“Senator Obama’s comment today is fundamentally at odds with what his teachers, family, classmates and staff have said about his plans to run for president. Senator Obama’s campaign rhetoric is getting in the way of his reality.” –Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer
Today in Iowa, Senator Barack Obama said: “I have not been planning to run for president for however number of years some of the other candidates have been planning for.”
However, the facts don’t back up Sen. Obama’s claim.
And what is their evidence? Well, here’s part of it (in addition to some vague quotes from a relative and law school classmate):
In third grade, Sen. Obama wrote an essay titled ‘I Want To Be a President’:
Sen. Obama’s third grade teacher, Fermina Katarina Sinaga, “asked her class to write an essay titled ‘My dream: What I want to be in the future.’ Obama wrote ‘I want to be a president,’ she said.” [The Los Angeles Times, 3/15/07]
In kindergarten, Sen. Obama wrote an essay titled ‘I Want to Become President’:
“Iis Darmawan, 63, Obama’s kindergarten teacher, remembers him as an exceptionally tall and curly haired child who quickly picked up the local language and had sharp math skills. He wrote an essay titled, ‘I Want To Become President,’ the teacher said.” [AP, 1/25/07]
Does anyone else remember Hilary’s pretending she wasn’t planning on running a few years back, even though it was obvious that ws the whole reason she ran for senate first? Why is it okay for her but no one else?
What is wrong with wanting to be president (beyond the fact that anyone who wants the job must be crazy), and working towards becoming the president? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?
And if you have to go back to kindergarten to dig up dirt on the guy, what does that say about him and about you, Mrs Whitewater?
Eloise Harper reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaking in Bettendorf, Iowa, trying to convince a crowd to caucus for her, explained that she wants to be with them so that she can win Iowa in November 2008.
“I want a long term relationship,” she said. “I don’t want to just have a one night stand with all of you.”
on that ‘strong economy’ Bush keeps talking about: NYT
How bad is it? Well, I’ve never seen financial insiders this spooked — not even during the Asian crisis of 1997-98, when economic dominoes seemed to be falling all around the world.
This time, market players seem truly horrified — because they’ve suddenly realized that they don’t understand the complex financial system they created.
Before I get to that, however, let’s talk about what’s happening right now.
Credit — lending between market players — is to the financial markets what motor oil is to car engines. The ability to raise cash on short notice, which is what people mean when they talk about “liquidity,” is an essential lubricant for the markets, and for the economy as a whole.
But liquidity has been drying up. Some credit markets have effectively closed up shop. Interest rates in other markets — like the London market, in which banks lend to each other — have risen even as interest rates on U.S. government debt, which is still considered safe, have plunged.
“What we are witnessing,” says Bill Gross of the bond manager Pimco, “is essentially the breakdown of our modern-day banking system, a complex of leveraged lending so hard to understand that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke required a face-to-face refresher course from hedge fund managers in mid-August.”
Good to know that Bernanke and Co are getting on the job training, isn’t it?
Yeah, I’ve been following that story; some greedy, though naive local municipality administrators (with coffers full from hydro power generation in their areas) bought highly leveraged financial instruments issued by Citigroup. The local broker and the municipal administrators may have broken the law which prohibits the use of public funds for such risky investments.
So far, Citigroup looks like the winner, but that may be short-term…
If there’s a money scandal there is sure to be someone named bush-or bush buddies-involved. Bush crime family strikes again..and again and again and again……you know Ronnie Raygun was called the Teflon President but the Bush Crime Family seems to be the real holder of the Teflon Award, going back to old Prescott Bush.(maybe even before that)
Well, that was quick. Great news for Australia and the rest of the globe. Only the US remains standing against the unreasonable requirements of the Kyoto-protocol…/sn
Business lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year’s elections, are racing to secure final approval for a wide range of health, safety, labor and economic rules, in the belief that they can get better deals from the Bush administration than from its successor.
Hoping to lock in policies backed by a pro-business administration, poultry farmers are seeking an exemption for the smelly fumes produced by tons of chicken manure. Businesses are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. And electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.
[snip]
At the Transportation Department, trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work. And automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs — standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover.
[snip]
At the Interior Department, coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys.
Not only is business asking for their Christmas presents early, they’re hedging their bets by making big contributions to Democrats. You can never make too many bribes, you know.
Iraqi capital fears an epidemic if stricken sewerage system collapses as the rainy season arrives
Baghdad is facing a ‘catastrophe’ with cases of cholera rising sharply in the past three weeks to more than 100, strengthening fears that poor sanitation and the imminent rainy season could create an epidemic.
The disease – spread by bacteria in contaminated water, which can result in rapid dehydration and death – threatens to blunt growing optimism in the Iraqi capital after a recent downturn in violence.
[snip]
As Iraq’s rainy season nears, its ageing water pipes and sewerage systems, many damaged or destroyed by more than four years of war, pose a new threat to a population weary of crisis. Claire Hajaj, a spokeswoman for Unicef, said: ‘Iraq’s water and sanitation networks are in a critical condition. Pollution of waterways by raw sewage is perhaps the greatest environmental and public health hazard facing Iraqis – particularly children. Waterborne diarrhoea diseases kill and sicken more Iraqi children than anything except pneumonia. We estimate that only one in three Iraqi children can rely on a safe water source – with Baghdad and southern cities most affected.’
Those poor Iraqi children who have never known anything but war in their short lives will now be introduced to cholera. How much more can the Iraqis take?
If cholera doesn’t kill them something else will. I believe it was a report from the UN that stated that every 5 MINUTES an Iraqi child now dies…mainly from war related effects. Any Iraqi child who manages to live and become and adult and not end up hating us will probably be a minor miracle.
keeping the ME in a constant state of turmoil is a full time job at BushWorld:
* US ‘declaration’ a setback for Maliki*
DAMASCUS – Sometimes, frequently nowadays, one doubts the wisdom of decision-makers in Washington. The case was clear, for example, with Syria and Palestine. When President George W Bush comes out to praise political prisoners in Damascus, he completely ruins their credibility in the Syrian Street, projecting them as stooges for the United States. When he embraces Mahmud Abbas of Palestine, the same impression is made on ordinary Palestinians who immediately write off their president as a puppet for Washington, making it difficult for him – if not impossible – to discuss peace with Israel.
The situation now applies to Iraq as well.
.
.
And now, the Americans have done the same thing to Maliki.
.
.
Things seemed rosy for Maliki, until this week, when Bush convinced him to sign a “declaration of principles” with the United States. Among other things, the declaration pledged to disarm all militias in Iraq, without naming them, and fire all militiamen who had joined the police and security forces under the nose of the Maliki government.
.
. asia times
and things went seriously south after that.
perhaps the thought of the iraqi’s actually achieving some political success was more than BushCo™ could stomach. especially given the apparent rise in power and influence of muqtada al-sadr.
the article speaks for itself, and marks another nadir in the governments treatment of it’s veterans:
‘A Soldier’s Officer’
In a nondescript conference room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside listened last week as an Army prosecutor outlined the criminal case against her in a preliminary hearing. The charges: attempting suicide and endangering the life of another soldier while serving in Iraq.
Her hands trembled as Maj. Stefan Wolfe, the prosecutor, argued that Whiteside, now a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed, should be court-martialed. After seven years of exemplary service, the 25-year-old Army reservist faces the possibility of life in prison if she is tried and convicted.
Military psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside after she recovered from her self-inflicted gunshot wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone. But Whiteside’s superiors considered her mental illness “an excuse” for criminal conduct, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.
At the hearing, Wolfe, who had already warned Whiteside’s lawyer of the risk of using a “psychobabble” defense, pressed a senior psychiatrist at Walter Reed to justify his diagnosis.
“I’m not here to play legal games,” Col. George Brandt responded angrily, according to a recording of the hearing. “I am here out of the genuine concern for a human being that’s breaking and that is broken. She has a severe and significant illness. Let’s treat her as a human being, for Christ’s sake!”
.
.
. wapo
What I really really don’t understand is that with every war we’ve fought this problem comes to light and has never been fixed. Veterans continue to be screwed over again and again by any administration.
I’d like to ask everyone who has a support the troops sign on their car or anywhere what are they really doing to support the troops…marching on D.C. would be a start to get them the funding needed to really take care of them….support the troops-easy to say meaning nothing really without any action to back it up.
Slower sales and higher energy and labor costs are forcing companies from Bear Stearns Cos. to Pitney Bowes Inc. to reduce spending and hiring. Their efforts to keep earnings from eroding even further raise the risk that the economy, already weakened by the steepest housing slide since 1991, may shrink sometime next year.
“The earnings recession has already arrived,” says David Rosenberg, North America economist for Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York. “We are going to see an economic recession in ’08.”
Corporate profits, as measured by the Commerce Department, fell at an annual rate of $19.3 billion in the third quarter from the second, as domestic earnings dropped by $41.2 billion. The drag from sagging U.S. sales and huge writedowns offset robust earnings abroad, fueled by the weak U.S dollar. The fourth quarter may be an even bigger bust.
is officially crazy:
And what is their evidence? Well, here’s part of it (in addition to some vague quotes from a relative and law school classmate):
Does anyone else remember Hilary’s pretending she wasn’t planning on running a few years back, even though it was obvious that ws the whole reason she ran for senate first? Why is it okay for her but no one else?
What is wrong with wanting to be president (beyond the fact that anyone who wants the job must be crazy), and working towards becoming the president? Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?
And if you have to go back to kindergarten to dig up dirt on the guy, what does that say about him and about you, Mrs Whitewater?
Hillary shouldn’t make. This is one of them:
</hillary stories today>
on that ‘strong economy’ Bush keeps talking about: NYT
Good to know that Bernanke and Co are getting on the job training, isn’t it?
is even reaching Norway.
Yeah, I’ve been following that story; some greedy, though naive local municipality administrators (with coffers full from hydro power generation in their areas) bought highly leveraged financial instruments issued by Citigroup. The local broker and the municipal administrators may have broken the law which prohibits the use of public funds for such risky investments.
So far, Citigroup looks like the winner, but that may be short-term…
Apparently the local governments in Florida are having similar issues, only Lehman is the winner in this one: LINK…
If there’s a money scandal there is sure to be someone named bush-or bush buddies-involved. Bush crime family strikes again..and again and again and again……you know Ronnie Raygun was called the Teflon President but the Bush Crime Family seems to be the real holder of the Teflon Award, going back to old Prescott Bush.(maybe even before that)
Well, that was quick. Great news for Australia and the rest of the globe. Only the US remains standing against the unreasonable requirements of the Kyoto-protocol…/sn
Rudd takes Australia inside Kyoto
May our next president act as quickly in January 2008.
I’d be thrilled if we had a new president by January 2008 😉
Oops, I meant 2009. Wishful thinking on my part?
(need more coffeee)
From the NYT:
Business lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year’s elections, are racing to secure final approval for a wide range of health, safety, labor and economic rules, in the belief that they can get better deals from the Bush administration than from its successor.
Hoping to lock in policies backed by a pro-business administration, poultry farmers are seeking an exemption for the smelly fumes produced by tons of chicken manure. Businesses are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. And electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.
[snip]
At the Transportation Department, trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work. And automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs — standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover.
[snip]
At the Interior Department, coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys.
Not only is business asking for their Christmas presents early, they’re hedging their bets by making big contributions to Democrats. You can never make too many bribes, you know.
They’ve had such a good time feeding at the Bush trough for the last 8 years, and now they’re afraid they’re going to be put on a diet.
Of course, Hillary is only too happy to take their money…isn’t she getting the bulk of the defense industry’s donations?
I’m sure Hillary is the biggest recipient, but those corporate piggies will spread their dirty money around, I’m sure.
This was just a matter of time:
Iraqi capital fears an epidemic if stricken sewerage system collapses as the rainy season arrives
Baghdad is facing a ‘catastrophe’ with cases of cholera rising sharply in the past three weeks to more than 100, strengthening fears that poor sanitation and the imminent rainy season could create an epidemic.
The disease – spread by bacteria in contaminated water, which can result in rapid dehydration and death – threatens to blunt growing optimism in the Iraqi capital after a recent downturn in violence.
[snip]
As Iraq’s rainy season nears, its ageing water pipes and sewerage systems, many damaged or destroyed by more than four years of war, pose a new threat to a population weary of crisis. Claire Hajaj, a spokeswoman for Unicef, said: ‘Iraq’s water and sanitation networks are in a critical condition. Pollution of waterways by raw sewage is perhaps the greatest environmental and public health hazard facing Iraqis – particularly children. Waterborne diarrhoea diseases kill and sicken more Iraqi children than anything except pneumonia. We estimate that only one in three Iraqi children can rely on a safe water source – with Baghdad and southern cities most affected.’
Those poor Iraqi children who have never known anything but war in their short lives will now be introduced to cholera. How much more can the Iraqis take?
If cholera doesn’t kill them something else will. I believe it was a report from the UN that stated that every 5 MINUTES an Iraqi child now dies…mainly from war related effects. Any Iraqi child who manages to live and become and adult and not end up hating us will probably be a minor miracle.
keeping the ME in a constant state of turmoil is a full time job at BushWorld:
and things went seriously south after that.
perhaps the thought of the iraqi’s actually achieving some political success was more than BushCo™ could stomach. especially given the apparent rise in power and influence of muqtada al-sadr.
lTMF’sA
the article speaks for itself, and marks another nadir in the governments treatment of it’s veterans:
lTMF’sA
I wish that story were unbelievable…at this point, it’s almost expected.
How could we as a country allow the people who joined the military be treated that way?
What I really really don’t understand is that with every war we’ve fought this problem comes to light and has never been fixed. Veterans continue to be screwed over again and again by any administration.
I’d like to ask everyone who has a support the troops sign on their car or anywhere what are they really doing to support the troops…marching on D.C. would be a start to get them the funding needed to really take care of them….support the troops-easy to say meaning nothing really without any action to back it up.
NOT.