Saturday, February 23, 2008

You wanna rumble, Hillary?

Fine, let's do this thing.

Yes, I'm ticked. I just read that Hillary, in her utter desperation to win at any and all costs, is comparing Barack Obama to George W. Bush.

Pot? Kettle here. You're Bush!

Yesterday, I read an analysis that seemed really spot-on to me, about how Hillary is campaigning the way she would govern.

That Clinton blew through $100 million in a few months with so little to show for it is a problem in itself. More frighteningly, though, she appeared oblivious about her burn rate and the potential effects on her campaign, a terrible indictment of her financial management skills. Again, this is not exactly what one would be looking for in a president, especially one who is touting her ability to manage the economy back to recovery. Administering a campaign's finances is not exactly a complex task when compared to managing the multi-billion dollar US federal government budget.
There's more. You know *why* Hillary is oblivious? Because, like Bush, she's surrounded herself with loyalists who won't confront her with hard truths. That, by the way, doesn't bode well for who she might choose to be part of a theoretical Hillary Clinton administration.

Hillary and her surrogates have been dismissive of states that didn't vote for her, saying that they aren't representative of the electorate. George Bush marginalized those who participated in the huge protests against his planned invasion of Iraq (you know, those of us who were "clairvoyant") by comparing them to "focus groups". He narrowly "won" re-election in 2004 and declared that he had a "mandate".

Also, as I've written earlier
Last year, someone I know went to hear Hillary Clinton speak at a fundraiser for the Ohio Democratic Party. He was very impressed with her speech, and went on about how inspiring it was. I commented that I was unable to support her because of her repeated, calculated refusal to admit that her vote on the Iraq war resolution had been a mistake. My acquaintance said, "Oh, you have to get over that!"

No, I most certainly do not have to get over that! I mean, this is basic, basic stuff. We all make mistakes. The important thing is to have the humility to admit that, and to learn from your mistakes so that you don't repeat them. I expect this of my kids...why should I expect less of my elected officials? And what's more, refusing to ever admit you were wrong is not a sign of "strength". It is, on the contrary, a dangerous weakness, and I don't believe America can afford another president who stubbornly refuses to ever admit a mistake.


That refusal to EVER admit a mistake? Also vintage Bush.

Clinton's communications director, Howard Wolfson, said back in July of 2007

And, with all due respect, if you want to talk about tactical political maneuvering, it's about one Democrat comparing another Democrat to George Bush. That's the worst kind of tactical political maneuvering.

After 11 straight losses, I guess Hillary has decided that she really *does* want to win "in the worst way". Because that seems to be how she's going about it.

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Friday, February 22, 2008

Jane Goodall, tree-kisser

I was just watching a video called "Reason for Hope" about Jane Goodall. I've probably posted a link to Goodall's essay, "My Four Reasons for Hope" at some point, although I can't recall if it was here or somewhere else. The video is quite interesting. I learned about the group "Roots and Shoots" that Jane Goodall founded to get young people involved in saving the planet. I also learned that Jane kisses each tree she plants (this picture is from the United Nations web site).



And here's an essay Jane Goodall wrote in 2002: You may be only 1 in 6 billion, but every person can make a big difference

Not feeling especially wordy or eloquent tonight, but I thought this stuff was neat and wanted to share.

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Open Thread

Just saw this video posted on Buckeye State Blog, and thought I'd snag it for an open thread before I turn in for the night.




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Wednesday, February 20, 2008

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE in honour of SUSAN's BIRTHDAY!



Photo by listener's Son*in*NC (300mm lens)

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUSAN!!








Video added by Renee after Susan's comment here.

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Nelson and Levin say no revotes in their states.

They have done everything in their power to thwart the DNC policy. They have been disrespectful toward Howard Dean and the DNC. They both seem to exert great power over their state parties. They both have effectively worked with other state leaders to keep the voters from having a say in the primaries.

Nelson and Levin: No Revotes

Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) dismissed the possibility in interviews on Tuesday. Levin and Nelson said caucuses would effectively void the primaries in each of their states, and are pushing to have their delegates receive full voting power at the convention.

“You can’t undo an election with a caucus, especially one where 1.75 million Florida Democrats voted,” said Nelson, who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit last year seeking to overturn the national party’s decision to strip Florida of its delegates.

Levin had similar thoughts. “It would not be practical or fair to hold a caucus,” Levin said. “You’ve got 600,000 people who voted. You can’t just throw out the votes of 600,000 people.” Levin said the state will appeal to have its delegates restored by the party convention’s credentials committee this summer....

Asked about the fact that Clinton appeared on the Michigan ballot and Obama did not, Levin noted that it was Obama’s choice to withdraw his name.




Senator Nelson's office has a lot to answer for anyway. This is just one thing among many. His office lied to me about his vote on telecom immunity. When questioned they just kept spinning.

Nelson voted for telecom immunity after saying he was against it

His office said he would vote against it, but all the while he was saying things like this.

But Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, agrees with the White House position. "At the end of the day we have to have the cooperation of the telecommunications companies, and they should not have the threat of a spurious lawsuits hanging over their heads," he said.


There is a word for what they did in the primary....manipulation of the voters. There is a word for what Bill did about telecom immunity...lying.

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Monday, February 18, 2008

How the Dean Campaign Is Helping Obama


First, there's the website. Joe Rospars, 26-year old head architect of Dean's internet team is Obama website designer and team manager.

Second, the fundraising model is the same as Dean used in 2004. Without this strategy as someone said, Obama would have been blown out of the race a long time ago.

Third, the Dean campaign itself. The momentum of the campaign propelled Dean into the DNC chairmanship. If Don Fowler or some Clinton crony would have gotten the gig, it could've totally shifted the playing field in favor of Hillary. We all remember how DNC Chairman McAuliffe (now Hil's campaign chair) stood by and failed to intervene as his former campaign client Dick Gephardt, tore Dean to shreds, along with Lieberman and other shadow Democrats in 2004.

When I go over to Obama's blog and read the comments, it reminds me so much of the comments that we read in 2004. Let's hope for the country's sake that the Dean legacy can continue to help Obama and bring about a better outcome.

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Update on Ally

Just got an update on Ally. It's not going so well today.

She's really uncomfortable and they may need to start the chemo early, with just a general kind,
since maybe they can't wait for the test results.

For those who don't know, Ally is listener's grand-niece, who was diagnosed on Valentine's Day with stomach cancer, just two weeks after her first birthday.  
The complicating factor is that the tumor is pressing on her aorta, causing high blood pressure.

Check on Baby for the full update as of 4:13pm Sunday, now up.
http://eatapyzch.blogspot.com
{♡ Thank-you, dear puddle! ♡}

Ally's Candle Page:



listener | Homepage | 02.17.08 - 5:04 pm |


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