Friday, March 07, 2008
Senator Clinton Brings NOTHING To Military Efforts
That's the view. Senator Clinton is in reality a FOREIGN POLICY LIGHTWEIGHT who has zero substantive experience that one can draw from. Barack Obama is in a better place to judge American Foreign policy.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Clinton Blueprint For Victory Would Tear Dems Apart
In today's Column, Washington Post columnist Chris Cillizza outlines what the Clinton Campaign considers its way to victory. It includes two actions that will drive the Democratic Party apart: 1) Clinton as fighter, which really means Clinton using racist means of campaigning, and 2) having Florida and Michigan count.
Look, I don't care what anyone else writes, Florida and Michigan are using their voters as tools to get what they want. That's smelly. Both states signed a contract and then violated that contract. So the voters should stay put and if they're pissed off about it, then they should throw their elected officials out of office.
Barack Obama's ahead -- deal with it.
Look, I don't care what anyone else writes, Florida and Michigan are using their voters as tools to get what they want. That's smelly. Both states signed a contract and then violated that contract. So the voters should stay put and if they're pissed off about it, then they should throw their elected officials out of office.
Barack Obama's ahead -- deal with it.
Obama Raised $55 Million In February - A Record
I just got this from the Obama campaign:
Zenophon --
I want to add some more news to David's note about the state of the race.
As you know, we've won 27 of 41 contests and have maintained our commanding lead among pledged delegates.
But today I want to share another staggering number: supporters like you donated more than $55 million to this campaign in the month of February.
That's a humbling achievement, and I am very grateful for your support.
No campaign has ever raised this much in a single month in the history of presidential primaries. But more important than the total is how we did it -- more than 90% of donations were $100 or less, and more than 385,000 new donors in February pushed us past our goal of more than 1,000,000 people owning a piece of this campaign.
From the beginning, this campaign has always been funded by a movement of grassroots supporters giving whatever they can afford. And unlike Senator Clinton and Senator McCain, we have never taken money from lobbyists or PACs.
Senator Clinton has decided to use her resources to wage a negative, throw-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink campaign. John McCain has clinched the Republican nomination and is attacking us daily. But I will continue to vigorously defend my record and make the case for change that will improve the lives of all Americans.
Despite your generosity in February, I need your help to continue this battle on two separate fronts.
Please make a donation of $250 today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/delegatemath
Thank you for your support,
Barack
Zenophon --
I want to add some more news to David's note about the state of the race.
As you know, we've won 27 of 41 contests and have maintained our commanding lead among pledged delegates.
But today I want to share another staggering number: supporters like you donated more than $55 million to this campaign in the month of February.
That's a humbling achievement, and I am very grateful for your support.
No campaign has ever raised this much in a single month in the history of presidential primaries. But more important than the total is how we did it -- more than 90% of donations were $100 or less, and more than 385,000 new donors in February pushed us past our goal of more than 1,000,000 people owning a piece of this campaign.
From the beginning, this campaign has always been funded by a movement of grassroots supporters giving whatever they can afford. And unlike Senator Clinton and Senator McCain, we have never taken money from lobbyists or PACs.
Senator Clinton has decided to use her resources to wage a negative, throw-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink campaign. John McCain has clinched the Republican nomination and is attacking us daily. But I will continue to vigorously defend my record and make the case for change that will improve the lives of all Americans.
Despite your generosity in February, I need your help to continue this battle on two separate fronts.
Please make a donation of $250 today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/delegatemath
Thank you for your support,
Barack
Charlotte Allen's WashPost Anti-Feminist Column Causes Firestorm
I first learned about Charlotte Allen's controversial column in a response writen by Alex Leo in the Huffington Post and titled "Charlotte Allen Is a Bigot", which is bound to get anyone's attention. But before I jumped on the Anti-Charlotte bandwagon, I figured I'd do two things: 1) read her column and 2) contact her.
I did both.
I got this response from Charlotte, who was kind enough to take the time to write back. Now, "CA" is her and "ZA" is me.
CA: Zennie:
I'll try to respond to your queries, but briefly:
ZA: I write a blog called Zennie's Zeitgeist
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com and I have a question for my post about
your column that has caused such controversy.
What was the movivating factor for writing it?
CA: Just fun--a friend of mine and I had been ventilating about all the dumb things women say and do.
ZA: Also, is there some discomfort with being a woman?
CA: I love being a woman?
ZA: In other words, what's wrong with essentially being how you're wired?
CA: Nothing--I'm not one of those gender studies types who believe that gender traits are all socially imposed.
ZA: Also, isn't it true that a lot of women aren't that way?
CA: Sure--I carefully pointed that out in the article.
ZA: I'm just curious. Also, did you expect to launch a controversy?
CA: I knew the piece would be loathed by many feminists, but not quite on this scale.
ZA: Would you still write the column if you knew it was going to piss off so many people?
ZA: It's been overwhelming trying to answer all the e-mails, but of course I'd do it. I refused to be intimidated by humorless politically correct types.
CA: Thanks! Hope this helps!
Actually, it does. I figured that Charlotte had -- as I told her -- her tongue way down her cheek when she wrote the column. I took the episode as something where she wanted to piss off a particular group of women who perhaps take themselves too seriously and she hit the mark -- bullseye.
Still, now there's a bullseye on her back. With so many calls for her head amoung the 1,000 comments and 10,000 blog responses, it will be interesting to see what happens to her. My bet is that she winds up on some TV show. Hey look, the WashPost editors must be loving this stuff. It's online churn of the first order.
I disagree with Alex Leo as I do think it was satrical and also balanced; not the divisive work Leo painted it to be.
NY Times Square Explosion - Biker Nearby Before Blast
The NY Post reports that a person on a bike acting suspiciously was seen just before a bomb went off at 4 AM EST today and wrecked a U.S. Military Recruiting Station there. No one was hurt and the person who did this is still at large.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Clinton / NAFTA - Campaign Told Canada's Ian Brodie Not To Worry About NAFTA
Once again the mainstream media screwed up a story. This one on NAFTAgate. It turns out that not just an Obama advisor talked to Canada's PM's Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie, but a Clinton Campaign representative did as well.
According to the Winnipeg Sun , Brodie said: "someone from (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt ... That someone called us and told us not to worry.”
Government officials did not deny the conversation took place."
This news makes the Clinton campaign's claims regarding Obama look hypocritical. Read this take from the ObamaBlog , and here's the whole story from the Winnipeg Sun:
OTTAWA — If the prime minister is seeking the first link in the chain of events that has rocked the U.S. presidential race, he need look no further than his chief of staff, Ian Brodie, The Canadian Press has learned.
A candid comment to journalists from CTV News by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s most senior political staffer during the hurly-burly of a budget lock-up provided the initial spark in what the American media are now calling NAFTAgate.
Harper announced Wednesday that he has asked an internal security team to begin finding the source of a document leak that he characterized as being “blatantly unfair” to Senator Barack Obama.
What is now a swirling Canada-U.S. controversy began on Feb. 26, when the usually circumspect Brodie was milling among droves of Canadian media on budget day in the stately old building that once housed Ottawa’s train station.
Reporters were locked up there all day, examining the federal budget until they were allowed to leave once it was tabled in the House of Commons at 4 p.m.
Since the budget contained little in the way of headline-grabbing surprises, some were left with enough free time to gather around a large-screen TV to watch the latest hockey news on NHL trade deadline day.
Brodie wandered over to speak to Finance Department officials and chatted amiably with journalists — who appreciated this rare moment of direct access to the top official in Harper’s notoriously tight-lipped government.
The former university professor found himself in a room with CTV employees where he was quickly surrounded by a gaggle of reporters while other journalists were within earshot of other colleagues.
At the end of an extended conversation, Brodie was asked about remarks aimed by the Democratic candidates at Ohio’s anti-NAFTA voters that carried serious economic implications for Canada.
Since 75 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S., Obama and Clinton’s musings about reopening the North American free-trade pact had caused some concern.
Brodie downplayed those concerns.
“Quite a few people heard it,” said one source in the room.
“He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt ... That someone called us and told us not to worry.”
Government officials did not deny the conversation took place.
They said that Brodie sought to allay concerns about the impact of Obama and Clinton’s assertion that they would re-negotiate NAFTA if elected. But they did say that Brodie had no recollection of discussing any specific candidate — either Clinton or Obama. CTV News Vice-President Robert Hurst said he would not discuss his journalists’ sources.
But others said the content of Brodie’s remarks was passed on to CTV’s Washington bureau and their White House correspondent set out the next day to pursue the story on Clinton’s apparent hypocrisy on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Althought CTV correspondent Tom Clark mentioned Clinton in passing, the focus of his story was on assurances from the Obama camp.
He went to air on Feb. 27 with a report that the Democratic front-runner had given advance notice to Canadian diplomats that he was about to engage in some anti-NAFTA rhetoric, but not to take it too seriously.
The report wound up on YouTube and caused an uproar in the U.S. race — influencing the final days of the critical Ohio primary, with every indication it will also play a role in the upcoming Pennsylvania vote.
Obama has been pilloried by his opponents and faced the most aggressive questioning of his heretofore smooth-sailing campaign.
Clinton used the story to cast him as a double-talking hypocrite — winking and nudging at Canadians while making contrary promises to American voters.
Republican nominee John McCain — who proudly dubs himself a straight-talker — has also seized on the incident to paint the Democratic front-runner as anything but.
When Obama’s campaign and the Canadian government denied the allegation, a leaked document was obtained by The Associated Press written by a Canadian diplomat. It chronicled a conversation between Obama economic adviser Austan Goulsbee and diplomats at Canada’s Chicago consulate.
The Obama aide has challenged the wording of the memo and says it characterized the conversation unfairly. A government official said that memo was initially emailed to over 120 government employees.
Harper has rebuffed opposition requests to call in the RCMP and also investigate the source of the original tip that led to the CTV report that triggered the diplomatic tempest. But a team of internal security agents has begun an investigation that will see dozens of bureaucrats and political staff questioned about their knowledge of the leak.
“This kind of leaking of information is completely unacceptable. In fact, it may well be illegal,” Harper told the House of Commons.
“It is not useful, it is not in the interests of the government of Canada — and the way the leak was executed was blatantly unfair to Senator Obama and his campaign.
“Based on what (investigators) find, and based on legal advice, we will take any action that is necessary to get to the bottom of this matter.”
NDP Leader Jack Layton is asking Harper to call on the Mounties to find out how the leaks occurred, and whether the Security of Information Act or any other privacy legislation was breached.
“There can be no doubt about it: the leak from within the Canadian government has had an impact now on the American elections,” Layton said Wednesday.
“That is about the worst thing a country could do to another country — to have an effect on their democratic process. . . If Mr. Harper isn’t willing to call in the RCMP that confirms our suspicion that this was intentional.”
Layton said Canadians would never accept Americans interfering in our elections, and we shouldn’t tamper with theirs. He said the incident is far more serious than another one last year in which the government called in the RCMP.
A temporary employee at Environment Canada was arrested in his office and marched out in handcuffs for allegedly leaking details of a government climate-change plan to the media.
Layton said that’s small potatoes compared with inflicting political damage on one of the three contenders to lead the world’s biggest superpower, and Canada’s neighbour and largest trading partner.
“He’s unwilling to treat it with the level of serious attention that he did when there was a junior bureaucrat at environment ... He called in the RCMP on that one.”
According to the Winnipeg Sun , Brodie said: "someone from (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt ... That someone called us and told us not to worry.”
Government officials did not deny the conversation took place."
This news makes the Clinton campaign's claims regarding Obama look hypocritical. Read this take from the ObamaBlog , and here's the whole story from the Winnipeg Sun:
OTTAWA — If the prime minister is seeking the first link in the chain of events that has rocked the U.S. presidential race, he need look no further than his chief of staff, Ian Brodie, The Canadian Press has learned.
A candid comment to journalists from CTV News by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s most senior political staffer during the hurly-burly of a budget lock-up provided the initial spark in what the American media are now calling NAFTAgate.
Harper announced Wednesday that he has asked an internal security team to begin finding the source of a document leak that he characterized as being “blatantly unfair” to Senator Barack Obama.
What is now a swirling Canada-U.S. controversy began on Feb. 26, when the usually circumspect Brodie was milling among droves of Canadian media on budget day in the stately old building that once housed Ottawa’s train station.
Reporters were locked up there all day, examining the federal budget until they were allowed to leave once it was tabled in the House of Commons at 4 p.m.
Since the budget contained little in the way of headline-grabbing surprises, some were left with enough free time to gather around a large-screen TV to watch the latest hockey news on NHL trade deadline day.
Brodie wandered over to speak to Finance Department officials and chatted amiably with journalists — who appreciated this rare moment of direct access to the top official in Harper’s notoriously tight-lipped government.
The former university professor found himself in a room with CTV employees where he was quickly surrounded by a gaggle of reporters while other journalists were within earshot of other colleagues.
At the end of an extended conversation, Brodie was asked about remarks aimed by the Democratic candidates at Ohio’s anti-NAFTA voters that carried serious economic implications for Canada.
Since 75 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S., Obama and Clinton’s musings about reopening the North American free-trade pact had caused some concern.
Brodie downplayed those concerns.
“Quite a few people heard it,” said one source in the room.
“He said someone from (Hillary) Clinton’s campaign is telling the embassy to take it with a grain of salt ... That someone called us and told us not to worry.”
Government officials did not deny the conversation took place.
They said that Brodie sought to allay concerns about the impact of Obama and Clinton’s assertion that they would re-negotiate NAFTA if elected. But they did say that Brodie had no recollection of discussing any specific candidate — either Clinton or Obama. CTV News Vice-President Robert Hurst said he would not discuss his journalists’ sources.
But others said the content of Brodie’s remarks was passed on to CTV’s Washington bureau and their White House correspondent set out the next day to pursue the story on Clinton’s apparent hypocrisy on the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Althought CTV correspondent Tom Clark mentioned Clinton in passing, the focus of his story was on assurances from the Obama camp.
He went to air on Feb. 27 with a report that the Democratic front-runner had given advance notice to Canadian diplomats that he was about to engage in some anti-NAFTA rhetoric, but not to take it too seriously.
The report wound up on YouTube and caused an uproar in the U.S. race — influencing the final days of the critical Ohio primary, with every indication it will also play a role in the upcoming Pennsylvania vote.
Obama has been pilloried by his opponents and faced the most aggressive questioning of his heretofore smooth-sailing campaign.
Clinton used the story to cast him as a double-talking hypocrite — winking and nudging at Canadians while making contrary promises to American voters.
Republican nominee John McCain — who proudly dubs himself a straight-talker — has also seized on the incident to paint the Democratic front-runner as anything but.
When Obama’s campaign and the Canadian government denied the allegation, a leaked document was obtained by The Associated Press written by a Canadian diplomat. It chronicled a conversation between Obama economic adviser Austan Goulsbee and diplomats at Canada’s Chicago consulate.
The Obama aide has challenged the wording of the memo and says it characterized the conversation unfairly. A government official said that memo was initially emailed to over 120 government employees.
Harper has rebuffed opposition requests to call in the RCMP and also investigate the source of the original tip that led to the CTV report that triggered the diplomatic tempest. But a team of internal security agents has begun an investigation that will see dozens of bureaucrats and political staff questioned about their knowledge of the leak.
“This kind of leaking of information is completely unacceptable. In fact, it may well be illegal,” Harper told the House of Commons.
“It is not useful, it is not in the interests of the government of Canada — and the way the leak was executed was blatantly unfair to Senator Obama and his campaign.
“Based on what (investigators) find, and based on legal advice, we will take any action that is necessary to get to the bottom of this matter.”
NDP Leader Jack Layton is asking Harper to call on the Mounties to find out how the leaks occurred, and whether the Security of Information Act or any other privacy legislation was breached.
“There can be no doubt about it: the leak from within the Canadian government has had an impact now on the American elections,” Layton said Wednesday.
“That is about the worst thing a country could do to another country — to have an effect on their democratic process. . . If Mr. Harper isn’t willing to call in the RCMP that confirms our suspicion that this was intentional.”
Layton said Canadians would never accept Americans interfering in our elections, and we shouldn’t tamper with theirs. He said the incident is far more serious than another one last year in which the government called in the RCMP.
A temporary employee at Environment Canada was arrested in his office and marched out in handcuffs for allegedly leaking details of a government climate-change plan to the media.
Layton said that’s small potatoes compared with inflicting political damage on one of the three contenders to lead the world’s biggest superpower, and Canada’s neighbour and largest trading partner.
“He’s unwilling to treat it with the level of serious attention that he did when there was a junior bureaucrat at environment ... He called in the RCMP on that one.”
OK. The Racists Have Had Their Day and Are Gone - Back To Work
Barack Obama was right: no matter what happens tonight, we're on our way to winning this nomination. Clinton did not do a freaking thing to close the delegate gap, and is still chasing her tail. The mainstream media plays this up for ratings: "Tune in next week to see if Obama can bounce back." But they're also -- the mainstream media -- fueled by ads purchased by companies that have lobbyists that give money to Clinton.
Those lobbyists have a vested interest in an Obama loss. And Clinton's not above playing up the racist fears of the country, fears that are prevalent in Texas and Ohio. I think Obama has done very well and still has the lead and the nomination is still his to lose. Obama went into two very racist states, Texas and Ohio, and came away with near victories when just two months ago the campaign was double-digits behind.
Now, the race is still Obama's to lose and he's holding serve.
Now we're leaving the place where anyone Latino who may be like that Texas woman I pointed out who was so openly racist are out of the way. But now we need a strategy to "out and destroy" the message of anyone who is racist. The Obama supporters and campaign need to crush them. Grind those sickos into a fine dust.
That's the next step. With that, Obama can continue on his path to winning the Democratic nomination.
Those lobbyists have a vested interest in an Obama loss. And Clinton's not above playing up the racist fears of the country, fears that are prevalent in Texas and Ohio. I think Obama has done very well and still has the lead and the nomination is still his to lose. Obama went into two very racist states, Texas and Ohio, and came away with near victories when just two months ago the campaign was double-digits behind.
Now, the race is still Obama's to lose and he's holding serve.
Now we're leaving the place where anyone Latino who may be like that Texas woman I pointed out who was so openly racist are out of the way. But now we need a strategy to "out and destroy" the message of anyone who is racist. The Obama supporters and campaign need to crush them. Grind those sickos into a fine dust.
That's the next step. With that, Obama can continue on his path to winning the Democratic nomination.
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