Obama's change means it's not just allies getting appointments. Instead he's forging a complex alloy cabinet.

If President-elect Obama chose his cabinet Secretaries from among his closest, long-time friends and asscociates he would hit the ground running with a known, trusted team but be accused of doing business the same way D.C. has been operating, of rewarding loyalty with political favors. It's almost certain that tomorrow Obama will formally designate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as his new Secretary of State while retaining Dr. Robert Gates atop the Defense Department, which detractors argue is a failure to engineer change in Washington. This speaks volumes about Obama's intentions.

Memo to the troops:

While there are other Pentagon appointments in the offing Obama is plainly endorsing the efficacy of Gates' approach and performance. The President-elect is sure to mandate examinations, including the procurement processes, but by retaining Gates he's giving a nod to the operational readiness and capability of the military. Obama's choice exhibits confidence in the Defense department's ability to carry out their missions - high praise for the work being done by the men and women who serve this country in uniform, while insuring a continuity that cannot pass unnoticed by those likely to provoke a military response and/or engage our armed forces.

Message to the world:

In contrast, the selection of Senator Clinton for the State Department signals Obama's philosophical preference for reliance upon the soft power of strong diplomacy. The (anticipated) Clinton nomination foreshadows his early focus will be on a makeover at State from top to bottom. Hillary and Bill Clinton already have considerable global standing and influence. This shrewd appointment nonetheless positions the Senator in a challenging management role with diplomatic responsibilities far afield from the domestic policy issues such as health care she is noted for championing.

Leaders and common people around the globe followed Obama's improbable political rise with extraordinary fervor. Selecting a rival to head his outreach effort not only signals his obvious intent to watch that department closely, this union also insures the regular, collaborative, "normalized" participation of a former President in Obama's diplomatic endeavors around the world.

Obama's challenge: re-engineering

Bringing major changes always provokes reactions from those who like the organization just fine the way it is. Try moving where the bread is in a grocery store and you'll find both staff and customers who resist. Now imagine the changes Obama envisions both within our borders and around the world: We've got people in the U.S. who think more government intervention will help immigration but less oversight is needed in the financial industry. Overseas, from drug profiteers to the Taliban bullies to pirates off the coast of Somalia, many want to exploit weakness while decrying the use of force by the United States and others fighting for fairness. Fortunately, peaceful co-existence, be it with your next-door neighbor or with a country steeped in traditions you don't understand, doesn't mean you have to kiss and like everybody.
What Obama has set out to build, both within his administration and ultimately throughout the world, is the best community possible. He seeks a composite in the mold that immigrants to North America and their descendants celebrate each November on the quintessentially U.S. holiday of sustainability: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving ultimately commemorates the unified strength and durability built when settlers to this nation cooperated with natives to prepare for and survive the adversity of winter. Years after the event a rebellious cadre of intellectuals crafted the document that still epitomizes the best of what our government stands for, even though that government has not always acted as though our leaders embraced what the Constitution spells out.

Peaceful coexistence with the neighbors down the block and around the globe starts with accepting that all people are, in fact, created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights.

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No way Hillary hit a home run with her speech. No how!

If you've heard that used as a metaphor for Senator Clinton's speech on August 26th in Denver, you've been misled (as so often happens with metaphors) and the Senator from New York's been done a disservice. While pundits love sports metaphors, and admittedly America loves a home run, in the rarefied, thin air last night what Hillary engineered and delivered was much, much more.

I spent the evening in one of the 30 precious seats reserved inside the arena for bloggers approved and credentialed though the Democratic National Committee. Not great seats, bloggers are not by any means treated with the same respect as established commercial media, and our access is controlled by well-meaning volunteers who don't seem to have the same answer one moment to the next, but one can measure and sense the crowd - and this crowd was ready for Hillary's night in the spotlight.

On the heels of a moment of silence for recently deceased U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio and a review of other friends no longer with us, from Ladybird Johnson to Shirley Chisolm, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont took the stage and started the process of looking forward. "From the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, to the Green Mountains of Vermont," the man who lives at the end of a dirt road in a community of fewer than 2000 people, the Senator who clearly understands what it means that 8 million rural Americans now live in poverty told us he's ready for the United States to "turn the page."

The crowd was totally involved and excited a short while later when Congressman Dennis Kucinich, earlier a candidate for the very nomination the Democrats are gathered in Denver to proclaim this month, talked about the reality of not moving the country from right to left (as political pundits tend to opine in sound-bites,) but rather from down to up. Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, after reminding us that he'd been in the Peace Corps himself decades previously, said his family had endorsed Senator Obama, "about five minutes in to the keynote speech in 2004." He called on the country to "Revive the spirit of [President John F.] Kennedy."

Steny Hoyer of Maryland listed the accomplishments that Democrats could take credit for with even the narrow majorities they'd attained in the U.S. House and Senate in the previous election, despite the fact that Senate Republicans remain in a position to frustrate progress. Janet Napolitano struggled to avoid berating McCain, but she did find that she could say something positive when McCain talked about the economy - she's "positive he doesn't understand the economy." Kathleen Sebelius advanced that point, noting that McCain favors renewing the Bush~Cheney agenda for another four years. Signs waved, and the increasingly packed house was full of a sense of anticipation during a series of well-crafted speeches. Massachusetts Governor Devall Patrick, noted for his association with Senator Obama, cited the progress his family had made in just one generation rising from such poverty that he didn't recall ever even owning a book as a child on the south side of Chicago. He segued into testimony for Obama's commitment to education, and fiscal responsibility to contrast and repair the effects of the largest expansion in Federal Government paired to the largest run-up of the Federal Debt in history under the present administration.

Perhaps the real high point before Senator Clinton took the stage was the animated, crowd-pleasing performance by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, clearly enjoying his rapport as the crowd responded with enthusiasm, at times chanting, "Four more months" to describe their readiness to see new faces in the White House. The excitement mounted amid rumors that the Denver Fire Marshall had decided to close the floor...

Then along came Hillary, greeted with thunderous applause and a sea of white banners bearing just her first name.

No way; no how; no McCain!

Senator Clinton's much anticipated speech was much more than a home run. Not only did she touch all the points that analysts told us she needed to as part of healing the rifts, she crafted and delivered a masterful endorsement built to make it clear to those who aren't fully behind Obama's candidacy that not only is she herself committed to getting him elected, but she expects them to participate whole-heartedly as well. Hillary reminded the delegates - and her supporters not present in Denver - that too much is at stake, from health care to basic human rights, to let this moment pass. A home run is a single moment that comes together serendipitously, often unexpectedly. Hillary Clinton built and unveiled an epic monument to the power of a unified party to change the course of the United States of America.

Watch the speech

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Obama Selection Of Caroline Kennedy To Seek VP Candidate May Spell End for Clinton

Senator Barack Obama asked Caroline Kennedy to head the effort to find a Vice Presidential candidate, and that move could spell the end for Senator Clinton's quest for the number two slot. The reason is simple: Ted Kennedy doesn't think Clinton would make a good fit, and has said so.

Kennedy is joined by Eric Holder, the former Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, and Jim Johnson, the man who ran John Kerry’s veep search.

The Clinton's have not pleased Ted Kennedy, first with the whole MLK and race-bating campaign they waged, and recently with her TERRIBLE gafe regarding RFK and assassination.

Again, the term today is Popularometer, and Clinton's -- both Bill and Hillary -- is at an all time low.

I also think what may have happened is that Clinton wanted Obama to immediately ask her to be her VP and he said he was going to form a search committee and have a process. I'll bet that's what happened and explains why she didn't concede. But it all boils down to her not getting her way.

I can see the needle on the Popularometer falling yet again.

Did Hillary Clinton miss her moment?

In real estate, it's "location;" in politics, it's "Timing, timing, timing!"

Senator Clinton had an optimum moment in terms of what impact her concession might have had, and the attention that was focused on her and her statement. Senator Obama managed even more gracious praise for her contributions and efforts as he spoke last night at the XCEL Center in St. Paul, Minnesota - and the crowd was with him in that sentiment, clearly. He held the 20,000 people inside the arena nearly transfixed, and they roared approval when he held forth on Senator Clinton’s strengths and character.

The press will not ignore whatever subsequent statements she makes - and obviously it’s premature for an outsider to suggest concession is the course of action she will follow - yet at this juncture it’s already clear that the effect and the interest are rapidly, moment by moment, diminishing.

There are many effective, influential women rising through the ranks of political influence, so others will run and win soon. But it is difficult to predict there will be another moment when Hillary might soar as high as she could have - should have - on Tuesday night.

Did Senator Clinton miss her moment? Yes, I'm afraid she did.

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Clinton Cackle Annoying This Four Year Old Kid - No Kidding

I saw this over at the blog Wonkette :

BY SEANIBUS AT 10/01/07 07:30 PM
I just played Slate's recording of the laugh and my four year old came tearing over to my desk and said "Please don't play that Ha Ha Ha thing again, daddy. It is annoying me."
I am not making this up.

TPM: Obama Spot On About Pakistan, Gives Washington Insiders Bellyache

Obama and Pakistan
08.09.07 -- 11:16AM

By Josh Marshall - talkingpointsmemo.com

I'm always interested to try to tease apart and find the meta-debates operating beneath the surface of campaign debates. As I wrote a few years ago in what I called the bitch-slap theory of GOP electoral politics, the whole swift-boat saga was less about the specifics of Kerry's injuries forty years ago than whether he could defend himself from the charges today. Someone who can't defend himself is weak; and if a guy can't defend himself he can't defend you.

That's what that whole song-and-dance was about.

So what is this back and forth about Obama and Pakistan about?

What this has boiled down to -- and this became even more clear after Tuesday night's labor-hosted debate, when Biden and Dodd acted as Hillary's proxies -- is Hillary, in league with the party's foreign policy establishment, trying to make Obama, implicitly or explicitly, concede an error, that he misspoke.

Precisely what he misspoke about is largely beside the point. The key is that they get him to concede that in the complex and serious world of foreign policy big-think, where words have consequences, he made an error. Of course, it's almost good enough if most observers decide that Obama screwed up. But once he concedes it himself, if he does, he stipulates from now through the end of the Democratic primary campaign that his inexperience in foreign policy is a basic premise of the campaign upon which the battle between him and Hillary will be waged. He can learn, improve, make progress, whatever, but his inexperience compared to Hillary will continue to be the reference point throughout.

But I think he's done a pretty good job so far refusing to get put in that box. And the truth is that I think Obama's actual words are so clearly unobjectionable that this is all Kabuki theater of a particularly strained and disingenuous sort. All Obama said was that if we have actionable intelligence about the whereabouts of high-value al Qaeda targets in Pakistan, and Pakistan won't act, we will act.

Clearly, no Republican can quibble with this. They're on the record for invading countries because they might become dangers to us at some point in the future. They're hardly in a position to disagree with Obama if he says we'll hunt down people who committed mass casualty terror attacks within our borders. And I'm not sure Democrats are in much of a position to do so either.

The unspoken truth here, I suspect, is that Obama has struck on the central folly of our post-9/11 counter-terrorism defense policy -- strike hard where they aren't and go easy where they are. I think everyone can see this. But Obama got there first. So they need to attack him for saying it.

YearlyKos - Hillary Clinton Says She Takes Lobbyists' Money - Barack Obama Fires Back

Senator Hillary Clinton came to the Yearly Kos convention to be around some friends -- including the Daily Kos which has taken $5,000 in weekly ad revenues from her -- and annouced controversially that she takes money from lobbyists, saying they represent "real Americans."

Wow.

Tell that to the millions of Americans who can't afford health care because of the health care lobby that gives money to Senator Clinton. How is she supposed to reform the American health care system with this track record? Fortunately, Senator Barack Obama didn't let her brazen comments go without an excellent rebutal, one that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Think I'm kidding? Look at this video:



Since then, her comments are the talk of the Blogsphere and Vlogsphere, too. And the vast majority of them are not favorable, as can be seen by this Huffington Post article . I think we've reached a turning point here, and it may be that Senator Clinton's biggest campaign wound was self-inflicted. We're in an American where people seem to want a fair and level playing field for all, and the presence of lobbying money rings fowl to many today, as lobbyists are seen more as the reason problems persist, rather than the agents of change.

Finally, Senator Clinton said that her presence at the convention brought a dose of reality. Really? As if Bloggers are off in a fantasy world, I guess.

Barack Obama's Call For A Change In Diplomacy - AP News

This article refers to the fact that Senator Clinton's shifted her position on this topic.

Obama Calls for Shift in Diplomacy - AP
By MIKE GLOVER 07.28.07, 1:25 PM ET

DES MOINES, Iowa -
Democrat Barack Obama cast himself Saturday as the leader the United States needs for it to stand up to and engage renegade nations such as North Korea.

'We need a president who'll have the strength and courage to go toe to toe with the leaders of rogue nations, because that's what it takes to protect our security," the Illinois senator told Democrats at a rally. "That's what I'll do as your next commander in chief."

Obama and rival Hillary Rodham Clinton have had a running argument since clashing in last week's debate over how far the United States should be willing to go in its diplomacy with countries such as Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.

After a viewer asked the candidates if they would be willing to meet with those nations' leaders, Obama said it was a disgrace that the U.S. won't hold talks with them. For role models, he invoked late presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan for their Cold War diplomacy.

Clinton, who has criticized the Bush administration for not engaging Iran and Syria directly, said she would not meet in the first year of her presidency with the leaders of those five nations, before knowing what their intentions were. After the debate, Clinton called Obama naive.

On Saturday, Obama said he would be willing to meet - without conditions - in the first year of his presidency with the leaders of those nations, contrary to "the chattering class" in the nation's capital who "want to focus, like they always do, on who's up and who's down."

Defending his position, Obama cited Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address saying that the nation must never negotiate out of fear, but also never fear to negotiate.

"I was called irresponsible and naive because I believe that there is nobody we can't talk to," said Obama, drawing loud cheers. "We've got nothing to fear as long as know who we are and what we stand for and our values."

Obama said his campaign was about "turning the page on a failed foreign policy and having the strength to engage our adversaries and protect American interests around the globe."

When dealing with renegade nations, Obama said, the Bush administration has mistakenly been led by a "guiding diplomatic principle" that it can punish a nation by refusing to talk.

"I am confident we can go before the world and talk to the worst dictators and tell them we don't believe in your values, we don't believe in your human rights violations, we don't believe in you exporting terrorism, but if you are willing to work with us in a better direction then we're willing to talk," Obama said. "We shouldn't be afraid."

Hillary's Flip Flop - Video Evidence By YouTuber "lovingj1"

2008 Presidential Election: CNN Shows Balance, Finally

After months of what I have pointed to as reporting bias, CNN's finally designing its news with balance. As of today, gone are the minutes upon hours of negatively-slanted reporting on Barack Obama and positively-slanted reports on Hillary Clinton. For example, I just saw a report detailing Senator Obama's donations and that about 1 percent come from people who purchased items.

The report ended up being a plus for Senator Obama.

Then, Wolf Blitzer's about to explain how John Edwards' wife reportedly said that Hillary Clinton's too much of a man. Well she said something more complex in Salon .

GEEZ! I personally don't like that take. Senator Clinton's breaking new ground. I'm an Obama suporter, but I'd never make a comment like that.

Well, at least CNN's focusing on the story. Before today, I thought CNN was blocking bad news about Hillary Clinton.

The Clintons and Indian Finance - A Number Of Stories

I received this email on the matter of the Clintons and the financial scandal claims invoving india. Here it is...

HILLARY CLINTON (D-PUNJAB)'S PERSONAL FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL TIES TO INDIA
The Clintons have reaped significant financial rewards from their relationship with the Indian community, both in their personal finances and Hillary's campaign fundraising. Hillary Clinton, who is the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, has drawn criticism from anti-offshoring groups for her vocal support of Indian business and unwillingness to protect American jobs. Bill Clinton has invested tens of thousands of dollars in an Indian bill payment company, while Hillary Clinton has taken tens of thousands from companies that outsource jobs to India. Workers who have been laid off in upstate New York might not think that her recent joke that she could be elected to the Senate seat in Punjab is that funny.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

PERSONAL HOLDINGS
2006: Bill Clinton Invested Tens of Thousands In An Indian Bill Payment Company. According to Hillary Clinton's personal financial disclosure form, as part his ownership of WJC Investments, LP LLC, Bill Clinton held between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of stock in Easy Bill Limited, an Indian company. According to the company's website, "Functioning as a one-stop bill payment shop, Easy Bill facilitates payment of utility bills as well as recharging of pre-paid mobile connections at a place the consumer is already familiar and comfortable with the neighbourhood store." In addition to providing terminals throughout India where customers may pay their bills, the company also maintains a call center described as "a dedicated response centre for efficient customer service." [Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure Report, http://www.easybillindia.com/]

2006: Bill Clinton Collected $300,000 From Cisco In 2006. Hillary's personal financial disclosure forms indicate that Bill Clinton gave two speeches to Cisco Systems, each for $150,000 on 5/18/06 and 8/17/06. [Hillary Clinton 2006 Financial Disclosure Report; 3,4]

CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING
Hillary Clinton Accepted Almost $60,000 In Contributions From Employees Of Cisco Systems, Which Laid Off American Workers to Hire Indian "Techies." Clinton's Presidential Exploratory Committee took $39,450 from Cisco employees during the first quarter of 2007. Cisco employees have also donated $18,900 to Clinton's Senate committee between 1999 and 2006. Forbes reported, in a feature called "A Tale of Two Cities" that Cisco was laying off $60,000-a-year "techies," while hiring new employees in Bangalore, India. "Cisco used only a few Infosys workers in Bangalore six years ago [in 1998]; [by 2004, it used] almost 300 contract staff, plus 550 full-fledged employees in its own Bangalore office." In 2006, Newsweek reported that "for Cisco, India is the new frontier, where it's investing $1.2 billion to build a gleaming R&D campus that will employ 3,000 people." [FEC filings; Forbes, 4/12/04; Newsweek, 3/6/06]

Clinton Donor, Sant Singh Chatwal, Cited Clinton's India Caucus Work Vowed To Raise $5 Million. In March 2007, the Economic Times wrote, "[Clinton] has roped in New York-based hotelier Sant Chatwal as cochair of her recently formed presidential exploratory committee to run for the 2008 White House race. [...] He is also creating an organization called Indian Americans for Hillary 2008." In April 2007, Mangalorean reported that Indian Americans for Hillary 2008 (IAFH) had already raised $1 million and "aimed to raise at least five million dollars." A major fund raiser on June 24 hosted by Chatwal, the founder of IAFH; steel baron, Lakshmi Mittal, and businessman SP Hindujas, was expected to pull more than 1,000 guests. In June 2007, The New York Times reported that "two Indo-American receptions have a total of $450,000 in commitments." In the picture (right), Sen. Clinton speaks at a reception hosted to push forward the US-India nuclear deal while Sant Singh Chatwal listens carefully. [New York Times, 6/7/07; Economic Times of India, 3/18/07; mangalorean.com, 4/14/07, accessed 4/18/07; picture, Tribune India, 9/14/06]

Chatwal Owed The City Of New York More Than $2 Million In Back Taxes, Fled Prosecution For Fraud But Was Arrested During Visit to India With Bill Clinton. Sant Singh Chatwal, who raised more $200,000 for Sen. Clinton in 2000, owed New York City $2.4 million in back property taxes. In addition, during a visit to India with Bill Clinton, in May 2001, Chatwal was arrested by authorities there and charged with defrauding the New York City branch of the Bank of India out of $9 million he borrowed in 1994. He posted bail, then fled India, boarding a flight to Vienna despite an attempt by authorities to detain him. [New York Daily News, 11/24/02; New York Daily News, 11/7/00]

FDIC Charged Chatwal With Obtaining Improper Loans. In a separate 1996 case, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. charged Chatwal with obtaining improper loans from the First New York Bank for Business, causing the bank to lose more than $25 million. Chatwal, who was a director of the bank, arranged more than $14 million in loans to himself and his businesses, often with no collateral, said the FDIC. He didn't repay the loans and the bank failed. [New York Daily News, 11/24/02; New York Daily News, 11/7/00]
CLINTON AND THE SENATE INDIA CAUCUS
Clinton Co-Founded The Senate India Caucus, A Project Of The U.S. India Political Action Committee.
In 2004, Clinton co-founded and became the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus which was coordinated by the U.S. India Political Action Committee (USINPAC). Roll Call reported, "The goals of the caucus, which already has 31 members, include increasing trade with India and improving security against global terrorism." Sen. Clinton said, "It is imperative that the Unites States do everything possible to reach out to India. This Caucus is dedicated to expanding areas of agreement with India and engaging in a candid dialogue of differences." [link to photo at USINPAC website, accessed 4/17/07; Roll Call, 4/28/04; PR Newswire, 4/29/04]
CLINTON WINS "WEASEL AWARD" FOR COMMENTS ON INDIA
2005: Anti-Offshoring Advocacy Group Gave Sen. Clinton A "Weasel Award," Citing Pro-Outsourcing Comments Clinton Made In India. The Press Trust of India wrote, "An American anti-offshoring advocacy group has awarded its first 'Weasel Award of 2005' to Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton for her recent remarks supporting outsourcing. The Delaware-based IT Professionals Association of America (ITPAA) representing over 1,200 IT professionals nationwide, said on its Web site that it presented this award to business and political leaders that it believes 'betray the trust of the American people.' Scott Kirwin, founder of the organization claimed that people were 'tired of Democrats pretending they care about the problems facing average Americans. Senator Clinton's actions prove they clearly do not.' The ITPAA based its award on press reports of Hilary Clinton supporting outsourcing and assuring political and business leaders in India that the US would not attempt to save the jobs lost. 'Outsourcing will continue. There is no way to legislate against reality. We are not in favor of putting up fences.' Hillary had said on Feb 28 in India, according to a report by the Asia Times. Kirwin also cited her position as co-chair of the 'Friends of India Caucus' in the Senate, a group of senators that supports issues important to India, including outsourcing and H-1B and L-1 visas, as another reason behind the ITPAA's decision to give the award to the prospective Democrat presidential nominee." [Press Trust Of India, 3/5/05; Link To Weasel Award]

2/05: On India Trip, Clinton Allayed India's Fears That Outsourcing Would End. The India Review wrote, "Senator Clinton allayed apprehensions in India that there would be a bar on outsourcing. 'There is no way to legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue," she said. [India Review, 4/05, accessed, 6/7/07]

Sen. Clinton (D-Punjab) Joked That She Was Senator From The Punjab Region In India. "At the fundraiser hosted by Dr Rajwant Singh at his Potomac, Maryland, home, and which raised nearly $50,000 for her re-election campaign, Clinton began by joking that, ''I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win easily,' after being introduced by Singh as the Senator not only from New York but also Punjab." [India Abroad, 3/17/06]
CLINTON CLAIMS OUTSOURCING
Clinton Says "Outsourcing Does Work Both Ways." Crain's New York Business wrote, "Mrs. Clinton may be motivated by a desire to uphold the free trade legacy of the Clinton years. [...] In an appearance on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, she boasted about attracting 10 jobs to New York from India-based Tata Consulting. When Mr. Dobbs inquired if she had understood the degree to which Tata, which helps U.S. companies outsource, was stealing American jobs, Mrs. Clinton rejoined: 'They've actually brought jobs to Buffalo. Outsourcing does work both ways.'" [Crain's New York Business, 6/21/04; CNN, 3/3/04]

In An Interview With Lou Dobbs, Senator Clinton Defended Her Support Of Tata Consulting, A Company That Brought Ten Jobs To Native Buffalo Residents But Destroyed Thousands Of Jobs Over The Years. Lou Dobbs asked Clinton, "Senator, a number of people pointed out to us, e-mailing us and calling us, saying, ask the senator about her helping Tata Consulting, a well-known outsourcer, open jobs -- and office in Buffalo, New York. I'm asking you, did you really understand the degree to which they were involved in outsourcing jobs when you were there?" Clinton replied, "Well, of course I know that they outsource jobs, that they've actually brought jobs to Buffalo. They've created 10 jobs in Buffalo and have told me and the Buffalo community that they intend to be a source of new jobs in the area, because, you know, outsourcing does work both ways." [CNN, 3/3/04]

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Is Famous For Pioneering The Business Practice Of Off-shoring. The San Jose Mercury News wrote, "TCS, however, will go down in the annals of offshoring as the original hightech body shop. Starting in the early 1990s, TCS blanketed the American landscape with legions of itinerant software programmers from India. [...] Tata pioneered an industry that eventually evolved into the dynamo of offshoring, or sending work to cheap labor markets overseas. [...] Tata's methods have not been popular among U.S. technology workers, however, who complain guest workers suppress local wages and offshoring takes good jobs overseas." [San Jose Mercury News, 12/6/04]

Tata's Buffalo, N.Y. Training Center Caters To The Needs Of The Company's 8,000 Employees In The United States, 80 Percent Of Whom Are Workers From India. India Abroad wrote, "At the Chrysalis Center TCS will host new employees in month-long training sessions to make them aware of the company's history and culture and to hone their core IT skills that will bridge existing knowledge with advanced skills necessary to work on innovative projects for customers." The center will also cater to the training needs of the more than 8,000 TCS employees across the US, 80 percent of whom are from India, according to Buffalo News. [India Abroad, 7/30/04; Buffalo News, 7/20/04]

Gupta Said Democrats' Stand On Outsourcing Was Poll-Year Rhetoric. The Economic Times wrote, "Vinod 'Vin' Gupta [...] also believes that the Democratic Party's stand on outsourcing is more poll year rhetoric than any serious economic policy statement. 'We have to compete globally and US has to find the best product and services at the best cost. Tapping global resources will obviously make the US economy stronger,' says Gupta whose own company InfoUSA outsources both technology support and database work to vendors in India. Gupta, who has helped Hillary Clinton and Al Gore in fund-raising efforts for their campaigns, is now involved in fund raising efforts for Senator Kerry." [The Economic Times, 3/29/04]

Mark Penn - Hillary Clinton's Strategist Also Has Tobacco and Drug Company Clients - Bob Novak

Bob Novak reported this in his online publication on Saturday, July 7th. This is an example of how Senator Clinton has representatives of the very healh care system she claims to want to change.

Hillary's Strategist
By Robert D. Novak
Saturday, July 7, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Clinton is facing increasing Democratic criticism for using Mark Penn as her presidential campaign's chief strategist while he also serves as CEO of Burson-Marsteller, the public relations giant with corporate clients whose policies run opposite to Clinton's.

Clients include Royal Dutch Shell (attacked by Clinton for "windfall profits"), as well as tobacco and pharmaceutical firms with records she has deplored. Penn was a key operative in President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign and continued as a second-term adviser.

A footnote: Penn criticized Bloomberg News, which has reported on conflicts between Burson-Marsteller and the Clinton campaign, for obtaining "several months" of Penn's internal blogs. On June 29, a former employee who started a rival firm filed suit in New York City against Penn for monitoring his personal e-mails.

US voters are ready to elect a black or woman as president: poll

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Large majorities of US voters say they are ready to vote for an African-American or a woman for president, according to a poll published Friday by Newsweek magazine.

About 92 percent of respondents were willing to vote for a black presidential candidate, while 86 percent said they would cast a ballot for a woman, said the poll on Newsweek's website.

However, smaller majorities of voters believed the country was ready to accept a black or woman president.

When asked if the United States was ready for a black president, 59 percent said yes, while 58 percent said the country was ready for a woman in the White House.

Two-thirds of respondents, 66 percent, said that there was a some chance they would vote for Senator Barack Obama, a black lawmaker in his first term. And 62 percent said the same when asked about Senator Hillary Clinton. Both are Democrats. No Republican woman or African American has entered the campaign.

When asked about a possible Hispanic candidate, 81 percent said they were ready to vote for one, but only 39 percent said the country was ready for a Hispanic president. That represents bad news for the only Hispanic candidate so far in the race, Democrat Bill Richardson.

In a head-to-head competition, the poll showed Clinton leading Obama 56 to 33 percent.

The Newsweek magazine poll was conducted by the Princeton Institute July 2-3 among 1,002 persons at least 18 years of age. The overall margin of error for the survey is plus or minus four percentage points.

The election for US president will be held in November 2008.

John Edwards and Hilary Clinton's Thousand Dollar Hairdos

Wow. I don't know what a $1,000 haircut or a $3,000 hairdo looks like, but I guess John Edwards and Hillary Clinton have them according to the Washington Post .

CNN Polling Linked To Clinton Donor Vinod Gupta

Now, I have the smoking gun reason behind CNN's apparent Anti-Obama bias in coverage and polling. I also have yet another window into how the Clinton campaign raises money, in addition to the campaign fraud lawsuit by Peter Paul . The photo shows Senator Clinton with the family of Vinod Gupta. Mr. Gupta's on the far right and the woman he's standing with is is wife Laurel. In the back are his sons Jess, Ben, and Alex. The man next to Senator Clinton is Mr. Gupta's dad.

I don't know if Vinod Gupta is related to CNN Analyst and Medical Expert Sanjah Gupta, but I can say that Vinod Gupta's polling firm is. According to various sources, like FreeRepublic.com , CNN Polls are tied to Vinod Gupta's firm Opinion Research Corporation. This calls into question the honesty of CNN's poll reporting.

Mr. Gupta is not just a donor to the Clinton's but a huge contributor. According to the Washington Post , he's given huge donations to the Democratic Party and allowed the Clintons to jet around to Switzerland, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico on his corporate plane -- $900,000 worth of travel. And President Clinton has secured a 3.3 million consulting deal with Gupta's technology firm, InfoUSA

According to the New York Sun , In 2000, Mr. Gupta gave $100,000 to support Mrs. Clinton's Senate bid and hosted a fund-raiser in his home that raised $100,000 more. "She was so good," he said of Mrs. Clinton's talk there, according to the Omaha World-Herald. "I think she is smarter than the president."

The matter of CNN polls being produced by a Clinton donor is an issues of extreme concern, especially in the wake of Senator Barack Obama's massive $32 million second quarter fundraising total, a record in campaign history and a take that includes no money from lobbyists or political action committees, and who've average donation was just $127.

The problem is that while Senator Obama's outraised Senator Clinton, the polls conducted by CNN and USA Today / Gallup, have not reflected this, except for a USA Today / Gallup Poll that reported Obama and Clinton as tied , but which they re-did to favor Clinton (I'm not kidding, read the link) and re-ran just seven days later -- a weird development which I assert results in polling that's fixed to favor Senator Clinton. This news backs my assertion.

According to the LibertyPost.com , "Opinion Research began conducting polls for CNN in April 2006, according to TheDeal.com. A month after InfoUSA closed on its purchase of the polling company in December, CNN and Opinion Research announced a 2-year partnership, with Opinion Research conducting political polling for CNN through next year’s election. In an e-mail statement, Opinion Research President Jeff Resnick defended the company’s work for CNN: "Each week, great care is taken to ensure the poll results are accurate and free from any bias. An examination of the poll results will support this statement.”

But Bruce Weinstein, who writes an ethics column for BusinessWeek.com, said just the perception of a potential conflict of interest could hurt a media organization’s credibility."

What to do? First, share this with as many people as you can, and second, call and email CNN and tell them to expose their bias.

CNN's ties with the Clintons are too many. There's Mr. Gupta, and then Paul Begala and James Carville, both of whom worked for the Clintons and are Clinton supporters. A YouTuber, "DougFromUpland" has made a great video which outlines another connection between CNN and the Clinton's and polling, Rick Kaplan in addition to Vinod Gupta. The video's here:

Hillary Clinton -Arianna Huffington Points To Senator's Problem With Hiding The Truth

This article is a must read as it distills the Carl Berstein book in a way that's not been done on CNN or any other news program. It also forms the perfect foundation to explain what I'm starting to call "The Peter Paul Affair."

Arianna Huffington: Hillary's disturbing secrecy problem
By Arianna Huffington
Tribune Media Services
Article Last Updated: 06/28/2007 06:01:56 PM MDT

I spent the weekend reading A Woman in Charge, Carl Bernstein's biography of Hillary Clinton (OK, I know I'm late) while being simultaneously bombarded with fresh evidence of the Bush/Cheney administration's pathological obsession with secrecy.
Historians will be debating for decades what the worst element of the Bush White House was - but at the root of the entire cancerous structure is George Bush and Dick Cheney's shared fixation on secrecy. Their mutual contempt for the public's right to know knows no bounds. Witness the VP's absurd attempt to escape oversight by claiming he's not part of the executive branch, or the endless legal maneuvering to keep the administration's abuse of detainees hidden from scrutiny.
As a result, it's pretty safe to say the central question facing Democratic voters in the presidential primaries is: Which candidate will be most effective at rolling back the Bush years? On issue after issue, the Democratic contenders are doing everything they can to highlight their differences with Bush.
But when it comes to the issue of secrecy and an administration operating in the shadows, there's an argument to be made that the candidate least likely to turn on the lights is Hillary Clinton. Her lifelong commitment to secrecy is one of the main themes of Bernstein's book.
"Hillary Rodham Clinton has always had a difficult relationship with the truth," writes
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Bernstein. "She has often chosen to obfuscate, omit and avoid. It is an understatement by now that she has been known to apprehend truths about herself and the events of her life that others do not exactly share."
Or, as Bernstein summed it up on the "Today Show," "This is a woman who led a camouflaged life and continues to."
It's not just that she's a private person. There are plenty of public servants who are zealous about guarding their personal lives and equally zealous about keeping their public lives - and public policies - transparent. But, like Bush and Cheney, Clinton seems devoted to secrecy for its own sake.
As Bernstein shows, what was most shocking about her handling of the health care fiasco during her husband's administration wasn't that she kept the plan secret from its critics, but that she kept it secret even from those who would have been champions of the plan had they known anything about it.
This passion for concealment is a pattern that, as Bernstein demonstrates, has been repeated throughout Clinton's life. It was there in the head-scratching decision to hide her college thesis from public view because it was about radical organizer Saul Alinsky. It was there in her refusal for 30 years to admit that she had failed the bar exam the first time she took it. It was there in the way she glossed over in her memoir her summer internship at the law firm of Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein - one of the most renowned left-wing law firms in the nation. It was there in the way she handled the Whitewater and Travelgate investigations, which, as Bernstein told me, "ended up unnecessarily prolonging them."
Bernstein quotes Clinton lawyer Mark Fabiani as saying of Hillary and Whitewater: "She would do anything to get out of the situation. And if that involved not being forthcoming (in releasing documents and other materials), she herself would say, 'I have a reason for not being forthcoming."' And he reports that then-White House adviser George Stephanopoulos described Hillary's responses to the various scandals of the Clinton presidency as "Jesuitical lying."
And it has been there in the way Hillary's camp has attacked Bernstein's book, saying, among other things, "Is it possible to be quoted yawning?" and deriding it as old news: "Nothing more than cash for rehash." This assessment stands in stark contrast to the majority of reviews, including the one in The Los Angeles Times by Ron Brownstein, who called it "a model of contemporary political biography . . . an excellent book: thorough, balanced, judicious and deeply reported."
"Hillary Clinton and her advisers apparently don't want people to know her real story," Carl Bernstein told me. "That is particularly sad because the authentic picture of her life is so much more compelling than the tired, airbrushed and sanitized version they keep serving up and refining. The campaign's official response to A Woman in Charge - even before they had seen the book - is the kind of thing I would have expected from the Nixon White House or the Bush White House, not a Clinton presidential campaign committed to a new openness and transparency."
I actually found Bernstein's book to be a very humanizing portrait of Clinton, which is why her camp's reaction struck me as excessive and misguided. It's as if Hillary and those around her have such an idealized view of her they feel the need to vanquish anything that contradicts the faultless fantasy. No imperfection is allowed.
On the campaign trail, Clinton talks a lot about her experience in the White House - clearly we're meant to factor those eight years in when evaluating her fitness to return. But reading the Bernstein book made me feel like she has taken away all the wrong lessons about being in power. Her tendency to hide and obfuscate appears to be a learned behavior.
So the question facing Democrats - and, indeed, the country - is whether we want another presidency cloaked in secrecy, deception and denial. ---

Hillary Clinton, Stan Lee, and Peter Paul = Campaign Finance Problems

Peter Paul v. Senator Hillary Clinton is an Internet trail of past Clinton problems still unsolved, particularly one involving Senator Clinton's run for the New York Senate in 2000 and her involvement with Peter Paul.

The most recent history of this case had Paul v. Clinton issuing oral arguments in a LA-based California Appeals Court last Friday, September 7th. The court should rule next week if Senator Clinton has to return as a witness in this civil business fraud case.

But who's Peter Paul? Paul is an entrepreneur who worked to get Bill Clinton to join the then-new Stan Lee Media company as a rainmaker, and of which Paul was 66 percent owner in 2000.

But this case has two parts -- the business fraud portion (where Paul claims that Former President Bill Clinton was to be a part of Stan Lee Media, but didn't join the firm even though he alledgedly promised to do so as a quid-pro-quo for Paul's financing of the gala), and the campaign finance portion, which is described below.



Apparently, Hillary Clinton's campaign understated contributions from Mr. Paul totalling over $772,000. At first, the campaign claimed that they'd never heard of Peter Paul, then Senator Clinton claimed she'd met him , but never had conversations regarding his contribution to her Senate run.

The video evidence shows otherwise, as does this webpage containing her deposition and letter of thanks to Mr. Paul for hosting what's reported to be the largest private event ever held for a candidate running for office.

This new evidence could wreck her run for President.

The full story is captured below, and comes from the Hillary Clinton Accountablity Project:

Key leaders of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), including DNC Chair Ed Rendell, DNC Convention and DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe, DNC California Regional Chair Stephanie Berger, and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes, recruited businessman Peter Paul as a major donor to the DNC.

They induced Paul to underwrite, host and produce fundraising events for the campaigns of Al Gore and Hillary Clinton in order to pursue his efforts to hire Bill Clinton when he left the White House.

Reportedly upon learning that Paul was going to be exposed by The Washington Post as having de-frauded Fidel Castro -- a felony -- Paul claims that they then conspired with the Clintons to hide Paul's various contributions from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the public, and obstructed the Federal investigation that led to the indictment of Hillary Clinton's finance director David Rosen.

Peter Paul's reported contributions to Democratic campaigns included the following:

1. After discussing with Peter Paul how he might best form a business arrangement with Bill Clinton, DNC Chair Ed Rendell persuaded Paul to commit $150,000 in Stan Lee Media stock to the DNC for Al Gore's presidential campaign. This contribution was made directly through Rendell, and was never reported to the FEC as a Memorandum Contribution as required by law.

2. Paul also agreed to underwrite and produce Al Gore's first major Hollywood fundraiser, which was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on June 8, 2000 and attended by some 200 people. Ed Rendell attended with Gore, but the DNC never reported the "in kind" contribution made by Paul in paying all the expenses for the event to the FEC as required by law. [See the invitation]

3. Under the direction of DNC Regional Chair Stephanie Berger, Peter Paul made $150,000 in improvements to his house between May and June, 2000, in preparation for Paul and his business partner Stan Lee to host a DNC fundraiser that featured President Clinton and included a Clinton sleepover at Paul's house.

4. Encouraged by Rendell and DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe, Paul also made a commitment to donate $150,000 in Stan Lee Media stock to Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign in order to host a VIP luncheon fund raiser for Hillary at Spago Restaurant on June 9, 2000. The event raised more than $20,000 in "hard money" for the campaign, including $2,000 from Paul's wife that has never been reported or returned. No Memorandum Contribution report of his commitment or any report of Paul's "in-kind" contribution of expenses for the luncheon fundraiser were ever filed with the FEC by Hillary's campaign.

5. Under the direction of DNC Regional Chair Stephanie Berger, Paul also underwrote the Gershman Tea Fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Bel Air on June 9, 2000, an event attended by Hillary and her "friend" Susie Buell Thompson, Larry King, Melanie Griffith, Olivia Newton John, Morgan Fairchild, Sean Young, and many other celebrities. No report of Paul's "in-kind" contribution of expenses for the tea fund raiser were ever filed with the FEC by the DNC or Hillary's campaign.

6. With the encouragement of President Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Ed Rendell, Terrence McAuliffe, and Harold Ickes -- all of whom attended the event, Peter Paul produced and underwrote the Hollywood Gala Farewell to President Clinton fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.

7. Rendell, Bill and Hillary Clinton persuaded Paul not to publicly contradict false statements that Hillary's Senate campaign made to the media regarding Paul's relationship with Hillary, Bill and the campaign. Rendell called Paul twice, on August 15 and 17, after stories in the Washington Post quoted a Hillary spokesman misrepresenting Paul's role in the campaign and the contributions he made in three separate fundraisers. Both Clintons wrote glowing personal letters to Paul on August 18, two days after permitting their spokesman to disparage Paul in the Post, as a message to Paul to go along with their deceptions in order to preserve his multi-million dollar investment in their relationship. [See Hillary letter, Bill letter]

8. DNC officials laundered Stan Lee's $100,000 contribution to Hillary’s campaign through the NY Senate 2000 Committee so that Hillary could pay the down payment to Gala concert producer Gary Smith. Stan Lee testified under oath in a deposition in February, 2005 that he never intended to make any contribution to the NY Senate 2000 Committee or Hillary's campaign, he merely borrowed $100,000 for that purpose from Stan Lee Media at Peter Paul's request on July 28, 2000, and that when the loan was due to be paid in November, 2000 to Stan Lee Media, Stan Lee made the payment by trading checks for $100,000 with Paul, normally a serious violation of election laws.

9. Rendell and Clinton staffers continued working through October to keep Paul "on the reservation" until after the election. They failed to show Paul the campaign's fraudulent October 15 report to the FEC, which hid Paul as Hillary's largest contributor, and avoided asking Paul for any accounting or designation of his donative intent. By so doing, they conspired to have Paul aid and abet their fraudulent FEC report.

10. Starting on August 15, 2000, Hillary Clinton led a coverup of her own actions, those of President Clinton, and those of DNC leaders regarding the contributions of Peter Paul. The Clintons induced Paul to aid and abet Hillary's false statements to the media and the FEC, and caused three false reports to be filed with the FEC that intentionally hid the identity of her largest contributor and the true amount of his contributions. Even after being served with a civil suit, a demand letter, an FEC complaint, the publication of syndicated news columns by Robert Novak, and an ABC 20/20 expose detailing Paul's allegations, Hillary, her campaign Treasurer Grossman, and her lawyer David Kendall all continued the coverup by causing a third fraudulent report to be filed on July 30, 2001. This false report was filed in direct response to a specific FEC inquiry regarding the accounting of the Hollywood Gala.


Since that time, Hillary has deflected any accountability from herself, Bill Clinton and her Finance Treasurer, Andrew Grossman, by misleading Federal Investigators during the investigation that led to the indictment of David Rosen. Ed Rendell, now the Governor of Pennsylvania, has misrepresented his role in these events to the media according to Peter Paul.

Paul also says that former DNC-Chair Terry McAuliffe misrepresented his own actions to Justice Department officials to whom Paul had detailed McAuliffe's role. The Rosen jury ruled that David Rosen was not culpable for the fraudulent FEC reports filed by Hillary Clinton's campaign, because he had no legal duty to make any reports and in fact did not sign any reports to the FEC. This decision in no way alters the uncontested fact that three FEC reports made by Hillary's 2000 Senate campaign were in fact fraudulent. They remain uncorrected, and the illegal contribution omitted from those reports of more than $1.2 million, according to the FBI, has not been refunded as required by law.

Further investigation by the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee is required to determine the full extent to which Hillary's campaign and DNC leaders may have misled federal investigators and obstructed justice.

Here's the video evidence:



This video just surfaced April 11th of this year 2007 because according to the website it was withheld from being presented as evidence since 2001.

The site reads: "This tape was withheld by the U.S. Attorney in New York from 2001 until April 11, 2007, when it was released to Paul's attorneys at the US Justice Foundation, depriving three federal investigations of this evidence of Hillary Clinton's role in the campaign finance frauds for which her finance director David Rosen was indicted in 2005."

This is the full transcript of the video which you saw above -- "SL" is Stan Lee; HRC is Hillary Rodham Clinton; PP is Peter Paul.

SL: Don’t ask, just accept the thanks!
HC: No, no, whatever it is that you are doing, is it ok that I thank you? (Laughs)
I think it’s tremendous. We’re having a good time trying to help out.
HRC: Well, I’m very appreciative and it sounds fabulous. I got a full report from Kelly uh today when she got back and she told me everything that you’re doing. And it just sounds like it’s going to be a great event!
PP: I think this is worthy of the kind of title that we’re giving it as THE Hollywood gala salute to president William Jefferson Clinton.
HC: Oh, that’s wonderful!
PP: And I think that the community shows up will be a tremendous accolade to the kind of impact that he’s had on Hollywood during your collective administration.
(:51)
HC: Oh I thank you for that. I think that so many positive things have happened and we just have to keep working to extend and expand it. I’m just very much looking forward to it ‘cause I think it’s not only going to be successful, I think it’s going to be fun!
PP: We certainly hope so. And Aaron and all of us are working diligently to make sure that it’s going to be a lot of fun and that you will enjoy it.
HC: Now, I understood that you were going to be parachuting in, Peter, is that wrong?
PP: Yes, and I’m going to be carrying these flares with me—the red white blue—on a parasail. But you have to catch me! (Laughter)
HC: And I heard Stan was going to be shot out of a cannon (laughing)
SL: And towards Europe! It’s the only way they’ll get rid of me.
AT: Mrs. Clinton? You wouldn’t believe. I saved some of the messages from people that are coming. Like Jimmy Smits, Rosie O’Donnell, the Judds. They leave messages that go over five minutes on the machine. The only reason why they’re doing it is because of you. They only care about you. That it means more to them than anything. Like the Steenburgens, Danson are calling from back East. They wanna sell tickets. It’s like the most unbelievable response on your behalf. Isn’t that great!?
(2:10)
HC: Oh, Aaron! Thank you!
SL: I thought myself that it was because we were offering everyone a free comic book but I guess I was wrong.
Aw, I think that’s a big draw myself. It’s certainly the reason I’m coming.
SL: Aha. Bless your heart!
HC: And you know, Aaron, I’m sooo grateful because I know how hard you’ve worked on it because it’s your constant effort and outreach You know, I talked with Cher(?) and she was just great! Said she was really so excited. And I hadn’t talked to her so you must have done a really good job selling it to her.
SL: Well, he tells me it’s because he was promised to him that he’ll be the next Secretary of State!
HC: You weren’t supposed to tell anybody that, Aaron!
(Laughing)
AT: I thought it was our secret.
HC: Well, Stan, what we haven’t told you is that you’re going to be the next Secretary of Defense.
SL: Well, I expected that.
HC: Well, the superheroes are a lot cheaper than the missile defense system.
(Laughter)
SL: Hillary, you’re wonderful!
(3:16)
AT: We’ve got people like Cher and others that have really never done anything before that are like coming out in full force knowing this is for your Senate race, it’s unbelievable.
HC: I’m just thrilled. I’ll check in with you from time to time because I know that putting something like this together is challenging even when people are enthusiastic and looking forward to doing it. It’s still, there’s so much work that’s involved.
SL: But in your case, it’s very gratifying. You know, my wife wants us to move to New York so that we can vote for you.
HC: This is a very good plan!
(Laughing)
(3:50)
Maybe we could get a great migration, a country caravan, of literally tens of thousands of people. I think that sounds like our next big project.
SL: I don’t wanna say that it’s happening, but if you tried to hire a moving van right now in L.A., you couldn’t get one.
(Laughter)
4:18
PP: Well, we did lobby for the X-men vote and all of the X-men have agreed to—because they’re all NY residents—so all the X-men will be voting for you.
HC: That’s great!
(Laughter) SL: Oh, yeah, you’ve got the mutant vote right around the world.
HC: Well, some people think I’m the mutant candidate so I should have it.
(Laughter)
AT: One other thing I wanted to tell you—a couple people confirmed today that like I’ve never been able to get in all my events—like Brad Pitt and Nicholas Cage—are some of the people coming to give tributes.
HC: Oh, wow. That’s fabulous! Oh, Aaron, this is going to be so terrific. Well, you just let me know if there’s anything that I need to do. And I know you and Kelly talk all the time, so she’ll be the person to convey whatever I need. But I just wanted to call and personally thank all of you. And I’m glad you are all together so I could tell you just how much this means to me.
End of call.

In this video below, Stan Lee clams that he did not donate money to the Clinton campaign...



This is a huge problem and it comes right on the heels of Senator Obama's record and legal fundraising totals, which have scared the heck out of the Clinton camp. To me, it seems that there were a lot of players with divergent agendas leading to a complex set of deals, which in turn may run counter to campaign finance laws.

The Clintons need to welcome a full vetting of this issue so the American People are informed and we can move on. I also causion readers doing research to be compete in their look; because some right-wing interest have taken up this case as a kind of cause, it's easy to just dismiss it, but that would be a mistake.

UPDATE: I just located this video by "Doug From Upland" called "Hillary's Greatest Nemesis" and it explains in detail the events leading to the civil lawsuit coming to LA Superior Court this year. It also includes a segment on how the mainstream media protects Senator Clinton.

This is the video:



Stay tuned to this Bat Channel for more updates.

Senator Mike Gravel - "Why Hillary Scares Me" - Huffington Post

I just saw this at the Huffington Post -- linked to from the title post here - and had to re-post it. Wow, what a scathing article.

During one of the debates I mentioned that my fellow Democratic candidates scare me. Hillary's speech last week to the Take Back America conference gives me yet another reason to be afraid.

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In an indignant voice she decried the Bush administration's ''stunning record of secrecy and corruption, of cronyism run amok. . . It is everything our founders were afraid of, everything our Constitution was designed to prevent.'' Actually, our Constitution grants Congress the power to prevent these ills but Hillary and her colleagues weren't up to the task.

Our founders' legacy did not stop Hillary from voting for the Patriot Act and then supporting its renewal in 2006 despite revelations that the government was using it to infringe on the very liberties that our founders held sacred. Where was her commitment to our founders when she voted to gut our habeas corpus protections?

As for cronyism -- Hillary has repeatedly authorized billions that the Pentagon gave in no-bid contracts to Halliburton. Even though the Democrats have been in control of Congress for months, they still haven't summoned Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld and the other usual suspects to account for the missing millions in reconstruction funding.

When I think about how Congress enabled Bush's corruption and cronyism, I'm reminded of the lines from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar:


And why should Caesar be a tyrant then?
Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf,
But that he sees the Romans are but sheep:
He were no lion, were not Romans hinds.
In the same frightening speech, Hillary went on the blame the Iraqis for the mess in their country: "The American military has succeeded. It is the Iraqi government which has failed to make the tough decisions that are important for their own people.''

Let me get this straight. The Iraq disaster is not the fault of the delusional neo-cons, the greedy oil companies, or the gullible and cowardly Congressional warhawks. (Most senators including Clinton didn't even bother to read the 90-page National Intelligence Estimate). According to Hillary, the real culprit is the Iraqi government that we created virtually overnight and left to govern a fractured, impoverished society. Talk about blaming the victim!

Hillary, as an active supporter of the war, you are one of many Americans who are guilty. And now all Americans are left responsible, regardless of whether we supported or opposed he war. When we pull out, our hands will drip with the blood of the tens of thousands of American casualties and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi dead. The Iraqi government didn't start this, we did.

Of course we can continue to compartmentalize ourselves from the truth, remove the troops and blame the rubble on the Iraqis. We can feed the collective fantasy that our good intentions and heroic efforts were thwarted by the cowardice and incompetence of others. But if that's what we take from our experience in Iraq, we will never learn the true lessons and we will be condemned to repeat the same mistakes.

The inability to admit a mistake and assume responsibility is not just a morally bankrupt way to walk through life; it is a dangerous and deadly way to lead a nation. When I am president, I will open up all secret files relating to the Iraq war and expose all officials who lied to the public in promoting it. (That's right, Dick, your files too.) My Justice Department will prosecute everyone who lied under oath or ripped off the American taxpayer by exploiting the Iraq reconstruction effort. And I will pardon to no one.

47 Hillary and Bill Clinton Case Witnesses Are Dead - MySpace Blog

Wow. This is a huge number. 47 people who can play key roles as witnesses in several cases involving Bill and Hillary Clinton -- particularly Whitewater -- are dead. The list includes James McDougal, Vince Foster, and James Wilson. This is a shocking total of fatalities. I got it from this MySpace Blogger, robynne


Clintons

This is what happens when you have dirt on the Clintons :

1 - James McDougal - Clinton 's convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr's investigation.

2 - Mary Mahoney - A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown . The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House.

3 - Vince Foster - Former white House councilor, and colleague of
Hillary Clinton at Little Rock 's Rose Law firm. Died of a gunshot
wound to the head, ruled a suicide.

4 - Ron Brown - Secretary of Commerce and former DNC Chairman. Reported to have died by impact in a plane crash. A pathologist close to the investigation reported that there was a hole in the top of Brown's skull resembling a gunshot wound. At the time of his death Brown was being investigated, and spoke publicly of his willingness to cut a deal with prosecutors.

5 - C. Victor Raiser II and Montgomery Raiser, Major players in the
Clinton fund raising organization died in a private plane crash in
July 1992.

6 - Paul Tulley - Democratic National Committee Political Director
found dead in a hotel room in Little Rock, September 1992...
Described by Clinton as a "Dear friend and trusted advisor."

7- Ed Willey - Clinton fund raiser, found dead November 1993 deep in the woods in VA of a gunshot wound to the head. Ruled a suicide. Ed Willey died on the same day his wife Kathleen Willey claimed Bill Clinton groped her in the oval office in the White House. Ed Willey was involved in several Clinton fund raising events.

8 - Jerry Parks - Head of Clinton's gubernatorial security team in
Little Rock Gunned down in his car at a deserted intersection
outside Little Rock . Park's son said his father was building a
dossier on Clinton He allegedly threatened to reveal this
information. After he died the files were mysteriously removed from his house.

9 - James Bunch - Died from a gunshot suicide. It was reported
that he had a "Black Book" of people which contained names of
influential people who visited prostitutes in Texas and Arkansas

10 - James Wilson - Was found dead in May 1993 from an apparent hanging suicide. He was reported to have ties to Whitewater.

11- Kathy Ferguson, ex-wife of Arkansas Trooper Danny Ferguson, was found dead in May 1994, in her living room with a gunshot to her head. It was ruled a suicide even though there were several packed suitcases, as if she were going somewhere. Danny Ferguson was a co-defendant along with Bill Clinton in the Paula Jones lawsuit. Kathy Ferguson was a possible corroborating
witness for Paula Jones.

12 - Bill Shelton - Arkansas State Trooper and fiancee of Kathy
Ferguson. Critical of the suicide ruling of his fiancee, he was
found dead in June, 1994 of a gunshot wound also ruled a suicide at the grave site of his fiancee.

13 - Gandy Baugh - Attorney for Clinton 's friend Dan Lassater, died by jumping out a window of a tall building January, 1994. His client was a convicted drug distributor.

14 - Florence Martin - Accountant & sub-contractor for the CIA, was related to the Barry Seal Mena Airport drug smuggling case. He died of three gunshot wounds.

15 - Suzanne Coleman - Reportedly had an affair with Clinton when he was Arkansas Attorney General. Died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, ruled a suicide. Was pregnant at the time of her death.

16 - Paula Grober - Clinton 's speech interpreter for the deaf from
1978 until her death December 9, 1992. She died in a one car
accident.

17 - Danny Casolaro - Investigative reporter. Investigating Mena
Airport and Arkansas Development Finance Authority. He slit his
wrists, apparently, in the middle of his investigation.

18 - Paul Wilcher - Attorney investigating corruption at Mena Airport with Casolaro and the 1980 "October Surprise" was found dead on a toilet June 22, 1993 in his Washington DC apartment. Had delivered a report to Janet Reno three weeks before his death

19 - Jon Parnell Walker - Whitewater investigator for Resolution
Trust Corp. Jumped to his death from his Arlington , Virginia apartment balcony August15, 1993. He was investigating the Morgan Guarantee scandal.

20 - Barbara Wise - Commerce Department staffer. Worked closely with Ron Brown and John Huang. Cause of death unknown. Died November 29, 1996. Her bruised, nude body was found locked in her office at the Department of Commerce.

21- Charles Meissner - Assistant Secretary of Commerce who gave John Huang special security clearance, died shortly thereafter in a small plane crash.

22 - Dr. Stanley Heard - Chairman of the National Chiropractic Health Care Advisory Committee, died with his attorney Steve Dickson in a small plane crash. Dr. Heard, in addition to serving on Clinton 's advisory council personally treated Clinton 's mother, stepfather and brother.

23 - Barry Seal - Drug running pilot out of Mena Arkansas , death was no accident.

24 - Johnny Lawhorn Jr. - Mechanic, found a check made out to Bill
Clinton in the trunk of a car left at his repair shop. He was found
dead after his car had hit a utility pole.

25 - Stanley Huggins - Investigated Madison Guarantee. His death was a purported suicide and his report was never released.

26- Hershell Friday - Attorney and Clinton fund raiser died March 1, 1994 when his plane exploded.

27 - Kevin Ives and Don Henry - Known as "The boys on the track" case. Reports say the boys may have stumbled upon the Mena Arkansas airport drug operation. A controversial case, the initial report of death said, due to falling asleep on railroad tracks. Later reports claim the two boys had been slain before being placed on the tracks. Many linked to the case died before their testimony could come before a Grand Jury.

THE FOLLOWING PERSONS HAD INFORMATION ON THE IVES/HENRY CASE:

28 - Keith Coney - Died when his motorcycle slammed into the back of a truck, July 1988.

29 - Keith McMaskle - Died stabbed 113 times, Nov, 1988

30 - Gregory Collins - Died from a gunshot wound January 1989.

31 - Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a
trash dump in April 1989.

32 - James Milan - Found decapitated. However, the Coroner ruled his death was due to "natural causes."

33 - Jordan Kettleson - Was found shot to death in the front seat of his pickup truck in June 1990.

34 - Richard Winters - A suspect in the Ives / Henry deaths. He was killed in a set-up robbery July 1989.

>>>> > THE FOLLOWING CLINTON BODYGUARDS ARE DEAD:
>>>> > 36 - Major William S. Barkley Jr.
>>>> > 37 - Captain Scott J. Reynolds
>>>> > 38 - Sgt. Brian Hanley
>>>> > 39 - Sgt. Tim Sabel
>>>> > 40 - Major General William Robertson
>>>> > 41 - Col. William Densberger
>>>> > 42 - Col. Robert Kelly
>>>> > 43 - Spec. Gary Rhodes
>>>> > 44 - Steve Willis
>>>> > 45 - Robert Williams
>>>> > 46 - Conway LeBleu
>>>> > 47 - Todd McKeehan

Quite an impressive list! Pass this on. Let the public become aware of what happens to anyone who might damage the Clinton machine!

Hillary Clinton Song Of Choice? "Jack - U - Off" - Wonkette

Oh boy. This is a hoot. I saw this on Wonkette and had to post it in full.

Hill's Campaign Song Revealed!



Good choice, Hill! The American people are tired of the masturbator! Sing along with Hillary!

If your man ain’t no good Come on over 2 my neighborhood
We can jump in the sack and I’ll jack U off
Our Campaign Song [HillaryClinton.com]