US (and allies) vs Iran, why we're not winning, and thoughts on losing Lebanon, temporarily.

Should Obama punish Hillary by asking her to be VP or by ignoring her?

The Southern Strategy in Democrat Clothing? Bob Herbert and others are understandably pissed about the Clintons' lack of class.

Is Obama the young, idealistic Hillary?

I also would like to state that we have to watch out for the losers who got out of McCain's way early in the race so he could run nearly unopposed to pop up. Romney at Treasury? Guiliani at State?

Friedman says he's for the candidate who will tell Americans the truth

Information and books are coming out on the horrors of Guantanamo.

Great column

Another long term Republican district goes to a Democrat. This time in Louisiana!

Tabacco is on my list of blog-city neighborhood blogs below. I had dropped allowing b-c to put their latest titles, but I think I'll reverse that. They may be low on the site, but still someone might get down there.

The best one can hope for is complete ignorance.

Mr. Herbert note the overkill on the Reverend Wright controversy (as the news media does all it can to help John McCain and Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile they spend little time on grilling candidates over energy policy, the economy, ways to resolve the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The former DNC Chairman (nominated by President Clinton) also says it's time to end the battle, which is hurting the party.

Krugman notes that Republicans only have two solutions to every problem, tax cuts, and deregulation. If those solutions can't solve a problem they ignore it, from acid rain to global warming to health care. (I disagree. They invade other people's nations too. But still. Mr. K makes a good point there, and a minor one about Obama giving the Republicans too much credit. Darn that Senator Obama instead of focus grouping issues 5 ways to Sunday and then passing them out to selected loyal pundits, he just says what he thinks! How dare he. Doesn't he know there's a campaign going on?

Our insane approach to an energy policy.

I know what the writer means. I listen to Hillary promising people wads of money and I almost wonder if I'm turning libertarian. You can't throw those billions of dollars at people just to get them to vote for you and still manage our national debt. But it turns out the candidate that would cost the US the most is John McCain and that's before he wades into Iran to grab more oil for Exxon and it's buddies. This election will take the most from us taxpayers if we aren't careful

I agree with Krugman again. It's been a long time no see, Bro! Besides the danger if McCain is telling the truth (So now we are don't to hoping the candidate is lying?) The many ridiculous proposals he is floating shows he is willing to pander to anyone and everyone on the right. Krugman says the most obvious example of this pandering is his call to do away with gas taxes for the summer. That's how I've felt about calls for a moratorium too, even when La Clinton does it. It is true though that we need to start focusing on McCain and his insane promises and 'plans' instead of fighting among ourselves.

A short article at Reuters explains what Joseph Stiglitz tells the European magazine "profil".

After gray backed excerpt of letter, Sullivan notes: ...honorable campaigns do not allow foreign agents, especially terrorist organizations, to insert themselves into American presidential politics. No respectable foreign governments do such a thing; and the gambits of al Qaeda, Hamas, or any other grouping to play one candidate against another should in general be ignored, not exploited. More good thoughts by Mr. Sullivan at other end of link.

In the early 80s Haiti could feed itself with rice and even exported, but globalist policies pushed on Haiti during the Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43 made them dependent on US rice which has skyrocketed in price recently.

This is a link to a page with an earlier radio essay. You can find more from him by clicking, blog-like on the title of the site. I'm sure that Mr. Jamal will have something to say on the trial surrounding the killing of Sean+Bell soon. I myself am not in perfect agreement with Mr. Jamal. I believe what we really need to do is to educate our friends and family members and everyone else we know about things we have learned via our Internet sources that they don't get through their reliance on mainstream news media. But, like I said above. This link is about equal time.

Unfortunately, Mr. Herbert is right. We need to get back to the good campaign Senator Obama was waging. Maybe they can split advisory teams, one to deal with attacks from the Clinton, and McCain and one to make sure the great ideas that Barack Obama have are spotlighted.

On the Debate, Junk Campaigning, TV News Analysis that Americans hopefully will continue to see through. Frank Rich touched lightly on something I was forming a post about. Are Americans turned off by well-educated candidates? Or are they turned off by wealthy elitists who try, to ridiculous extent, to pretend they never went to college to capture the vote of people they intend to sell to the highest corporate and fat cat bidders?

The Internet has given voters something other than packaged 'sound bites' for political information. And even more opportunities to donate than in 2004. Barack Obama is helping change politics for the better already. I'm noticing that few click on this link. Probably because its another thing Internet savvy America needs anymore: Political analysis on things we've already figured out for ourselves.

Another Clinton serving column. Since Mr. K's main expertise is economics why doesn't he deal with the Gramm Leach Bliley act that Clinton signed, and even, apparently promoted?

Sorry. I just can't stop reading this blog.

Revealing the Real Michele Obama. Imagine struggling and working hard to rise above poverty and then having people call you "elitist".

How Mr. Herbert would have advised the Senator explain why some white working class people won't vote for him.

Today in the Left Right and Center discussion on NPR David (Axis of Hate) Frum (subbing for Tony Blankley) noted that a building determination to fight against the human right of gay marriage may destroy the ability to form civil unions as well, so politicians touting their support of civil unions, but not gay marriage are just closing their eyes to the  approaching time when they won't have that hedge to hide behind.

And, in fact he does have a point,  The Arizona proposition 107 in 2006 not only would have banned same sex marriage, but would have done away with civil unions and the few protections they offer.  Luckily it failed to pass.

The more I think about this, the more it becomes clear that the 14th amendment to the US constitution, as well as the requirement for the separation of church and state virtually requires gay marriage to be recognized.

Those most interested in keeping people serving the interests of the fat cats that are the main beneficiairies of the war and hate preached by the Republican party will be sure to use the church as a center of outrage that some people finally got handed some 14th amendment mandated equality in CA. 

 

Though president Bush (whose administration has spent a long futile time talking to North Korea unsuccessfully attempting to keep it from extending it's nuclear weapon arsenal, and basically pardoned Libya for it's human rights violations) broke tradition and played politics while on a foreign policy trip calling Barack Obama an appeaser, it turns out that his boy, McCain, called for talks with Hamas two years ago. 

The games and dirty tricks from the right, just keep on coming. 

See Huffington Post: McCain Was For Talking To Hamas Before He Was Against It...

 McCain should denounce Bush's sleazy campaign tactics and overseas politicking.  It makes the US look like a banana republic.

I hope she and Portia Di Rossi will be very happy.

See segment of Ellen Show at Yahoo !  (I hope this consistently opens to the right clip.) 

 

Another 56k are still missing apparently.  The UN wants more access for relief workers. 

The Junta wants diplomats to visit instead.  

Excerpt AP report at Seattle PI "Myanmar cyclone death toll nearly 78,000 ": 

U.S. Embassy charge d'affaires Shari Villarosa told The Associated Press Friday that the Foreign Ministry was arranging the trip, but no further details were available and it was unclear how much access the diplomats will have outside the controlled tour.

The handful of foreign experts who have been allowed into the country have been restricted to Yangon, the former capital. The government has set up police and military checkpoints on roads leading out of Yangon to Irrawaddy, where foreigners are being turned back. 

Maybe they can sneak some in with the foreign diplomats whom the military junta has invited in to inspect the delta area, or more likely one area in the delta.  Like when the Bush administration shows off Republicans visiting Baghdad, they will probably fix one area.  Put up some quick housing and throw in some families and tell the diplomats everything is fine now.

We capture an imagined future conversation among regime members traveling with diplomats:

(Italics represent conversation translated from the venacular): 

Juntaguy1: Hey, what's that guy doing?   

Juntaguy2:  He's running away.  Now why would a foreign minister do something like that?

Juntaguy1: That's no foreign minister.  That's an aid worker!  Look at his bulging pockets!!!

Juntaguy2:  Let him go.  How much food could he be carrying?

Juntaguy1:  No! You don't understand.  It's probably water purification tablets!  He could save a whole village!

Juntaguy2:  Get him!
 

I still can't get over the fact that they wouldn't let aid and relief help into the worst hit parts of the nation.  But even bad regimes act logically according to their own imagined needs and goals.

First was the embarassment of the disaster, but that's not all.

Then the Bush administration jumped on the problem to score political points.  

Sounding, in many ways like the pre invasion propaganda about human rights in Iraq, administration messages may have been the spur for the extreme shut down by the Myanmar regime. 

Now there is the groundswell of negative news.  I'm not saying we should shut down the news system over Myanmar's problems even if we could.  On the other hand, lots of commentators are using this occasion for an easy bash when they should be taking bolder stances against US wars, those we are involved in now, and those that are planned.

So what can be done?  Get a Hollywood agent in to negotiate with the regime members.

I can't do this like Disney does, but I imagine it goes something like this:

Hollywoodguy (negotiating for the UN):  Look, You've got a big problem.  Your image is in the toilet.  In fact, it's gone beyond the toilet.  It's been flushed.  Your country needs help.  You need help.   People are seriously thinking that you can be replaced with UN approval.

Juntaguy3:  Who are you to tell me how to run my country?  Everything he is fantastic, just like in Caleeforneeaa, as your governator says!

Hollywoodguy:  Well, I wouldn't try to compare your nation with California, Buddy.  You guys haven't gotten that bad yet.  Are you going to borrow from future lottery earnings by leasing the system and turning the state into a massive drug store based casino, like Schwarzeneger is proposing? I think not. (But that's an idea you might want to keep in mind for later.  I can give you some numbers to call.)

Juntaguy3: Hmm.  You make sense.  But what is this about our image?

Hollywoodguy:  We have people who can make you look and sound like beneficent 'gods'.  We can have our pr people work on you physically and make with a nice movie about how you guys personally rescued families while risking life and limb, and then, as leaders, saved your nation. It'll be like popcorn.  People in the world don't want reality.  They want to feel good and 'know' that someone is looking out for them.

Juntaguy3: So how much is this going to cost?

Hollywoodguy: Just let the aid workers into the delta.  No wait, and 2 million big ones to my private account.  I know you've been able squeeze that out of your people.

Juntaguy:  You think you're very smart.  No, we don't squeeze millions out of our impoverished people like you Americans.  We get it the old fashioned way.  'Campaign donations' from the oil industry.   

Hollywoodguy:  But you don't have personal elections!

Juntaguy: See, we're smarter than you, too.

Hollywoodguy: Ha ha!  But don't let that idea get around.  We make lots of money from our candidates, working on their images.

Juntaguy: Anyway, that sounds like a deal.  Have your people call my people.

Hollywoodguy: Fine.  If you ever get to town let me know.  We'll do lunch.

Juntaguy:  I don't know about that.  We've heard of the kinds of diseases people get from your food!

Interestingly, the last of the article reports on locals in the Yangon area and their self-relief efforts as well as UNICEF's attempt to find and help lost children.

And a request by the UN to be able to use a helicopter to access more of Myanmar.

See details at source, linked above.

No kidding!

Ruling takes effect in 30 days apparently.  I'm straight and married, but I can relate to the happiness many will feel with this ruling. 

See "Gay Couples Celebrate California Court Ruling "  

Of course though, such good things spur the right (and often successfully) to greater heights of frenzy.

See LA Times "Opponents of gay marriage see hope in ballot measure "

So, if you're in CA or another state and rejoicing, please follow the rejoicing with action.  The Republicans will be putting money from many states into efforts to change our constitution to do away with this.  As the LA Times notes a measure could be in the ballot by November.  I don't know what groups can help.  You'll have to find them for yourself.  One more state with freedom of marriage is more support for the others.

Also see San Jose Mercury News Summary of Supreme Court same-sex marriage opinion

A powerful storm heading towards the Irrawaddy delta of Myanmar/Burma is expected to become a cyclone before reaching land.  Though winds from the stome aren't expected to be as extreme as the ones from Cyclone (hurricane in the Indian ocean area) Nargis, excessive rains will endanger survivors of the earlier disaster according to AP report "New storm head toward cyclone-devastated Myanmar ". This latest news reports that survivors are working to help injured and sick, reports on what the Thai prime minister saw, and on a Thai medical team that may be allowed to enter the delta regoin on Friday to help survivors and report on conditions.

The Myanmar junta has also said they will allow a group of 160 aid workers to go to the delta, but didn't specify whether that included the forementioned medics.

Many families living under plastic sheeting fear the new storm which they learned about from foreign broadcasts. 

Details at source linked above.

Also see:

AFP: Myanmar tightens access to disaster zone

 

 

LA Times  U.S. scolding of Myanmar leaders comes under fire

According to the Times report some say that Bush administration demagoguery over Myanmar/Burma's human rights record may have added to regime's reluctance to allow open aid distribution.  Laura Bush was first up with grandstanding on the leader's human rights record, while her slower husband had a little ceremony to give the Congressional medal of honor to the imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi.

The belligerence may have made the regime suspicious of outside aid.  (Especially after our "human rights" and WMD driven invasion of Iraq, I think we can assume.)

Excerpt:

"For the humanitarian purpose, you have to put politics aside and say unequivocally that we want to help," said Joel Charny, vice president for policy at Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group. "We know the Burmese generals are going to be suspicious. We shouldn't be taking an approach that's going to make it more likely that backs get up and doors remain closed."

 And I wonder if the next quotee speaks English with a Korean accent.  I know Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is very concerned about the Myanmar situation.

A senior United Nations official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, said, "It is certainly not helpful."

And maybe the message is getting through: 

 White House officials denied that comments by top administration figtres have set back the relief effort. But as the week progressed, the rhetoric appeared to cool.

Wednesday, Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security advisor, noted the Myanmar government was blocking the entry of nearly all international aid workers, not just those from U.S. agencies. But he refrained from further criticism, saying, "I don't want to politicize this."

More deep irony at link above. 

And as I mentioned in the comments there, the price paid for a heavily beaded Oscar De La Renta wedding dress and horrid mother of the bride number could have fed a lot of third world people, with or without the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis.

A Democratic candidate has won the formerly Republican seat in the House of Representatives vacated when the former Republican member left to replace Trent Lott the former Senator who at one time held the top spot in the legislative chamber.

Analysts warn of looming changes for many Republican Congressional seats.

Excerpt AP report at Google News "Miss. Democrat wins House seat in special election": 

It's becoming a disturbing trend for Republicans: losing traditional GOP strongholds to Democrats in some hard-fought congressional races.

It happened again Tuesday, as Travis Childers beat Greg Davis in a special election to replace Republican Roger Wicker, who served in the House since 1994 and was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat vacated by Trent Lott.

Childers' win will give him the chance over the next several months left in the seat's two-year term to build a fundraising and publicity advantage as he heads into November's general election. He will again face Davis, as well as two other opponents.

Childers' win gave Democrats a 236-199 edge over Republicans in Congress.

Earlier this year, Democrats captured the Illinois district long represented by former Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, who resigned from Congress. This month, Democrats claimed a seat in Louisiana that Republican Rep. Richard Baker vacated and that the GOP had held since 1974.

Wasn't a lot of the corruption they may be talking about, actually about portions of the government actually going out and killing people from other sects -- especially that done by the interior ministry -- and a gulag worse and more deadly than Stalin's?

But, the people in charge of this corruption are the ones who have offered to help push through spoils of war contracts for American Big Oil which gives up to 83% of their campaign donations to Republicans. 

So I'm not surprised. 

Excerpt ABC News Report "Ex-Officials: Bush Admin. Ignored Iraq Corruption ": 

The Bush administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State Department employees.

Read rest at source.

 Many Americans assert that our gun problems would be over if more people carried guns rather than fewer.

Well, apparently Lebanon is now flooded with guns.

Over to you, gun lovers.