The Edwards Effect

whats with all of the new threads???
Not that I don't like - I like!
Hope your having a good week :)

I supported John Edwards because he makes everyone lean left :)

all this cleaning is driving me nuts..

Five's A Crowd
There Are Four Contenders For Dennis Kucinich’s Congressional Seat. Do Any Of Them Stand A Chance? Do Any Of Them Deserve It?
By Anastasia Pantsios

On a cold weekday morning, the Hopemobile pulls out of the Giant Eagle parking lot on the corner of Snow and Ridge roads. The bright blue short bus carries congressional candidate Rosemary Palmer and is piloted by her husband, self-described "full-time volunteer" Paul Schroeder. Dressed in a red boiled-wool jacket and white gloves, Palmer looks as sensible as she bills herself: She says she's the "progressive pragmatic" in what's become a five-way Democratic primary with four challengers vying to take Dennis Kucinich's congressional seat in Ohio's 10th District. Along with Palmer, Barbara Anne Ferris, who took on Kucinich twice before, North Olmsted Mayor Thomas O'Grady and Cleveland Ward 13 City Councilman Joe Cimperman think they can do a better job of serving the district than Kucinich.

The Hopemobile sets out for a couple of hours of cruising the no-frills strip malls, family restaurants and grocery parking lots of Parma. Clusters of senior citizens in the Snow Road McDonald's take Palmer's literature and chat with her, but they're mostly Kucinich partisans. As she's leaving, an elderly man stands up and shouts jovially, "Dennis forever!"

Up the road at Arby's it's a different story. Palmer offers her standard opening line - "Hi, I'm Rosemary Palmer. I'm running for Congress against Dennis Kucinich." - to a 30-something man in work clothes as she drops a flyer on the tray he's carrying. He looks down at it and exclaims, "Can't wait 'til he's gone!"

Kucinich - or Dennis!, as his familiar yellow signs and bumper stickers bill him - evokes strong feelings that have only gotten stronger of late. Some of his supporters feel he's literally the only person who can save the world, a fearless fighter for the little man, for truth, justice and the American way. But increasingly, in the district where he's served for 12 years and been reelected each term with at least 60 percent of the vote, many have other strong feelings as well.

http://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/39/fives-a-crowd

»

A leading anti-war movement in the United States has opted to back Barack Obama for the presidency.
MoveOn.org claims to have 3.2 million members, and said it would start a campaign immediately to persuade them to support the senator from Illinois.
MoveOn said 70% of its members had backed Mr Obama over 30% for Mrs Clinton.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7223298.stm

Oh those wacky Swiss! Known for advancements in precision time pieces, chocolate ... the transmission of HIV to formerly healthy partners of those with HIV!! - Nutty!!

"Swiss AIDS experts said Thursday that some people with HIV who meet strict conditions and are under treatment can safely have unprotected sex with non-infected partners.

The Swiss National AIDS Commission said patients who can satisfy strict conditions, including successful antiretroviral treatment to suppress the virus and who do not have any other sexually transmitted diseases, do not pose a danger to others. The proposal was published this week in the Bulletin of Swiss Medicine."

Damn!! Who knew the Swiss were such jag-offs! Oh Yeah!! Looted Jewish Families from the Holocaust!

You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar
When I met you
I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around
Turned you into someone new
Now five years later on you’ve got the world at your feet
Success has been so easy for you
But don’t forget it’s me who put you where you are now
And I can put you back down too

With his progressive health care plan, his emphasis
on climate change, and his populist panache, succeeded in pulling all of the Democratic candidates to the left.

... Wardog's head just exploded. ;-p

Another al Qaeda #3
By: Steve Benen @ 5:10 AM - PST Once again, al Qaeda’s #3 man has been killed.

A senior al Qaeda terrorist who allegedly plotted and carried out attacks against U.S. and coalition forces was killed in Pakistan, a knowledgeable Western official and a military source told CNN Thursday.

He was identified as Abu Laith al-Libi, 41, who was on the military’s most wanted list.

Al-Libi was thought to have been involved in the February 2007 bombing at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan while Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting.

The knowledgeable Western official said al-Libi was “not far below the importance of the top two al Qaeda leaders” — Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

CNN Middle East analyst Octavia Nasr called al-Libi the third-ranking terrorist in al Qaeda and fourth in the world.

This is certainly welcome news. I’m curious, though, if anyone has a record of al Qaeda #3s who’ve been captured or killed recently. I was keeping a list for a while, and I think al-Libi is the seventh, following Hamza Rabia, Abu Faraj al-Libbi, Saif al-Adel, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Mohammed Sheikh Mohammed, and a senior operational leader identified in court documents as “C-2.”

You’d think, after a while, al Qaeda’s #4 guys would stop seeking promotions.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/02/01/another-al-qaeda-3/

:)Great to read ya...finally it's LUNCH TIME...

Weeee!

AND

it's FRIDAY!!!

Weeee!

bbl....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22940586/

Hollywood actress Eva Mendes has entered a rehabilitation center to tackle substance-abuse problems, celebrity magazine People reported on its website Friday.

The 33-year-old star of "Hitch" and "We Own the Night," has been undergoing treatment at Utah's Cirque Lodge center for several weeks, the report said.

"Eva has been working hard for the past year and made a positive decision to take some much-needed time off to proactively attend to some personal issues that, while not critical, she felt deserved some outside professional support," a representative for Mendes told People. "Out of respect for Eva's privacy, we do not wish to discuss further details."

Cirque Lodge was in the headlines last year after actress Lindsay Lohan checked into the facility following dual arrests for drink-driving.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Actress_Eva_Mendes_in_rehab_reports_0201200...

I'm glad you liked the vid, P_L.

As for the Super Bowl, Kevin... I'm chillin'...
The hooplah is 100 miles north of me.
I'm sure my friend is stressing. He's GM at Canal, which is some hoytytoyty new trendy restaurant in downtown Scottsdale, in some new Trumpish-type elitish square called The Waterfront. He says Al Pacino, & a lot of big shot celebs have already reserved. So somebody, not me, is gonna be working hard this Super Bowl weekend.

I'll be drinking and relaxing, I hope.

Operation: Clear Riff Raff I'm sure has begun...
Task force must relocate the poor, the homeless & the meth dealers from stadium neighborhoods until Monday morning. As per last time.

Enjoy your lunch! I am slipping down the rabbit hole now to write ...

Au revoir!

Ron Paul Outraised Romney and McCain Combined in 4th Quarter

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000002664966

Today's Must Read
By Paul Kiel - February 1, 2008, 9:40AM
So, after all that, after all the back room offers and counteroffers and fear-mongering and delaying, the Senate has finally struck a deal on the surveillance bill, and everyone has agreed to it, including Sens. Dodd and Feingold, so there should be no filibustering this time around. They'll get to voting on it all on Monday.

Most crucially, the Dodd/Feingold amendment, which would strip retroactive immunity for the telecoms from the bill, will only need 51 votes to pass. The same goes for the related Specter/Whitehouse amendment, which instead of offering immunity to the telecoms, would replace the federal government as the defendant in all the lawsuits.

There are, of course, other important amendments we'll be keeping an eye on. Sen. Feingold has a number, including one that would require a warrant when the target of the surveillance is a U.S. citizen or resident. This prevents the government from sneakily avoiding the trouble of a warrant by claiming that the focus is a foreign person; so-called "reverse targeting." Feingold's amendment would theoretically prevent that by requiring a FISA court warrant for surveillance of a foreign person where the "significant purpose" of the collection is to target a U.S. person located in the United States.

And the Republicans will have their own amendments which would loosen the bill's scope. Like one from Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) that "would change definitions in the law to allow surveillance without a warrant in cases that involve the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," as CQ's Tim Starks describes it. There's more detail on the vote thresholds required on the various amendments here.

So tune back in Monday to see what happens. It will be a much different kind of debate than last time around. The President, as expected, signed the bill extending the Protect America Act for 15 days, so Monday's vote will not have the same time pressures. It will be a vote on retroactive immunity without the administration's squeeze play. We'll see what happens.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/2008/02/todays_must_read_267.php

He's going to rake in the cash. Hope he get's to 86 Rush Limabugh

Free Democracy

I am right behind you .....

Free Democracy

Makes good cash, though. And, well, let's just say he's a Kucinich supporter, and Rush will not be treated special.

He does not regard the flying monkey right as celebrities.

...called, "Meathook." At his Myspace site.

1. Somalia

This Horn of Africa country has been in the grip of warlords for the last decade, fighting for control of drug and weapon trafficking rights. Risks include military clashes, kidnapping, landmines and pirates.

2. Iraq

Military action, collateral damage, insurgency and suicide bombings are daily occurrences in the country. Security experts say unstable areas include Baghdad and stretch from Tikrit in the north to Hillah in the south and from Mandali in the east to Ramadi in the west.

3. Afghanistan

Even though the ruling Taliban regime was officially ousted in Afghanistan in 2001, attacks from those still loyal to it and to al Qaeda continue. Military personnel and civilians are killed by improvised explosive devices daily.

4. Haiti Sharing the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with top vacation destination Dominican Republic, Haiti, the western hemisphere's poorest country, is plagued by civil unrest, police corruption and readily available firearms.

5. Pakistan

The country, which borders Afghanistan, suffers from ongoing geopolitical turmoil. Bomb attacks and rioting between Shia and Sunni Muslim communities are a threat. In December 2007, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated during a suicide bombing after months of strife over delayed elections.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2426062420080125?pageNumber=...

L.A. Councilman Dennis Zine plans to push for a measure to create a 'personal safety zone' to protect public safety. Chief Bratton says existing laws should suffice.

After aggressive paparazzi forced police to escort Britney Spears to the hospital this week, Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine announced this morning that he plans to push for an ordinance that would create a minimum "personal safety zone" around individuals targeted by the media.

Zine said the estimated $25,000 it costs for police to escort Spears to the hospital was necessary to protect the public from dangers posed by the horde of celebrity photographers pursuing the pop star. He said the paparazzi was increasingly endangering celebrities and bystanders with their aggressive behavior and car pursuits.

"I don't want a repeat of what happened to Princess Diana with a celebrity in Los Angeles," he said. "We had to have 12 officers escort [Spears] to the hospital that if not for paparazzi would have been to prevent crime somewhere else."

Zine said he plans to introduce a motion that calls for the city attorney and LAPD to draft new restrictions on paparazzi, including an ordinance that would create a zone of clear space in order to protect public safety on streets, sidewalks, access points to emergency care facilities and to private businesses and homes.

"It is a major issue we have to address. We are in a celebrity town," he said. "Celebrities have a right to live in peace and freedom."

But Police Chief William J. Bratton said existing laws can deal with the paparazzi.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-britney2feb02,0,6404125.story

The world's top 10 dangerous destinations
Submitted by pussyfoot on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 4:17pm.
-----------
...I don't see a Republican presidential candidacy on the list.

OBAMA'S "HARRY AND LOUISE" AD.

I was going to write a post about the health care exchange in last night's debate, noting that Hillary Clinton is basically arguing against Barack Obama's mandate from the wrong direction. The problem isn't that it leaves people out, but that it effectively closes off his ability to regulate the insurance industry, and opens up a flaw that could bring down his whole proposal. But before I do that, my inbox is full of e-mails this morning alerting me to his new mailer on health care. Here's what it looks like:

When I say that Obama is demagoguing universal health care, this sort of campaign literature is what I'm talking about. For contrast -- or more accurately, to see how little contrast there really is -- here's what the Harry and Louise ads looked like:

The Obama campaign kept their hairstyles and barely even changed their clothing -- which is really quite unfair to Harry and Louise, who probably let go of the plaid years back. What's worse is that the argument they're making is applicable to any kind of universal health care arrangement, including the arrangements Obama himself will eventually have to adopt:

An "automatic sign-up," a la Medicare, would still force Americans into health care they may not want to pay for, or may feel overburdened by. Some seniors feel overburdened by Medicare's cost-sharing now. Meanwhile, Obama not only has a mandate for kids in his own health care plan -- what if the parents can't pay, one might ask? -- but he said, in last night's debate, "If people are gaming the system, there are ways we can address that. By, for example, making them pay some of the back premiums for not having gotten it in the first place." That, of course, is exactly what a mandate does. Gaming the system, in this context, means not purchasing health care. And Obama is now threatening to force them to pay back premiums. That's a harsher penalty than anything Clinton has proposed.

Meanwhile, here's how Clinton should have explained the problem in Obama's plan: A central tenet of his proposal is that " No insurance companies will be allowed to discriminate because of a previous bout with cancer or some other pre-existing illness." You literally cannot have that rule without some mechanism forcing everyone to buy in, as the healthy will stay out. So one of two things will happen during the legislative process: Either a mandate will be added, or the prohibition against preexisting will be dropped, or limited to Obama's National Health Insurance Exchange. What will happen in that case is that the Exchange will largely become the domain of the public insurer, which will be a catch-all for the ill and unhealthy. Meanwhile, most insurers will operate outside the Exchange -- you don't have to buy insurance within the Exchange, it's just an option -- and use the existence of the Exchange to enhance their ability to skim the healthy and young and fob off the sick and old. A mandate is not how you cover everyone, it's how you force insurers to cover everyone, and discriminate against no one. And even if you don't have a mandate in your plan, to argue against universal mechanisms because they force people to buy insurance is supremely damaging to the long-term goal, which Obama professes support for, of some system in which everyone is, and has to be, covered.

More here:

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=02&year=2008&...

My favorite comment thus far on M$FT/YHOO.

Spears' 12-police escort prompts call for paparazzi limits
Submitted by pussyfoot on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 4:20pm.
-----------
Paris Hilton: "Oh! I've twisted my ankle. I don't think I can run."

Paparazzi: [Cricket chirps. Sounds of traffic passing by.]

I just checked my e-mail & was just informed that:

The celebrities have already arrived at CANAL.

Last night, Bill Clinton was there, along with football great, Jim Brown. Also, Barry Sanders,
Joey Fatone (n'sync), Reggie Rucker, Willie McGinest,
Bill Belichek, Vince Carter, Mike Haynes,
Ronnie Lott & Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (congresswoman)
were at the restaurant.

Speeches were made by Bill Belichek, President Clinton & Jim Brown. As well as a special DVD speech by basketball great, Bill Russell.

The medical aid charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres, is pulling international staff out of Somalia after three of its members were killed.

The group -- sometimes known as Doctors Without Borders -- said 87 non-Somali staff have been withdrawn from 14 projects across the country.

"As a mark of our respect and given the lack of clarity surrounding the circumstances of the attack, for the time being MSF has suspended all international staff presence," the group said in a news release.

U.N. officials have described the situation as a humanitarian crisis requiring worldwide efforts.

MSF said it believes the "organized attack" Monday -- a mine explosion along a road in Kismayo -- targeted its members.

"We find this attack against one of our teams absolutely intolerable and a serious violation of the humanitarian action to which our late colleagues were so committed," Dr. Christophe Fournier, international council president of MSF, said in the news release.

The MSF members killed were Victor Okumu, 51, a Kenyan doctor; Damien Lehalle, 27, a French logistician; and a Somali driver named Billan.

Hassan Kafi Hared, 36, a journalist working fro the Somali National News Agency, and a fight person, so far not named, also died in the attack. Initially, four people were reported dead.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/01/somalia.msf/index.html?eref=r...

Account Of Levin Amendment

War opponents say Sen. Hillary Clinton is misleading in her explanation about why she voted in 2003 against a bill that would have stalled America's invasion of Iraq.

During Thursday night's debate, the New York Democrat was asked why, if she did not believe the President was insistent on war, she didn't simply vote for a resolution that would have asked the United Nations to approve authorization of force against Saddam Hussein. Clinton responded that such a resolution -- which was sponsored by Michigan Senator Carl Levin -- would have made the president's authority "subordinate" to the United Nations.

"I have the greatest respect for my friend and colleague, Senator Levin," she said. "The way that amendment was drafted suggested that the United States would subordinate whatever our judgment might be going forward to the United Nations Security Council. I don't think that was a good precedent. Therefore, I voted against it."

This, war opponents say, is a stretch. Indeed, the Levin amendment - which was defeated by a vote of 24 to 75 - allowed the government to pursue an invasion of Iraq even if the United Nations voted against such a course of action. Congress, the bill read, should "not adjourn" before it "promptly considers proposals related to Iraq if the United Nations fails to adopt such a resolution."

Levin himself said as much in an October speech on the Senate floor. "My resolution affirms that, under international law and the U.N. Charter, the United States has at all times the inherent right to use military force in self-defense, affirming the fact that there is no U.N. veto over U.S. military action," he said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/01/war-opponents-dispute-cli_n_844...

Studebaker Buys Edsel
Submitted by Incubus on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 4:31pm.
My favorite comment thus far on M$FT/YHOO.
--------------
Microsoft: "En garde, Google!"

Google: "Results 1 - 10 of about 451,000 for en garde."
-----
[touché (French: touched) is used as an acknowledgement of a hit]

Bush and Cheney to attend CPAC for first time.

Ann Coulter may not have been invited, but President Bush and Dick Cheney have. According to a CPAC email, both the President and Vice President will speak at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference for the first time.

We HAVE been slaves of Great Britain since the 'beginning'....

ew.

Women Republicans?

Can't get more Mentally Disabled than that.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/01/iraq.main/index.html?eref=rss_...

FISA Fight: Feingold on the agreement
by mcjoan
Fri Feb 01, 2008 at 01:15:32 PM PST

Russ Feingold released this statement regarding the consent agreement reached yesterday by the Senate leadership.

"I am pleased that Republicans have finally backed down from their efforts to ram a deeply flawed FISA bill through the Senate without votes on amendments. We all agree that FISA needs to be updated so our government can go after the foreign communications of suspected terrorists. But we must not provide overly broad and unnecessary powers that infringe on the rights and privacy of law-abiding Americans, especially to an administration that has proven it cannot be trusted. Next week, we have an opportunity to fix this bill, but only if senators stand up to the administration’s attempted power grab and support my and other amendments to put in place checks and balances. If the final bill produced by the Senate doesn’t protect the privacy of law abiding Americans or if it includes immunity for telecom companies, I will strongly oppose it and will vote against cutting off debate on it."

Feingold was instrumental in the negotiations for this agreement, and most of the key amendments strengthening checks and balances and our privacy rights, not to mention stripping telco amnesty, are either sponsored or cosponsored by him.

The vote is Monday afternoon.

"I'm fucking Matt Damon" out loud this afternoon...

So Sarah is still friends with Sam Seder.. awww... :)

Everybody in America has already looked right up into the

depths of her cooch on their computer.

Where do you go from there?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I'm not seeing a woman or a black man being president...However...if Bill is a direct descendent of whatever spooky bloodline, then Hill could be the one...and either way things are going suck shit...

and tell them they're gaining work experience...

thats pussyfooting!!! hahahahahaha

GO GIANTS....(i dont know what that means, but grover says that all the time)!!!

I don't get the Brittney Spears fascination.
Submitted by Peter Dragon on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 4:54pm.
---------
Two words: Pet Rock.

Since the inauguration of George Herbert Walker Bush on January 20, 1989, every President of The United States of America has been a member of one of America's two political royal families:


http://bushclintonforever.googlepages.com/

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Americans under the age of 37 have never voted in a presidential election without a Bush or a Clinton on the ballot as the choice for President.

http://bushclintonforever.googlepages.com/clinton-bushpainting.jpg/clint...

Breaking: Last night's Democratic debate on CNN drew 8,324,000 million total viewers, making it the most-watched primary debate in cable news history, and the second-most watched on TV this election cycle (ABC's Democratic debate on Jan. 5 drew 9,360,000)

The debate gives CNN the top five highest rated cable debates this cycle in total viewers.

> Update: In the A25-54 demo, the debate finished with 3,257,000 viewers, the #1 take in cable news history as well.

Posted: Friday, February 01, 2008 3:40 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Clinton
From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
He did it again.

"Bill Clinton mentioned Ted Kennedy last night in Phoenix, Ariz., in reference to the "train wreck" of No Child Left Behind, as reported by NBC/NJ last night.

Today, at a rally in Clinton home state of Arkansas, he just repeated the same sentiment, perhaps a bit more strongly. He said that the education bill came about because "the president made a deal with Senator Kennedy."

Of course, it wouldn't be Bill without a spoonful of sugar. He added, "Neither one of them meant to mess it up."

Then a long riff on why it failed. "

Event in progress...

"*** UPDATE *** It is worth noting that Hillary Clinton voted for No Child Left Behind."

US backs modernizing Polish air defenses
Reuters - 59 minutes ago
--------
I have lots of ideas but you won't read them here. I still have a couple of scruples left despite claims to the contrary.

¡ʎʇɹɐd sʇǝ1 'puǝʞǝǝʍ 1ʍoqɹǝdns ɐ s,ʇı .sǝʇıɹǝpǝs ʎɐpıɹɟ ʎddɐɥ

--U.S. Adds Weight To Polish Trebuchet Air Defenses--

chia pet

duck. incoming cows.

Iraq never would have happened if Chia herbal gardens came in cannabis.

Dear MoveOn member,
With hundreds of thousands of ballots cast across the country, for the first time in MoveOn's history, we've voted together to endorse a presidential candidate in the primary. That candidate is Barack Obama.

Something big is clearly happening. A few weeks ago, MoveOn members we surveyed were split. But with John Edwards bowing out, progressives are coming together. Obama won over 70% of the vote yesterday, and he's moving up in polls nationwide.1 As comments poured in from MoveOn members across the country, the sense of hope was inspiring. Here's how Christine Y. in New Jersey put it:

"I've never felt so strongly about any one candidate in my entire life. He's truly an inspiration to all of us—especially the younger generation. I will stand by him 100% for as long as he's willing to stand up and fight for this country!"

What does MoveOn's endorsement mean? People-power. Together, we are 3.2 million Americans who care about our country and want change. Half of us live in states with primaries or caucuses this coming "Super Tuesday."

We know how to roll up our sleeves and win elections, and if we all pitch in together between now and Tuesday, we can help Sen. Obama win the biggest primary day in American history. Think about it: volunteering during the next four days could mean four years of a progressive president. Can you sign up right now to volunteer for Obama's campaign? Click here:

http://pol.moveon.org/volunteerforobama/?id=12015-5102328-C41Bzx&t=535

There are lots of ways to help. You can call voters from home, go door-to-door with others in your community, travel to "Super Tuesday" states, donate, put up a yard sign, volunteer in a campaign office, or join a local meetup. Senator Obama is running a grassroots campaign, and there's a role for everyone.

Many of us feel like change is within reach for the first time in years. Here's some more of what MoveOn members see in Obama:

"This country needs real, progressive transformation. Barack Obama is the candidate who gives us the best hope of uniting and inspiring the nation to move in that direction, while also restoring America's dignity and standing as a member of the global community."—James M., Connecticut

"While I'm impressed with Clinton and believe she would make a very good president, I'm actually MOVED by Obama. In the end, I believe if Obama is elected he has the potential to bring the country together behind him."—Patricia S., Wisconsin

"He was right on the biggest question of the era—opposing the war from the start."—Jacob S., Washington, D.C.

"I support Barack Obama for the same reasons I support MoveOn.org: the more people are inspired to get involved, the better the outcome for our country. Senator Obama has demonstrated a unique capacity to inspire participation and to make public service 'cool' again. He is also sound on all the issues that matter to me and my family."—Liz B., New York

"I live in a red state, and I see my conservative neighbors and friends showing a positive interest in Barack. They like him. They are ready to be swayed. And I see my Democratic friends and family members getting excited like never before...With Barack as our candidate, I am convinced that we can win in a landslide in 2008 and usher in a new era of progressive politics."—Desirina B., Georgia

To be clear, we won't always agree with all of Obama's positions. And MoveOn members said overwhelmingly that, regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, we'll work hard to win the White House in 2008. Whatever happens in the primary, we'll push the Democratic nominee to campaign progressively and then we'll push them to fulfill their promises after they win.

The building of a progressive consensus around Senator Obama is tangible. Earlier this week, John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy said Obama is the first presidential candidate to be as inspirational as her father.2 Yesterday, progressive magazine The Nation said that electing Obama is "a chance we can't pass up."3 And then DailyKos.com, the most widely read progressive blog, announced Obama won 76% in a reader poll this week.4

It's time to get to work electing a president who is inspiring a nation and is talking about big, progressive change. Click here to volunteer in these next crucial days:

http://pol.moveon.org/volunteerforobama/?id=12015-5102328-C41Bzx&t=536

This is just the beginning of a long road to victory in November. Thanks for all you do, and will do to change our country for the better in 2008.

–Eli, Wes, Joan, Justin, Adam G., Adam R., Ilyse, Karin, Nita, Noah, Marika, Laura, Peter, Anna, Matt, Daniel, Carrie, Tanya, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Friday, February 1st, 2008

The Edwards Effect
Submitted by Lauren on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 3:20pm.
Check out Paul Krugman's excellent op-ed today
where he explains how, even though John Edwards is out of the race, the
effects of his campaign will still be seen all the way through to the
general election.
____________

Honey, they all say that whenever a candidate drops out. I think that even Chimp said that he would adopt some of McCain's plans during '00. It's all bullshit to win over that candidate's supporters.

Signature:

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

The Republicans aren't as stupid as I pegged them. McCain is the sure shot. Only Obama can defeat him... and he has only a slight chance of defeating him. If they throw cupcakes to Hillary next Tuesday this thing is over.

Signature:

www.sigzone.blogspot.com

Sent to me by a friend:
----------
Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10. When the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts.

The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each. The supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it.

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys that the man has collected in his big cage. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each."

The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys. They never saw the man nor his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere.

Now you have a better understanding of how the stock market works.

about how isolated we all are is truly inspirational to me.

Can you imagine what Michelle speaking out about what work/life balance means to men let alone women?

Now you have a better understanding of how the stock market works.

***

Good one.

the rally in the market... don't buy it, and don't get caught holding over the weekend.

Another day in "the Surge." Over fifty killed in two Baghdad markets. In Republican and Democratic primaries, war candidates lead polls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html?_r=1&hp&o...

Germany says no to more German troops in Afghanistan. Gates sent "stern" message to German Defense Minister. Germany replies with extended finger. Danke Deutschland.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080201/wl_afp/germanyusafghanistannatomili...

I feel really bad that I offended you yesterday. I haven't been holding many stocks for some time but would love to know why you wrote that last comment.

US war in Iraq = more than 1 million dead. Messrs. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Blair, and the neocon "Cabal" are all now proper candidates for war crimes trials in The Hague.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRd3Bi6CXI94ke9t9CgxqcZ1wPNw

Disgusting.

We did that.

Human Rights Watch: Venezuela is basically democratic. Runs contrary to neocon propaganda about Hugo Chavez government.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/401909.html

Catharine
Submitted by Fernando on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 6:22pm.

I feel really bad that I offended you yesterday. I haven't been holding many stocks for some time but would love to know why you wrote that last comment.

***

I am not that easily offended. I am sorry that you thought that, although I can understand why you did.

Which last comment?

McCain almost switched to Democratic Party in 2001. Discussions on switch held with Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle, and John Edwards.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/democrats-say-mccain-nearly-abandone...

If he doesn't change that, he will not get Edwards' help.

His healthcare pakage does not help people with pre existing deseases.

Caution here. Take a really good look at both that are running and make a wise decision. Talk is cheap. I want ideas down on paper of what they are for.

I don't like several things that Hillary wants to do. So in my mind it is still a toss up.

And we all have to worry about who gets into congress. As you can tell from this president, it is the congress that will change things.

It's time to contact them and find out where they stand and if they would change things we don't like.

Don't fall for words. Actions are what count.

Punxsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, Supports Surge

I never use the term "girl" in a derogatory way. I have a daughter who is a girl, very gay and wonderful. Girls rock.

***

I don't like Obama's health care ideas

Submitted by toniD on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 6:28pm.

If he doesn't change that, he will not get Edwards' help.

His healthcare pakage does not help people with pre existing deseases...

***

That is why I was not that excited about Obama. I saw there was a big difference between Edwards and Obama particularly on the Healthcare issue. A lot of it was substance, as in a lack of it on Obama's part. His "plan" is to negotiate with the healthcare companies. That will never work, and I am sure he knows that. I think we have to keep pushing them hard, and make them realize that compromise is not acceptable. People's health can not be motivated by profit. Period.

Google search, keyword "chump"

Results 1 - 10 of about 451,000 for Microsoft

Well, as I know you are well aware, calling a woman a "girl" can get you in trouble sometimes; a woman might take offense. It's all in the context; and I was just teasing you.

"Hold over the weekend" :

I dunno, but lately the markets have been so incredibly volatile and it is clear that every day there is potential for massive moves to the downside. It makes a lot of traders nervous to hold a position [be 'long' or own stocks] over a weekend; particularly under the circumstances. The markets will move over the weekend due to global markets that are ahead of us, and traders will be worrying about their position. Generally they take profits on a Friday and sell, just to be safe. They can always buy into it if it takes a nosedive early Monday.

I'm not a trader, I just invest and have always been puzzled about why markets typically tank on Friday.

I don't see a weekend as holding long. I see a quarter as a good time to adjust. How stupid am I?

Again!?

I think I understand what you mean by context. I found the way you were commenting about politics sexy so I prolly just responded based on your earlier comment like a sexist.

I have to confess that I do find political opinions a turn on or a turn off. For what it's worth. I don't see how Carville disassociates with that bitch.

Maybe just to get the stimulus package passed so it will go on his record that he tried to fix the economy. Why all of a sudden is he worried?

Bush sees 'troubling signs' for economy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — President Bush prodded Congress to pass an economic stimulus package Friday, pointing to "troubling signs" in a new report that ended a 52-month streak of national job growth.
Bush was in the nation's heartland pressuring Congress to boost the sagging economy with a plan of tax rebates for millions of people and tax breaks for companies. The White House-backed economic rescue deal in the House has hit roadblocks in the Senate.

"Inflation's low. Productivity's high, but there are certainly some troubling signs, serious signs that the economy is weakening and that we've got to do something about it," said Bush, who spoke just hours after the Labor Department reported that employers cut 17,000 jobs in January.

It was the first such reduction in more than four years and a fresh sign that the economy might be stalling. And it ended Bush's repeated claim — made most recently in his State of the Union address — that "America has added jobs for a record 52 straight months."

REPORT: Payrolls drop for first time since '03
On Friday, at Hallmark Cards Inc., Bush said, "A serious matter is that for the first time in 52 months we didn't create jobs."

"And so the question is, what do we do about it? ... I do think government has a responsibility. I think government can take decisive action to help us deal with this period of uncertainty."

Bush gave perhaps the gentlest push of his administration, in a shift in rhetoric.

"I appreciate the fact that the Senate is trying to work though this as quickly as possible," he said. "I'm just urging them to get it done — because the sooner this package makes it to my desk ... the better off our economy is going to be."

The president's speech on the economy capped three days of travel to highlight themes in his State of the Union address and raise an estimated $4.7 million for the Republican Party and its candidates in California, Nevada, Colorado and Missouri. After visiting Hallmark, Bush went to raise money for Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., who is in a tough re-election race.

There have been numerous signs that the economy is in what the president called a "rough patch."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-02-01-bush-stimulus_N.htm?c...

This is surreal to me. Unless the base is starting to complain about the economy.

Man, I've been so busy I didn't even get to peek in here at all yesterday or most of today.

Love and hugs to all!!!!

abound.  there will be another one in a half hour, please don't freak out

They report it as Profit taking.

Free Democracy

Submitted by Catharine on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 6:33pm.
...His "plan" is to negotiate with the healthcare companies...
----------
If the private sector is to be recruited into Universal Health Care, it would be the insurance industry (in my worthless opinion), not the health care industry. The health care industry is downstream of the insurance industry (and more disparate than the insurance industry), so it be beholden to them what be holdin' the purse strings.

I believe that recruiting the private sector, whether the insurance or health care industries, is a bad idea. Universal Health Care is a socialist effort that should be (at first, at the least) undertaken and structured and funded and regulated by government. Probably in time, the private sector will be banging on government's door for a piece of the action despite the stiff regulation.

That said (and in the real world), I expect that the whole health care thing will be terribly screwed up by the time it sees daylight.

The only way to control runaway costs in health care is to regulate the shit out of it. Hardcore Capitalists will scream, "You are stifling medical research and innovation that results from a free marketplace!"

To a degree this is true. Unlimited remittances fund research and innovation. Unlimited costs also limit the recipients (the beneficiaries) of research and innovation. The cutting edge is available only to the deepest pockets. Universal Health Care won't change this fact for the rich who are willing to pay more even though it might reduce the pace of research and innovation. Greater rewards warrant bigger risks. Get over it. I could argue that the rewards are not now as great as they could be, so let's increase the cost of health care.

Cable and satellite dish television service providers charge a gross fee of (roughly) $50 per month. The beauty of this scheduled type of Capitalism is that subscribers remit $50 per month over and over and over again in a steady stream. From the $50, the company pays its costs and pockets a profit. The profit percentage of the $50 increases with the increase in total subscribers.

Universal Health Care should be no different (assuming that the insurance industry is to be included in the cash stream regulated by the government). Even if the net profit, after costs, for insuring 300 million people is only one dollar per citizen per month, it is still a sizable profit. Due to government regulation there would be no giant growth potential for the insurers BUT I refuse to believe that every potential insurer would walk away from a net profit stream of 300 million dollars per month.

It may not be the Wall Street Big Time, but it isn't an offer that would sit on the table for long.

when a trader is long, it refers to buying a stock and holding it with the expectation that it will increase in value.

when a trader is short, it refers to borrowing a stock from a broker, selling it, with the expectation that it will lose value, so that you can buy it back at a lower price and return it to the broker.

the long/short can be for any timeframe from seconds to days, weeks, months, or years.

its my impression that short positions tend to be brief in duration because you are paying interest every day on your loan, as while as a short position has infinite upside risk (meaning that if the stock price increases you still need to return it to your broker, but at a loss to yourself).

So you really think legislating health care is the answer?

Really? Negotiating with business is a good idea and letting citizens vote on what is right is appropriate. I just cant see how concentrating that power is good.

thx dan.

several things have happened:

- 1st and foremost is that he's trying to stampede the democratic senate into passing what he wants by creating the pre-conditions that if they don't they will be blamed for the economic stimulus failing irregardless of the fact that the whole thing is nothing more than a thinly disguised raid on the treausry as well as a crap shoot.

- the jobs report today indicates we are in serious trouble. personally i think they are sitting on how big the trouble is with subprime, cdo's and sivs and letting it leak out a little bit at a time

- some weird shit is happening globally. out of the blue, the chinese have stopped exporting coal and are importing it now. coal hit record prices today. guess where our electricity comes from? don't kid yourself that the coal companies won't borrow the oil companies play book.

- the endless war is getting longer. talk about bring the troops home is being put on hold. this is trillions of money off the books. but wait there's more. the budget coming out will set a record.

hows that for a starter?

thats a pretty dangerous generalization although your reasoning about wanting to book profits for the week is sound.

says Monkey Boy.... and we'll get through it.

Easy for him to say. What a prick

But its a re-run....DAM