Nov 02 2008
Iraq
If you visit any of the lists of the KIA’s or Injured in the Iraq Theater one thing you’ll find, the Only Occupation Forces numbers rising, being Killed and Maimed, are American Forces these last number of months!! I find myself wondering how many are on a first tour, or second, or third, or forth…………………………….., in Both Theaters!!
Nov 02 2008
Using McCarthy Era Tactics
And Racism
John McCain Is Unfit To Lead
Candidates Make Their Final Push on Reshaped Map
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: November 1, 2008
Senators John McCain and Barack Obama began their final push for the White House on Saturday across an electoral map markedly different from four years ago, evidence of Mr. Obama’s success at putting new states into contention and limiting Mr. McCain’s options in the final hours.Mr. Obama was using the last days of the contest to make incursions into Republican territory, campaigning Saturday in three states – Colorado, Missouri and Nevada – that President Bush won relatively comfortably in 2004. In what seemed as much a symbolic tweak as a real challenge, Mr. Obama bought advertising time in Arizona, Mr. McCain’s home state.
Terrorism Financing Blacklists At Risk
Global System Faces Multiple Challenges
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, November 2, 2008; Page A01
BRUSSELS — The global blacklisting system for financiers of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups is at risk of collapse, undermined by legal challenges and waning political support in many countries, according to counterterrorism officials in Europe and the United States.In September, the European Court of Justice threw the future of the United Nations’ sanctions program against al-Qaeda and the Taliban into doubt when it declared the blacklist violated the “fundamental rights” of those targeted. The Luxembourg-based court said the list lacked accountability and made it almost impossible for people to challenge their inclusion.
USA
Four big questions of the presidential election
Who wins, and where, will give clues about the nation’s feelings on race, the role of government and the hold of partisanship.
By Peter Wallsten and Janet Hook
November 2, 2008
Reporting from Washington — Iowa gave the first sign that the American political landscape had changed. ¶ Democrats in an overwhelmingly white state, many from small towns and farms, said an African American man from Chicago was the best choice for president — and by a convincing margin. ¶ Barack Obama went on to build a broader coalition than any previous black candidate, winning the Democratic nomination on an agenda of “change.” John McCain emerged as the GOP nominee, despite a history of breaking from Republican beliefs. He too promised “change” from the nation’s current course. ¶ On Tuesday, as results from the presidential election roll in, so will clues to what kind of change the nation wants, and to how much it has changed in the last four years. ¶ Who wins, and where, will shed light on the nation’s feelings on race, the role of government and the hold of partisanship on the public dialogue. Here are four big questions arising from the 2008 presidential campaign:Has America’s racial divide narrowed?
Watch Obama on television, and he will often be framed by flags and furnishings reminiscent of the Oval Office. During his overseas trip this summer, Obama enjoyed warm banter with the likes of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the two men standing at twin lecterns beneath a crystal chandelier.
Nov 02 2008
(Iglesia is a serialized novel, published ….rarely these days!…on Tuesdays and Saturdays at midnight ET, you can read all of the episodes by clicking on the tag.)
Mr Diamond was perhaps the least hypocritical and least morally conflicted person on the planet earth. At a very young age, an elderly matron who had just been kicked by Mr. Diamond’s tiny foot had called him ‘an evil little boy.’ It had stuck. He, furthermore, had liked it. He was also extremely intelligent. Watching television growing up he had always rooted for the bad guys…and wondered why they never won.
Except on the news.
Nov 02 2008
Vive Les Quebecois! I’m so proud to be 100% French-Canadian!
Not sure if you all heard by now but two Montreal DJs pulled a great prank on Sarah Palin this weekend. They posed as President Nicholas Sarkozy of France along with his assistant. I’ll end it there.
Nov 02 2008
It’s gettin’ down to crunch time, America! And I couldn’t be more pleased about the state of the Palin-McCain ticket as we head into these last few days. As I proved conclusively earlier, polls show that we are in great position to win this election.
I’ve been workin’ like the dickens to shore up this misperception that I don’t understand foreign policy too good. Just the other day I was chattin’ with French President Nicolas Sarkozy about all kinds of things, like which countries we can see from our houses, unfair things the liberal media says about us, our shared love of hunting, the relative hotness of me and his wife . . . well, I’ll just let you listen for yourselves:
Nov 02 2008
John McCain’s hero and role model in the closing days of the election is “Joe The Plumber”.
Not some soldier in Iraq or a pull-yourself-up-by-your bootstraps small businessperson, but a guy whose singular distinction is being too stupid to comprehend the ramifications of the bottom line of his tax forms.
But fine, Joe the Plumber is McCain’s guy… his personal closing argument.
MY guy in these last few days, is someone I’ve never ever met… whose name I don’t even know… but who I will keep in mind for every second of these last seventy-two hours…
Nov 02 2008
American News Project reporters interviewing people on the street at a Halloween-day rally for John McCain in Columbus, Ohio, asked McCain supporters a simple question:
…and appear to have revealed some pretty basic primal fears still guiding the “thinking” of a large part of American society.
Nov 02 2008
(Guest post from Jeff Bentoff, Milwaukeean about town, recovered newsman, consultant, flack, sometimes musician, music aficionado and Wilco enthusiast. For today, we'll just call him Jeff the Blogger.)
Jeff Tweedy, leader of the revered rock band Wilco, and two colleagues from the group, kicked off a vote-early drive Saturday aimed at getting UW-Madison students to the polls before Election Day.
Playing a free, nine-song set at the UW Memorial Union Theater in Madison Saturday afternoon, the mini, mainly acoustic version of Wilco turned in a riveting performance under a large “Obama-Biden” banner, wowing the capacity, mostly student audience of about 1,300.
Following the “Concert for Change,” attendees were planning to march to Madison’s City County Building, to encourage early balloting there. Speaking to the crowd, U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and U. S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin emphasized the importance of getting out the vote for Barack Obama. They noted that while Democrats John Kerry and Al Gore carried the state in recent presidential elections, they did so by very small percentages.
Thanks to the writing and singing of Tweedy and the equally strong musicianship of his band colleagues, Wilco (Wilco World link) has amassed a loyal, almost cult-like following. (Note: this writer is a member of said alleged cult.) Tweedy, who grew up in southern Illinois and now lives in Chicago, has long been an Obama supporter.
In an amusing interview Thursday on The Colbert Report, Tweedy said he first met Obama in 2005 when the future presidential candidate introduced the band at a Farm Aid concert. Obama has said he’s a fan of the band, telling a crowd at a benefit concert in Chicago this summer, "I love Wilco."
Wilco debuted a new song on the Colbert show whose title, “Wilco The Song,” plays off the nickname of McCain supporter “Joe The Plumber.”
Colbert teased Tweedy for offering a free download of a song online, asking if he’s a socialist. “No, we’re just really, really lousy capitalists,” Tweedy replied.
The free Wilco download is available here to anyone who pledges to vote. The free song, Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” features Wilco and indie rock sensation Fleet Foxes.
Saturday’s set featured three of the six band members: Tweedy on acoustic guitar, John Stiratt on electric bass and Pat Sansone on electric keys and acoustic guitar. Their voices blended perfectly during the show, which featured classic Wilco songs. Two of the tunes were based on unpublished Woody Guthrie lyrics that Tweedy has put to music, including the stunning “California Stars.” Introducing another of the Guthrie-Tweedy songs, “Christ for President,” Tweedy said the words were written before “Christian ideals were appropriated by right-wing politics.”
Tweedy said that he tried to pick songs to play Saturday that would fit the themes of the rally but suggested that wasn’t too easy – his songs are beautiful but more a reflection of troubled times than of optimistic ones.
“We don’t have very many songs that are appropriate for hope-filled auditoriums,” Tweedy said. “There’s a hope gap.”
(Setlist below the fold)
Nov 02 2008
This next set of pictures were all taken in Selma Alabama. I was there on a Sunday so of course it was going to be quiet with church and then football but it bothered me that a place that represents such a historic moment in the civil rights movement is clearly a bit economically depressed and while there were momuments near the bridge I almost got the idea that people wanted to forget it all ever happened. Which in my opinion really represents the mindset of many white southerners ( not all ) “Oh we had that nasty civil rights movement almost as bad as the War of Northern Agression, thank God that unpleasantess is over….”
Downtown…..
I just loved this plaque inidcating that Lafayette was “entertained” in Selma. Obvious I want to know exactly what kind of entertainment was provided.
Nov 01 2008
I am a squirming environmental hypocrite because I still like going to the beauty shop for highlights. I figure I am middle aged, the body is falling apart so I can’t really deal with bad hair in addition to that. Do men have bad hair days? A bad hair day can completely distort and torment your perspective even if world peace and brotherhood is spontaneously breaking out around you, and also I am fairly shallow. I am sure there are real progressives out there that don’t worry about human unity and universal planetary love happening on a bad hair day but I just don’t happen to be one of them. If I was a real progressive I would be killing my own cows and growing my own cotton and making my own clothes with it using non toxic dyes and recycling my dog hair into natural insulation for the house and riding a horse to work. So. Hey I outed myself.
You aren’t going to tell your Republican gynecologist you’re a progressive in the middle of a pap smear, right? So I decided since I live in uber red state town that I wouldn’t mention politics to the nice but conservative lady who does my hair for fear of ending up with a Mohawk. I had one of those when I was 20, I think it might be slightly less cute at 44.
But it happened. My hairdresser told me she was confused she thought both McCain and Obama had some good ideas and she was vacillating but she “heard” Obama was against saying the pledge of allegiance and she found that very anti-American and she was worried he wasn’t a “true” Christian.
I asked her where she heard that. She wasn’t sure. I asked her if she thought John McCain was a true Christian and she said she was pretty certain. So, I asked her what church/congregation he belonged to. She had no idea. I told her where Obama worshiped and i suggested that if she wanted to hear his views she should go to the source and look at his website or hit youtube and see snippets of his speeches.
Aren’t you just far too intelligent to rely on what other people tell you, I asked? Don’t you remember high school when everybody gossiped and told one another what they “heard” and how often was it really true? She said hmmmmmm.
At this point the hairdressers and customers were all staring at me. And I thought hmmmm.
I am thinking here I am in a small town in the south are storm troopers coming in to take me away?
Nov 01 2008
Learned yesterday morning that Obama was going to be in Highland, Indiana, last night, so I planned on going. The rally was to begin at 7:30 p.m., at Wicker Memorial Park.
It was a beautiful, perfect evening!
Arriving, there was no allotted parking left, shopping mall across the street was packed and we were instructed by police to go to K-Mart (nothing being said about it not being there anymore). Kept driving until I saw more police, who told me where the lot was. Parked and got on a shuttle bus (free) to go back to the Park. Got off, walked to entrance, where police awaited, but, amazingly, no one’s purse or pockets were even searched. Walked to the Park, where all of the standing room possible in front of the platform was filled to capacity. Security everywhere. Interestingly, the group in front of the platform were “gated” off behind them, then there was a goodly amount of space, then more “gating” and people behind that, myself included.
There’s more!
