Lady Margaret Thatcher later this summer. Someone might want to let Palin know that the conservative icon, who is ailing and not into receiving guests, just isn't that into her.
According to the article: One Thatcherite ally told The Guardian: "Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts." Indeed. Or as Tim Montgomerie, editor of the influential Tory website ConservativeHome put it, "She is an embarrassment for mainstream Conservatives."
'Nuff said.

Rick Santorum wants to be your culture warrior-in-chief

2011-06-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

AP photo

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was thrown out of office in 2006 for being an ignorant douche. Apparently he hasn't learned anything in the interim, well, except for the fact that he's got a serious Google problem. That alone would make most of us run like hell from the media. But not this guy! He misses the spotlight so much he's running for the 2012 GOP nomination. Did you know that? If you said no, it's okay. You're not alone. The few people who do know it couldn't care less.

The day after GOP honcho Haley Barbour spoke on the need to get past purity tests at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, Santorum showed up to explain the opposite. He was blabbing on about taking bullets for Jesus or something. Yada yada yada.
The Magic 8-Ball has some advice for Santorum. You better super glue your rhetorical bullet-proof vest to your body. When the primary season gets into full swing, reminders (bullets?) of your inauspicious past are gonna be sprayed at you, fully-automatic, from all sides. If your "campaign" makes it past Iowa, it'll be a true miracle. We, here at the Cafe, won't be holding our breath, though.

What was Romney saying, again?

2011-06-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

New Hampshire Union Leader, June 3, 2011

It's happening. Sarah Palin, who hasn't even declared a candidacy yet, is already stealing all of the media oxygen from those who have or soon will. Since last week, everyone's forgotten about that guy, "T-Paw" and she completely overshadowed Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's announcement about a "mysterious" June announcement to come from Iowa (What kind of strategery is that, Bachmann?). This week, the Mama Grizzly mauled Mitt Romney's big kick-off speech in New Hampshire. No winning the news cycle for you, Mr. Romneycare! It must really chap Mittens' ass that some pretend politician/reality star got the lion's share of attention today from "the Granite State's" leading paper. Guess we know who they don't like!

This just happened in New Hampshire

2011-06-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Poor Mittens! Sarah "Rolling Thunder" Palin had to go ruin his big day. Her Magical Mystery Tour just happened to show up right down the road from the farm he was holding his announcement at. As expected, the media left him in the dust to go chasing after her. To make it worse, she and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also speaking in New Hampshire yesterday, both took pot shots at the so-called GOP front-runner. Way to honor Reagan's 11th Commandment, guys!

Jane Lynch wants Sarah Palin on "Glee"

2011-06-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

The bitingly hilarious actress and comedienne Jane Lynch "takes over" NewsCorp and lays down the law. Look out Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. She's got plans for you!

Jon Huntsman hearts socialized medicine?

2011-06-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

If former Utah governor Jon Huntsman actually does run for the GOP nomination, he's going to have some 'splainin to do with wing nut primary voters. Apparently, as governor he got all Socialist and pulled a RomneyObama on Utah.

Reporter Jason Cherkis at Huffington Post writes, "On March 19, 2008, he signed into law health care reform legislation that included a requirement that the state study 'the costs and benefits associated with (a) different forms of mandates for individual responsibility; and (b) potential enforcement mechanisms for individual responsibility.'"

The funniest part of this whole anti-Obama health care thing is, it was basically a Republican/Heritage Foundation idea to begin with. Even President Dick Nixon wanted universal health care! But then President Barack Obama had to go start pushing it, which turned it into a Commie plot.

None of this historical reality matters, though. In Tea Party land and among "real Amurkans," facts and history are for bitches and whiners.

Huntsman, who was also a former Ambassador to China for the Obama administration, is just way too reasonable and, dare I say, decent for red meat Republican primary voters. To them, reasonable means RINO (Republican In Name Only) and traitor.

The Magic 8-Ball indicates Mr. Huntsman should save his time, money and respectability by letting the losers duke it out for the chance to get their ass whipped by Obama.

Huntsman has served this country well and doesn't need to stain his reputation by running (i.e. saying stupid, dishonest things he doesn't believe in just to win over delusional wing nut voters). He seems better than that.

Here's hoping Huntsman comes to his senses and decides against running, at least until 2016. At that point, he becomes a much stronger, better-known candidate.

Is Palin pulling a Trump?

2011-05-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

The Magic 8-Ball is clear on one thing: Sarah Palin will never be president. One doesn’t need magic to divine this truth, however. Poll after poll shows she is increasingly radioactive across large swaths of the voting public – as in pre-2008 Hillary Clinton unpopular. And yet, she flirts. So, what’s her game – will she run for the 2012 GOP nomination, or is she pulling a Trump to stay in the headlines?

With former governor Mike Huckabee (leader of the 2012 pack) out of the race, Palin may see this as her moment. Social conservatives, who gravitated to Huckabee, would be Palin’s for the picking. Also vying for those voters will be Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum. No worries for Palin on that score. She’s the big dawg and they are but fleas.

As for Mitt Romney (struggling to be seen as the field’s frontrunner), a Palin candidacy would be his worst nightmare. Her star power and ability to raise tons of cash is competition he absolutely does not need. The combination of name recognition and fundraising prowess was the one thing he had going for him.

Poor Mittens. He’s a far weaker candidate than the Beltway press seems to grasp. He’s the king of flip-floppery, has the charisma of a cement block and is viewed with great suspicion by the party’s social conservatives. Palin could be the anti-Romney they’ve been looking for.

The rest of the Republican field will get very little attention if Palin runs. This must drive that other boring governor, Tim Pawlenty nuts. His campaign is already going nowhere at the speed of light. With Palin in the race, he just becomes another interchangeable white guy.

I believe Sarah Palin will run for the 2012 Republican nomination. Why wouldn’t she? She has everything to gain by it no matter the outcome. There’s no way she (queen of the mammoth ego) would turn away from the possibility of being the first female to run for president on the Republican ticket. There’s also no way she’ll turn down all that free publicity (and wardrobe!); not to mention all the cash to be made down the road.

For Palin it’s not about actually winning or serving a greater good. It’s about keeping herself in the spotlight and feeding her greed. Look how she bailed on Alaska after only two and a half years into her first term to pursue the almighty dollar (book, TV deals). Her campaign slogan should be “Show Me the Money!”

With such a pitiful GOP field, I can see her winning her party’s nomination and then losing badly to President Obama in the general election. It’s all good, though. To Palin, losing a presidential race is actually winning!

Wonkette spanks Palin for crashing biker rally for vets

2011-05-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As usual, Sarah Palin is all about celebrating some Sarah Palin! Those crazy kids at Wonkette are busting her out for crashing the "Rolling Thunder" biker rally for veterans on Sunday:

Happy Memorial Day! It is time to honor America’s War Heroes, meaning Sarah Palin. America’s favorite snowbilly grifter showed up Sunday at “Rolling Thunder,” a non-partisan organization which raises awareness of veterans’ issues through the display of motorcycles that run on Muslim-Arabian fuel.

Snowbilly grifter... that's even better than Caribou Barbie!

Hillary Clinton: Vanity Fair's Woman of the World

2011-05-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Illustration by Edward Sorel.

Jonathan Alter's new Vanity Fair piece on Hillary Clinton looks interesting. Alter's a great reporter. And love her or hate her, the Secretary of State and former First Lady is a fascinating character. The teaser says it all:

Her lightning-rod years behind her, Hillary Clinton is an administration star and a formidable, low-maintenance secretary of state. As she grapples with the Arab Spring, Jonathan Alter steals quality time with the ever airborne diplomat in chief.

I used to loathe her. That was based on my belief that she was untrustworthy and of bad character. While I always saw her as wickedly intelligent, I believed her motives to be deeply suspect. Her support for the invasion of Iraq and all things Neoconservative proved me right. It was her well-earned downfall. Had she displayed the same courageous intellectual independence Barack Obama did by opposing the invasion, she probably would've won the 2008 Democratic nomination.

That was then, this is now.

Since her defeat, she's done an admirable job dusting herself off and moving forward. I've been impressed by her joining Team Obama and putting her formidable talents to good use as secretary of state. She's done a great job so far in that post. And thankfully, the animosity I used to feel for her has disappeared. Somewhere along the line following the 2008 primaries, I think Hillary's motives became truer than they have ever been. And that accounts for much of her current success.

GOP to Newt: Suck it!

2011-05-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Perennial presidential wanna-be Newt Gingrich finally had a good (meaning gaffe-free) week. Unfortunately for him, it was followed by a new survey released by Public Policy Polling revealing what many of us already know: He is very unpopular even within his own party.
The poll shows 38 percent support for Gingrich among Republicans; while 45 percent view him unfavorably. That's no small number. (Among Democrats, he is viewed unfavorable by 80 percent.) Even Sarah Palin, who fled office after only two and a half years into her governorship, scored higher than the former Speaker of the House with 55-37, respectively.
The combination of past and recent bad press and negative polling numbers beg the question, what makes Gingrich think he has any chance of winning the Republican nomination - sheer ego the size of Mt. Rushmore?
I'm no expert in statistics, but the Magic 8-Ball never lies. Gingrich stands about the same chance of winning the nomination as he does in winning the gazillion dollar lottery. One would have to be a complete fool to run on those odds.

Desperation city

2011-05-27T15:40:00.000-07:00

According to a CNN/Research survey of Republican voters, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani edges out former governors Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin for the top spot in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. Giuliani received 16 percent support to Romney's 15 percent and Palin's 13 percent.

AP Photo

Of course, this is but one survey. But the results are head scratching. How so? Let's jump into the Wayback Machine and return to the run-up to the 2008 GOP primaries. Giuliani, ~~still milking his glorious 9-11 wave of popularity for what it was worth~~ enjoyed some of the highest poll numbers of the pack, thanks to the breathless Beltway press hyping him incessantly. According to the Chatteratti, his expertise in national security made him the candidate to beat.
Giuliani's campaign got off to a rocky start. There were many questions about his sordid personal life and his current wife's past. He also failed miserably to connect with voters on the trail. This must've been all too apparent to his staff because they proceeded to run the most bizarre primary strategy known to mankind: blow off the early primary states and take it all in Florida. Yah, that turned out real well. His campaign flamed out famously before it ever began.
The point to this post is simple. There is such a horrible void in the Republican field today, voters are still thrashing around, looking for "the one." I can all but guarantee to those who took this poll and other like-minded voters, Rudy Giuliani is not going to be the next Republican nominee. Granted, there is no candidate in the current GOP crop who can claim to be the 'national security guy'. Perhaps that could give "America's Mayor" a new footing, but I highly doubt it.
The Magic 8-Ball says Giuliani would be a fool to waste his time and money on such a ridiculous quest. Here's hoping his ego doesn't get the best of him.

Obamas get a royal reception from Queen Elizabeth

2011-05-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in London today to kick off their official state visit. They were greeted in high style by Queen Elizabeth II and husband Prince Philip. The warm welcome included a private tour of the palace, a meeting with Prince William and Kate Middleton and a 41-gun salute. Such a visit is a rare honor for a U.S. president.
Historically, the Queen hosts one or two heads of state per year.
The Obamas will attend a state banquet held in their honor. On Wednesday, President Obama will give a rare address to both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall. This occasion is usually reserved for British monarchs. Normally, the heads of state are recieved in the Queen's Robing Room or the Royal Gallery.
Former U.S. presidents Ronald Reagan (1982) and Bill Clinton (1995) gave their speeches in the Royal Gallery. The last state visit by a U.S. president was George W. Bush in 2003.

(Photo: John Stillwell/The Associated Press)

Pawlenty pardoned serial child molester in 2008

2011-05-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wow. This is disturbing. I don't think I like Tim Pawlenty's judgement.

According to Kase Wickman at The Raw Story... Reporting by Minneapolis City Pages' Nick Pinto brought to attention a pardon then-Gov. Pawlenty granted to a sex offender in October 2008, which is sure to haunt the candidate throughout his campaign: the man Pawlenty pardoned was later arrested again for molesting his daughter more than 250 times in an eight-year span, including six years prior to his pardon.

Jeremy Giefer served 45 days in prison in 1994 after being convicted of statutory rape. However, because he married the then-14-year-old girl and stuck around to father the child they conceived together, he begged the state for an extraordinary pardon, which would no longer require Giefer to report himself as a sex offender.

The board — which includes the Minnesota attorney general, the chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and the governor (Pawlenty, at the time) — voted unanimously to pardon Giefer.

The damning details came in November 2010, when Giefer was again arrested on counts of sex with an underage girl — this time with the daughter he had conceived with Susan before his first rape charge.

Prof. Steffen Schmidt breaks down the 2012 race

2011-05-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Forget the MSM pundits. This guy knows his shiz when it comes to breaking down the race for 2012. Yes, he's a bit dorky - like those folks on PBS or at NPR; but like them, he's definitely worth listening to.
Cheers!

"T-Paw's" presidential bid lands on obit page

2011-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is hilarious. And Freudian? From The Hill's Daniel Strauss:
A local Minnesota newspaper placed its report on former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) formally jumping into the 2012 presidential race right next to the obituaries.
The Monday edition of St. Paul Pioneer Press offers a small dispatch of Pawlenty's speech on the same page and directly next to the local obituaries.
Another local Minnesota paper, City Pages, began an item on the St. Paul Pioneer Press's placement of the Pawlenty story by saying, "Tim Pawlenty's presidential campaign is Dead on Arrival."

Herman Cain bombs on Fox News Sunday

2011-05-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

After his first major television interview Sunday, Herman Cain, former Godfather's Pizza CEO and Republican presidential aspirant joined Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum in the Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Club.
Cain appeared on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace and stumbled when the discussion turned to Israel. When asked where he stood on the right of return, Cain gave a Palinesque pause and answer betraying his lack of knowledge on the issue. Beyond the Israeli/Palestinian issue, he also confessed to not knowing what to do about Afghanistan.
Cain quickly put out a video walking back the statements he made on FNS.
It's hard to see the GOP establishment getting behind such a novice.

(Photo: AP)

Tim "The Buick" Pawlenty officially enters 2012 GOP race

2011-05-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

It's official. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty has declared his candidacy for the 2012 GOP nomination in a YouTube video! Unfortunately for "T-Paw," his super exciting announcement was met with a collective yawn.
On the bright side, GOP gray beards can relax knowing there is, for certain, a serious candidate to back not named Mitt Romney.
Pawlenty is already preempting fears that he cannot compete with Romney in the money race by calling his campaign a Buick, or something. Reliable... Apparently, Romney is the Mercedes of campaigners.

(Photo: Jim Mone, AP)

Today's the day!

2011-05-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Hello and happy Saturday! It's a gorgeous day in Charlotte and so far, the rapture hasn't happened - as that crazy guy's been predicting. Seven more hours and we're out of the woods! He is actually the final straw in what prompted me to fire up my 'ol blog END OF THE WORLD CAFE and start posting again. I've been meaning to get back to it for some time. I figured today, with the rapture happening and all, the timing was perfect! So here's to dusting off the magic 8 ball just in time to cover the 2012 presidential election. It promises to be highlarious. I'll be posting on other topics, too. Pretty much whatever fires me up!

Thankful this holiday weekend

2008-11-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

This has been a very low key Thanksgiving weekend. I've been sick for the last two weeks and am enjoying this downtime from work. Peace and quiet can be the best medicine for whatever ails.

The sky is gray and it's raining. The air outside is chilly. It's a great day to build a fire in the fireplace.

Even though I wasn't able to go to Charleston to spend the holiday with my family, I'm still more than thankful this year for all my blessings. I have a wonderful, healthy family; the best friends anyone could ask for; good health; a good job with benefits; an excellent car; good food to eat; a roof over my head; two crazy cats that are great roommates; and an incoming president who carries with him more promise to become a great president than any other I have ever seen in my lifetime. And God knows, our nation is in great peril and needs a leader who is smart enough, strong enough, and resourceful enough to put us back together again.

On this Thanksgiving, I thank God for the reprieve this nation has been given, in allowing us to elect Barack Obama; I pray for his continued safe keeping; and for our re-emergence as a powerful force for good in this world.

Democracy lives!

Van Dersloot claimed he sold Holloway into slavery

2008-11-25T16:22:00.000-08:00

It's just as I had suspected all along. Joran van der Sloot, who was under suspicion in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway from Aruba has given an interview with Fox's Greta van Susteren and confessed to selling the Alabama blond into slavery.

van der Sloot said he led a drunken Holloway to the beach and handed her over to a man who paid him $10,000. The man took her to a boat and they disappeared. van der Sloot seemed to think they were heading to Venezuela. He ended the interview abruptly when questions regarding his father's and lawyer's knowledge of what happened arose.

UPDATE:

Van der Sloot called FOX after the interview and claimed he had lied to van Susteren about selling Holloway.

More...

Oddly enough, another "reluctant" witness came forward last week to claim van der Sloot confessed to her that he dumped Holloway's body into the ocean. Sounds like someone's out there trying to confuse and distract. I don't trust Celeste, the new witness. What makes the most sense to me is that Holloway was removed from the island by boat, dead or alive. Aruba is small and she disappeared without a trace. The authorities and media have combed every inch of it and they've come up with nothing.

Whether people choose to acknowledge it or not, people around the world traffic in sex slavery; and a beautiful, young blonde surely gets top dollar. If van der Sloot's most recent confession is true, the question is where did the man with the boat take her?

Another confusing aspect about this new revelation is that van der Sloot points the finger at Venezuela. Could this have greater implications with regard to the Bush administration's strained relations with Hugo Chavez? Is someone using this situation to demonize Chavez? Did a wealthy Venezuelen buy Holloway?

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, my first thought upon hearing about this case in 2005 was the possibility that Holloway was abducted and sold. My guess as to where she wound up was the Middle East, Russian/Slavic province or possibly somewhere in North Africa. That was just a gut feeling.

Election Day 2008

2008-11-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the returns...

I was sitting here thinking of Barack Obama and reasons why I like him. My thoughts then drifted to Bill Cosby, whom I consider to be one of America's great fathers.

Having come a generation before Obama, I wondered how much of a racial path Cosby helped clear for Obama with the masses. How much of a social impact has Cosby made on American perceptions to help get us here to this moment? More than being a master comedian for decades, Cosby is brilliant in the field of child psychology and an excellent example for all of God's children.

He pisses a lot of people off with his lectures and sermonizing, but I love him. I grew up watching Fat Albert when I was a little kid; watching the jell-o commercials; watching the Cosby Show through my teens; and A Different World into my early 20's. (And I still watch reruns!)

Those years watching Dr. Huxtable and his family, filled something in for me in the absence of my own father (who died when I was five). I saw a show with a strong, funny, present father and I loved it. It was always funny and socially relevant (without seeming to try). No wonder it was universally popular.

To this day, the Cosby show is one of America's favorite TV shows in history. Its social impact on young Americans was massive. In the spirit of Cosby's greatness and example, here's hoping Obama gets elected tonight and becomes the great and impactful president I think will be!

A Thunder in Heaven

2008-11-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

On the eve of the 2008 presidential election, I can imagine there is a thunder rolling through heaven. Millions of earthly voices raised and joined, offering prayers on behalf of Barack Obama and his historic candidacy. What a glorious noise!

Speaking of heaven, Obama's grandma, Madelyn Dunham, 86, died last night (Sun., Nov. 2, 2008) from cancer. How tragic that she will not be here to see the election. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Here's hoping the Lord took "Toot" home to heaven to watch this historic moment from on high beside her beloved husband and daughter.

After two grueling years of campaigning, election day has finally arrived. The polls are reflecting a double-digit lead for Obama (that I predicted long ago). God willing, by this time tomorrow night we will have elected Obama to be the next president of the United States. And history will be made.

YES WE CAN!

P.S. to My Last Post

2008-11-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

People are finally catching on to what I wrote two years ago regarding Barack Obama's resemblance to President Ronald Reagan. This election also strongly resembles the 1980 race. Candidate Reagan's optimistic and steady style was his ace in the hole. Obama has exhibited that same confidence, strength and positive outlook.

Hopefully Obama will win in a landslide and have the same amount of support Reagan had. Then he can get to work and help guide this nation back from the abyss.

Calling the Race

2008-11-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

After following the most exciting, mind and soul grinding and historic presidential race of my life (for the last two years), I have decided to break my silence and offer my prediction for what will happen two days from now on election day (Tues., Nov. 4).

One caveat: After watching the theft of both the 2000 and 2004 elections, I believe this election, too, could be stolen. Somehow. Through a wicked mix of electronic voting machine chicanery; purges in voter roles; intimidation; and other mischief.

Possibility of theft aside, here are my predictions:

PRESIDENT: Barack Obama wins in a landslide
CONGRESS: Al Franken wins in Minnesota; Mitch McConnell loses in Kentucky; Saxby Chambliss loses in Georgia; Both Udalls win their races (Colorado, New Mexico)
NORTH CAROLINA: Republican Pat McCrory becomes governor; Democrat Walter Dalton wins Lt. Governor; Kay Hagan beats Elizabeth Dole; Larry Kissell beats Robin Hayes; Patrick McHenry loses.
*WILD CARD: South Carolina goes to Obama

McCain/Clinton '08?

2008-04-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

The battle for the Democratic presidential nomination has become interminable. There is only one sane conclusion to draw from Hillary Clinton's destructive campaigning; she needs to come out of the Republican closet, already, and run as John McCain's Vice Presidential nominee.

It would be perfect! The rightwing-nut faction of the GOP would have a hissy fit and a total meltdown. Treason! they would shout and sneer.

It makes total sense. He needs a brain and she needs credibility. They'll be off to see the Wizard of Oz, any day now.

They both worship at the Neo-Conservative alter and have no problem with the idea of "obliterating Iran" - her words. Somebody should make a YouTube video with McCain singing "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran" to her saying she would OBLITERATE! that entire country. It would be an instant viral hit.

Think of it, all those elderly, uneducated, racist Democrats who love Hillary so much could just follow her home to the party they belong to spiritually. The Democratic party would then be cleansed and a true progressive agenda could be embraced and pushed.

For an entire rundown of why I think a McCain/Clinton ticket could happen, click here.

The image in its original context is at: www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices

On the eve of the Pennsylvania primary...

2008-04-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

It's been 15 days since I last posted. Witnessing the ugly devolution of Hillary Clinton's campaign and her desperate Rovian attacks on Barack Obama, I havn't felt like writing a thing. These last two weeks of the Democratic primary race have been painful to watch.

Clinton has proven her un-fitness for office through gutter assaults on Obama, her lying, and in her duplicitousness. Make no mistake reader, she thinks you and I are stupid. Like her kindred spirit, George W. Bush the decider, she actually believes that we, the little people, will believe anything she says because she's a ruler(damn the YouTube footage on loop).

So, who's really the elitist and completely out of touch?

Last week's much anticipated Pennsylvania debate, which I like to call the Trash Tabloid debate, was awful and roundly panned. The first hour of questioning was pathetic. A couple of serious high school debate students would've done better. It's as I've said before many times, ABC's TV News is ridiculous and politically in the bag for Clinton and McCain. Makes sense. They, and much of the rest of the mainstream media, are as out of touch with reality as those two fossilized establishment candidates.

So, who won? Nobody.

And we are now on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary. Tomorrow's results could (mercifully) end the race dead in its tracks. If Hillary Clinton loses by a point, she's toast.

What a blessing that would be.

In other (real)news...

I found this very interesting story at Buzzflash earlier. Paraguay just held an election and former Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo won. He is not a politician and is described by the BBC as being a center-left man of the people.

In what seems to be a spooky reflection of our own race for the White House, Paraguay's "change" candidate beat back his female opponent (a candidate hailing from the stale ruling party) and a former soldier (Crazy Train McCain, anyone?). Onward the Bolivarian Revolution (or WooHoo to little people power)!

This is not good news for the Bush administration and their fellow war criminals who may have hoped to move down there once their time in power has expired. Read this to learn why.

Hillary Rodham Clinton: What won't she lie about?

2008-04-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Her lustful ambition will lead her to say or do anything. In my mind, that's a national security risk.

Does Bill Clinton have alzheimer's? Says Hillary tried to join the Army

2008-04-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

As ABC's Jake Tapper notes, Hillary Clinton once claimed she tried to join the Marines. Now Bill's out there telling people she tried to join the Army. Which is it? Tapper suggests that maybe she inquired with the Army after getting snubbed by the Marines. Who knows? Tho, I highly doubt Hillary was eager to join the military at that time, especially considering her academic background. For her that would have been slumming.

The original story was that in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 1975, Hillary walked into a local Marines recruiting office. The Marine recruiter looked at her, she recalled, and asked how old she was. Twenty-seven, she said."

He looked at me, and in those days that was before I learned how to wear contact lenses," Sen. Clinton told a crowd of women veterans in 1994. "I had these really thick glasses on. He said, ‘How bad's your eyesight?' I said, ‘It's pretty bad.' …Finally said to me, he said, 'You're too old. You can't see. And you're a woman.…But maybe the dogs would take you.'"

The delusional policies of George W. Bush

2008-04-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

As much as I loath wasting space on George W. Bush, who is, at this point, the most irrelevant human on earth, I must. He dwells cluelessly in the twilight of his administration while wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rage and calamities abound in this, his homeland. Not only does he dwell cluelessly, he tap dances before the press out of boredom. Considering the gravity of today's litany of crises, he seems delusional. And at the same time, his second in command, Dick Cheney, is doing everything in his diminished power to instigate war with Iran before they slither out of office.

In a sweeping essay, veteran CIA analyst Ray McGovern takes all this on and breaks down what may await us if Bush and Cheney are not somehow restrained in their Iranian war ambitions. He wraps it up by saying:

Commenting on Bush’s recent manic behavior, Justin Frank, M.D., author of Bush on the Couch, suggests that Bush is “acting like a kid planning to make a real mess as only he knows how—given his comfort with sadism; his lack of shame or conscience; and his propensity to take delight in breaking things.”

Trouble is that as he tap dances the next few months away, he is systematically destroying the armed forces of the United States, and there does not seem to be anyone with the courage to try to stop him.

Eight months ago, Dr. Frank and Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) collaborated on an article we called “Dangers of a Cornered Bush.” Since the president and his imperial court have 10 more months to act out, the scenarios we explored in that memo are still worth pondering.

Let me close with a remark Seymour Hersh made last year, even though it may seem flippant and in no way conveys the enormity of the danger we face in the coming months:
“These guys are scary as hell...you can’t use the word ‘delusional,’ for it’s actually a medical term. Wacky. That’s a fair word.”

With so much destructive power at the disposal of George W. Bush, we need to be increasingly alert to signs that additional delusionary policies are about to be executed.

U.S. attack on Iran imminent?

2008-03-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

According to a source within Russian intelligence, the website India eNews is reporting "a flurry of activity by US Armed Forces near Iran's borders." The article also notes the heightened U.S. Naval presence in the Persian Gulf. A Pentagon official is quoted as saying "the US Naval presence in the Persian Gulf has for the first time in the past four years reached the level that existed shortly before the invasion of Iraq in March 2003."

With abruptly retired Admiral William Fallon now out of the picture, it looks like nothing will stop Bush and Cheney from attacking Iran.

Congress should impeach them both as well as their Neo-Conservative network of traitors. If they don't, we will all pay.

Phantom sniper fire should kill Clinton campaign

2008-03-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hillary Clinton's repeatedly pushing her bogus story of a hot landing in war-torn Bosnia back in the '90s should drop her campaign dead in its tracks. She did not misspeak as she now claims; she straight-up lied.

At Buzzflash, Dave Lindorff writes:

Clinton, in an Iraq policy speech she gave last week aimed at trying to burnish
her claim of 35 years of Washington experience, recalled a 1996 trip to the
war-torn former province of Yugoslavia, where Serbs and Croats had been
butchering each other and especially Muslims. As she told the tale last
week:

"I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia and ... there was a
saying
around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or
too
dangerous, the president couldn't go, so send the first lady. That's
where we
went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to
be some kind
of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran
with our heads down
to get into the vehicles to get to our base"

Former New York Times columnist William Safire was right when he called Clinton a congenital liar. It's too bad the mainstream media is too busy endlessly repeating one righteously heated and out-of-context clip of Rev. Jeremiah Wright and chasing lurid stories of governors gone wild to point out Clinton's Nixonian mendacity.

On Hillary's excellent Bosnian adventure

2008-03-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

Today, while reading about Hillary Clinton's big Bosnia-sniper-fire-lie, I was reminded of an experience I had during the Persian Gulf War (probably the spookiest night of the war, for me). It was the night my group flew into Iraq and hit the ground in support of the ground invasion.

Hillary has been quoted multiple times lately in multiple places describing her daring corkscrew landing in Bosnia; and of rapidly disembarking her aircraft (wearing bullet-proof gear) and off the airfield. According to her, when they landed, she was instructed to duck and run off the tarmac due to threat of sniper fire. How scary!

How brave.

Until you see the actual news footage of that event. Peace was at hand. Dignitaries surrounded the first lady and her entourage on the tarmac. A young girl read Mrs. Clinton a poem. Her daughter, Chelsea, was with her as well as comedian Sinbad and singer Sheryl Crow. And no one seemed frightened about sniper fire.

Fast forward to now. Hillary looks straight into the camera, without shame, and lies, just like Condoleeza Rice would. She's repeated this whopper of a story over and over again, now, to unwitting crowds; so this wasn't her misstating something. Her convoluted description of landing in Bosnia is an outright lie. And proof positive that Hillary thinks the American people are stupid.

Hillary, caught in the lie, now claims that she thought she remembered something that did not, in fact, happen.

As a veteran, I can tell you, running off an aircraft and across a tarmac under possible hostile fire is something you do not forget about or confuse with something else. No matter how many countries you've visited.

That night during the war I mentioned earlier was somewhat similar to the story Hillary's been pushing. In Saudi Arabia, my group was crammed into a C-130 and flown to an airfield somewhere in Iraq, under cover of darkness. We didn't pull any corkscrew maneuvers flying in; but when we landed and the bay opened, it was pitch black and someone was directing us to grab our shit quick (not put it on, but drag it) and to run down the flight line and off the airfield.

It was creepy. We didn't know where we were at or who was watching us. We had to assume there was a threat.

And that was real.

That brings me back to Hillary and her bogus Bosnian adventure. Embellishing is one thing, but telling stories like that is despicable. I equate that to losers impersonating war heroes. There's nothing worse.

The Devil in Dick Cheney

2008-03-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

When I served in the U.S. Army (1989-1992), Dick Cheney was the Secretary of Defense. For years, even after leaving the service, I had great respect for him. As a soldier, I thought his leadership during the Gulf War was excellent. At one point around 1994, I began to see him as a possible presidential candidate in the next election.

I also saw him favorably as a person. Back in 1990, while at Ft. Campbell, Ky., a friend of mine who was a Crew Chief told me about his experience flying Secretary Cheney around during one of his trips to Europe. He had nothing but good things to say about it. He described Cheney as being friendly and down-to-earth; and said he talked with all of them alike.

I was amazed. And it bolstered my faith in our leadership.

Fast forward to post 9-11 America...

Something terrible happened between yesteryear and now. Something wicked has had its way with Dick Cheney. This man I once thought to be so honorable and skilled in our nation's defense, is now unrecognizable to me.

Along with others, Cheney used the power of his office to knowingly lie this country into war with Iraq. As if that and other aspects of the occupation (torture, indefinite detention, extraordinary rendition)weren't criminal enough, he continues to agitate for war with Iran.

Despite evidence to the contrary, he still claims Iran is in the process of developing nuclear weapons. It's absurd.

Dick Cheney is either pure evil or downright insane. In either case, he's dangerous and needs to go.

"I Am Barack Obama"

2008-03-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Much has been made of Barack Obama's swoon effect on voters of all political stripes. As a Republican (in name only), deeply disgusted by GOP rule these long last years, I am now a strong supporter of the Senator from Illinois. Obama's never blown me away in debates and I havn't heard him speak in a public arena. But I am deeply impressed by him. He speaks the language of my generation (I'm 38); and he speaks to many of us in different and better ways. I identify with him in more ways than I do not; as a veteran, I believe he would make the best commander-in-chief; and I absolutely believe he has our nation's best interests at heart. He has shown a cool temperament, excellent judgement and leadership as a candidate and legislator. Most importantly, though, despite claims that Obama isn't experienced enough for some 3 a.m. emergency, it's important to note that he was one of the few public officials to openly oppose the invasion of Iraq. That kind of courage and independent thinking in a leader is what our nation is now desperately in need of.

Mark Winston Griffith, senior fellow for economic justice at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, has written an excellent piece on why he supports Obama for president. Here's a taste:

Much has been made of Barack's considerable charisma and the cult of
personality that has grown around his candidacy. Both John McCain and Hillary
Clinton, watching helplessly as audiences swoon for Obama, have tried, without
much success, to undercut his affect on voters by painting him as a candidate
without substance. But when I, as a journalist, interviewed him during his U.S.
Senate campaign tour throughout rural and exurban Illinois in 2004, I wasn't
awestruck. Rather, I identified with him. As I sat in the back of his campaign
car plying him with questions, I couldn't help thinking that he could have
easily been one of my friends. In fact, one of the biggest compliments I can
give Barack is that as impressive as he is, he's not wholly distinguishable from
the many poised, socially dexterous, and eloquent black women and men with whom
I've gone to school.

But what was perhaps most personally intriguing about Obama was that
his unhesitant foray into electoral politics represented the road I had forsworn
years ago. Once upon a time I believed, as a community activist, that I could
become a social-change agent of the highest order by becoming an elected
official. Such was my chosen destiny until working in the sausage factory of
electoral and campaign politics turned my stomach and made me seriously rethink
that path.

While interviewing Obama I realized here was a man who was not
unlike me but who had been walking through the ugly meat grinder of national
politics and had emerged apparently uncynical and with his humanity intact. For
every post-civil-rights child who was promised she or he could become the first
black president, but hasn't been willing to endure the personal and even
spiritual deformity the political process subjects people to, Barack has been a
revelation.

Fox's Chris Wallace Whines Over Obama Snub

2008-03-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

Chris Wallace, host of "Fox News Sunday" has been whining that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is refusing to appear on his show for an interview he agreed to "730 days ago." According to Brian Stelter, of the New York Times blog, The Caucus, "Mr. Wallace introduced “The Obama Watch,” a countdown clock borrowed from the Fox show “24″ (complete with the tick-tock noise) that displayed the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds that have passed since Mr. Obama apparently promised to appear."

Boo fucking hoo.

Wallace and Fox "News" have themselves to blame for Democratic candidates refusing to appear on the network. As everyone with a partially functioning brain knows, the network is biased toward the GOP. It shouldn't even be regarded as a legitimate news outlet at this point. Regarding Obama, Fox's talking heads have gone out of their way to distort viewers' impressions of him and have on numerous occasions accidentally conflated his name onscreen with terrorist Osama Bin Laden's. That is, as one of my colleague's would say, subliminal huckery.

It is the Fox network that deals dishonestly with the public and with the candidates. Not just Obama, but the entire Democratic party should boycott any and all appearances on the network going forward. There's just no reason to legitimize it with their participation.

Welcome back to Arkansas

2008-03-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Clinton Library Builder's CFO disappears without a trace. Jon Gambrell of the Associated Press writes:

The stress of restructuring the construction company that built the Clinton
Presidential Library gave John Glasgow every reason to run away.

A seven-figure salary, a chance to buy part of a firm jointly
owned by department-store chain Dillard's Inc. and a life lived in good spirits
gave him every reason to stay.

Glasgow has been missing since before sunup Jan. 28; his car was found
abandoned the next day at a state park. Family and police say it's impossible to
tell whether Glasgow killed himself, was abducted or left to start a new life
elsewhere. His family said the easygoing 45-year-old felt overwhelmed and
anxious about a company audit, but the company said it found no money missing.
The police say there is no evidence of foul play, but no clues to his
whereabouts, either.
"He may be under some kind of compulsion ... some kind
of blackmail, that's a scenario you could dream up," his brother Roger Glasgow
said. "We're not suggesting any of these scenarios because we just don't know.
But it does open up a Pandora's box of possibilities."

I can imagine the right-wing bloggers out there are watching this story closely.

Female soldier awarded Silver Star for valor

2008-03-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

I was scanning the headlines at Buzzflash.com a while ago and ran across this incredible story:

Monica Lin Brown Brown will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor, and is This Week's BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award Winner.

From Wingsofjustice.com:

War is hell. Yet, soldiers in combat zones do amazing things for each
other.And they should be honored because they are serving in a war that they
didn't ask for.

Monica Lin Brown is one such person. Serving as an Army medic at 19 years
of age, she will receive the Silver Star later this month for her actions in
Afghanistan in 2007 that saved the lives of 5 soldiers injured by a roadside
bomb.

Bailey's Daily Brief

2008-03-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

After a nasty week in Democratic politics, one thing is clear, for the sake of the Democratic party and its newly rallied coalition, Hillary Clinton should depart the race. If she did so now, with the same concern and class shown by Al Gore in 2000, she would become a hero to many. Minus the presidency, she could write her own ticket, politically, going forward. And with her support, Obama could begin a powerhouse campaign against John McCain. When will the party heavyweights have that conversation with her? And will she go quietly into the night?

Based on Hillary Clinton's real experience, it sounds like she'd make a much better Secretary of Health and Human Services than president.

The show's over. Will somebody please tell Hillary?

After word of the results of a Pentagon study proving there was no operational link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, the Bush administration is now refusing to publicly release the report. As if they could put that genie back in its bottle. It should show up online soon. Reporters who request a copy will be given one.

Who will Republican presidential nominee John McCain choose to be his running mate? Mitt Romney has re-emerged and would be delighted to be Big Mac's wing-man. Forget about the fact that they loathe each other. I've heard George W. Bush and crew are pushing McCain to choose Romney. That doesn't surprise me. And we all know what McCain does when Bush says jump. As a Republican, if I were giving the old warhorse campaign advice, I'd tell him to choose former rival Mike Huckabee. He may be a lightweight in certain areas, but he's popular and can carry Southern and evangelical voters like McCain can't.

ABC's "Good Morning America" carried Hillary Clinton's water again Thursday delivering a hit piece on Barack Obama. Backed by a barrage of clips from fiery sermons given by Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah White, the piece's only aim was to give a distorted image of Wright as some kind of wild-eyed, anti-U.S. radical and linking him and his views to Obama. It was an outright smear, and left me scratching my head. I searched the papers and Internet news sites to determine if the story was linked to some bigger happening or event. Nothing. ABC's piece came out of thin air, just about the time former Clinton finance chair Geraldine Ferrarro was being hoisted onto her petard. Shame on ABC for stooping to such degenerate and unfair coverage. It's no wonder the networks are hemorrhaging news viewers. ABC "news" in particular is now about as reliable as The National Enquirer.

Clinton Kicks Ferraro to the Curb

2008-03-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

This morning Geraldine Ferraro, former recipient of the VP slot due to her womanage, was on ABC's "Good Morning America" defending racist comments she made about Barack Obama. The appearance did neither her nor Clinton any good. She was defensive of her comments and combative in her responses. She wouldn't let Diane Sawyer get a word in edgewise. I was actually yelling at my TV! "C'mon, Diane!" Later in the day, Clinton dumped the formerly respected trail-blazer from her campaign. Cough. I mean, Fearraro resigned.

Spitzer Resigns, Questions Remain

2008-03-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

This morning, disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned for his involvement with a high-end call-girl service. With his wife Silda at his side, he stoically conceded error and stepped down. It was short and sweet. And a strange diversion. But questions remain because of the timing and because of enemies Spitzer has made, notably on Wall Street. Paul Campos, a professor of law at the University of Colorado, discusses this in the Rocky Mountain News, courtesy of commondreams.org.

It’s hardly a stretch to imagine that Spitzer, a man with countless enemies
in the financial world, would be the target of such a vendetta.
This in
turn raises a host of questions about how and why the subsequent IRS
investigation
turned into an FBI sting operation. The story being given out
by the feds is that Spitzer’s financial affairs were investigated initially
because of the possibility the transactions involved bribes or kickbacks of some
sort.That’s pretty unbelievable. Spitzer is an heir to an immense family
fortune, and the amounts of cash in question would almost surely not be large
enough to create a reasonable suspicion of bribery in this instance.

Iraqi Dreams and Clintonian Fantasies

2008-03-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

What Do the Iraqis Want?
Having served with the U.S. Army in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, I have often said our biggest problem in dealing with the occupation of Iraq is that most Americans simply have no real concept of the region or its people. Without understanding those fundamentals, there is no way to solve the problems we face there today.

Leaving aside the chatter from U.S. bureaucrats regarding how to proceed, one very important question is rarely considered: What do the people of Iraq want?

In commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, the Friends (Quakers) sponsored a "Speak for Peace Tour" across Michigan featuring Iraqi native Raed Jarrar. A student of architecture, Jarrar found a new purpose in life when his Baghdad neighborhood was bombed in April 2003. After witnessing neighbors fleeing from their homes and being killed by so-called "surgical warfare," he began a campaign to document civilian injuries and deaths during the first four months of invasion and occupation. With the help of 200 volunteers, Jarrar's group conducted a door to door survey in various cities and villages to find out who was hurt and killed. Based on Jarrar's data and experience, he concludes:

What three-quarters of the Iraqis want is a complete U.S. withdrawal. No mercenaries. No permanent bases. No interference. Only complete
withdrawal is the first step toward stabilizing Iraq. After that, we can start
healing the wounds of this occupation.

It's past time for policy makers in Washington to give up their Neo Conservative pipe-dream and start listening to what the people of Iraq want.

There's Nothing Secret About Hillary's Experience
At Huffington Post, Richard Klass writes, "Senator Clinton has based her claim to be a stronger nominee than Senator Barack Obama on her 'thirty-five years of experience' and blithely conflates that to her national security experience." In his post, Klass points out some very inconvenient truths regarding that "experience."

One of her more absurd claims has her being a party to peace negotiations in NorthernIreland. According to someone who was very much involved, Nobel Peace Prize-winner and former First Minister of the province, Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey, Hillary's claim is an exaggeration and well, just "a wee-bit silly."

Then there was that "dangerous" trip to Bosnia Clinton made way back... with singer Sheryl Crow, comedian Sinbad and daughter Chelsea. You know, a USO Tour, basically. Sinbad recently had this to say regarding the candidates' exaggerated claims of red-phone moments, possible sniper fire and flying around with the military:

I think the only 'red-phone' moment was: 'Do we eat here or at the next
place.
Threat of bullets? Sinbad doesn't remember that, either.
I never felt that I was in a dangerous position. I never felt being in a sense of peril,
or 'Oh, God, I hope I'm going to be OK when I get out of this helicopter or when
I get out of his tank.

So, we know those claims are greatly exaggerated. Big surprise.

What most destroys her claim to national security experience is that during her husband's presidency, she never held a security clearance, let alone a top Secret clearance. That means she was never privy to the President's Daily Brief, to classified programs, meetings of the Cabinet or meetings in the situation room where classified topics are discussed. She has only held a clearance since landing on the Senate's Armed Services Committee. Therefore, she has no more real foreign policy experience than her rival, Barack Obama. To state otherwise is a total fabrication.

CENTCOM Commander Fallon Resigns

2008-03-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

It's official. Today CENTCOM chief, Admiral William Fallon resigned. He was the one officer, the one person standing in the way of a conflagration with Iran. It will be interesting to see how things on that front develop. I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly become embroiled in some situation involving conflict with the Persian nation.

Lies, Smears and Tears

2008-03-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

Note to Dick and George An "exhaustive" study by the Pentagon, including the examination of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents captured after the 2003 invasion, shows there were no operational links between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda. McClatchy reporter Warren P. Strobel points out that in September 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld claimed that the United States had "bulletproof" evidence of cooperation between the terrorist group and Hussein's government. It's time to call Rumsfeld to congress to testify about just what exactly that evidence was.

It's a black thing According to Clinton surrogate and former Vice Presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, Barack Obama wouldn't be poised to take the Democratic nomination if he weren't a black man. She has deduced that the country is just into that right now. This is yet another attempt by the Hillaroids to inject the issue of race into this campaign. At this point, it isn't surprising. It's just way past old; and that kind of gutter politics should be beneath both Clinton and Ferraro.

Say What? The revelation of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's alleged involvement in a prostitution ring was a stunner. Based on his his crime-busting history and Elliot Ness image, he's the last guy in New York I would have thought would be involved in such activities. Still, I'm not inclined to join the rush to judgement about the situation until some curious questions can be answered. Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake points out that some things in this case don't pass the smell test. Read it here.

Fallon out of Bush's Favor

2008-03-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

Esquire has written an excellent article on CENTCOM chief, Admiral William Fallon and the possibility that George W. Bush may be thinking of replacing him sooner rather than later.

Right now, Fallon may be the only thing standing in the way of war with Iran.

From the article:

And so Fallon, the good cop, may soon be unemployed because he's doing what
a generation of young officers in the U. S. military are now openly complaining
that their leaders didn't do on their behalf in the run-up to the war in Iraq:
He's standing up to the commander in chief, whom he thinks is contemplating a
strategically unsound war.

ABC News Does Hillary's Bidding

2008-03-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

On Friday I was yelling at my TV listening to ABC news. Mark Halperon did a shiteous piece on the so-called Obama/Nafta/Canada scandal. He covered every bit of known ground in the case (repeating Clinton's charges, of course) while leaving out the latest development in the story. That being the fact that it was actually the Clinton campaign giving the old wink and nod to Canada's government regarding trade policy vs. campaign spin.

Unbelievable.

I don't know what's worse; the Clinton campaign so brazenly falsifying reality or ABC news doing Clinton's bidding on the psy/op front.

It was nice to learn that I was not the only one yelling at ABC onTV Friday. Steven G. Brant at Huffington Post made some noise about it today:

I am watching ABC's World News Tonight. George Stephanopoulos is filling in
for Charles Gibson. I say that to possibly excuse Mr. Gibson for his program
continuing to propagate a story line that has now been proven to be totally
false: The story line that the Obama campaign said one thing to the Canadian
government while saying something else to the voters in Ohio.
This story is not true. In fact the opposite is what is true. And there have been reports to this effect since March 5th, as best as I've been able to track the
reporting.

Fake scandal alert: Obama and Rezko

2008-03-07T05:01:00.000-08:00

With her campaign in desperation mode, Hillary Clinton keeps pushing the notion that rival Barack Obama's past ties to Tony Rezko indicate wrong-doing. The two were involved in a land deal that Obama has called "boneheaded" on his part. Rezko also donated campaign money to Obama in the past. Obama has since returned the money or donated it to charity.

Of all people, one would think the Clinton's would be the last people to cast such stones. If one word comes to mind thinking of the 90's it would be Whitewater. And then there's all the shady players who have donated to their campaigns through the years. Norman Hsu, anyone?

Glenn Greenwald at Salon takes a look at the Rezko-Obama "scandal" and finds it to be much ado about nothing.

Some scary news

2008-03-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

This is not good. President George Bush is thinking about relieving CENTCOM Commander, Admiral William Fallon from his job. Apparetnly he's not pliable enough. Bush is looking for a confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. As soon as possible. Fallon stands between Bush and his objective.

Fallon has said, "an attack on Iran “will not happen on my watch.”

I was initially wrong about Admiral Fallon. I thought he was just another 'pliable' candidate for the job given to him. But after hearing his words and his thinking, I was won over by his courage (in speaking his mind). He seemed to be imminently reasonable.

If Bush removes Fallon, all hell might break loose.

Today's Menu

2008-03-05T15:26:00.000-08:00

Keep dreaming: Marc Cooper at Huffington Post explains that even though Hillary Clinton won the Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas primaries last night, she's dreaming if she thinks she can win the Democratic nomination. It's a simple matter of delegate math. For Clinton to secure the nomination, democratically, she would have to win all remaining primaries by at least 20 points each.

Another take: Dylan Loewe, also at Huffington Post, gives his take on the unreality of a Clinton nomination. He goes so far as to call her the "new Huckabee."

Speak of the devil: Mike Huckabee finally threw in the towel last night on his bid for the Republican nomination.

Kill Bill: At The New Republic, Marty Peretz notes that since Hillary Clinton put the muzzle back on Bill, her fortunes have improved. I totally agree with that assessment. Think back to those pre-South Carolina primary days; Clinton's campaign was doing fine until Bill went rhetorical renegade in the Palmetto State. After shooting his mouth off and offending most everyone in sight, the missus got the biggest electoral shelacking of her career. And it was downhill from there. If I were her, I'd use him as sparingly as possible.

Down but not out: John Hood, chairman and president of the John Locke Foundation doesn't buy Team Obama's assertion that it's mathematically impossible for Hillary Clinton to win the nomination at this point. He may be right and points out that the "Clintons fight hard, they fight dirty, and they're used to winning."

Walking anachronism alert: Another indication that Hillary Clinton's judgement is seriously flawed is that she has Gloria Steinem campaigning for her.

Deal with the devil

2008-03-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

I'm waiting on the Texas and Ohio returns from the primaries.

I just got the scariest thought: what if Hillary dropped out of the Democratic race all nice like and then wound up joining a nice, bi-partisan McCain ticket as VP?

Limbaugh hearts Clinton

2008-03-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know who is worse:
Matt Drudge for outting Prince Harry in Afghanistan for a shot of attention
or Rush Limbaugh who is urging his listeners in Texas to vote for Hillary Clinton (to prolong the race).

Limbaugh is a sadistic man. He cares not a bit for this country; only for his own twisted ambition and aims. Division and ratings.

He wants Clinton to be the Democratic nominee because he knows McCain cannot beat Obama. And if Obama is elected, his show will vanish into obscurity.

Yes, Republican strategists are dying for Clinton to be the Democrats' pick. The question is, will Texas and Ohio Democrats do the right thing or fall for the old lines? My gut says they will carry Obama to victory; my head says Clinton could somehow pull off a showing that saves her. For another day, anyway.

I'm going to get a good laugh at Limbaugh's expense if the race winds up being Obama vs. McCain. El Rushbo will be gnashing his teeth.

Welcome to Bizarro World

2008-03-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

This morning, as I read the paper and watched "Good Morning America," I was struck by how the media was playing tomorrow's primaries. They're buying into and pushing the Clinton PR, as usual.

You'd think after getting everything wrong the entire primary season, the talking heads would stop listening to them. Nope.

Its gone from Hillary Clinton's do-or-die contests in Texas and Ohio to Barack Obama's got to win or people will start to question his campaign's validity.

If I remember correctly, Obama has won 11 straight contests, all over the country, by huge margins. And he's ahead in the delegate count.

The spin is outrageous. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Clinton went and hired Karl Rove (Dick Morris 2.0). It's the very same no means yes Bushspeak.

If Texas and Ohio choose Obama tomorrow, I pray to God Clinton does the right thing and bows out. If not, it's gonna be ugly.

Messin' with Texas

2008-02-29T10:13:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me, the lengths the Clinton campaign will go to in trying to wrest the nomination back from Barack Obama. McClatchy news is reporting that the Texas Democratic party is warning that Camp Clinton has threatened possible legal action following next Tuesday's primary (regarding the complicated delegate selection system). They must be fearing another defeat.

Not many outside of Texas politics understand its complex primary/caucus delegate system. Surely the Hillaroids are betting that they can confuse the issue enough to appear legit to alot of people. Who knows how many delegates they can claw out of it.

I had hoped (as no fan of Hillary), that she would go the Al Gore route and gracefully concede defeat if she loses Texas and/or Ohio. It's becoming increasingly clear, though, she's not going down like that.

That's unfortunate. She could win the respect and admiration of a lot of people; and more than a senatorial future, if she put the Democratic party, and America before her own ambition.

That kind of honor and loyalty, however, is precisely what is missing from both Hillary and Bill Clinton. And that is, in the end, why she will lose the nomination to Obama.

She would rather go to war within her own party, at this most crucial time in our nation's history, to put her personal interests before the will of the electorate. It's Karl Rove and George W. Bush all over again (Florida 2000).

And Clinton claims to be a Democrat.

I hope the people of Texas (and Ohio) go out and vote in massively historic numbers (as the trend has gone elsewhere). And I hope they zealously guard the integrity of the votes they've cast. I hope, as in South Carolina's case,Lonestar voters refuse to put up with any Clintonian chicanery. The good of this nation depends on it.