Early results from West Virginia exit polls show race, education, Barack Obama's former pastor and a plan for a summertime suspension of federal gas taxes all gave Hillary Rodham Clinton a huge advantage in the state's presidential primary.

that's from ap. so going with barack obama for the nomination means losing in november. i won't be kind if they give barack the nomination. that man and his campaign have destroyed the democratic party.

a lot of people have no idea how toxic the obama campaign has been because most americans don't listed to michael basin (that may not be how you spell his name). he's an urban radio gas bag who spins a few tunes, cuts callers off before they can speak and has turned his program over to getting barack elected.

the gas tax holiday mattered to people in west virginia, the same 1 michael basen made fun of day after day, distorted and lied about.

you should hear some of the things he's said about hillary. it woul dmake rush limbaugh bash. and it's a sign of how sick or society is that he got away with it. it's a sign of how little women are valued that he was able to get away with what he's done day after day.

having heard his garbage, i'm not going to be offended when any non-african-american dee jay says something outrageous. michael said outrageous things every day and never got called on it. i don't buy into a double standard.

obviously the so-called fair does. they've never called out the sexism in the media - big or small. they've just worked on inflating barack.

because women don't matter.

that's the big lesson from this election cycle.

women don't matter.

any 1 can insult us, any 1 can trash us.

it's always 'okay' to do that.

they can get away with it.

over and over.

and it's not just the sewer of cable 'news'. it's the nation magazine, the progressive magazine, democracy now and so many more.

it's okay to trash women, it's okay to slam them.

we've also seen that you can trash gays and lesbians. barack obama can and has used homophobia and it wasn't called out. not by fair, not by the nation, not by ...

i can't figure out if they're trying to say that only barack matters or if goes deeper than that.

but certainly there are special rules for barack.

apparently he couldn't compete without them.

he couldn't win a fair fight so they tilted the playing field.

won't happen in the fall so let's hope the democratic party isn't stupid enough to give barack the nomination.

if they are, they get what they deserve: losing in november.

and where was the feminist 'bible' ms. magazine during all of this?

a.w.o.l.

when they finally 'weighed' in on the race, they let fat-ass, closeted lesbian donna brazile pretend she respected both candidates.

MS. MAGAZINE HAS FAILED WOMEN.

let's all accept that.

let's all accept that michelle kort is an IDIOT.

c.i. can rip kort apart and i have a feeling that if the democrats go with barack it will be only a matter of days before c.i. informs america about michelle kort's 'writing.'

it won't be pretty.

but we're not here to pretty it up.

we're here to make sure every 1 knows what's going on and, if the nomination is stolen from hillary, that every 1 knows who participated in the theft.

these people - men & women - who stabbed feminism in the back, tried to stab it to death better pray hillary's gets the nomination because c.i.'s actually been kind in 2008.

part of the reason the snapshots are such a hassle to dictate is that c.i. edits out parts of it. c.i. will say, 'don't take this down, just let me vent in snapshot form for 5 minutes.' and if those were in the snapshots, a lot of people would be hiding their heads right now.

i keep hearing talk in the media about 'the nuclear option' that the hillary campaign might use. i'm sure they don't know what they're talking about.

but c.i. is the nuclear option all the little cowards and liars better worry about. c.i. is pissed. and i wouldn't be surprised if, for instance, a much admired man in trash media got exposed for the attempted rapist he is. i wouldn't be surprised if an editor who stole other people's work (and that can be proven and would be if c.i. brought it up in a snapshot) was outed as the plagiarist they are. i wouldn't be surprised if all the bodies they hoped were buried didn't start floating to the surface.

c.i.'s the 1 who can do it. as my mother-in-law always points out, 'c.i. knows where all the bodies are buried.' that's in part because c.i. knows every 1. that's in part because c.i. can find out anything. that's in part because the papers of so many who pass away generally end up with c.i. either immediately or on down the line.

so, for instance, the hillary hater with a history of arrests for domestic abuse? that might be made public. the hillary hate (woman) who is mentally unstable and has attempted suicide multiple times? probably that would be exposed.

cheaters beware, i wouldn't be at all surprised if c.i. contacted your spouses.

the 'media' has exhibited outrageous behavior this election cycle and i wouldn't be surprised if all their dirty laundry gets aired.

it's been really cute to watch them weigh in on what they thought of hillary's 'ethics' while staying silent on their own. do you know about the 1s using scab labor or undocumented labor that they pay below minimum wage? that they treat like less than human?

do you know about the 1s screaming for hillary's tax returns who cheat on their own taxes?

c.i. may just focus on getting votes for ralph nader but i wouldn't rule out the nuclear option.

this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Election Day in West Virginia' (hillaryclinton.com):

By the Numbers: A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that “more than six in 10 Democrats…64 percent…say Clinton should remain in the race." A USA Today Poll also shows a majority of Democrats want Hillary to continue. Read more and more.
"Honored to Have Hillary" Yesterday, Hillary made a campaign stop at Westside High School in Wyoming County, WV. "While the hoarseness in her voice indicated the strains of campaigning, her enthusiasm remained strong…'I'm honored to have Hillary in Wyoming County,’ noted Delegate Richard Browning…'This speaks volumes about who she cares about – the small town people.'" Read more.
On the Air: In a new radio ad, Hillary encourages West Virginians to get out and vote: "We can pick a president. After all, no Democrat has been elected president without winning West Virginia for almost a hundred years." Listen here.
"Clinton Fever Hits Bowling Green" "Clinton fever has come to Bowling Green. 'Kentucky for Hillary' opened a new office and held an open house Monday. Crowds turned out to show support for their favorite candidate. A candidate they hope will stand out in Kentucky next week... 'The woman has a lot of purpose,' said Barbara Burns, a Clinton supporter. 'She wants to serve our country as best she can, and I believe she can do that as president.'" Read more.
SD Endorsement Watch: Yesterday, 41 former South Dakota state legislators and constitutional officers endorsed Hillary for President. "With over 330 years of combined experience," they believe that "South Dakotans need a President who will stand with them." Former State Representative Al Waltman said, "Hillary Clinton has real solutions to our economic problems…and she has the experience and resolve to make those plans a reality." Read more.
Previewing Today: Hillary celebrates election night in Charleston, WV.
On Tap: This Friday and Saturday, Hillary returns to the Beaver State, where she will meet with Oregonians from across the state.

i had 4 e-mails asking if c.i. wouldn't join the crowd if barack got the nomination? no. it's not going to happen. c.i. knows barack's supporters in hyde park and c.i. knows more than the media is telling. (telling currently.) c.i. will not vote for barack. elaine's on record that she won't and if elaine says she won't, you can bet c.i. won't. the 2 of them think alike and know all the same people.

and don't throw out the nonsense about 'what if mccain wins!' if the democratic party cares about not giving mccain the white house, they'll go with hillary. if they don't care, they'll go with barack. elaine and c.i.'s attitude will be 'that's not our problem.'

and it will be the attitude community wide. but i know them both (went to college with both) and when their minds are set, their minds are set.

they do not approve of homophobia or sexism and they do not approve of barack obama who is a fraud.

if barack were so popular, oprah wouldn't have dropped so in popularity after she endorsed him. he's not popular.

he's the 1 you don't know that you want to like. and that's why they have negative campaigning. by the time the g.o.p. is done with him, barack obama will not look like the person people thought he was in february. 'in february' because he's been on a downslide ever since.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Tuesday, May 13, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces a death, West Virigina votes today, the Congress loves veterans . . . as long as they don't expect what's been promised, and more.


Starting with war resistance. The May 2nd snapshot noted war resister Ryan Jackson who turned himself in and was waiting to find out what was next. Courage to Resist reports: "War objector Army PFC Ryan Jackson was temporarily moved from his brig cell yesterday and arraigned at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Ryan was formally changed with multiple counts of AWOL stemming from his attempt to be released from the Army prior to Iraq deployment. He is scheduled to face a special court martial--with a maximum one year prison sentence--on Tuesday, June 3. Since voluntarily returning to Fort Gordon on April 14 and formally applying for a conscientious objector discharge, Ryan has been held in pre-trial confinement at the Charleston Navel Brig. Write to Ryan Donate to Ryan's defense Attend Ryan's court martial."

That's the US, in Canada, war resisters are hoping the Parliament will take action on a motion waiting to be debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


In an editorial, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin observes, "The Bush administration has been lowballing the cost of the war in Iraq since it began more than five years ago, and the true surge will not be known for decades. Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate that the cost of care for disabled veterans will more than double today's exependitures. That may be erring on the low side but still is intolerable. The government now spends $29 billion a year in compensation to injured warriors, including those from previous wars, but that figure is expected to reach $59 billion in 25 years." Jennifer C. Kerr (AP) noted Sunday, "Increasing numbers of U.S. troops have left the military with damaged bodies and minds, a pool of disabled veterans that will cost the nation billions of dollars for decades. . . . VA officials were not eager to talk about reasons for the increases. They declined several requests for interviews. In a written response to a handful of questions, the agency noted a few factors at play in rising costs, such as the aging veteran population, an increase in the number of disability claims and the severity of injuries suffered. Outside experts provided more insight." A Los Angeles Times' editorial entitled "War wounds we don't see" notes: "The cost of treating brain injuries in 2007 ranged from $26,000 for mild cases to $409,000 for severe ones. The survey estimated that costs for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in the first two years after deployment are as high as $6 billion. Pain, heartache and blighted young lives, of course, are incalculable."

Dropping back to the May 9th snapshot: "Today Paul Kane (Washington Post) reports that
'Blue Dog Democrats' are in opposition to a House measure specifically because of 'the creation of a program that would guarantee veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan a year of in-state college tuition for each year served in the war zones'." Rick Maze (Army Times) examines the threat to the bill and quotes American Legion's national commander Mart Conaster explaining AL had to fight "in 19944 for the orginal" GI Bill "even some veterans' groups complained that it would break the treasury. Instead, the GI Bill transformed the economy and has been widely hailed as the greatest domestic legislation Congress has ever passed." John Young (Waco Tribune) observes, "It's only when people return from battle that we become sticklers for decimal points" and goes on to point out that what has the Pentagon and Senator John McCain upset isn't the cost apparently but the fact that education benefits would be available after three and not six years (and that six wasn't required for the original GI Bill). From the April 17th snapshot: "Thomas L. Bush is the Acting Deputy Assistant Secreteary of Defense for Reserve Affairs at DoD. Last month he was telling the press that increasing education benefits for service members will increase 'the risk that many who enter for the benefits will leave as soon as they can use them.' Yesterday he repeated his assertion that DoD 'does not believe that the basic structure of the Montgomery GI Bill is broken'."

The Pentagon's head, Sec of Defense Robert Gates, treked it over to Colorado Springs, CO today to participate in a conservative 'think'-tank's day of seminars. The 'think'-tank is the Heritage Foundation and Gates didn't speak on the "Green Gone Wild: Elevating Nature ABove Human Rights" panel but tax payers have every right to ask exactly what he was doing promoting a private organization's day of seminars to begin with? Josh White (Washington Post) explains the big take-away: "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates today implored the U.S. military to focus more on wars against insurgents and militias such as the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than focusing time and money on potential conflicts." That's nothing new and was the point of the April 17th House Armed Service Committee's Strategic Forces Subcomittee hearing as well as Gates' April 21st speech. As Mark Thompson (Time magazine) observed, "Gate's comments richoeted at supersonic speed around the Pentagon and across broader defense networks, as officers -- and contracters -- tried to parse their implications. His bottom line: The Air Force ought to be less concerned with buying more $350 million F-22 fighters for use in future wars that may never happen, and do more to deliver what is needed to fight the wars currently underway 'while their outcome may still be in doubt'." Gates was delivering his standard speech today with a few modifcations.

For instance there was Gates' insult to DC which goes beyond mere 'joke' when you grasp the 'think'-tanks target audience: "It is always good to be away from Washington, DC -- and of course the beauty of the Broadmoor and Colorado Springs make it especially difficult to go back to the place where many folks often become lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar territory." There was also his opinion that the outcome with Vietnam resulted in "profound damage" to the US military military as a result of "the reality of defeat in that war." Surely some revisionary historians are gasping for air having spent the last decades trying to rewrite the defeat. While Gates gave a little honesty about the Vietnam era (only a little) today, Senator Barack Obama gave a lot of lies by repeating right-wing garbage about Vietnam returns being "shunned, demonized and neglected". No, The Nation, The Progressive or any of the other filth that regularly promises to hold his feet to the fire (Tom Hayden, Laura Flanders) someday didn't find the comments worth calling out. But then, they never do, do they? And for the record, this is not the first (or second, or third) attack on the peace movement during Vietnam from Barack. We'll get into his politics more in the politics section.

In Baghdad the Sadr City cease-fire/truce is supposed to be the answer. Anna Badkhen (Christian Science Montior) reports on a problem when ever Iraqis flee their homes to escape fighting -- empty homes that they may or may not be able to reclaim. Badkhen reports that US Capt Andrew Betson states US policy is to allow squatters in the homes and the original inhabitants "basically have to stay displaced, they have to stay wherever they are" and turn the matter over to a local council to resolve. At Salon, Badkhen cites 1st Sgt. James Braet explaining how US monies are used: "In addition to distributing $2,400 micro-grants to businesses that want to reopen inside Saidiyah, and occasionally handing out goodies such as school backpacks and soccer balls to the neighborhood children, the U.S. military here pays a monthly salary of approximately $300 to about 300 people, Braet says. Some of them work on the neighborhood council, and some of them are members of a pro-government Sunni militia called Sons of Iraq" and quote Braet stating, "I'd say 80 percent of these people we pay don't do anything. It's just free money." Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported over the weekend, "Followers of rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr agreed late Friday to allow Iraqi security forces to enter all of Baghdad's Sadr City and to arrest anyone found with heavy weapons in a surprising capitulation that seemed likely to be hailed as a major victory for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. In return, Sadr's Mahdi Army supporters won the Iraqi government's agreement not to arrest Mahdi Army members without warrants, unless they were in possession of 'medium and heavy weaponry'." Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) notes, "Representatives of Iraq's main Shiite Muslim factions signed a deal Monday clearing the way for Iraqi soldiers to operate throughout Sadr City, a vast Baghdad slum that is largely under the control of militiamen loyal to firebrand cleric Muqtada Sadr. The signatures put an official seal to a truce brokered over the weekend by Sadr's political representatives and members of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's governing alliance." But Selcan Hacaoglu (AP) notes the "fragile cease-fire failed to stop fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City where the latest clashes between Shiite extremists and U.S.-backed Iraqi forces killed 11 men and wounded 19, Iraqi hospital officials said Tuesday." CBS and AP explain, "It was not immediately clear if those killed in the clashes, which escalated early Tuesday, were militants or civilians. There were women and children among the wounded, said hospital officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media." AFP reports that despite the cease-fire being signed "both sides said it will be Wednesday before they fully implement it on the ground." NPR's Ivan Watson (on Morning Edition today) reports on Sadr City and notes that the taxi driver is also a Mahdi fighter who declares, "We can survive the siege for a long time. If Moqtada Sadr gives us the order then we'll go, one by one, and pull the American soldiers from their tanks." Waleed Ibrahim and Wisam Mohammed (Reuters) report that not all are certain of al-Sadr's control/leadership and quotes Baghdad University professor Kadhum al-Muqdadi on the continued fighting, "It is clear that Sadr does not control all of the armed groups that make up the Mehdi Army. This fighting could last a long time." They also quote Sadr spokesperson Luwaa Sumaisem insisting, "Ceasefires cannot always be implemented immediately. Violations will happen in the first few days. Some armed groups may not be aware of it."

In other reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing injured five people, a US air strike claimed 5 lives and left four injured (cites Imam Ali Hospital), a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed the lives of 5 Iraqi troops and a Kirkuk car bombing that injured ten people. Reuters notes a Mosul bombing that left two children injured.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.

Today (PDF format warning) the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in northwestern Baghdad at approximately 7 p.m. May 13." The total number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war currently stands at 4077.

Turning to US politics . . .

Meanwhile AP reports: "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. Arthur Brennan, who briefly served in Baghdad as head of the department's Office of Accountability and Transparency last year, and James Mattil, who worked as the chief of staff, told Senate Democrats on Monday that their office was understaffed and its warnings and recommendations ignored."


Let's go to MTV "News" where Gil Kaufman is a certifiable idiot. First he repeats Barack's claim that the US is "facing the largest homecoming since the Second World War." When he needs a fact, he just makes it up and his MOANING THAT HE'S WEARING BLUE JEANS press pack, is too STUPID to say, "Hey, how man troops did the US deploy to Vietnam?" Gil then decares that there is a "near-mathematical impossibility of her beating Obama for the nomination" -- what?????? Look, you're a reporter -- a bad one -- but a reporter. When you don't know what you're talking about, you 'research' it (make phone calls). Here's reality: neither Hillary or Barack will reach the magic number. Unless one of them drops out, this could go to the convention. If it does, there are no "pledged delegates." Super delegates can change their minds at any time. But, at the convention, pledged delegates make their own decisions. As Big Tent Democrat (TalkLeft) observes, it's probably not a good idea for Barack's campaign to be applauding a pledged delegate to Hillary (Jack B. Johnson) who states he'll "support Obama at the August convention."

Can Johnson, sent by the state (he's not a super delegate) to be a Hillary delegate, change his vote at the convention? Absolutely. And those of us who survived Miami in 1972 know very well that on the floor of the convention there are no promises. George McGovern himself proved that as he stabbed women OVER AND OVER in the back and sent out a woman to try to explain his betrayals and justify them. (Coward then, coward now: George McGovern. See Rebecca's "george mcgovern, start worrying about the after-life.") But Barack's campaign's applauding that. Good. Maybe it will make the press wake up to how STUPID they are. There is no winner. There will be no winner. There is a set number that the nominee has to reach. If no one reaches it and there's more than one standing, the issue is supposed to be resolved at the convention. Translation, NO ONE HAS A LOCK on the nomination. No one. Now those old enough to remember past Democratic nominations decided on the convention floor could explain that but the elders went AWOL in the party sometime ago, mouthing meaningless patter about 'movement.'


Christopher Hayes (The Nation, gets a link because he's a nice guy) can't understand why the media notes Barack's religion by stating he 'says he's a Christian.' Allow us to break it down for you. Thus far, mainstream journalists have attempted to locate Barack's baptismal record. Can't find it. And a number with the church when Barack started showing up there say (to the press) it's due to the fact that Barack wasn't baptised. What did he do May 4th? What he always does. On NBC's Meet The Press, he insisted he was "uh a Christian" and then went on to list what Wright had done for his family including baptizing Barack's children. But where was Barack's baptism. I know it's hard for a lot in Panhandle Media to grasp due to not being religious or not being part of a religion that requires baptism. However, Barack says he's a Christian and says he's a member of a church. The church and the faith requires those coming to the Lord to be baptiszed -- regardless of age. Those changing churches can simply have their baptismal records forwarded (the church secretary takes care of that). If someone's not grasping it, if Barack wasn't baptized -- and that is becoming the consensus in the press -- he's yet again misrepresented himself to the public. He can try to fix it by claiming, "Well, I came to God on my own." But he hasn't said that. He's stated he's a Christian and stated that a church was his church. Allowing people to believe he'd been baptized in that faith. If he never was, he misrepresented and that will be one of the kinder things said about him. And that is what will rally the religious right to the polls for John McCain in November. If you don't grasp that, you don't grasp religion. Here's Barack speaking to Tim Russert from Meet The Press' transcript (which leaves out the 'uh-uh's):

And, as a consequence, when Reverend Wright, who married me and baptized our, our children, when he made those statements, or I learned of those statements that I found so objectionable, I, I .

What's missing? Barack saying Wright baptized him. (Again, the press consensus is becoming that it never happened.) He doesn't mention it in either of his books. A grown man getting baptised, you'd assume he'd have an anecdote. This would be an issue in the general election if he got the nomination.

If you disagree, note this from conservative ("crunchy con") Rod Dreher (Dallas Morning News):

His former pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is an unreconstructed '60s radical, a fire-breathing disciple of James Cone's period-piece black liberation theology. Mr. Obama wrote in his 1995 autobiography, Dreams From My Father, about his attraction to the leftist pastor's church as a vehicle for social change. If black nationalism would uplift the race, he wrote, "then the hurt it might cause well-meaning whites, or the inner turmoil it caused people like me, would be of little consequence."
That's a remarkable admission of a racialized "ends justify the means" morality. It helps explain why Mr. Obama was willing to stick with a crackpot like Dr. Wright. It also might explain why an up-and-coming Barack Obama found nothing particularly wrong with rubbing political elbows with Bill Ayers, the Chicago university professor and onetime fugitive member of the revolutionary, communist Weather Underground.

You can use the link to read the entire piece. If Barack wasn't baptised, the GOP attack will include that and it will effect voters (including some of Barack's core support because the word for many church goers -- of all races -- will be stronger than "fraud"). Meanwhile, Egalia (Tennessee Guerilla Women) notes, "So many women in the media have remained silent" during the non-stop sexist attacks on Hillary and post a clip of ABC's This Week where Cokie Roberts (who has called it out before during this election cycle) again pointed out the double standards. Marie Cocco (link goes to Real Clear Politics -- Cocco is syndicated by the Washington Post) appears to write a burial for the Clinton campaign (it's not over, Marie) and finds her voice to speak out against some of the sexism (left out of the list are the writings at the website which reposts her for free). It's a greatest hits of the most obvious. Cocco notes: "I will not miss the deafening, depressing silence of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean or other leading Democrats, who to my knowledge (with the exception of Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland) haven't uttered a word of public outrage at the unrelenting, sex-based hate that has been hurled at a former first lady and two-term senator from New York." Don't stop there, Marie. As we all know Laura Flanders has defended Laura Bush, Condi Rice and countless other GOP women in print and over the radio when they were attacked for or discriminated against due to gender. But the self-loathing lesbian Laura Flanders couldn't call it out. And The Nation thought it was cute to print all those sexist attacks on Hillary, as did The Progressive, as did . . . The entire Panhandle Media. This will not be forgotten. And it's not hurting feminism, it only fuels greater strength.

And just as the sexism will not be forgotten, the campaign isn't over. Fernando Suarez (CBS News) quotes Hillary explaining, "West Virginia has a record of picking presidents. West Virginia made it possible for President Kennedy to become president of the United States. West Virginia in the general election votes for the winner and if West Virginia had voted for our Democratic nominee in 2000 and 2004 we wouldn't have had to put up with George Bush." Yesterday 41 former South Dakota state legislators and Constitutional Officiaers endorsed Hillary. I guess they didn't hear that the race was over? Or maybe they weren't foolish enough to believe the spin. The race isn't over. There are two candidates left in the Democratic primary and they are in a dead-heat. Neither will finish the race with enough pledged delegates to be declared the winner or to declare themselves the winner. And while the Obama Groupies run to a largely compliant press yelling "Shut it down!" the people want it to continue. The new ABC News - Washington Post poll finds 64% want the race to play out. Read Elaine's "Debates" in context of the poll and realize how badly Panhandle Media failed America by refusing to call out Barack's refusal to debate. Lindsay Levin (HillaryClinton.com) points out, "In the face of grim poll numbers, the Obama campaign has attempted to dismiss today's outcome despite the fact that Sen. Obama has outspent us on advertising, has more staff in the state, and more than double the number of offices. He has also benifted from the support of the most high-profile endorses in West Virginia -- Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Congressman Nick Rahall. By every measure, the Obama campaign has waged an aggressive campaign in the Mountain State. Despite being the so-called 'presumptive nominee' and benefiting from these advantages, Sen. Obama has been unable to close a significant gap in the polls. Sen. Clinton has already won Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan. With a win in West Virginia, Sen. Clinton will have once again proven her greater ability to win in the key swing states." Lastly Jake Tapper (ABC News) notes how no matter what happens in the Obama campaign, "It's never my fault!" is the cry of Barack.

iraq
paul kanethe washington post
josh white
anna badkhen
alexandra zavisthe los angeles times
leila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
fernando suarez
jake tapper

that's isaiah's latest comic entitled 'Electable?' about the unelectable crazy barack obama who doesn't even know how many states are in the united states.

how can you not the number of states in the country and run for president? maybe it's time to institute a basic competency test that candidates have to take.

you really need to grasp how stupid barack is that he doesn't know how many states are in the u.s.

who's the real candidate left standing? hillary! this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Getting Out the Vote in West Virginia' (hillaryclinton.com):

Today In West Virginia: Hillary hosts a "Solutions for the American Economy" Town Hall in Clear Fork, a "Solutions For America" rally in Logan, and an "Old-Fashioned Political Rally" with Governor Joe Manchin in Fairmont. Mother’s Day In Grafton, WV: "Sunday was Mother's Day, but U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton did not take the day off. Instead, she was campaigning here at the birthplace of the holiday. Clinton, along with her daughter Chelsea, toured the home of Mother's Day founder Anna Jarvis early in the afternoon. The two Clintons stopped briefly to wave to onlookers who had braved the rain to line the road in order to catch a glimpse of the presidential candidate. 'Happy Mother's Day,' Clinton shouted to the spectators." Read more.
In Case You Missed It: Read and listen to Hillary's Mother's Day remarks here.
Sunday Show Appearances: On CBS' Face the Nation yesterday, Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said, “We still have seven million Democrats yet to vote. We have West Virginia this Tuesday...We're up in Kentucky. We're up in Puerto Rico."…Communications Director Howard Wolfson told Fox News Sunday: "We as a party have to be able to compete in places like West Virginia and Kentucky."
Donating To Hillary: Dalton Hatfield, an 11-year-old boy from WV, "presented former President Bill Clinton with a check for $440 after Friday’s rally at the Williamson Fire Station...Hatfield feels so strongly that Hillary Clinton should be the next president he not only sold his bicycle, but video games and anything else he could find that 'I could make money with’ to donate to the former first lady's bid for the Democratic nomination." Read more.
On Tap: Hillary will spend election night on Tuesday in Charleston, WV.

i'm not really sure what i'm going to talk about tonight besides cherie booth blair. that's tony blair's wife and, in 2002, as they were preparing for a vacation and as england and the u.s. was gearing up for the illegal war, cherie had a miscarriage.

i know my regular readers know that until giving birth last year, i miscarried over and over. over and over. for years and years.

so discovering today that tony blair's reaction to the miscarriage was to meet with his cabinet and strategize what to tell the press (while cherie's miscarrying - not after, while she's miscarrying) really pisses me off. it's obvious (links in snapshot) that it upset cherie. she appears to have moved away from that and good for her.

but i think even less tony blair now and i didn't think that was possible. forget the physical pain (it can be like a non-stop period, cramps and all - and cherie writes about being in pain and bleeding so her miscarriage was physical painful), you're also dealing with the reality that you're not going to have a baby. you've been carrying a fetus inside you and dreaming about it becoming a boy or a girl. and while you're misccarrying, you're in pain - physical pain - and feeling like it's all over. it is a major blow. it's a major grieving experience.

and she calls him to tell him that she's miscarrying and he's off taking meetings. now these weren't regular meetings. if he couldn't get away that would be 1 thing. i'd feel sorry for her but think, 'he's the prime minister and things were schelued.' but he's off strategizing what to tell the press. and along with that he's also informing gordon brown and others (not in on the strategizing) about it. she is miscarrying, she's not even at the hospital yet and tony blair's running all over the place telling people and talking about it and planning how to spin it.

i am so offended for her. she appears to have moved beyond it and good for her. but that was just disgusting. he is a disgusting person.

and get this, she's still not at the hospital when he calls (again) to inform her that he and his buddies have decided they're going to tell the press. she's still miscarrying, he's nowhere to be found and she's being told that what she's going through right now, they're going to tell the press.

he says if they don't tell the press, people will think there's a problem with the upcoming war. he's whining on the phone to cherie in the middle of her miscarriage. he is disgusting, he is self-obsessed and he has no idea of what's going on.

now i lost any affection for tony blair when he became bully boy's little poodle (before the iraq war). i lost any respect for him when he cheerleaded england into the illegal war. and i really never thought i could think any of less of him. but after reading the excerpt of cherie booth blair's book, i loathe tony blair.

closing with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, May 12, 2008. Chaos and violence continues, a 'truce' in Sadr City, bombings in northern Iraq, the US presidential race and more.

Starting with war resistance, Iraq Veterans Against the War chair Camilo Mejia, author of Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia, is the first Iraq War veteran to publicly resist the illegal war. Cindy Von Quednow (The Daily Sundial) reports, "An an immigrant, Mejia has strong opinions about the notion that Latinos are targeted by recruiters to join the armed forces. '(Recruiters) use the lack of benefits of Latinos and immigrants to lure people in,' he said. 'The biggest problem is that they don't give all the information, they only give the pretty information, which is not the true picture.' According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Latinos made up 13 percent of the enlisted military personnel in 2006, compared to 18 percent of the civilian population, and there is an effort to increase those numbers to 22 percent. As reported in The New York Times, the Pentagon started an advertising campaign through the Spanish-language media to exclusively appeal to Latinos. 'It you look at documents released by the Pentagon and the federal government, they have deliberate attempt to recruit and socialize young Chicanos and Latinos for the military,' said Rosa Furumoto, assistant professor of Chicano/a Studies at CSUN."

While young Latinos are under attack in the US, in Canada, war resisters are hoping the Parliament will take action on a motion waiting to be debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Jamie Leigh Jones was a contractor for Halliburton's KBR, sent to Iraq, gang-raped by her co-workers and held in a pod. Maddy Sauer (ABC News) reports that Jones case will go to court despite Halliburton's absurd claim that arbitration can be used and that District Judge Keith Ellison "wrote in his order Friday that Jones' claims of sexaul assault, battery, rape, false imprisonment and others fall beyond the scope of her cemployment." Previous ABC News coverage of Jones can be found here and here. Sonia Verman (Times of London) reports, "The decision has opened the door for other American women who have reported sexual assaults in similar circumstances to challenge clauses in their employment contracts restricting such claims to private arbitration and keeping them out of court. It comes at a time when the US Congress is examing whether the Government is adequately protecting contractors who allege sexual assault." Meanwhile Emma Schwartz (US News & World Reports) notes that Alaa ("Alex") Mohammad Ali ("Iraqi-born Canadian) will be "the first civilian contractor in Iraq" to be court-martialed "under the military justice system". The Orillia Packet & Times notes, he "is accused of stabbing another contractor four times during a fight in February on a base west of Baghdad" and that this is "the first such military prosecution since the Vietnam War."

Meanwhile a book in England, or at least a section of it (excerpt here at the Times of London), has caught the attention of many including Rosalin Ryan (Guardian of London), Robert Winnett (Telegraph of London) and The Hindu Times. The book, by attorney Cherie Booth Blair, includes a section detailing her 2002 miscarriage and how her husband, then-Prime Minister Tony Blair, 'handled' it. Despite phoning that he'd be there "straight away," Booth Blair writes, Tony instead ran off to inform Alastair and the two men phoned her to tell her that the Blairs' announced vacation presented a problem because with the Iraq War impending, if the vacation were cancelled (as it would need to be) with no explanation, people might assume it had something to do with the upcoming war. Booth Blair was informed that her miscarriage needed to be announced to the media immediately. Booth Blair writes: "They had decided that the best thing was to tell the press that I'd had a miscarriage. I couldn't believe it. There I was, bleeding, and they were talking about what was going to be the line to the press. I put down the receiver and lay there staring at the ceiling, as pain began to grip."

In Iraq, tensions between northern Iraq and Turkey continue. Hurriyet reports: "Turkish jets bombed on Sunday the Nerwa and Rekan areas in northern Iraq, the website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) reported. Turkish jets also bombed mountainous areas in the Zakho district of Duhok province earlier on Sunday, PUK media reported, adding Turkish artillery sporadically shelled the same areas." Reuters quotes Iraq's Kurdish Peshmerga security forces spokesperson Jabbar Yawar stating that the bombings resulted in no deaths or wounded. Suzan Fraser (AP) reminds, "Turkey has launched several cross-border aerial attacks this year to stamp out PKK bases in northern Iraq. The military also sent ground troops into Iraq in February for an eight-day cross-border incursion in pursuit of the rebels."

Further into Iraq, Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reported over the weekend, "Followers of rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr agreed late Friday to allow Iraqi security forces to enter all of Baghdad's Sadr City and to arrest anyone found with heavy weapons in a surprising capitulation that seemed likely to be hailed as a major victory for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. In return, Sadr's Mahdi Army supporters won the Iraqi government's agreement not to arrest Mahdi Army members without warrants, unless they were in possession of 'medium and heavy weaponry'." The immediate impact? Hala Jaber (Times of London) reported: "A humvee military vehicle idles on a broad avenue as an Iraqi army soldier walks nonchalantly past without so much as a glance at the body slung across the bonnet.The dead man's trousers have been pulled down to his ankles, exposing white underwear below a torn T-shirt drenched in blood from wounds to his chest and side. Behind is a second Humvee with another body sprawled over the front, arms and legs outstretched. On his white shirt, a large bloodstain indicates the wound that may have killed him. A soldier sitting on the roof dangles his legs over the windscreen and seems to prod the corpse's stomach with his boot." Sunday Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) noted that Sadr City residents "blame both" the US-Iraqi fighters and the Mahdi militia and that they do not expect the cease-fire will hold. Leila Fadel noted that residents report the truce did not stop the violence and quotes Suham Bresam explaining, "This agreement happened and I was up all night from the gunshots and strikes." Simon Assaf (Great Britain's Socialist Worker) notes the estimated 800 civilians "feared dead" in the long assault on Sadr City and how many more have been turned into refugees in order to avoid the slaughter. As the assault continues Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports today that Sadr City hospital have received 3 dead and eighteen wounded. AP reports that the cease-fire was signed today and that it is "a four-day cease-fire" as well as that there are doubts as to whether or not it will be followed.

Turning to other reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad roadside bombings resulting in three people being injured, Hussein Shaban was killed by a car bombing outside Mosul, an Al Anbar Province roadside bombing claimed the lives of 2 children, 2 bodyguards and "Awakening" Council member Abu Qutaiba.

Shootings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Col Nibras Fadel Abbas of the Ministry of Defense was shot dead in Baghdad today, a Baghdad armed clash resulted in three people being wounded, one person wounded in a Sulaimaniyah Province shooting, and, dropping back to yesterday, a women's shelter in Sulaimaniyah was shot up by unknown persons with one woman being wounded.

Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

Today (PDF format warning) the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed after being struck by an improvised explosive device during a route clearance patrol at approximately 9:20 p.m. May 11 in northwest Baghdad. The Soldier was quickly transported to the medical facility where he later died of his wounds." 4076 is currently the number of US service members who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war.

Yesterday Tom Vanden Brooks (USA Today) reported on US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates sudden chatty nature on stop-loss and how he regrets that it was "my decision to go to 15-month tours" which "made it impossible for them" to reduce the numbers stop-lossed. What's really the point of Chatty Gates? Friday Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reported that stop-loss/backdoor draft numbers are increasing again: "number steadily declined through May 2007, when it hit 8,540. But since then, the number of soldiers subjected to stop-loss orders began to increase again, reaching 12,235 in March 2008." Gates is yacking it up because George W. Casey and US Army Secretay Pete Geren testified to the Senate Armed Services Committe (Feb. 26th) and committee chair Carl Levin specifically asked about stop-loss and was told that the number was "a little less than 8,000 today" -- which would be a LIE since the lowest it ever reached was 8,450 and that was in May of 2007 and the number then began it's climg to 12,235 (March 2008 -- a week after their testimony) and that the Army wanted to "move away from" using stop-loss. As Levin continued to ask for answers, Geren stated it might drop to 7,000. It was already well above 8,000 (it didn't leap to 12,235 one week later in a huge bound) and it never got below 8,000 over the previous 12 months. Geren, with Casey beside him nodding along, LIED to Congress. Levin asked specific questions and was LIED to. Now Gates is a on yack-fest to get 'information' out there and to shift the focus to that and not the LIE. Geren LIED. The same way the VA lied to Congress about the number of veterans' suicides.

Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times' Babylon & Beyond) notes: "Government officials had been talking about it for months. But when the offensive finally began Saturday to clear the northern city of Mosul of insurgents, residents were caught off guard." Talking about it? Did someone miss that Barack Obama, April 8th, was praising it in the Senate during The Petraeus & Crocker Variety Hour? Praising it, acting like it had taken place. Turning to US politics. PBS' NewsHour on Friday featured THREE IDIOTS, chief among them Mark Shields who wants to claim to be a "hard working American." Old idiot should have retired a long time ago so it is hilarious to watch him claim that Hillary Clinton needs to exit "gracefully." Shields won't exit period. Mark Sheilds turns 70 this month (May 25th). Exactly when he is going to exit? Exactly when will his tired ass be taken off television or does he really think anyone believes he's from the "left" all these years later or that anyone needs his nonsense? 70 years old and he wants to pretend anyone else needs to exit? Get real, Mark, it's time to go. Step down and allow someone younger -- even ten years younger would be something at this point -- to step up to the plate.

We don't do "Don't Run! and "Drop Out!" pieces in this community (community-wide, it doesn't happen). Someone's campaign may appear over to us and we may note that. We don't then say, "Drop out!" (We didn't with Dennis Kucinich when he demonstrated that he would give votes away in Iowa. That's when his campaign died. Had he stayed in, were he still in today, there would be no "Drop Out Dennis!" piece.) Those pieces -- whether aimed at Ralph Nader, Cindy Sheehan, or whomever -- go against the beliefs in democracy that the US is supposed to have. Someone wants to run, they run. Someone wants to stay in the race, they stay in. It's really basic but it's something that a number of people have trouble grasping and they need to start answering the question: "Do you believe in democracy?" Their actions indicate that they do not.

In terms of the Democratic primaries a few things. Iowa and New Hampshire should not have a lock on who goes first. That's been the position community-wide (and we wrote about it at Third -- over and over -- beginning in 2005). Iowa's caucus is prone to theft and not open (ibid). Caucuses are not used in the general election so they shouldn't be used in any primaries (ibid). Every vote should be counted (ibid). Everyone who wants to run for public office has a right to (ibid). No candiate 'steals' votes from another. Everyone gets the ones they get and if they lose by X% that is their own loss (ibid). Those are the basic beliefs that this community has operated under since it started. In terms of this election cycle, the only thing to add to that is that this site (The Common Ills), Wally and Cedric (at their sites) have all argued for Michigan and Florida's delegates to be seated and done that going back months and months well into 2007 -- long before either state held their primary (and Wally, Cedric and I were making comments that the delegates will need to be seated and the totals honored in roundtables at Third long before that -- Wally lives in Florida, this has always been a primary issue to him). We have not adopted to a position helpful to 'our candidate,' we have stayed consistent with our core democratic beliefs.

Now the DNC has repeatedly lied to states -- presidential election cycle after presidential election cycle -- that there's no harm in the order. It may happen, they've said, that states pushed all the way to the end of the calendar could end up being the deciding factors! It just might be, they've lied, that the final states could decide it! Well now the race continues and shame on anyone in an elected office who tries to call it off or says someone needs to drop out. The campaign's still going (West Virginia's primary is tomorrow, Kentucky & Oregon's on May 20th, Puerto Rico's on June 1st and then Montana & South Dakota on June 3rd.) Every four year, Iowa and New Hampshire get their asses kissed by every candidate and the rest of the states suffer. It's not fair, it's never been fair. It's not right, it's never been right. 2012 should see real changes from the DNC. That should include doing away with caucuses which are not used in a general election, which allow people to 'vote' in 'rounds' and which are useless. That should include immediately implementing a rotating schedule for state primaries so that all states will have a chance at being the first ones (yes, even Alaska).

To cover a few more points, we don't waste our time on faux candidates. Meaning Cynthia McKinney. When idiot Ted Glick stated on Democracy Now! that McKinney (who is not yet the Green Party nominee) knew she couldn't win the presidency and was defining 'victory' by getting 5%, that was idiotic. That was stupid. But he said it. When her campaign turned around and linked to the interview stating he speaks for her, this community was under no obligation to ever again give a damn. And, if she's the nominee, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and MSNBC should shut her out of the debates because a candidate (who doesn't even have her party's nomination) who states that 'victory' would be 5% of the vote isn't a real candidate. They should shut her out and she has no right to complain if they do. Ralph Nader's not saying, "I'm going for X% of the vote." Nader's running to win. Though you hear over and over that Ralph's running a vanity campaign (you heard that in 2004, 2000, 1996 . . .), he is not (and has not) run a vanity campaign. He's running to win. He may win or he may not win but he's running the best campaign he can and in a race to win it. Nader has a right to be on stage taking part in all debates. I don't know right-wing third parties. If their candidates are running to win (and not announcing "I can't win, I just want a percent of the vote!") then they should be allowed on stage at the debates as well. That's a basic of democracy as surely as count every vote: candidates in a race to win it are real candidates -- not based on polling, not based on fund raising. It's not only that they have a right to be included it's also that in a democracy those 'deciding' have an obligation to include them.

Those are the basics and we'll touch on them throughout the next section. Another basic, how many states are there in the US? Answer: 50. Who said this: "Over the last 15 months, we've traveled to every corner of the United States. I've now been in 57 states, I think one left to go. One left to go. Alaska and Hawaii I was not allowed to go, even though I really wanted to visit but my staff would not justify it."? It wasn't John McCain, it was Barack Obama. Video here. The NewsHour link earlier will find Barack saying "I said uh on Brian Williams yesterday" . . . Not 'to' Brian Williams. Sorry to break it to Barack but there's no Brian Williams Show to say that on. The program's title remains NBC Nightly News, the same title it's had since Barack was a child going by "Barry." (It was Huntley-Brinkley Report until July 31, 1970.) This comes on top of his absurd claim last week (in his North Carolina victory speech) that the media refused to notice where he was insisting his father (a Kenyan) was buried (in Kenya) with a US flag draping the coffin. (Be sure to check out Isaiah's comic on Barack's blunders.) I'm sure some will rush foward -- the same who chuckled at Barack's slam to John McCain last week, the ageism, no doubt -- to insist Barack's tired. Now I know the Bully Boy's made it look easy by delegating so much of his work to Dick Cheney; however, the president of the United States is supposed to be one of the hardest and most demanding in the country. If Barack's not up for the job, voters need to know that now. He's already required a tropical vacation (Virgin Islands -- March right after he gave the nearly 4,000 word speech) and a day of rest last Wednesday. Barack Obama is young for a presidential candidate (46-years-old) currently. And he's having trouble keeping up with the campaign schedule? And he wants to smear John McCain with little jabs? (Covered in Friday's "Iraq snapshot" and Ava and I note it in "TV: Tiny Tots"). He thinks he can accuse McCain of "losing his bearings" after all of that plus repeatedly calling Matt Lauer "Tim" last week?

Now he's decided to write off campaigning in many states (he can't win them) and his campaign is allegedly calling people in those states and telling them the race is over? That's as phoney as targeting certain areas with fliers stating the wrong date for an election or telling some communities that anyone with an outstanding traffic ticket or warrant will be arrested if they vote. He should be ashamed of his campaign. He should be ashmed of himself for writing off states -- were he to become the nominee, he would need to have used the opportunity to introduce himself to residents of West Virginia. Big Tent Democrat (TalkLeft) notes "that Democratic Presidential candidates carried West Virginia in every recent election except the last 2". Jeralyn (TalkLeft) again stresses the issue of the electoral college map and notes Bringiton (Corrente) results where the idea of sharing delegates is tossed out and the winner takes all system is used (as it is in the general election for all but two states). In that match-up, based on the states that have voted thus far (and tossing Oregon over to Barack before their primary), Hillary comes out the strongest. Bringiton's point is the one that NOW on PBS addressed two Fridays ago when David Brancaccio spoke with Willie Brown and Dan Schnur and it was noted that if the system the Democrats are currently using was used by the GOP, John McCain would still be facing Mike Huckabee; however, under the winner takes all system, Hillary would have been declared the Democratic primary winner long ago. So, to be clear, the GOP will be putting up a nominee (barring any unforseen circumstances) who has played on the winner take all field and the Democrats may very well go with a candidate who's been given delegates that really don't matter even though he lost the states (Schnur compared it to Little League giving every player a trophy). Anglachel (Anglache's Journal) asserts, "I will simply repeat what I've been saying for weeks now: Hillary = nominee= vicotry; Obama = nominee = defeat. Neither candidate has enough pledged delgates to get to 2209 votes without super delegates, so it is up to the SDs to decide the fate of the party in this electoral cycle. The nominee isn't the person with the most at a certain point in time, it is the person who first hits 2209."

Meanwhile John Edwards' supporter John Mashek (US News & World Report) weighs in on John Edwards "playing games with his preference for his party's nomination. Truth be told, it really doesn't matter at this late hour. Edwards holds a meager handful of pledged delegates, and even they can act as free agents at the convention in Denver." What's he talking about is John Edwards was on Face The Nation (CBS) Sunday (link has text and video and, PDF format warning, transcript here). As Edwards noted himself, she doesn't need any advice so why are so many rushing to give it to her? Rushing to tell her to drop out? Fernando Suarez (CBS News) reports that the latest Suffolk University Poll shows Hillary Clinton with a huge double-digit lead in West Virginia -- a 36 point advantage over her opponent Barack Obama. But the most striking figure in the poll is that Clinton is viewed more favorably than Obama". Doesn't sound like a loser. Suarez also notes that "no Democratic candidate has won the White House without winning West Virginia since 1916." Egalia (Tennessee Guerilla Women) notes Barack's absences from West Virginia and Kentucky and wonders, "If Obama views it as pointless to campaign in the Kentucky and West Virginia primaries, why would he bother showing up in the general?" Good point but it also needs to be noted that this was his Michigan strategy. Idiots keep repeating, "He wasn't on the ballot!" He took his name off. He did so for the same reason he's refusing to campaign in Kentucky and West Virginia right now: He doesn't think he can win. The plan with Michigan, which he knew he couldn't win (and he couldn't, he was right on that) was to take his name off so that he could say of Hillary's victory (she was expected to win and she did), "It doesn't matter, I wasn't on the ballot." Just as his trashy campaign will attempt to argue that Kentucky and West Virginia's votes don't matter "because he didn't campaign!" He took his name off the Michigan ballot after the internal campaign voting showed him losing to Hillary and John Edwards. His own campaign polling showed him coming in third. He took his name off the ballot (as did Edwards) and then used that to suck up to the residents of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Hillary's still in the race because the race is a dead-heat. The cries for her to drop out are coming because Barack's campaign knows it does reject their narrative that he is the choice of Democratic voters when the upcoming primaries take place. Actually, had the media been paying attention, Indiana recently made that argument. He lost, she won. Were he the choice why, in May, would he be losing to her? He's not the choice. It's a tie, neither will reach the necessary number of delegates awarded by states. The decision should be mae on the convention floor unless one of them drops out. Whining about August being so late in the year? Blame the DNC. They were the fools that moved it back. The mistaken belief is that part of John Kerry's losing campaign's failure was in fundraising -- and by being so far ahead (so many weeks) of the GOP convention, the July DNC convention was the reason. He had so many more weeks where he needed to buy advertising! Boo-hoo. But if August is too far away, blame the DNC for pushing the convention so far back this year.

Barring one of them dropping back, the race should go to the convention room floor. Those are the rules. I don't know why so many big babies -- alleged adults -- are afraid of a convention floor fight? The Demcractic Party used to have them all the time. Maybe it's scary when one candidate is vetted and the other isn't? Texas Darlin (TaylorMarsh.com) notes this from Chuck Neubauer and Tom Hamburger (Los Angeles Times) report on Barack's relationship with Chicago business person Robert Blackwell Jr.: "After After an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2000, Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama faced serious financial pressure: numerous debts, limited cash and a law practice he had neglected for a year. Help arrived in early 2001 from a significant new legal client -- a longtime political supporter. Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr. paid Obama an $8,000-a-month retainer to give legal advice to his growing technology firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange. It allowed Obama to supplement his $58,000 part-time state Senate salary for over a year with regular payments from Blackwell's firm that eventually totaled $112,000. A few months after receiving his final payment from EKI, Obama sent a request on state Senate letterhead urging Illinois officials to provide a $50,000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company, Killerspin." Darlin notes that "the day after Obama wrote his letter soliciting state funds for Blackwell's company, Obama's U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation from Blackwell." There are things like this throughout Barack's 'career.' Panhandle Media has inflated him and you hear that he was a "community organizer" (he did get-out-the-vote work), a "law professor" (he lectured -- the Chicago university may cover his butt, we won't here, reality is reality, he was a lecturer), a "Civili Rights" or "Civil Liberties" attorney. Don't hold your breath waiting to hear about those cases because they don't exist. Since he hasn't provided any (again, they don't exist), journalists are checking the Chicago docket (and finding nothing). There seems to be some delusion in the Obama campaign that no one will ever ask questions. (They're backed up by the fact that the many in the media still think Bill Ayers-Barack Obama is the connection when, in fact, the connection is to Bernardine Dohrn and all who know Bernardine and Bill -- myself included -- no Bill never does a thing without her say so.) That's what's behind the attempts to push Hillary out of the race. If Barack's get the nomination, the thinking is, the Dems are stuck with him and they'll have to defend him from whatever scandal (I count four brewing in the press and it will be interesting to see which one gets reported first). The thinking is that if they sell this lemon and it's driven off the car lot, it won't matter, people will be stuck with Barack. They'll have to defend for things that they do not approve of. It's a losing strategy and it's a loser for the Democratic Party.

Jennifer Agiesta and Jon Cohen (Washington Post) reported Saturday that, yes, Jeremiah Wright is making a difference in voting with presumably White churchgoers the most vocal while "African American churchgoers were not uniform in their response to the uproar surrounding Wright's controversial views, which the preacher rekindled the week before the primaries. Nearly half of black weekly churchgoers in Indiana said Wright was not at all important to their vote, while in North Carolina, about the same percentage said it was a significant factor. In the Tarheel state, black voters who gave Wright's sermons the most consideration still gave Obama a 70-point advantage, but it was slimmer than his 93-point win among those who said it was not a factor." Issue after issue and the presumed conviction of Antoin "Tony" Rezko all rolls together to make Barack Obama not the image he presented to the American people. And he was never that popular to begin with. He was popular with those following Democratic primaries which doesn't even include all Democrats. What Barack's done is run an impressive -- though not winning -- primary campaign and demonstrated that he's not a general election candidate. The bloom came off the rose when ABC's Good Morning America broadcast the Wright videos, his campaign's been a drag ever since. Not helped by his uh-uh-uh-uh, not helped by the fact that he can't win a debate -- exactly how do his supporters assume they would prod swing-voters to his side after they saw him embarrass himself in repeated debates with John McCain (and hopefully Ralph Nader)? Or is he going to stomp his feet and insist that there be no debates the way he did in the primary season? Hate to break it to the Big Baby and his Devoted Cult, Hillary hasn't hit that hard. If Barack does steal the nomination, it will be a rude awakening for his devoted following when false charges of racism backfire on them, when he's excepted to be competent and know what he's talking about, when he's expected to grasp issues -- those things he always wants to talk about (he says) but never gets around to. His radicals in Panhandle Media can stomp their feet all they want, they can scream and yell all they want, it won't do any good -- and bystanders watching the proceedings from the sides are already sick of the trash the Barack campaign has used. It's like all the pathetic White people of the 'left' defending Jeremiah Wright. There is no excuse for what he said. There's no excuse for it. Carol F. Roye (Women's eNews) notes that "Wright's incedniary comment was unwarranted and destructive. I wish he'd dare to raise an actual HIV-AIDS threat that is being dangerously silence by taboo. It's a threat that the public health community continues to ignore and that we must talk about: women's unprotected anal intercourse with male partners." Wright offered crackpot science and it was justified, excused, defended by Panhandle Media. Grow up. You can trick your small devoted into believeing that for a little while; however, let's be honest, the bulk of you have also tricked your same audiences into believing that you are Democrats.

Jake Tapper (ABC News) notes that Chris Rock, NPR's Ken Rudin and US House Rep Steve Cohen have now all compared Hillary to the Glenn Close character in the backlash trash Fatal Attraction. Tapper notes "as the late great Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker at the time, the 'film is about men seeing feminists as witches'." It's exactly that sort of crap that made people like Ava and myself get off the sidelines. The Obama camp has no one to blame but themselves. They have used sexism over and over and the media has amplified it and provided their own. (And let's remember, Betsy Reed, wanting to talk sister-to-sister to all of us gals cited the 'feminist' Chris Rock in her column. Reed's not a feminist, she's not a Democrat and she needs to stop trying to trick America but people like her having nothing to offer but tricks and deceptions. If forced to be honest -- about anything -- they'd probably suffer a heart attack.) Another who called out Fatal Attraciton, Susan Faludi, noted last week (Friday in the New York Times but link goes to Der Spiegel), "Pundits have been quick to attribute the erosion in Barack Obama's white male support to a newfound racism. What they have failed to consider is the degree to which white male voters witnessing Senator Clinton's metamorphosis are being forced to rethink precepts they've long held about women in politics." That's certainly logical and plausible and would be similar to the shift in the Latino community, the one Cokie Roberts attempted to address the night of Super Duper Tuesday on ABC when she noted that, in the 1980s, Latino voters were among the more resistant to female candidates -- and not only had Hillary won their support but that the change had begun in the 90s for the Latino community. That is two women now who noted it. Hopefully, others in the media will at some point. It's one of the major developments of this campaign season. Another development is that US House Rep Ciro Rodriguez has endorsed Hillary today stating, "The voters of Texas' 23rd congressional district voted overwhelming for Senator Clinton in the Texas primary and I will respect their decision. I believe Hillary Clinton has the experience, vision, and toughness to win a general election and can help expand our Democratic majority in Congress. Not only can she win, I am convinced that she will be a truly great President. In two areas of special importance to me, caring for our veterans and improving our schools, Hillary has been a real leader. I am happy to follow the clear choice of my constituents and support Hillary for President." Which does put pressure on Barack supporters who scream "popular vote! popular vote!" but whose own constituents voted for Hillary. (Yes, John Kerry and Ted Kennedy, that would include you.)

Peggy Simpson (Womens Media Center) reports on Barack and Hillary's statements that the Democratic Party will come together in November regardless of the outcome of the nomination process. Trina would disagree. Joel S. Hirschhorn (Information Clearing House) makes the argument for Ralph Nader, assumes Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee and argues: "Peoplw with intelligence and conscience must resist peer pressure and the temptation to vote against John McCain by voting for Barack Obama." Regardless of who gets the nomination -- Hillary or Barack -- some voters (maybe many) will go elsewhere. A Nader supporter grasps that, too bad for the pathetic public faces of the Green Party that they couldn't grasp that very basic fact. This community is pro-Hillary. That's the Green members, the independents, the third partied and the Democrats. Democratic community members are supporting her with their votes but community-wide she had support in terms of the primary race. That didn't prevent Green 'faces' from smearing her throughout the primary. Teddy Glick, I-Need-Attention Benjamin and all the others. Between that and the nonsense of McKinney's I'm-Running-For-5%-of-The Vote, Ralph Nader sewed up the community. He is the choice of Greens and most independents and has become the back-up choice for all the rest should Hillary not get the nomination. (For those visitors who have continued to whine in e-mails -- I didn't vote in the poll, I do not disclose my vote. And I honestly don't give a damn what any of you cry babies have to say. The community made up its mind, you aren't part of it, whine elsewhere.) "Call it the no more whinging campaing," says Team Nader:

Don't tell us about Bush/Cheney. We know already. The sewage has risen to the surface. The question is -- what are we going to do about it? The answer is -- Nader - [Matt] Gonzalez. [. . .] We put our people vs. the corporations platform on the table. And -- per your request -- we've just updated our issues pages with more detail. We're working hard to get Nader/Gonzalez on as many state ballots as possible. And -- per your request -- we've just launched a clickable state by state map of the country for ballot access.


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speaking of fraudlent man, guess who decided to wear a flag pin? that's right barack obama. he wants to play pool hustler after crapping out at bowling and he wants to wear a flag pin now. pandering is the term. he's a panderer. what a fake and a fraud.

starting with tom baldwin's 'Barack Obama sacks adviser over talks with Hamas' (times of london):



One of Barack Obama's Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas -- prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.
Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council.

how many screw ups is prince barack allowed before he's asked to drop out? don't expect the nation to cover this. if they do, they'll excuse it due to katrina and her trashy father's connections to this group. ironically, this idiot group (one that the left regularly decries) once tried really hard to get c.i. to highlight them. sent e-mails, sent requests. c.i. ignored them due to knowing their history. (i'm not speaking of hamas.) if hillary was connected to this group all the panhandle idiots would be screaming about 'politics as usual.' they're such idiots.

they give barack a pass for anything. he could rob them blind and they'd say, 'i don't support the robbery, but i support the movement behind it.'

what a load of idiots. and they're determined to convince you that hillary can't win and should drop out when she can win as much as barack can. neither will be awarded the number of delegates. the super delegates? super delegates vote at the convention.

if hillary doesn't drop out, they have to go to a convention.

super delegates aren't pledged. they can go any way they want. they can (and have) change at 15 minute intervals.

little groupies don't understand that because they're not democrats and they don't grasp the party's history.

but that's the reality.

super delegates count at the convention and not before. unless hillary drops out, she has as much a shot as trashy barack obama.

this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Strongest at the Top of the Ticket' (hillaryclinton.com):

Strongest at the Top of the Ticket: Several members of Congress released a letter today to other Democrats touting their support for Hillary, saying she is the strongest candidate to have at the top of the ticket in the fall: "[W]e are convinced that Hillary Clinton has the vision, skills and commitment to make the changes our country needs. As Democrats who have run and won in competitive Congressional districts and battleground states, we believe that Hillary is best positioned to successfully lead the Democratic ticket in districts and states like ours around the country." Read the letter.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Hillary received the endorsement of automatic delegate and Congressman Chris Carney (D-PA). Read more.
Honoring the Votes of Millions of People: In a letter written to Sen. Obama yesterday, Hillary urges him to "honor the votes of the millions of people who went to the polls in Florida and Michigan...One of the foremost principles of our party is that citizens be allowed to vote and that those votes be counted." Read the letter.
Previewing Today: "Hillary Clinton catches up with former Make-A-Wish winner Oregonian, still a big fan, now works for the former first lady's campaign." Read more.
WV Endorsement Watch: "Former West Virginia Governor Hulett Smith announced his endorsement of Hillary ...citing the Senator’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, veterans, and the economy." Read more.
"Hillary Clinton Would be the Stronger Candidate" The Charleston Daily Mail endorsed Hillary yesterday, saying: "She is by far the more experienced of the Democratic candidates, and the one who has had to learn the most about West Virginia." Read more.
West Virginia is a Test: At a rally in Charleston, WV yesterday, Hillary said: "I'm running to be president of all 50 states...I think we ought to keep this going so the people of West Virginia's voices are heard...West Virginia is a test...It's a test for me and a test for Sen. Obama." Read more.
South Dakota "Appearance Thrills Supporters" One South Dakota supporter at Hillary's Sioux Falls rally yesterday said: "'It feels good to be this close to hopefully the next president." Read more.
Support for the Farm Bill: Hillary released the following statement today: "Unfortunately, the Bush Administration is signaling that the President will veto the [farm] bill. Saying no to the farm bill would be saying no to rural America. I call on President Bush to get out of the way. When Congress sends President Bush the farm bill, he needs to sign it so we can start taking care of rural America." Read more.

barack's groupies can fantasize all they want but adults need to grasp that he can't win and need to start supporting hillary. and those up for election (congress or statewide) better start grasping that barack doesn't help them. his voters don't vote the ticket, they vote for barack.

it's because the bulk aren't democrats. they're about personality. it's really hilarious to watch them now start trying to say that about hillary. hillary's about polilcy (and she's a fighter).

don't try that crap with me because i won't buy it. i did not like hillary, i was not rooting for her. she won me over with her hardwork, her persistance, her strength and her knowledge of policy. no 1 can make that claim about prince barack who had the red carpet given to him and didn't have to fight for a thing this year or last. (or really ever. his grandparents were well off -- banking vice presidents make good money and i forget what his grandfather did. but doesn't he love to lie and claim that he grew up in poverty?)

prince barack needs to start considering what's good for the democrat party and, hint, it's not him.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Friday, May 9, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the assault on Sadr City continues, Barack loses a campaign staffer who was in talks with an organization the US has labeled a terrorist group (no, not Ayers & Dohrn) and more.

Starting with war resistance. Who is Ehren Watada? The answer is fairly obvious, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. But facts is hard for little local weeklies. Nina Shapiro (Seattle Weekly) takes time out from attacking Hillary but it's too bad she and her editor couldn't take the time to be factual. "Not Every Deserter Gets the Watada Treatement" is the headline and she matches that choice with her own writing. She writes, "When it comes to the military's handling of deserters, there is little consistency. Some, like outspoken war opponent Lt. Ehren Watada, face courts-marial and potentail jail sentences, while . . ." Where to begin. They do not generally face "courts"-martial. Watada may if double-jeopardy is thrown out. The face "court-martials." The "court" is singular. "Outspoken war opponent"? He can't just be a "war opponent," to Nina, he has to be "outspoken." That's curious considering he's given one interview since the failed Feb. 2007 court-martial. That was over a year ago. And prior to the court-martial, he'd already shut the press down. But there's Nina, trumping up the charges, just like she does with Hillary. Let's go slow for Nina: "Report to the nearest Army post with your Army ID or other picture ID and any documents or records in your possession which pertain to your Army service. On the installation, go to the Military Police station and turn yourself in to the MPs." What's that from? Fort Knox Law Enforcement Command's "US Army Deserter Information Point." Ehren Watada did not desert. He wasn't charged with desertion for that reason. Watada did not desert. It's a shame that Nina has to (again) put her name to lies because 'facts is hard.' But she's not interested in war resistance, she's interested in pushing lies. There's no war resistance in the story (which isn't about Watada, she just wanted to slime him and see if she get away with acting stupid in public). When trash likes this gets shoved off on the public, everyone loses. The serial liar was pushing conflict between today's veterans and earlier ones. That was a laughable article ("Camaraderie is in short supply"). So is this one. Is no one capable of a basic fact check at Seattle Weekly or do they just not care?

In Canada, war resisters are hoping the Parliament will take action on a motion waiting to be debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Turning to Iraq and starting with the press. In February of this year, (PDF format warning) Reporters Without Borders released "Freedom Of The Press Worldwide in 2008." which noted 57 journalists killed in 2007. If you're in Iraq and trying to report, just FYI, you're a journalist. You're not "a media worker" (RWB uses that phrase). "More than half the recorded physical attacks on the media were in Baghdad despite the huge presence there of Iraqi forces and US troops. . . . On top of the violence, Iraqi journalists face new restrictions imposed by the authorities, including a ban in May 2007 on filming the sites of bomb attacks and another in November on going to the Kandil mounatins, near the Iraqi-Turkish border, to talk to Kurdish PKK rebels." Earlier this week, The Committee to Protect Journalists posed Joel Campangna's report on the Kurdish region of Iraq which included the story of Nasseh Abdel Raheem Rashid whose reporting "railed against the political in Iraqi Kurdistan and the actions of uncscrupulous political officials." Campangna continues:As he strolled through the central market on his hometown of Halabja in eastern Iraqi Kurdistan last October, four armed men wearing military uniforms forced him into a waiting Nissan pickup, bound his hands and legs, and covered his head with a sack. "I didn't know where I was going. They drove around for a few hours and then went over what seemed like an unpaved road," Rashid told the Committee to Protect Journalists during an interview in Sulaymania shortly after the incident. Rashid said he was pulled from the truck, punched and kicked, and threatened at gunpoint to stop working or be killed. The assailants sped off, leaving Rashid bruised and shaken.

That is only one story in Campagna's report. Click here for audio of him talking about report.
177 is the number of journalists who have been killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. CPJ divides up "media support workers" and "journalists" as well, we don't. Support workers in a war zone are doing a number of jobs they are journalists and, if they are targeted for who they are working for, the "I am just a media support worker!" is not a magic shield that protects them. On a related note, we have consistently avoided highlighting the work of US reporters who 'report' on Iraq from the US but attach themselves to the work done by local population. That's led to a number of mainstream stories being 'missed' but it's not missed because there is something pathetic and dishonest about it. Mentioning it today because among the links pulled from this site (The Common Ills) was a 'news' site where, article after article, an American journalist in the US feels the needs to attach his name to a reporter in Iraq's writing. When said journalist was supposed to go back to Iraq (he lost focus and ended up in Lebanon in the summer of 2006 instead), the Iraqi journalist was more than able to write his own reports for the web outlet. He had no problems with English (though if he had, no one would have been concerned because his voice is of value). He did a great job. But "I WANT ATTENTION!" can't make it back to Iraq and feels the need to put his name to first hand reports from Iraq. We're not highlighting that crap. It's insulting and offensive. And, hate to break it to the 'left,' it's the height of colonialism. So bye-bye. The community won't miss you. It is grossly offensive for an American in the US to feel the need to add his name to these first-hand reports of an Iraqi journalist in Iraq risking his life. We won't applaud that crap and shame on anyone who does. It has gone on now for over a year and it is offensive and people in the press are starting to talk about it. We draw a line. We also draw a line with 'respectable' source Pig -- twice busted for sexual predator activities online. Matthew Rothschild interviews Pig this week. Didn't listen, didn't need to. He's been delinked. The Progressive will be delinked from all sites. The Real Press kicked Pig to the curb because of his arrests. Panhandle Media wants to pretend like he's a 'respectable' source. He's not. If a young girl is raped or assaulted by Pig, it's on Panhandle Media's hands because they can't stop promoting him.

Back to the threats journalists in Iraq operate under. Selcan Hacaoglu (AP) reports that the BBC's Baghdad bureau was "damaged" by a rocket attack on the Green Zone and quotes Patrick Howse explaining, "It caused structural damage but no one was injured." Deborah Haynes (Times of London) notes, "It was one of a number of rockets fired towards the heavily fortified Green Zone by Shit insurgents taking advantage of a sudden sandstorm, which gave them cover from counter-attack by US aircraft." Meanwhile a McClatchy Newspapers Iraqi journalist blogs at Inside Iraq that "6 days after the occasion of World Press Freedom, Iraqi media witnessed a new violation against freedom of speech. Yesterday Iraqi forces closed Al Ahad Radio Station an excuse of adopting provocative political speech. I have many friends who listen to this radio as I do; I asked my friends if they notice any instagative tones in the programs or newscast of this radio . . . the answers were negative -- as always." Nouri al-Maliki, puppet of the occupation, made it clear in the summer of 2006 that he had no respect for a free press and he's only continued that pattern.

Somethings get little or no coverage, somethings get massive coverage. Like yesterday's big news (which was rightly ignored in yesterday's snapshot) that THE leader of al Qaeda in Iraq leader was captured! In today's paper (so filed hours and hours before sunrise), Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) noted the capture with qualifiers and, as a result, has no egg on her face -- unlike all of those 'reporting' it had happened! It never happened. Damien McElroy (Telegraph of London) traces back over the lie and US Maj (press flack division) Peggy Kageleiry stating, "This guy has a similar name." BBC leads with: "The United States military in Iraq says a man detained in the northern city of Mosul is not in fact the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq." As Tina Susman notes (LA Times' blog Babylon & Beyond), "For a few hours late Thursday and early today, it seemed the Al Qaeda in Iraq chief might actually be in custody." Yesterday afternoon, Tina Susman noted that the US military backed off from their usual declarations of charges against Iran and she writes:
A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was canceled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran. . . . Iran, meanwhile, continues to seethe after an Iraqi delegation went to Tehran last week to confront it with the accusations. It has denied the accusations, and it says as long as U.S. forces continue to take part in military action in Iraq's Shiite strongholds, it won't consider holding further talks with Washington on how to stabilize Iraq."


In Iraq the assault on Sadr City continues. Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Casualties in Sadr city for the last 24 hours stand at 14 men and 1 woman killed and 112 wounded many of whom are women, children and elderly people according to medical sources inside Sadr city." Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) notes the Thursday order by the Iraqi military for "residents to evacuate" and that "Sadr City has been a battleground since late March, enduring U.S. airstrikes, militia snipers and gunbattles between U.S. and Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to Sadr. Already some 8,500 people have been displaced from the sprawling slums of some 2.5 million people, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent." Said Rifai (LA Times' Baghdad & Beyond) reports that one of the stadiums set up for Sadr City refugees (Shaab Stadium) is currently empty, that 25 tents are empty and other tents are nearby unassembled and: "Only Sadr City residents are allowed at this camp, which has made for some awkward moments. Seveeral families from other areas arrived Thursday but were turned away. . . . Sadr City residents have to get accreditation from one of their local police stations to qualify to stay in the stadium." And when someone calls it an Iraqi operation, note Eric Owls (NYT's Baghdad Bureau) statement yesterday: "The American military is fighting daily battles for the control of Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City." al-Maliki started it but don't think for a moment it's al-Maliki 'on the line.' That trip down to Basra was purely for show. AFP reports, "An aide to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr lashed out on Firday at Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, for keeping silent over clashes that have killed hundreds in Baghdad" and quotes him (Sheikh Sattar Battat)stating, "We are surprised by the silence Najaf where the highest Shiite religious authority is based. . . . For 50 days Sadr City is being bombed. . . Children, women and old people are being killed by all kinds of US weaspons, and Najaf remains silent." Howard LaFranchi (Christian Science Monitor) notes, "Residents of this city's embattled Sadr City district are growing increasingly anxious that an escalation in fighting is imminent." Chris Floyd (Baltimore Chronicle) rightly notes, "George W. Bush and David Petraeus are preparing to make a new Fallujah in Sadr City, home to two million Shiites in Baghdad. Thousands of people are already fleeing the area before the full-scale slaughter and destruction begin. As in Fallujah, the multitudes who cannot escape will be trapped in a 'free fire zone' subjected to ruthless bombardment and ground assualt. Thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of innocent civilians stand in the shadow of imminent death." But Panhandle Media largely stayed silent during the slaughter of Falluja and they're even more silent during the slaughter of Sadr City.

In other reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad rocket attack that wounded three people, US air strikes in Baghdad left eight people wounded and 2 Baghdad mortar attacks claimed 2 lives and left eleven wounded. AFP reports, "A rocket attack on a coalition military base in Basra killed two civilian contractors Friday . . . . The two civilian contractors died when rockets slammed into the US-led coalition's base near Basra's international airport, wounding eight others, including four coalition soldiers, the military said." That was reported late yesterday in the US (by five p.m. EST, it's already midnight in Iraq). Reuters notes four members of the Iraqi military were injured in a Kirkuk roadside bombing.

Shootings?

Reuters notes 3 "Awakening" Council members shot dead in Baiji and three police officers and five people were wounded in an attack outside Balad utilizing "rifles and rocket propelled grenades."

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

Yesterday's snapshot noted: "Murray wasn't just noting a hearing the day before (see here and here for that hearing), she was also noting the very real frustration with the Veterans Affairs Department on the part of the Congress which includes begging off and blowing off the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee." That's here and here. Links weren't included. Yesterday's snapshot detailed the Senate Veeterans Affairs Committee Wednesday hearing on benefits. Today Paul Kane (Washington Post) reports that "Blue Dog Democrats" are in opposition to a House measure specifically because of "the creation of a program that would guarantee veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan a year of in-state college tuition for each year served in the war zones." Now let's get this straight, the "Blue Dogs" are okay with funding the illegal war and argue that not to do so would be sending a message to the troops in Iraq; however, they're okay with sending the message that your tours of duty aren't even worth in-state tuition if you're fortunate enough to survive? That's some message. Meanwhile Julian E. Barnes (Los Angeles Times) reports that the Pentagon is stating that stop-loss/back-door draft numbers have "risen sharply" and that the "number steadily declined through May 2007, when it hit 8,540. But since then, the number of soldiers subjected to stop-loss orders began to increase again, reaching 12,235 in March 2008." Drop back to the February 26th snapshot where the Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from the Sec of the Army and Gen George W. Casey:

In regards to the issue of the months involved in a tour, the committee chair, Carl Levin, had to be rather specific repeatedly finally asking "shorthand, you have to drawdown to what level?" Levin also had to pin Casey and Geren down regarding stop-loss. Beaming, Geren declared that the Army will get the number of stop-lossed soldiers down to "a little less than 8,000 today" and insisted -- at length -- that the Army wanted to "move away from" using stop-loss. Stop-loss is the backdoor draft. It's when you're service contract is ending and you're told, "Forget what your contract says, you're staying." Pressed by Levin about the decrease in the number of soldiers stop-lossed that Geren was so optimistic about, the Secretary of the Army swallowed and stated, "It might get to 7,000." Wow. It might drop to 7,000. To hear him spin and spin before Levin pinned him down you would have thought the figure was going to be significantly below 5,000. Geren insisted, "We're growing this Army faster than we planned."

Translation, they lied to Congress.

His name wasn't even on the ballot! Oh how the losers have cried that -- including an elderly woman with a shaky voice who really needs to be told "Step away from the microphone" -- about Barack Obama and Michigan. Michigan's Secretary of State on October 9, 2007: "Four Democratic presidential candidates -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and former U.S. Sen. John Edwards -- filed affidavits with the Michigan Department of State requesting that their names be removed from Michigan's Jan. 15 Democratic Party Primary ballot. This means four Democratic candiates are still on the Michigan ballot: U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn), U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel (D- Ala)."

Hillary won Michigan. She received 328,209 votes. 594,398 votes were cast in the Democratic presidential primary. "Uncommitted" received 238,168 votes. As Jerlyn (TalkLeft) points out, Barack's attempting to claim those 238,168 votes and more: "It not only gives Obama all of the uncommitted delegates, a number that includes those who voted for uncommitted for Edwards, it includes those who voted for Dodd, Kucinich and Gravel and gives him some that voted for Hillary." It takes a lot of nerve to remove yourself from the field and then claim you earned a trophy. But hasn't that been the Obama campaign from day one?

Way back when, Peter Slevin (Washington Post) explained it all: "Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the only top-tier Democrat on the Jan. 15 Michigan primary ballot, but followers of her chief rivals are hoping to wound her all the same. . . . The campaigns of Sen. Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards are urging their supporters to cast ballots for 'uncommitted,' according to stae Democratic party chairman Mrak Brewer." "Uncommitted" should be divided between the four. If any "giving" is to be done, that's done on the floor of the national convention. But it's not enough that he try to steal what he didn't earn, he also wants to steal from Hillary Clinton. Now as I understand spots from my children participating when they were younger, you forfeit a game, you're the loser. When the championship's being awarded to another team you can't run up and say, "B-b-but, we forfeited and we should get credit for that!" Barack wants credit for a race he chose not to take part in. Talk about a sense of entitlement. It's not even the rules. (The rules were X number of delegates -- non-pleged -- would be sent to the convention.)

I thought the media said he was 'winning,' that he had the nomination all 'sewn up'. If so, why be such a little thief? Because he's not winning. Because he's not closed the deal. Because Hillary is expected to beat him in several upcoming primaries. Because he is probably unelectable in a general election nation wide. Nation wide is 50 states, not 48. A general election isn't a primary. If he gets the nomination, he'll be dragged through the mud and this is, after all, the fussiest candidate since the current occupant of the Oval Office. "I must have down time in the Virgin Islands!" "I need two days off from campaigning!"

The latter was last week. That was cute. He took Wednesday off by staying home when his weak ass should have been in the Senate for the Veterans Affairs Committee -- which he sits on -- hearing on Veterans Benefits. But he wasn't there. Again. He managed yesterday to hobble through the House but he wasn't elected to the House and he's unable to do the Senate's business. But somehow, he wants America to believe, he'll be able to do their business. Susan UnPC (No Quarter) has posted the RNC's first video roll out against Bambi -- it's not pretty and this is the GOP taking baby-steps. (About the Louis. election, the elected Dem is a conservative and he started out with a double digit lead and barely squeaked by on election day after only a few weeks of the ads by the Republicans attacking him for his 'link' to Barack. Repeating, Barack at the top of the ticket risks Democratic control of Congress.) What group doesn't he have a lock on? I know that's a tough questions because there are so many; however, I'm referring to seniors and he's taken to knocking John McCain because of his age, doing the typical crap Barack does because Barack has no issues to run and no record to run on. John McCain's campaign (PDF format warning and link goes to USA Today) responds: "First, let us be clear about the nature of Senator Obama's attack today. He used the words 'losing his bearings' intentionally, a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue. This is typical of the Obama campagning. We have all become familiar with Senator Obama's new brand of politics. First, you demand civility from your opponent, then you attack him, distort his record and send out surrogates to question his integrity. It is called hypocrisy, and it is the oldest kind of politics there is. It is important to focus on what Senator Obama is attempting to do here: He is trying desperately to delegitimize the discussion of issues that raise legitimate questions about his judgement and preparedness to be President of the United States. Through their actions and words, Senator Obama and his supporters have made clear that ANY criticism on ANY issue -- from his desire to raise taxes on millions of small investors to his radical plans to sit down face-to-face with Iranian President Ahmadinejad -- constitute negative, personal attacks. Senator Obama is hopeful that the media will continue to form a protective barrier around him, declaring serious limits to the questions, discussion and debate in this race. Senator Obama has good reason to think this plan will succeed, as serious journalists have written off the need for 'de-tox' to cure 'swooing' over Senator Obama, and others have admitted to losing their objectivity while with him on the campaign trail." You need to pay attention closely to that memo. Had John Edwards, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson or Chris Dodd done anything like that, they'd still be in the race.

The reality is no one likes a brown noser, no one likes a teacher's pet or a little prince given everything. Hillary's a fighter and the fact that she is has turned the Democratic primary into a deadheat. John McCain appears to grasp what will work and what won't with Barack. Grinning like an idiot on stage next to Barack? Chuckeling? Playing his groveling little buddy to the point that you like a scared puppy exposing your belly? Getting punked and taking it with no challenge? Didn't work and all the men found that out, now didn't they? The only one who has held their own is Hillary and she's done that because -- though the pundit class hates strength -- the American people love it. Mark Salter, with that memo, goes from writer of McCain speeches to campaign operative to watch and you better believe Newsweek's gearing up their glossy profile. In terms of Barack's attacks on McCain's age, it's dumb, it's stupid and it will hurt him with seniors. If Barack's given the nomination, he's just given them the ammo to become "Democrats for McCain." Tom Baldwin (Times of London) reports that Robert Malley has left the Obama campaign after bragging to the paper that "he had regularly been in contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza but is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation." By the strictest reading of the Patriot Act, I believe Team Obama could be locked away. Good thing Barack voted against the Patriot Act! Oh, wait, he voted to reauthorize it. And, yes, it does go to judgement, it does go to leadership and, yes, once again Obama has failed.

Perry Bacon Jr. (Washington Post) reports Hillary was in Portland today speaking about healthcare, "The plan I have proposed would cover everyone, children and adults. An artificial distinction between children and adults is unworkable, you have to have [a] seamless health care system that covers every single American. My plan does, my opponent's doesn't." AP quotes her saying, "If you don't start in favor of universal health care, you'll never get there. How can you run for the Democratic nomination and not have a universal health care plan?" David Chalian (ABC News) notes that the Clinton campaign's Geoff Garin and Howard Wolfson "offered a power point presentation looking at 20 competitive House districts currently held by freshmen Democrats that also went for President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election. Of those 20 districts, Clinton has defeated Obama in 16 of them during the course of the nomination battle and Obama has been victorious in four of them. Eleven of those 20 members have yet to endorse in the Democratic presidential race. Five have endorsed Clinton - including two this week - and four have endorsed Obama." The argument is correct. It was obvious in January to anyone studying the results (Obama has a larger portion of voters who only vote for him and in no other race -- indicating they are Republicans who will cross over only for him or that they're entire 2008 vote is for Obama only). With him being handed the nomination, the risk is that you drives away the base. That puts Congress at risk. But as Donna Brazile indicated in an e-mail Wednesday, it doesn't matter. Or, as she put it, "Message to the base: stay home." Message to Donna, stay away from buffets. You're going to have heart failure with all the pounds you're packing. Brian Goldsmith (CBS News) interviewed West Virginia governor Joe Manchin and asked about Tuesday's primary and whether the race should continue to which the governor responded: "Oh, absolutely. I truly believe so. And it's an exciting time to be a Democrat in the United States of America. And we have so many of them here. They're all excited about our primary. Myself, I'm up in the primary election. So we're all geared up for this. And having both of the candidates come to West Virginia adds that much more excitement to it."

Matt Tepper has a photo essay at HillaryClinton.com and writes: "Hillary Clinton proudly became the first Democratic Presidential candidate to visit the Mount Rushmore State on Thursday afternoon. Nearly 2000 South Dakotans packed the Landmark Aviation Hangar in Sioux Falls to hear Hillary speak about her Solutions for America. Hillary clearly demonstrated that she is ready to lead this nation starting on day one and she is best prepared to beat John McCain in November. When Hillary is president, the voices of South Dakota families will finally be heard. On June 3rd South Dakotans will get their opportunity to vote in this historic primary!"

In other news, Cynthia McKinney's campaign has not refuted Ted Glick's statements (that they linked to last week) so she's not a real candidate for president. This will be an editorial at Third. We are done with her in the primary coverage and it's doubtful she'll be mentioned too often in the general election. We're covering candidates running to win the office, not to run a tiny percentage. Team Nader announces Ralph needs "$50,000 to get Nader-Gonzales on the ballot in Illinois. Land of Lincoln. Where Ralph Nader was bumped off the ballot in 2004 by the state's Democratic machine. Where already in 2008, state Democratic machine operatives are making threats about keeping us off again." Oh come on, Ralph, the Dems would never do that, they believe in count ever vote. Oh, wait. Florida and Michigan. That's right, they don't believe in count every vote. They believe in count every vote that they want counted which is far less than universal suffrage.

iraq
ehren watada
leila fadelmcclatchy newspapers
paul kanethe washington postjulian e. barnesthe los angeles times
tina susmanthe new york timesalissa j. rubin

starting out with howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: The Path Foward' (hillaryclinton.com) because hillary is in still in the race:

If You Watch One Thing Today: On CNN yesterday, Howard Wolfson described the path forward. Watch here.Superdelegate Watch: Yesterday, Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina and Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth both announced their support for Hillary. Read more.
Previewing Today: Hillary hosts "Solutions for America" rallies in Charleston, WV, Sioux Falls, SD, and Central Point, OR.
I’ve Come Back: Last night, before "a crowd of 1,500 gathered at a 'Generations of Women for Hillary' event, Hillary said: "I've been counted out more than once. But thanks to all of you I've come back,....When I was counted out in New Hampshire, it was the women of New Hampshire who came back and said, 'No, she's not finished yet.' When I was counted out before Super Tuesday it was women from California to Massachusetts who came and said 'No, we're not finished yet.' When I was counted out before Ohio, before Indiana, we have always come back." Read more.
Shepherdstown, WV: Hillary spoke "before a charged and raucous crowd of about 350 people at Shepherd University" yesterday. At the event, Hillary said, "I'm staying in this race until there’s a nominee." Read more.
Making Her Presence Known in the Magic City (aka Billings, MT): "Montana for Hillary supporters opened their campaign office on Monday evening in downtown Billings and people gathered to rally and show support for the New York senator...'It's a real positive feeling here in Billings and around the state of Montana…People are very supportive of Hillary...she connects with them,'" said Yellowstone Country Commissioner Bill Kennedy. Read more.
GOTV in WV: Across West Virginia, elected leaders are joining volunteers in knocking on doors, making calls, and holding visibilities to get out the vote for Hillary. "If there was ever a critical time to vote in a primary election, this is it...The Mountain State has made the difference in choosing a President before and we can do it again by supporting Hillary Clinton," said Kent Carper, President of the Kanawha County Commission. Read more.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary holds a campaign event in Portland, OR and will deliver remarks to the Kentucky Democratic Party dinner in Louisville, KY.

i saw bill clinton on cnn today and he was pointing it out that the race is still a tie and hillary's still in it.

though they won't see this, i want to do a public thank you to hillary, bill and chelsea. they have fought and been smeared, lied about and attacked. from the left this decade and not the right, or the radical left.

i appreciate all they have endured as a family to make america a better country.

i thought about i-need-attention-benjamin, the fringe radical, and her efforts to kick hillary last night. i thought about her and her pathetic codestink.

i thought about how little she has done in YEARS on iraq but she has to play that card because otherwise no 1 is interested in her ugly face and ratty hair. if you're going to bleach your hair, spend some money on it. i-need-attention needs a better colorist.

i thought about how i-need-attention benjamin had 2 explanations for her attack on hillary (and silence on barack).

1) she fears hillary will get the nomination.

if so, she's not as dumb as she looks. hillary has a good shot at the nomination.

2) she thinks hillary is out of the race.

if so, she's a piece of trash for kicking some 1 when she thinks they're down.

either way, we all pulled codestink from the links and deleted their logos today. c.i. got a call from a reporter who covered hillary's d.c. appearance for a newspaper and was telling c.i. about i-need-attention's little stunt. c.i. hit the roof and called another reporter to confirm it. while waiting for that reporter to call back (and dictating the morning entries), calls kept coming in about i-need-attention's little stunt.

take it back to the bay area, although from what i hear, i-need-attention burned a few bridges there as well.

is i-need-attention a communist today? or is she a green? or is she a democrat? she shape-shifts so often, it leaves me dizzy.

but she's always a nightmare, a real piece of mis-work.

she doesn't give a damn about ending the illegal war. she just wants more headlines.

but the world is growing bored with her tired schtick and people are catching on to her.

if she thought the pieing was upsetting (boo-hoo, titty baby), she better get ready for what's about to come.

i hope it was worth it to the little nothing. she didn't get mentioned by name in most reports. she's starving for attention and got none.

she just screeched like a loony bird 'iran! the children of iran!'

hillary hasn't done a damn thing to the children of iran.

but i-need-attention lives in crazy land where she's convinced she prevented a war on iran. or that's the lie she tells in order to excuse wasting time for 4 years on iran. while iraq's been a real war.

i-need-attention is a cold and calculating person and her little remarks about marla are now going to come back to bite her in the butt.

it's not going to be a pretty time for her or codestink.

sherry's pissed. she e-mailed today about ann at feministing aka mud flap gals. ann was praising the idiot betsy reed. that's because (a) the mud flap gals are idiots (obsess over a vanity fair cover again, little girls) and (b) katha got them posting jobs at the nation online.

only an idiot would praise a woman who published 491 men while only publishing 149 women.
ann and feministing can't tell the truth because they prostitute themselves for outside work. they also aren't real smart. but that's obvious from their bad writing.

don't sweat them sherry, they're trash.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Thursday, May 8, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, a city passes on a resolution, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee battles the VA, and more.

Starting with war resistance. The Olympian reports, "A resolution that would have made Olympia a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants and war resisters died in a city council meeting. No one moved to consider it at Tuesday's meeting." Matt Batcheldor (The Olympian) reported last week that "several councile members say they won't consider the resolution, one day after the May Day rally became violent on the streets of Olympia, when some participants broke windows on two downtown banks and six people were arrested." Batcheldor quoted Joshua Simpson stating, "I'm not accountable for, like, what a few individuals decide to do." Simpson was among those working to see the council pass the resolution. It's now on hold. Possibly waiting, possibly tabled. Did the May Day breaking of "windows on two downtown banks" kill the resolution? Probably not. It's an easy out. Another one, the one people would be clucking right now if there had been no violence on May Day, is, "It was pushed too soon! People weren't ready!" A council that refuses to consider a motion because some people in the city of Olympia (six were arrested) broke some windows is looking for any reason to avoid addressing it. Good for Simpson, File Bohmer, Katie Olejnik and all the others working on the issue and getting it before the council to begin with. (I personally support both points of the proposal but we're focusing on war resistance.) They got the issue in front of the city, whatever else happens, they did that. And they did so at a time when others ignore the issue. Some, like The Nation magazine, have ignored it for years while others, like Amy Goodman, clamped down on the topic right before Ivan Brobeck went public (November 2006). Organizations? The ones not worth noting all seem to have lost interest with Ehren Watada. You can read the faux activists put on their mock rage about whatever Congress does next, but the reality is that they always have something to do instead of talking about, writing about or taking action for war resisters. Always. So congratulations to the citizens of Olympia who worked to get the resolution this far. Hopefully, it will go further in the coming weeks. Regardless, they took the issue and turned it into news.

In Canada, war resisters are hoping the Parliament will take action on a motion waiting to be debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Yesterday in the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs they examined benefits. During the hearing US Senator Patty Murray

I think there's a lot of important bills in front of us today but before I talk about them, I do want to bring up the topic of great concern to everybody here and that is the tragic incidents of veterans' suicides and the VA's attempts to conceal the true numbers from Congress. Mr. Chairman, we all know that there are sincere health care professionals across the VA who are doing their very best to find and help veterans who might be considering suicide. Those health care professionals face tremendous challenges -- enough challenges with winning the trust of veterans today who aren't convinced that the VA is in their corner. But their jobs are really made a lot more difficult when they are fighting the perception that the VA is more concerned with p.r. than in getting the veterans help with the services that they need. Now yesterday the VA had the chance to tell the public about what happened. Secretary Peake and Dr. Katz testified in front of the House Veterans Affairs Committee about the cover up and based on their testimony yesterday, I have to say, Mr. Chairman, I am greatly concerned about the transperancy and truthfulness of the Department. We all know Congress has to have accurate information if we are going to provide the VA with the resources it needs and make informed policy decisions. And we've got to get this right so that the veterans benefits programs we're talking about improving today have a maximum impact. So Mr. Chairman, I just want to reiterate my concern about that to you. Now we do have a number of bills before us, I look foward to the hearing them. I do want to say that I want to commend Senator Webb for his tremendous work on the GI Bill. I'm very proud now to be a co-sponsor of that bill. I know that the Department of Defense and VA are currently opposing it but I think that he has really worked to make this bill work for today's world and I really want to commend him for the tremendous amount of work and this great presentation that he put in front of us. I think recognizing the needs of today's forces is absolutely critical for retention and I believe his bill does that.

Murray wasn't just noting a hearing the day before (see here and here for that hearing), she was also noting the very real frustration with the Veterans Affairs Department on the part of the Congress which includes begging off and blowing off the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. This was a consensus that went beyond party lines. Republican Richard Burr would vocalize the frustration for the committee in the hearing.

At the opening of the hearing, Senator and committee chair Daniel Akaka noted the various bills under discussion:

First, S. 2617, the "Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008" would increase the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans, among other benefits, effective December 1st of this year.

Many of the more than three million recipients of these benefits depend upon the tax-free payments not only to provide for their own basic needs, but for the needs of their families as well. Without an annual COLA increase, these veterans and their families would see the value of their hard-earned benefits slowly diminish. We, as a Congress, would also be in dereliction of our duty to ensure that those who sacrificed so much for this country receive the benefits and services to which they are entitled.

S.2309, the proposed "Compensation for Combat Veterans Act," would ease the evidentiary requirements facing veterans who file claims for disabilities incurred while serving in a combat zone. During oversight visits to regional offices, Committee staff has identified a number of cases where service medical records of veterans serving in combat areas are missing. Discussions with physicians who have served in those areas confirm that records are not always made or maintained. As a result, combat veterans have had claims denied or unduly delayed. This bill would result in faster and more accurate decisions.

The "Veterans' Rating Schedule Review Act", S. 2737, addresses the authority of Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This legislation would give veterans a legal recourse to challenge portions of the rating schedule that fail to conform to the law.

S. 2825, the "Veterans' Compensation Equity Act" would provide a minimum disability rating for veterans receiving medical treatment for a service-connected disability. In the course of its oversight work, Committee staff has found a great deal of inconsistency in the ratings assigned to veterans with minor, but chronic conditions. This bill would ensure that any veteran requiring continuous medication or the ongoing use of an adaptive device, such as a hearing aid, would receive at least a 10 percent rating for that disability, entitling them to a minimum level of compensation.

In the area of readjustment benefits, I have introduced two bills that would help servicemembers and veterans return to their civilian lives. S. 2471, the "USERRA Enforcement Improvement Act of 2007", which I co-authored with Senator Kennedy, would strengthen the employment and reemployment rights of returning servicemembers by imposing compliance deadlines on federal agencies. It would also implement measures to reduce inefficiencies and improve the information collected by the government on USERRA compliance.

S. 2864, the "Training and Rehabilitation for Disabled Veterans Enhancement Act of 2008", would improve VA's Independent Living program, which serves veterans whose disabilities render them unable to work. The bill would eliminate the annual cap on the number of enrollees in the program and shift the program from a discretionary pilot initiative to a mandatory program. It would also make improvement in quality of life -- an explicit objective of training and rehabilitation services of the Independent Living program.

Finally, I have introduced two complimentary bills that would improve the opportunities available to veterans for home ownership. The first bill, S. 2768, would temporarily increase the maximum loan amount for certain VA-guaranteed home loans. The second bill, S. 2961, would raise the maximum guaranty limit on refinance loans and decrease the equity requirement for those who want to refinance to a VA-backed loan.

As is the case every Session, the biggest hurdle for implementation of these bills into law is cost. I am working to find appropriate offsets within the Committee's jurisdiction.

Finally, I am pleased to see S. 22 back on the agenda this morning. I have worked hard with Senator Webb to develop this proposal, and I believe that the measure as we have it before us this morning is a good one. I am certain that it would not only be a vastly improved readjustment benefit for our newest generation of veterans but it also gives the armed forces a valuable recruitment and retention tool. As one of the 8 million veterans who attended school on the original GI Bill after World War II, I am committed to seeing that this legislation go forward.

Those were the items up for discussion. The VA wasn't prepared to discuss many of them.


Senator Richard Burr: Thank you to the VA for being here and if I could take the opportunity to reiterate what the Chairman said: I guess our choice, when testimony doesn't come on time, is just not to have people testify. That may be what the Veterans Administration is attempting to do -- is not come up here and have to do it. Maybe sort of egging us on to just ignore you. I've committed to the Chairman before and I will stay committed. Something's going to change. The testimony has to come. And I realize -- and have been lobbyied not to say this -- because there was additions to the hearing today from the standpoint of legislation it we don't get delays. We don't get the opportunity to say I'm just not going to be ready tomorrow so we'll just put if off or we'll delay when it happens nor does any agency of the federal government. I'm sorry that the three of you have to sit there and take this because I know with every ounce of knowledge that I have that it's not your fault. And all I can do is ask you to be an effective communicator back through the chain to say this can't happen anymore. It must stop.

A big debate during the hearing was between Senators Jim Webb and Lindsey Graham. Graham wanted "tranferability" for veterans meaning that a veteran could transfer benefits to his or her spouse or family member. Graham appeared to be attempting to derail Webb's bill with his comments and Webb noted it was a false issue on the part of the Defense Department. They have the power, under the law, to implement a pilot program to explore that and have for many years. Only the Army, in 2006, attempted to do so. Out of 17,000 service members, only 300 elected to transfer the benefits. Webb did not see this as a pressing issue and stressed that if the DoD did or does, they already have the power to implement pilot programs. He spoke of all the years his father spent in night school -- graduating college when Jim Webb was a high school senior -- and how transferability might have been a concern to him were it available but something to keep in mind is that the government needs to be very careful when you take a benefit away. Webb noted that no one in the government is skilled to look into family dynamics. Which might be (or might not be), him making the point that a service member might, for instance, transfer their education benefits to a spouse and marriages can break up. What happens then? And (this is me) carrying this even further, if education benefits could be transferred, what's to prevent them from being dubbed community property in any divorce settlement?

The VA is for it and may be for it simply because if the benefit is transferred to a spouse or child then the service member loses it. This could effect retention because some might transfer their benefit in good faith and full knowledge only to have circumstances change five to ten years later, want to leave the US military but, having given away their education benefits, decide that they would stay put. There's really no reason to be bringing up the issue (as Graham and the VA were) other than to stall Webb's bill (or kill it). Webb's bill is not dependent upon that issue being resolved and does not mention that issue.


For a government agency that's opposed to a bill (as the VA is to Webb's), stating
"Senator, I don't want to speak any futher on this issue because it really is something that the Department of Defense needs to address" really doesn't cut it. If you're opposed to it, you need to be clear what your opposition to it is. If you can't be, you should probably stay silent. As Webb noted repeatedly, if DoD decides transferbility is an issue, they have "available in the law" the right to implement a pilot program to determine whether this is a pressing issue to veterans. Except for one pilot program carried out by the Army, no one has elected to do so.

Webb's bill largely seems to upset the VA (by their remarks and not by my speculation) is the issue of payments. Currently, VA witnesses testified, they cut two checks: full-time training or part-time training. There was whining on the part of the VA that there would be a new system covering tuition, a living stipend and a book stipend.


Webb asked if his bill (S22) getting objections from the VA only on the transferability aspect means that they approve of all the other aspects? The VA witnesses couldn't answer that clearly but, pressed by Webb, said "If we could rank the concerns, that would probably be right at the top." Webb's bill has 56 co-sponsors and that includes Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Barbara Boxer, Olympia Snow, John Warner, Harry Reid. 288 members of the House are supporting it -- including Reps Tammy Baldwin, Don Young, Shelley Berkley, Corrine Brown, Lynn Woolsey, Rush Holt, Sheila Jackson Lee, Peter DeFazio, Ellen Tauscher, Henry Waxman and Maxine Waters. Webb offers a (PDF format warning) overview of the bill here. Last month Florida's The Ledger published an editorial advocating for the passage of Webb's bill entitled "Pass Better G.I. Bill." The editorial notes that presumed GOP presidential nominee John McCain is opposed to the bill.

In Iraq the assault on Sadr City continues. Though the US military issues a press release claiming, "Leaders from the government of Iraq, Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division -- Baghdad continued humanitarian aid missions in Sadr City May 7." Apparently "humanitarian aid" is giving an eviction notice. Selcan Hacaoglu (AP) reports, "Some residents of Sadr City claimed Thursday that Iraqi soldiers warned them to leave their houses and go to nearby soccer stadiums for security reasons. The U.S. military denied the claim and called it a 'rumor'." Hacaoglu also notes, "U.S. forces have increased air power and armored patrols in" Sadr City. CNN reports the puppet government in Baghdad's press flack, Tahseen al-Sheikhly, has "discounted reports that soldiers have been using loudspeakers to tell people to leave." Meanwhile Steve Negus (Financial Times of London) notes UNICEF's figure of 6,000 for the number of residents already leaving Sadr City and quotes International Organization for Migration's Dana Graber Ladek explaining, "Certain parts of Sadr City are like ghost towns . . . No one is venturing out." Other areas are without electricity and water, according to Dana Graber Ladek.

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 Baghdad rocket attacks that claimed 2 lives and left two people wounded, 3 Baghdad roadside bombings that wounded 5 Iraqi soldiers and ten Iraqi civilians, a Baghdad minibus bombing that claimed 1 life and left five people wounded, a Baghdad car bombing claimed the lives of 3 police officers and 4 civilians as well as injuring nineteen more people and a Salahuddin Province bombing targeting Nathim al-Juboor who is the head of an "Awakening" Council and he survived this "second assassination attempt".

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports armed clashes ongoing in Basra. Reuters notes the US military states they killed 17 people ("gunmen") in Baghdad "on Wednesday and Thursday."

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 corpses discovered in Mosul. AFP reports 7 corpses turned over to hospitals in Sadr City.

Los Angeles Times' Tony Perry (at the paper's Baghdad & Beyond) writes about Paula Carruth whose daughter Casey Casanova became the 97th US female service member to die in Iraq: "The 97 include 79 Army, nine Navy, seven Marine Corps and two Air Force personnel. Women make up about 2% of the nearly 4,1000 U.S. troops killed in Iraq." Casey Casanova was 22 years old when she died in Al Anbar Province May 2nd in a roadside bombing that also claimed the lives of 3 other Marines Miguel A. Guzman (21-years-old), James F. Kimple (21-years-old) and Glen E. Martinez (31-years-old).

Turning to US politics, sleaze merchant Mark Karlin flaunts the idiocy that has run so many away from BuzzFlash in the last year or so by declaring "Except for Her Anatomical Features, Clinton is no Feminist." Mark Karlin is a pig and proves that throughout this campaign cycle in his scribbles for Lotta Links. But feminism isn't about "anatomy" -- in fact, Queen Bees like Besty Reed -- responsible for publishing 491 men and only 149 women in 2007 -- prove that gender alone does not a feminist make. Mark Karlin -- who has linked to Larry Fl**t and topless photos of women (such as the woman riding Ahnuld's back) really is the last person in the world to crawl out of his gutter and attempt to lecture on feminism. Dragging his knuckles further he tries to make an issue out of something that should be a non-issue. If it becomes one, we'll address it. Mark Karlin is a blight on humanity. He should worry more about Barack's latest attempt to stretch the truth (happens to often to be called "misspoke"), in his Tuesday night acceptance speech when he declared, "It is the light of opportunity that led my father across an ocean. It's the founding ideals that the flag draped over my father's coffin stands for. It is life and liberty and the pursuit . . " What! Barack's father was Kenyan. He studied in the US (as an adult, an already married adult -- a currently married adult when he met up with Barack's mother) and then returned to Kenya. What flag is Barack claiming was draped over his father's coffin? And does he pledge to that one?

Meanwhile Susan (Random Thoughts) takes on Tim Russert's nonsense that it's over for Hillary by posting that video as well as one of Tim stating if she "wins Indiana, then the race goes into June." (Hillary won Indiana Tuesday.) And I'm hearing on another phone that the lame brains (like Mark Karlin) are trying to make an issue out of non-issue. Hillary told USA Today, "I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on" and cites an AP poll "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me." Her comments reflect the press analysis at all major outlets. It's not an insult to anyone, it is reflective of the categories the press has set up for this election cycle. Turning it into an issue -- have at it, it will backfire -- is what the Obama Pigs have done all along. Like Betsy Reed and all the other LIARS. There ought to be a law about falsely calling "racism" in a crowded room. If there were, a lot of White people would be in jail right now.

I'd be a little more worried about closet-case Donna Brazile (can you still be in the closet after being outed) who is sending out e-mails that conclude with "Message to the base: stay home" meaning Whites and Latino Democrats (and possibly other groupings as well). This follows her CNN meltdown when Campbell Brown pointed out the obvious, Donna is supporting Barack while going on programs as an 'impartial' observer.

Of course, there's also the fact that Barack's 'small donors' are now getting attention. Pam Martens (via Black Agenda Report) notes:

The first clue to an entrenched white male bastion seeking a black male occupant in the oval office (having placed only five blacks in the U.S. Senate in the last two centuries) appeared in February on a chart at the Center for Responsive Politics website. It was a list of the 20 top contributors to the Barack Obama campaign, and it looked like one of those comprehension tests where you match up things that go together and eliminate those that don't. Of the 20 top contributors, I eliminated six that didn't compute. I was now looking at a sight only slightly less frightening to democracy than a Diebold voting machine. It was a Wall Street cartel of financial firms, their registered lobbyists, and go-to law firms that have a death grip on our federal government. Why is the "yes, we can" candidate in bed with this cartel? How can "we," the people, make change if Obama's money backers block our ability to be heard? Seven of the Obama campaign's top 14 donors consisted of officers and employees of the same Wall Street firms charged time and again with looting the public and newly implicated in originating and/or bundling fraudulently made mortgages. These latest frauds have left thousands of children in some of our largest minority communities coming home from school to see eviction notices and foreclosure signs nailed to their front doors. Those scars will last a lifetime.
These seven Wall Street firms are (in order of money given): Goldman Sachs, UBS AG, Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. There is also a large hedge fund, Citadel Investment Group, which is a major source of fee income to Wall Street. There are five large corporate law firms that are also registered lobbyists; and one is a corporate law firm that is no longer a registered lobbyist but does legal work for Wall Street. The cumulative total of these 14 contributors through February 1, 2008, was $2,872,128, and we're still in the primary season.
But hasn't Senator Obama repeatedly told us in ads and speeches and debates that he wasn't taking money from registered lobbyists? Hasn't the press given him a free pass on this statement?

Like Karl Rove, the Obama campaign tries to destroy your strength. It's a very dirty campaign and that's why Betsy Reed, Mark Karlin and other noted 'feminists' are trying to tear at Hillary's women support. They aren't feminists any more than tired and ugly ____ ___ a feminist. They're frauds and the liars. Matt Phillips (Wall St. Journal) writes about Hillary's Wednesday night rally. He leaves out media and the glory hog also didn't get named in the Times this morning. Poor ____ -- the Red 'Green' posing as a Democrat as heard the alarm sound on her fifteen minutes. Someone get her a pie. Preferably in the face.

Kelly Nooning writes about Lousiville, Kentucky:

Wednesday morning we had a very strong showing with a very enthusiastic group of 16 Hillary supporters gathered to show their support for the Senator during the morning rush hours at the intersection of Bardstown Road and Eastern Parkway here in Louisville. Our morning visibility was especially significant because we not only had the ability to celebrate our Indiana victory but it kicked-off our increased efforts here in Louisville after sharing our resources with Indiana in support of our neighbor's primary.
Everyone driving by was thrilled to honk and holler in support Hillary after our Indiana victory. All the people taking their morning walks and waiting for the bus were also enthusiastic about Hillary and we recruited a bunch of new volunteers to come down to headquarters to volunteer for the campaign.
Kentuckians are very excited that the focus is now on them and their primary on May 20th. With less than two weeks to go until our primary, I'm counting down the days until I cast my vote for Hillary. In the meantime I'm planning on having a good time while working round the clock to do everything I can to ensure Hillary becomes the next president of this great country.
Click here to visit the Kentucky page and learn more about what's happening in the Bluegrass State.

Meanwhile Team Nader posts An Unreasonable Man so you can see what Nader was up against in 2000 and 2004 and still in 2008: "We've broken it up into five parts - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five. Take a peek." If the likes of Mark Karlin run Hillary off, remember a vote for Nader sends them to an early grave.


iraq
matt batcheldor
tony perry
los angeles times
mcclatchy newspapers

today the backstabber supreme george mcgovern - who had stated he was sticking with his choice back in the middle of march - declared that he was dumping hillary and supporting barack obama.

it was the typical cock bonding moment women have come to expect from the sexist mcgovern who betrayed women in so many ways in miami back in 1972, most noteably on abortion rights.

1072 was the year shirley chisholm ran a serious campaign to become the democratic presidential nominee. mcgovern, using the rules he created following the 1968 convention, made sure shirley was railroaded. then the pig didn't pick her for his running mate. he went with a man and when he dumped that man due to press reports, he picked another man.

shirley chisholm, 1 of the bravest members of congress our country has ever known, was never good enough for him. she was, after all, a woman.

and the pig mcgovern wasn't going out of this world without trying to damage another woman's campaign which is why he played judas, turncoat and all around pig today with regards to hillary.

hillary and bill campaigned for his losing ass in 1972 and his thank-you to them was to stab hillary in the back.

that's the real george mcgovern and has always been the real george mcgovern.

amy goodman tries to have it both ways by praising georgie-boy non-stop and, once every 16 months, tossing out a mention of shirley. but you can't talk the reality of mcgovern without noting his and his supporters sexist efforts against shirley.

only 1 of them was unbought and unbossed, the other was just another spineless democrat.

i have no idea who shirley would have endorsed. i don't think it would have come down to race (she was african-american) or gender for her. but whomever she picked, you better be sure she'd been in there fighting for them until the end.

she didn't backstab or backbite.

and she'd be fighting right now and through the august convention for her candidate (whomever she picked) the same way she fought to the end in miami.

she was a fighter.

mcgovern was and is a wimp.

that's why he lost to nixon.

how bad do you have to be to lose to nixon?

well, you have to be pretty bad and you have to convince yourself that the 'youth' vote is going to do the trick for you, that a bunch of spoiled college kids who don't do a damn thing are somehow going to sweep you into office. mcgovern never had the youth vote - he had the college youth vote. same as barack.

barack's got the same losing coalition that mcgovern did. and, if given the nomination, barack will run the same losing coalition.

what of mcgovern?

he's old as the hills and the mountains and will be leaving this world at some point.

so you have to wonder if he worries about the after-life - if he believes in one? if he does believe in 1 i think he should be prepared for the reality that awaits him: bella abzug kicking his cowardly ass to the cheers of onlookers.

he's more than earned it.

the nomination?

the only 1 who has earned the democratic nomination is hillary clinton.

she's the only 1 who can win. i sat this through this nonsense in 1972 when mcgovern was a 'winner,' he had the 'youth' vote, they were going to do everything in the world to elect him.

here's reality. the democratic base is the elderly - of all races. they are the 1s who vote and vote without fail. his inability to connect with seniors means the race is handicapped from the srat if he gets the nomination. the fact that he's run a dirty campaign (talk to seniors, they'll tell you) against their pick means they won't be inclined to vote for him in november.

there is real and huge anger at him over the way he's run his campaign and how he's been given a pass for things like flipping hillary off. that may be 'cool' to a bunch of thugs who don't know any better but to seniors, it is offensive. and it's non-presidential.

don't be surprised, if he gets the nomination, if seniors don't end up supporting john mccain.

again, i sat through this movie back in 1972. i know how it ends.

the only hope the democrats have is to select hillary as the nominee.

barack can't close the deal.

he can't excite the base and he can't close the deal.

giving him the nomination is the supreme act of ignorance. not hope, it's ignorance.

each election cycle it's 'the youth will do it!' and they never do. they did turn out in very large numbers in 2004 but it wasn't enough. and a large number that were going to turn out didn't.
they said they would. they voted in primaries. they didn't show.

it's been that way forever. i remember it happening when the voting age was lowered as well.

that's not just apathy in terms of reasons. equally true is the college life is classes and mid-terms (and for most americans today, jobs). and you really, really mean to vote but it's four o'clock in the afternoon and you haven't and you're tired and you head on back to your dorm or apartment.

i know it. i saw it happening with mcgovern.

i loathed mcgovern but i remember screaming at people who were for him who didn't vote.

i voted for him. he was a loser but i wanted to defeat nixon.

and there were his supporters. 'oh, enough people are voting for him. i'm tired.'

and, like barack, he had little else to count on.

the african-american base turned out and supported him as they have done in every democratic election. but it wasn't enough.

if you can't connect with the democratic working class base, you can't win. jimmy carter could in 1976 and he won. bill clinton could in 1992 and 1996. all the others, look at them, they couldn't.

dukakis, mcgovern ... al gore should have won (and would have had the recounts in florida not been stopped) but it should never have been that tight of a race to begin with.

but he couldn't connect with the base.

john kerry was so far from the base - thanks to the nonsense of the 2004 convention - that it was over before the swift boating started.

and let me point out that democrats don't look to worship some 1. that's why barack can't connect. his whole campaign is worship me. republicans needs to worship. dems are usually a lot more realistic. we look for human beings that we can identify with.

so there's only 1 choice if the dems want to win in november: hillary.


let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Wednesday May 7, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces deaths, Congress' hearing on veterans' suicide gets little attention from the media, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Chris Kirby (Oklahoma's Pioneer Online) notes that Ann Wright recently spoke on campus and explained, "Hundreds of soldiers are going AWOL (absent without leave) because they don't agree with the way that the war in Iraq is being handled. Instead of court-martialing all of these soldiers who are going AWOL, it is easier and faster for the government to just give them a dishonorable discharge." Wright is both retired State Dept and retired military (Army Col.) and she is also the co-author with Susan Dixon of DISSENT: Voices of Conscience.
Wright has traveled extensively getting the word out and that includes getting the word out on war resisters and speaking with them. She's recently been of assistance to James Burmeister who has returned from Canada. In Canada, war resisters are hoping the Parliament will take action on a motion waiting to be debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Yesterday's snapshot addressed Tuesday's House Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing entitled "The Truth About Veterans' Suicides." But the hearing received little coverage. You can read Lisa Mascaro (Las Vegas Sun), Kimberly Hefling (AP), Afani Ruzik, Ben Bauman and Stefanie Sloan (KTKA -- text and video), Lisa Desjardins (CNN) and CBS News. And that was really it. More have filed since earlier this month but that was it for this morning, the morning after the hearing.

The hearing started with the broadcast of CBS News' reports (Armen Keteyian reporting, Pia Malbran producing) here and here and then US House Rep Steve Buyer worried how this would look in the record? A transcript of the clips, a website, how? "This is a first," Buyer stated, "that we actually watch a news program. And uh-uh . . . I'm willing to work with the chairman to do something anew but either we refer to a website whereby individuals could pull down the rec-- could pull that down from the record and actually view the video because that was how it was viewed in the committee. Or do we take a trans-trans-transcribe what was just put in there and put that in there." Buyer wasted time there and wasted time throughout. Surprisingly Panhandle Media didn't leap on one of his statements since they love to insult Real Media: "I want to caution my friends in the fourth branch of government who may be covering this hearing: Please do not refer to suicide as an 'epidemic' without saying that treatment is available." No, the press is not "the fourth branch of government." It is supposed to be independent of the government. And suicide is an epidemic among veterans, no matter how Buyer wants to spin it (he's Republican) or how much he wants to pretend that veterans are looking for copy-cat things to do. (That opinion, which he expressed, is very insulting. But he didn't care about insulting veterans, only in attempting to clamp down on the story. Judging by the lack of coverage of yesterday's hearing, he succeeded.)

The topic of the hearing itself was, as Chair Bob Filner noted, "A matter of life and death. A matter of life and death for the veterans that we are responsible for. And I think there's criminal negiligence in the way this was handled." How was suicide handled? The Dept of Veterans Affairs elected fudge and hide the numbers and provided little (being extremely generous) aid to those veterans at risk of committing suicide. Filner connected the cover up to earlier ones such as Agent Orange. "Deny, deny, deny," declared Filner of the pattern. "Then when facts seemingly . . . come to disagree with the denial, you cover up. When the cover up falls apart, you admit a little bit of the problem and underplay it. 'It's only a few people, only a thousand veterans got exposed to that gas. Agent Orange wasn't done very well. Atomic testing, well -- nobody knew what was going on.' And then finally, maybe, you admit it's a problem, way after the fact, try to come to grips with it. We've seen it again and again and again."

Filner pointed out that the VA was reducing it to "numbers, numbers, as if that's all, it's just a sort of bureacratic situation. This is not a bureacratic situation with just numbers. This is a matter of life and death. A matter of life and death for the veterans that we are responsible for. And I think there's criminal negligence in the way this was handled.
If we do not admit, if we do not assume, if we do not know what the problem is then the problem will continue and people die. If that's not criminal negligence, I don't know what is."

Filner reminded the Secretary of the Dept of Veterans Affairs James Peake that they spoke after Peake was confirmed (December 14, 2007) and Filner asked him then if he was going to just try to tide the current administration over for a year or "do something real and have a legacy to look at?" The answer now is that there is a bueracratic coverup and Filner noted that Dr. Michael J. Kusman, the Under Secretary of the VA, wasn't even present despite being mentioned in the e-mails "and he ought to be here."

Where is accountablity? Filner wanted to know if any resignations are being asked for, if there would be any "accountability for what has gone on here?" Filner noted that Peake's perpared statement just offers "bureacratic details". US Rep John Hall used his time to question the fact that veterans seeking help are shuffled around as opposed to meeting with the same provider and forming some sort of bond as well as by noting that the thirty minute 'treatment' periods are ridiculous in terms of therapy ("just about enough time to get started"). US House Rep Phil Hare Mike and Kim Bowman of Illionis whose son Timothy Bowman committed suicide: "They are rightly outraged and angry that from their perspective, the VA didn't do more to help their son." Timothy Bowman returned from serving in Iraq and killed himself nine months after returning from Iraq, in November of 2005. His father told the Committee in December:


As my family was preparing for a 2005 Thanksgiving meal, our son Timothy was lying on the floor, slowly bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His war was now over, his demons were gone. Tim was laid to rest in a combination military, firefighter funeral that was a tribute to the man he was. . . . Today you are going to hear a lot of statistical information about sucide, Veterans, and the VA. But keep one thing in mind, our son, Specialist Timothy Noble Bowman, was not counted in any VA statistics of any kind. He had not made it into the VA system because of the stigma of reporting mental problems, he was National Guard, and he was not on a drill weekend when he took his life. The only stastical studay that he was counted in was the CBS study. And there are many more just like him. We call them KBA's, killed because of action. The unkown fallen.

Hare called for universal screenings. And also wondered "how we reach out to those rural veterans" who do not live in close proximity to a VA hospital. Remember the suicide coordinators are only at the 153 VA hospitals, not at the 875 VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics. Dr. Ronald Maris pointed this out yesterday and told the committee, "Thus the vast majority of VA facilities in fact do not have suicide coordinators." Rep Harry Mitchell noted that the Dept of Veterans Affairs was "not keeping track" of veterans' suicides nationally and:

in December we had a hearing to find out why and Mr. Chairman, I don't know if there was anyone here who attended that hearing and will ever forget it. Mr. Hare mentioned that we heard from Mike and Kim Bowman whose twenty-three-year-old son Tim survived a year of duty in Iraq only to come home to take his own life. Mr. Bowman warned us that our troops were coming home to an underfunded, understaffed, under-equipped VA medical health care system that imposes so many challenges that many are just giving up and so when Dr. Katz insisted at that hearing repeatedly that the VA had all the necessary resources to reach all veterans at risk for suicide and make special treatment available to them I was skeptical. How could Dr. Katz be so sure that there weren't any requests for addtional resources sitting somewhere within the vast VA system that have gone unfulfilled? Was he absolutely certain that there were no pending requests for an additional mental health counselor, for extra gas money to enable a VA employee to drive somewhere to contact an outreach? As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversights and Investigations, I felt I had a responsibility to make sure. So I asked the VA to double check. I asked them to take a look at their records and send us any documents relating to any requests for additional resources that have gone unfulfilled or underfilled. My thought was, "If we can find out what the VA needs are to address this problem, we could get to work and make sure that they got it." More than four months later, however, all I've gotten are excuses, complaints and, most recently, a suggestion that I, quote, "Go file a Freedom of Information Act Request." That's not just an insult to me, it's an insult to this committee and to our veterans. I've tried to be reasonable. I've tried to work with Secretary Peake's office but, Mr. Chairman, my patience is at an end. I've given the Department until Friday to finally produce the documents I've requested. If they do not, Mr. Chairman, I want you to know that I will be asking you to pursue a subpoena.

Telling a member of Congress conducting official business to file a freedome of information request is an insult and it's ignoring the separation of powers set up in the Constitution. Yesterday Thomas Ferraro (Reuters) reported that a subpoena has been authorized by the House's Judiciary Committee for David Addington, Dick Cheney's chief of staff, regarding interrogation policies approved by the White House. One would have assumed that Mitchell's comments would have either rated a stand-alone story or been piggy-backed onto that story but instead they've been largely ignored by the press. It should be noted that in December the VA's Ira Katz gave prepared remarks that were pretty much the same as what James Peake provided yesterday.

After Peake read his prepared statement full of figures and charts, Filner pointed out "We can't do our job if you are not honest with us."

Bob Filner: We're not doing the job. I don't care what your figures show. We have tens of thousands of young people getting out of the military or the guard who have not been adequately diagnosed for either PTSD or brain injury. Every one of your statistics says, 'Those who have come to us,' you know, which is a small fraction of who is out there. So we are not doing the job and we can't do our job, if you are not honest with us. And as I said before in my opening statement, we only came into possession of certain e-mails -- I don't know how many there are out there, but we only have a few -- brought to the public by discovery in a legal case out on the West Coast. So three days after the hearing in which Mr. [Katz], we asked directly, Mr. Mitchell just said it, we asked Dr. Katz, "Do you need any help from us? What resources do you need?" And he said, "No, we've got it taken care of. And here's our statistics and CBS was wrong and you guys shouldn't worry about this." Three days after that, Dr. Kussman writes to Mr. Katz and others that . . . 'in the clips this morning' -- I don't know if this is from home or work, but you're all working Saturday, that's good -- '18 veterans kill themselves every day. That's what CBS report said. Sounds awful but let's not worry too much if you're considering 24 million veterans.' Even in the first e-mail we have, I don't know how many there are, no one is saying 'We're not doing the job here.' There saying, 'Oh, does this sound good? Does this sound bad?' And Dr. Katz says, 'Yes, there are 18 suicides. Is this supported by the CBS numbers?" Now Dr. Katz, this contradicts what you told us in the hearing three days earlier. Why didn't you just call us up or ask for another hearing and say, 'You know, we're looking at things differently, I misspoke, I want to talk to you some more about the stastics.' This looks like a cover up because you didn't tell us anything. . . . And this is contradictory to what you said under oath to our committee. Why should not either . . . go to court for perjury or resign because you didn't tell us the truth? Dr. Katz, I'm asking you. You keep looking at him, but I'm asking you.

Ira Katz: Thank you for asking. In response to a question from Mr. Mitchell in the December 12th hearing, I and my colleague, Dr. Fred Blow, who accompanied me to the hearing, did mention the eighteen a day for suicides among all veterans. We mentioned the four-to-five a day of suicides among those we cared for in VHA health care services. When I asked him to, Dr. Blow mentioned the fact that overall veterans had a rate suicide of about 1.5 times that of age and sex matched individuals from the general population and he mentioned the fact that among women the ratio of suicide among veterans in our system to the general population was about two. That was mentioned in the hearing on December 12th. There was no cover up. This was mentioned --

Bob Filner: Did you not, did you not say -- and we saw the clips -- did you not say that CBS data was wrong?

Ira Katz: I was not referring to the entire data but the subset of data dealing with the youngest of veterans.

Bob Filner: (chuckeling) So the "Mission Accomplished" should have said "Mission Accomplished Only By Those Sailors Who Are Aboard This Ship In Those Two Days"? We didn't see the fine print? We asked you several times and you said several times that the CBS data was wrong and you never made any qualification of that as far as I can remember. Your story was 'they were wrong.' And you didn't need any help either to deal with this issue. Is that right? You were fine. Why do you keep looking at him? I'm asking you.

Ira Katz: Sir, I did speak about the suicide rates among veterans on December 12th and I continue to have concerns about the CBS reports about rates and standard mortality ratio or ratios among the youngest veterans. I wish they would present their data so we could review it.

Bob Filner: Yeah but you're in charge. They're just reporting. They asked for all of this data and you never gave it to them so they spent six months tryng to find stuff that, Dr. Peake, you said 'We don't have as the VA.' Well they went out and found it. So I assume someone can go out and find it if you thought it was important enough.

James Peake: Mr. Chairman, if I may, I don't disagree with your premise that somebody should be able to go out and find it. We -- they did not provide it to us. Even though we asked so we have now gone out and asked for the same information and I'm very anxious to see what actually came back. We, as I tried to explain, we are using the data from the national sources which is the gold standard that any responsible uhm statistician would be able to use for this. I will tell you that I am worried that suicide in general in this nation is under-reported. Not just in the military. Not just in the VA --

Bob Filner: Well don't start that red herring. We're talking about veterans right now so don't tell me 'well the whole of society is screwed up.' We're going to do this job. On the December 12th data, you don't see any difference, Dr. Katz, between what you told us then and what you said a few days later? You say your consistent?

Ira Katz: Again, the issue is the eighteen a day, the four to five a day, the ratios of 1.5 and 2.0 and those were provided at the December 12th hearing in response to a question by Mr. Mitchell.

Bob Filner: Let me ask on the February 13th e-mails. As we read them, I mean, first you say in one of them "Sh!" -- what did you mean by that, by the way?

Ira Katz: That was very unfortunate.

Bob Filner: Yes, it was.

Ira Katz: I think the e-mail has to be divided into the subject line and the content. I deeply regret the subject line. It was an error and I apologize for that. However, the content of the e-mail, the body of the e-mail, reflects an appropriate and healthy dialogue among members of VA staff about when it's appropriate to disclose and make public information early in the process of developing --

Bob Filner: No, no, an appropriate thing would say 'We're not sure this data . . . We'll study it further. Maybe we should inform the committee." But what you say, "Is this something we should carefully address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" I mean, that's what you're concerned about, not the suicides, but someone stumbling upon this data.

Ira Katz: No, sir. I'm concerned about saving lives.

Bob Filner: Well but that's not what you suggest here [in the e-mail]

Ira Katz: Sir, that e-mail was in poor tone but the content was a dialogue about what we should do with new information.

Bob Filner: And did you tell Dr. Peake about all of this? About the new data or what this 1000 attempts per day --

Ira Katz: The purpose of that e-mail was to open extensive dialogue within VHA about this emerging data.

Bob Filner: I mean, did you tell Dr. Peake about that, you were showing 1,000 suicide attempts per month?

Ira Katz: I reported it to VHA senior leadership.

Bob Filner: That's not what we have in the e-mails. We just have you talking to the PR guy.

Ira Katz: We were opening a dialogue about what to do with the new information.

Bob Filner: Yeah and the first thing you do is talk to your public relations guy instead of somebody who might know something about how to treat suicide? I mean it seems to me that what you are trying to do is manage the data and not deal with the data.

Ira Katz: Sir, there's been extensive conversation about this with other suicide and mental health people.

Bob Filner: I'm sorry, I didn't --

Ira Katz: There's extensive conversation about the thousand a month with uh-uh other people --

Bob Filner: Not in any information that we have.

Ira Katz: Not in that e-mail, no.

Bob Filner: So you would think that you would tell us about it since we have obviously a concern about it. We're the -- we're the ones that can help get you the money to deal with the issue. It looks to me -- and all I have is what you provided to the court by discovery motions which I assume is as complete as you wanted to be and if you gave us more complete stuff than you probably didn't give enough to the original discovery -- but that your interest is in managing the data as opposed to helping the veteran.

Ira Katz: Sir, earlier at the court in the same hearing I testified under oath about the thousand a month and about knowing about that number was so very important cause that pointed to a thousand people a month where we really could do something to dramatically decrease.

Bob Filner: Why didn't you just write us a letter or come to a meeting or brief us? I mean instead of this kind of managing the data, why didn't you just talk to us about it and say 'We're on it. We're serious. We care about it. We want you to know about it. And we need this much more money or not to do something about it'?

Ira Katz: Dr. Peake spoke to the fact that this wasn't data yet. These were observations in measurements --

Bob Filner: When do you expect that to be real data? Another year? After your term is over? Or what? I mean, it looks like this would never have come to our attention unless there was a court case with discovery. You had never had any intention of talking to us, dealing with the data in an open way, but you were trying to manage it from inside. And who knows when we would have heard about it? Both that court case that got the data and the news media that is looking at this has done a far better job than you have in keeping us informed. I would say.


The court case being referred to started in April. Click here for Bob Egelko (San Francisco Chronicle) reporting on the opening day (text) and here for audio of Aimee Allsion and Aaron Glantz KPFA live coverage from April 22nd. Register that the VA knew what they were turning over in the court case and had ample time to contact Congress in the many weeks (months) since the Feb. 12th e-mails. They did not do so. As Filner noted, the issue was management of the p.r., not assisting veterans.

We may return to the hearing in a later snapshot this week. Again, it did not get the attention it should have. Turning to Iraq, where the assault on Sadr City continues. Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports, "Families have begun to leave Sadr City over the past several days, trickling into the grounds of a sports stadium in Baladiat, which is on the western edge of Sadr City. The families, who lived near the front lines of the fighting and the wall being built by the American military to partition the neighborhood, said they had fled because their children were terrified of the bombing. As many as 1,500 families are expected to go to the area in the next few days, said Abu Wa'il, the informal mayor of the refugees who live in the area." Meanwhile Tina Susman (Los Angeles Times) traces the ever changing position of the US with regards to Moqtada al-Sadr whom currently the US military brass avoids distinguishing from "the militia in and around Sadr City" and, although dropping the honorific "sayyid" title recently, "the military still insists that Sadr's Mahdi Army is not its main problem, saying it is 'special groups' that have broken away from Sadr's control." At the paper's blog (Baghdad & Beyond), Sumsan elaborates more explaining that the US military had shifted to JAM to refer to them but today "it is difficult to get the military to even utter the word Mahdi Army, much less JAM, during news brieifins. Instead, when discussing the ongoing fighting with militiamen in Shiite neighborhoods, they refer to 'criminal gangs' or 'thugs.' They insist that Sadr's fighters are not being targeted in the fighting that has raged in his stronghold, Sadr City, since Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops launched an offensive against militias -- er, criminal gangs and thugs -- in March." NPR's Day to Day reported today that the Sadr City death toll "has reached more than 1,000" and Tom Bowman explained that "Jalal Talabani, he's the president of Iraq, he sent a letter to Parliament basically saying, let's try to come up with a truce here and one of his suggestions is for the fighters to turn in their medium and heavy weapons. Also he's proposing an amnesty for those who have not killed either Iraqi or American forces." Left unstated was why anyone in Sadr City needs an amnesty? Think about it, Talabani's amnesy does not include anyone who has killed either Iraq or American forces. So who needs an amnesty? Apparently the residents of Sadr City because they have been targeted by the militaries of two countries (the US and Iraq) and they are a civilian population. Apparently Iraqi civilians need to be granted amnesty by Talabani and, until they are, they are all 'worthy' targets.

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad stick bombing wounded three people, another wounded one person and a Mosul bombing "flattened a policeman's house". Reuters notes a Mussayab oil pipeling bombng that wounded four guards.

Shootings?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Nineveh resulted in the deaths of 2 Iraqi soldiers. Reuters notes 1 Iraqi military officer shot dead in al-Numaniya outside his home.

Corpses?

Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.

Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Force -- West Soldier was killed in action against an enemy force while on patrol in Anbar Province May 6." This follows the announcement made late yesterday: "A Multi-National Division -- North soldier was killed from wounds sustained in an insurgent attack against the soldier's patrol in Ninewah Province May 6. One soldier was also wounded in the attack and was taken to a Coalition force hospital for treatment." The announcements brings the number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war to 4073.

In other news, Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Iraq's puppet government is no longer willing to play the matchmaker for the US and Iran and quotes Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari declaring, "We believe the conditions should be conducive. In the atmosphere of media attacks . . . and the lack of trust and confidence, I don't think we will succeed in having the fourth round." Meanwhile IRIN reports, "The Iraqi authorities in the self-ruled northern region of Kurdistan are gearing up to face a possible cholera outbreak which last year affected nearly 4,200 people, and caused the deaths of 24 nationwide, a local official said on 6 May."


Turning to US politics. 1972's BIG FAILURE George McGovern -- who stabbed women in the back at the Miami Convention -- wasn't content with undercutting Hillary Clinton's historic run while chatting with Movement types on Democracy Now! back in March, he's now come out and endorsed Barack Obama. The tired, old, sexist fool has switched from Hillary to Barack. So let's revisit the March 11th broadcast of Democracy Now! but since we don't link to trash, we won't link to the program. Ava and I noted it in real time:

For those not old enough to remember, McGovern can't stand up. Never has been able to and many women suffer the war wounds from Miami 1972 to this day when he demonstrated just how craven he could be.So there was McGovern, who endorsed Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party, gushing over Barack. He would offer excuses that he endorsed early ("Well, I endorsed Hillary last October"). He would say he only endorsed out of friendship. He would claim he couldn't take back an endorsement. In fact, that exchange ran like this:GEORGE McGOVERN: I would stay with Hillary. I don't change my mind on things like this in the middle of the battle. I made the decision to back her, and I'll stay with her. I don't want to be jumping around from one candidate to another. And as I said, we've got two excellent candidates here, both well qualified. And I'll be out campaigning for whichever one wins. Am I ducking your question? Yes. AMY GOODMAN: Why? GEORGE McGOVERN: Because I want to stay with the person I chose six months ago. "I would stay with Hillary," Liar and Loser McGovern declared. "I don't want to be jumping around from one candidate to another." If today's stab in the back surprises you, you never heard the truth about Miami (Amy Goodman certainly never told it) or McGovern's long list of back stabbing moves which most publicly included throwing Thomas Eagleton under the bus after stating he would stand by his running mate. McGovern couldn't stand up in 1972 and he can't stand up today as he zooms closer and closer to 90. What is he? A loser. His margins in the popular vote (he got 38%) would probably echo Barack's should Barack become the nominee. In the Electoral College he got 17 votes and, again, that will probably echo Barack's total should he become the nominee. Most importantly, the loser McGovern getting the nomination created "Democrats For Nixon" and don't be surprised, should McGovern's choice of the moment (Barack) get the nomination if you don't see "Democrats For McCain."

Yesterday Indiana and North Carolina held primaries. Lauren Lafaro (Politcker) shows more sense than most of her peers: "Now that Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have split Indiana and North Carolina, Oregon can be assured that it will receive attention." And that's the reality. One state was won by each. But it's time for all the fringe elements (some of whom are Democrats and many of whom are not) to begin their cry of "Hillary must drop out!" yet again. The candidate just won Indiana. There's no reason to drop out. Neither candidate will end the primary races with enough delegates awarded to have a lock on the nomination. Hillary states: "Today, in every way that I know how, I am expressing my personal determination to keep forging forward in this campaign." That's a fighter. And the campaign's working in West Virginia on getting out the vote which includes dairy farmers Ed King and Roxaina Hurlburt giving their time to the campaign, traveling from their homes in New York, to explain why Hillary's the candidate for farmers and for all Americans. Meanwhile the faux candidate Barack had a faux event and Uppity Woman (No Quarter) provides the photos


iraq
ann wright
lisa mascarofally afani ruzikben baumanstefanie sloanlisa desjardinscbs news
armen keteyianpia malbran
kpfa
iraq veterans against the war
aimeee allisondavid solnit
alissa j. rubinthe new york times
mcclatchy newspapers
leila fadel
the los angeles times
tina susman
npr
day by day

starting with breast feeding. i'm not joking.

i'm breast feeding for the 1st 16 months so i have a bit more to go. but i was breast feeding tonight, it hit me that i had never talked about it.

i'm not going to bore you, i'm going to give you a warning.

c.i. has a friend who had a baby about 15 years ago and the woman was too lazy. she nursed the child but let it favor the left breast.

do not do that.

c.i. warned me before i gave birth. and drilled it into my head.

the woman ended up with 1 breast bigger than the other after she stopped nursing. she had 2 more children and thought she could even it out that way and it didn't work. she finally had surgergy to even them out. (i probably would've just lived with it but i hate doctors.)

so i do want to put that out there because i do have readers in college, high school and middle school and i want to be sure some 1 warned you. i had never heard about it until c.i. kept saying, 'you are not going to nurse on 1 side.'

since i had the baby, other women will sometimes ask me about nursing and about 1 in 20 will reveal that either they or some 1 they knew favored 1 side during nursing and ended up lop-sided.

so let me toss that out there so if you're ever nursing (or with a woman who is) you can't say no 1 warned you. i rotate. i'm not joking.

we do use a bottle as well and it's breast milk via a breast pump but even there i'm careful not to favor 1 side.

when c.i. 1st told me about it, i didn't believe it. finally c.i. got the woman to call me. she'd just had the surgery and was so thrilled that each breast was the same size again. she said there was a huge, huge difference and she was worse than c.i. in insisting 'nurse from both breasts.'

okay, let's turn to politics. this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Election Day' (hillaryclinton.com):

Energized: Hillary "had been campaigning for more than 16 hours when she strode onto the stage at Evansville Central High School just before 11 p.m….But Clinton betrayed barely a hint of fatigue as she beamed at a crowd of screaming supporters at the high school. 'This campaign has been a joy,' she said...Clinton has brought a new zeal to the trail in recent weeks that she shows no signs of abandoning." Read more.
By the Numbers: "The latest Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend shows that on the eve of the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has taken over the lead in popular support from Democrats nationally (47-40)." Less than two weeks ago, Ipsos showed Sen. Obama leading nationally. Read more.
If You Watch One Thing: "Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton appeared on Monday on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' to deliver the 'Top 10' reasons she loves America, which included the ability to order her trademark pantsuits around the clock on the Internet." Watch here. Read more.
Why I Support Hillary: General Hugh Shelton, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on why he supports Hillary: "We need a president who will end this war honorably...Clinton is the best person for the huge challenge we still face in Iraq...[she] has gotten to know our military during her time as first lady and as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee...She understands the impact of endless commitments on the service families who also serve our country...After five years, we now have the opportunity to bring this war to an honorable end, with Sen. Clinton as our next commander-in-chief." Read more.
Sen. Obama's Attacks Debunked: "Obama is wrong about the gas tax: Think Clinton's plan to suspend the gas tax temporarily is a bad idea? A similar measure in Illinois -- which Obama backed -- seems to have helped consumers." Read more.
"Illuminating, Inspiring" A Charleston Gazette op-ed describes how "Hillary Clinton's performance on the Senate Armed Services Committee demonstrates her deep desire to know everything necessary to lead this country in difficult, even dangerous, times." Read more.
Clinton Is Right For Democrats: The Bend Bulletin endorsed Hillary yesterday: "[S]he is a candidate of proven substance. Even if you discount the value of her eight years as first lady -- which, if nothing else, familiarized her with the position she seeks -- her Senate tenure has been more than twice as long as Obama's... this country would be better off under the leadership of a pragmatic realist than a celebrity politician whose legislative record, such as it is, contradicts his oratory. In any case, she'd probably be more likely than Obama to defeat McCain in November."

oh the closeted lesbian donna brazile got called out on cnn for supporting barack when she plays undecided. she responds that she's not undecided, she's undeclared meaning publicly she doesn't say 'i'm favoring ___.' but she's favoring barack and if she has a choice, she needs to get honest about it. (we all know she favors barack, we've all read those crazy ranting e-mails she sent out.) she shouldn't be allowed on to discuss if she can't say who she supports. somebody shove her further back into the closet. i hate closet cases. on cnn she says 'words matter.'

yes, they do, donna. so try saying these three publicly, 'i am a lesbian.'

until then, go hide in your closet.

bad enough that she's a closet case, she moved to disenfranchise gays & lesbians this year in her dnc work. her butt should have been kicked to the curb a long, long time ago.

barack won north carolina and it looks like hillary has indiana. from big tent democrat: 'The NC exits. Obama wins. Whites (63%) go Clinton by 59-36 (5% missing?). African Americans (33%) go Obama by 93-7.' if that holds (his post notes 5% are missing), that's very bad for barack. he can't get the white voters in the numbers he needs. this is dukakis all over again.

and as bill ayers moves into the mainstream news, he's going to have less and less support. he's a nightmare. if barack cared about dems getting the white house back, he'd drop out.

he's a nightmare whom the g.o.p. is going to have a field day with. on cnn, paul was going ga-ga over the vote in la. they ran a conservative democrat who had a 20% lead ahead of the election that vanished by election day as a result (the election was over the weekend) of g.o.p. attack ads tying the man to barack. he squeaked to a win. that's not good news. sorry paul begala, that's not good news.

if he hadn't been so conversvative, it probably would have hurt him even more. but when this is done nationwide and when they're able to say 'and ___ endorsed barack obama' over and over it's going to strip away a percentage of voters. and barack already can't turn out the democratic base. this isn't pretty.

super delegates better be paying attention because hillary could probably beat john mccain and barack will most likely guarantee a john mccain presidency.

read this by susan unpc if you doubt it.


let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Tuesday, May 6, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Jim Moran shows he grasps the VA duties better than those in leadership at the VA do, veterans suicides gets some attention in Congress, Helen Thomas questions Perino and more.

Starting with war resistance. Claudia Parson (Reuters) reports on Iraq Veterans Against the War's Eli Wright who awaits "a medical discharge for post traumatic stress disorder and a shoulder injury" and has added to his tattoo collection "a black paper clip on his right hand." From Different Drummer Cafe, Wright explains, "During Vietnam, guys that were against the war would wear a paper clip on their uniform somewhere, it was a little way for them to identify themselves. It stands for People Against People Ever Re-enlisting -- Civilian Life is Preferred. We decided instead of just ewaring paper clips, we would actually tattoo them, a permanent reminder of our dedication to getting out."

March 14th, Wright testified at IVAW's Winter Soldier on the experience of health care and cautioned veterans, "Don't keep it quiet," demand the health care you've been promised. Vet health care will be a later topic this snapshot but if you missed Winter Soldier you can stream it online at IVAW's Winter Solider page (audio or video). You can also stream audio at War Comes Home, at KPFK, at the Pacifica Radio homepage and at KPFA, here for Friday, here for Saturday, here for Sunday. Aimee Allison (co-host of the station's The Morning Show and co-author with David Solnit of Army Of None) and Aaron Glantz were the anchors for Pacifica's live coverage. Allison and Glantz also hosted KPFA's live coverage April 22nd on the lawsuit against the Veterans Administration.

In Canada, war resisters are hoping the Parliament will take action on a motion waiting to be debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Today the US House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a hearing entitled "The Truth About Veterans' Suicides." Among those questioned by the committee were the Sec of the Dept of Veterans Affairs James Peake, Deputy Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration Gerald Cross, the VA's Dr. Iraq Katz, the University of Georgia's Stephen L Rathbun, Texas Tech's M. David Rudd, University of South Carolina's Ronald Maris and, from the Inspector General's office, Dr. Michael Shepherd.

US House Rep Bob Filner chairs the committee and noted in his opening statements, "On December 12, 2007, this Committee held a hearing entitled 'Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges within the Department of Veterans Affairs.' Nearly five months later, we are again holding a hearing on the tragic issue of suicide among our veterans and what the VA is doing to address what is clearly an epidemic. In November of last year, CBS News aired a story entitled 'Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans.' On April 21, 2008, CBS News aired a story 'VA Hid Suicide Risk, Internal E-mails Show.' The first step in addressing a problem is to understand the scope and extent of the problem. In the case of the VA and the epidemic of veteran suicides, either the VA has not adequately attempted to determine the scope of the problem, which is an idictment of the VA's basic competence, or the VA knows the extent of the problem, but has attempted to obfuscate and minimize the problem to veterans, Congress, and the American people, which is an indictment of the leadership of the entire Department. In December, Dr. Katz, in testimony before this Committee, stressed a low-rate veteran suicide, stating that 'from the beginning of the war through the end of 2005 there were 144 known suicides among these new veterans.' In responding to the figures used by CBS, Dr. Katz stated that 'their number for veteran suicides is not, in fact, an accurate reflection of the rates of suicide'."

The reports Filner references were done by CBS Evening News and Armen Keteyian was the reporter and Pia Malbran the producer for both reports. CBS obtained (for the April report) an e-mail (warning PDF format) that Katz had sent out stating that "our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among that veterans we see in our medical facialities" which was considerably higher than the less than a thousand suicides (790) per year that the VA had insisted to CBS was the accurate number. In addition, the e-mail opens with "Sh!" and is entitled "Not for the CBS News interview segment." The e-mail was sent to the VA's chief communications director, Ev Chasen, who replied, "I think this is something we should discuss among ourselves, before issuing a release. Is the fact that we're stopping them good news, or is the sheer number bad news? And is this more than we've ever seen before? It might be something we drop into a general release about suicide prevention efforts, which (as you know far better than I) prominently include training employees to recognize the warning signs of suicide." Kats replies back, "I want to wait until Jan gets back from leave and then plan talking points with her."

Speaking for the VA, Peake attempted to bore the world with a lecture on suicide, its history, its measurements. Well into his opening remarks he admitted something truly appalling that some may miss: "Until VA committed itself last year to providing full time suicide prevention coordinators at each of its 153 hospitals, it could provide no useful number of attempted suicides among patients." Suicide is epidemic for Iraq and Afghanistan wars, no question. But suicide is also a serious isssue for veterans period. That's Vietnam, that's Korea, that's . . . The idea that until 2007 the VA was not staffing each VA hospital with a full time suicide prevention coordinator is appalling. And, as Dr. Ronald Maris would later point out, this is just VA hospitals, it doesn't include the 875 VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics. Maris noted [paraphrase on at least two words]:

Thus the vast majority of VA facilities in fact do not have suicide coordinators. Several questions remain. What do these coordinators do, exactly? How are they trained to do suicide assement and prevention ? What are their professional credentials and licensing? Who supervises these suicide coordinators? Do suicide coordinators interact directly with suicidal vets in clinical care of the VA? What exactly are they coordinating?

Maris points would come after Peake was done. During his testimony, Peake cited the e-mail CBS got hold of from Katz and attempted to state that due that the lack of full time coordinators (apparently until October) resulted in the data having only been compiled for "three months" which he maintained was "too short a time period to determine if it was reliable." For that reason, Peake stated, "The data was not sent to CBS". He identifes that as one of Katz' "concerns" but that's not in the e-mail. Peake's inventing a cover story after the fact. Katz' e-mails reflect that he does not the want the number getting out. There is nothing about the time period the figures are being pulled from. He then tries to question the numbers themselves stating that people were still learning -- full time suicide prevention coordinators are still learning? On the tax payer dime? Was the VA unable to find qualified people to fill the positions because, if so, that should be the subject of another committee hearing.

He claims that "borderline calls" were being included. Despite his lengthy lecture on sucides at the beginning of his remarks, he didn't define that term. But presumably a "borderline call" would be included by most studying suicide.

Peake needs to resign. He needs to resign effective immediately and the VA needs to apologize. That's for what he then launched into. Peake announced that the VA, as part of their efforts, "intends to ask suicide prevention coordinators for the names of all those in their facility who have attempted suicide." The VA has regularly and repeatedly lost computers, accidentally disclosed private information to the public and a host of other issues. Is Peake such an idiot that he doesn't grasp that his little bit of information will likely result in at least some (possibly many) who need help deciding to forgoe out of fear that they'll be on some list that will follow them around -- follow them around outside of the VA?

Peake then wanted to play with the data (Dr. Stephen L Rathbun's testimony refuted Peake's nonsense so we won't even go into it) and shade the issue before launching into what the VA's doing. What is the VA doing? Not a damn thing to be proud of and a hell of a lot to be ashamed of. Peake spoke of the "two National VA Suicide Prevention Awareness Days" -- one of which piggy-backed on the National Suicide Prevention Awareness Week. The same way that 'their' hotline piggy backs on the National Suicide Hotline (already set up). Peake revealed that callers who press "1" (we went over this before) are immediately taken to a separate call center because they are veterans (no, they are not always taken there) and that they then receive help from "mental health professionals . . . trained in both crisis intervention strategies and in issues" such as PTSD and TBI. He goes on to reveal something else and again this DOES NOT encourage veterans to call. If the veteran has a VA record and gives out his or her information, the 'operator' is pulling up their information and putting "consults in the patient's medical record," etc. That's not how the National Suicide Hotline works. They guarantee confidientiality and since the VA has -- to save money -- piggy-backed on their efforts, they should follow the same system. That they aren't is misleading and hurts veterans as well as the National Suicide Hotline. Is it really the place of some 'operator' to, as Peake says they do, "check patient's records to see if consultations were completed; actions are taken; and follow-ups are ongoing"?

It's past time for the press to stop treating the VA as its own little island. Doctors and counselors working in suicide prevention can tell you (loudly) that the hodge-podge system Peake's speaking of does not encourage those in need to reach out and that, again, it will actually harm the National Sucide Hot Line because people will confuse the two and assume they are being put (with their names) on some national list if they call (I'm referring to civilians). What is the VA doing? Not a damn thing. Peake spoke of posters! Posters! Wow, what is this third grade? And MTV's doing a video! This is a disgrace and the resignations from all in leadership at the VA should be turned in immediately. They repeatedly refuse to address this problem and any tiny steps they take are done on the cheap (and in such a way that it puts veterans and civilians at risk). This is shameful.

Texas Tech's Dr. M. David Rudd spoke of the illness and noted, "The tragic increase in both active duty and veteran suicide rates since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedome (OIF/OEF) underscores a seldom recognized but very real fact about mental illness; that it can be fatal." From Dr. Ronald Maris, we'll zoom in on this:One reason I cannot answer definitely about what causes veteran suicides is that the Office of Veteran Affairs has not provided me or the courts crucial data that are needed. For example, each time there is a military death, suicide attempt, or other serious incident, the VA produces a short 'incident brief' which summarily describes the suicide or suicide attempt. Then about 45 days later each incident undergoes what is called a 'root cause anaylsis' and a three-page report is generated. On April 22, 2008, when I was an expert for the plaintiff in the Veterans v. Peake trial in San Francisco, I was given only 170 of the estimated 15,000 incident briefs and none of the root cause analyses. Clearly these VA documents could go a long way in establishing what causes veteran suicides and whether or not there is an epidemic. It seems that these personal, clinical documents could be redacted, with patients' names and other indentifying information removed, and then supplied to independent scientific investigators, like myself."

US House Rep Jim Moran spoke to the committee about the need for a suicide hotline for veterans -- not piggy backing off an existing hotline. He noted the Veterans Suicide Prevention Hotline Act and how it would be "a stand-alone 24-hour national toll-free hotline" which "would be staffed by veterans, trained to appropriately and responsibly answer calls from other veterans." Moran grasped the fact that there is a stigma still associated with suicide or even asking for help. He grasps that fear "of potential job-related consequences keep many active duty soldiers and recent veterans from seeking the care they need." And he grasps the need for those seeking help to fill that the person on the other end of the line has "a real-life perspective of what's happening." In short, Moran's more on the ball than all the VA staff trotted out before Congress.

We can return to the hearing tomorrow (or later in the week) because there's enough to make the hearing alone the entire snapshot. Instead, we'll move on by noting that, at the White House today, press flack Dana Perino expressed her firmly held spin that "the President has full confidence in Secretary Peake and believes that he is handling it appropriately." It? The VA or maybe accusations. She also firmly spun that "Secretary Peake answered those [accusations] today" but when pressed on what his answer was she stated "nobody was covering it, so I wasn't able to see it directly." But by osmosis, Dana Perino just knows the accusations were answered.

Perino was also asked about the Iraq War supplemental the US Congress is currently working on and, in one of the more laugh inducing moments, she denied that the Bully Boy was in denial about the economy. Perino denied that Bully Boy was in denial. Sort of like the cereal box with the picture of the cereal box on it with the picture of the cereal box with the picture of the cereal . . .

The Iraq War supplemental? Carl Hulse (New York Times) reported this morning that House Democratic leadership intends to include -- among other measures -- in the House bill a call for 'significant' withdrawals of US troops in Iraq by December 2009; however, they expect it to be stripped out in the US Senate's version of the bill. Richard Cowan (Reuters) reports, "Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have agreed on a plan to fund the Iraq war into next year but included a provision to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2009, lawmakers said on Tuesday. The plan for supporting the approximately $170 billion request from President George W. Bush to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan also would expand education benefits for war veterans and give more help to the long-term U.S. unemployed." Anne Flaherty (AP) notes, "The bill also includes a mandate that the president negotiate an agreement with Baghdad to subsidize the U.S. miltiary's fuel costs so troops operationg in Iraq aren't paying any more than Iraqi citizens are" and a prohibition on US dollars for reconstruction "unless Baghdad matches every dollar spent".

Meanwhile the assault on Sadr City continues in Iraq. Helen Thomas questioned Perino about that today.

Helen Thomas: Yesterday, according to the New York Times, we dropped a bomb on a home in Sadr City and burned alive a pregnant woman and her children. How long is the siege of Sadr? How long are we going to keep bombing Iraqis?

Dana Perino: Well, I'm not aware of that particular report. I have not -- I've not seen it.

Helent Thomas: Well it was pretty buried in the story.

Dana Perino: Okay. Well the operation against the militias in Sadr City will continue until they root them out. And that is expressly in order to protect people like you just mentioned.

Helen Thomas: Root who out? Iraqis? In their own country?

Dana Perino: It is Prime Minister Maliki's government which is going after the militia, which is appropriate.

Really? Because Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) offers different terminology calling them "American strikes on Shiite fighters" in today's paper.

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Baghdad mortar attacks that claimed 3 lives and left twelve people wounded, 2 Baghdad missile attacks that wounded ten people, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 "Awakening" Council member and left another wounded, a Tikrit car bombing that claimed 2 lives and left twenty-six people wounded and a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 police officer.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports Baghdad armed clashes resulted in 3 deaths and nine people wounded and an armed clash in Mosul that claimed the lives of 2 police officers with one more wounded.

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

On NPR's Morning Edition, Guy Raz reported (text and audio) the lastest on the military's use of "counter-insurgency." To back up, "counter-insurgency" is attacking and tricking civilians and, once upon a time, it was seen as something to be called out. But note the 60s Peace Train hopping on board Bambi For Prez -- alleged 'peace warriors' -- who repeatedly ignore Barack's own ties to counter-insurgency. Raz reports today that the Pentagon is now worried that too much focus has been placed on 'counter-insurgency' in Iraq and not engough on training "to fight conventional battles". Lt Col Gian Gentile is quoted (from a lecture he gave) stating, "Due to five years in Iraq and six years in Afghanistan, I believe that the U.S. Army has become a counterinsurgency-only force. . . . The high public profile of the new counterinsurgency manual, combined with the perception that its use and practice with the surge in Iraq has lowered the violence, I think has had a Svengali effect on us."

But don't worry, crap-ass outlets like 'Voters For Peace,' like a number of aging hippies, have other things to focus on than the actual Iraq War. As long as they can pretend they care enough for some people to believe that they do, that's fine and dandy. They damn well knows what 'counter-insurgency' is and damn well decried its use during Vietnam. Today? It's ignore it and hop on board the corporate and psuedo peace train. Take Tom-Tom Hayden (forever on the outside) whinging at Aged Socialite's Cat Mix on March 18th that Barack "failed to dissociate from the grim counterinsurgency war envisioned by Gen. Petraeus" in a fifth anniversary speech he gave. Like self-loathing lesbian Laura Flanders calling for Barack to break with Richard Dailey over torture, Tom-Tom has to pretend that Barack could make the break, as though Barack hasn't stacked his adivsors with the ones who approve and wrote the Army's 'counter-insurgency' manual.

On September 12, 2007, Matt Lehrich posted (at Barack's website) a rave about Sarah Sewall (aka Sarah Sewer) and Sammy Get The Axe Power noting that not only were they two of Bambi's foreign policy advisors but they were selling Bambi via a conference call with bloggers. (And you wonder how so many idiots could defend War Hawk Power online when her trashing of Hillary Clinton and Gordon Brown as well as her revealing that Barack's Iraq "promises" were empty to the BBC.) Sammy just blurbed the manual (and believed in it), Sarah Sewer offered so much and was in charge of it. That would be the same Sarah Sewer who declared on PBS' The Charlie Rose Show, on the last week of 2007, that the US must not, cannot, see the Iraq War as a failure because it would prevent future interventions. As Ava and I noted last December of the interview:

Sewer came close to unhinging in public when she went into rapid-fire mode, spitting out sentences about the failure of states, her desire to create "a strong, international force," how the illegal war must not be seen "as a failure" and her "concern" that, if Iraq is seen as a failure, "we'll move towards isolationism" or, worse, send in the military to "strike him and get out" (as opposed to occupying -- and "him" wasn't identified by the War Pig). That truly does concern Sewer because her whole existence, her belief system such as it is, is rooted in the notion that she, and only she, possess the wisdom to decide. She's a hairy-legged version of the Bully Boy with better vocab.

These are the War Hawks Barack selected. But don't worry, your 'peace' 'leaders' won't bother you with those realities, they're far too busy lying to get Barack into office. Equally true is just as Judith Miller's past includes The Progressive, Sarah Sewall's includes the Institute of Policy Studies and, no, IPS hasn't called out Sewall. In fact, IPS hasn't addressed the issue of 'counter-insurgency' at all. (The organization. Phyllis Bennis has addressed it and has addressed it as applied to Barack. And we've noted that before. She's addressed it as an individual. IPS, the organization, has remained silent.)

Yesterday Brian Montopoli (CBS News) reported:On a conference call with reporters this morning, the Clinton campaign knocked Barack Obama over a report in the Wall Street Journal today that Obama "won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption."Clinton has not taken a position on oversight of the Teamsters, and, as the Journal notes, Obama's stance is unusual, as "[p]olicy makers have largely treated monitoring of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as a legal matter left to the Justice Department since an independent review board was set up in 1992 to eliminate mob influence in the union."

Today Green Change reposts Brody Mullins and Kris Maher's Wall St. Journal article which opens: "Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union and the Obama campaign." Well thank goodness RFK's children didn't embarrass themselves endorsing Barack. Too bad other members of the Kennedy clan can't say the same.

Yesterday's snapshot noted this: "Jeralyn (TalkLeft) highlights his new ad attacking Hillary Clinton -- both are running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- and he says 'I approved this message' at the end. So he's responsible for its accuracy." Jake Tapper (ABC News) notes that the ad doesn't quote correctly from a column by Paul Krugman. Tapper also steers to Paul Krugman's comment on the distortion: "I did not say that the Clinton proposal would increase oil industry profits. If the ad implies that I did, it should be retracted."

From today's HUBdate (Clinton campaign): "Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton appeared on Monday on the 'Late Show with David Letterman' to deliver the 'Top 10' reasons she loves America, which included the ability to order her trademark pantsuits around the clock on the Internet." Watch here. Read more.


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claudia parsonseli wrightiraq veterans against the war
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aimeee allisondavid solnit
aaron glantz
armen keteyianpia malbran
mcclatchy newspapers
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nprguy razmorning edition
the new york timescarl hulse
alissa j. rubin
brian montopoli

so, if you missed, the latest barack scandal is that he's making deals with the teamsters to win an endorsement from them, promising to stop the justice department's legal oversight of the teamsters. not at all surprising from a trashy chicago politician, is it?


let me talk a bit about the gas tax holiday that hillary's proposing. (john mccain is proposing it as well but he isn't supporting a windfall tax on big oil.) i'm getting really tired of this nonsense that the 'smarties' know best. they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

in many states, there is a sales tax. and yet most of areas do a sales tax holiday when it's back to school time. does that holiday save the economy? no, it's not meant to. what it does is provide working class americas, already maxed out to their limits, to be able to afford needed clothes for their children at a little bit less cost.

it's the same thing with what hillary's talking about.

it does not hurt working class americans, it helps them. and there's no big 'ouch' for the government on it because if we can spend trillions on iraq, we can certainly afford to help out americans here at home make it through the summer a little bit easier.

i have heard people on t.v. put it down and act like idiots.

this isn't about X dollars more being 'given' to people. this is about working class americans - already stretched to the limit - having to pay X number less for the gas they have to have.

hillary is not selling this as 'economic stimulus.' she knows it is a temporary measure, she knows the purpose is to provide a little relief for those struggling.

somehow that point keeps getting missed.

i guess if you're on big oil's payroll or you get a lot of money from them for your campaign, your attitude is 'screw working americans.'

barack, working americans 'cling' to their checks because they are living pay check to pay check. working class americans are not saying, 'yea! i can buy a cup of coffee.' he made that stupid remark (that it's the price of a coffee a day) on meet the press. they don't have the money for that cup of coffee a day, for that latte on the hour that barack does. they're struggling, they're barely keeping afloat. this would ease their burden a little.

and it doesn't hurt any 1. so you have to be really stupid not to support this temporary measure.

really stupid or some 1 who hates working class americans.

he's so out of touch and so stupid.

here's howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Fighting For Every Vote' (hillaryclinton.com):


By the Numbers: A new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows Hillary "lead[ing] Obama among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents by 7 percentage points... Obama led by 10 points" only two weeks ago. Read more.
State of the Race: Howard Wolfson and Phil Singer assess the state of the race on a call this morning at 9:45 a.m. ET.
Endorsement Watch: "Groundbreaking IndyCar Series driver and team owner, Sarah Fisher" endorsed Hillary today... Fisher said: "[w]e need a president who will stand up for us and be a fighter for Hoosiers and all Americans." Read more.
In Case You Missed It: Today's NYT explores how yesterday, "Clinton Steals One Show, While Obama Endures Another: Television interviews provide snapshots, not full portraits, but that does not make them any less telling. Mr. Obama revealed that he was not impervious to pressure, while Mrs. Clinton once again proved that it takes more than a village to make her sweat." Read more.
Click here to read the transcript and watch the video of Hillary on ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."On the Gas Tax: Yesterday in South Bend, IN, Hillary "scolded both Sen. Barack Obama (D) and 'elite opinion'...for opposing her proposals to fix the ailing economy...[she said on the race:] 'There's a big difference between us, and the question is: Who understands what you’re going through, and who do you count on being on your side…I believe I have what it takes to stand up and fight for you when you need a president on your side.'" Read more.
A Critical Distinction: Communications Director Howard Wolfson described "a critical distinction in this race between, in Senator Clinton, someone who understands the pain that middle class and working class families are feeling, who wants to help bring immediate relief to them...and Senator Obama, somebody who just doesn’t seem to understand that middle class families are hurting, working class families are hurting and that they need relief." Read the transcript here and listen here.
Ready to Deliver: In a Charlotte Observer op-ed, Hillary Clinton writes to voters in North Carolina: "It has been an honor and privilege to travel across North Carolina and talk to you about the issues that matter most to you and your families. I know how hard you're working, how much you love this country, and how big you dream for your children. But I also know that you're feeling squeezed from every direction…I don't back down from a challenge -- and neither do the American people. It's up to all of us to keep the promise of America for the next generation, and together, that's exactly what we'll do." Read more.
Previewing Today: Hillary hosts "Get Out The Vote" events in Greenville and High Point, NC. She also hosts "Get Out The Vote" events in Merrillville, New Albany, and Evansville, IN. Hillary's stop in Evansville will mark her 100th campaign stop in the Hoosier State.
Recapping Yesterday: Hillary spoke before a crowd of 2,300 at the Indiana Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, offering her pledge to continue to fight for every American from the moment she becomes president: "There's one thing you know about me. I am no shrinking violet. I may get knocked down. But I will always get right back up, and I will never quit until the job is finished." Read more.

so that's hillary, let's check in on barack who is doing some last minute prep of his own.



that's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Sunset Campaign" and, as you can say, mr. pretty words is making himself pretty. he's such a male model, isn't he? just a g.q. cover boy. excuse me, a vogue cover boy, men's vogue. no wonder he can't relate to working class americans.

we are in oregon with kat, ava and c.i. i really wanted to take part in all the speaking gigs but i'm just too tired. so, along with kat, we let ava and c.i. solo on the last 2 tonight. it is a lot of fun but you really have to have to have a ton of energy. the baby's not been a problem because the baby either wants me or c.i. and c.i.'s happy to hold and rock. c.i. will do so while speaking. (i can't because i will lose my focus, trust me.) ava and kat are more than willing to help out (and i thank them for that) but there's a bond with c.i. that i'm more than happy to foster because it means i'm only apologizing to 1 person over and over 'you don't have to, i'm really, really sorry.'

c.i. says it's not an imposition and points out 'you certainly were there for all of my kids.' so that's why i don't feel as guilty. but i really do feel guilty. i don't know if that's a new mother thing or what? maybe i feel like it has to be me or flyboy watching our baby or we're failing? as guilty as i feel, it was great to see the baby get plenty of attention - to watch it from over there. i'm laughing but i'm serious.

speaking of kat, her brilliant review of carly simon's this kind of love went up sunday morning and it's 'Kat's Korner: This Kind Of Art.' and brilliant writing was also done by ava and c.i. on sunday, check out 'TV: The Beauty & The Grump' where they take on the jeremiah wright apologist bill moyers, 'Dear Betsy Reed' where they take on the enemy of women betsy reed (also check out elaine's 'Little Red Betsy Reed Lies in The Nation' from friday) and 'TV: The candidates quick take' on hillary's this week and barack's meet the press.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Monday, May 5, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the assault on Sadr City continues, Iraq's First Lady surives a bombing, others are less fortunate, and more.

Starting with war resistance. David Giuliano and Jane Orion Smith (Canada's The Hill Times) [click here for Google cache if you don't subscribe to The Hill Times] note, "In the comming weeks, the House of Commons will consider a recommendation from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration that would allow conscientious objectors to be able to stay in Canada with their spouses and immediate families. U.S. soldiers who are in Canada have been largely responsible for the focus on this issue in this country. Globally, however, it is important for many who face even more harsh circumstances. If today's U.S. soldiers are a part of an 'all-volunteer army,' should they have any rights of asylum? The UNCHR Handbook on Refugees, the standard-bearer for such questions, say 'yes.' To qualify for asylum, a soldier must 'show that the performance of military service would have required his participation in military action contrary to his genuine political, religious or moral convictions, or to valid reasons of conscience.' . . . The findings of the Nuremberg Tribunals after World War II remind us that following orders is not an excuse for committing crimes in war. Once you are in the field, it is ever the more difficult to refuse an order, even if illegal. Many of the U.S. 'war resisters' in Canada already saw a tour of duty in Iraq and were under pressure to commit acts that violated basic rules of human conduct. Joshua Key is currently having his day in Federal Court seeking refugee status."

With other issues occupying the debate in Canada's Parliament last month, the war resisters motion has not yet been debated. Currently, you can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Turning to Iraq where yesterday saw an attack on Hiro Abrahim Ahmed. Who is she? India's Economic Times noted a Baghdad bombing targeting here, the First Lady of Iraq, which wounded "four of her body guards but . . . [left] her unharmed." BBC reported she "was travelling to a cultural festival at the city's National Theatre at the time. . . . Ms Hiro Ibrahim is a daughter of Ibrahim Ahmed, one of the founders of the Kurdish Democratic Party, and married Mr Talabani in 1970. She owns a media group and is a children's rights activist." Sunday also saw the US military announce the deaths of 4 US service members. Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) observed, "The death of the marines in Anbar, in an attack on Friday that the military reported Sunday was one of the deadliest in months on American troops in the province. For much of the past 18 months, Anbar, once one of the most violet place in Iraq, has been mostly quiet." The announcement put the Sunday April 27th to Sunday May 4th period's death toll at 19. The US military's announcement notes that the four died "when their vehicle was attacked by an enemy force with an improvised explosive device". Sunday also saw the murder of journalist Sarwa Abdul Wahab in Mosul. Mohammed Al Dulaimy (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that the "journalist, lawyer and member of the Mosul Branch of the Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq" was shot dead outside her home in Mosul. Canada's CBC reported she had received threatening text messages demanding she stop reporting and that she was apparently in a taxi and pulled from it in what may have been an attempted kidnapping before "she was shot twice in the head." CBS and AP report the following details, she was 36-years-old, she and her mother, Umm Mohammed, were returning home from the market (on foot), she worked in print and broadcasting and Yasir al-Hamadani explains, "Besides her work as a journalist, she was activist working with non-governmental organizations as well as being a lawyer. We are very sorry to lose her. She was very active and very passionate about her work." She was murdered one day after World Press Freedom Day. Reporters Without Borders states of her death: "This is yet another case to add to the long list of Iraqi journalists who have been targeted by armed groups operating with complete impunity. We urge the Iraqi authorities to carry out a thorough investigation in order to identify those responsible and to discourage similar murders in the future. . . . As has happened so often in the past, Wahab was caught in an ambush from which she no chance of escaping. Our thoughts are with her family and colleagues to whom we offer our sincerest condolences." At the end of last month, the Committee to Protect Journalist issued a report entitled "Getting Away With Murder" which charted "the worst countries in the world at prosecuting journalists' killers" and found that "[t]he countries with the worst records for impunity -- Iraq, Sierra Leone and Somalia -- have been mired in conflict." Iraq topped the list with CPJ noting: "Iraq became the world's most dangerous country for the press after the 2003 U.S. invasion led to armed conflict and sectarian strife. Journalists have generally not died in combat, however. Most are targeted for professional reasons and murdered. Most of the victims, such as Al-Arabiya correspondent Atwar Bahjat, are Iraqis. Seventy-nine cases are unsolved." Saturday (World Press Freedom Day) found a McClatchy Iraqi correspondent sharing thoughts (at Inside Iraq) on the Journalistic Freedom Observatory in Iraq's findings that "between March 3, 2007 and March 3, 2008 violations against journalists marked a 60% increase over the last year. This means one violation every 43 hours" and also noted that "the report didn't mention . . . the provoking attempt against some media institution by religious pulpits and mosques that air the agendas of their political parties which may represent a threat against Iraqi independent media, that one well known Iraqi cleric and MP used his Friday speech to urge worshipers against certain Iraqi media TV channels or newspapers that oppose the government's agendas."

Meanwhile US journalist Anna Badkhen has returned to Iraq where she will be filing reports for Salon. Her first one can be read here where she notes, "This is my 10th reporting trip to Iraq since the war began, and my fifth trip as an embedded reporter. My last trip was in 2006." The Los Angeles Times' Borzou Daragahi completed his reporting on Iraq in early 2007 but has also returned to Iraq. On Sunday he and Raheem Salman reported on the mercenary company Blackwater Worldwide which is responsible for the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians from last September 2007 Blackwater shoot-em-up in Baghdad: "Blackwater officials have said their workers feared they were under attack; Iraqi officials and witnesses called it a massacre. U.S. officials say the investigation of the shooting continues, though they have been tight-lipped about details. An FBI report is due this year. In April, the State Department renewed Blackwater's contract for another year, a move that enraged many Iraqis affected by the killings." This as Frontera Norte Sur reports on Blackwater's project to create a viligante camp "in the rural San Diego County community of Potero" . . . US Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA), a leading Blackwater critic, said in a radio interview late last week that the presence of a 'private mercenary army' on the border, where it is hard to tell who is a citizen and who is not, was a 'recipe for disaster'." Douglas Turner (Buffalo News) notes Blackwater "may have evaded up to $50 million in income taxes." Turners listing various corruptions in the White House contracting 'system' and notes, among other problems, electrocutions. On Sunday, James Risen (New York Times) reported on KBR's we-built-it-no-one-said-it-had-to-safe-for-people defense. Risen explained "at least a dozen American military personnel have been electrocuted in Iraq" as a result of faulty wiring (failure to ground the electrical wires) and that KBR's attitude for these projects they were over is that the blame goes to "poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day" (which KBR hired) and feel the failures are no big deal because they explained there might be problems. Carmen Nolasco Duran lost her brother who was serving in Iraq and wasn't killed in battle, wasn't killed by a bombing, but made the 'error' of thinking he could shower. As a result of corners cut, Marcos O. Nolasco died in Baiji (May 2004) by electrocution while taking a shower. His sister tells Risen, "I don't feel like they did their job. They hired these contractors and yet they didn't go and double-check that the work was fine."

Switching from contractors to civilian empoyees, last week the US House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations released a report [PDF format warning] entitled "Deploying Federal Civilians to the Battlefield: Incentives, Benefits, and Medical Care." The report states:

Reconstruction and stabilzation operations require a "whole government" approach with the deployment of both uniformed and civilian personnel from the Department of Defense (DOD) and other departments and agencies. To support these stabilization and reconstruction missions, the President has requested $249.0 million in the fiscal year 2009 budget to build an Active and Standby Response Corps of over 2,000 federal civilian personnel from all 15 civilian agencies and to build a Civilian Reserve Corps comprised of about 2,000 experts from state and local governments and from the private sector. H.R. 1084, which passed in the House on March 5, 2008, authorizes funds and responsibilities for the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization within the Department of State (DOS) to establish and manage these corps.

[. . .]

The United States has deployed a large part of our volunteer military to support the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we have also called on an army of federal civilian volunteers from the Department of Defense and other departments and agencies to serve. Over the course of more than seven years of war, nearly 10,000 federal civilian employees have been deplored to Iraq or Afghanistan to support security, political, and economic development. While certainly unique in scale and complexity, the stability and reconstruction missions in Iraq and Afghanistan are also unprecedented in their risk to our deployed citizens. Some claim these posts are exposed to such a high level of threat that most civilian personnel would have been evactued from them in the pre-9/11 era. There are few safe places in countries where terrorists, militia, insurgents, and criminals are seeking power and attempting to undermine efforts to establish legitimate governments. Even in 'secure' areas such as military bases or the Baghdad 'Green Zone,' personnel are at risk of attack by mortars, rockets, and the possibility that a suicide bomber could infiltrate defenses. Notwithstanding these risks, federal civilian personnel working in these war zones have been deemed essential to the success of the stabilization and reconstruction efforts.

The report identifies "Ares of Concern" including that "the committee heard directly from two DOD civilians who faced challenges in receiving: proper medical treatment for their wounds, approval for admission to Military Treatment Facilities (MTF), help with OWCP claims process from the Department of Labor, and support from their parent organization to be put back to work." The Office of Workers' Compesnation Programs (OCWP) was also cited as an error of concern:


The subcommittee heard about problems with: (1) claims officers not recognizing unique aspects of combat injuries; (2) an antiquated and inefficient paper system and inadequate automated system software for handling claims filed by those in sensitive assignments; and (3) the lack of support provided to those who have to negotiate the system for approval of claims. Considering the importance of encouraging civilians to volunteer to serve in combat zones,the burden of negotiating the OWCP paperwork and bureaucracy should not fall solely on the wounded civilian. They should be assured that they will receive informed and educated help with this process.

These issues come at a time when the State Dept is threatening to 'draft' employees and station them in Iraq. The report notes, "Despite assurances from federal agency witnesses who testified before the committee that the relevant agencies can meet the current demand for civilian assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Department of State met with strong opposition from some of its FSOs [Foreign Service Officers] when it announced in October, 2007 that directed assignements might be required to fill positions in Iraq. There was significant concern among FSOs, including the AFSA President and Vice President, about how FSOs were informed of these assignments. Soon after, the Department of State stated that the use of directed assignments would not be necessary since they expected all of their current FSO positions in Iraq to be filled by 'volunteers'." In April, another change emerged. CBS and AP reported: "The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats they may be forced to serve in Iraq next year and says it will soon start identifying prime candidates for jobs at the Baghdad embassy and outlying provinces, according to a cable obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. A similar call-up notice last year caused an uproar among foreign service officers, some of whom objected to compulsory work in a war zone, although in the end the State Department found enough volunteers to fill the jobs. Now, the State Department anticipates another staffing crisis." By September of 2007, 1500 State Dept employees had worked in Iraq and, in terms of the 2007 attempt to 'draft' employees, after forced to back down the State Dept only filled 94% of the jobs in Iraq.

Staying with the topic of civilians but turning to Iraqi civilians, the assault on Sadr City continues and civilians continue to die and be injured. Shashank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that Saturday the US military conducted an assault which damaged "[a] major hospital in Baghdad's Sadr City". Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) explained that 3 "precision-guided munitions" hit "a small mosque," that children were wounded (a total of 28 people were wounded) and ambulances damaged, while the hospital's windows were blown out. Rubin noted, "Haider Abbas, 10, was brought to the hospital with what appeared to be a gaping hole in his back and shrapnel injuries across his stomach. The boy screamed in pain, barely able to answer a doctor's questions." Peter Symonds (World Socialist Web Site) offers, "The incident provides a glimpse of the hellish conditions created for residents of the huge working class slum through the month-long siege by American and Iraqi government forces. Prensa Latina leads with, "The US air force bombed a hospital in Sadr City district in the capital, wounding about twenty people, among them women and children" and quotes Ali Bistan ("chief of health department") stating, "They [the US] will say it is a hidden weapons store but they really want to destroy the country's infrastructure, to prevent staff and doctors from arriving to the hospital." As the assault continues, barriers continue to be erected (by the US military) in Sadr City, walling the area off. The Los Angeles Times runs a photo by Petr David Josek (AP) showing one such walling. Gina Chon (Wall St. Journal) notes of her return "to Baghdad after a monthlog break," "The fighting that began against the Mahdi Army (or what the U.S. calls 'criminal elements' disobeying Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr) before I left is ongoing. As a result, the humanitarian situation in the Sadr City area of Baghdad has worsened. Sadr City was already a poor area of the capital, but the recent clashes have made it difficult to get aid to the people. And many families have been displaced. . . . At a press conference today, Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said the government recognizes the need to rebuild and provide economic aid to Sadr City. But he said the government has been unable to spend all of the $100 million in reconstruction money pledged for Sadr City because of the bad security situation. As the weather grows increaingly hotter, the importance of providing adequate supplies of electricity and clean water becomes even more crucial." CBS and AP note: "Iraqi health officials on Monday said that 41 people, including women and children, have been wounded since Sunday" in Sadr City. Hala Jaber (Times of London) reports from Sadr City. Among the many noted are Amira Zaydan:

"Ya'mma, Ya'ba" ("Oh mother, oh father"), cried Amira Zaydan, a 45-year-old spinsiter, slapping her face and chest as she grieved for her parents Jaleel, 65, and Hanounah, 60, whose house had exploded after apparently being hit by an American rocket.
"Where are you, my brothers?" she sobbed, lamenting Samir, 32, and Amir, 29, who had also perished along with their wives, one of whom was nine months pregnant.
"What wrong have you done, my children?" she howled to the spirits of four nephews and nieces who completed a toll of 10 family members in the disaster that struck last Tuesday. "Mothers, children, babies; all obliterated for nothing."

AFP reports, "The Iraqi government, meanwhile, said Sunday that it had no evidence to link Iranian support for militiamen leading attacks in Sadr City and called for better relations with Tehran. On US accusations that weapons captured from Shiite fighters bore 2008 markings suggesting Iranian involvement, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said: 'We don't have that kind of evidence.'" Considering last week's non-stop press coverage trying to bolster/enable the White House in their claims, the denial has interested very few US outlets. Leila Fadel and Shashank Bengali (McClatchy Newspapers) did report on it: "The Iraqi Government seemed to distance itself from U.S. accusations towards Iran Sunday saying it would not be forced into conflict with its Shiite neighbor" and quoted alDabbagh stating, "We don't want to be pushed into any conflict with any neighboring countries, especially Iran." Meanwhile Walter Pincus (Washington Post) reports, "The United States is moving south in Iraq, planning to upgrade facilities at Camp Delta and the Al Kut Air Base, which is about 140 miles southeast of Baghdad and just 35 miles from the Iranian border. . . . There has been no public announcement. But two weeks ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers posted modifications to an earlier notice tha disclosed it is seeking construction companies or joint ventures interested in bidding to design and build two 'life support areas' at Camp Delta".

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports US air strikes in Sadr City claimed 6 lives with thrity-one more left injured, another US bombing in Baghdad (in Amil) claimed 5 lives ["including three members of one family (parents and their child")] with an additional eight injured, a Baghdad bombing left two people wounded, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that injured seven members of the Iraqi military, two other Diyala Province roadside bombing that injured three police officers and three people belonging to "Kurdish security forces known as Bashmarga" and a Kirkuk roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer (seven more injured).

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports an armed clash in Diyala Province that left one person wounded and one person wounded in Nineveh Province shooting. Reuters reports an attack on an Iraqi checkpoint that claimed the lives of 10 Iraqi soldiers with thirteen more wounded. Reuters also notes 3 women shot dead in Mosul in an apartment invasion,

Kidnappings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province kidnapping of 3 truck drivers.

Corpses?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad and 1 in Mosul.

Turning to the US presidential race. It wasn't enough for Barack Obama to embarrass himself by thinking the Great Lakes were in Oregon [which PaganPower (No Quarter) demonstrates the Obama campaign is trying to make disappear], now he shows even more geographical stupidity. Jeralyn (TalkLeft) highlights his new ad attacking Hillary Clinton -- both are running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- and he says "I approved this message" at the end. So he's responsible for its accuracy. The New York Times, a national paper, is published in NYC. The ad calls the Times Hillary's "hometown paper." Hillary and Bill Clinton live in Chappaqua, NY. That's over a half-hour (with no traffic -- there's always traffic -- and going at least 60 mph) from the edge of NYC. The Times really isn't Hillary's "hometown paper" (Gannett's The Journal News would be the local daily) but any idiot who thought the Great Lakes were in Oregon isn't going to be teaching geography anytime soon. Meanwhile Big Tent Democrat (TalkLeft) educates on counting (which, as he points out, is apparently harder than might be thought). Joe Wilson (Raleigh News and Observer via TaylorMarsh.com) explains Barack's inexperience and lack of judgement and points out, "Obama repeats the incorrect and politically irresponsible mantra that Sen. Hillary Clinton voted for the war and that therefore he is more qualified to be president. Unlike Obama, as the last acting U.S. ambassador to Iraq during the first Gulf War, I was deeply involved in that debate from the beginning. . . . The betrayal occurred not when the president was given the tools he needed to secure international support for inspections, but rather when Bush refused to allow the inspectors to complete their work and decided preemptively to invade, conquer and occupy Iraq. That decision and power was his alone -- not the Congress' and certainly not Hillary Clinton's. Obama is wrong to turn Bush's war into Clinton's responsibility. And Obama is dangerously naive in failing to understand the need in international crises to blend tough diplomacy with the other foreign policy tools at our disposal to achieve a strong national security posture." Meanwhile Susan UnPC (No Quarter) has been covering the realities of Weather Underground victims. Noting a Fox interview with John M. Murtagh (whose home was bombed when he was an 8-year-old child -- with him in it -- in an attack on his father, NY State Supreme Court Justice John Murtagh ), Susan UnPC wonders today, "Where the hell is the media?" She's posted the videos of the interviews and also refers you "here and here" for two pieces John M. Murtagh wrote last week. Why the bombing? This February 16, 1970 Time magazine piece provides some more details.

The candidates took part in the Sunday chat and chews, Hillary appearing for the hour on ABC's This Week and Barack appearing for the hour on NBC's Meet The Press. Alessandra Stanley (New York Times) offers the following critique:


Senator Barack Obama sat hunched on Sunday across the desk from Tim Russert on "Meet The Press" on NBC and wearily endured question after question about his relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stood up from her armchair on Sunday to tower over George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" on ABC and merrily took on all critics, even the king of the Clinton-bashers, the talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh."He's always had a crush on me," Mrs. Clinton said with a sly smile.

Ava and I noted:

In other words, while Barack was locked in the gas bag bunker, Hillary was mixing it up with the people and looking very of the people. (George noted that both Barack and John McCain had a standing invitation to appear on This Week in the same format.) Some questions were warm, some were pointed and Hillary showed grace and leadership throughout. It was a winning format, true, but it was also the difference between a candidate who was prepared and one who stumbled throughout. Barack mainly talked about . . . well himself. When all you have to sell is your increasingly tired personality, you come off like Ann Turkel alternately trying to convince the people that Humanoids From The Deep was a work of art and that your bathing suits really will allow people to darken without tan lines. It was really that pathetic.

We'll close with Lori Bernardini's "My '88 Years' House Party for Hillary" (HillaryClinton.com):

On a typical springtime Saturday morning in Portland (partly cloudy with a chance of rain) several women gathered in an Irvington neighborhood bungalow to rally for Hillary Clinton. Most of the guests arrived in anticipation, donning campaign buttons or carrying banners.
The party was held to commemorate the fact that it had been 88 years since women were given the right to vote -- and we wanted to celebrate the first opportunity for citizens to vote for a woman for president. This house party was one of 88 parties planned for the weekend statewide.
The bungalow was decorated with official Hillary Clinton campaign signs along with some homemade versions made by the children of the party's hosts. Good smells wafted from the kitchen as one of the hosts produced an assortment of delicious homemade, freshly baked bagels and pastries.
The discussion about campaign topics was lively. Blogging soon became a topic of interest, including whether this relatively new online communication significantly impacts voter preferences. Finally, the group settled in to focus on the key task of the morning -- making calls to Oregonians to get out the vote in support for Hillary Clinton. The guests had varying amounts of experience making campaign calls -- many had never made calls before and were a little anxious; a few were seasoned callers. One guest said she made calls while grocery shopping!
As the party ended, the guests shuffled out the door with more campaign materials than they arrived with including calling instructions, Clinton campaign information, bumper stickers, and a dose of optimism about Hillary Clinton's chances of winning Oregon -- and the general election.

shirley j. wilcher shows up in a glad trash bag today at common dreams to flaunt how ignorant she still is. she trashes hillary in a piece called 'the devil wears pantsuits.'

oh, how clever, shirl.

you haven't been so clever since you sold out your department in 1995. remember that?

remember when she was assistant dept. secretary of labor and declared:

"I started out with enforcement to get their attention, and I think I've gotten it," Ms. Wilcher said. "But now I'm interested in focusing on the other side: congratulating and complimenting and encouraging contractors who are truly out there doing good things."

she hopes you don't. she hopes you don't remember her sell-out then. you can relive it by reading stephen a. holmes' 'Once-Tough Chief of Affirmative-Action Agency Is Forced to Change Tack' from the new york times' august 6, 1995 edition.

at common dreams, shirley semi-confesses that all the rumors about her were true and that every curse word used against her by those serving under her were accurate. so now shirl wants to show up and give a hillary a lecture? maybe shirl should try working on herself.

but trash never cleans itself, it only pollutes the landscape.

shirl, you're trash.

you sold out long ago and you're not going to redeam yourself by trashing another woman. just sit there on the curb and wait for the trash pickup.

yea, hillary! this is from ap: "Clinton's campaign also announced a superdelegate endorsement Friday, by Jaime Gonzalez Jr., a member of the Democratic National Committee from Texas."

here's howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: A Star Endorsement:'

A Star Endorsement: The Indianapolis Star today endorsed Hillary: Hillary “offers nuanced positions on how to address the war in Iraq, trade with China and economic expansion. Her depth of knowledge is remarkable…[she] is well prepared for the rigors of the White House. She is tough, experienced and realistic about what can and cannot be accomplished on the world stage…Hillary Clinton is the better choice.” Read more.
HRC Strongest v. McCain: “A spate of new public polls out this week confirms what we have been arguing for some time: Hillary Clinton is the strongest candidate to beat John McCain in November. The data shows that Clinton not only outperforms Obama in head-to-head matchups, but is also stronger in the all important subcategories that serve as bellwethers for a candidate’s overall strength. In addition, new data out [yesterday] in three swing states vital to Democratic prospects in November show Clinton beating McCain.” Read more and more.
Superdelegate Watch: Five superdelegates announced their support for Hillary yesterday. Read more and more.
Relief for Millions of Americans: In Indiana yesterday, Hillary talked up the gas tax holiday and went after those who are out of touch with millions of Americans: “I find it, frankly, a little offensive that people who don't have to worry about filling up their gas tank or what they buy when they go to the supermarket think it’s somehow illegitimate to provide relief for...millions and millions of Americans.” Chief Strategist Geoff Garin had this to say: “There’s a real gap here in how some people see this from 30,000 feet and how real people in places like North Carolina and Indiana experience it every day, and they really want somebody who will say, ‘You know what, we get that you’re facing a very difficult economic situation here - we're going to stand by you.’” Read more.
If You Watch One Thing Today: A senior takes Obama to task over his gas tax position. Watch here.
Three Generations in Brownsburg, IN: Hillary, joined by Chelsea and her mother Dorothy, spoke to supporters and their children yesterday in Brownsburg, IN. Read more.
Energy in Terre Haute, IN: Today’s front page of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star features Hillary’s latest visit...Hillary told the crowd: “There’s another source of energy we’re going to harness…the people of Terre Haute.” Read more.
Derby Picks: Yesterday, Hillary visited the Kentucky headquarters and “revealed her sentimental choice for Saturday's Run for the Roses -- the filly Eight Belles.” Read more.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hoosier singer and songwriter John Mellencamp performs at an event with Hillary in Indianapolis, IN.

she never stops working for america, does she? hillary's the candidate who can win and the candidate who can fix the current mess we're living in. but the media doesn't care about that as u.s. world & news reports points out in 'Obama Wins The Media While Clinton Moves Up In The Polls:'

There is an odd dichotomy emerging in the media coverage of the Democratic presidential race emerging this morning. On one hand, the media is seeing former Democratic National Committee Chairman Joe Andrew's defection to Barack Obama's camp as a sign that superdelegates are beginning to move towards his candidacy, and give the move extensive coverage. On the other, there are a number of items of good news for Hillary Clinton polls showing her in a dead heat in Indiana and one showing her competitive in North Carolina, which was expected to be an Obama stronghold. In addition, she picked up the endorsement of the Indianapolis Star, and a group of swing state polls show her far stronger in the general election in key states than Obama.

bill moyers is a tool. we're all laughing at him right now on tv. he's a sick, disgusting pervert if you ask me. he's trying to defend himself and there's no defense for his interview last week. ava and c.i. called his lying ass out last week ('TV: Mission Impossible') and i have a feeling that they'll be calling out crazy ass bill moyers again. he really is disgusting. he's at pbs because cbs finally got tired of him.


let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Friday, May 2, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, Sadr City sounds off against the puppet, Turkey and northern Iraq continue to be in conflict, and more.

Starting with war resistance. Courage to Resist notes war resister Ryan Jackson is currently at Fort Sill having turned himself at the start of the month after being "absent without leave since December when a local commander vetoed his pending discharge from the 35th Signal Brigade at Fort Gordon, Georgia." They note that there is a defense fund here, that he can be e-mailed via ryanjackson@couragetoresist.org and that you can find an audio interview they did with him here.

US war resisters in Canada who are hoping to be granted safe harbor status. What's the status on the motion?

Community member Dallas passed on the following. "Citizenship and immigration" issues have taken the forefront and the war resister motion, "it's kind of taken the wayside." (All quotes from Canada's NDP's spokesperson.) For now, the best thing to do would be continuing utilizing the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Meanwhile, northern Iraq was assaulted again. Hurriyet reports, "Turkey's General Staff confirmed on Friday its warplanes had bombed outlawed separatist PKK bases in nothern Iraq late on Thursday in a 'comprehensive and effective' air operation. The White House on Friday endorsed Turkey's air strikes against the PKK targets in N. Iraq." Speaking at and for the White House today, Gordon Johndroe emphasized that Turkey, Iraq and the US "are all committed to dealing with this problem" and declared the air assaults to be part of "ongoing operations". Mark Bentley (Bloomberg News) notes that the Turkish military is claiming responsibility for "many" deaths and labeling all dead as "terrorists" while BBC points to local television, "A television station run by the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said several villages in the Pishdar district were bombed by Turkish jets on Thursday night. It said there were no casualties in the villages." C. Onur Ant (AP) explains, "Turkish warplanes bombed a key Kurdish rebel base deep inside Iraq for three hours overnight, Turkey's military and a rebel spokesman said Friday. A Kurdish Iraqi official said four rebels were killed." CNN states that the bombing began at 11:00 pm ("local time") which would mean it ended at 1:00 a.m. this morning. Turkey, the United States and the European Union label the PKK as a terrorist organization.

On Wednesday, the US State Department provided their annual "Country Reports on Terrorism" to the US Congress and included in the section on Turkey was the following:

Domestic and transnational terrorist groups have targeted Turkish nationals and foreigners, including, on occasion, USG personnel, in Turkey, for more than 40 years. Terrorist groups that operated in Turkey included Kurdish separatist, Marxist-Leninist, radical Islamist, and pro-Chechen groups. Terrorism in Turkey is defined in the Anti-Terror Law #3713 (TMK, 1991). "Terrorist" activities are composed primarily of crimes outlined in the Penal Code committed within the context of terrorist group activities, which target the structure of the state, changing or destroying the principles of the state, and aiming to create panic and terror in society. Thus, Turkish law defines terrorism as attacks against Turkish citizens and the Turkish state, and hampers Turkey's ability to interdict those who would target non-combatants globally.
Most prominent among terrorist groups in Turkey is the Kongra-Gel/Kurdistan Worker's Party (KGK/PKK). Composed primarily of Kurds with a separatist agenda, the KGK/PKK operated from bases in northern Iraq and directed its forces to target mainly Turkish security forces. In 2005 and 2006, KGK/PKK violence claimed hundreds of Turkish lives. This persisted in 2007, when the KGK/PKK continued its terrorist tactics. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a group designated under E.O. 13224, is affiliated with the KGK/PKK and has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks on Turkish and foreign citizens in Turkish cities in recent years. KGK/PKK and TAK-linked individuals were discovered in late May in Istanbul, Adana, Konya, and Mardin with explosive materials designed to carry out suicide attacks. On May 25, the KGK/PKK claimed responsibility for the bombing of a cargo train in Bingol Province.
In the midst of weeks of violence, during which KGK/PKK attacks claimed scores of killed or wounded Turkish soldiers and citizens, the Turkish parliament on October 17 overwhelmingly passed a motion authorizing cross-border military operations against KGK/PKK targets in northern Iraq. Turkish forces carried out extensive operations along the Turkey-Iraq border in the latter part of the year. On November 5th, President Bush committed to provide Turkey "real-time, actionable intelligence" to counter the KGK/PKK in northern Iraq.

In the section on Iraq, with regards to Turkey, the report noted the following:

Iraqi government officials continued to strongly condemn terrorists. On September 28, Iraq and Turkey concluded a counterterrorism agreement between its interior ministers to increase cooperation in countering the militant Kurdish separatist group, Kongra Gel/Kurdistan Workers' Party (KGK/PKK). Following an October 7 attack by the KGK/PKK that killed 13 Turkish soldiers in Southern Turkey, Prime Minister Maliki publicly stated that the KGK/PKK was a terrorist organization and would not be tolerated in Iraq. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in northern Iraq also took concrete actions against the KGK/PKK presence there by closing off re-supply routes via additional checkpoints, increasing airport screening for KGK/PKK members, and directing the closure of KGK/PKK-affiliated offices.

Today's Zaman notes the report maintains that support comes from Europe (are they the next 'axis of evil'?) where "the group maintains a large extortion, fundraising and propaganda network" and the paper adds, "Turkey has frequently criticized European countries for tolerating PKK fundraising and propaganda activities in their territory, although the European Union, like the US, recognizes the PKK as a terrorist organization." James Orr (Guardian of London) states, "The PKK leadership is thought to be hidng in the Mt Qandil area, which straddles the Iraq-Iran border and is 60 miles from the border between Iraq and Turkey. In recent months, Turkey has launched several air assualts on PKK targets in northern Iraq. In February, it staged a major ground offensive which lasted eight days."

Thursday night's assault was preceeded by Turkish officials visiting the central (puppet) government in Baghdad. Hurriyet explains, "A Turkish delegation arrived in Baghdad on Thursday to meet with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, PM Nuri Al Maliki and Kurdish administration PM Nechirvan Barzani. . . . The delegation, consisting of a senior Prime Ministry official Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkey's Special Representative to Iraq Murat Ozcelik, arrived in Baghdad on Thursday." Wisam Mohammed (Reuters) quoted the Kurdish regional government's foreign policy chief, Falah Mustafa, stating, "This is the first time a meeting has taken place between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan goverment" and, when asked about the issue of the PKK, Mustafa stated, "Of course we discussed it, but only in general terms, not in specifics. And we agreed to find a peaceful solution." But Today's Zaman quotes Turkey's foreign minister Ali Babacan stating PKK remains an issue for relations between the government and Turkey and of the Kurdish region of Iraq, "The manner and stance that will be displayed by the local administration in northern Iraq regarding their discourse and activities concerning the PKK will by all means influence our dialogue -- postively or negatively. . . . The extent to which they can put distance between themselves and the organization and the extent to which they can strongly display their intent to do so with concrete steps will certainly influence the characteristic and frequency of our dialogue with the local administration in northern Iraq." AFP explains, "Ankara is under pressure from Washington and at home to back up military action against the PKK with political and economic gestures to the sizeable Kurdish community and erode popular support for the rebels."

As with every assault, the usual economic response took place. Thomson Financial reports, "Oil prices have jumped higher as a result of the attacks, due to concerns, supplies from nothern Iraqi oil fields could be disrupted." Moming Zhou and Polya Lesova (MarketWatch) observe that the rise in prices was "the first day in four" for a rise and that the increase was "more than $3 to near $116 a barrel, boosed by news reports that Turkish planes bombed bases of separatist Kurds in nothern Iraq." Grant Smith (Bloomberg News) quotes Nordea Bank AB analyst Thina Saltvedt declaring, "Even though this Turkish invasion hasn't done anything to the supply side, there is the risk premium that violence will spread to southern Iraq, which is more important for oil."

Meanwhile Sadr City was in very vocal opposition to the puppet of the occuaption Nouri al-Malik today. Hassan Jouini (AFP) reports that "crowds" took part in "a tirade" agains the puppet as they demanded he "end a stalement with their leader Moqtada al-Sadr and quotes spokesperson Salman al-Fraiji declaring, "Nuri al-Maliki has compounded misunderstandings and false accusations. He seeks to cover the failure of his domestic policy. You are trying to cover up the crimes of your protectors in Sadr City. Heinous crimes have been perpetrated by the occupiers in our area. Why are you hiding them? You have failed to convince Arab countries to open embassies in Iraq." Salah Hemeid (Al-Ahram Weekly) explains, "At issue are the coming provincial elections scheduled in October which both the Iraqi government and the American administration eye as vital in stabilising the war-wrecked nation. Both fear that Al-Sadr's supporters will fare better than the US-favoured Islamic Supreme Council and Al-Maliki's Daawa Party, thus excluding them from most of the southern provinces, so despite having grassroots support they were not represented in local governments."

An important documentary that takes a look at the resistance in Iraq is th, Meeting Resistance by Molly Bingham and Steve Connors. It's been playing to raves across the country and will be out on DVD this month (May 20th is the DVD release):


MEETING RESISTANCE An "Astonishing" Journey into the Heart of the Iraqi Resistance Available on DVD May 20, 2008 MEETING RESISTANCE is a daring, eye-opening film that raises the veil of anonymity surrounding the Iraqi insurgency by meeting face to face with individuals who are passionately engaged in the struggle against coalition forces. It documents for the first time the sentiments experienced and actions taken by a nation's citizens when their homeland is occupied. With unique insight into the people involved in the resistance, this acclaimed film explodes myth after myth about the war in Iraq and the Iraqis who participate. Voices which have been previously unheard -- both male and female -- speak candidly about their motivations, hopes and goals, revealing a kaleidoscope of human perspectives. Through its unprecedented access to insurgents and clandestine groups, MEETING RESISTANCE is the missing puzzle piece in understanding the Iraq war -- not only the toll of the occupation but the mindset behind those who resist. MEETING RESISTANCE was directed by Steve Connors and Molly Bingham. Connors was born in Sheffield, England. He began taking photographs while serving as a British soldier in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s. Connors has worked for most of the worlds' newspapers and magazines including Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times and spent fifteen months from November 2001 on in Afghanistan. During the invasion, he went to Iraq and spent fourteen months there working on MEETING RESISTANCE. The film is Connors' directorial debut. Molly Bingham was born in Kentucky and graduated from Harvard College in 1990. She began working as a photojournalist in earnest in 1994, traveling to Rwanda in the wake of the genocide. She has worked as a photojournalist for many different publications and has also completed projects for Human Rights Watch. Bingham teamed up with Connors in August of 2003 to begin a film about who was behind the emerging post-war violence in Iraq. DVD Bonus Features:
Directors' Audio Commentary • Film Notes • Biographies • Theatrical TrailerFeatured on Good Morning America, National Public Radio, ABC World News, Anderson Cooper 360, This Week with George Stephanopolous, CNN, Vanity Fair, and more!
SCREENED BY THE U.S. MILITARY
Shown to Iraq-based and Iraq-bound troops "I spent several years studying and fighting the insurgency at the tactical and operational levels, and I strongly recommend MEETING RESISTANCE. It provides the best view into the minds and motivations of Iraqi insurgents I have found in years of research." - MAJOR DAN FICKEL (RES)
"The single most astonishing documentary yet on the Iraq war. A breakthrough film!" -- SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL, SALON.COM "Powerful and fascinating!" -- SHAUNA LYON, THE NEW YORKER "A remarkable piece of war reporting." -- RICHARD LEIBY, WASHINGTON POST "DARING...COURAGEOUS...ENLIGHTENING! Sometimes a film serves as a potent weapon of endangered truth, dispelling official lies and giving voice to those whose collective pain has been silenced. MEETING RESISTANCE is that film and more, an act of resistance in its own right to the US war on Iraq." -- PRAIRIE MILLER -- WBAI RADIO "A rare glimpse into the hearts and minds of those who have dedicated themselves to ridding Iraq of its invaders." -- RONNIE SCHEIB, VARIETY "he documentary equivalent of a Seymour Hersh investigative story in The New Yorker. REQUIRED VIEWING!" -- JOE GARFOLI, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE"EYE-OPENING!" -- PETER MARTIN, CINEMATICAL More information about the film can be found at meetingresistance.comMEETING RESISTANCE
85 minutes, color, 2007, Arabic w/English subtitles UPC: 7-20229-91324-9 Catalog #: FRF 913249D Retail Price: $24.95 Canadian Retail Price: $29.95 Pre-book: April 15 Street Date: May 20


Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .


Bombing?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, a Diyala Province bombing that wounded one person.

Shooting?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 2 Awakening members were shot dead in an attack in Baquba and five wounded before their building was blown up. Reuters notes that US forces state they killed 4 people (suspected 'gunmen') in Mosul yesterday and today and 2 people in Baghdad's Sadr City (suspected 'gunmen' -- and via ariel bombings on the Sadr City) as well as 7 people in armed clashes in Baghdad.

Kidnapping?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mass kidnapping (7 people) in Diyala Province today.


Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad.

In US presidential political news. Senator Barack Obama wants to be president . . . of some of the people. Apparently not of the people hurting economically over rising gas prices. He's shot down both Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain's plans for a gas tax holiday. But Delilah Boyd (A Scriverner's Lament) points out that "Obama voted for it multiple times in Illinois in 2000 ... The Obama-based moral of this and all other Obama stories: If it doesn't help Obama, it's not a good thing. Period." Meanwhile Ralph Nader and his running mate Matt Gonzalez are gearing up for a West Coast Tour next week where they will be working on ballot access in California, Oregon and Washington.

Returning to the topic of Barack, he received another endorsement from another loser today. Paul G. Kirk Jr. who has long been Ted Kennedy's biggest suck-up came out for Barack today. Kirk Jr.'s 'expertise' and 'wisdom' were probably on 'best' display when he was the head on DNC during . . . Michael Dukakis failed presidential campaign. We're sure Junior will bring all the 'help' to Barack that he did to Dukakis. Dan Baltz (Washington Post) points out that Junior actually came out for Barack in February. Well, when your life means so little, you probably have to grab all the headlines you can. Ask the Loud family. But whatever you do, don't ask Barack basic geographic questions. Pagan Power (No Quarter) explains that Barack has a 'plan' for Oregon and it includes "the Great Lakes" which, pay attention, are in the MidWest, not the North West. Hillary's plan is entitled "Oregon Compact." Barack apparently rushed his last-minute homework. Which explains both his errors as well as other portions appearing to be lifted from Hillary's plan. Maybe he can claim she's his best friend just like Deval and that makes it okay?

Barack keeps claiming Jeremiah Wright is preventing a discussion of the issues. Apparently, Wright prevented Barack from discussing issues for 20 years? Reid J. Epstein (Newsday) reports that academics watching polls in North Carolina see the Wright friendship as hurting Barack at the polls. People do wonder why it took him 20-years and how stupid he thinks Americans are that we're all supposed to believe that Jeremiah Wright transformed/shape-shifted over the weekend into someone Barack had enver seen before? In the real world, Eloise Harper (ABC News) reports Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared in Indiani yesterday, ""Part of our family is divided and our Party is divided and the reason we are divided is because we have two extraordinary candidates both running for president both who will make unbelievable presidents of this country. . . . but let me tell you why they're wrong and I'm right, because I know Hillary Clinton better than they know Barack Obama."
Meanwhile, Hillary picked up an important endorsement today. From The Indianapolis Star's editorial entitled "Experience makes Clinton better choice in primary:"As impressive as Obama appears, he is still in his first term in the U.S. Senate, and only four years ago was serving as an Illinois state senator. His inexperience in high office is a liability. Clinton, in contrast, is well prepared for the rigors of the White House. She is tough, experienced and realistic about what can and cannot be accomplished on the world stage.


Independent journalist, photo-journalist and artist David Bacon examines and explores the issues of immigrant rights frequently. Last week, Bacon (Political Affairs Magazine) sounded the alarms over Hayley Barbour, governor of Mississippi, having "signed into law the fartherest-reaching employer sanctions law of any on the books in the U.S. Employer sanctions is a shorthand name for laws that prohibit employers from hiring immigrants who don't have legal immigration status in the U.S. That provision was part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act, passed by Congress in 1986, which for the first time in U.S. history required employers to verify the immigration status of employees. The Mississippi bill, SB 2988, requires employers to use an electronic system to verify immigration status, called E-Verify. That system has only recently been developed by the Department of Homeland Security, and by the department's own admission, is not a complete record." This week, he writes (Political Affairs Magazine):

In the big immigrant marches that swept the country on May Day in 2006 and 2007, one sign said it all: "We are Workers, not Criminals!" Often it was held in the calloused hands of men and women who looked as though they'd just come from work in a factory, cleaning an office building, or picking grapes. The sign stated an obvious truth. Millions of people have come to this country to work, not to break its laws. Some have come with visas, and others without them. But they are all contributors to the society they've found here, not people who mean it harm. Again this May Day, immigrant workers are filling the streets, making the same point. Yet today the Federal government is taking actions that make holding a job a criminal act. Some states and local communities, seeing a green light from the Department of Homeland Security, are passing measures that go even further. These actions need a reality check.

Tonight (in most markets) NOW on PBS explores the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns with guests Willie Brown and Dan Schnur. The campaign will also be part of the topics addressed on PBS' Washington Week (check local listings) and Gwen's guests will include AP's Charles Babington, Wall St. Journal's David Wessel, NBC's Pete Williams and the New York Times' John Harwood. From TV to radio, Sunday on WBAI (11:00 a.m. EST), The Next Hour is hosted by Reno and, on Monday, Cat Radio Cafe (2:00 p.m. EST):

A celebration of the life and art of Michael Goldberg, American painter (1924-2007) who gained first acclaim as a Second Generation Abstract Expressionist of the New York School. With art critici Jeremy Gilbert-Rolf, curator Klaus Kertess, painter Ellen Phelan, Bomb Magazine editor Betsy Sussler, Goldberg's stepson Luke Matheissen, and his wife sculptor Lynn Umlauf. Hosted by Janet Coleman and David Dozier.

And we'll close with Chelsea Clinton:
One of the most fun things about meeting people who support my mom's campaign is seeing all the creative ways they show their support. I've seen a lot of homemade signs, buttons, and shirts on the campaign trail, and I think we need to harness that great creative energy for our campaign.
So today, I'd like to announce the launch of Project T-Shirt, a contest to design the next great t-shirt for my mom's campaign.
I know you agree with me that my mom is the strongest, most progressive, and most prepared candidate, and that she would be the best president! This is a great way for you to show exactly what her historic campaign means to you.
Maybe you've got a slogan that you've been dying to share. Or maybe you want to share your design talents. Whatever your ideas are, I can't wait to see them -- and we'll offer the best shirt for sale in the official campaign store, raising money to help my mom win! I'll also make sure to get a picture of me AND my mom wearing the shirt, which we will post on the website.
So please put on your thinking caps, get those creative juices flowing, and visit our Project T-Shirt website to learn more and submit your design.
Please click here to get started.
I'm so excited to see all the great ideas you have. Thank you so much for all you're doing to help my mom win!
Go Hillary!


iraq
david baconwbaithe next hourcat radio cafe
now on pbs
pbswashington week
meeting resistancemolly binghamsteve connors
the indianapolis star
the washington post

Princeton Professor Sean Wilentz, a Clinton supporter, noted that the Obama campaign advisers have tried to have it both ways on the race question. On the one hand, they present their candidate as a figure who transcends racial divisions and "brings us together"; on the other hand, they exhort us that we should support his candidacy because of the opportunity to "make history" (presumably by nominating and maybe electing a black candidate). Increasingly, Obama supporters have been disposed to cry foul and charge racism at nearly any criticism of him, in steadily more extravagant rhetoric.
The campaign's accusation that the Clinton team made Obama look darker in a photo or video clip than he actually is--and what exactly are we to make of that as an accusation?--and the hysterically indignant reaction to Geraldine Ferraro's statement that much of Obama's success stems from the fact that "the country is caught up in the concept" of a black candidacy are no different from the campaign's touting its "historic" character. Obama supporters fulsomely attacked even Clinton's attempts to portray him as inexperienced, which is standard fare in political campaigns. They also charged that she was playing to racism. See most recently Harvard sociologist Lawrence Bobo's characterization that she was "disrespecting" black people, a leftover canard from Jesse Jackson's campaigns (which, lest amnesia overtake us, were also extolled as historic firsts).
The Jackson comparison points to one of Obama’s key contradictions: Like Jackson, he wants to appeal to blacks with the "it's our time now" line, and to white liberals with that, as well as with the "I'm black in a different way from Jesse" qualifier and the religious conversion rhetoric. A friend said that Obama’s campaign, in stressing his appeal to rapturous children and liberal, glamorous yuppies, offers vicarious identification with these groups, as well as the chance to become sort of black in that ultra-safe and familiar theme park way.

that's from adolph reed jr.'s 'Obama No' (the progressive) and i wanted to open with it. it'll probably be the only truth we get from the progressive between now and the election.

e-mail question: have i seen juno?

no. we've got the dvd but haven't had time to watch it yet. hannah writes that she loves the movie. if possible, i'll watch it this weekend. i've only heard good things about it. we grabbed it
at starbucks this week when we got carly simon's new cd this kind of love.

okay back to the campaign. this is from newsday on the latest polling:

At the same time, a bevy of new polls seemed to show Obama is suffering from the "Wright Effect."
Clinton has widened her lead in Indiana, cut Obama's edge in North Carolina down to 7 points and lurched ahead in a major national poll, following a week of wall-to-wall coverage of controversial remarks by Obama's ex-pastor.A Gallup national daily tracking poll showed Clinton jumping to a 49 to 45 lead over Obama, her biggest lead nationally since mid-March. Obama led Clinton by 10 points in the poll on the eve of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday showed Obama and Clinton in a statistical dead heat nationally, with Obama surrendering a 7-point lead in the last six weeks.Tom Bevan, founder of Realclearpolitics.com, which tracks poll data, termed the shift a "rather dramatic tightening" of a Democratic presidential race many had considered finished prior to Clinton's Pennsylvania victory, Wright's resurfacing and Obama's belated denunciation of the pastor.

barack make boom-boom in diaper and stink up the room.

okay ruth and c.i. have both been talking about the need for the gas tax holiday and i'll jump in as well. this is from fernando suarez (cbs news):

In her harshest comments directed to oil companies to date, Clinton said she thinks the federal government should "go after the oil companies."
"I have advocated for a federal gas-tax holiday paid for by imposing an excess profits tax on the oil companies. Let the oil companies pay the federal gas tax for the next months!" said Clinton to thunderous applause. She also said she wanted to poll Congress to see where they stand on the gas-tax holiday.
"Do they stand with hard pressed Americans who are trying to pay their gas bills at the gas stations, or do they, once again, stand with the oil companies?" she asked. "I want them to tell us, are they with us or against us when it comes to taking on the oil companies."
Clinton has faced harsh criticism from economists and politicians since supporting the gas-tax holiday, a plan that would suspend the federal tax on gas from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Critics say the fuel relief plan will do little to help Americans save any money, since the federal gas tax is 18 cents a gallon. Clinton argues that truck drivers and the trucking industry will benefit the most from the savings, which in turn will lower the cost of food and other good affected by the record high price of fuel.

let's say you put in 11 gallons a week (i have no idea, i have a baby and haven't pumped gas in forever) -- that $1.98 a month. that's nearly $8.00 a month. some people use more gasoline than that. in terms of truck drivers as well as people who drive to work on the highways at length, this really does make a real difference and it shows up quickly. i agree with hillary, people should have to go on the record with it, they should have to admit whether they stand with americans or not. this is necessary and important to working americans. i am sure if john edwards was in the race, he wouldn't have a problem arguing for this (and maybe this and something more). but barack's never been in touch with working americans and never will be. even john mccain is for a gas tax holiday. but not mr. arugala.

this is howard wolfson's 'HUBdate: Strongest v. Sen. McCain' (hillaryclinton.com):

Strongest v. Sen. McCain: A spate of new polls out in the last two days confirm that Hillary is the strongest general candidate vs. Sen. McCain. Sen. Clinton beats Sen. McCain handily (50-41) while Sen. Obama is virtually tied with Sen. McCain (46-44), according to the AP-Ipsos poll released Monday. A new poll from CBS/NYT shows Sen. Clinton beating Sen. McCain by five points (48-43), while Sen. Obama ties Sen. McCain (45-45). The new Fox poll has Sen. Clinton beating Sen. McCain by 1 (45-44), while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by three points (43-46). And in Gallup’s daily tracking poll, Sen. Clinton leads Sen. McCain by one point (46-45) while Sen. Obama trails Sen. McCain by two points (44-46).Today In The Hoosier State: Joined by Chelsea, Hillary hosts a Conversation With Families in Brownsburg, IN. She also hosts "Standing Up For Jobs" events in Jeffersonville, IN and Terre Haute, IN.
Superdelegate Watch: Two more superdelegates endorsed Hillary yesterday: PA State AFL-CIO President Bill George and Puerto Rico Democratic Vice Chair Luisette Cabaña. Said AFL-CIO President George, "I feel that she is our strongest candidate to carry Pennsylvania in November and win back the White House." Read more and more.
By the Numbers: Yesterday’s daily Gallup poll showed Hillary once again leading Sen. Obama nationally (47-46). "This marks the fifth consecutive Gallup Poll Daily tracking report in which the two Democratic candidates have been within a point of one another" and the second consecutive day Hillary has led. Read more.
New Ads In NC: In two new 60-second ads airing statewide in North Carolina, author and activist Dr. Maya Angelou and Gov. Mike Easley describe why they support Hillary. Watch Dr. Maya Angelou's ad here. Watch Gov. Easley's ad here.
Clinton Commutes To Work: Hillary commuted to work yesterday with sheet metal worker Jason Wifling in a "white Ford F-250 truck. For half a tank of regular unleaded gasoline, they paid $63.67." Hillary has a plan to address soaring gas prices at the pump, including suspending the federal gas tax and enforcing a "gas tax holiday." Read More.
Making Trade Work For Indiana: Hillary highlighted her trade agenda yesterday in Indiana. "With working families squeezed by soaring gas prices, stagnant wages and an economy sliding into recession, Hoosiers need a President who will fight for their economic interests from day one. Americans need a President who will fight for fair, pro-American trade policies that will not trap them in a race to the bottom." Read details here.
"Hold Her To It" The Lafayette Journal Courier reports on Hillary's "Standing Up For Jobs" town hall yesterday in Lafayette, IN: "'I want you to remember that we were here in Lafayette on the last day of April, and I told you what I wanted to do with the tax code, the trade policy, with new investments to create jobs,' Clinton said. 'So that as I move toward the White House, you can say, ‘I remember when she said that, and I can hold her to it.'" Read more.
No Shortage of Enthusiasm: Hillary hosted an event in Portage, IN: "Long Lines, But No Shortage Of Enthusiasm" Read More
If You Watch One Thing Today: Hillary was on Bill O'Reilly's "The O’Reilly Factor" last night. Watch here and here.

tell me that woman's not ready to go to work for america right now. hillary's ready. she's not stumbling all over the campaign trail the way obama is. she's not stupid enough to dismiss outrage over jeremiah wright with a flowery speech in march and then, finally, this week, denoune wright and his statements. hillary's not a fool. and she's not afraid to make the difficult decision.

that was obama's test back in march and he failed. he gave a flowery speech instead of cutting off the problem immediately. he has no judgement. his current mess is his own fault because he allowed himself to get caught in this. it was a trap he could have side-stepped back in march but he didn't want to make a choice. he thought he could have it both ways.

the man is afraid to take action.

he's not ready to be president, he's not ready to lead. he's like a kid in high school that wants a credit for the year book and has no real plans other than getting the title.

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Thursday, May 1, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, the VA scandals continue, 5 years since "Mission Accomplished," and more.

Starting with war resistance. Kyle Snyder is an Iraq War resister living in Canada. He is one of many. A variation in Snyder's story is that he self-checked out twice, going to Canada both times. At YouTube, a video is posted of him explaining that (March 17, 2007):


Kyle Snyder: I just recently traveled back to the United States, on October 31st. I had to drop my refugee claim. If any of you have been following my story, I was a refugee claimant in 2005 after deserting the Iraq War. I believe the Iraq War to be illegal and immoral on many fronts and I'm currently writing a report on that and why I think that is illegal and immoral. I witnessed what I believe to be war crimes and I witnessed what I believed to be a true occupation for oil resources and not a liberation or a bringing of democracy to the people of Iraq. And I refused to take part in that war. So I basically want to tell you my story about that trip to the United States. Like I said, I dropped my refugee claim meaning I had to go to the Canadian government, CBSA -- Canada Border Services Agency, and sign pieces of paper saying that I was returning to my home country to receive a discharge from the United States military. I worked for two months just west of here in Wetaskiwn, Alberta trying to receive a discharge from a major at Fort Knox, Major Bryan Patterson -- who somehow doesn't exist to the media now. When I turned myself in, I was very, very scared. I was very scared because I had dropped my life here in Canada, I had left my job, I had left my family. I left my friends. All on the chance that I would be discharged when I turned myself in. The lieutenant walked in and said "Don't worry, we'll discharge you within three to five days." That never happened. They put me in a room with a mirror and a phone that was not connected to any wall. There was no phone connection. They denied me access to my lawyer and said they wanted me to -- they ordered me after two years of not serving in their military to return to my unit. Which is now based in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. My unit wanted to re-integrate me into the military and send me back to Iraq a second time. The 94th engineers are deploying for a third time to Iraq. They're one of five units that are deploying to Iraq a third time -- since the surge that Bush ordered while I was in the country. I did the only thing that made sense to me at that point: I refused to sign the orders. I have documents saying the soldier refused to sign. And I went AWOL a second time. I did not catch the Greyhound Bus, instead I went out to eat and enjoy Halloween. And I did the only thing that made sense, again, and I pointed out the atrocities of the Bush administration in New Orleans, where we rebuilt a veterans' home, a Vietnam veteran's home. And I was almost arrested in New Orleans shortly after rebuilding this home with Iraq Veterans Against the War. Anyway, I spoke at 20 different high schools in Chicago, primarily African-American and Latino community schools that were going to be shut down by the American government because there was no funding to them. Recruiters feed off of schools in America like this. And I did anti-recruitment work in these schools. Basically pointing out to the government again that if a recruiter can walk onto a campus legally, why is there not a steel worker standing next to him, why is there not a carpenter standing next to them, why is there not any of these? My plan was to receive a discharge, come back to Canada in time to spend Christmas with my family. I couldn't do that. Instead, I bought my fiancee a ticket back to Wetaskiwin, Alberta so she could spend Christmas with her family and I stayed in the United States and I didn't know what was going to happen. I decided to come back to Canada just this January and I can no longer apply for refugee status even though I was only gone for five weeks. I know people that go on vacation for longer than five weeks and come back to the life that they had. So now I don't know what I'm going to do other than apply for permanent residence status and I don't know how I'm going to be able to stay in Canada. And I really, really need you guys' help to support me in my staying in Canada. And I really want to thank all of you for being here today and calling for the Canadian troops out of Afghanistan especially and calling for the United States out of Iraq. It means so much to me that you guys are doing that. I have one more announcement to make. I'm really pleased to announce that there are enough war resisters in Canada that we can start a chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War in Canada. So we'll be doing that very shortly and we'll putting up a website for donations and for anything, just events that Iraq Veterans Against the War will be doing here in Canada in the near future. So I just wanted to announce that. Thanks.

US war resisters in Canada who are hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

As Paul Reynolds (BBC) observes, today's a fifth anniversary, "President Bush did not say "Mission Accomplished" on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego on 1 May five years ago. But the banner above him did." CBS and AP remind, "Five years after that speech, after the meaning of the phrase "mission accomplished" and when is a job truly 'done' has been endlessly parsed, and after responsibility for creating and hanging the sign was first denied and later accepted, the White House said Wednesday that President Bush has paid a price for the banner, with its affirmative message becoming a target of mockery and a symbol of U.S. misjudgments and mistakes in the long and costly war -- a war in which major combat operations are still being waged. While the White House distanced itself from the message soon after the event, Mr. Bush was not averse to repeating it. Speaking to troops in Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar the following month, Mr. Bush said, 'America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished'." Dan Froomkin (Washington Post) breaks it down -- when Bully Boy gave his speech, the US troops death toll was 139 and the number wounded was 542 while today 4,064 are dead and 29,395 are wounded. US Senator and presumed GOP presidential nominee John McCain made the news today with John Whitesides (Reuters) reports that "McCain said the administration mishandled the war's early stages and raised public hopes by calling the remaining insurgents in Iraq 'dead-enders' in their 'last throes'." Helen Thomas noted the anniversary yesterday in Dana Perino's White House press briefing.

Helen Thomas: How does the President intend to commemorate "Mission accomplished" after five years of death and destruction?

Dana Pernio: What you're referring to is the banner that ran -- that was aborad the ship five years ago. President Bush --

Helen Thomas: I'm talking about the anniversary tomorrow.

Dana Perino: Yes, I get -- no, I understand. That's the anniversary of when that banner flew on that ship. President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific and said "mission accomplished for these sailors who are on this ship on their mission." And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year. I think what's important is what the President would -- how the President would describe the fight today. It's been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy. The President, you heard him say yesterday, believes that fighting terrorists, jihadists, al Qaeda, and the Iranian-backed militias --

Helen Thomas: Is every Iraqi a terrorist?

Dana Perino: -- and the Iranian-backed militias --

Helen Thomas: We're fighting the Iraqis, we're bombing their homes. What do mean?

Dana Perino: Helen, we are going after terrorists and al Qaeda and Iranian-backed Shia militia who are killing not only innocent Iraqis but our soldiers as well, and we're doing so in --

Helen Thomas: We're bombing homes with children.

Perino would continue spinning and Helen Thomas' final comment would be, "We're going after Iraqis who are fighting for their own country."

Maybe this will pass for 'success'? Iraq made the top of a list. It's The Committee to Project Journalist's "Getting Away With Murder" list where Iraq comes in number one for deaths of journalists that go unprosecuted: "Iraq became the world's most dangerous country for the press after the 2003 U.S. invasion led to armed conflict and sectarian strife. Journalists have generally not died in combat, however. Most are targeted for professional reasons and murdered. Most of the victims, such as Al-Arabiya correspondent Atwar Bahjat, are Iraqis. Seventy-nine cases are unsolved."

'Success' also can't be found in the VA. Bob Egelko (San Francisco Chronicle) reports of the lawsuit filed against the VA by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, with Arturo Gonzalez as the attorney, "The plaintiffs want [U.S. District Judge Samuel] Conti to order the VA to carry out its own plan to improve suicide prevention and overall mental health care -- issued in 2004, but still mostly at the pilot-program stage -- and to direct the agency to set timetables for benefits and allow veterans to be represented by lawyers. Gonzalez said the judge should appoint a representative, known as a special master, to make sure the agency complies." AP quotes Gonzalez declaring, "The system, your honor, has crashed. It's been overwhelmed. And the pattern of neglect continues." This comes as AP reports the VA's inspector general released a report today finding that "Significant needs remain unmet" and "It found that 10 of the 41 veterans who agreed to be interviewed said they weren't getting needed help for health care, vocational rehabilitation, family support or housing. At least four patients specifically cited trouble in getting primary or specialty eye care, while others reported gaps with family counseling for problems such as depression and anger."

On this anniversary, it might be worth examing The Makings of a War Hawk. Fortunately US Secretary of State Condi Rice explained the process on Monday speaking at the Peace Corps 2008 Worldwide Country Director Conference:

Condi Rice: I was very fortunate. I started out life as a piano major -- as a pianist. I was three years old when I learned to play the piano. I could read music before I could read. And I was absolutely going to be a great concert pianist. And it was the end of my sophomore year, and I went to the Apsen Music Festival, which is a great school for prodigies, and I met 11-year-olds who could play from sight what it had taken me all year to learn. And I though, "Okay, I'm about to end up at Nordstrom playing or maybe a piano bar someplace. But, you know, not Carnegie Hall.

Not since Ernestine's hopes to be a ballerina were dashed by the dropping of a six pack on her feet has one taken so much inner bitterness and inflicted outward. [Ernestine is one of Lily Tomlin's classic characters and Tomlin will be appearing at the Olympia, Washington Friday at 8:00 p.m. -- at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts (512 Washington Street S.E.; 306-753-8586).] While Condi laments her piano car and ignores diplomacy, Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports, "A delegation from Iraq's governing Shiite alliance traveled to Iran on Wednesday to meet with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other ranking Iranian officials, said a senior advisor and two other politicians with close ties to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki" and quotes Nouri al-Maliki's aide Haider Abadi stating, "We are looking for good, neighborly relations with Iran, but it cannot go on like this." AFP quotes Moqtada al-Sadr's spokesperson Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi explaining, "Moqtada al-Sadr did not permit his leaders to meet the Iraqi delegation. Sadr insists that the crisis can be solved only through a parliamentary initiative backed by President Jalal Talabani and speaker Mahmud Mashhadani."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad car bombing that claimed the lives of 8 Iraqis and wounded 21 more (there's another death and we'll get to that shortly), 3 Baghdad roadside bombings that wounded thirteen people, a Baghdad mortar attack that wounded three people, a US airstrike on Baghdad that claimed 4 lives and left twelve people injured, a Diyala Province roadside bombing that claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left four more wounded, a Diyala Province bombing involving two bombers (one male and one female) that resulted in 36 deaths (plus the bombers) and sixty-five people wounded and a Mosul roadside bombing that claimed the lives of 2 members of the Iraqi military. On the last bombing, Nico Hines (Times of London) notes, "Police said the attacks occurred in the busy market town of Balad Ruz in the restive Diyala province. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack bore hallmarks associated with al Qaeda in Iraq. A second bomber was said to have struck as crowds rushed to evacuate the wounded from the first attack, a common tactic used to maximise casualties." AFP quotes eye witness Ibrahim Hassan stating, "The first blast happened in front of an ice cream shop. A lot of people ran to help the wounded, but two minutes later another bomber blew himself up in the crowd." Selcan Hacaglu (AP) reports, "In the suicide assault, a woman bomber blew herself up as people were dancing and clapping while members of the passing wedding party played music in Balad Ruz, a predominantly Shiite town 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. A male bomber attacked minutes later as police and ambulances arrived at the scene, said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim al-Rubaie, head of the Diyala provincial operations center that oversees Balad Ruz. The two explosions tore through the stalls and stores that lined the area, and al-Rubaie said at least 35 people were killed and 65 suffered wounds, including the bride and groom."


Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports one person wounded by a Baghdad shooting,

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 5 corpses were discovered in Baghdad.


Today [PDF format warning] the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad soldier was killed from wounds sustained when a vehicle-borne improvised exposive device struck the soldier's vehicle during a combat patrol in central Baghdad at approximately 9:15 a.m. May 1."

Turning to the US,today is May Day and Kelly Kearsley (The News Tribune) reminds it "is traditionally a day to celebrate labor and workers' rights." John Holusha (New York Times) reports that over 25,000 dock workers went on strike today on the West Coast. The workers are members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union whose official statement (PDF format warning) notes:

More than 25,000 longshore workers at 29 west coast ports are excercising their First Amendment rights today by taking a day off work and calling for an end to the war in Iraq.
"Longshore workers are standing-down on the job and standing up for America," said ILWU International President Bob McEllrath. "We're supporting the troops and telling politicians in Washington that it's time to end the war in Iraq."
McEllrath says rank-and-file members made their own democratic decision in early February when Longshore Caucus delegates voted to take action on May 1. Employers were notified of the plan, but refused to accomodate the union's request despite plenty of advance notice. The employer group, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) consists of large carriers and port operators, most of which are foreign-owned.
"Big foreign corporations that control global shipping aren't loyal or accountable to any country," said McEllrath. "For them it's a all about making money. But longshore workers are different. We're loyal to America, and we won't stand by while our country, our troops, and our economy are destroyed by a war that's bankrupting us to the tune of 3 trillion dollars. It's time to stand up, and we're doing our part today."

Ronald W. Powell (San Diego Union-Tribune) explains, "The work stoppage was . . . not the first such protest. Last year, the union called for workers to take off to protest U.S. immigration policy." KNBC reports, "Art Wong of the Port of Long Beach said the action was affecting that facility. Arley Baker, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles, said none of the cargo terminals at that facility were operating." The Central Valley Business Times states that the action "struck 29 West Coast ports from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest, including the Port of Stockton in the Central Valley." Kristopher Hanson (Long Beach Press-Telegram) informs, "Trucks and trains ferrying cargo from the nation's busiest seaport in Long Beach and Los Angeles were backing up during the morning and early afternoon, but port authorities didn't expect any long-term effects." Louis Sahagun (Los Angeles Times) offers this perspective: "The show of force by the union came two months before the contract expires between the dockworkers, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and the Pacific Maritime Assn., which respresents port operators and large shippers, many of them foreign-owned." The Iraqi General Union of Dock Workers released a statement:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of ILWU in California
The courageous decision you made to carry out a strike on May Day to protest against the war and occupation of Iraq advances our struggle against occupation to bring a better future for us and for the rest of the world as well.
We are certain that a better world will only be created by the workers and what you are doing is an example and proof of what we say. The labor movement is the only element in the society that is able to change the political equations for the benefit of mankind. We in Iraq are looking up to you and support you until the victory over the US administration's barbarism is achieved.
Over the past five years the sectarian gans who are the product of the occupation, have been trying to transfer their conflicts into our ranks. Targeting workers, including their residential and shopping areas, indiscriminately using all sorts of explosive devices, mortar shells, and random shooting, were part of a bigger scheme that was aiming to tear up the society but they miserably failed to achieve their hellish goal.
We are struggling today to defeat both the occupation and sectarian militia's agenda. The pro-occupation government has been attempting to intervene into the workers affairs by imposing a single government-certified labor union. Furthermore it has been promoting privatization and an oil and gas law to use the occupation against the interests of the workers.
We the port workers view that our interests are inseparable from the interests of workers in Iraq and the world; therefore we are determined to continue our struggle to improve the living conditions of the workers and overpower all plots of the occupation, its economic and political projects.
Labour Movement released a statement of thanks


Turning to the US presidential race. This morning on NBC's Today Show, Meredith Vieira interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama. (Click here for audio and video available today and for podcasting available throughout.) Meredith's interview will also air (in extended form) on MSNBC Saturday. Michelle Obama tried to steer the interview and schill for her husband stating that her husband was "trying to move us as a nation beyond these conversations" -- these conversations? About the crackpot mentor, pastor, inspiration, friend, et al Jeremiah Wright. Michelle's part of the co-interview because, clearly, Barack can't handle it alone. She really took control during the interview (in most instances that was a good thing or the campaign's talking point would never have gotten out -- as defocused and meandering as he is, she's like a laser beam). However, Michelle Obama is not running to become president and the question is about the nominee's judgement skills. Equally true, if the country wanted to 'move on,' Michelle and Barack would not be guests on Today's first hour to talk about the subject. She refused to answer Meredith's question about Wright ("Do you feel that Rev. Wright has betrayed your husband?") even when Meredith repeated it. Barack lied about his own and Michelle's life and should have just kept his mouth shut because the question was to Michelle and she was the smarter of the two. "I should have said angry and frustrated instead of bitter . . . I should have said people rely on their religion instead of cling to . . ." Can he please stop lying? (No, he can't. Listen to his I-Can-Big-State lies. It's embarrassing. He's either lying or completely stupid.)

Transcript is available at Time. Word substitution does not change what he said. Key passage: "And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Point, anti-immigrant sentiment and anti-trade sentiment are not seen by Barack as 'good' things so let's all stop pretending that anything changes with a word substitution. He was spitting on Small Town Americans. He stated that they cling to God, guns and racism. That's the reality of the insult.

Adolph Reed Jr. (The Progressive) weighs in on why he's not supporting Barack and notes:

It may be instructive to look at the outfit where he did his "community organizing," the invocation of which makes so many lefties go weak in the knees. My understanding of the group, Developing Communities Project, at the time was that it was simply a church-based social service agency. What he pushed as his main political credential then, to an audience generally familiar with that organization, was his role in a youth-oriented voter registration drive.
The Obama campaign has even put out a misleading bio of Michelle Obama, representing her as having grown up in poverty on the South Side, when, in fact, her parents were city workers, and her father was a Daley machine precinct captain. This fabrication, along with those embroideries of the candidate's own biography, may be standard fare, the typical log cabin narrative. However, in Obama's case, the license taken not only underscores Obama's more complex relationship to insider politics in Daley's Chicago; it also underscores how much this campaign depends on selling an image rather than substance.

And note, the piece got more comments (a lot of them positive) than most of what The Progressive posts during any given week. Hillary Clinton is also attempting to win the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and 12-year-old Alec Noland Huffman writes at her site about what the campaign means for him: "I started volunteering for Hillary Clinton because she is very educated in politics because she has 30 years experience and that's a lot. My family is a middle class family. We are the working class. Middle class families work 2, 3 sometimes even 4 jobs for some of them. It is not easy for them; they have to work a lot with no time to spend with family or friends. In the 90s we were thriving in America and now we live paycheck to paycheck and it's not good. When I started volunteering it was a little boring but as I did it more I got better and it got fun and now it is something I like to do. I believe she will win. Amonther thing that Hillary is for is veterans. My grandfathers are veterans and they aren't treated well. I would vote for Hillary because she will bring our troops home and take care of them physically and mentally."

We'll close with Hillary's statement regarding the fifth anniversary of Bully Boy's "Mission Accomplished" photo-stunt:

"The fifth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech comes the same week as a chief architect of the Bush administration's war in Iraq conceded "We were clueless on counterinsurgency." That statement confirms what we have all known: the planning and strategy was flawed. Our troops deserved and deserve better.
"All Americans honor the service and sacrifice of our men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States in Iraq. We are grateful for the tremendous burden they have carried. Our troops have done their job.
"The path forward is to use American diplomacy and our allies to allow U.S. forces to come home, and turn responsibility back to Iraq and its people.
"That is the plan I have laid out to the American people as a Senator and as a candidate, and that is the plan that I will carry out as President."

iraq
kyle snyder
mcclatchy newspapers
helen thomas
nbcthe today show
bob egelkothe san francisco chronicle
alexandra zavisthe los angeles times

it was not a good day for bambi. you can always tell it was a really bad day for bambi when michelle obama makes headlines. today she was insisting that every 1 needed to shut up about jeremiah wright so that 'issues' could be addressed. barack never addresses issues. he just offers those empty bumper sticker slogans over and over.

they're empty, they're phony, they're are fraudlent. and you have to wonder how stupid is the campaign that they honestly thought they could make it into a general election on nothing but a lot of chants about 'hope' - meaningless, unspecified hope.

his act is tired.

and the scandals are hurting him as the new york times reports. the polls coming out are before barack's little stunt yesterday. a lot of people are not taken in by barack's sudden change of heart. we all remember full well how he could smear his grandmother as a racist (his grandmother was acosted by a man at a bus stop and didn't want to take the bus the next day which barack has turned into racism this year although in his own book he didn't see it that way.) 'aching slow steps' is how david broder words barack's 'denouncement' of jeremiah wright. and look how long barack allowed it to fester. look how he refused to address it (except by minimizing it repeatedly). this is some 1 who can withstand the gop smear machine? no.

that'll be it for tonight. it's late and i keep getting a message about some adobe script that's running. i hit 'abort' (and have no idea what adobe script is running) but my computer is moving so slow. so let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces more deaths, figures for April refute claims of a slow-down in violence, Robert Gates tries to happy talk it, and more.


Starting with war resistance. Iraq War resister Ehren Watada will be the topic Friday at Carleton College (1 North College Street, Northfield, MN). Esther Pak (Carleton News) reports:

Dr. Vijay Prashad will present a convocation entitled "Watada's Election: Asian Americans and These Asian Wars" on Friday, May 2 at 10:50 a.m. in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. Prashad's presentation will examine Asian Americans, the Iraq War, and the upcoming election, with reference to Hawaii-born First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, who was the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the Iraq War and occupation. Following the convocation, Prashad will sign copies of his books, which will also be available for purchase at the event at a 15% discount. Prashad's appearance is free and open to the public.

The presentation is scheduled to last one hour. In February 2007, Watada was court-martialed and Judge Toilet (aka John Head) ruled a mistrial over defense objection as the defense was about to present their side (Watada was taking the stand and suddenly Head felt a stipulation both the defense and the prosecution had agreed to, one Head has not only signed off on but explained to the jury, was 'prolbematic,' Watada was prepared to testify, Head stopped the trial). Due to Judge Toilet's ruling, the Constitution's provision against double-jeopardy should have kicked in. Judge Toilet immediately announced a new court-martial would take place in March (2007) but, of course, it didn't. A civilian court found (in November) the double-jeopardy argument compelling and Watada's legal status is currently in limbo. He continues to report for duty on base despite the fact that his service contract expired in December 2006. It's long past time for the military to stop their persecution of Watada and discharge him.

While he waits, so do US war resisters in Canada who are hoping to be granted safe harbor status and the Canadian Parliament will debate a measure this month on that issue. You can make your voice heard. Three e-mails addresses to focus on are: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. A few more can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use.
There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. Tom Joad maintains a list of known war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


In Iraq, the assault on Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood, continues. AFP reports that the central (puppet) government in Baghdad is pleased: "'There were 925 martyrs in Sadr City and 2,605 others have been wounded,' in the firefights that began on March 25 and are still continuing, said Tehseen Sheikhly, a spokesman for the government's Baghdad security plan." Prior to the press conference, outlets, such as the BBC, were going with 400 for the death toll. CBS and AP note: "Previous Interior Ministry casualty figures for the past month had indicated that less than 400 people had perished. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting figures. Officials at the Baghdad military operations center said they could not confirm al-Sheikhly's count." Al Jazeera notees Sadr City residents testimonies that they were attacked by an air assault today and the US military's claim that "only rockets" were used because "a sandstorm had grounded US helicopters." For those who've forgotten the assault on Sadr City was supposed to be the sideshow. The main story was supposed to be the assault on Basra and the world was supposed to watch in awe of the awesome powers of Nouri al-Maliki -- the puppet installed by the US as prime minister in the spring of 2006 who has done nothing to ease tensions (let alone violence) in Iraq. al-Maliki was seen as puppet and an ineffective one at that having failed to offer up anything save for the never-ending "crackdowns" that began in June of 2006 when the Green Zone was almost breached. As two years of 'leadership' was being reached, the assault on Basra was supposed to be a for-show measure that would instill global faith in al-Maliki.

It was Easter Weekend -- Bully Boy declared in March 22nd radio address that it was a "special and holy time" -- and what better way to 'celebrate' than beef up the assault on civilians? Monday, March 24th, at the White House, Dana Perino, White House flack, was insisting that the "vast majority" of relatives who'd lost loved ones were insisting that the White House continue the Iraq War and, with the 4,000 mark having been passed, that wasn't going down as easy with the press as it had before. Helen Thomas had questioned that assertion and asked how Perino could make that claim "with certainty?" Perino's answer was that the Bully Boy had "said that repeatedly" so, apparently, it must be true.Thomas then asked if "he takes responsibility for a war that he started without provocation that led to 4,000 deaths and 30,000 dramatically injured for life?" Perinos shoved that question aside and, pressed by Thomas, stated, "I think that he knew that the war was going to require sacrifices and that --"


Helen Thomas: By who?

Dana Perino: Well, of course by our soldiers.

Helen Thomas: There's nobody in his family or this administration in this war.

Dana Perino: Helen, these are all questions we have dealt with before. I've given you an answer in the President's reaction to the 4,000 and I'm going to move on.

While Perino was 'moving on,' al-Maliki was making headlines for going to Basra in a for-show role that was supposed to convince the world that he was leading the assault on Basra. Basra, like Sadr City, is seen as a strong-hold of support for cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and many believe that the assaults were also intended to prevent al-Sadr's bloc from coming to power in the (currently) scheduled elections on October 1st. As al-Maliki has seen his support within the Iraqi Parliament crumble, al-Sadr's support has appeared to increase. If it wasn't increasing, the assault certainly made sure it did as al-Sadr became the public voice in Iraq against the assault on Iraqi civilians. It was a disaster in every way for the US puppet, it was a disaster in lives lost, it was a disaster in the attempts to build up al-Maliki's image and it made al-Sadr (who had been laying low and had renewed a cease-fire/truce with the US) even more popular.

On April 8th, The Petraeus and Crocker Variety Hour began their two days of testimony to the US Congress. They opened at the US Armed Services Committee where chair Carl Levin was asking serious questions about Basra, including whether it was correct that US was not informed ahead of time about the planned assault on Basra (which led to uprising in Sadr City, hence the assault on Sadr City)? "It is, Senator," Petraeus had declared, "We had a Friday night heads up." That would be Friday, March 21st. Petraeus went on to state that they were informed more of the assault (that would begin Sunday) at a meeting on Saturday. Levin: "It was not something that you recommended?" "No," Petraeus had replied. He went on to speak of concerns he stated he had about utilizing resources and appeared to indicate that there was a US plan for Basra but that al-Maliki had jumped the gun.

US Senator Hillary Clinton noted, "In response to a question by Senator Levin regarding when you knew of Prime Minister Maliki's plan to go into Basra, and I was struck by it so I wrote it down." Clinton was referring to the fact that Basra had been under British control until recently and that Petraeus' comments were vague. "What did you mean," she asked, "by the resources you were planning to deploy and over what length of time?" Petraeus' remarks cleared up any ambiguity on the subject. "A plan was being developed," he admitted, but instead of waiting to develop it, al-Malik was "moving up the time table and compressing . . . the resources."

This was April 8th and already the illusion that al-Maliki was leading the assault and that Iraqi troops were on the front lines had falled apart. Senator Susan Collins questioned "why should America combat troops continue to take the lead" considering all the time and money already provided since March of 2003? Petraeus tried to manuever his response by noting that the "US didn't take the lead in Basra." No, al-Maliki did. And al-Maliki failed. And Iraqi troops defected and deserted (two different categories) so US troops who were supposed to be present in only a supportive role were now on the front lines. The same was true of Sadr City and has only become more true.

Taking Petraeus at his guarded word, al-Maliki basically grabbed a US plan, ignored the timeline, rushed it into operation, did so when Iraqi troops were far from ready, hustled down to Basra for what he hoped would be his defining photo-ops and all this was done to shore up his weak image as an ineffective puppet. As a result of al-Maliki's actions, the US is now on the front lines backing up what his big mouth couldn't. Amit R. Paley (Washington Post) reported today that US forces and Sadr City residents engaged in "[a] four-hour battle" yesterday that resulted in the deaths of "28 Iraqis" leading to "one of the bloodiest days in a month of sustained street fighting. The clashes underscored how deeply U.S. forces have been drawn into heavy combat in the huge Shiite district since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki unexpectedly launched an offensive in southern Iraq last month against Shiite militias, primarily the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Until Maliki's push into the southern city of Basra, U.S. troops were not intensely engaged in Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood of roughly 3 million people that was among the most treacherous areas for U.S. forces early in the war." Today's assault on Sadr City, risking the lives of so many Iraqis and so many US service members, is nothing but the result of al-Maliki's photo-op that backfired. His attempts to prove he wasn't 'weak' is why the dying in Sadr City continues. In the April 8th hearing, Clinton noted that among al-Maliki's critics were General David Petraeus himself and referenced Cameron W. Barr's "Petraeus: Iraqi Leaders Not Making 'Sufficient Progress'" (Washington Post). In the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the same day (April 8th), chair Joe Biden would note that the 'surge' was not working and had not been working (a point that many senators and representatives would make throughout the two days of testimony from Petraeus and Crocker) and he raised the issue of how there was no government and what was happening was the US was 'taking sides' -- supporting the 'leadership' of al-Maliki. That's a lot of deaths for one person's 'leadership' --- consider the puppet to be just like his puppet master in the White House. As Howard La Franchi (Christian Science Monitor) observes, "The American military's participation in the war declared by Iraqi authorities on Moqtada al-Sadr's Shiite militia -- a fight that in recent weeks has been carried out through intense street battles -- has led to an uptick in US deaths." Along with shoring up the puppet, the assault was also supposed to shore up the Bully Boy and his plans for continued war. The assault was timed to take place before the for-show testimonies to Congress by Petraeus and Crocker that were supposed to convince the American public that the so-called 'surge' was working and deserved more time. Mark Kukis and Abigail Hauslohner (Time magazine) report, "The shell-shocked Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City in east Baghdad epitomizes the tragedy and terror that continue to grip Iraq five years after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Around 2 million people cluster in homes often shared by as many as six families, caught in the crossfire of an ongoing confrontation between the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr and U.S. and Iraqi forces, streets cluttered with garbage and the rubble of recent battles." They also note that people are fleeing their homes (which will increase the number of Iraqis who are internally and externally displaced).

It's the end of the month and a number of outlets will be looking back. CNN notes: "The number of Iraqi civilians killed and wounded nationwide continued to increase during April. According to Iraq's Interior Ministry, 969 civilians died and 1,750 were wounded during April. In March, the total was 923 civilians killed and 1,358 wounded -- a sharp increase over February, when 633 died and 701 were wounded." Those are the puppet government's official figures and the actual figures are probably much higher. Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is in spin mode. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Tuesday acknowledged that a seven-month lull in U.S. troops deaths in Iraq has come to an end and blamed the bloodshed on Shiite Muslim militiamen who have bombarded the Green Zone and key parts of Baghdad with rockets and mortar rounds." Gates was speaking in Mexico, transcript here. Gates rejected the notion that things were "getting worse" in Iraq. He claimed that the "spectacular act" always catches attention. Apparently nothing -- including losing an illegal war -- catches the White House's attention. Asked about the US being drawn into the middle of a war of "two Shi'a factions," Gates responded that the conflict was "between the Iraqi government and lawless elements" -- echoing al-Maliki's line -- and further claimed that the 'elements' did not want to be "part of the political process." That would be "part of the puppet process." He stated that it has been "made clear" that al-Sadr's supporters are welcome in the political process and that's a falsehood because al-Maliki has threatened them with being barred from participating in the October elections. Further spinning, Gates claimed al-Maliki had "the vocal support of virtually all elements of the government." While he has the support of those on his payroll, his own cabinet is not full and members of the Iraqi Parliament participated in Sunday demonstratrations against the continued assault in Sadr City. Gates ignored that in his reply. He claimed that assaulting Iraqi civilians (that's what's happening in Sadr City) was creating "an Iraqi government more unified". He claimed al Qaeda in Iraq and the Sadrists were the enemies and it was pointed out to him that the White House continues to say that al Qaeda in Iraq is weaker. [al Qaeda in Iraq is largely non-existant.] Gates noted al-Sadr's cease-fire but avoided noting that al-Maliki's actions had overturned it. He began gas bagging at length -- and couldn't get his dates correct ("you will probably recall in either early March or late February, sometime in there") -- and stayed with the issue of al-Sadr. He never addressed the issue of why the White House continues to say al Qaeda in Iraq is a threat and responsible for the violence while also stating that al Qaeda in Iraq is on the decrease. Confronted with that inconsistency, Gates elected to ignore it. He did state that al-Maliki would make decisions regarding Sadr City which is suprising since it is US forces patrolling -- US troops held hostage by policy was a point senators made throughout Crocker and Petraeus' testimonies earlier this month and Gates, unwittingly, appears to be validating their point.

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attack on the Green Zone, a Baghdad mortar attacks that wounded eight people, a Diyala Province roadside bombing wounded six women and a Hawija roadside bombing claimed 2 lives and left two more wounded (all Iraqi security forces).

Shootings?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the "[p]ronounced presence of gunmen in al-Amin and al-Mashtal . . . forced the schools to send the students home." Reuters notes a home invasion in Kut that claimed the life of 1 woman.

Corpses?

Sahar Issa (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 4 corpses discovered in Baghdad today (2 found in Tikrit last night).


Today the US military announces: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed from wounds sustained when he was attacked with small-arms fire by insurgents at approximately 8:50 p.m. April 29 in northwestern Baghdad." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier was killed after the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device at approximately 10:15 p.m. in northwestern Baghdad April 29." And, PDF format warning, they announced: "A Multi-National Division - North Soldier was killed as a result of an explosion occurring near the Soldier's patrol in Ninewah Province, April 30." And they announced: "Two Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldiers were killed when their patrol was struck by an improvised explosive device in southern Baghdad at approximately 4:15 p.m. April 30." And they announced: "A Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldier was killed from wounds sustained by an improvised explosive device during a dismounted patrol in northern Baghdad at approximately 1 a.m. April 30."
The number of US service members killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war is 4063, the number of deaths announced this month so far is 51 which makes April the deadliest month since September when 65 deaths were announced. More deaths for April may or may not be noted over the next few days.

Turning to the US presidential race, this morning on NBC's Today Show, Andrea Mitchell reported on Barack Obama's speech and remarks yesterday on his mentor, friend, and pastor of 20 years Jeremiah Wright. Mitchell noted the changes in tone throughout Obama's remarks on Wright since Barack declared his intent to run for the Democratic presidential nomination and noted, "Critis say he should known better" regarding Wright. On CBS' The Early Show, Bob Schieffer explained, "The question now is will people him?" Him is Barack. Schieffer listed the questions people would be asking such as, "Why didn't he know about all this before? Why didn't he stop going to the church?"; and wondered, "Will this be enough?" Meanwhile Carol Marin (Chicago Sun-Times) noted of Barack, "And he still had nothing new to say, just what he'd said before, that some of Wright's comments 'offended me, and I understand why they have offended the American people'." Marin observed:This isn't the first time the campaign has waited out a problem, declining to take a controversy by the horns. It took a relentless chorus of Chicago media almost a year to finally get Obama and his people to deliver long-asked-for documents and answer what were, at best, incompletely answered questions about his former friend and now-indicted fund-raiser, Tony Rezko. He finally did so in March. There are judgment questions, fair ones, to be asked about Obama's past dealings with controversial people. Barack spoke out against Wright only because he was tanking in the polls over Wright and because he was offended by what Wright said of him:

What I had heard was that he had given a performance. And I thought at the time that it would be sufficient simply to reiterate what I had said in Philadelphia. Upon watching it, what became clear to me was that it was more than just a -- it was more than just him defending himself. What became clear to me was that he was presenting a world view that -- that -- that contradicts who I am and what I stand for. And what I think particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing. Anybody who knows me and anybody who knows what I'm about knows that -- that I am about trying to bridge gaps and that I see the -- the commonality in all people.

Desperado (Houston Chronicle) notes that unanswered questions and the "many different versions of answer" that Barack has provided, before declaring: "A focal point is Wright being "uninvited" to the announcement of Obama's presidential candidacy. In an interview with the New York Times, Wright had this recollection of the disinvitation, from RealClearPolitics:
'Mr. Wright said that in the phone conversation in which Mr. Obama disinvited him from a role in the announcement, Mr. Obama cited an article in Rolling Stone, "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama." According to the pastor, Mr. Obama then told him, 'You can get kind of rough in the sermons, so what we've decided is that it's best for you not to be out there in public'." The Rolling Stone article was from the February 22. 2007 issue and was entitled 'The Radical Roots of Barack Obama', a title later changed to 'Destiny's Child'". Dan Balz (Washington Post, link has text and video) notes that US Senator Evan Bayh (Hillary supporter) has warned that the Republicans would try to make an issue of Wright in the general election. Of course they will. Last week North Carolina's GOP began running ads on Wright. John McCain, the presumed GOP nominee, may or may not call for the ads to cease but North Carolina ignored him (as is their right) and others will as well. The damage isn't just to the top of the ticket if Obama is the Democratic nominee. The North Carolina GOP targeted Obama supporters. That will take place across the country in a general election should Obama be the nominee. The people he has brought in from outside the Democratic Party have proven repeatedly that at least 30% of them are unwilling to vote in other Democratic races -- they show up, vote for him and leave the rest of the ballot blank. That's bad news for every Democratic race in November 2008. That's before others are smeared for Barack's lack of proper judgement. (To put it mildly.) He is a drag on the entire ticket, he runs off the base and his nomination risks the Democratic control of Congress and Democratic state and local offices across the country. A new CBS News - New York Times poll finds Obama's negatives on the rise and Hillary faring better in a match-up against John McCain. In 2004, Dems just knew they'd reclaim the White House. They didn't. Having reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in 2006, they party needs to smarten up and realize what a drag on the ticket Barack will be. Wright is not going away, not during the Democratic primary and not, were Barack the nominee, during the primary. The only way to put the matter to rest is to back the candidate Democrats are overwhelming backing, Hillary Clinton. CBS and AP report (text and video):

Clinton also reiterated her previous remarks about Wright that she would not have stayed in the church after hearing the comments. She said it was up to voters to decide how the controversy over Wright impacts the campaign. O'Reilly asked Clinton to describe how she felt "when you hear a fellow American citizen say that kind of stuff about America." "Well, I take offense," Clinton said. "I think it's offensive and outrageous. I'm going to express my opinion, others can express theirs. It is part of just, you know, an atmosphere we're in today." Meanwhile, Obama was scrambling on Wednesday to put his presidential bid back on track a day after a public denouncing of Wright and both Democratic candidates pushed onward in a nomination struggle that appears to be dividing the party.
Here's Howard Wolfson's "HUBdate: Making Trade Work" (HillaryClinton.com):

Previewing Today: This morning, Hillary commuted to work with a sheet metal worker, stopping to fill up at a South Bend gas station. Later today, she highlights her trade agenda at events throughout Indiana.
Easley for Hillary: Yesterday, "North Carolina Gov. [Mike] Easley endorse[d] Clinton for president"...."'There's a lot of 'yes, we can' and 'yes, we should' going around' Easley said. 'Hillary Clinton is ready to deliver. That's the difference. She's ready to deliver today. Immediately.'" Read more and more.
Superdelegate Watch: Superdelegate and Representative Ike Skelton of Missouri endorsed Hillary yesterday "because of her support in rural America, her commitment to national security, and her dedication to U.S. troops." Read more.
By the Numbers: A new Gallup poll shows Hillary now leading Sen. Obama nationally (47-46). "This situation marks a loss for Obama, who had generally been in the lead over [Hillary] for the last month." Read more.
Real Solutions for Fort Bragg: The front page of the Fayetteville Observer reports that Hillary is calling for a congressional hearing into reports of poor living conditions at Fort Bragg. "Something went terribly wrong here…We've asked these young soldiers to risk their lives and bear brutal living conditions... and when they return home, the least we can do is offer them decent, clean living conditions." Read more.
Gas Tax Holiday: Yesterday, Hillary "toured the Miller Veneers wood manufacturing company in Indianapolis and said a lot of people in Indiana would benefit from a gas tax holiday...Clinton said it may not mean much to Obama, but it means a lot to people who are struggling." Read more.
On the Air: In a new Indiana ad, Hillary tells viewers, "My father served in the Navy and ran a small business. My mother taught Sunday school and took care of us... I carry with me not just their dreams but the dreams of people like them all across our county, people who embrace hard work and opportunity... who never stop believing in the promise of America. It's a promise I intend to keep." Watch here and Read more.
"Hillary Thrills Hobart" Last night, Hillary met with Johnnie Parker, "an organizer with the Sheetmetal Workers Union Local 20, and his family for a hourlong kitchen table discussion on the economy." Parker called Hillary "down-to-earth and upfront about economic issues facing Americans." Read more.
"Where's Our Debate?" In the past five days, over 5,000 Oregonians have signed an online petition calling on Sen. Obama to join Hillary in Oregon for a debate. "Sen. Obama is currently spending millions of television ads across our state. Certainly he can spare a day or two to let Oregonians know what he believes beyond his 30-second ads." 6,200 North Carolinians have signed a similar petition for a debate in their state. Read more.
On Tap: Tomorrow, Hillary holds a town hall in Jeffersonville, IN and a rally in Terre Haute, IN.
If You Watch One Thing Today: Clinton appears on Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor" tonight.