The Spin Cycle

The Rich Are NOT Smarter or Harder Working

Henry M — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:09:25 EDT

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
- Dorothy Parker

Now is the Time for All Good People to Do the Right Thing and Come to the Aid of the President

Henry M — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:32:18 EDT

Open letter to President Barack Obama: I live near Washington, DC. I understand politics, and I know that the president doesn't legislate, but Mr. President, I believe that you can lead the country from the bully pulpit, and in Congress and it's back rooms, and get them to do the right thing. I just got a new job with benefits that include health insurance, but I haven't had health insurance for years. I can't look my uninsured friends in the eye and tell them to get their own; they can't without a public option. They need your help, and even many of the people against you (and against change in general) need a public option for their health, security, and peace of mind. I know you'll do the right thing.Thank you, Mr. President. Henry MusikarSr. IT Consultanthttp://astore.amazon.com/tdcoccamsaxe-20/

Socialism Rears Its Ugly Head in Arlington

Henry M — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:20:34 EDT

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning. Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country? Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Whew!

Henry M — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:49:40 EDT

Everyone needs to take a break from time to time. My daughter's wedding was Saturday.

I need a break. :-)

Henry M

How can you tell if someone really reads the news?

Henry M — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:53:25 EDT

How can you tell if someone really reads the news? Well, they support a public health care option.

How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin. [without ever reading Marx or Lenn, hm]
- Ronald Reagan

Henry M

Throwing Out Granny with the Bathwater

Henry M — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:59:23 EDT

Thanks to Palin and her minions, millions of grannies will die in pain. They're throwing out granny's Medicare reimbursement for talking with a doctor about how they want to die in order to keep the people that they think are "bathwater" from being able to get insurance from the government.

What do you call people like that? Children may be reading this, so keep it clean, please.

Henry M

Public Option Opposition: I Hope They're Happy

Henry M — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:57:43 EDT

Looks like they're gonna have to end up taking the public option out of healthcare reform. Nice work by those who opposed it! Unless they're extremely rich, people one or two degrees of separation from them will suffer, as they have for years, but in greater numbers in this economy, and grannies will die without panels. "An opinion should be the result of thought, not a substitute for it." - Jef Mallett

Reading Should Be Fundamental

Henry M — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:03:10 EDT

Those concerned about H.R.3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, particularly anyone who doesn't trust our elected officials, e.g. the President of the United States of America, to do the right thing for the country, should... actually read it before they shout anyone down about it.

Don't ya think?

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3200ih.txt.pdf

Read it and pass it around!

Henry M

Why the Lies Against Reform?

Henry M — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:28:23 EDT

If there is any truth to be told against healthcare reform, then why are crazy lies, e.g. death squads and committees, the only things we hear against it?

There are no lobbyists pushing reform; there's no money in it. On the other hand....

Henry M

God Almighty... Dollar

Henry M — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:20:51 EDT

What would Jesus do about health care? - MSN Video

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=6c20b196-4293-4f54-a7d1-5895212157fbMsnbc’s Ed Schultz talks with Bishop Harry Jackson and Rev. Derrick Harkins about how Christian leaders are viewing the debate about health care and a public option.

Henry M

Hawking Healthcare

Henry M — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:11:49 EDT

If someone tells you that they got their "facts" from "reputable" source, you should still check them, particularly if you want to refute them:

Stephen Hawking receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

But:

In an editorial on July 31, Investor's Business Daily warned of end-of-life counseling in health care reform by saying people like Stephen Hawking "wouldn't have a chance" in the such a system.
"People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless."
In fact, Professor Hawking lives in England, where he has been treated by their National Health Service. And by his own account, it saved his life. "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," he told The Guardian. "I have received a large amount of high-quality treatment without which I would not have survived."
The Hawking reference in the IBD editorial has since been removed, with this correction added: "This version corrects the original editorial which implied that physicist Stephen Hawking, a professor at the University of Cambridge, did not live in the UK."
They don't acknowledge that the NHS has kept Hawking alive there.

Henry M

Got the Job

Henry M — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:33:32 EDT

I interviewed for the job last Friday. I start on Monday. I get benefits, including health insurance. I haven't had health insurance in years. Just because I'll have it doesn't mean that I'll stop fighting for universal coverage via a public option. I promise that I will never be someone who smugly sits back and says "I've got mine. Go get yours."

Henry M

Living in the USA

Henry M — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:05:23 EDT

From a practical viewpoint, the Dems are doing things in a way that will, or should I say "may very well," have an actual positive effect on healthcare in the USA. Can the purists on the left say as much?

The USA is hardly ready for single-payer or socialized health care. Hell, there's a lot of squawking about even having a public option. Add ILLEGAL immigrants to the debate, and it goes down in flames. The Republicans would love that and they would laugh at how, even with the most left-leaning POTUS (perhaps after Roosevelt) we've ever had, the left still manages to stay disorganized and shoot itself in the head.

I want change, and I want some change now. Insisting on an immediate complete overhaul of the government and society is just as much "pie in the sky" as the bosses, the corporations, and the right-wing feed the masses.

"Here and now, boys! Here and now!"Henry M

WhiteHouse.gov Reality Check on Health Insurance Reform

Henry M — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:31:15 EDT

Please send this to everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Get the word out!

Get the Facts about the stability and security you get from health insurance reform
Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it
Kavita Patel, who works with Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett and who worked for years before as a physician, debunks the myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
The "euthanasia" distortion on help for families
Melody Barnes, the President's Director of the Domestic Policy Council, debunks the malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors.
Vets' health care is safe and sound
Matt Flavin, Director of Veterans and Wounded Warrior Policy, explains that nothing in health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget greatly expands coverage for veterans who have been denied access in the past.
Reform will benefit small business - not burden it
Christina Romer, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, debunks the myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.

Henry M

A Primer on the Details of Health Care Reform

Henry M — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:16:16 EDT

Many people don't know any more about the healthcare reform than what they've been told by one or two pundits. Here's an article from the New York Times that you can give to people to help them get a more balanced view of the issues.

A Primer on the Details of Health Care Reform
By ROBERT PEAR and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: August 9, 2009
WASHINGTON — With the debate over the future of health care now shifted from Capitol Hill to town halls, supporters and critics of the Democrats’ legislative proposals are polishing their sound bites and sharpening their attack lines.
Increasingly, the battle looks like a presidential contest, with expensive advertising campaigns and Internet-driven efforts to mobilize local support. It can be difficult to sort fact from fiction, as angry protesters denounce the legislation at raucous public forums.
President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress have made the health care overhaul their top priority, putting their political futures on the line. Democrats had hoped to spend the month whipping up support for the legislation, but instead find themselves on the defensive, responding to what Mr. Obama describes as “outlandish rumors” spread by critics.
Many Republicans view fighting the president as a smart political strategy, turning a potentially wonkish debate over Medicare reimbursement rates and subsidies for the uninsured into an ideological battle over the government’s role in health care.
Each side hopes to win ground by boiling down one of the most complex policy discussions in history into digestible nuggets. For beachside viewers who might be more interested in iced-tea service than fee-for-service, here is a guide to the main fight points.
KEEP IT OR LOSE IT?
Mr. Obama has said repeatedly, as he told the American Medical Association in June: “If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what."
These assurances reflect an aspiration, but may not be literally true or enforceable.
The legislation does not require insurers or employers to continue offering the health benefits they now provide. The House bill sets detailed standards for “acceptable health care coverage,” which would define “essential benefits” and permissible co-payments. Employers that already offer insurance would have five years to bring their plans into compliance with the new federal standards.
The Senate health committee bill goes somewhat further by offering an “option to retain current insurance coverage.
”The legislation could have significant implications for individuals who have bought coverage on their own. Their policies might be exempted from the new standards, but the coverage might not be viable for long because insurers could not add benefits or enroll additional people in noncompliant policies. Dallas L. Salisbury, president of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a private nonpartisan group, said: “The president and Democrats in Congress are saying what they would like. Their promises may not be literally true because your health plan may change, and your doctor may no longer accept your insurance.”
SOCIALIZED MEDICINE Or Uniquely American?
Republicans harshly criticize Democratic proposals to create a government-run insurance plan, or public option, to compete with private insurers. Republicans say the public plan would drive insurers out of business and lead to “socialized medicine” or a government takeover of health care. Democrats say they want a “uniquely American” system with public and private elements. For now, the Republican criticism seems overblown. Major versions of the legislation all rely heavily on a continuation of private health plans, offered by employers and by insurance companies, subject to sweeping new federal regulations. Whether a public plan would crowd out private insurers depends on details yet to be decided, including its premiums and its payment rates for health care providers.
The public plan is not even a certainty. To win bipartisan support for the overhaul, some Democrats have proposed private nonprofit health care cooperatives, instead of a public plan, to compete with private insurers. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that, under the House bill, the number of people with employer-sponsored insurance would climb to 162 million in 2016, which is 3 million more than expected under current law. Further, it said, enrollment in the proposed public plan might total 11 million, far lower than estimates cited by Republicans. An additional 10 million people, most of them now uninsured, would enroll in Medicaid, the budget office said.
At any rate, the federal government already holds sway over the health care system through Medicare, Medicaid and various insurance programs for children, veterans, military personnel and other federal employees. The federal government will account for 35 percent of the expected $2.5 trillion in health spending this year, and that does not include subsidies built into the tax code.
BLAMING INSURERS Or Ensuring Blame?
Democrats have unleashed a blistering attack on private health insurers as they try to convince the vast majority of Americans who already have coverage that the current system is tilted in favor of corporate profits, not patients, and that insurers are a main obstacle to passing legislation.
Insurers say they support some of the most important Democratic proposals, including a ban on denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on pre-existing medical conditions.The insurance industry does oppose a government-run insurance plan and could eventually mobilize against the overhaul. But insurers appear to be less of an obstacle than public apprehension over such sweeping change and skittishness among lawmakers, including centrist Democrats from Republican-leaning districts.Most Americans do not know the full cost of their employer-sponsored insurance. And it is easier for Democrats to paint insurers as greedy than to explain the complex math that shows current health care spending is unsustainable.
DEFICIT-NEUTRAL Or Budget-Buster?
Mr. Obama has avoided dictating specific provisions of health care legislation. But he has insisted that the bill not add to the federal debt, leading Democrats to say that the overhaul will be “deficit neutral,” with the roughly $1 trillion, 10-year cost to be offset by reduced spending or new taxes. The Congressional Budget Office has yet to issue cost estimates for the latest versions of the bill approved by three House committees. But it has warned that the legislation “would probably generate substantial increases in federal budget deficits” beyond 2019, in part because health costs are rising faster than the rate of inflation and proposed new taxes would not keep up. Republicans use those warnings to cast doubt on the claim by Mr. Obama that the legislation will “bend the cost curve” by slowing the growth of health spending in the long term. Democrats say the overhaul will lead to savings that cannot be calculated under budgeting rules.
At this point, it is difficult to know who is right. Over the next 10 years, the budget office said, the House bill would “result in a net increase in the federal budget deficit of $239 billion,” partly because of an increase in Medicare spending to avert sharp cuts in payments to doctors scheduled to occur under existing law. House Democrats say the higher doctor payments should not count in the cost because they fix a problem that predates the Obama administration and Democratic control of Congress.
EUTHANASIA And Abortion
Conservative critics say the legislation could limit end-of-life care and even encourage euthanasia. Moreover, some assert, it would require people to draw up plans saying how they want to die.These concerns appear to be unfounded. AARP, the lobby for older Americans, says, “The rumors out there are flat-out lies.” The House bill would provide Medicare coverage for optional consultations with doctors who advise patients on life-sustaining treatment and “end-of-life services,” including hospice care. The legislation instructs Medicare officials to propose ways to measure the quality of end-of-life care. Doctors would have financial incentives to report data on such care to the government.
On abortion, the situation is more complex. Opponents of abortion, like the National Right to Life Committee, say the legislation would use tax dollars to subsidize insurance that could cover abortion.Under a bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, health plans, including the new government insurance plan, could choose to cover abortion. But they generally could not use federal money to pay for the procedure and instead would have to use money from the premiums paid by beneficiaries.
Douglas D. Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, said, “Under either the Senate bill or the House bill, the federal government would run a huge system of subsidizing elective abortion.
”Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, said the bill would keep current restrictions on the use of federal money for abortion, but “would not expand the prohibitions, as many Republicans want to do.”
CUTTING MEDICAREOr Preserving It?
To help finance coverage for the uninsured, Congress would squeeze huge savings out of Medicare, the program for older Americans and the disabled. These savings would pay nearly 40 percent of the bills’ cost.
The legislation would trim Medicare payments for most services, as an incentive for hospitals and other health care providers to become more efficient. The providers make a plausible case that the cutbacks could inadvertently reduce beneficiaries’ access to some types of care.
The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said Democrats would make “massive cuts to Medicare to pay for more government-run health care.” Mr. Obama told AARP last month, “Nobody is talking about reducing Medicare benefits.” All the savings, he said, would come from measures to “eliminate waste and inefficiency in Medicare.” As an example, he cited duplicative tests ordered by different doctors for the same patient. But some proposals could affect beneficiaries. The major bills in Congress would cut more than $150 billion over 10 years from federal payments to private health plans that care for more than 10 million Medicare beneficiaries.

Henry M

Capture the Flag: An Open Letter to the Right and the Left

Henry M — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:02:21 EDT

Politicians, pundits, and the public liken America’s continuous two party political competition to assorted sports, but board games are a better analogue of our current system of political warfare.

Put aside baseball, which with its constant pausing and pitting of each singular batter against a team in field, is as much an unusual, one-off game as it is a sport. Our other national sports are all concerned with one team driving deep into the other’s territory and scoring a goal. While players are carefully positioned all over the field for this purpose, there is no value placed on capturing, or even controlling, the center. The summer camp game of “capture the flag” involves capturing the other team’s flag from within the other team’s territory (not from some neutral, protected location in the center), and then returning with it to your own side.

Business and politics have been likened to war for decades now, but they have also been believed to be comparable to the sports above, perhaps owing more to their actual violence than to tactics and strategy. Study chess and checkers for success in the real world. Like many other games, they are concerned with survival. They are territorial by nature, and so eschew the bipolar nature of sports for capturing and protecting as much territory as is reasonable while diminishing the opponent and protecting one’s own king(s).

In the 2008 elections, the Democrats learned the value on including the middle. Like the centrist news outlets, the Democrats were vilified by both the right and the left, but they became a party appreciated by voters who didn’t want the country to experiment with extremity, and those voters, along with a slightly left-of-center “base” returned them to the White House and a bicameral majority that they have not enjoyed for many years.

PETA, Ralph Nader, American Anarchists, and Libertarian Socialist (yes, right-wingers, Obama isn’t all that far to the left: there are Anarchists and Libertarian Socialists, even in America) have all understood the need to capture the excluded middle, but their extreme agendas make that impossible. The Democrats woke up a few years ago, ran the numbers, and learned to control the center, diminishing their detractors on both the right and the far-left while moving the flag closer to the center, which is its rightful place in a democracy. The United States is ill served when either one of its two political parties drives its marginalized base further towards its own goal, i.e. the goal that it is defending. The Republicans would do well to put away sports and learn to play a little chess and checkers.

Quiet Change: Holding the Middle

Henry M — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:21:51 EDT

Obama must be doing something right to be criticized by the left and by the right while, in the mean time, slowly turning around the huge oil-tanker of the USA/World's economy. We know the right thinks he's doing too much. The left isn't any kinder:

Clinton: US Supported Iran Protesters ‘Behind the Scenes’ -- News from Antiwar.comSource: news.antiwar.comIn an interview today on CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that while the US didn’t want to come out too publicly in favor of the protesters in the wake ...

I hope that people can appreciate that the current administration is doing more good than was ever done by previous ones. It's quieter, but it appears to be more effective. Any problem with that, or would it be better if they wore their hearts on their sleeves?

Iran is a sovereign nation. Coming out "too publicly" concerning their internal ... Read Morepolitics would be just the kind of intervention that the left has always criticized, except when it suits them to criticize the center for "not doing more."

If the left is so impatient with the current administration that they weaken it, they will empower Palin and her puppet-masters, in which case we may very well see a change that they won't like in 2012.

Right to Healthcare

Henry M — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:39:12 EDT

Why is the right-wing supporting the insurance companies? Big business wants a public option as much as the people who lost jobs during the Bush administration. And it's not even "single payer... it's just an option. (The) Right is supposed to be about the right to choose what you want, but you can't if you have no choice!

The little guy in the rental unit is being fooled by the right, which is looking like it's been bought by the insurance companies. He's gonna get sick and cost everyone a lot of money when he goes to the ER. And if the right doesn't help the left a little, anyone may become him.

Follow the Money

Henry M — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:35:46 EDT

It's pretty easy to understand what some companies, and the politicians that are in their pay, get out of health insurance business as usual.

The country as a united people, and the people as many individuals stand to benefit from the public option that is being opposed by the insurance companies and their dupes.
What are the selfish reasons ascribed to Obama for pushing reform?

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Henry M — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:34:13 EDT

One good thing that "birthers" have inadvertently done is to make everyone aware of President Barack Obama's birthday. This year, Thomas Pynchon (my favorite author) has a new, more popularly styled book out today.

It is a bittersweet day for me, however, as it was also my father, Sam Musikar's birthday. He was a New York artist who loved jazz, and he would have loved to see the President who beat the Republican stranglehold on Washington, the arts, and the world, celebrate his birthday on the same day as he.

Henry M

Birthers

Henry M — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:28:38 EDT

Henry M

It May Not Be Hot Where You Live, but It Sure Sounds Like GLOBAL Warming...

Henry M — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:39:49 EDT

NOAA, not exactly a bunch left-wing evironmental radical freaks, reports that:

Based on preliminary data, the globally averaged combined land and sea surface temperature was the second warmest on record for June and the January-June year-to-date tied with 2004 as the fifth warmest on record.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2009/jun/global.html

Henry M

It's NOT About Politics; It's About Changing the World

Henry M — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:22:48 EDT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8136918.stm

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have reached an outline agreement to cut back their nations' stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
The "joint understanding" signed in Moscow would see reductions of deployed nuclear warheads to below 1,700 each within seven years of a new treaty.
The accord would replace the 1991 Start I treaty, which expires in December.
Mr Obama said the two countries were both "committed to leaving behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past".
Separately, Russia also agreed to allow the US military to fly troops and weapons across its territory to Afghanistan, allowing it to avoid using supply routes through Pakistan that are attacked by militants.
The two countries also will set up a joint commission to co-operate over energy, and fighting terrorism and drug-trafficking. Military co-operation, suspended since last year's conflict between Russia and Georgia, will be resumed.
However, on the contentious issue of US plans to base parts of a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, the presidents merely said they had agreed to a joint study into ballistic missile threats and the creation of a data exchange centre.
'Reversing the drift'
After three hours of talks at the Kremlin on Monday, Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev publicly signed a joint understanding to negotiate a new arms control treaty that would set lower levels of both nuclear warheads and delivery systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles and bombers.
US-RUSSIA NUCLEAR DEAL Each country to cut deployed nuclear warheads to 1,500-1,675 (currently 1,700-2,200)Delivery systems to be within 500-1,000 range (currently 1,600)Reductions so be achieved within seven years of new treatyTreaty to be signed before Start I expires in December and include "effective" verification measures.
"Within seven years after this treaty comes into force, and in future, the limits for strategic delivery systems should be within the range of 500-1,100 units and for warheads linked to them within the range of 1,500-1,675 units," the document said.
Under the 2002 Treaty of Moscow, each country is allowed between 1,700 and 2,200 deployed nuclear warheads and 1,600 delivery systems - meaning each side might only be required to decommission a further 25 warheads.
Correspondents also point out that the proposed cuts would still leave the US and Russia able to destroy each other many times over.
A White House statement said the new treaty would "include effective verification measures" and "enhance the security of both the US and Russia, as well as provide predictability and stability in strategic offensive forces".
By setting low expectations for this summit, the US and Russian leaders have been able to appear to achieve more than had been hoped.
The flurry of documents that has come out of this first day of discussions has been significant. President Obama sounded confident that a new strategic arms reduction treaty would be in place by the time the existing Start I agreement expires in December.
There is a new framework for military-to-military co-operation. There is an extensive document on joint action related to Afghanistan, not least a transit agreement allowing lethal US military equipment and supplies to transit Russia on its way to the front line.
The contentious issue of missile defence - where both leaders accepted there were still significant differences - was effectively "kicked into the long grass.
Afterwards, Mr Medvedev said the talks had been "very frank and very sincere", but that they had been, "without any doubt, the meeting we had been waiting for in Russia and the United States".
"I would like particularly to stress that our country would like to reach a level of co-operation with the United States that would really be worthy of the 21st Century, and which would ensure international peace and security," he said.
The Russian leader called Monday's agreement a "reasonable compromise", but cautioned that there remained "differences on many issues", most notably on the proposed US missile defence shield.
Mr Obama said he and Mr Medvedev were countering a "sense of drift" and were now resolved "to reset US-Russian relations so that we can co-operate more effectively in areas of common interest".
"We've taken important steps forward to increase nuclear security and to stop the spread of nuclear weapons," he said.
"This starts with the reduction of our own nuclear arsenal as the world's two leading nuclear powers the United States and Russia must lead by example, and that's what we're doing here today," he added.
The US president said he was confident a legally binding disarmament treaty would be signed by the end of the year, when Start I expires.
On Tuesday, Mr Obama will meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
He said last week that he thought the former Russian president had "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new".
"I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev, that Putin understands that the old Cold War approaches to US-Russian relations is outdated, that it's time to move forward in a different direction," he told the Associated Press.
Mr Putin responded: "We stand solidly on our own two feet and always look into the future."
This summit is aimed at repairing strained US-Russian relations. Under the Bush Administration, ties between Washington and Moscow were considered almost as bad as during the Cold War.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus, in the Russian capital, says that while the two countries have not put aside all the suspicions of recent years, they are creating mechanisms to enable a much more positive relationship in the future.

Henry M

Happy Independence Day

Henry M — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:37:09 EDT

Happy Independence Day,

Happy Birthday, USA!

Henry M

Supremes Reverse Sotomayor on White Firefighters' Promotion

Henry M — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:24:46 EDT

For better or for worse, Sotomayor is going down. Don't waste political capital trying to save her nomination. Court rules for white firefighters over promotions - washingtonpost.comSupreme Court rules for white firefighters in dispute over promotions. Sotomayor ruled against them. It's time to move on and nominate someone just as good, but without the baggage.Henry M

Not Everyone's Comfortable with Trying Something New, Even When the Old Doesn't Work

Henry M — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:03:20 EDT

Henry M

Health: It's Nothing Personal, It's Just Business

Henry M — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:58:37 EDT

If a Public Option is So Bad, Why are They So Sure that It Would Kill Private Health Insurance?

Henry M

Republican Women's Group President Says "Obama and Hitler have a great deal in common... "

Henry M — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:34:44 EDT

http://www.juddlegum.com/blog/2009/06/anne-arundel-county-gop-womens-group-compares-obama-to-hitler/

The Republican Women of Anne Arundel County, one of Maryland’s most prominent Republican organizations, has launched an outrageous attack on President Barack Obama. The website currently features a letter from Joyce E. Thoman, the organization’s President, comparing Barack Obama to Hitler.

Heny M

Unprecedented Access?

Henry M — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:19:32 EDT

http://www.dailykostv.com/w/001852/

"As Think Progress noted, despite Fox’s whining about ABC’s upcoming special on health care reform which will include a town hall conducted in the White House, it turns out that when George W. Bush was President, Fox did exactly what they are accusing ABC of."

Check the video

Henry M
http://astore.amazon.com/tdcoccamsaxe-20/

Aw, C'mon!

Henry M — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:01:07 EDT

More progress during Obama's first 120 days than ever before, and the Arabs won't consider disarming. The IRA disarmed! And look how well that's worked. Some people on both sides will be out of a job when they aren't able to point at their enemy and get funds for fighting.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124509630599216151.html

MIDDLE EAST NEWS
JUNE 16, 2009

Arabs Pan Israel's Overture

By MARGARET COKER

AMMAN, Jordan -- Arab leaders, both friends and foes of Israel, criticized the peace plan unveiled Sunday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he advocated a demilitarized Palestinian state with limited sovereignty.
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, one of the few Arab nations with diplomatic ties with Israel, said in a public address Monday that Mr. Netanyahu's words "scuttled" chances to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
That reaction by a nation seen as a mediator could complicate President Barack Obama's efforts to push for a solution.
Israeli officials have emphasized that Mr. Netanyahu's acceptance of the creation of a Palestinian state in the speech marked a dramatic shift from his previous policies. White House officials called the Israeli's position a good first step.
But Arab diplomats from around the Mideast said they were disappointed with the tone of the address, pointing out that Mr. Netanyahu didn't show he was willing to compromise on some key issues that were under negotiation before peace talks foundered.
Arabs expressed concern that the Israeli leader, in his 28-minute speech, didn't refer to the Arab peace initiative, which promises recognition of Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territory it gained in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and compromises on other issues.
Nor did Mr. Netanyahu commit to removing settlements in the West Bank, something the White House and the Arab world see as an impediment to a two-state solution.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Mr. Netanyahu's conditions for peace had "sabotaged" negotiations. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman accused the Israelis of "rigidity" in their thinking.
Arab diplomats said they want to see if Mr. Obama dials back pressure on Israel regarding the peace process and keeps a promise, made during an address in Cairo this month, to make sure Israel meets certain responsibilities to achieve peace.
"Clearly now the ball is in Washington's court. We will now see if [the Obama administration] is serious about being even-handed or not," said a diplomat.
Mr. Netanyahu on Sunday demanded that the Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish nation as a precondition to statehood.
That stance -- by Israel's definition of the two-state solution -- would mean the Palestinians must relent on their demand that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced during Israel's war of independence be allowed to resettle in Israel.
The statement drew outrage from Israel's closest Arab ally. Mr. Mubarak, who has been a mediator in Palestinian issues and a close U.S. ally, said he had urged Mr. Netanyahu before his speech on Sunday to accept picking up peace talks where they had broken off instead of changing the parameters to achieve peace.

Henry M

Reagonomics Revisited

Henry M — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:26:02 EDT

Reagan Did It

By PAUL KRUGMAN
“This bill is the most important legislation for financial institutions in the last 50 years. It provides a long-term solution for troubled thrift institutions. ... All in all, I think we hit the jackpot.” So declared Ronald Reagan in 1982, as he signed the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act.
He was, as it happened, wrong about solving the problems of the thrifts. On the contrary, the bill turned the modest-sized troubles of savings-and-loan institutions into an utter catastrophe. But he was right about the legislation’s significance. And as for that jackpot — well, it finally came more than 25 years later, in the form of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
For the more one looks into the origins of the current disaster, the clearer it becomes that the key wrong turn — the turn that made crisis inevitable — took place in the early 1980s, during the Reagan years.
Attacks on Reaganomics usually focus on rising inequality and fiscal irresponsibility. Indeed, Reagan ushered in an era in which a small minority grew vastly rich, while working families saw only meager gains. He also broke with longstanding rules of fiscal prudence.
On the latter point: traditionally, the U.S. government ran significant budget deficits only in times of war or economic emergency. Federal debt as a percentage of G.D.P. fell steadily from the end of World War II until 1980. But indebtedness began rising under Reagan; it fell again in the Clinton years, but resumed its rise under the Bush administration, leaving us ill prepared for the emergency now upon us.
The increase in public debt was, however, dwarfed by the rise in private debt, made possible by financial deregulation. The change in America’s financial rules was Reagan’s biggest legacy. And it’s the gift that keeps on taking.
The immediate effect of Garn-St. Germain, as I said, was to turn the thrifts from a problem into a catastrophe. The S.& L. crisis has been written out of the Reagan hagiography, but the fact is that deregulation in effect gave the industry — whose deposits were federally insured — a license to gamble with taxpayers’ money, at best, or simply to loot it, at worst. By the time the government closed the books on the affair, taxpayers had lost $130 billion, back when that was a lot of money.
But there was also a longer-term effect. Reagan-era legislative changes essentially ended New Deal restrictions on mortgage lending — restrictions that, in particular, limited the ability of families to buy homes without putting a significant amount of money down.
These restrictions were put in place in the 1930s by political leaders who had just experienced a terrible financial crisis, and were trying to prevent another. But by 1980 the memory of the Depression had faded. Government, declared Reagan, is the problem, not the solution; the magic of the marketplace must be set free. And so the precautionary rules were scrapped.
Together with looser lending standards for other kinds of consumer credit, this led to a radical change in American behavior.
We weren’t always a nation of big debts and low savings: in the 1970s Americans saved almost 10 percent of their income, slightly more than in the 1960s. It was only after the Reagan deregulation that thrift gradually disappeared from the American way of life, culminating in the near-zero savings rate that prevailed on the eve of the great crisis. Household debt was only 60 percent of income when Reagan took office, about the same as it was during the Kennedy administration. By 2007 it was up to 119 percent.
All this, we were assured, was a good thing: sure, Americans were piling up debt, and they weren’t putting aside any of their income, but their finances looked fine once you took into account the rising values of their houses and their stock portfolios. Oops.
Now, the proximate causes of today’s economic crisis lie in events that took place long after Reagan left office — in the global savings glut created by surpluses in China and elsewhere, and in the giant housing bubble that savings glut helped inflate.
But it was the explosion of debt over the previous quarter-century that made the U.S. economy so vulnerable. Overstretched borrowers were bound to start defaulting in large numbers once the housing bubble burst and unemployment began to rise.
These defaults in turn wreaked havoc with a financial system that — also mainly thanks to Reagan-era deregulation — took on too much risk with too little capital.
There’s plenty of blame to go around these days. But the prime villains behind the mess we’re in were Reagan and his circle of advisers — men who forgot the lessons of America’s last great financial crisis, and condemned the rest of us to repeat it.

Henry Mu

Cheney: His Story vs. History

Henry M — Sat, 23 May 2009 08:12:19 EDT

Henry M

He's Like a Train Wreck: Cheney, More Than Ever, is In the News

Henry M — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:21:23 EDT

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/68643.html

Cheney's speech ignored some inconvenient truths
Full text of Cheney's speech

Luis Alvarez / AP
Former Vice President Dick Cheney speaks Thursday at the American Enterprise Institute.
By Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Dick Cheney's defense Thursday of the Bush administration's policies for interrogating suspected terrorists contained omissions, exaggerations and misstatements.
In his address to the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative policy organization in Washington, Cheney said that the techniques the Bush administration approved, including waterboarding — simulated drowning that's considered a form of torture — forced nakedness and sleep deprivation, were "legal" and produced information that "prevented the violent death of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of innocent people."
He quoted the Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair, as saying that the information gave U.S. officials a "deeper understanding of the al Qaida organization that was attacking this country."
In a statement April 21, however, Blair said the information "was valuable in some instances" but that "there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means. The bottom line is that these techniques hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security."
A top-secret 2004 CIA inspector general's investigation found no conclusive proof that information gained from aggressive interrogations helped thwart any "specific imminent attacks," according to one of four top-secret Bush-era memos that the Justice Department released last month.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told Vanity Fair magazine in December that he didn't think that the techniques disrupted any attacks.
_ Cheney said that President Barack Obama's decision to release the four top-secret Bush administration memos on the interrogation techniques was "flatly contrary" to U.S. national security, and would help al Qaida train terrorists in how to resist U.S. interrogations.
However, Blair, who oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, said in his statement that he recommended the release of the memos, "strongly supported" Obama's decision to prohibit using the controversial methods and that "we do not need these techniques to keep America safe."
_ Cheney said that the Bush administration "moved decisively against the terrorists in their hideouts and their sanctuaries, and committed to using every asset to take down their networks."
The former vice president didn't point out that Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenant, Ayman al Zawahri, remain at large nearly eight years after 9-11 and that the Bush administration began diverting U.S. forces, intelligence assets, time and money to planning an invasion of Iraq before it finished the war in Afghanistan against al Qaida and the Taliban.
There are now 49,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan fighting to contain the bloodiest surge in Taliban violence since the 2001 U.S.-led intervention, and Islamic extremists also have launched their most concerted attack yet on neighboring, nuclear-armed Pakistan.
_ Cheney denied that there was any connection between the Bush administration's interrogation policies and the abuse of detainee at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, which he blamed on "a few sadistic guards . . . in violation of American law, military regulations and simple decency."
However, a bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee report in December traced the abuses at Abu Ghraib to the approval of the techniques by senior Bush administration officials, including former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
"The abuse of detainees in U.S. custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of 'a few bad apples' acting on their own," said the report issued by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz. "The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality and authorized their use against detainees."
_ Cheney said that "only detainees of the highest intelligence value" were subjected to the harsh interrogation techniques, and he cited Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the 9-11 attacks.
He didn't mention Abu Zubaydah, the first senior al Qaida operative to be captured after 9-11. Former FBI special agent Ali Soufan told a Senate subcommittee last week that his interrogation of Zubaydah using traditional methods elicited crucial information, including Mohammed's alleged role in 9-11.
The decision to use the harsh interrogation methods "was one of the worst and most harmful decisions made in our efforts against al Qaida," Soufan said. Former State Department official Philip Zelikow, who in 2005 was then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's point man in an internal fight to overhaul the Bush administration's detention policies, joined Soufan in his criticism.
_ Cheney said that "the key to any strategy is accurate intelligence," but the Bush administration ignored warnings from experts in the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the State Department, the Department of Energy and other agencies, and used false or exaggerated intelligence supplied by Iraqi exile groups and others to help make its case for the 2003 invasion.
Cheney made no mention of al Qaida operative Ali Mohamed al Fakheri, who's known as Ibn Sheikh al Libi, whom the Bush administration secretly turned over to Egypt for interrogation in January 2002. While allegedly being tortured by Egyptian authorities, Libi provided false information about Iraq's links with al Qaida, which the Bush administration used despite doubts expressed by the DIA.
A state-run Libyan newspaper said Libi committed suicide recently in a Libyan jail.
_ Cheney accused Obama of "the selective release" of documents on Bush administration detainee policies, charging that Obama withheld records that Cheney claimed prove that information gained from the harsh interrogation methods prevented terrorist attacks.
"I've formally asked that (the information) be declassified so the American people can see the intelligence we obtained," Cheney said. "Last week, that request was formally rejected."
However, the decision to withhold the documents was announced by the CIA, which said that it was obliged to do so by a 2003 executive order issued by former President George W. Bush prohibiting the release of materials that are the subject of lawsuits.
_ Cheney said that only "ruthless enemies of this country" were detained by U.S. operatives overseas and taken to secret U.S. prisons.
A 2008 McClatchy investigation, however, found that the vast majority of Guantanamo detainees captured in 2001 and 2002 in Afghanistan and Pakistan were innocent citizens or low-level fighters of little intelligence value who were turned over to American officials for money or because of personal or political rivalries.
In addition, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Oct. 5, 2005, that the Bush administration had admitted to her that it had mistakenly abducted a German citizen, Khaled Masri, from Macedonia in January 2004.
Masri reportedly was flown to a secret prison in Afghanistan, where he allegedly was abused while being interrogated. He was released in May 2004 and dumped on a remote road in Albania.
In January 2007, the German government issued arrest warrants for 13 alleged CIA operatives on charges of kidnapping Masri.
_ Cheney slammed Obama's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and criticized his effort to persuade other countries to accept some of the detainees.
The effort to shut down the facility, however, began during Bush's second term, promoted by Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
"One of the things that would help a lot is, in the discussions that we have with the states of which they (detainees) are nationals, if we could get some of those countries to take them back," Rice said in a Dec. 12, 2007, interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. "So we need help in closing Guantanamo."
_ Cheney said that, in assessing the security environment after 9-11, the Bush team had to take into account "dictators like Saddam Hussein with known ties to Mideast terrorists."
Cheney didn't explicitly repeat the contention he made repeatedly in office: that Saddam cooperated with al Qaida, a linkage that U.S. intelligence officials and numerous official inquiries have rebutted repeatedly.
The late Iraqi dictator's association with terrorists vacillated and was mostly aimed at quashing opponents and critics at home and abroad.
The last State Department report on international terrorism to be released before 9-11 said that Saddam's regime "has not attempted an anti-Western terrorist attack since its failed plot to assassinate former President (George H.W.) Bush in 1993 in Kuwait."
A Pentagon study released last year, based on a review of 600,000 Iraqi documents captured after the U.S.-led invasion, concluded that while Saddam supported militant Palestinian groups — the late terrorist Abu Nidal found refuge in Baghdad, at least until Saddam had him killed — the Iraqi security services had no "direct operational link" with al Qaida.

Henry M

VP Cheney's Lies Resulted in Thousands Dead in Iraq. Why are people going after Pelosi?

Henry M — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:19:55 EDT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090515/pl_mcclatchy/3234269

Then-Vice President Dick Cheney , defending the invasion of Iraq , asserted in 2004 that detainees interrogated at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp had revealed that Iraq had trained al Qaida operatives in chemical and biological warfare, an assertion that wasn't true.

Henry M

Cheney backs Limbaugh over Powell on GOP future

Henry M — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:28:55 EDT

Democratic leadership didn't turn their backs on Lieberman, and maybe that's how they're winning seats, hearts, and minds! Should Dems rejoice, or be afraid.... very afraid?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gMy6C2AiBsrQQ-jwPliaZANmi7kQD983HB282
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dick Cheney made clear Sunday he'd rather follow firebrand broadcaster Rush Limbaugh than former Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell into political battle over the future of the Republican Party.
Even as Cheney embraced efforts to expand the party by ex-Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and the House's No. 2 Republican, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the former vice president appeared to write his one-time colleague Powell out of the GOP.

Asked about recent verbal broadsides between Limbaugh and Powell, Cheney said, "If I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I'd go with Rush Limbaugh. My take on it was Colin had already left the party. I didn't know he was still a Republican."
Powell, who was secretary of state under President George W. Bush and held the nation's top military post under President George H.W. Bush, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president last year. Nonetheless, since the election he has described himself as a Republican and a right-of-center conservative, though "not as right as others would like."

Henry Mu

Keeping it Light in These Dark Times

Henry M — Sun, 10 May 2009 07:22:16 EDT

The annual black-tie dinner drew an astonishing cast of Hollywood A-listers. Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore were there. Singers Sting and Jon Bon Jovi had seats. And a virtual who's who of film and TV stars mixed it up with the smattering of journalists in attendance.
Still, the star of the night was the President, who seemed to particularly delight in skewering Republicans.
"Dick Cheney was supposed to be here, but he is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, 'How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People.'"
Obama playfully savaged House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), whose apparent fake tan has long been the butt of jokes inside the Beltway.
"We have a lot in common: He is a person of color," Obama joked. "Although not a color that appears in the natural world."
Several of Obama's barbs were directed at members of his own administration. The President, dressed in a black tuxedo, said he cut the tension of being in the White House by bringing in "a new friend."
"He's warm, he's cuddly, loyal, enthusiastic; you just have to keep him in on a tight leash - every once in a while he goes charging off and gets himself into trouble," Obama said, seemingly referring to his new pooch, Bo.
"Enough about Joe Biden."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/05/10/2009-05-10_barack_makes_dc_jollies_keeps_em_laughing_at_first_white_house_press_dinner.html#ixzz0F6LiKCRs&B

Henry M

Don't Give Up on Your Republican Friends (if you have any)

Henry M — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:31:56 EDT

http://washingtonindependent.com/39629/civil-war-raging-in-right-wing-blogosphere

Terrorism-Watching Conservative Blogs Split Over Accusations of Bigotry and Treason

Charles Johnson (YouTube)
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, jazz musician and Web designer Charles Johnson has devoted his blog, Little Green Footballs, to exposing Muslim extremism in and outside the United States. His targets have included the Council on American-Islamic Relations, filmmaker Michael Moore, Reuters, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Dan Rather, and the late pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie — who some LGF commenters (not Johnson) call “St. Pancake,” a tribute to the Israeli steamroller that killed her. LGF helped write the lexicon of the self-styled “anti-Jihadist” blogosphere — from “moonbat” (”an unthinking or insane leftist”) to “anti-idiotarian” (”anyone who grasps the significance of and does his or her best to combat the post-9/11 political alliance between the ‘Old Left’ and militant Islam”).
But in the early days of Barack Obama’s presidency, LGF has become better known for the various fights it picks with many on the right — including conservative bloggers, critics of Islamic extremism, and critics of Islam in general who used to be Johnson’s fellow travelers.
Johnson has blasted Fox News host Glenn Beck, promoting a video from a Beck-inspired party that shows conservatives ranting about evolution and arguing that “this turn toward the extreme right on the part of Fox News is troubling, and will achieve nothing in the long run except further marginalization of the GOP.” In response to the news that the Department of Homeland Security was watching for increased right-wing extremism — something that most of the conservative blogosphere, like most Republicans, responded to with angry ridicule — Johnson pointed to the recent arrests of right-wing terrorists and criticized bloggers for buying into “distorted claims” about the DHS report. When Obama genuflected before King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Johnson found archival video of President Bush bowing to take a medal from the King and urged conservatives to turn down their “hyperventilating nonsense.”

Henry M

Colin Powell on Palin, Limbaugh, and Exclusionary Values

Henry M — Thu, 07 May 2009 10:11:23 EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/11/colin-powell-slams-sarah_n_150394.html

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell took aim at Sarah Palin and the Republican party's emphasis on small-town values during an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakharia that will air this Sunday.
Powell also says that we should rethink its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals in the military. And he tells Republicans that they should stop listening to Rush Limbaugh:
"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?" Powell asked. "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"
As noted by Think Progress, Powell says:
Gov. Palin, to some extent, pushed the party more to the right, and I think she had something of a polarizing effect when she talked about how small town values are good. Well, most of us don't live in small towns. And I was raised in the South Bronx, and there's nothing wrong with my value system from the South Bronx.

And when they came to Virginia and said the southern part of Virginia is good and the northern part of Virginia is bad. The only problem with that is there are more votes in the northern part of Virginia than there are in the southern part of Virginia, so that doesn't work.

It Took a Real Leader to Get the Ball Rolling

Henry M — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:56:27 EDT

Nato foils Somali pirates' attack

Pirates have intensified attacks on shipping in recent weeks

An attempted attack by Somali pirates on a Norwegian tanker was foiled by Nato warships and helicopters after an overnight pursuit in the Gulf of Aden.

Nato said a Canadian warship caught the pirates before releasing them after the gang attacked the MV Front Ardenne.

The alliance said the pirates had been released because they could not be prosecuted under Canadian law.

On Saturday, Dutch commandos serving with the Nato anti-piracy operation freed 20 pirate captives from Yemen.

In that incident, too, the raiders were released.

We were faster and surprisingly more manoeuvrable than the pirate skiff
Michael McWhinnie, Canadian warship spokesman
Somali piracy: Global overview

American forces joined in Sunday's pursuit of pirates who used rocket-propelled grenades in an attack on the 80,000-tonne MV Front Ardenne.

Portuguese Lt Cdr Alexandre Santos Fernandes told AP news agency the raiders only stopped after repeated warning shots were fired.

He said the gang was interrogated and disarmed before being released.

A spokesman aboard the Canadian warship, the Winnipeg, Michael McWhinnie, said they had switched off all lights to hunt the fleeing pirates through the night.

"We blocked their path. We were faster and surprisingly more manoeuvrable than the pirate skiff," Mr McWhinnie told Reuters news agency.

Pirates have intensified attacks on shipping in recent weeks in one of the world's busiest sea lanes, despite patrols by the foreign navies.

In another incident on Saturday, Somali pirates seized a Belgian ship and its 10 crew, including seven Europeans.

Nato's success this weekend is the latest in a string of recent Western military operations against the pirates.

French and US troops have both taken action against pirates in recent days.

The French rescued three people from a captured yacht in an assault which saw one man killed.

Last week US troops killed three pirates and captured another as they rescued the American captain of a tanker from captivity.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently unveiled a plan to tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off Somalia.

Henry M

Obama Won, Pirates Zero

Henry M — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:08:18 EDT

AP:
Pentagon: Shootings could deter pirates
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSXyAok3YrJTZLKD31SAjC9pfvkgD97HM2LG1

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon spokesman says the shooting of three Somali pirates who were holding an American sea captain hostage could discourage future attacks on commercial ships sailing the Indian Ocean.

An Early Military Victory for Obama - washingtonpost.com
It was one of the earliest tests of the new American president -- a small military operation off the coast of a Third World nation. But as President Bill Clinton found out in October 1993, even minor failures can have long-lasting consequences.Henry M

I'll Take Mine Black, Thanks

Henry M — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:25:27 EDT

Tea Parties Forever
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: April 12, 2009
This is a column about Republicans — and I’m not sure I should even be writing it.
Today’s G.O.P. is, after all, very much a minority party. It retains some limited ability to obstruct the Democrats, but has no ability to make or even significantly shape policy.Beyond that, Republicans have become embarrassing to watch. And it doesn’t feel right to make fun of crazy people.
Better, perhaps, to focus on the real policy debates, which are all among Democrats.But here’s the thing: the G.O.P. looked as crazy 10 or 15 years ago as it does now. That didn’t stop Republicans from taking control of both Congress and the White House. And they could return to power if the Democrats stumble. So it behooves us to look closely at the state of what is, after all, one of our nation’s two great political parties. One way to get a good sense of the current state of the G.O.P., and also to see how little has really changed, is to look at the “tea parties” that have been held in a number of places already, and will be held across the country on Wednesday.
These parties — antitaxation demonstrations that are supposed to evoke the memory of the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution — have been the subject of considerable mockery, and rightly so. But everything that critics mock about these parties has long been standard practice within the Republican Party. Thus, President Obama is being called a “socialist” who seeks to destroy capitalism. Why? Because he wants to raise the tax rate on the highest-income Americans back to, um, about 10 percentage points less than it was for most of the Reagan administration. Bizarre.But the charge of socialism is being thrown around only because “liberal” doesn’t seem to carry the punch it used to. And if you go back just a few years, you find top Republican figures making equally bizarre claims about what liberals were up to. Remember when Karl Rove declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to the 9/11 terrorists?
Then there are the claims made at some recent tea-party events that Mr. Obama wasn’t born in America, which follow on earlier claims that he is a secret Muslim. Crazy stuff — but nowhere near as crazy as the claims, during the last Democratic administration, that the Clintons were murderers, claims that were supported by a campaign of innuendo on the part of big-league conservative media outlets and figures, especially Rush Limbaugh.
Speaking of Mr. Limbaugh: the most impressive thing about his role right now is the fealty he is able to demand from the rest of the right. The abject apologies he has extracted from Republican politicians who briefly dared to criticize him have been right out of Stalinist show trials. But while it’s new to have a talk-radio host in that role, ferocious party discipline has been the norm since the 1990s, when Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, became known as “The Hammer” in part because of the way he took political retribution on opponents.
Going back to those tea parties, Mr. DeLay, a fierce opponent of the theory of evolution — he famously suggested that the teaching of evolution led to the Columbine school massacre — also foreshadowed the denunciations of evolution that have emerged at some of the parties.
Last but not least: it turns out that the tea parties don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They’re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News.
But that’s nothing new, and AstroTurf has worked well for Republicans in the past. The most notable example was the “spontaneous” riot back in 2000 — actually orchestrated by G.O.P. strategists — that shut down the presidential vote recount in Florida’s Miami-Dade County.
So what’s the implication of the fact that Republicans are refusing to grow up, the fact that they are still behaving the same way they did when history seemed to be on their side? I’d say that it’s good for Democrats, at least in the short run — but it’s bad for the country.
For now, the Obama administration gains a substantial advantage from the fact that it has no credible opposition, especially on economic policy, where the Republicans seem particularly clueless.
But as I said, the G.O.P. remains one of America’s great parties, and events could still put that party back in power. We can only hope that Republicans have moved on by the time that happens.

Henry M

Happy Easter, but...

Henry M — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 08:06:55 EDT

First Seder in the White House!

Henry M — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:47:43 EDT

Obama Hosts Seder Dinner at White House
By Jeff Zeleny
Pete Souza/White House
President Obama hosted a Passover seder at the White House.

President Obama and a collection of guests celebrated Passover Thursday evening with what White House officials believe to be the first Passover Seder dinner hosted by an American president.

Mr. Obama is not Jewish, but White House officials say that while traveling through Pennsylvania during the campaign last year, he surprised his aides by joining an impromptu Passover dinner held by campaign workers in a ballroom of a Harrisburg hotel, so he decided to treat the group to a dinner this year in his new surroundings.

The Seder, held in the Old Family Dining Room at the White House with several aides and their families, included the traditional Passover dishes, matzo ball soup, brisket and kugel. The White House chefs prepared the meal after consulting family recipes from several Seder participants.

While the Obamas hosted the dinner, it was overseen by Eric Lesser, a White House aide who helped organize the Seder in Harrisburg during the campaign last year. He is now a special assistant to Mr. Obama’s adviser David Axelrod.

During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama struggled to address skepticism from Jewish voters, particularly in the Democratic primary race with Hillary Rodham Clinton. But Jewish groups cheered the presidential Seder, and aides said the White House switchboard was flooded by calls from people seeking an invitation.

Henry M

It's Gonna Take a Lot of Carrots

Henry M — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:11:10 EDT

Everyone knows about using a carrot vs. a stick to "motivate" someone. Obama appears to understand that it takes a lot of carrots! [hm]

Scientific American Mind - April 7, 2009
How Conflicts Escalate: Overreacting to Perceived SlightsPeople punish one another for stinginess more than they reward for generosity
By Marina Krakovsky
“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” we say, and “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Conventional wisdom and decades of research point to the universal human tendency to reciprocate, responding to good or bad acts in kind. But if people only give as good as they get, how do conflicts escalate?
The answer, according to recent University of Chicago research, is that positive and negative reciprocity are not symmetrical: we retaliate against selfishness more than we reward generosity—even when the slights are only illusory.
Researchers led by psychologist Boaz Keysar asked participants to play a “dictator game,” in which one player acts as a dictator and decides how to split a sum of money with a second player. One group of dictators started with $100 and gave a portion to the second player; the other group of dictators started with no money but took part of $100 from their partner. Later, when participants rated the dictators’ generosity, they judged the taking group inordinately more harshly than the giving group. “We found if I give you $50, you think I’m more generous than if I take just $30 from you, which is mind-boggling,” Keysar says. Furthermore, takers do not realize how greedy they appear to those on the receiving end.
These skewed judgments led to increasing selfishness with each interaction: when participants switched roles, the new dictators responded to seemingly greedy splits with less generosity themselves, the pattern continuing with each subsequent role reversal.
To stop such downward spirals, the research suggests, it is not enough to give back what you took. “To undo a negative action,” Keysar observes, “you have to go beyond reciprocating
in kind.”

Henry M

Palin/Bachmann 2012?

Henry M — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:59:41 EDT

Rep. Michele Bachmann, who has levied the most bizarre and outlandish critiques against President Obama since before he came into office, did not disappoint this weekend.

Appearing on Minnesota radio station KTLK-AM, (h/t Minnesota Independent) the Republican congresswoman expressed her concern that White House was trying to put in place "re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward." Furthering the Obama-as-autocrat theme, Bachmann said the youngsters would "then they have to go to work in some of these politically correct forums."

Listen:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/06/bachmann-obama-wants-re-e_n_183552.html

The launching point of Bachmann's remarks was the widely popular and bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which would expand national community service programs from 75,000 positions to 250,000.

"It's under the guise of -- quote -- volunteerism. But it's not volunteers at all. It's paying people to do work on behalf of government," said the Minnesota Republican. "I believe that there is a very strong chance that we will see that young people will be put into mandatory service. And the real concerns is that there are provisions for what I would call re-education camps for young people, where young people have to go and get trained in a philosophy that the government puts forward and then they have to go to work in some of these politically correct forums."

The Obama White House did not immediately return request for reaction. The Kennedy Serve America Act passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 275 to 149 and the Senate, by a vote of 79 to 19.

In the House!

Henry M — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:30:52 EDT

Great Rap Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrMhs7yIfAI

'nuff said.

Henry M

Tribal Law Still Alive and Legally Sanctioned in Afghanistan

Henry M — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:47:05 EDT

Afghanistan 'rape' law puts women's rights front and center

Obama called the law abhorrent. Would Bush have? Obama appears to be trying to change things in Afghanistan? Was Bush, really?

If you're a feminist, you can't sanction the cultural relativism that says that "it's part of their tradition, so who are we to say that it's wrong."

Misogyny was part of many societies’ history, including most religions and regions. Women only started to gain rights in the USA 100 years ago. Until then, and for many, even now, their disenfranchisement was traditional and believed to be dictated by their god. If that change was good, and helping women worldwide is required of a nation with the global power/influence of the USA, then the academic posturing of cultural relativism is deservedly dead.

Henry M

Rabbi in the (Extended) First Family

Henry M — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:47:28 EDT

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/magazine/05rabbi-t.html

Hallelujah, shalom: Rabbi Funnye singing at Shabbat services.
Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times

Rabbi Capers Funnye celebrated Martin Luther King Day this year in New York City at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, a mainstream Reform congregation, in the company of about 700 fellow Jews — many of them black. The organizers of the event had reached out to four of New York’s Black Jewish synagogues in the hope of promoting Jewish diversity, and they weren’t disappointed. African-American Jews, largely from Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, many of whom had never been in a predominantly white synagogue, made up about a quarter of the audience. Most of the visiting women wore traditional African garb; the men stood out because, though it was a secular occasion, most kept their heads covered. But even with your eyes closed you could tell who was who: the black Jews and the white Jews clapped to the music on different beats.

Alec Soth/Magnum, for The New York Times
Rabbi Capers Funnye
Funnye, the chief rabbi of the Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in Chicago, one of the largest black synagogues in America, was a featured speaker that night. The overflowing audience came out in a snowstorm to hear his thoughts about two men: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama. King is Funnye’s hero. Obama, whose inauguration was to take place the following day in Washington, is family — the man who married Funnye’s cousin Michelle.
A compact, serious-looking man in his late 50s, Funnye (pronounced fu-NAY) wore a dark business suit and a large gray knit skullcap. He sat expressionless, collecting his thoughts, as Joshua Nelson and his Kosher Gospel Band steamed through their sanctified rendition of the Hebrew hymn “Adon Olam.” Nelson, a black Jew, was raised in two Jewish worlds — a white Reform temple in New Jersey and a Black Jewish synagogue in Brooklyn — and he borrows from both. The first time the Rev. Al Sharpton heard a recording of Nelson’s “Adon Olam,” he said, “I can hear that’s Mahalia Jackson, but what language is she singing in?”
Mary Funnye, Capers’s wife, tapped her foot to the music and smiled with apparent equanimity, but her husband knew she was seething inside. “Mary has been a rabbi’s wife for a long time,” he told me a few weeks later. “She has an excellent synagogue poker face. But she really wanted to be in Washington that night” — for the early inauguration festivities — “not New York. And you can’t really blame her.”
The Funnyes were invited to Washington by the Obamas for a full calendar of inaugural events, including a dinner that evening held by the president-elect for his family and close advisers. Mary’s brother, Frank White Jr., a businessman who served as a prominent member of Obama’s national finance committee, was invited. So were three of Funnye’s sisters. It was going to be the family reunion of the year, the social event of the season and a crowning moment in American history. Mary had a formal gown ready. But here she was, singing “Adon Olam,” as she did virtually every Shabbat in Chicago.
Still, to be fair, this night was a historic moment for her husband too. For the first time in a rabbinical career stretching back to 1985, Funnye had been invited to speak at a white, mainstream synagogue in New York. Plenty of black Christian ministers, in a spirit of ecumenism and racial harmony, have addressed Jewish congregations in the city. But a black rabbi? Many American Jews regard the very concept as an oxymoron, or even, given the heterodoxies of much Black Jewish theology, some sort of heresy. Funnye has been trying for years to demonstrate that he and his fellow Black Jews belong in the Jewish mainstream. Mostly he has been ignored.
But it is hard to ignore a man with a cousin in the White House. Tonight was payback for all those years of stupid jokes (“Funnye, you don’t look Jewish”), insulting questions and long, wondering stares. Funnye was finally being given the stage at a high-profile Jewish event. “My Broadway debut,” he said, without evident irony, as he prepared to go on. “Been a long time getting here, but I’m ready.”

Henry M

You People

Henry M — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 08:16:32 EDT

The meeting in the Capitol's Strom Thurmond Room on March 11 was a Republican effort led by Sens. McCain of Arizona, John Thune of South Dakota, and Mel Martinez of Florida to reach out to Hispanics. But two people who attended the session say they were taken aback by McCain's anger.
What began as a collegial airing of views abruptly changed when McCain spoke about immigration, according to these sources, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. Anonymity was also requested by a third source, who was not at the meeting but was told, independently of the other two, that McCain had displayed his notorious temper.
"He was angry," one source said. "He was over the top. In some cases, he rolled his eyes a lot. There were portions of the meeting where he was just staring at the ceiling, and he wasn't even listening to us. We came out of the meeting really upset."
McCain's message was obvious, the source continued: After bucking his party on immigration, he had no sympathy for Hispanics who are dissatisfied with President Obama's pace on the issue. "He threw out [the words] 'You people -- you people made your choice. You made your choice during the election,' " the source said. "It was almost as if [he was saying] 'You're cut off!' We felt very uncomfortable when we walked away from the meeting because of that."

Henry M

The Empire Stops Here

Henry M — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:27:39 EDT

The Whole World is Watching Obama

Henry M — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:45:21 EDT

Eyes of the World Are on Obama

“I came here to listen, not to lecture,” Mr. Obama said, standing before a row of American and British flags. Before leaving, he added: “There’s one last thing I should mention I love about Great Britain and that is the Queen. I’m very much looking forward to meeting her.”
While the stakes are remarkably high for the Group of 20 summit meeting, where he will meet his new contemporaries from around the globe, this is essentially the trip Mr. Obama has been waiting for since the moment he began his presidential campaign. One of reasons he made the improbable decision to run, he told voters again and again over the last two years, was to try and renew America’s image around the world.

Henry M

U.S. voters don't blame Obama for economy

Henry M — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:38:28 EDT

Asked who was responsible for the economic meltdown, 80 percent in the poll blamed banks, financial institutions and corporations. Some 70 percent also blamed consumers for taking on too much debt and the former Bush administration for lax regulation. Only 26 percent said the Obama administration was not doing enough to turn the situation around.
Two-thirds of respondents approve of the way Obama is handling the presidency, and 60 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy.
Sixty-four percent said were confident Obama's policies will improve the economy, down from 72 percent just before he took office in January.
Forty two percent said the country was now heading in the right direction, a five-year high. Late last year, when then-President George W. Bush was in its final months, as many as nine in 10 American said the country was heading in the wrong direction.

Henry M

Give'em Hell, Barack!

Henry M — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:55:25 EDT

Frustrated Americans cheer Obama's tough auto moves

Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:01pm EDT
* Some recall Truman attempt to seize steel industry
* Market fears signal of further intervention
* Public support may help Obama win over Republicans
By Daniel Trotta
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Some frustrated U.S. taxpayers cheered President Barack Obama's tough steps to shore up the reeling auto industry on Monday but critics called his decision to fire General Motors' chief a heavy-handed power grab.
Obama forced out General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) chief executive Rick Wagoner, pushed Chrysler LLC toward a merger with Italy's Fiat SpA (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), and threatened bankruptcy for both, marking an escalation in Washington's involvement in rescuing the faltering economy. [ID:nSP207882]
Skeptics asked whether it was an early sign of a more activist administration or an isolated example. GM shares tumbled 30 percent on the news and the Dow Jones Industrial average.DJI sank nearly 4 percent.
Experts called it potentially the most significant presidential intervention in the private sector since Harry Truman tried to seize the steel industry during the Korean War in 1952, only to be rebuffed by the Supreme Court.
"I don't think the president should be running the economy. They should have let the company go bankrupt. The guy would have lost his job anyway," said Edward Prescott, a 2004 Nobel laureate in economic sciences.
As a candidate last year, Obama supported rescuing the financial sector, and since then he has shifted to attacking the bonuses and corporate jets for companies taking taxpayer money to pushing out a CEO and replacing members of the board of directors.
"Politics is certainly entering the process. GM should have gone into bankruptcy in the fall. We would be much further along with the workout by now," added Randall Filer, a professor of economics at Hunter College in New York.
Stephen Schork, editor of an industry report on the energy and shipping markets, feared Obama was trying to engineer a hasty conversion to green energy. "They are expressing abject hostility toward the hydrocarbon industry," Schork said.
WILL POPULAR SUPPORT HOLD?
At the same time, Obama's approval ratings have held firm above 60 percent in most public opinion polls. In a Cincinnati coffee shop, retiree Sharon Schmidt, 74, said she supported the decision to push Wagoner out.
"If GM is going to take a big bailout from the federal government, the people who brought it to this state should probably go," Schmidt said. "These bankers and so on are making million dollar bonuses? They should be gone, too."
In a Dallas suburb, accountant John Shaffer, 47, also approved. "I feel he was fired to force the unions and bond holders to seriously negotiate with the company. So I think it was good," he said.
Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution, said Obama's action lacked any historical parallel because the circumstances of the financial crisis were unique and he could succeed because he seemed to have a good "internal gyroscope" on reading the mood of the public.
"So far people are with him," Hess said. "There will be a lot of people who say: At last somebody is doing something."
Opposition from Republicans in Congress was fast and fierce.
"With sweeping new power the White House will be deciding which plants will survive and which won't, so in essence, this administration has decided they know better than our courts and our free market process how to deal with these companies," said Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee.
But in a sign Obama may find some support from the Republican minority, Representative Darrell Issa of California said Obama has "struck the right chord in seeking balance between supporting the American auto industry and calling for a much-needed restructuring."
(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro in Washington, Andrea Hopkins in Cincinnati, Ed Stoddard in Dallas and Pedro Nicolaci da Costa in New York; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Henry M

AIG is NOT the Problem; Business as Usual Is

Henry M — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:02:12 EDT

Taking the Pro-Pot Position (Because Somebody Has To)

Henry M — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:50:26 EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-sweeney/taking-the-pro-pot-positi_b_179653.html

Fast-forward to today's online town hall, and once again, marijuana legalization proved to be one of the most popular questions, with the most-approved-of pro-pot question being: "Should the U.S. legalize pot as a way to grow jobs and stimulate the economy?"
With all of his usual charisma and endearing jocularity, our president laughed off the question, stating "I don't know what this says about the online audience, but, no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow the economy." The mewling sycophants in the East Room audience laughed and burst into applause.
Once again, the Obama administration has greeted this question with an out-and-out rejection, with no reasoning underlying their position. Let's ignore for a moment that Obama's answer, in and of itself, is deeply wrong and ill-informed; moving from zero taxes on weed to any taxes is obviously an increase in revenue, not to mention the shift of growing and supplying jobs from the black market to legitimacy, which means more revenue in income taxes and more jobs.
Now, couple this with the millions, if not billions, of dollars that would be saved without the government being responsible for the care and feeding of hundreds of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders. From 1965 through the election of Barack Obama, our government arrested 20 million people for possession of marijuana. That, folks, is a lot of stoners.
In 2006 alone -- the last year for which statistics are available -- 829,625 people were arrested on marijuana-related charges, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Of these, 89 percent were arrested for simple possession.
So, couple the tax revenues, both sales and income, with the savings involved in keeping potheads out on the streets instead of in the pen. Now, put that Everest-sized pile of cash aside for a moment and think about this: Who's losing money in the deal?
According to Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, fully 75 percent of Mexican drug cartels' cash comes from the sale of marijuana. Legalizing marijuana would, of course, take away that massive source of income for the cartels, just as ending prohibition cut bootlegging as a source of revenue for La Cosa Nostra.
Combining all of the above effects, the legalization of marijuana means billions of dollars saved or made, the creation of jobs and the curbing of violence along the Mexican border, which in turn means saving thousands of lives.
Barack Obama can certainly be against legalization, but he owes it to nonviolent drug offenders caught in the horror show that is the U.S. prison system, the families of innocent victims of the Mexican drug wars and economically bloodied U.S. taxpayers to explain why. Ganja may cause the giggles, but legalization shouldn't be a laughing matter. And it certainly shouldn't be treated as cavalierly as it has by the current administration, especially when it has been proven to be a popular issue every time Obama has tried to go straight to the people.

Obama Picks Winners

Henry M — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:15:10 EDT

Republican Response

Henry M — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:18:12 EDT

Haters: Teleprompter Gaff Not Obama's Mistake, and even if it were...

Henry M — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:32:26 EDT

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/toby_harnden/blog/2009/03/24/the_truth_about_barack_obamas_irish_teleprompter_gaffe
In the recording, Cowen begins speaking by ad libbing, saying: "Good evening everybody and welcome to St Patrick's Day at the White House. And I think it's particularly fitting that we gather tonight at the house that was, after all, designed and built by an Irish architect."

Then he goes into Obama's speech, and realises his boob 18 words into it: "We have had a wonderful day that began by meeting with a strong friend of the United States...that's your speech."
After Cowen got his act together - amid uproarious laughter - and completed his speech, Obama returned to the microphone for his little joke, as per the pool report.
Somehow, somewhere this all got mixed up, inadvertently or otherwise. The Associated Press reported it this way. Accurate enough - though very sparse and including the slightly ambiguous line: "In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over."
This was transformed into Obama making a mistake, as in this account, in the Times, written in London by an online reporter for their website. "On this occasion, as a laughing Mr Obama returned to the podium, the script was belatedly switched over to the Taoiseach's text - leaving Mr Obama inadvertently thanking himself for inviting everyone, to further laughter," went the report. "'First, I'd like to say thank you to President Obama!' the President said."
This misreporting fed into the prevailing anti-Obama theme that he cannot speak without a teleprompter.

Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/playing.html to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:

http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

No Recovery Without Sacrifice

Henry M — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:31:38 EDT

Vox Populi

Henry M — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:16:06 EDT

Planting the Seeds of Victory

Henry M — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:33:04 EDT

Obamas Prepare to Plant White House Vegetable Garden - NYTimes.com
Source: www.nytimes.com

Michelle Obama is planning the first such garden since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II.

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
Sam Kass, left, an assistant White House chef, and Dale Haney, a White House gardener, at the site of a new vegetable garden on the South Lawn.

Henry M

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

A Man of the People

Henry M — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:54:54 EDT

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama took a break from politics Friday to sit courtside at a basketball game between his hometown team Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/28/obama-attends-wizards-gam_n_170731.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA4P50_hDbY

Unlike the former owner of the Texas Rangers, our new POTUS sat courtside and obviously really enjoyed the watching the Bulls, even though they lost to the Wizards.

It's Not Over

Henry M — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:27:30 EDT

We have long, hard work ahead of us before people stop being afraid of a diverse USA that is unified in their desire to rebuild America's moral standing in the wold and through that, it's wealth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFKGrmsBDk is more popular than are videos of Barack Obama. Think about that and do something about it!

Henry M

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget: http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Pelosi Travel Abuse? Not!

Henry M — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:32:11 EDT

"Watchdog Group" Criticizes House Speaker for Travel Perks, but Records Don't AgreeBy JONATHAN KARL AND LUIS MARTINEZ
March 11, 2009
The treasure trove of documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Department of Defense regarding Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's use of military aircraft doesn't seem to prove the organization's allegation that Pelosi has made "unprecedented demands" for the flights.

In fact, it appears that Pelosi uses military aircraft less often than her predecessor, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

Rush to Failure

Henry M — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:26:30 EDT

That's our answer to Rush. And we'll put it on a billboard right in his home town, so he can't miss it.

Americans know that when President Obama succeeds, we all do. It's time to leave behind partisan attack politics and stand behind the policies that will strengthen and renew America's economy.

Make your online: https://www.democrats.org/page/contribute/billboardwinner

2009 the “Year of the Military Family

Henry M — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:38:51 EDT

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution declaring 2009 the “Year of the Military Family”: http://militarytimes.com/news/2009/03/military_militaryfamily_year_031109w/

With more and more people aware of military family concerns, if you are a military family member or know one, be sure you and/or all the military families you know are a part of the conversation about military family needs by taking 10 minutes to complete Blue Star Families’ Top Military Family Issues Survey 2.0 by clicking on the link on the new website www.BlueStarFam.org. While you’re there, take a look around to see the new direction of the group and join "Blue Star Families" in order to receive notice of the survey results.

RNC Chairman Steele All-over-the-place, Particularly on Abortion

Henry M — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:53:32 EDT

Trying to retain the old Republican base while recruiting new members, Steele's double-talk on abortion may just alienate everyone.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/12/abortion-a-choice-steele-tells-gq/
In remarks sure to cause consternation among the pro-life Republican base, party Chairman Michael S. Steele called abortion "an individual choice" during a GQ magazine interview, though he also said the Supreme Court "wrongly decided" the 1973 case that struck down state limits on abortion and made it an individual right.
In an exchange with reporter Lisa de Paulo, transcribed and posted Wednesday night on the GQ Web site, the new Republican National Committee chairman described his background as an adopted child as showing him "the power of life ... and the power of choice."
"The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other," Mr. Steele said.
The exchange then went as follows, starting with GQ: "Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?" "Yeah. I mean, again, I think that's an individual choice." "You do?" "Yeah. Absolutely."
Mr. Steele then elaborated that he thought "Roe v. Wade — as a legal matter, Roe v. Wade was a wrongly decided matter," which prompted Miss DePaulo to ask: "But if you overturn Roe v. Wade, how do women have the choice you just said they should have?"
Mr. Steele responded. "The states should make that choice. That's what the choice is. The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide."

Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s of the Most Eclectic Music on the Internet, now on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/playing.html to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:

http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Surveillance Self-Defense

Henry M — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:43:03 EDT

http://ssd.eff.org

The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Surveillance Self-Defense site. You owe it to yourself, your friends, and your family to check it out.

Henry Mu

KCUF, 128 Kb/s of The Most Eclectic Music on the Internet, now on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/playing.html to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:

http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Obama DVD's on Sale at Amazon

Henry M — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:34:27 EDT

More than a hundred DVD's featuring Barack Obama are on sale at Amazon.com

Hundreds of other DVD's and Blu-Ray discs are also on sale.

Henry M

Rush to Judgement

Henry M — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:37:31 EDT

How low can Limgbaugh go?

If you don't know what Limbaugh said at CPAC, check it out and be an informed political participant, rather than taking the easy, "I hate Rush," approach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qtvtBGWgBc

Know what you're talking about. Don't be one of the uninformed Liberals so effectively skewered by Limbaugh.

Henry M

Obama: He Can't Do It By Himself

Henry M — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:34:03 EST

Good song: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1098034535572&ref=nf

Henry M

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:

http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Party of No

Henry M — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:15:28 EST

Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited and still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW:
http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget:
http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Let She Who Has Paid All Her Taxes Throw the First Stone

Henry M — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:27:22 EST

Maybe President Obama should grant some sort of amnesty for some percentage of back taxes up to some cutoff point.

I think that it would encourage people who owe taxes to try to make ammends.

Palin owes tax on per diem, state says
EXPENSES: Governor received meal money while living in Wasilla.

By LISA DEMER
ldemer@adn.com

(02/17/09 21:53:17)
Gov. Sarah Palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials.
The governor's office wouldn't say this week how much she owes in back taxes for meal money, or whether she intends to continue to receive the per diem allowance. As of December, she was still charging the state for meals and incidentals.
"The amount of taxes owed is a private matter," Sharon Leighow, Palin's spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. "If the governor collects future per diem, those documents would be a matter of public record."
The revelation about Palin comes as U.S. senators, including Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, are under scrutiny over back taxes. A survey by the political newspaper and Web site Politico (www.politico.com) found that Begich was one of seven senators who acknowledged having paid back taxes.
Some other state employees also owe back income taxes for travel payments and will be getting revised tax forms, Annette Kreitzer, state administration commissioner, said in an e-mail.
She wouldn't say which, or how many, employees will be receiving the notifications.
The payments became a touchy issue for Palin last fall when she was running for vice president and campaigned as a budget watchdog.
The Washington Post published a story in mid-September that said she had charged the state almost $17,000 for meals and incidentals while staying in her own home.
The state considers Juneau, where she lives in the Governor's Mansion, to be Palin's official duty station.
Palin billed the state for 312 nights spent in her Wasilla home during her first 19 months in office, according to the Washington Post. She received $60 a day tax free, money intended to cover meals and incidentals, while traveling on state business, her travel forms show.
"Last fall we raised questions about longstanding practices within the Department of Administration regarding tax treatment of per diem payments," Kreitzer wrote in an exchange of e-mails over the past few days with the Daily News.
"At the Governor's request, we reviewed the situation to determine whether we were in full compliance with the pertinent Internal Revenue Service regulations," Kreitzer wrote. "As a result of this review, we determined that per diem needs to be treated as income, requiring a revision of W-2 forms for any affected employees."
The new determination by administration officials won't affect state lawmakers, said Pam Varni, director of the Legislative Affairs agency.
Under IRS guidelines, legislators receive tax-free payments to help with living expenses while in Juneau for the legislative session -- if their home is at least 50 miles away, Varni said.
The current rate, set by the U.S. Department of Defense, is $189 a day. That goes to everyone except the three Juneau-based legislators, who get smaller payments that are taxed as compensation.
Legislators can also charge the state $150 a day for time spent on state business when the Legislature is not in session, but those payments are taxed as income, Varni said.
Begich's situation came to light through a political survey released last week by Politico about senators and their taxes.
Fifty-five senators, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, didn't answer the questions, and a few others owed money but didn't consider it "back taxes" for one reason or another.
On his way out of a meeting with veterans on Monday, Begich answered a few questions about the back taxes he paid on a vehicle provided to him by the city when he was mayor.
"I refused the car the first 10 or 12 months," Begich said. "I didn't want the car.
"Then they told me I had to have it because of liability and a need and security and blah, blah, blah. So I ended up getting a used car. The first time a mayor has gotten a used car." It was a former police SUV.
The tax obligation came to his attention in late 2007, as he remembers it, after a regular IRS audit of city issues. The city then sent him revised tax statements.
"They gave me a letter and said you got to pay taxes on it. So they revised my W-2s." He wouldn't say how much he owed. "It's irrelevant," Begich said.
Generally, people are supposed to pay income taxes on the value of an employer-provided vehicle that is for personal use. Police vehicles are among the exceptions -- officers can drive them home and not be taxed on the value of the commute.
There's no specific exception in the law for mayors or governors. Palin has had a state Chevy Suburban.
Begich said a mayor is always on the job. No other Anchorage mayor ever had to pay income taxes on a city vehicle, he said.
"That's the point. I'm always on call. Always. ... And I think that's what the city's view was, for the city manager and me, was that we were always on call," Begich said. "But the IRS viewed it differently."
"After that issue came up, I got rid of the car," Begich said. He was in a downtown parking lot getting into the Toyota Highlander hybrid he bought in late 2007 to replace the city rig.
The Politico story about the survey said his situation echoed that of Tom Daschle, who had to step down as President Barack Obama's pick for health secretary after revelations about back taxes, including taxes owed for a limo and driver.
"For Politico to say it's the same as Daschle -- that's bunk," Begich said.
Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited and still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW:
http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget: http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Baby, It's Cold Outside, but...

Henry M — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:41:14 EST

Cold winter doesn't mean global warming is overBy Jordan Lite in 60-Second Science Blog

All of the snow and chilly temps this winter almost convinced us that global warming isn't happening, after all. Reality check: recent climate data shows that it's still hotter than it used to be.

The planet's average temperature was 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit (14.4 degrees Celsius) last year, making it the eighth warmest year on record since 1880, according to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). But your goose bumps weren’t deceiving you: 2008 was also the coldest year since the beginning of the decade, according to data from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. (Hat tip to Ars Technica for alerting us to this info in their analysis of climate trends yesterday.)

Global warming is responsible for the overall upward temperature trend, and any snow outside our window shouldn’t convince us that Earth has stopped heating up, says Richard Heim, an NCDC meteorologist. "Most of the top 10 warmest years have happened in the last decade and a half," Heim tells ScientificAmerican.com. "Global warming does not mean every year will be warmer than the previous year. Global warming means there's an increasing frequency of warmer temperatures and a decreasing frequency of cooler temperatures, and that’s definitely what we're seeing."

So how to explain the relatively colder winters we've had in the latter half of this decade? Goddard attributes them to La Niña, a cyclical pattern of cold sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. La Niña in the first half of 2008, followed by a neutral period in the latter half, likely had something to do with it, Heim says, but adds that global warming is about long-term, rising temperature trends over time. "It's kind of like a drunk driver," Heim says. "The car is weaving back and forth, but it's still progressing forward."

Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited and still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW:

http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget: http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Darwin, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup

Henry M — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:24:30 EST

Happy Darwin Day!With President Obama putting science its rightful place, maybe creationism will also get put in its rightful (i.e. out of school) place,

http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=darwin-day-special-bicentennial-of-09-02-11

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0212/p01s03-ussc.html <sigh>

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=darwin-misunderstood
"On July 2, 1866, Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of natural selection, wrote to Charles Darwin to lament how he had been “so repeatedly struck by the utter inability of numbers of intelligent persons to see clearly or at all, the self acting & necessary effects of Nat Selection, that I am led to conclude that the term itself & your mode of illustrating it, however clear & beautiful to many of us are yet not the best adapted to impress it on the general naturalist public.” The source of the misunderstanding, Wallace continued, was the name itself, in that it implies “the constant watching of an intelligent ‘chooser’ like man’s selection to which you so often compare it,” and that “thought and direction are essential to the action of ‘Natural Selection.’” Wallace suggested redacting the term and adopting Herbert Spencer’s phrase “survival of the fittest.”

Unfortunately, that is what happened, and it led to two myths about evolution that persist today: that there is a prescient directionality to evolution and that survival depends entirely on cutthroat competitive fitness."
Oh, my Darwin.
Oh, my Darwin.
Oh, my Darwin Clammin' time...

Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited and still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW:

http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget: http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Hope Art

Henry M — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 12:04:54 EST

You may know that Shepard Fairey, the creator of the original Hope art, was arrested: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iplIoa3L6GNqY7FnCd4nktBaQaQA

But have you seen these spoof, which like'em or not, are well done: http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/view/165211/1

Henry M

KCUF, 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited and still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW:

http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited/ to play, http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing, and now available on RECIVA Internet-Radio receivers, http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-reciva

KCUF can now be listened to using a Windows Vista Sidebar Gadget: http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?bt=1&q=KCUF

Now is the Time for All Good Men to Come to the Aid of Their Country

Henry M — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:58:29 EST

It Ain't Over

Henry M — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:20:32 EST

It ain't over until we've won the hearts and minds of a greater number of the haters such as those passing around emails like the following:

Family members of people killed on September 11, 2001, and in other terror attacks say they are outraged by President Obama's draft order calling for the suspension of war crimes trials of prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay.

"To me it's beyond comprehension that they would take the side of the terrorists," said Peter Gadiel, whose son, James, was killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. "Many of these people have been released and been right back killing, right back at their terrorist work again."

Obama's request on the first full day of his presidency came as a draft order was being prepared ordering the closing of the Guantanamo prison within a year. A judge responded by halting the case against a Canadian detainee accused of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan, issuing a 120-day continuance in the case.

Click here for photos.

"I see no reason why we should delay these proceedings. Let justice be served," said Jefferson Crowther, whose 24-year-old son, Welles, was killed in the Twin Towers after he saved the lives of several others.

Critics blasted Obama's decision, which they said would delay justice in cases that have already been waiting for the better part of a decade.

"There is no need to suspend [the military tribunals]. There is no reason why [Obama] can't conduct a concurrent review at the same time that the military commission process is moving forward to render justice for the terrorists that have murdered thousands of people," said former Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, who lost 17 sailors during a suicide bombing attack on the USS Cole in 2000. A suspect in the case is being held at Guantanamo.

"It demeans their deaths because we seem to be more concerned with the rights of detainees than we are with the justice that is being denied to my sailors that were killed," Lippold told FOXNews.com.

Obama's request may mark the end of the system used by the Bush administration to try terror suspects. War crimes charges against 21 men are pending at Guantanamo, though the detainees may have to be moved to America or extradited, depending on the administration's plans for them.

The Obama administration is calling for a systematic review of each detainee's case to determine who can be released and who cannot. "It is in the interests of the United States to review whether and how such individuals can and should be prosecuted," says the draft order released on Wednesday.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said he would take the detainees in his own district, which lies just a few miles from the field near Shanksville, Pa., where United Flight 93 crashed after it was hijacked by terrorists on Sept.
11, killing all 44 people aboard.

"Sure, I'd take them. They're no more dangerous in my district than in Guantanamo," Murtha said, calling the Guantanamo prison a "sore in the United States' moral standards."

"There's no reason not to put them in prisons in the United States and handle them the way they would handle any other prisoners."

But some 9/11 families said they were concerned that if the trials were moved to criminal courts in the U.S., the proceedings would put civilians at risk.

"The safest place to have these trials is Guantanamo Bay. If they were to move to the homeland it would endanger all of us," said Lorraine Arias Believeau of New Jersey, whose brother, Adam, was killed on 9/11.

But human rights groups welcomed the president's draft order, calling it an important first step for his administration.

"It is a major positive step in the right direction," said Jamil Dakwar, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who observed pretrial hearings at Guantanamo this week.

If transferred to U.S. courts, some of the detainees might be freed because of the aggressive interrogation techniques used against them. Mohammed al-Qahtani, the alleged "20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11 plot, was interrogated so severely at Guantanamo Bay that Bush administration officials said he was tortured and did not refer his case for prosecution.

Some of the accused terrorists, meanwhile, were impatient to have their trials proceed.

"We should continue so we don't go backward, we go forward," Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks told the judge in their case. He is among five detainees accused in the attacks who have asked to be given the death penalty, believing they will become martyrs if they are executed.

Lippold, who helped determine detainee policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a strategic planner, said he feels he has a large investment "in making sure that these guys do not return to the fight, that they do not kill again."

He said moving the cases to civilian courts was primarily a political act and could make it difficult to proceed with cases without compromising vital intelligence sources and methods.

"The whole issue of detainees has become so politically charged that people forget that Americans lives are at stake," he told FOXNews.com.

Crowther, a volunteer fireman for decades, said he does not care where the trials take place, but he wants to see more action from his government.

"I'm constantly doing my part -- I want my government to do its part for me.
I want those people who participated in my son's death and the death of some 3,000 others, I want to see them punished, if found guilty, in a court of law," he said.

If the cases don't go to trial, Crowther said, "many, many families are going to be very upset."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Henry M

KCUF, Still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW, Now at 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited to play and http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing

The Onion was Prescient re Bush

Henry M — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:13:53 EST

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28784

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

Enlarge Image

President-elect Bush vows that "together, we can put the triumphs of the recent past behind us."

"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.

"You better believe we're going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration," said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. "Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?"

Henry M

KCUF, Still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW, Now at 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited to play and http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing

Inauguration Music

Henry M — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:33:06 EST

FWIW, KCUF will be playing an Inauguration Day playlist from today till 6:30 this evening, Eastern Daylight Savings Time, with a very special hour-long Obama Remix starting at about 11 am.

Henry M

KCUF, Still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW, Now at 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited to play and http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm to see what's playing

Take Me to Your Leader

Henry M — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:26:41 EST

Henry M

KCUF, Still the Most Eclectic Music on the WWW, Now at 128 Kb/s on Shoutcast Unlimited: http://tinyurl.com/kcuf-on-shoutcast-limited and http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm

Values

Henry M — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:55:51 EST

Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho

Henry M — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:21:25 EST

I Can't Wait!

Henry M — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:05:56 EST

Happy Holidays... Everyone!

We had so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, and we have so much to celebrate as the days get longer and the nights grow shorter!

I don't know about you, but I haven't finished shopping for presents, which is why I'm glad that Amazon makes it so easy for me to give a present that I know will be appreciated. Anyone with an Internet connection can find something that they like on Amazon, e.g. Obama buttons to wear to the Inauguration!

These gift cards can be emailed for immediate deliver, printed for giving in person, or sent by Amazon via regular mail, and they're available from $5 to $5000. Gift Cards at Amazon

Henry M

Seasons Greetings

Henry M — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:11:52 EST

Happy Holidays... Everyone!

We had so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day, and we have so much to celebrate as the days get longer and the nights grow shorter!

These gift cards can be emailed for immediate deliver, printed for giving in person, or sent by Amazon via regular mail, and they're available from $5 to $5000. Gift Cards at Amazon

Henry M

McPalin Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin’s Stylists

Henry M — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:43:13 EST

I'd Look Good Too, if...

Sarah Palin campaigning in York, Pa., on Oct. 31. (Photo: Todd Heisler/The New York Times)

By Michael LuoGov.

Update | 9:37 a.m. G.O.P. Paid Almost $55,000 for Palin Fashion Stylist

Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 and her hair stylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Ms. Palin’s makeup artist, Amy Strozzi — who was nominated for an Emmy award for her cosmetics work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?” — was paid $32,400 by Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign between Oct. 16 and Nov. 24, the period covered by the most recent reports filed with the commission.

This amount came on top of the $36,000 she had already been paid in previous reports, dating back to September.

In addition, Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, Angela Lew, was paid a total of $42,225, with $23,400 coming during the period covered by the latest reports to the commission, which were due at midnight on Thursday.

Much attention has been paid to the $150,000 the Republican National Committee spent on outfitting Ms. Palin in September at high-end department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, as well as on makeup services.

Republican officials said this week that additional clothing charges would appear on the Republican National Committee’s campaign finance report totaling less than $30,000. But the committee’s report, which was due at midnight on Thursday, was not yet available as of late evening.

Obama Gifts for the Holidays!

Henry M — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:10:19 EST

If you're looking forward to January 20 as much as I am, you may want to give some Obama presents so that your relatives and friends can enjoy the inauguration as much as you will.

I've compiled a list of All Things Obama at Amazon. Check it out!

Henry M

Transition is Not Possible Without Some Pain

Henry M — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:59:37 EST

Even Fox "News" Applauds Cabinet Picks

Henry M — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:54:27 EST

You may not like all of our President-Elect's cabinet picks, but for better or for worse, both parties think they're pretty good!

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/01/obama-dales-cabinet-picks/

Obama Dazzles Dems and GOP with Cabinet PicksPresident-elect Barack Obama has named half of his Cabinet members at record speed and earned positive reviews from both sides of the political aisle.
By Stephen Clark
FOXNews.com
Monday, December 01, 2008
After naming his economic team and his national security team at record speed, President-elect Barack Obama will now focus on filling the last half of his Cabinet.
Rounding out his Cabinet will be the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Transportation and Education.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is expected to be named commerce secretary and Tom Daschle has been widely touted as secretary of health and human services. And speculation is growing that Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs, will get the nod to lead the national department.
What has been most striking about Obama's nominations so far is the speed at which he has named them and the lack of controversy. The president-elect has moved swiftly to try to bring reassurances and continuity in the federal government as the world grapples with war, recession and terrorist threats, which erupted last week in Mumbai, India.
On Monday, Obama introduced his national security team, picking Democratic primary rival Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state and President Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, to continue at his post. The announcements marked a shift in emphasis after his of appointments last week of his economic team, led by Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary.
"I think the times demand this," Democratic consultant Martin Frost told FOXNews.com. "I don't think you can go at a leisurely pace."
Frost said the sequence in which Obama has announced his Cabinet members isn't unusual, noting that economic and national security issues are the top priorities for any president.
"I think he's done this in a very careful way," Frost said, adding that Obama's picks have drawn favorable reviews from both sides of the aisle.
GOP consultant Doug Heye praised Obama for how he he has rolled out his Cabinet members so far.
"The Obama transition team has made a strategic decision on how this will be done," Heye said, noting Obama's move to present his economic team last week followed by his national security advisers this week.
"We don't know yet what next week will be," he joked.
But Heye added that Obama, by not naming an energy secretary yet, runs the risk of signaling that energy independence is not as important to his administration.
"Energy policy is something he said would be a top priority," he said. "We haven't even got any real rumors of who's being vetted."
Even so, Obama's picks have allowed Republicans to breathe a sigh of relief.
"I think there's a number of things for people who didn't vote for him to be relieved about," GOP consultant Cheri Jacobus told FOXNews.com, citing Obama's decision to keep Gates on as defense secretary.
Jacobus said Obama so far has resembled Sen. John McCain or President Bush. She said Obama has been able to move as fast as he has because he doesn't feel obligated to repay any of the special interest groups that helped him get eleted.
"This is someone who was a blank slate before he was elected," she said.

Henry M

Congratulations EVERYONE!

Henry M — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 10:59:57 EST

The country is the winner in this election. We have so much to look forward to, but on a personal note, permit me to look back again for a moment.

I was gratified that Virginia went for Barack after the long, hard work of so many VA, MD, and DC volunteers. We did it! (with a little help from Barack's Election Eve Rally :-)

Sorry, WV. We tried.

Henry M

We're ALL So Proud

Henry M — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:35:44 EST

Whew! PRESIDENT OBAMA!

Henry M

http://www.urdomain.us/kcuf.htm

Record Prince William, VA Crowd Last Night for Last Campaign Rally

Henry M — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:43:02 EST

It was an exciting night at the Prince William Country Fairground. I got there early enought to be close enough to the stage to see his comfortable smile in spite of the hardships of travel and the loss of his grandmother!

Barack Obama's Final 2008 Campaign Rally in Manassas, Virginia
Nov 3, 2008 November 03, 2008 C-SPAN Senator Barack Obama spoke at a campaign rally at Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, Virginia.

Obama Campaigns in the Final Stretch - washingtonpost.com

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/11/04/GA2008110401199.html

There were 70-100,000 of us. We all shouted that we were "fired up" and "ready to go."

"I'm feeling kind of fired up. I'm feeling like I'm ready to go," Obama told nearly 100,000 people gathered for his final rally Monday night in Virginia.

"At this defining moment in history, Virginia, you can give this country the change it needs," Obama said to voters in a state that hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in 44 years.
The Illinois senator's final day of campaigning was bittersweet: he was mourning the loss of his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who helped raise him but died of cancer Sunday night and never got to see the results of the historic election.

Thanks for reading this blog. I got in late last night and didn't get a lot of sleep, but it's time for me to head back to Virginia and get out the vote. I hope that some of our paths will cross at victory celebrations and on the mall in Washington for the inauguration.

Sincerely,

Henry M

Palin Punked!

Henry M — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:16:36 EST

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27491253#27491253

If you appreciaterd this message, then please have a look at the rest of my blog, http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/henrymu and support and contribute to the campaign (it’s not over until the polls close): http://tinyurl.com/henrym4obamafundraising

Henry M

Scary

Henry M — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:07:23 EDT

Imagine four years of McSame or Palin... http://tinyurl.com/whenmcbushcomesaround Scary! (Share the video, particularly unconviced Christians)

Following a recent death in my extended family, I'm back to work tomorrow, getting out the swing-state vote, in my case Virginia. Because the internment was yesterday, I haven't had the opportunity to do anything about Halloween. I had been planning to paint the face of a McCain mask white, darken the eyes, and extend the lips in a crooked, red, grimace...

Henry M

Don't Let This Happen to You

Henry M — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:56:03 EDT

It's not over until McSame concedes. I know that I can do more.

http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=Oc3keiscXhTCzJNSPoJB0jQzNzIzMDU-&referred_by=12917319-sIauG3x

So can you.

f you appreciaterd this message, then please have a look at the rest of my blog, http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/henrymu and support and contribute to the campaign (it’s not over until the polls close): http://tinyurl.com/henrym4obamafundraising

Henry M

Experience

Henry M — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:09:18 EDT

Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
- Franklin P. Jones

Al Qaeda Recruiters for McSame

Henry M — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:34:31 EDT

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26kristof.html

John McCain isn’t boasting about a new endorsement, one of the very, very few he has received from overseas. It came a few days ago:

On the Ground

“Al Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,” read a commentary on a password-protected Islamist Web site that is closely linked to Al Qaeda and often disseminates the group’s propaganda.

Yet the endorsement of Mr. McCain by a Qaeda-affiliated Web site isn’t a surprise to security specialists. Richard Clarke, the former White House counterterrorism director, and Joseph Nye, the former chairman of the National Intelligence Council, have both suggested that Al Qaeda prefers Mr. McCain and might even try to use terror attacks in the coming days to tip the election to him.
“From their perspective, a continuation of Bush policies is best for recruiting,” said Professor Nye, adding that Mr. McCain is far more likely to continue those policies.
An American president who keeps troops in Iraq indefinitely, fulminates about Islamic terrorism, inclines toward military solutions and antagonizes other nations is an excellent recruiting tool. In contrast, an African-American president with a Muslim grandfather and a penchant for building bridges rather than blowing them up would give Al Qaeda recruiters fits.

Henry M

If Joe the Plumber made $100k more than Sarah's Spree, He'd Pay More Taxes!

Henry M — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 16:53:09 EDT

Henry M

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

Henry M — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:45:49 EDT

Cute but sharp new video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03fcGelz8Hw

Check it out and pass it on!

Henry M

Tippecanoe... and Tyler too

Henry M — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:46:12 EDT

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/10/24/9502/4588/41/638645

Through A Cracked Mirror

Humor site Cracked.com has a list devoted to the historical origins of negative ads in presidential campaigns of yore. They're all interesting, but the one that has been the most reliable through the ages is #3 on the list -- the attack on "elitism."
"Whenever a presidential candidate speaks well or seems particularly clean, the immediate strategy of that candidate's opponent is to trash them as elitist, someone who thinks he's better than the hardworking, God-fearing general public."
"In 1840, this was taken to an awesome, hilarious extreme. The nominee for the Whig party, the old-as-shit William Henry Harrison, gave himself the label of the ‘Log Cabin and Hard Cider candidate.’ Basically Joe Six Pack. The plan of course was to make the opposing Democrats and Martin Van Buren look like a bunch of elitist aristocrats."
The truth was that Harrison was from a wealthy and politically connected family. Rather than being born in a log cabin, he was born on a plantation and lived in a mansion. None of that stopped him from claiming to be the champion of the common man.
Harrison was also a war hero. He was the "Tippecanoe" in the "...and Tyler too" slogan. Tippecanoe was a battle that Harrison led against the Shawnee where, despite having a large advantage in forces, his troops still took more casualties. But he later invaded Canada, and everyone thought that was pretty cool.
So we have a wealthy aging war hero who runs as the hard-drinkin' friend of the little folk. And it worked. Harrison won in a blow out.
There was just one little problem for team Whig: the "aging" part. Harrison was the oldest president elected pre-Ronald Reagan, and just weeks after settling into the White House, Harrison died. That left "Tyler too" in charge of the place.
"John Tyler (described as a ‘poor, miserable, despised imbecile’ and given the nickname ‘His Accidency’) took over the White House. Tyler was one of the most hated presidents of all time and was nearly impeached. Why did we bring that up? No reason at all. Really."
And what was going on in the US at the time? That would be a collapse of the financial system due to a speculative bubble. It's unknown how Tyler felt about moose.

Henry M