Bin Laden: Dead or Alive??

Folks, Does it really matter whether he's dead or alive?

Now that we have been told there will be no confirming pictures, and the body has been disposed of at sea, we will have to trust the veracity of the Administration regarding his death. Many Americans also trusted Bush's bogus WMD claims, and that got us nothing but into an expensive and genocidal Iraqi quagmire....

Also I'm not persuaded by a reported DNA match, since he had 50 other brothers and sisters who also shared the same DNA...Also if he was worth a quarter of a billion dollars as he is reported to be, it doesn't make sense he would choose a location where he would be a sitting-duck waiting to be captured or killed. If I were a near-billionaire as he was, I would want the world to believe I had been killed, so I could continue to live undisturbed somewhere else in the world...

Regardless, the fact remains that Al Qaeda is highly decentralized and no single death is going to shut it down.

But the symbolism of his alleged death is significant, and Obama handled and acquitted himself very presidentially throughout the operation.

Apparently most of the rest of the world also believes he is dead, so whether he really is or not, makes it a moot point.

So once again we are asked to trust....but not verify....

If I were Bin Laden and still alive somewhere, I would say....Mission Accomplished!...

What President Obama Needs To Do - Now!

http://www.terryreport.com/

"Obama and his troops came into Washington, DC, drunk with their own success and his "magical" abilities. It was as if they commanded a massive battleship when any opposition would likely be floating around in row boats. All they had to do, it seemed, was move forward; the waves alone would knock them away.

But, let's not go overboard, mates. The single decision to turn the development of the health care legislation over to Congress was the most self destructive act of the first two years. It was just one mistake. Wrapped securely in their White House cocoon, they had little idea of the disaster they had set in motion. Even I was repulsed by the resulting partisan carnage, and I am a former Capitol Hill reporter able to sit through seven or eight congressional hearings in a week without my head exploding. For the public, it was too much. The sausage making had invaded their living rooms and was stinkin' up the whole house.

We must remember this...a kiss is still as kiss...(sorry, wrong comment). Most of the public, as revealed in a recent poll, have turned against this president and the Democrats based on FALSE information about what he has done. Most think he raised taxes, instead of lowing them by 240 billion on the middle class. Most think the money loaned the banks and car companies will never be recovered (profits are ahead). And, most people think the stimulus didn't work when, in fact, the economy has grown slightly for the last four quarters. While these impressions have soaked in, Obama has been Mr. Cool, willing to push back on almost nothing and appearing on every television program besides Sesame Street (they are trying to book him there next week).

Almost any Democrat would have won in 2008, with the economy headed far south and two inclusive wars simmering in billions of American dollars and hundreds of lives. When the housing market fell to pieces, the fate of the Republicans was sealed, but the Obama tribe took everything that happened to heart, as if they, and they alone, possessed a special formula. Sadly, they, and we, have learned they did not.

To be fair (is that called for these days?), Obama came into office with some of the biggest problems in American history hanging over his head. Perhaps he shouldn't have bothered adding to those problems by pushing health care? He has done rather well, except in convincing the public to go along for the ride.

These were, and are, extraordinary times. They called for something more than business as usual, something more than mere government/Washington solutions. There was a deep need to engage the public in the effort to pull us through and out of recession and everything that was proposed were drawn from the official government playbook.

For example, there has been very little presidential "jaw boning" of business and corporations to get them to start hiring and spend the massive cash reserves on which their over paid backsides rest so comfortably. Business has left the building (backdoor exit). They do not care and are no longer engaged with the fate of this nation. They have slipped the surly bonds of earth and are touching faces in India, China and Ireland. Being president means you occasionally are required to spit in the face of those who sent you (just not always, ala Jimmy Carter).

Where is the threat, where is the power of this presidency? Like Clinton in the '90s (those grand years of ol), Obama has yet to demonstrate that he is strong enough, by virtue of a willingness to show and use the power of his office. We know where that got Clinton: impeachment by a bunch of political mice on Capitol Hill who believed he would roll over a play dead as soon as the House voted.

What can be done? Obama needs to widen his circle of advisers. He needs to spend less time on television and more time figuring out what to do. He needs to look for that hidden, enticing "presidential moment" when he can leave American citizens, and official Washington, thunderstruck with his daring and determination. He needs to prove that he deserves the office that the nation gratefully gave him.

He needs to try some new things. Obama needs to look to the extra-official aspects of the presidency, of leadership that does not involve getting legislation passed. Until now, bills in Congress have been his focus. It hasn’t worked, at least not in bringing support to him and his presidency.

He needs to find ways to make the nation feel and believe, in substance and by impression, that he and we can tackle our problems and get moving again. He needs to use the bully pulpit as none have ever before. He needs to pick some good fights and show the public he is not afraid to get dirt on his collar. He needs to give people new reasons to believe in him."


(excerpted from the Terry report)

How Stupid is Stupid?

Well the question certainly has been answered, the mostly white electorate voted in the Rethugs again, along with some new anarchist Teabaggers. These are the same Rethugs that offshored the jobs and plundered the treasury that supported the middle class the past 40 years, and sent the economy headed straight to the bottom.

As they usually do to blacks, they gave Obama the worst job - to clean up the wreckage left behind by the Bush criminals. They admit he averted the crash, (and he also reduced Bush's $1.4 trillion deficit by $200 billion), but their inner racist redneck DNA couldn't stand the fact that he is black and occupying their white house (the color symbolism is inescapable). So in less than 2 years, they gave the House back to the criminals who savaged the economy in the first place, and in so doing they got rid of 2 of the most progressive middle class advocates in Congress - Russ Feingold and Allan Grayson.

How stupid is that? - Stupid is as Stupid does!


Note to Dems and the President: you deserved to lose.....

You were not progressive at all - you preferred to try and compromise with the Rethugs and water down everything to appease them. What did it get you? - not one of their votes!- and a loss of control of the House..

You stupidly did not include a Public Option when you had a chance to - instead you passed a watered-down Healthcare bill without one Repug vote! So it's clear you could have included it, but didn't.

You had a chance to investigate and ban the privately owned Diebold voting machines, but you didn't, so now you will never know how many votes were stolen from you and if your loses were real or faked.

You did not investigate the crimes of the Bush regime when you had the House, so now the Rethugs will investigate you and maybe impeach you.

You allowed that spineless, gutless, Harry Reid to be the Senate leader and he kowtowed to every filibuster the Rethugs threw at him. He didn't have the balls for the job and you knew it, but you let him have it anyway.

And to rub salt in the wound - Tim Scott, the first black Representative since Reconstruction was elected in So. Carolina as a Teabagging Repug, and he vows to repeal your Healthcare Legislation.

Good luck the next two years - you did not take enough progressive stances that would have energized the Progressive Independents to come out and vote - so you lost. You're now stuck with the Moderates, the DNC, the Blue-Dog Dems, and the Teabaggers who hate you - you deserve them all.

And today you said you would compromise with the Rethugnants who now rule the House. Less than 1 hour later, the winning Teabagging anarchist, Marco Rubio said, "hell no! - no compromise, we're sticking to our principles", and sambo Michael Steele parroted the same rebuff, "we're sticking to our principles!"

So Obama you've been kicked again because you still haven't learned that it's not just politics with your enemies, it's ideology and principle, and they (unlike you), don't compromise on those....

Palin for Pres.???? - lol !

From her reckless but admitted insistence on traveling by air from Texas to Alaska AFTER her water broke; to the down-syndrome child that was born and that she claims is hers, but others believe it secretly belongs to her abstinent daughter; to her ranting about abstinence-only for others, while this same 16 yr. old daughter was getting f****d and pregnant, AGAIN; to her astonishing revelation that she doesn't read newspapers; to her incoherent speech patterns that highlights how ignorant she really is; to her insistence on being interviewed only by fawning, sympathetic enablers like Fox faux-News; to her appalling ignorance of the fact that Africa is a Continent composed of over 40 countries, rather than being just one country; to her quitting her job as Governor of Alaska, midway through her term of office; to the large deficit she ran up and left to her city of Wasila while she was Mayor - this is the laughable, lip-sticked face of the TeaParty Express and would-be candidate for President, in 2012.

America is rightfully the laughing-stock of the world after this nut-job garnered 60 million votes as VP on one of the worst presidential pairings in over 100 years of political campaigns. Now to think that to millions and millions, she is still considered a credible, viable presidential candidate, is beyond comprehension, but illustrates that being a racist, being pathetically and pitifully ignorant, and being a sociopath and pathological liar as well, are notable christian virtues to her many supporters - ask Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Beck, how well it has worked for them.

Change You Can Believe In? - This Is It!

In December, I graded President Obama's 1st year as a 'B,' and noted that it was one of the most, productive 1st years of any previous presidency.

Today, on his monumental, historical, unprecedented, accomplishment in pushing through the Healthcare Reform legislation and signing it, (without one Repugnant vote of support), he earned an A+++! Those who awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize, were far smarter and intuitive, than those who said he had not done anything yet.

The Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." Above all, the single best way to achieve this, is through good health and Healthcare availability. This is why Healthcare is a right, and not a privilege.

It's now the law of the land, and from here it can be improved on, and hopefully will be.

The biggest single improvement I hope for, is to make it into a universal, single- payer, not-for-profit plan, that will be available to all citizens from day-1 of their lives.

Obama's 1st Year's Grade

It's now the end of 2009 and almost 1 year has passed since President Obama assumed the office of the presidency. It's been a year of turmoil, both financially and politically, unlike anything I have seen since I have been alive. It is also the first time in 8 years that I did not have to suffer the embarrassment of having an incompetent as president of the US, and our country being the laughingstock of the world.

The things that I would downgrade him for, was his renewal of the Patriot Act, his renewal of FISA, his decision to send additional troops into Afghanistan, and his refusal to prosecute the criminals of the previous administration who approved torture and all manner of other violations of International and US law.

For these I would give him a grade of C.....

On the other hand, there were many notable things that he did achieve, the most recent was being awarded the most prestigious award in the world - the Nobel Peace Prize. Earlier in the year he also nominated and secured the appointment of the 1st Latina Supreme Court Justice, he fulfilled his campaign pledge to begin the daunting process of reforming healthcare in America, and he achieved a host of other legislative actions that had been neglected or denied by the previous administration. He has had many critics, both on the Right and on the Left, but at least one source correctly saw that his was one of the best 1st years in office that any previous president has had..

....from The BradBlog - http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7595

• Continued the draw down the misbegotten war in Iraq
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Thoughtfully and decisively picked the best of several bad choices regarding the war in Afghanistan
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Gave a major precedent-setting speech supporting gay rights
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Restored America's image around the globe
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Banned torture of American prisoners
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Stopped the free fall of the American economy
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Put the USA squarely back in the bilateral international community
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Put the USA squarely into the middle of the international effort to halt global warming
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Stood up for educational reform
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Won a Nobel peace prize
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Moved the trial of terrorists back into the American judicial system of checks and balances
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Did what had to be done to start the slow, torturous and almost impossible process of health care reform that 7 presidents had failed to even begin
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Responded to hatred from the Right and Left with measured good humor and patience
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Stopped the free fall of job losses
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Showed immense personal courage in the face of an armed and dangerous far Right opposition that included the sort of disgusting people that show up at public meetings carrying loaded weapons and carrying Timothy McVeigh-inspired signs about the "blood of tyrants" needing to "water the tree of liberty"...
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

• Showed that he could not only make the tough military choices but explain and defend them brilliantly
  (But that wasn't good enough for his critics)

For all these first-term achievements, I would give him a grade of A....

IMHO, His overall grade for his first year is a B to a B+, and I fully expect it to rise to a grade of A by the end of his 4-yr. term in office.

A Prize For Peace - Or a Nobel War?

As I listened to President Obama's speech, it struck me that his justification for the war he just expanded, is exactly what he had to say in order not to displease the powerful, elite, MIC ideologues who profit handsomely from our being constantly at undeclared war.

Do you think his life would be worth a plugged-nickel if he crossed them????

He is not a fool - he knows that they already murdered a sitting president plus his brother and two Civil Rights Activists, for crossing them by opposing the escalation of the Vietnam War; He knows that they warned Reagan with a faked assassination attempt when he strayed from their directives; he knows that they assaulted NYC and Washington, DC with massive air strikes that only they could have engineered and accomplished - all to provide a 'terrorist' rationale for war and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq...

He also knows that the recent security breech that allowed the 'party-crashers' to get close enough to kill him, was a thinly-veiled warning to let him know how easy it will be to take him out if it were ever necessary.

So it appears to me that President Obama is fighting to stay alive, while still trying to do some good for the people who supported him and even for those who did not - I don't envy his dilemma.

So don't get caught up in the hype that he could have ended the war by bringing the troops home, rather than choosing to expand it as he did - he may not have had that option because his life was on the line, and his first duty to himself and his family, is to stay alive!

From Despair To Hope

On the first anniversary of the election of President Barack Obama, it should be noted that it was a confluence of circumstances that worked positively for his candidacy and election.

I'm thinking back to 1999-2000 when Al Gore and Joe Lieberman ran against George Bush and Dick Chaney. Had Gore/Lieberman won and their tenure was not the disaster that Bush's was, it would have been impossible for Obama to have been nominated, and then elected president.

First, I wonder what kind of V.P. Lieberman would have made, given the scum-bag traitor/opportunist , we now know him to be. And worse, supposed Gore had conveniently died in office and Lieberman became President...what a disaster for this country and a bonanza for Israel and the predatory Healthcare Industry that would have been.

As much as I despised Bush/Chaney's candidacy and their Supreme Court appointment to the presidency, I was happy that Gore did not win due to his awfully poor judgment in choosing Lieberman as his V.P.

We know now what a disaster and catastrophe Bush's presidency has been, and were it not for that fact, and the desperation the electorate felt as the disaster engulfed us, they would not have voted in sufficient numbers to elect Obama as president.

So the back-slapping bragging about post-racialism etc., is just talk....Obama's election was due to and born out of, desperation and fear of the imminent sinking of this Republic's Titanic.

So far he has struggled mightily to undo and reverse the actions that were sinking this ship, and virtually no one believes that had Palin/McCain won, we would still be afloat.

We are still waiting for the wars to end, for healthcare legislation to pass, and a myriad of other promises to be fulfilled...hopefully by the second anniversary we will be able to collectively sigh and exhale in relief, and look forward to the promise of one of the best presidencies in the history of our country.

A Noble Effort Reaped A Nobel Prize

What a week this has been, just a few days ago President Obama flew to Europe to make a personal appeal to the Olympic committee to award the 2016 games to America, and specifically to his hometown of Chicago. You would think that all Americans would have applauded his attempt to sway them in favor of our country. But not the rabid conservative right-wing, who frothed with their collective mouths and railed at him for "leaving his pressing duties here to make the trip there." So it was not too surprising when the committee awarded the games to a country and a continent that never had it before, Brazil and So. America, that the wackos erupted in an orgy of celebration that Obama had failed in his attempt to bring the games here.

These are the same hypocrites that like to trumpet their patriotism and alleged love of country at every drop of the hat - they are as phony as their family value pretensions that has been consistently getting exposed of late, as news of a string of their adulterous relationships has been popping up almost non-stop. But they see no disconnect in their apparent lack of patriotism and even less of family values, from the virtues they pretend to have.

The repugs disgraceful display of glee at what they viewed as a European 'snub' of Obama, was topped today when we all awoke to the fantastic news that President Obama had been awarded the most prestigious of all awards, the Nobel Peace Prize. The world body apparently viewed Obama's fledgling peace efforts to have been so significant and important, that they chose him above other worthy candidates, to bestow this ultimate honor for his efforts. This was a pleasant surprise to most of the 70 million who voted for Obama, but it was a day of mourning, outrage, and apoplectic angst for millions of his detractors, including most of the MSM, who are supposed to just report the news, not make it. Leading the charge, was the black, figure-head chairman of the Repugnants, Michael Steele, who reportedly had this to say -

"Says Steele: “The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished?’ It is unfortunate that the President’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain - President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.”

This is the bile and swill that came out of this fool's mouth on the very day that the 1st black president in the history of this country was honored. His reaction is even more onerous than that of the real hardcore racists who inhabit every inch of this party, and who reacted with predictable outrage and disdain - what a pitiful piece of human waste and a Sambo, Steele has shown himself to be.

Well, the world is way more appreciative of Obama's extraordinary dedication to the principals of international diplomacy and to the cause of peace for the preservation of this planet. His many hate-filled opponents are so brain-dead, that they can't even understand and appreciate, that the award was bestowed on President Obama on behalf of ALL the American people.

The world peace body has spoken with this award, and has simultaneously sent a message of approval of our new President, and a rebuke and thumbs-down to the previous administration which lawlessly detained and tortured others, and illegally eavesdropped on many of us for most of 8 years.

Congratulations, President Obama!

Reflections On The Moment.....

As I see Barack and Michelle taking their victory walk along the parade route, I'm struck by the tremendous risk that they are taking to follow the 'walking' tradition started by Jimmy Carter. Of course Carter was never in the amount of danger that Obama is, and will be, throughout his presidency. So I held my breath and prayed along with millions of others along the route and watching on television.

It has been a momentous time ever since Obama declared that he was running for the presidency, over two years ago. America will never be the same again, even if they never elect another Black man again. History has been made and witnessed by millions who never thought they would see this day. And those who have passed on already, will not have the opportunity to experience what we did today. I'm thankful that God has protected him so far, and am hopeful that He will continue to do so in the days ahead.

The self-congratulatory expressions of our greatness and generosity, flowed freely in the many speeches that were made today. I just wonder if all the good things that we can rightfully boast about, compensates for the evil done by us or by our proxies with our permission. Can we ignore the 1,300 Gazians killed by Israel financed with our tax dollars. What about the 400 children and 100 women included in that number?....what about the 100,000 Palestinians injured, including 1,900 children and 800 women included in that number...the 24,000 buildings demolished and the 100,000 made homeless are too horrific to comprehend - all this done in our name and with our connivance. What about the millions of Iraqis that are either dead or injured by our actions?...And we call ourselves a 'christian', moral nation with a deep respect for life, unless of course 'the others' have been branded as terrorists and not worthy of humane treatment, as these have been by Israel and Us.

Oh well, fortunately, the final trump card is still held by Almighty God, and He alone will ensure that we 'sow what we have reaped'. Until then, we will continue to feel smug about our democracy and the peaceful transfer of power we have just witnessed. When the piper has to be paid though, it will all go for nought...we should enjoy it for now....

2008 - Post Election Notes

It's always interesting to look back and see how Obama won the race...

- Approx. 208 million Americans were eligible, and 133 million voted - 33% more than the 100 million who voted in 2004. This might be the largest turnout in history - largely because of Obama's presence as the Democratic standard bearer.

- Of the 27 million Blacks who were eligible to vote, 17 million or 63% voted

- Obama got 95% of the Black vote; 62% of the Asian vote; 67% of the Latino vote; and 43% of the White vote

Although McCain had negatives going in, such as his age and uncertain health, one of his biggest mistakes was picking Sarah Palin as his running mate, which was widely regarded as a desperate 'hail mary pass' in football parlance. The other was their tremendous amount of racist and unpatriotic negative ads and campaign speeches targeting Obama - none of these were effective enough to beat Obama, although they fired-up his rabid, racist base.

Palin will always be remembered as the winking, smirking, dimwit, who did not know which were the 3 countries in NAFTA (America, Canada and Mexico); did not know that Africa was a continent made up of 40+ independent countries; did not know that So. Africa was one of these countries located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, rather than just merely located in the southern portion of the country of Africa; was said by McCain "to be the most knowledgeable person in the country on energy matters"; and said of herself, "that she had security and defense experience because she could see Russia from Alaska".

The supreme comeuppance experienced by McCain, was that he voted against establishing a national holiday in memory of the slain African-American, Martin Luther King, and yesterday he lost the race for president to a man who just happens to be African-American, Barack Obama.

McCain and his base probably will remain crazily trapped in their delusion that Obama is a Muslim, while simultaneously accusing him of having attended a Christian Church pastored by Rev. Wright for over 20 years, and Palin will go back to Alaska, cross the political 'bridge to nowhere', and keep an eye on Russia to protect us and keep us safe - good riddance to both of them.

Did the 'Surge' Work?

Another debate has come and gone between Obama and McCain, with Obama clearly the most presidential, and exuding the temperament, knowledge, and maturity, that is necessary for the highest office in the land. This is in contrast to the tired old discredited lies that McCain and his VP, Palin, continue to spout.

One inane point that McCain and his surrogate Palin keeps trying to make and shame Obama into saying, is that the 'surge' initiated by Bush in Iraq, worked. They keep trying to make that point to infer that the Iraq debacle is such a resounding success.

Everyone with half a brain knows that at $10 billion per month, with no end in sight, the occupation in Iraq has been a resounding failure, and trying to rejoice over a 'surge', is like trying to put lipstick on a pig.

The idea of a successful 'surge' is extraordinarily laughable when you consider that to this day, any American official down to the ordinary congressperson who is visiting Iraq, must sneak in under cover of darkness without any prior announcement, to ensure their safe landing there. The MSM dutifully spins this reality by calling it a "surprise visit" - in fact every visit has been and must continue to be a 'surprise'.

In the future, a so-called 'surge' could only be said to be successful, when an American official can announce that they are going to Iraq on a specific day and time, and expect to be able to arrive there safely without fear of being shot down - that will be the evidence that the 'surge', has in fact, worked.

Until then, Obama should rightfully refuse to give any credit nor credence to the notion of a successful 'surge', because it is a lie that is proven by everyone travelling to Iraq - they still have to sneak in and make it a 'surprise' visit.

Debate Whom?

Considering that McCain obviously, cowardly and clumsily tried to duck this debate with Obama, he came off way better than he should have. Obama should have hammered him for his juvenile ploy to avoid debating him, and then promptly and decisively challenged his many lies.

Also Obama was too deferential and said "I agree with John" eight times too often.. McCain was clearly angry that he had to debate who he considered an inferior, was very contemptuous and condescending, saying at least 6 times, "he just does not understand"...."he is naive...", "he is stubborn". McCain did not even look at Obama, once. Obama should have hammered him on his wanting 45 nuclear plants, pointing out the absurdity of it...

Obama looked more presidential, but McCain should have been knocked out, given his criminal role in the Keating 5 scandal, 95% support of Bush's policies, consistently voting against veterans benefits - yet he lives to fight another day because Obama spared him....

The problem was that Obama let McCain get away with too many lies: -

- that he warned of the present financial crisis -
he did not, just 10 days ago he said that "the economy was fundamentally sound",

- Russia invaded Georgia - Georgia invaded Ossetia first, then Russia responded by retaliating,

- he voted consistently for veterans issues and loves the veterans - voted against most veterans benefits,

- he was going to put a freeze on spending - he voted for every spending program of Bush,

- Iran threatened to wipe Israel off the map - they did not,

- he called for the resignation of the SEC head - he did not, he said he would fire him, not knowing that he could not fire him,

- that the surge worked - the surge benchmarks were political reconciliation, oil leases, - none of these have been realized yet, other than lesser violence due to ethnic cleansing - so the surge has not worked....,

- that he was against torture - he voted for torture after being initially against it,

- said that Pakistan was formerly a failed state before Musharraf - it was not,

- would create a 'league of democracies' - Obama should have said that was stupid and would undermine the UN which is already in place..

Fortunately the prelim polls show Obama won handily and decisively, particularly among undecided voters...

Hillary's Coronation???

I'm watching the coronation of someone who supposedly lost to Obama, but is acting in fact, like she won instead of him. The 10 min. video would have been more than enough homage with it's greatest hits theme, but there also had to be a 5 min. standing ovation with a sea of Hillary presidential signs displayed, even before getting to her speech.

I'm wondering if Obama and his people knew all the details of this planned upstaging, but yet still signed off on this circus. Did he want the presidency so badly that he was willing to pay this humiliating price to gain her verbal but actually, marginal support??

I'm not convinced in the least that she fully supports his nomination, in fact it sounds more like she was presumptuously dictating what programs he should enact if he should gain the office of the presidency.

She gave perfunctory short shrift to the McCain/Bush disastrous candidacy. IMHO, the bulk of her speech should have been spent skewering him and pointing out his madness and failed politics, rather than acting like the presumed candidate whose nomination was stolen by Barack.

I thought it was a thoroughly narcissistic, self-congratulatory screed, without any apology for the demeaning things she said about Obama during the primary. She sent the message that the wrong candidate won, and she should have been nominated instead. And no apology was made for making statements that McCain can and will surely use in ads to bolster his case against Obama. Tomorrow her other half will probably continue her coronation while also indulging in self-congratulations for his presidency in the 90s.

I predict that Billary will net far more from this evening than Obama will, and it's his fault for allowing it.

If Obama loses in November, this upstaging won't be the only reason, but will be a major reason why he lost.

A $400 Million Shill

On this day of independence, it is interesting to note how dependant many pundits are, on the largess of the Repugs for following the party line. They all have noted with envy, the contract Rush Limbaugh just signed with Clear Channel, to continue shilling eight more years for the Repugs, and deny all the obvious signs that this republic is sinking like the Titanic, thanks to BushCo and their mis-rule. His contract averages out to $45,000 each hour he broadcasts.

At least Limbaugh is just a talk-show entertainer, and not a newsman, but there are a host of 'newsmen' who openly side with the Repugs and their worldview, while supposedly broadcasting unbiased news. To name just a few; Scott Simon - NPR; Mark Shields - PBS; Liz Sedoti - AP; David Broder - Wash. Post; Jack Tapper - ABCnews; Sam Donaldson - ABC; Chris Matthews - MSNBC Hardball; Sean Hannity - Fox; Brit Hume - Fox, etc., all report biasedly, and at times openly, to favor the Repugs and to ensure their staying in the good graces of the Repugs, who pay handsomely, as demonstrated by Limbaugh's contract.

So much for the principles of independence, fairness, balance, accuracy in reporting, all of which this country supposedly separated itself from the British Crown for.

This is the 'independence' that Obama is up against, as he gamely strives to get balanced reporting on his campaign and platform issues. It's already clear that this is not going to happen - not if our news persons have anything to do with it.

From this 4th of July onward, it's going to get much worse.

Who Lied?

I like and admire both Rev. Jeremiah Wright's truthfulness, and Barack Obama's audacity of hope to be the president of the US.

Neither of them is perfect and certainly none of us are either.

I'm saddened that Obama felt he had to distance himself from Wright and his statements, but I understand why he had to do so - he's running for president, and America is not ready to acknowledge inconvenient truths about herself.

I also know that Wright has been saying these inconvenient truths from the pulpit, for the full 20 years that Obama and his family has been members of his Chicago church. So it defies belief, that Obama is only hearing these things for the first time in recent weeks - in other words he lied!

As Rev. Wright said, he's a politician, and has to say the things that will get him elected - so lying about what he heard and when he heard it, proves the point that Rev. Wright made.

I'm saddened that there are somethings in life that some of us may be willing to lie about, in order to gain our broader objectives - so I understand why Obama lied, but very glad that Rev. Wright has chosen to tell the truth all of these years.

Who Hurt Obama???

It's troubling to me that many progressives who normally see through political chicanery, are buying into the hype that Rev. Wright has hurt Obama's campaign for president.

What is being forgotten, is that the MSM was using those edited clips of Wright's sermons, and looping them 24/7 for the last month. It was a savage, libelous, racist attack, and was meant to discredit and hurt Obama by linking him to this 'raving maniac' who had been his pastor for the past 20 yrs. This was only just one of many tools that were marshaled against Obama, in addition to saying he is a Muslim, conflating his name with Osama and with Saadam Hussein etc. - all of this to prevent Obama from getting the dems nod.

Bill Moyer, who is a member of the Riverside church in NY and also of the Church of Christ federation of churches, tried to give him an opportunity to defend himself in the PBS interview, and to dispel the slanderous, racist imagery of him - and most will agree that it was a successful interview and Obama was not hurt by it.

Next, Wright spoke at the Detroit NAACP gala which had been booked over 1 year ago, and again, there was nothing in it that can be said to be hurtful to Obama without deliberately twisting and distorting his words.

Finally, he spoke at the Nat'l Press Club, apparently invited and facilitated by a fellow minister who was also a Hillary Clinton supporter. We all watched it, and whether we agreed with all the things he said, they were truthful and forthright. Yet Obama was pressured to denounce him once again.

Anyone who used his speeches as a justification to withdraw their support from Obama, was looking for an excuse, and had no intention of supporting Obama in the first place. No true supporter who truly wants Obama to be their president, could or would withdraw their support because of what Rev. Wright has said.

Obama has been put in an impossible position of having to denounce Wright, not because of the truth of what Wright said, but because of MSM trickery, cheered on by McShame and Billary. As Wright noted, " he has to distance himself because he is a politician and want's to be president".

Hillary's Big 'Bell Curve' Win

With the results in from Pennsylvania, it's proof that those who the 'Bell Curve' touts as having the superior intellect and higher IQs, have spoken again. First they voted overwhelmingly for Bush....TWICE!...and are now paying $4/gal for gasoline.

And they have voted overwhelmingly for Hillary who voted for this war, which is costing them over $3 billion per week, and whose husband implemented NAFTA and CAFTA which has resulted in the outsourcing of most of their good paying jobs and a ruined economy.

At least blacks had the intelligence to give Bush less than 7% of their votes in the two prior elections, gave Hillary less than 11% of their votes in the primaries so far, and have given Obama over 85% of their votes because he is the superior candidate.

How do you like us now, 'Bell Curvers'????

McCain's Scandal

Regarding the negative article just published by the NYTimes about McCain and his possible affair with a lobbyist, a few short weeks after endorsing him, seems to me to be very suspicious, particularly the timing.

To me , although the LAT is reputed to be a'liberal' paper, I've always thought it was really a right-wing tool of BushCo and a cheerleader for this war. I believe they wanted to take the focus off Obama's momentum, and give a boost to the repugnant candidate. They have been sitting on the story for months, and could have derailed McCain's candidacy in favor of Romney if they ran it earlier.

They accomplished several things by dropping the story now - they have united their base behind McCain, because although many repugs dislike McCain, they hate the Times even more as a supposed 'liberal' tool. They had to do something to 'rally' their base in sympathy with McCain - this was it. Up to now, the right-wing talking heads have been vocally opposed to McCain, but are now tripping over themselves to defend him and attacking the Times for publishing the story without proof. Further, although McCain denies it, he does not seem to be very enraged and his famous temper has not been activated, which says to me he okay'd the story as a strategic move. As further proof that he is not angry about it, he is using the publishing of the story as a point to raise sorely needed funds for his campaign. The Times is playing the 'bad guy' in this, while dutifully facilitating McCain's fundraising for his campaign.

Although ultimately, I believe either of the three candidates are acceptable to the Elites who really run the show, McCain most closely fits the bill to carry forward the domestic and foreign policies of BushCo. Obama is the least acceptable, which is why I believe he won't get the Dems nod, and if he does get it, he won't win in November.

This is a classic example of the fourth estate working hand in hand with the executive branch and their interests, instead of being the independent, unimpeachable voice that it is supposed to be.

The bigger and more important story they should have put on page 1, is McCain's shameful flip-flop by approving the torture bill, eventhough he was tortured himself. This is the story being buried by the sex scandal.

Repugnantisms

Unfettered capitalism, is the surest route to unimagined wealth, and the best way to firmly ensconce the elite in a separate world, millenia away from the unwashed masses they have exploited.

This partly explains the stampede to 'privatize' everything in sight, from social security to the armed forces, and particularly those social institutions that were set up for the common good of all. What better way to 'manage' the prospects of the unwashed, and subject their futures to the iconic whims of the elites.

Thus remove all regulators that will ensure accountability and oversight. Dismantle the FCC, FTC, EPA, and all other regulatory agencies that are charged with these responsibilities.

Throw caution to the wind - spend $250 million per day in Iraq - the rapture is nigh - do unto others before they do it unto us, and bomb them to set them free!

Welcome to the Rupugnant wet-dream.