Posts with the tag Senators

Senate Ddebate-Health Care Reform Bill

Tom Rodgers — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:36:08 EST

I am watching the debates daily. It realy Irks(Nice Word) me that repeatedly the opposition continues to say they have not seen bill,ammendment, etc.

Well I say to all of these Senators that state this.You need to teach your staff how to do their JOBS. Actually you should FIRE everyone of them because either they are not doing their jobs are you are Damn Liars.

Everything that you Senators Discuss,All the papers,Bills,Ammendments are recorded Daily here: http://senate.gov/legislative/Congressional_Records/Daily_Digest.htm Then your staff can find Health Care Bill and all ammendments on the Thomas system of the Library of Congress. Yes it takes time to look this up,to print and submit,But hey your staff is getting a paycheck to do their JOBS.

What are the taxpayers of America paying you and your staff to do if you keep saying you have not seen bill,ammendments,etc In my opinion a senator that states He/She has not seen anything should resign immediately,and then the newly elected Senator can hire a staff that will do their job.

Tom Rodgers,Founder T&C Services http://tomrodgers723.community.officelive.com

NO MANDATE WITHOUT A PUBLIC OPTION

Orel from Miller Place, NY — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:21:30 EST

I called my senators, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the White House to say that without a public option, the current Senate "health care reform" bill will be toxic to the Democrats and the American people. Forget 60 votes! The president has the majority he needs (51 votes) to expand Medicare via budget reconciliation. We need to put the pressure on Congress and the White House to do just that.

Those who dine with lobbyists keep sending us the bills.... bad bills! The current bill is not a victory for health care reform, but for the private insurers who are gouging us all. If the President celebrates this bill (should it pass) as a victory, I will be withdrawing from OFA. Many of us, who worked hard for his campaign, will, sadly, feel we have no choice but to do so. He is wrong about this one and needs to start using the power he has to make the changes we need. Many politicians opposed Medicare in the sixties, but Johnson stood firm. President Obama needs to do the same. At the very least, states should have the right to "opt in" to Medicare for all. Under the proposed bill, states with progressive health care systems they fought for (like Vermont) will be forced into a system worse than the one their taxpayers rejected. People will be forced to buy insurance from the private insurers (leeches) who are bleeding us all! Write and phone your Senators, Speaker Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the White House.

Health Care Reform: The Bottom Line

Larry Gordon — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:17:46 EST

In the final stretch for Health Care Reform, the American people have been blindsided by the arrogance of two senators: Joe Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, and Ben Nelson, a Democrat from Nebraska.

It seems these two senators are acting on their own to fulfill their own agendas at the expense of the American people and their own constituents. This is unacceptable any time, anywhere.

It was enough that the Public Option was thrown aside when so many Americans are hurting in so many ways without it. And the irony of it all is this: all these Congressmen who will make and vote on this critical issue have some of the best health insurance this country offers. Where is equality for all?

As watered down as the Health Care Reform currently stands, it needs to be voted into law because there are good qualities to it. Other issues can be taken up at a later time. Not to be passed into law will for sure strip many senators of their senate seats in the next elections — and rightly so.

Howard Dean has every right to express his opinion that if he were a senator he would not vote for this Health Care Reform. This attitude, too, is selfish and uncaring for the desperately needy in this country. There comes a time when politics have to be given a rest. Now is one of them.

The bottom line: Suffering Americans will not tolerate their elected officials not passing this Health Care Reform after coming so far. If Lieberman and Nelson want to be as scorned, cursed, and mentally spit on by the American people as America's previous president, George W. Bush, then hinder this Health Care Reform to the point of being null and void. The American people will make sure these senators pay for it with their votes cast against them.

C-mas letter to our elected leaders...

Cat — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:41:11 EST

dateline: Dec 11 2009 -------

I wrote a letter to our Senators this morning, at about 4:11 a:

Greetings from Tumwater!
I am a constituent, and this holiday season, my wish is for health reform. Things to consider: the growing and aging population of women that do not have any health insurance.
Health insurance is not an option. My personal experience without H.I, has been quite minor. And compared with others in my age group: I can count my blessings.
Talk to your fellow lawmakers (even the Republicans), to make affordable and fair insurance for all Americans. In including the forgotten, the downtrodden, and the lost souls: it would surely bring tears of relief.
Soon, it'll be 2010: and the word is Compassion. Spread the word.
In peaceful choice and direction,
I wish you the very best of the holidays.

Sincerely,

Cat

Health Care Reform Debates

Tom Rodgers — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:06:34 EST

What I have noticed by watching these debates is that most of the Republican Senators are doing nothing more than Rambling.

They go on and on about what it will cost by 2017 etc. When will they Wake Up and Realize that if they do not pass this bill this year America may not be around in 2017. They should know this bill is the biggest step to rebuilding our economy and most importantly it is Urgently needed now to Save the Lives of The American Citizens.

Big Insurance Will Do You In

Larry Gordon — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:19:35 EDT

Any Democrat that sides with Big Insurance and votes down heath care reform can kiss his/her senate seat good-bye. Stand up for the American people — ALL the American people — so everyone has access and affordibility to health care. At present, in this regard, we are less than a third world country.

OFA Members and the DNC

David W. Kent — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:28:15 EDT

Fellow Progressive Democrats, why is it I send my money, contributions to OFA and it ends up being spent by the DNC. Can we trust the DNC to be “Progressive?” I am not sure about this. What do you think? The Blue Dogs are part of the DNC. Will the DNC put pressure on the Blue Dogs? Is anyone at the DNC loyal to OFA members? I should not have to question this but due to the poor performance of our Senate politicians, I must ask this of you? The Senate leadership does not appear to be carrying ¼ the load that the Speaker of the House carries. I think we need to see a list of what democrat politicians are members of OFA. When did they become members of OFA? We elected President Barack Obama and in some cases, without support from certain democrats. I know Hillary worked hard for us after the primaries. Who can we trust? Who can we trust? If you are not happy over this summers progress, tired of delays, wondering why we are constantly asked to man phone banks? It kind of sound like we are rushing around the city putting out fires yet we care less whom the arsonist is? If this is the case, you are thinking like me. If I am off course, please explain it to me.

Media in the States of Centrist Senators - Research Report for Action

Douglas from South Gate, CA — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:58:39 EDT

In the wake of President Barack Obama's stirring and historic speech this week to a joint session of Congress, I have prepared a research paper to aid those who want to help the health care reform effort by grassroots action; namely, contacting the media in the states (or commonwealths) of those "centrist" Democratic and Republican senators whose votes will most likely be decisive, given the partisan divide on the issue in the Senate and the large Democratic majority in the House in favor of reform.

The report, entitled Media in the States of Centrist Senators, is in Microsoft Word format -- with active hyperlinks within the text -- and it is downloadable (and printable) from here:

http://douglasdrenkow.com/docs/centristsmedia.doc

If you have trouble downloading the file, I can e-mail it to you as an attachment (less than 1 MB in size).

Public option off the table NO!

eric HUSSEIN graff — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:00:37 EDT

Call backsliding Dem & Republican leaners & POLITELY asking for their support the PULIC OPTION which is one of the FEW ways we'll be able to control costs as reform moves forward examples include Sen Arlin Specter D-PA 202-224-4254, Max Baucus D-MT 202-224-2651, Susan M Collins R-ME 202-224-2623, Olympia J Snowe R-ME OR YOUR SENATOR! We need to MOVE FAST ON THIS and BOMBARD these folks!

KEEP THE PUBLIC OPTION!

eric HUSSEIN graff — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:56:23 EDT

Conflict of Interest In Health Care Reform?

Larry Gordon — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:34:16 EDT

Today on Yahoo, the Associated Press published the folllowing headline: Key health care senators have industry ties.

Whatever happened to ethics and conflict of interest? Why have these senators with their direct family ties to the health industry been allowed to work on these reforms? This is no different than asking the fox to guard the hen house.

Why didn't these senators with such ties disqualify themselves from participating in shaping health reform when it would be more to their advantage to shape it in their interests rather than the interest of all Americans? The mere fact that these senators did not disqualify themselves from this participation makes them all suspect, and greatly damages President Barack Obama's administration's credibility.

Senators with direct family ties and interest in the health industry must stand down immediately and be replaced with other senators with no ties whatsoever to this industry. Otherwise, the American people are going to be greatly shortchanged, and President Obama will be perceived as overwhelmed. This must not happen.

My letter to my Republican Senator.(R-FL)

Joe the Voter — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:57:31 EDT

Honorable Senator Martinez,

I know you seldom bother to respond to liberal constituents who write your office but I hope you will provide a positive response to this letter regarding Health Care.

Some simple facts you cannot deny:

Health Care is Broken.
Millions of Americans have no health care at all and don't qualify for Medicare.
No private insurance provider will give free insurance to those who cannot afford it.
Absent "free or low cost" insurance, poor Americans cannot get health care except to wait for serious complications then go to a public emergency room...some times it is too late, after which they and their families are saddled with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt they cannot pay.

"...I was shocked when I read a memo from Republican strategist Dr. Frank Luntz laying out plans to dismantle any effort to give all Americans access to quality health care." said Senator Markey (D-OR)
Dr. Luntz's memo said, "You're not going to get what you want, but you can kill what they're trying to do." In his memo, Dr. Luntz lays out multiple ways that opponents of health care reform can trick and manipulate the American public.

Can you be tricked as well? Will the Republicans offer a plan to require private insurance to guarantee coverage to those who cannot pay? Will they guarantee preventative health care to everyone regardless of socio-economic status? Of course not. You and I both know private insurers are not in the business of helping people, they are in the business of earning profits and they want to keep it that way. Never mind if some Americans are denied care, even allowed to die without proper care in defense of shareholder dividends. Everyone knows some of these profits are spent to lobby Congress to preserve the profitable status-quo. More of these profits are spend to elect their favorite politicians who help them maintain that status quo.

Some complain that in other countries such as Canada and the UK, there may be long waiting lists to get care. In America we wait on Congress because there is no list and no care at all !

For most of the past decades, Congress, manipulated by the health care lobby, did nothing. Now they seem to want to assure that "doing nothing" is a standard practice in Congress. We don't need people to do nothing..and empty capitol building accomplishes that quite nicely, thank you.

My very specific question to you is, Will you support meaningful health care reform and dis-avow your party's attempts to block reform, or will you stand with corporate giants and special interest lobbies against all those Americans who are without any health care and who will remain so absent government programs?

I urge everyone to write to there elected officials about this important issue.

( Also posted HERE )

Terrorizing the Terrorists

Don — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 13:34:58 EDT

How do you deter an enemy who is willing to kill himself in order to kill you? You strike at something more important to him than his own life. Defining that will be easy for me. The next question is can America be as ruthless as our enemies?

The time has come to end the fruitless and unsustainable effort to search and destroy every cave in Afghanistan and bomb every campground in bordering Pakistan. It’s counterproductive anyway.

What will put the fear of America into terrorist masterminds and those who would follow their orders is simple and radical revenge. Masterminds have families: Cousins, brothers and fathers. Eliminate them. All at once, or one at a time, it works just as well. The ones who survive an initial “hunt” will go into hiding. Having some adult male relatives killed and the rest hiding out in caves will demoralize masterminds and their loved ones. You cannot work and support your women like that. You can’t make more baby masterminds that way. You cannot continue the blood line. The women and children will pressure them to stop their plotting and bombing.

People want to leave a familial legacy, and they can’t do that under those circumstances over the long term.

Should America do that? Yes. Do we have the “intestinal fortitude” and sustainable motivation? I don’t think so. But we should, and it shouldn’t take another terrorist attack to get us there.

For the last seven years the CIA has been kidnapping people from other nations and torturing them. Why not just go in there and quietly shoot them to death?

Frankly, by not killing women or children the way those terrorists routinely do, we can even claim the moral high ground.

The Real Abominations Against God and Jesus

Don — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:04:47 EDT

The fact that Americans vote in favoring of paying our farmers to produce LESS milk in order to keep the gallon price of milk HIGHER than a gallon of gasoline while millions of American babies' parents can't afford milk is an abomination against God.People who, in the name of Jesus, vote to DENY medicine and treatment for babies in nations where it is otherwise not available suffering from AIDS because adults delivering help condone use of condoms to staunch the spread of AIDS are committing an abomination against God.People who vote against public sponsored healthcare for babies and children who cannot otherwise obtain it are committing an abomination against God.People who allow others to go hungry, homeless and sick, thus disobeying Jesus AND God himself, find the energy to rail against adults who behind closed doors have sex with other consenting adults are committing an abomination against God. They spend money, cast votes and change constitutions to deny those people rights to get divorced like 50% of the self-righteous people do every day.People who blatantly ignore the commands of Jesus and stated in all the gospels to care for the sick, the hungry and the homeless, and “judge not lest you be judged” while trumpeting an obscure sentence fragment from the Old Testament taken out of context while calling themselves Christians are an abomination against God and Jesus. Theirs is the greatest of blasphemy imaginable.When the mere idea that a person would not CHOOSE to be reviled, persecuted, fired from the military, and in some cases savagely beaten to death -- in other words, be gay -- is met by 'conservative Republicans' with such rabid, savage hostility, then one could reasonably believe that their position and their associated rage is intended merely as a distraction from their own actions which are immoral, inhumane and even criminal (refer to first five paragraphs).

The George W Bush Recession and Depression

Don — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:13:08 EST

We need to give credit where credit is deserved: NAME this economic crisis after the man most responsible for it's creation.

$10 trillion deficit is what we had at the end of the Bush administration. In eight years, Bush more than DOUBLED all the indebtedness America had accrued in more than 200 years.

This is more than a talking point, this is a necessary reminder that should be made every day, so that the notoriously SHORT memories of Americans shall be stimulated on a regular basis.

Bankers CAN be heroes -- No 'vetting' required

Don — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 03:01:53 EST

Senator Dodd went rogue and inserted some crazy stuff into the new law, so the President will need to be creative. Perhaps we are looking for HEROES to run our troubled banks. A lot of wealthy patriots have made great financial sacrifices to serve in the Obama Administration. Like-minded people who don’t want to go through the vetting process and insane pubic humiliation of being outed on every little tax related or other embarrassment can now serve their country without becoming federal employees but while still consenting to be paid wages not all that far above that.

Gregg: Is This Petty Partisan Politics

Don — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:47:23 EST

I see nothing different Obama has said or done since 2004 and today -- perhaps Gregg's understanding of it morphed overnight between the time he was begging for the job and yesterday, when it came time to vote on the stimulus plan. Gregg seems to claim otherwise.

Obama should have known Gregg either hasn't the courage of his convictions or , far more likely, hasn't got any deeply held beliefs other than politics. We demand omniscience! How DARE the President not realize a man like Gregg would say anything to further his own personal ambitions?

There's something wrong with a vetting process that cannot discern that a politically savvy adult who somehow got himself repeatedly elected to the US Senate would claim to have turned his back on Petty Partisan Politics but actually lack the moral fortitude to stand by his decision.

Democrats Lose Senate Majority (circa 2010)

Don — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:38:40 EST

(Can I say 'circa' if it's in the future?)

Democrats won't be controlling the Senate after 2010.

They rushed like lemmings to declare they'd never accept Blago's appointee.

A little time and forethought should have enabled them to reason that in order to create the illusion of innocence Blagojevich would be likely to find someone eminently qualified, of stellar reputation and far removed from the (alleged) illegal activities.

That would only be in his own best interests. And if there is one thing we have learned about Blago, it is that his own best interests are his first and last consideration in decision-making.

Senate Democrats have now pitted themselves against the Chicago Democratic Machine. Despite that Dick Durbin has lost touch with reality and thrown in with them, this is a battle Senate Democrats cannot and will not win. In this, there is no winning, only degrees of losing.

Should he be denied, Burris can run against any Illinois Democrat, including Durbin, and win.

As for that silly mausoleum? All politicians are narcissists. He's just 'concrete' about it.

Remember Republican Senator Ted Stevens who actually looked jurors in the eyes and told them he didn't notice people stuffing hundreds of thousands of dollars into his pockets. I dare say Bill Gates would notice if you stuffed a few hundred thousand dollars into his pockets. Ted Stevens,... now THAT'S a big ego!

It is also necessary to remember that this is the same US Senate that gave a seven-time convicted federal felon -- Ted Stevens -- a two-minute standing ovation, and two hours of praise-filled testimonials. And they are claiming to be observing their PRINCIPLES???

Republican and Democratic Senators must think we are stupid, stupid, stupid.

GOP needs America to fail (Democrats helping them)

Don — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:51:49 EST

Imagine what would happen if the immediate and long-term success, and even viability, of the Republican Party depended on Barack Obama failing to pull America back into PROSPERITY. Oh, wait, we don't have to IMAGINE that because it happens to be the current condition.

While refusing to offer any better ideas, Republicans stand in adamant opposition to everything the President-Elect suggests, even without knowing any details. I have to admit, he's been somewhat vague.

History suggests that America's realization of a sense of success by spring of 2012 will mean the GOP will be broadly out of power for one to two generations.

Every month that another 600,000 Americans lose their jobs is the direct result of Republicans acting on what they see is their own best political interests. While one of their many changing SLOGANS last year was "America First", in truth it is plain that they hold the Republican Party's interests above those of America and our people.

Every day that our children continue to suffer from a declining educational system in which mediocrity is celebrated; every day that more taxpayers lose high wage jobs only to go on welfare food stamps and unemployment; every day that more and more Americans are forced to sign up to work at the country's largest employer WalMart whose own accidentally leaked internally study said 43% of their full-time employees are on welfare and food stamps; every day that we lose what little remains of our manufacturing base so that when we next need to really go to war like in WW2 we won't have car factories to swiftly convert to making fighter jets and tanks so we'll have to order them from CHINA which the most likely enemy in a real war; remember that Republicans see that as MERELY another day closer to the time when they regain power over the White House, Senate and House -- which if not for the horrendous disaster they have created over the last eight years might not be so terrifying.

America stopped keeping up with the demands for maintenance of our infrastructure with the Reagan administration. We were told that things like that "the free market" would take care of things like that, but tell that now to New Orleans and their crumbling levees, or Minnesota with their collapsed interstate bridge, or Kentucky with their billion gallons of toxic sludge that spilled out of a mine containment area.

America's best defense against precisely the current financial system collapse, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, enacted not coincidentally in the wake of the financial collapse of 1929, was REPEALED on the demands of deregulating Republicans -- with help from Bill Clinton in 1999. That law alone prevented financial institutions from becoming "too big to fail". That is, it kept each of the insurance, banking and real estate conglomerates within their own area. They could still become behemoths, but it's when they get into all three of those industries and start making up new ones that are totally unregulated like 'derivatives' that the failure of one company can bring down the American economy, even the world economic system.

The only thing the President-Elect can do to get us out of this disaster is to go back the way we came in, by resurrecting modern-day Glass-Steagall style regulations and stimulating the middle class segment of the system while taking back the giveaway tax cuts from the wealthiest 1% that over the last eight years gave money to people who already had more money than they knew how to spend. They squirreled it away someplace, or bought yachts built in Greece. Republicans love to claim that tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy leads to the creation of small businesses. In reality, it's Steve Jobs and Bill Gates when they had nothing who created small businesses that became leading world companies. Billionaires DON'T start small businesses, they BUY huge corporations then fire 50,000 or 100,000 employees to increase productivity and thus profits for themselves and large bonuses for the three to five top executives of each company. Oh, and they CUT wages of the few employees they do have to keep on.

That doesn't grow anything but unemployment and declining wages. Less taxpayers and more people surviving on public assistance.

If we don't stand up to these self-serving Republicans very few of us will have jobs in 2012, and they will be at WalMart. There won't be any real taxpayers to support the public assistance people need to get back into good paying jobs.

I'll get to the CRAZY DEMOCRATS on another post. I'll give you a hint that after 2012 Democrats will no longer be in control of the Senate.

3 Moves In 3 Weeks -- Way to Relocate

Don — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:26:33 EST

“A President must be able to do more than one thing at a time,” said then-candidate and now President-Elect Barack Obama, a few months ago when McCain was trying to weasel out of the big debate.

Evidently, President-Elect Obama CAN do far more than one thing at a time. He and his family are MOVING three times in three weeks! This, the weekend of 4 January 2009, he moves from his Chicago home to DC’s Hay-Adams Hotel. On the 15th, they move to Blair House, then on the 20th, they move into the White House. Yes he can! For most of us, the dreaded process of a single relocation is more stressful than death and taxes. But Superman is tripling-down on it.

At the same time, the President-Elect Obama is interviewing and hiring a government, from cabinet members, agency administrators, secretaries and ambassadors. He’s working feverishly on the economic crisis, the transition and inauguration, as well as homeland security and two wars. Throw in taxes, healthcare, unemployment, social security, Medicare and the crisis of the Big 3 automakers, plus Iran, Cuba, Russia, China, the Palestinians and Israel, plus all those special interest groups here at home, such as the disabled, veterans, senior citizens and gays, and you’ve got an enormous inbox.

After those daily national security briefings in which the President-Elect Obama is beginning to learn just how badly Bush has screwed things up for us around the world, it’s a wonder the President-Elect Obama can sleep at night. He needs all the rest he can get.

Enjoy your vacation, sir, you need all the recharging your batteries can get.

What Page of The Bible?

Don — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:07:57 EST

There are only two reasonable choices.

To evoke the vision of the world economy rising from the ashes of the torched-earth strategy of the Bush-Cheney-Rove administration, BHO should open the Bible to the gospel account of Jesus’ rising from death. Not only will it give us hope, but it will reinforce our knowledge of BHO’s Christianity, helping put aside the invocation guy.

Times are so serious that BHO should keep the Bible closed and put his hand on the whole thing – we’re gonna need ALL of it right now, and it underscores BHO’s whole ‘inclusiveness’ thing.

Welcoming the Ministry of Hatred and Scapegoating

Don — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:08:01 EST

There are always those who make their fortunes playing to the fears and insecurities of people frustrated with their own lives who need someone to blame, someone to hate, and it's easy for them to agree on certain groups to focus on.

Obama is moving America toward the point where those people will realize that if they don't have a good job, they have too little money, too much debt, their kids are in and out of jail and/or on drugs, or failing in school, it's not the fault of some group of "OTHERS". Not the gays, the jews, the blacks, or even those pesky illegal aliens, to name just a few.

It's time for a new era of Personal Responsibility in which we all take charge of our own lives while working together for all of us to achieve the American dream while making government do what it can to enable us.

Rick Warren is just an updated version of the same old Ministry Of Hatred represented by Falwell and Robertson (and so many others).

The coming of that new era is a direct threat to Rick Warren, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and all the other leaders of the Ministry of Hate. Just like the Republicans did during the long two year campaign, they will go down kicking and screaming all the way.

Crisis Briefings: Lies Like Iraq War Pretenses: Bushiness

Don — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:18:41 EST

The President who told at least a dozen lies to get us to go to war in Iraq has conjured up more than a dozen lies to set up President Obama for failure? The most miserable failure of an excuse for a President is leaving directions for the next President?

If it weren’t so serious, it would be funny! If your memory is longer than that of 99% of Americans you know that’s not a line I made up, and you may even know who did. Details.

I’m just saying, George Bush should be planning out where he’s going to hide to keep from being arrested and delivered to the Hague for trial in the World Court for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.

We didn’t let Hitler’s assistants off the hook, and neither can we afford to let Bush’s (the New Hitler’s) people go Scot-free.

We all know that all these recent attempts by Bush to rewrite history are mere hopes that America doesn’t do what’s right. If we intend to restore any sense of moral authority or regain any worldwide respect, we must follow our own laws and those international laws we largely wrote and have been demanding everyone else follow for decades until “W” took office.

If we don’t want our soldiers tortured when they in the future are captured, we must deliver to justice George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, their generals and other high officers who ordered torture and passed on those illegal and immoral orders.

America is a chief signatory to the Geneva Conventions. In fact, before 2001, we liked to claim we largely WROTE it. What good is international law if those who claim to have written it are the worst violators?

America has long had laws against torture of prisoners of war. We cannot allow one power-mad egomaniac (or moron, depending on who is providing the facts, and there are plenty on both sides) to cause us to abandon our Constitution, or it won’t be worth anything, ever.

To put it simply, we cannot defeat terrorism by becoming the worst terrorists on earth. Long before we got to that point, any real President would have caught himself and found a better way. Why? Because Bush’s route could be seen even by people as unworldly as me to be a fool’s plot.

It started with Bush’s WAR-PRAYER-MEETING, right after 9/11. That was disturbing to me THEN, because, as a Christian and an American I wondered if Jesus would say that we should “turn the other cheek”.

What? “Turn the other cheek”. I know. I certainly wasn’t in the mood for that. But that’s what Jesus would have us do – according to the Bible. Those so-called religious Republicans have still never mentioned that, and they would castrate me for mentioning it if they could. (They don’t have the balls for it, so they’ll try to get you to do it, just like the Romans, according to the Bible, were forced to murder Jesus. Just reading it objectively and making no assumptions. NO benefit to me which side you take).

Strange, but when you think about the things that really were surprises, you can’t find any that Bush created that much cohesion to in that short a time. Can you? I can’t.

Almost makes you wonder WHEN Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush KNEW 9/11 was going to happen, doesn’t it? Naaaaaaah. Certainly not. I don’t really know. Do I???

It WAS amazing that five seconds after the first jet crashed into the World Trade Center, Bush’s officials declared they knew it was Osama Bin Laden! Before the first tower collapsed, the Bush administration told us who to blame. I wondered why they didn’t PREVENT it since they obviously knew so much about it in advance.

Worse yet is the fact that for all of 2000, Bush campaigned claiming “America’s military is not ready!” Yet, during all of 2001, he did NOTHING to get our military ready. Why would you TELL our enemies that our military isn’t ready? Then, once in power, why would you fail to GET it ready/ Bush should spend the rest of his days in Guantanamo for that alone.

I always think you can know who caused something to happen by figuring out who BENEFITTED from whatever happened.

But I’ve already gone LONG, so I’ll have to finish the facts later. In the meantime, don’t read into what I’ve typed, anything you imagine I said. You may end up looking foolish by the time I tie it all together.

What To Do About It

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:07:18 EST

Previously, I argued the likely consequences of the collapse of the Detroit automakers. And already my predictions are beginning to bear out in facts. Today, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Toyota will delay production at its new $300 million plant in Mississippi, citing a steep decline in the auto market.” What could we do about preventing it?Rather than pumping cash into them over the long term, what we COULD do is just take over something like 60% of the healthcare burden of only the pre-2007 retirees of the Detroit automakers.What? That would fundamentally lower the per-car cost while requiring them to bear their own burden of current and future labor costs. They will still have to make reasonable pay agreements going forward, but they won’t have to fire tens of thousands of workers who actually are cranking out cars that are of competitive quality. We CAN and should require that they immediately begin moving at an accelerated pace to make their entire fleet of cars meet California’s progressive fuel-economy standards.Why? Because that’s a smaller hit to the national economy than letting those people go on welfare, food stamps and unemployment and disability insurance. It helps keep those people paying taxes based on good wages. If those companies collapse, Medicare and Medicaid WILL be forced to take on 100% of all of those retirees from every decade. The few of us who still have jobs or own businesses will pay for that.Remember, according to THEIR OWN study, 43% of full-time WalMart workers are on food stamps and welfare. 43%. They are the largest employer in America. We cannot afford to doom another class of workers to that, because it’s costing us dearly.I don’t know if “60%” is exactly the right percentage, or if “pre-2007” is exactly the right year, but that can be worked out soon and by more knowledgeable people. What I do believe is that we can find a way to take on a much smaller share of the burden than the 100% we will inherit if those companies go down. What I know is that the rest of us will be better off with those people working and paying taxes alongside the rest of us than not.Rather than stirring up jealousy among people about UAW wages and demanding they take pay cuts, Republican conservatives ought to be working to get the pay other OTHER Americans increased so that more of us will be paying taxes at that higher rate, thus decreasing the burden on each taxpayer.Walmart workers, who continue to work full-time while having to also collect food stamps and welfare, are a major burden to all American Taxpayers. We need more high-wage jobs, not less. All that money spent at Walmart goes on a long trip, making a brief stopover in Bentonville Arkansas before flying directly to China to create more factory jobs – in China. If they have their way, conservative Republicans will have all Americans working seven days a week in 12 hour shifts making 90 cents a month like the Chinese.

How We Save America By Saving American Autoworker Jobs

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:53:57 EST

Previously, I argued why all Americans, of all political persuasions, will suffer from the collapse the Detroit automakers. What can we do about the problem?I am far from being an apologist for the UAW or Detroit. There have to be consequences for this mess. But right now, we face bigger problems than that.American Taxpayers should consider carefully the consequences of letting another huge block of Taxpayers be forced to become dependent on welfare, food stamps and unemployment. It’s a double-whammy heaped upon the rest of us. Not only will they no longer be bearing their fair share by paying taxes and Social Security alongside those of us who still have jobs, but they also will be draining vast amounts of Taxpayer-funded money and other resources. What other resources? It takes more government employees, thus money, to hand out and track all those handouts. Can you guess who gets to pay for that?I am scared to death at the prospect of both taking on the burden of another half-million or so workers who will lose their jobs every month – like last month – but also paying much less in taxes myself due to the fact that I won’t be making nearly as much money once most of my customers are out of work. Come hell or high water, those people need to keep paying federal taxes just like me, and they can only do that if we keep them working.If you look at recently published studies on Appalachia – basically W. Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and northeastern Mississippi – the only place those unemployed people who will be living primarily on government assistance will be spending money is at WalMart* . All that money goes straight to China to create more jobs – in China. (Although it does pass through Bentonville Arkansas on the way.)As a direct consequence, many more jobs will be lost, though probably in northern states among people who tend to vote for Democrats. At least, that must be what Senator Shelby and the other conservative Republicans and southerners who subsidize those Japanese auto-plants down there must be thinking. But there are a lot of Republicans up here too. I voted straight GOP all my life, until November when I had to take an Independent stand. My non-auto-related small business will be killed, as will many others, and lots of individuals. Plus, many of those “plumbers” and others who work for small and large businesses that are not directly linked to Detroit will be financially killed. During the campaign Republicans swore they cared about them more than anything.People like that don’t go out and replace our Lexus or Toyota or other Japanese car or truck with next year’s model no matter where it’s built – even in the south. Moreover, people like that don’t switch parties and start voting with the GOP. People like that, including myself, don’t return to the Republican Party. People like that might not even REMAIN in the GOP. Republicans always campaign about being for plumbers and other workers and small businesses. Once the votes are all counted, the GOP kicks us right in our ‘bleepin’ behinds.From what I have seen, once out of work, those high-dollar hourly workers don’t take lower-paying jobs flipping burgers. Unemployed autoworkers sit at home and live off the Taxpayers, even by resorting to disability payments by making claims, not all of which are legitimate**. Those payments cost money, as do the investigators required to catch some unknown percentage of those making bogus claims. It costs more money to house them in jail, plus they never seem to get caught holding enough money to reimburse the Taxpayers for what they fleeced us out of.The bottom line is that we have to work hard to keep people working – especially those making good wages, thus paying more in taxes than those working at WalMart and McDonalds. We have to CREATE more high-paying jobs like that rather than focus on cutting their pay until they make the 9 cents a month they pay in China. To underline a point I’ve been arguing for quite a while, the Wall Street Journal reported today that “Toyota will delay production at its new $300 million plant in Mississippi, citing a steep decline in the auto market.” *To be fair, the studies show, the Appalachians also spend a great of money on liquor and guns. Those are available at WalMart too, but mostly not made in China. They also tend to spend a lot of time and money in church. These observations are in no way offered as commentary on lifestyles. This is all about where our money goes.**This is a concern based on studies which were not based on large sample groups, so they in no way can be asserted to reflect a majority of the group. Yet, any substantial percentage of this group engaged in this behavior would have a significant effect on an already severely depressed economy. Moreover, autoworkers were only a subset of the skilled workers discussed in the studies in general. No lifestyle judgments are implied.

Keep UAW workers paying taxes, not on welfare

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:17:53 EST

Wall Street Journal: Toyota will delay production at its new $300 million plant in Mississippi, citing a steep decline in the auto market. The company says jobs in the state are "secure."

This is the beginning of proof of what I've been saying all along.

The most important detail not understood by southern voters and conservative Republicans is that they, too, will suffer by causing the collapse of the Detroit auto industry.

It's not only northerners whose non-auto industry jobs will be lost in the fallout. Those millions of former taxpayers on welfare, food stamps and unemployment and those around the country, including even the south, who will be dragged down with them, WILL NOT be buying those Japanese cars and trucks being manufactured in those taxpayer-subsidized southern plants.

People won't have the money, won't be able to obtain credit, and won't have the consumer confidence that enable such major purchases.

So all those high-paid UAW people Republican conservatives want to destroy will be merely the BEGINNING of the calamity.

We cannot afford at this time to have high-wage people lose taxpaying jobs while America’s largest employer, Walmart, according to their own internal report, pays wages so low that 43% of their full-time workers are on welfare and food stamps.

Blagojevich? Emanuel? Is that anything?

Don — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:42:47 EST

Blagojevich? Emanuel? Is that anything?

The FBI tapes may end up proving that Emanuel’s talks with Blagojevich only related that the President-Elect would offer the governor nothing more than “appreciation” for nominating one of then-Senator Obama’s “acceptable” candidates. Unless Emanuel “went rogue”. All stay together, and all hang together -- that's how they play it in the big leagues. Over the weekend, Mr. Emanuel apparently sent out his personal operatives – his ‘emissaries' – to put out his own SPIN on his alleged contacts with governor Rod. That would seem to point out that he’s the “weak link” – the person who screws up, then tries to protect himself at the expense of the team. His refusal to go to work last week was suspicious enough.

Innocent people don’t have to BREAK RANKS with their fellow patriots, shun the office so they don’t have to look into the eyes of their colleagues, or hide from the press, rather than just smile at the cameras and say “the Team will have something to say at the appropriate time”.

In addition to that, I do not understand why – if news reports and his statements are true – Mr. Emanuel would be getting threatened, or by whom. Regardless whether he is honest or dishonest, I don’t understand that at all – it seems illogical. Was he lying when he said that? Was the reporter lying about him having said that? I’d like some information on that.

You may not appreciate my questions, especially regarding the alleged claim of alleged threats, but I am someone who has been paying attention. Also, I have a very long memory, especially of politics.

I was just a kid more or less during the 80’s, but right then I was asking why we were crazy enough to be capitulating to the Japanese automakers. I seemed to be the only one in the 80’s who articulated that it was absurd for American automakers to keep making rounds of layoffs of tens of thousands of American autoworkers and then wonder WHY their sales continued to fall. “Who do they think are buying their cars?”, I asked. “The workers who build the cars are their best customers” I argued, “With their wages, they are the ones best able to afford them.”

More than twenty years ago, I could see that you can’t keep putting tens of thousands of your best customers out of work and then wondering why your sales keep declining. If a mere kid could see that over twenty years ago, why can’t beyond-middle-aged voters understand that now? American voters in general have very short memories.

There’s a reason they used to say “what’s good for GM is good for America!” Those workers made good wages. They paid equally large TAXES. They bought only American cars. They spent money only at American businesses that sold only American-made goods and services. One dollar spent on an American-made car meant eight-teen dollars (give or take a dollar) spent in America, to other Americans who paid TAXES in America. It pumped up the economy and created jobs for many AMERICANS.

Right now, we are at best buying cars made at plants in the south owned by Japanese companies that pay LOW wages, sending ALL the money we spend to Japan. Those low-wage workers spend all their meager income at WalMart. That money goes straight to China, where it creates more jobs – in China. Those workers reportedly make 9 cents a month. Do we want to “catch up” with them?

WORSE, when all those high-paid Detroit autoworkers lose their jobs, they will go right onto welfare, unemployment and food stamps. The rest of us will be paying ALL the taxes to support them.

I am terrified at the prospects of MY income decreasing due to the lack of customers directly and indrirectly linked to the Detroit autoworker economy. I am horrified that I will make LESS money but have to PAY MORE to support the government assistance to those people who should have been able to keep their jobs and PAY TAXES alongside the rest of us.

Rather than CUT the wages of union workers, Republican politicians should be RAISING the wages of the rest of American taxpayers, and NOT putting Americans out of work.

Southerners Don't See They Will Go Down With Us, Eventually

Don — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:59:26 EST

What's the most important detail not understood by southern voters and conservative Republicans?
That they, too, will suffer by causing the collapse of the Detroit auto industry.
It's not only northerners whose non-auto industry jobs will be lost in the fallout. Those millions of former taxpayers on welfare, food stamps and unemployment and those around the country, including even the south, who will be dragged down with them, WILL NOT be buying those Japanese cars and trucks being manufactured in those taxpayer-subsidized southern plants.
People won't have the money, won't be able to obtain credit, and won't have the consumer confidence that enable such major purchases.
So all those high-paid UAW people Republican conservatives want to destroy will be merely the BEGINNING of the calamity.
Moreover, those newly unemployed UAW members will have to head south, where, with their experience and new-found openness to accept lower wages, they will be the first to get hired at those soon to open Japanese plants if and when they do open. Even those openings in the works will be substantially delayed by the ongoing economic crisis.
But when those UAW people get down there and get the chance to vote, they won't forget which party is to blame for what they will be continuing to go through.
They will continue to vote for Democrats. That will increase the trend toward Red states turning into Blue states that start in 2008.
That, along with Republican tactics, will further ensure that the GOP becomes, for two generations, the party of Appalachia, Utah and Texas -- completely insignificant within the current Electoral College system.
Having just left the GOP last month to become an Obamican, or Independent in 8 years, that's a chance I'm willing to take.
Rather than trying to cut the pay of people who tend to vote for Democrats, those Republican politicians ought to be working to increase the pay of the rest of us. That's the only way we will BE ABLE to buy those Japanese cars over the next five years -- including two federal election cycles.

Blackberry Problem Solved -- Seriously

Don — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:03:05 EST

The President-Elect's communications are recorded and published, so he can't chat candidly on his own, but he can still keep in touch.

He has a close friend who is his new personal assistant. He can chat privately with his assistant, who can chat on his own personal Blackberry, which is private. What Obama's friends tell his assistant -- who is their mutual friend -- also is private. Use of such a go-between renders all that back and forth as mere gossiping, which, if not done on the President's phone or computer are entirely private.

The President's personal, in-person talks with friends can no more be public than the particulars of the bedtime stories he reads to his children. If some word of that got around "through the grape vine" through private channels, that's not the Peoples' business. Likewise, if information somehow gets back to him through a friend when that person just happens to be in the presence of the President, that, too, is his personal business.

President Obama can even sign a rule making it illegal for White House staff and also administration officials to profit from revealing what they learned during their work.

Federal Agent Insults All Illinois Citizens

Don — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:33:06 EST

99.9% of Illinoisans are law-abiding citizens. People who work hard and pay taxes should not be labeled corrupt by federal law enforcment officials, as was done in the announcement of the charges against the governor. Since that official has such a low opinion of Illinois and such a disdain for the citizens he should RELOCATE. At the very least, he should apologize and be fired.

Republcan Senator Ted Stevens is a seven-time convicted federal felon. Republican Senator Norm Coleman is a common criminal who merely hasn't been charged yet but has committed the crimes Rod has been charged with conspiring to committ. Are Alaska and Minnesota "corrupt" states? Should all their citizens be tarred because they've sent a few bad apples into elected office?

Admittedly, Alaska nearly re-elected Stevens, so virtually half of them actually ARE corrupt, one could argue.

Madigan's Blagojevich Blunder

Don — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:23:31 EST

Too bad Madigan didn't take a little time to think through her "evil plan" before acting.
She and other legislators could have drafted some legislation to be passed upon the Governor's temporary removal, and reach an agreement with the deputy governor on who would be appointed to the Senate once Rod's out of the way. Those could be acted on by the deputy governor immediately upon taking over, since it's likely that an appeal by Blagojevich would quickly see him back in his office holding things up once again.
If this wasn't just about furthering Madigan's chances of being elected governor, she would have done that and more. But like Rod's actions, Madigan isn't putting Illinois first because she's too busy looking out for herself.
Beyond that, even a layman can see that the Illinois Supreme Court would be as crazy as Blagojevich to jump into this mess this early in the game. It might set a precedent so that in the future any unpopular governor could have his tenure ended by his politic opponents filing a lawsuit, which is all Madigan has done.
He's not physically disabled, and though it appears so there is no scientific evidence that he is psychologically unfit. There is an unprecedented but good argument that under the circumstances he can't function because his most important business is appointing a Senator and the Senate is unlikely to seat his appointee, but she should have gotten affidavits from 51 Senators attesting to that -- 41 if you want to consider a filibuster. Because of the other claims in the complaint, his other actions, especially finance related, might be considered to be furthering a "crime spree". The weakness in the "inability to function" argument is that the fool keeps going to the office, apparently completing at least minor functions of his office.
Bottom line: I want him out of office, but even I can see Madigan didn't take time to plan this out. The court is likely to decline to take up the case. If they do hear it, there is a chance they could find in favor of the governor, which would further add to the perception that Illinois is lax on crooks in office.

How to roll back Bush's last minute law changes

Don — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:49:59 EST

While President Obama won’t be able to simply undo every one of the midnight hour presidential signings President Bush is using to change American laws, there is a way to render them meaningless. I would suggest that Obama can simply “amend” Bush’s rules by signing new rulings that create laws or rules contradictory to those made by the previous administration.

Example: Bush says agencies can decide for themselves when to consider endangered species in their decisions on construction and other matters. Obama then states that after an agency makes it’s determination it must then submit that finding to the same body it used to have to go through for the same review process as before.

As for the sale of lands and oil drilling rights, it may be true that the federal government would have to buy back those contracts. However, what Obama could do is sign an order rescinding the sales. That way, the process is quicker and the owners don’t get to negotiate a higher price than what they paid.

Congress would have to legislate to overrule Bush’s changes, and right now Republicans can filibuster in the Senate. Yet, the same is true for Obama’s rule changes. The incoming Congress of Democrats won’t overrule changes that render meaningless the rules made by Bush, and even future Republican Senates can be filibustered by Democrats – in fact, there are some Republicans who don’t want oil companies to rape the land.

Senator Vitter the whoremonger claims moral high ground?

Don — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:14:19 EST

David Vitter the Republican Senator who confessed to being a regular patron of a whorehouse, is trying to claim he's on the moral highground by taking a stand against the workers. The Republicans have once again campaigned saying they are for working people, only to turn against workers right after the election. Those autoworkers are American taxpayers and it's far better for the country for them to keep working and paying taxes than to be unemployed and on welfare, food stamps and unemployment. Because they tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats (I wonder why) the Republicans are trying to financially kill them -- but this will take the rest of America down along with them. More petty politics. Republicans didn't learn anything from their losses in 2006 and 2008 elections.

Republicans Play Politics While America Burns!

Don — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:52:51 EST

Or was that "Nero fiddles while Rome burns"? Well, whatever.

So much for "Joe, the Guy Who Works for a Living".

As has been the case all my life, as soon as the election is over the Republican party screws the people it promised to work for during the campaign. That's been no surprise to me for a long time now.

What still confounds me is that there are still tens of millions of people possessing the right to vote in American presidential elections who don't have enough working brain cells to understand that. They fall for it every time.

Fortunately, this time there are enough of us -- people who think for ourselves, rather than rely on Fox Noise to tell us what to believe -- that we overruled the zombies.

Even now, the party in power when the government spent $13 trillion more than it took in now claims that the Detroit automakers don't know how to manage money.

Highest unemployment rate since 1982 -- when Ron Reagan was president!

Even as America is showing them out the door, Republican politicians are nutty enough to be 'warning' the President-Elect about what he should and should not do with respect to the economy.

As they lick their wounds after spending $13 trillion dollars more than they took in, they now are stammering on about being for fiscal responsibility.
It would be funny, if it weren't so serious.

McCain says Bush, Rumsfeld committed war crimes

Don — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:10:46 EST

Senators John McCain and Carl Levin -- after the election -- published a finding cited in a Washington Post article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121101969.html?hpid=topnews

They stated unequivocably that the orders to tortune prisoners of war were issued from the top of the Bush administration, beginning with an order Bush signed in February 2002.

Next year, George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their chief assistants should be arrested and turned over to the World Court at The Hague, where they should stand trial for crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Convention.

Their actions have made it a certainty that American soldiers captured in future conflicts by enemies WILL be tortured. Unless decisive action is taken by the appropriate authorities, the world will ignore our cries of outrage.

Americans cannot afford failing to repudiate the lawlessness of the Bush administration, which according to Republican Senator John McCain, has "strengthened the hand of our enemies".

As I have always said, we cannot succeed in our fight against terrorism by BECOMING terrorists. George Bush's conduct goes directly against everything Americans stand for -- at least "Real Americans".

By issuing those illegal orders to our soldiers, while writing decrees declaring those orders to be legal, Bush has made himself a criminal of unprecedented notoriety around the world. Only by delivering him to justice in an unprecedented manner can America restore claims of being a land where justice prevails.

The minds of American children have been damaged by the impact of Bush's immorality. How can we teach them that America is ruled by the Constitution and that we abide by the international treaties we sign, while tolerating Bush's blatant violations of the Constitution and the Geneva Convention, of which we are a signatory?

Lastly, every officer who obeyed and passed on those illegal and immoral orders must be court-martialed, as required by the United States Code of Military Justice. We didn't excuse the conduct of Nazi officers who claimed they were "just following orders", and neither can we afford to do so with our own.

Mr. Bush's two terms have been sad days for America. He has destroyed our economy. Let us not allow him to destroy our Constitution, our Justice System, and our military as well.

Even Richard Milhouse Nixon didn't believe he was THIS far above the law.

Blagojevich's state of mind

Don — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 11:02:25 EST

The President--Elect could open his remarks today by saying, "Look,... how was I supposed to know Blagojevich was crazy? And by "crazy" I don't mean mentally ill. I mean CRAZY. Only a crazy man would do what he is alleged to have done."

Then promise to have more to say about the matter tomorrow and leave the room.

Barack Obama has nothing to explain. The governor called him a "motherf@#$er" who "won't give (the govenor) anything but (his) f@#$ing appreciation", then said "f@#$ (him)".

Before Obama enters the room his aides should pass out a copy of that part of the criminal complaint to put his remarks in perspective.

He has absolutely nothing to explain. The guy who apparently did something said on FBI tape that Obama didn't do anything. Until something different happens, he doesn't need to do anything but remind everyone of that fact.

Just like in the last months of the campaign whe Obama kept saying, "McCain said that 'if we keep talking about the economy, we'll lose',... that's why I keep talking about the economy."

3 things he COULD have said about Blagojevich

Don — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:02:49 EST

Why didn't Barack Obama just say something less 'conventional' when asked about the arrested governor?
I wish he had said: "I want to thank the governor for his kind words... not the ones where he called me an unspeakable name, but the ones where he said I didn't participate in his schemes"
Or: "No one has ever been so happy to have been insulted than I am after hearing the governor's words."
Or: "I've never been so glad to NOT know about something."
When they play the soundbites that's funnier and more dismissive of the entire matter. After reading the quotes in the actual complaint -- yes, I read the entire complaint -- that's really all the President-elect needed to do. There was nothing left for him to confirm or deny.

The Fox Noise political operatives who tell the fascists who have hijacked the Republican party what to believe would not be able to so easily twist any of those quotes the way they have what he actually said. For people who don't think for themselves -- the Faux News watching zombies -- it's not what Obama says, but what the political operatives CLAIM he said that counts. He has to think about their likely talking points before making sound bites.

On the other hand, if he'd followed all my advice, he never would have gotten elected. For example, after those remarks by Rev. Wrong (Wright) I thought it was over. After the election, for the first time I viewed Obama's speech on race, on youtube, because I had to see what on earth he possibly could have said to get himself out of a jam like that. Turns out the truth was all it took.

THE CRISIS IN DETROIT

Don — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:50:00 EST

No car czar named by the same man who appointed those who drove our economy into the New Great Depression. When the first Great Depression occurred, America was not in two wars and was not buried beneath $13 trillion dollars in debt (counting the trillion Bush gave to Wall Street). A "Bush-named car czar is a non-starter".

Those who have run the big car companies into the ground deserve to face consequences -- so, too, do those who ran Wall Street into the ground, including the Bush administration and the Republican party deregulators. Bush and those who helped him rape the American economy are not the ones who should decide what those consequences are -- they are only trying to take the spotlight off their own failures and Mr. Obama needs to do what he did during the campaign -- point out their smokescreen.

The big banks we gave all that money to should be strongly asked by President-Elect Barack Obama to go in and try hard to work out a deal to loan the automakers the money they need, at least for three months until Obama is inaugurated and has time to find a long term solution. Obama should suggest that those bankers "will be sorry" if they don't try very hard to work out reasonable terms. Maybe the free market can ease the transition, especially after we gave Goldman Sachs $10 billion and they turned around and passed out $6.5 billion in "bonuses". Bonuses for what? Going bankrupt. After we gave Citigroup $50 billion then they turned around and fired 75,000 workers right before Christmas.

Mr. Obama should publicly excoriate the Republican senators for playing politics with America's future by refusing to bail out the autoworkers for purely political reasons. Republicans campaigned on the false claim that they were all about helping "Joe the Plumber", but now they are working hard to financially ruin "Joe the autoworker because: 1. they are union workers who tend to vote for Democrats (and now we see why), and 2. southern Republicans believe that if Detroit goes out of business Japanese automakers will build more plants down south.

Republicans are again betraying ALL Americans who work for a living, right after rushing to pump nearly $1 trillion directly into the pockets of the wealthiest 1%. They forced us into giving $12 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthiest 1% before that. Now they are killing "Joe the guy who MANUFACTURES things, which America does far too little of already.

Further, it would take the better part of a decade before any cars come out of any new southern auto plants. The Japanese will take two years to THINK before deciding to build more plants here or anywhere in this economy (or any economy, that's how they operate). They will take another two years milking tax abatements and other subsidies from American taxpayers by letting southern states "compete" for the plants, one plant at a time. It takes two to three years to BUILD a plant once that's all agreed to. As much as a year to dry run things, making sure the process works by building test cars before pumping out any cars for sale to the public. That's seven to eight years of absolute misery for all Americans while the southern Republicans get their non-union workers.

Mr. Obama should lobby hard for legislation prohibiting ANY tax abatements or other subsidies by any state or local governments for businesses. Why? Those subsidies directly hurt taxpayers and the overall economy by: 1. Paying corporations to move from one town to another, which is of no benefit to the overall economy. If they want to relocate, they should do it with their own money, then they will only do it if it makes sense to their operations. Taxpayers should not be forking out money to shift existing jobs from one American town to another American town. 2. Foreign comanies who decide to build plants in America should not be subsidized. They want to manufacture their products here because it is of financial benefit to them -- they avoid currency exchange costs. Why PAY them for doing something they already NEED to do? Giving them taxpayer money to entice them to build plants in one American town rather than another is of no benefit to the overall American economy, and it directly takes money out of the pockets of American taxpayers who must make up for the losses in government tax revenue. Don't pay foreign companies to do what's already in their best interests -- let them pay their own way.

Tax abatements to corporations are un-American and they harm local, state and national economies. Rather than subsidize individual companies, LOWER taxes for ALL taxpayers, or keep rates where they are -- isn't lowering taxes what those Republicans claim to be for?

KEEP ALL THOSE CAMPAIGN PROMISES

Don — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:48:36 EST

Now is the time for bold and decisive action -- not a rethinking of Obama's priorities. America thought over Obama's priorities for two very long years and now is the time to ACT.

The economy was crashing before and during the election and America elected Mr. Obama, so the bad economy is NO EXCUSE for failing to fulfill Obama's promises. The worst thing Obama can do for the economy is be reluctant to do everything he said he'd do -- he must do it all, and be quick about it.

Work to do everything Mr. Obama pledged to do right away -- in the first 60 days of his term. Why? America somehow elected Barack Obama AFTER two years of Republicans and rival Democrats arguing that we shouldn't let him do what he said he'd do. Obama won, by a landslide of electoral votes -- he has both a mandate and an obligation to carry through on his promises. He didn't get elected on some Nixonian "secret plan". American took two long years coming to terms with Obama's proposals, and we bought into it. I didn't really like some of Mr. Obama's promises, but after a lifetime of voting Republican I voted for Obama -- and all his policies.

One good example is cutting taxes for 95% percent of working Americans AND repealing the Republican tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1% -- those who don't work at all. Republicans will argue that "raising taxes during a recession is the worst thing we can do." Then, when Obama turns things around and gets the economy going again, Republicans will argue that "raising taxes during a soaring economy is the worst thing we can do." It's the same tired old Republican disingenuous argument that America finally rejected in November 2008. Should Mr. Obama fail to immediately strike while the iron is HOT -- while he has this resounding mandate that's fresh in the minds of all Americans -- Obama will lose this opportunity forever.

This is the only moment ever where Barack Obama can do the things he promised to do, and he probably won't be reelected if he doesn't manage to get the job done. Right now, we will have two or three years for things to shake out and level off before the next election cycle. This is the time to take those very bold steps, before Congression Democrats lose what little resolve they have.

Obama will probably have to publicly tell Democrats that they will either vote like Democrats or else when they need money for reelection campaigns they need not line up at the Obama money trough. If they want to show the voters how "independent" they are, they way congresspeople like Marcy Kaptur did right after Clinton took office, they should expect that some NEW candidate will be receiving money from me and others who donated money to the Obama phenomena when it comes time for them to run for reelection.

We need to pick out five or six week Republican senators and fund a recall drive against them. If they have to essentially run for reelection in the middle of their term they and others won't be so quick to do what they always do -- vote against America as represented by a Democratic President merely for the sake of petty politics.

Economy and the opposition

Don — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:47:03 EST

President Obama should not accept ANY advice on the economy from Mr. Bush and the Republicans whom America has convicted in November of destroying the economy by creating the current crisis.

That Republicans are "warning" Obama on their way out the door as to what he can or cannot do is LAUGHABLE, and Obama should publicly castigate them on that issue. They are seeking to rerun the election they lost, and if they want to continue to play politics Obama must call them on that every day in press conferences. Obama WON the election and if Republicans want to continue arguing that they have any authority on economic matters then that is precisely the fight Obama should take them up on. He won that fight and it's the perfect battle to keep in the forefront of American politics during the transition and pretty much his whole first term -- especially while he's using his mandate to keep all those promises he made.

Republicans spent two years losing that war and if they want to spend eight more years losing then they only rational thing for Obama to do is to let them. Help them.

It's how the political office is used that's really important

Don — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:22:24 EST

The Office of Political Affairs is like any other tool -- it's value or detriment depends on whose hands control it. Reagan and Bush used the office with bad intentions, using heinous tactics, and to literally evil ends.
Now the Office of Political Affairs will be used properly, for the benefit of the American people in the Obama Administration. We have seen in Obama a man who behaves differently from other politicians. He doesn't operate out of the small-minded, abusive motivations of Bush, Rove, Reagan and Rollins.
We mustn't let our memories of the past abuses of the Office of Political Affairs by the Republicans color our perceptions of the future uses of the office.

Way to get beyond the "Clinton Problem"

Don — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:02:31 EST

The Clintons are not in talks with Obama's team because the Clintons are not team players. They have, from the beginning, made every effort to steamroll their way into the position of Secretary of State through leaks of false information to the press that supports her goal while undermining Obama.
The President-Elect needs to bite the proverbial bullet and flat out say that ALL "candidates" for the position must submit to the same vetting process and that the process evidently is too rigorous for the Clintons and that the country's need to get the process completed quickly means he must name someone else immediately.
With the Clintons causing this much trouble now, Obama must realize that should he name her, he will have absolutely NO control over anything related to foreign policy, plus she WILL leak defense and homeland security information to advance their interests.
It's time to wrap this thing up and call it the mistake it has been. Every President makes some mistakes, and life goes on if they don't let them grow and fester.

Mandate For Change

Don — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:42:10 EST

In the context of the current transition process, I am advocating for a more forceful attitude from Barack Obama on pushing through his agenda. Our agenda.

How should he do it? What will stand in his way? What can WE do about it?

I examine the real reasons we arrived at this point and what it means.

Call or write your Senators TODAY!

Chris in West Seattle — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:00:53 EST

The full Democratic Caucus is set to vote on Joe Lieberman's Chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee next week. Write to your Senators, or call them, today!

Here's what I sent to WA Senators Murray and Cantwell today:

Dear Senator Murray: First, thank you for visiting our Canvassing Kickoff with Howard Dean and Governor Gregoire on the Saturday before the Election!

I am writing, as a constituent from West Seattle, to beg you on bended knee to vote to remove Senator Joe Lieberman (Joe Lieberman for Joe Lieberman party, CT) from his chairmanship of the Homeland Security committee when the Democratic Caucus convenes next week to vote on this issue. While I'm sure you're receiving plenty of emails, letters, and phone calls from constituents urging Sen. Lieberman's ouster from his committee Chair assignment for more partisan reasons (and his broken promise that he would support Senator McCain's candidacy, but refrain from attacking Senator Obama, is certainly a breach of faith with the Party, the Caucus, and his own word), there's something just as important to consider, if not more so:

Joe Lieberman has been incredibly ineffectual in his role as chair of the Homeland Security committee - particularly when it comes to the role he, and the committee, were supposed to play in standing up to the shameful actions of the Bush White House during these past years. Unlike its much more effective and active counterpart in the House, the Committee, under Joe Lieberman, failed to challenge the Bush Administration on its failures and offenses on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the "war on terror", torture, Hurricane Katrina, and a host of other issues the Committee was charged to oversee and investigate. It could be argued that Joe Lieberman's inaction as head of the Committee enabled and shielded a whole laundry list of failures of the Bush Administration, resulting in countless wasted tax dollars - and lives.

But there's ample reason to be suspicious, given his past behavior patterns, that an embarrassed, embittered Joe Lieberman may abuse his Chairmanship to "go after" the Obama Administration in a way he abjectly failed to do under the Bush Administration.

While Joe Lieberman's personal and political conduct during the Presidential election of 2008 (and his campaigning in support of other Republican candidates to the House and Senate in the recent past) are shameful enough, it's his dereliction of duty, lack of leadership, and failure to fulfill his role as chair of his Committee that should be the primary rationale for stripping him of his Committee assignment.

Let Joe Lieberman continue to caucus with the Democrats if he so chooses. Offer him Chairmanship of a different Committee - something that Mr. "Agreed with us on everything but the War" can be trusted with. But he's been an embarrassingly ineffective Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, and has failed at his duties in that role.

It's time to give someone else a chance to do a better job. If I dared to exhibit such lackluster performance and failure at my job, I would have been fired a long time ago.

Please vote to strip Joe Lieberman of his Committee Chair assignment.

Chris Roy

Precinct SEA 34-1545 / 34th District Democrats

---- 15th Avenue Southwest

Seattle WA 98136

206-_-__ nullemail@nullemail.com

UNITED STATES SENATORS

WEBMASTER — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:01:36 EST

Lamar Alexander + Wayne Allard + Max Baucus + Joseph Biden + Saxby Chambliss + Jack Reed + Norm Coleman + Susan Collins + John Cornyn + Larry Craig + Barbara Boxer + Elizabeth Dole + Pete Domenici + Richard Durbin + Michael Enzi + Lindsey Graham + Carl Levin + Chuck Hagel + Tom Harkin + James Inhofe + Tim Johnson + John Kerry + Mark Pryor + Jon Kyl + Mary Landrieu + Frank Lautenberg + Mitch McConnell + Sheldon Whitehouse + Pat Roberts + John D Rockefeller + Jeff Sessions + Gordon Smith + Ted Stevens + John Sununu + Jon Tester + John Warner + Daniel Akaka + John Barrasso + Amy Klobuchar + Herb Kohl + Joseph Lieberman + Jeff Bingaman + Sherrod Brown + Robert Byrd + Maria Cantwell + Benjamin Cardin + Ron Wyden + Thomas Carper + Robert Casey + Hillary Rodham Clinton + John Ensign + Dianne Feinstein + Orrin Hatch + Kay Bailey Hutchison + Edward Kennedy + Kent Conrad + Bob Corker + Richard Lugar + Claire McCaskill + Robert Menendez + Bill Nelson + Harry Reid + Benjamin Nelson + Jim DeMint + Bernard Sanders + Olympia Snowe + Debbie Stabenow + Jim Webb + Roger Wicker + Evan Bayh + Robert Bennett + Christopher Bond + Sam Brownback + Jim Bunning + Richard Burr + Tom Coburn + Mike Crapo + Christopher Dodd + Byron Dorgan + Russell Feingold + Chuck Grassley + David Vitter + Judd Gregg + Daniel Inouye + Johnny Isakson + Patrick Leahy + Blanche Lincoln + Mel Martinez + Ken Salazar + John McCain + Barbara Mikulski + Lisa Urkowski + Patty Murray + Barack Obama + Charles Schumer + Richard Shelby + Arlen Specter + John Thune + George Voinovich + John Warner + Thomas Carper + Jeff Bingaman + Charles Schumer + Thad Cochran

Say goodbye to Oil Companies

J. KRAKKER — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:16:28 EDT

I have worked on this project for 5 years. Having been offered a buy out to not build my automobile power plant. Investors from as far away as Japan have read my proposal and want it for themselves. I have refused to surrender the American Dream.
So I put this out to you Senator Obama, I believe in the direction you are going and so I put this in your very hands, and that of your supporters. I have created what I call a Transduced Engine. Originally I designed it to be in a motorcycle but the system is more suited for the auto industry.

The Transduced Engine uses no fossil fuels meaning NO GASOLINE, and has no emmisions. It is a sealed fluid dynamic worm drive system with compressed air charged system. I can state this, it changes the very direction of an electric Hybrid. The Transduced Engine uses a rail of compressed fluid drivers, and magna chargers that recharge the cars lightweight battery as it drives. Unlike hybrids my powerplant charges itself.

Why havent others invented it. Because people forget that small inventors are what MADE AMERICA, but if your not some Big 3 or famous scientist you could not possibly have an idea worth helping the world.

Reality is this Sir. My invention is the real deal it has no fuel injection, no spark plugs, no spark plug wires, no radiator fluid, no brake fluid, no exhaust pipes, cadilatic convertors, in short it looses the entire tradition of the gasoline and desiel engine.

It puts the Big 3 and the Oil Companies on the chopping block. I want to give my invention to our people, our America to show we are strong. My engine can be adapted to fit in any car, truck, bus or semi. My Transduced Engine would change the entire outlook on fossil fuels usage.

All it takes are those willing to accept change and make a differnce to grow with the times. The Transduced Engine would eliminate the need to drill for oil off our shores, and Alaska's wilderness.

It would though cripple the oil companies, and the Arabian Kings because we would not need them. My power plant could be ready for full production in a year. At 1/3 the cost that the Big 3 spend on fossil fuel or Hybrid engines alone. Being that my designs looses 1/2 of what they put into vehicles today.

Best Wishes Senator Obama on becoming our next President.

From John Kerry: Take the Fight to the GOP!

Henry M — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:34:27 EDT

The cynics can't wait for November because they think they can tell you the old rules still apply -- that no matter what Barack Obama says, no matter what Howard Dean fights for with his 50 state strategy, there really are red states where Democrats can't win.

Show the cynics they're dead wrong and turn these red states blue by electing Democratic Senators.

These are once in a lifetime races - incredible Democratic candidates in red states where voters are ready to punish the Roadblock Republicans for record gas prices, our planet in peril, our foreign policy in shambles, government corruption, corporate abuse and an economy that's unfair.

Elect these candidates and we get to 60 Democrats in the Senate -- and bury the politics of Bush, Cheney, Rove, and McCain and make a fresh start for our country.

So let's expand the map and play offense. It's time we go deep into Republican territory and aim for some Senate seats in states that Washington purveyors of conventional wisdom thought we wouldn't contest.

Follow this link to take the fight to them:

http://www.actblue.com/page/expandthemap

You know who I want to take on? The chief of the Roadblock Republicans himself, the Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in red-state Kentucky. Bruce Lunsford, a veteran of the Army Reserves, is running a strong race for universal access to affordable health care and a new course in Iraq, two of the many things Mitch McConnell has been instrumental in blocking progress on as Minority Leader. Defeating Senator McConnell would send the strongest message possible that we are done with the Republican policies and want a new direction.

Even deeper in the South in North Carolina, Elizabeth Dole has a big battle on her hands from Democrat Kay Hagan. Kay Hagan, a State Senator in North Carolina, was part of the effort to push North Carolina into a leadership role on using renewable energy sources, and she would fight to restore some fiscal sanity to Washington. With an energized Democratic Party in North Carolina, we can turn this seat and maybe even win this state for Barack Obama.

Colorado was a state that just a few years ago, everyone thought was turning red, but we have a chance, with Mark Udall, to turn it blue and set up a Mountain West base for the Democratic Party. Mark's been a great environmentalist in the House, and I know we can count on him as Senator to help us tackle the incredibly difficult challenge of energy and climate change.

And, in a state where no one thought a Democratic victory was possible, there's real hope for the candidacy of Scott Kleeb in Nebraska. Scott's a fourth-generation Nebraskan who nearly won an election in 2006 in one of the most conservative districts in the country, and he ran as a proud progressive. He's running against a Bush Administration Cabinet Member, trying to help stamp out Bush Republicanism in the heartland.

We can win these races and profoundly change the political course of our country, but only if you help. To win in these red areas, we need help from across the country. We need to work twice as hard to win here, but we can do it.

So please do what you can to help:

http://www.actblue.com/page/expandthemap

Let's keep on working to changing our country.

Thanks,
John Kerry

Like the man said, Take the Fight to the GOP!

Henry M

The Ongoing Fight On FISA

David C. — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:48:16 EDT

A friend of mine just sent me a couple of links telling me something amazing: despite majorities in both houses, Congress is on the verge of giving the Bush Administration what they want in terms of federal retroactive protection for all companies that do warrantless wiretapping for the government. The first link talks about the lobbying side of all this, while the second link is more an opinion post. I've got to say, while the CQ link is bad enough, the DailyKos link makes a very good point: that telecom corporations are essentially telling us that their legal fees trump concerns for national security, and they want Congress to chip in.

Help Sway the Superdelegates - Petition

Sherry — Sun, 04 May 2008 01:41:19 EDT

The website below will allow you to petition the superdelagates to endorse Obama. They are listed by individual states or by House, Senate, Black Caucus, or Red States. Please visit this site and begin petitioning those who are either uncommited or are endorsing Hillary.

http://www.eyesonobama.com/superdelegates/groups/group_47/

Obama '08 ~ Hill Pac

alyce rocco — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:02:01 EST

As per prior posts this is a partial list of Senator Clintons, aptly named Political Action Committee contributions:

Hill Pac 2006 Campaign Contributions
Akaka, Daniel K (D-HI)     $10,000
Brown, Sherrod (D-OH)     $10,000
Byrd, Robert C (D-WV)     $10,000
Cardin, Ben (D-MD)     $5,000
Carper, Tom (D-DE)     $10,000
Carter, John William (D-NV) $10,000
Casey, Bob (D-PA)     $10,000
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)     $10,000
Ford, Harold E Jr (D-TN)     $10,000
Kennedy, Edward M (D-MA)     $10,000
Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN)     $10,000
Lamont, Ned (D-CT)     $5,000
Lieberman, Joe (I-CT)     $10,000
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)     $10,000
Nelson, Bill (D-FL)     $10,000
Pederson, Jim (D-AZ)     $10,000
Radnofsky, Barbara Ann (D-TX) $5,000
Sanders, Bernie (I-VT)     $10,000
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)     $10,000
Webb, James (D-VA)     $5,000
Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI)     $10,000

Dame Clinton's outrage at Senator Kennedy for endorsing Senator Obama may have been due to her larger contributions to his campaign fund. Interesting look at politics we do not often seen reported in the news.

Two issues not spoken of!

Matt Meyers — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:27:06 EST

I live in northwest Ohio,Bowling Green actually.And last year the company i worked for moved our plant to Mexico.I had worked from the ground up for 6 years.I started as a assembly worker,and through tons of overtime,and hard work moved up to production manager.When I was laid off I was making 12.75 an hour with Health/dental,and 401k.Now the only job I could find for full time employment was for 7.00 an hour with no benifits.

I noticed in recent debates the discussion of illegal immigration was brought up by both parties.I think it is sad that we are talking about immigrant Americans as criminals seeing that is how we all started out here,with exception to "first Americans".The problem I see is not illegal immigrants taking jobs away,but American companies shipping jobs to countries to increase "bottom line"profits.This has not been brought up enough and I feel it is a huge problem.My grandparents both worked for Wagner Ware in Sidney OH. all their lives and retired from there.This seems impossible to do these days with the ability of companies to have foriegn workers do the job for pennies an hour in other countries.It takes the pride of employees and dreams and destroyes them.Instead of taking jobs away from immigrants I think we need to bring jobs back here and give everyone the chance to have a good paying job.

Next on my mind is these long running Senators running a campaign on what changes they are going to make when elected!I learned most of my understanding of politics from Mr. Russert,my mom(who lost her job and home after 9/11,she is a travel agent who lives in an apt. in Tampa just to keep her pention),and congress.org.I understand that congress makes laws not presidents,so if they were really to change america they have had plenty of time to do it.I almost feel like we are being played by Mc Cain and the likes.You had all these years to do something but failed to do so.Please if you can Mr. Obama let them know how we feel,and that we are not stupid enough to fall for these issues that they want to make relevent,instead of addressing the real problems.i find it hard to believe these senators think they can fool us.Sorry about my spelling and grammer I tried my best!

Undecided Democratic Senators - Superdelegates

Arese for Obama — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:28:53 EST

Contact information for the undecided superdelegates that are democratic senators (according to: http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegates-who-havent-endorsed.html) , we've included their website links from where you can mail them a message, and phone numbers...just for the last three we couldn't find contact information, if anyone does find it please let us know:

Senator (CA) Barbara Boxer https://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm (202) 224-3553

Senator (CO) Ken Salazar salazar.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm (202) 224-5852

Senator (CT) Chris Dodd dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3130 (202) 224-2823

Senator (DE) Joe Biden biden.senate.gov/contact/emailjoe.cfm (202) 224-5042

Senator (DE) Tom Carper carper.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-2441

Senator (HI) Daniel Akaka akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home (202) 224-6361

Senator (IA) Tom Harkin harkin.senate.gov/c/ (202) 224-3254

Senator (LA) Mary Landrieu landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm (202) 224-5824

Senator (MD) Ben Cardin cardin.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-4524

Senator (MI) Carl Levin levin.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm (202) 224-6221

Senator (MN) Amy Klobuchar klobuchar.senate.gov/emailamy.cfm (202) 224-3244

Senator (MT) Max Baucus baucus.senate.gov/contact/emailForm.cfm?subj=issue (202) 224-2651

Senator (MT) John Tester tester.senate.gov/Contact/ (202) 224-2644

Senator (NV) Harry Reid reid.senate.gov/contact/email_form.cfm (202) 224-3542

Senator (NJ) Frank Lautenberg l autenberg.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-3224

Senator (ND) Byron Dorgan http://dorgan.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-2551

Senator (OH) Sherrod Brown brown.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-2315

Senator (OR) Ron Wyden wyden.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-5244

Senator (PA) Bob Casey casey.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-6324

Senator (RI) Jack Reed reed.senate.gov/contact/contact-share.cfm (202) 224-4642

Senator (VA) Jim Webb webb.senate.gov/contact/ (202) 224-4024

Senator (WV) Robert Byrd byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html (202) 224-3954

Senator (WV) Jay Rockefeller rockefeller.senate.gov/services/email.cfm (202) 224-6472

Senator (WI) Herb Kohl kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html (202) 224-5653S

enator (WI) Russ Feingold feingold.senate.gov/contact_opinion.html (202) 224-5323

Senator (NM) Sen. Jeff Bingaman http://my.barackobama.com/bingaman.senate.gov (202) 224-5521

Fmr. Senator George Mitchell

Senator (DC)Michael Brown

Senator (DC)Paul Strauss

Democratic Party Rules should in the future bar sitting Senators from the nomination

SeniorMoment — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:59:32 EST

Only once in about every 40 years does a sitting Senator get elected President. Democrats repeatly lose Presidential elections when we nominate a sitting Senator. J. F. K. was the last sitting Senator to win the Presidency, and he was running against a previous disgraced Richard Nixon. Before that it was Republican Senator Warren Harding. We should bar Senators from seeking the Presidential nomination unless they resign from the Senate if campaigning longer than six months.

I can only speculate on why this bias against Senators exists among voters, but here are possibilities:

1) People feel Governors have proven their ability to management a government bureaucracy and have demonstrated at least some serious management talent, not just leadership.

2) People feel more strongly attached to their own Governor than to their often distant U. S. Senators.

3) To get anything passed, Senators have to vote for bills that may include provisions they disagree with, so they are easily attacked over their voting record.

4) Voters may simply feel that Senators are cheating their constituents out of services when they run for President.

5) By having to take binding sides on issues Senators make both friends and enemies, whereas Governors most often remain unknows outside their own states until running for President. Also, since Governors don't have legislative votes and do generally have competent cabinet members to run a state, their absence from office doesn't generally hurt a state's interests. But, if a Senator misses a vote it does matter, particularly to those affected by the vote.

6) Rules of the Senate lead to too much gentleness in campaigning style. For example John Kerry's Presidential loss may be due in significant part to ignoring false accusations against him for too long and also for not flat calling President Bush a liar when he lied about Iraq. Former Senators are much less handicapped by this habit of speech.

7) Since Senators deal with people from all over the U. S., especially fellow Senators, they can make political enemies who will either campaign against them in states they need to win for the general election or who will sit on the sidelines and not help. Governors mostly annoy just their own state's voters, and those voters most often want to increase the state's influence in preference to getting even with their Governor in the general election.

In the 2008 Election we Democrats are lucky that the Repubicans appear also to be nominating a Senator which will neutralize the disadvantage of nominating a sitting Senator, but we are not likely to be so lucky in future elections. We need to change the nominating rules.

UNITED FOR PEACE + JUSTICE = UFPJ Legislative Update friday july 6th 2007 = CONGRESS WORKS ON IRAQ WAR MONDAY--please call your senators + house members MONDAY at 202-224-3121 = END THE WAR = 160 BILLION REQUEST THIS WEEK??

Danielle Clarke USA Vietnam Vet — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 19:12:33 EDT

UFPJ Legislative Update "" DON'T MEND IT ' END IT ""
Friday, July 6, 2007

1. Sample Alert for Monday - Congress back in town to vote, vote, vote on Iraq2. National Legislative Conference Call - July 10
3. Iraq Cabinet approves hydro-carbon law
4. More voices Against the War

1.
Pelosi and Reid have promised many votes this month on Iraq-related measures. For the most part, we don't yet know the language of the measures that will get voted on, or exactly when in the next few weeks the votes will come. But, it is very important that they hear from us while they are focused on Iraq -- there is a sample alert at the end of this email that you can use to alert people in your district and state on Monday or later in the week.. [Warning: the alert sends people to our webpage, which will be updated by Monday with all the promised information]

2.
UFPJ Legislative Network
National Conference Call
Tuesday, July 10
9:00 pm eastern time

call this number: 605-990-0700 enter this code: 144801
this is a normal long distance call, there is not an additional charge for the conference call

3. Cabinet approves Oil Law
According to Reuters: " A draft oil law was approved on Tuesday by the cabinet of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and now must be debated in parliament. But a number of legislators from both sides of the Arab sectarian divide have halted their attendance".

4. Catholics and Mayors against the War
Thirteen Catholic members of Congress write to Catholic Bishops asking for help ending the war:
http://www.house.gov/delauro/press/2007/July/Catholic_Iraq_07_03_07.html
The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution calling on Bush to bring the troops home:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/06/26/2118/

++++=====+++++=====+++++
Sample Alert:
Subject line: Don't Mend it, END it!

Dear friend:
Congress returns from the 4th of July recess today, eager to confront Bush on the war in Iraq. Republicans are beginning to say publically that they have lost patience with his conduct of the war. With that political cover, more Democrats now will be willing to vote for troops to come home. Starting today, the Senate will begin to vote on amendments on the Iraq War, and the House will follow with a number of votes in the next weeks.

So why aren't we satisfied?

Too many members of Congress may support a troop reduction but settle for a modified version of the US occupation of Iraq. They may vote to bring 'combat' troops home, but """allow Bush to keep tens of thousands of U.S. forces in Iraq to fight terrorism, protect U.S. installations and train Iraqi troops""".

They are doing nothing to address the growing numbers of U.S. mercenaries involved in the occupation (mercenaries now outnumber troops in Iraq).

We are concerned that many members of Congress will be willing open the door to a permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq in exchange for the near term withdrawal of some troops. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Defense Secretary Robert Gates and some allies in the Bush administration are seeking to build bipartisan political support for a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq by moving toward withdrawing significant numbers of troops from Iraq by the end of President Bush's term" (July 3, 2007) This is a dangerous development.

Call your Senators and your Representative Today
Tell them:
I know you will be faced with a number of votes on Iraq in the near future.
I want you to support only measures that will bring all U.S. troops and military contractors home from Iraq immediately. Please don't allow any troops to be left behind.
Halfway measures to bring some troops home from Iraq are not acceptable -- A long term U.S. troop presence in Iraq will only de-stabilize the country and the region.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to reach their offices.
Find out who your Senators and Representative are HERE

Background:

The Senate will take up the $648 Billion Defense Authorization Bill this week, and will consider a number of Iraq-related amendments including troop readiness standards, timelines for combat troop withdrawals, revoking authorization for the war and more. The exact language of most of these amendments is not yet available, and we cannot be certain of the timing of the votes. We can be certain that the Senate will vote a number of times this week on Iraq, and they have to hear from us starting today!

Speaker Pelosi has promised that the House will vote on a number of Iraq measures in July, including combat troop withdrawal timelines, de-authorization, and a ban on permanent U.S. bases in Iraq. As in the Senate, we are not yet certain which bills will be brought to the floor for a vote, or when.

As specifics become available, they will be posted at http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=100 /

Looking Ahead
Votes in July on Iraq will be the prologue for a showdown on funding for the war in September. That's when Congress will vote on $145 billion for the Iraq and Afganistan wars. Congress will adjourn on August 3 for a month-long recess, giving peace activists across the country one last opportunity to make the case for an end to the war and occupation. Check http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?list=type&type=100 for resources and ideas for August actions in your state or district.

--
Sue Udry
Legislative Action Coordinator
United for Peace and Justice
301-565-4050 x315

CLICK READ MORE TO SEND EMAIL TO SENATORS::

Conversations with a Doubter - 4. OPPOSITION TO THE WAR

Dave from Atlanta, GA — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:26:20 EDT

QUESTION:

Senator Obama's opposition to the war at the beginning does not make me favor him over another candidate. The information used was not correct and given this information I think any person who voted for war did in fact make a prudent decision.

RESPONSE:

You know, you are totally wrong on this one. Several of the Senators currently running did know that there were grave doubts about the truth of the WMD justification for the war. They had the same intelligence available to them as the other 21 or so Senators who voted against the resolution authorizing the war. Most thinking people would know that the primary motive for those Senators with presidential ambitions then, was for them not to appear "weak on defense". The only thing they didn't know then was how unpopular the war would become. Obama on the other had showed great courage and the right values by speaking out forcefully against what he saw even then as an unjustified war, all this while running in a difficult campaign for the Senate. That sir is a mark of true leadership, which is categorically different from his Senate colleagues currently running.