The push to credit 'mortgage-back securities' as the causal effect of our financial crisis is very troubling and misleading.
Yes,the home mortgage crisis is a huge contribution, however do you honestly believe Iceland, a Country, has gone bankrupt because of 'low income'or 'mortgage backed securitues'?
We cannot continue to allow the false rhetoric to soar and the truth to be buried. If we continue to blame 'mortgage-backed securites" as the root of the problem, justice will never be ceased.
We need to get to the root of this Global Financial Crisis, whatever the outcome.
Remember, Corporate Bankruptcy,Debtor in Possession Financing,(Darla Moore's invention-Richard Rainwater's wife), Healthcare Fraud and REIT's would be a great start.
I believe we should go back to 1997. The year Healthcare Reform was passed.
In 1997, the largest healthcare company in the nation was the "Frist Family" and friends' Hospital Corporation of America , HCA, or any one of their affiliates...There are many players here so try to keep up!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2003
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
LARGEST HEALTH CARE FRAUD CASE IN U.S. HISTORY SETTLED
HCA INVESTIGATION NETS RECORD TOTAL OF $1.7 BILLION
WASHINGTON, D.C. - HCA Inc. (formerly known as Columbia/HCA and HCA - The Healthcare Company) has agreed to pay the United States $631 million in civil penalties and damages arising from false claims the government alleged it submitted to Medicare and other federal health programs, the Justice Department announced today.
One must wonder about the mortgage-related securities JPMorgan is taking onto its books. The following are not the only questionable liabilities JPMorgan has taken on that Richard Rainwater was directly involved with and I am not referring to oil.
JPMorgan is taking on about $176 billion of WaMu home loans, and marking down almost $31 billion of that right off the bat.
Just before the Real Estate crash in 2007, JPMorgan Chase financed Richard Rainwater’s REIT, Crescent (CEI) sale. (Many investors wondered about this move)
Jul 28, 2003
2003-87
SEC Settles Enforcement Proceedings against J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
J.P. Morgan Chase Agrees to Pay $135 Million to Settle SEC Allegations that It Helped Enron Commit Fraud
Citigroup Agrees to Pay $120 Million to Settle SEC Allegations that It Helped Enron and Dynegy Commit Fraud
The following is an excerpt from a 10-K SEC Filing, filed by J P MORGAN CHASE & CO on 3/9/2006: Enron litigation. JPMorgan Chase and certain of its officers and directors are involved in a number of lawsuits arising out of its banking relationships with Enron Corp.
The three current or former Firm employees are sued in their roles as former
members of NCFE's board of directors
National Century Financial Enterprises litigation. JPMorgan Chase, JPMorgan
Chase Bank, JPMorgan Partners, Beacon Group, LLC and three current or former
Firm employees have been named as defendants in more than a dozen actions filed in or transferred to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (the "MDL Litigation"). In the majority of these actions, Bank One, Bank One, N.A., and Banc One Capital Markets, Inc. are also named as defendants.
JPMorgan Chase Bank and Bank One, N.A. are also defendants in an action brought by The Unencumbered Assets Trust ("UAT"), a trust created for the benefit of the creditors of National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc. ("NCFE") as a result
of NCFE's Plan of Liquidation in bankruptcy.
"...the Order finds that JPMorgan Chase was a cause of NCFE's violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act, requires JPMorgan Chase to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act, and orders JPMorgan Chase to pay disgorgement of $1,286,808.82 and prejudgment interest of $711,335.76. JPMorgan Chase consented to the issuance of the Order without admitting or denying any of the findings therein."
JP Morgan Settles SEC Proceeding Relating to Activities as Trustee to National Century Financial Enterprises
The SEC settled administrative proceedings against JPMorgan Chase & Co relating to its activities as an asset-backed indenture trustee for certain special-purpose subsidiary programs (programs) of National Century Financial Enterprises, Inc. (NCFE), formerly a Dublin, Ohio healthcare financing company, during the approximate period 1999-2002. According to the SEC's Order, JPMorgan Chase and Bank One Corporation, which merged into JPMorgan Chase in 2004, at the instruction of NCFE, made transfers between reserve accounts in the programs that contradicted NCFE's representations to investors about how the reserve accounts would be used and contravened the requirements of the indentures governing the programs. In addition, the Order finds that pursuant to NCFE's instructions, JPMorgan Chase and Bank One made month-end transfers of huge amounts of reserve account funds and that these transfers helped NCFE mask substantial and growing reserve account shortfalls. Based on the above, the Order finds that JPMorgan Chase was a cause of NCFE's violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act, requires JPMorgan Chase to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act, and orders JPMorgan Chase to pay disgorgement of $1,286,808.82 and prejudgment interest of $711,335.76. JPMorgan Chase consented to the issuance of the Order without admitting or denying any of the findings therein. In the Matter of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
A little history of National Century Financial Enterprises (NCFE):
Prior to bankruptcy, NCFE provided financing to various healthcare providers through wholly-owned special-purpose vehicles,including NPF VI and NPF XII, which purchased discounted accounts receivable to be paid under third-party insurance programs. NPF VI and NPF XII financed the purchases of such receivables, primarily through private placements of notes.
TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohsn
SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT CHARGES FORMER EXECUTIVES OF HEALTH CARE FINANCING COMPANY WITH CONSPIRACY, FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING
COLUMBUS – A federal grand jury here today returned a superseding indictment charging eight former executives of National Century Financial Enterprises (NCFE) with conspiring to defraud investors by diverting millions of dollars in investors’ funds, fabricating data in investor reports, and moving money back and forth between accounts in order to conceal investor fund shortfalls. NCFE, based in Dublin, Ohio, was one of the largest healthcare finance companies in the United States until it filed for bankruptcy in November, 2002.
All defendants, except for James K Happ, were initially indicted in May, 2006. United States District Judge Algenon L. Marbley will preside over the case which is scheduled for trial on November 5, 2007.
“All defendants, except for Happ...”
Who is James K Happ?
James K Happ has an interesting employment history.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2003
Source: ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS-SEPTEMBER 9, 2003-Med Diversified Inc.
JAMES K. HAPP has served as chief executive officer of our subsidiary,
Tender Loving Care Health Care Services, Inc., since October 2002.
Previously, Mr. Happ served for three years as executive vice president of NCFE,
during which time he restructured the servicer department to improve operational
Performance and accelerated the utilization of technology to increase operational
efficiency. Mr. Happ also served as chief financial officer of the
Dallas-based Columbia Homecare Group, Inc., a home care company with more than 500 locations nationwide and more than $1 billion in revenue in 1997.
In this role, he directed the company through the challenging reimbursement climate, known as the interim payment system, and participated in the divestiture of all of Columbia/HCA's home care operations. (All of which are in the Bankruptcy case in Tennessee) Who owned Columbia Homecare Group, Inc.?
Showing posts with label Lou Dobbs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lou Dobbs. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Lou Dobbs is a PHONY!
Lou Dobbs-
HE LIKES Bush McCain PALIN! Don;tlet himfool you!
Apparently Lou Dobbs does not know how to explain his MISSING IN ACTION mouth while the INVESTMENT BANKS ROBBED the AMERICAN TAXPAYERS! Remember,he was suppose to be the ECONOMIC GURU!!
LOU DOBBS is more interested in INCITING HATE while ignoring the REAL PROBLEMS!
Such as prosecuting (REGULATING) EMPLOYERS who HIRE illegals and PRIVATE INVESTMENT BANKS while Robbing the AMERICAN PEOPLE BLIND!
The war in IRAQ and his belief that the SURGE was a SUCCESS as John McCain boasts failed to mention the fact the Bob Woodward revealed had very little to do with the decrease in Violence in Iraq. Once again,as he mouthed off about Russia Georgia conflict, proved he knew NOTHING about the ploy behind the Real Agenda for that backfired plot by this administration and the GEORGIA LOBBYIST!
ONCE AGAIN, LOU DOBBS is spending too much time on the radio and not EDUCATING himself on what he clains to be such a KNOW IT ALL on, EVERYTHING!
Lou Dobbs main concern ws the CASUALTIES, NOTHING more. yesterday, September 15, 2008, over 30 people died in Iraq, more bombs!
Meanwhile, this "ECONOMIC GURU" willnow attempt to act as though he is not as IGNORANT as he really is.
I want to know, what this man's agenda is on CNN?
I want a Brilliant Leader. I do not care if I ever have a beer or an ORANGE soda with my President! But Lou Dobbs, he likes you stupid!
Forget about "...Five different schools in six years. What was that about?" for the VICE presidential Nominee for the Republicans. Forget the fact that the Presidential Nominee does not even KNOW HOW To send an EMAIL! And this leader talks about the FUTURE?
I have to agree with Roger Ebert :
Roger Ebert on Sarah Palin: The American Idol candidate
September 11, 2008
BY ROGER EBERT Sun-Times Movie Critic
I think I might be able to explain some of Sarah Palin's appeal. She's the "American Idol" candidate. Consider. What defines an "American Idol" finalist? They're good-looking, work well on television, have a sunny personality, are fierce competitors, and so talented, why, they're darned near the real thing. There's a reason "American Idol" gets such high ratings. People identify with the contestants. They think, Hey, that could be me up there on that show!
My problem is, I don't want to be up there. I don't want a vice president who is darned near good enough. I want a vice president who is better, wiser, well-traveled, has met world leaders, who three months ago had an opinion on Iraq. Someone who doesn't repeat bald- faced lies about earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere. Someone who doesn't appoint Alaskan politicians to "study" global warming, because, hello! It has been studied. The returns are convincing enough that John McCain and Barack Obama are darned near in agreement.
I would also want someone who didn't make a teeny little sneer when referring to "people who go to the Ivy League." When I was a teen I dreamed of going to Harvard, but my dad, an electrician, told me, "Boy, we don't have the money. Thank your lucky stars you were born in Urbana and can go to the University of Illinois right here in town." So I did, very happily. Although Palin gets laughs when she mentions the "elite" Ivy League, she sure did attend the heck out of college.
Five different schools in six years. What was that about?
And how can a politician her age have never have gone to Europe? My dad had died, my mom was working as a book-keeper and I had a job at the local newspaper when, at 19, I scraped together $240 for a charter flight to Europe. I had Arthur Frommer's $5 a Day under my arm, started in London, even rented a Vespa and drove in the traffic of Rome. A few years later, I was able to send my mom, along with the $15 a Day book.
You don't need to be a pointy-headed elitist to travel abroad. You need curiosity and a hunger to see the world. What kind of a person (who has the money) arrives at the age of 44 and has only been out of the country once, on an official tour to Iraq? Sarah Palin's travel record is that of a provincial, not someone who is equipped to deal with global issues.
But some people like that. She's never traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or Down Under? That makes her like them. She didn't go to Harvard? Good for her! There a lot of hockey moms who haven't seen London, but most of them would probably love to, if they had the dough. And they'd be proud if one of their kids won a scholarship to Harvard.I trust the American people will see through Palin, and save the Republic in November. The most damning indictment against her is that she considered herself a good choice to be a heartbeat away. That shows bad judgment.
HE LIKES Bush McCain PALIN! Don;tlet himfool you!
Apparently Lou Dobbs does not know how to explain his MISSING IN ACTION mouth while the INVESTMENT BANKS ROBBED the AMERICAN TAXPAYERS! Remember,he was suppose to be the ECONOMIC GURU!!
LOU DOBBS is more interested in INCITING HATE while ignoring the REAL PROBLEMS!
Such as prosecuting (REGULATING) EMPLOYERS who HIRE illegals and PRIVATE INVESTMENT BANKS while Robbing the AMERICAN PEOPLE BLIND!
The war in IRAQ and his belief that the SURGE was a SUCCESS as John McCain boasts failed to mention the fact the Bob Woodward revealed had very little to do with the decrease in Violence in Iraq. Once again,as he mouthed off about Russia Georgia conflict, proved he knew NOTHING about the ploy behind the Real Agenda for that backfired plot by this administration and the GEORGIA LOBBYIST!
ONCE AGAIN, LOU DOBBS is spending too much time on the radio and not EDUCATING himself on what he clains to be such a KNOW IT ALL on, EVERYTHING!
Lou Dobbs main concern ws the CASUALTIES, NOTHING more. yesterday, September 15, 2008, over 30 people died in Iraq, more bombs!
Meanwhile, this "ECONOMIC GURU" willnow attempt to act as though he is not as IGNORANT as he really is.
I want to know, what this man's agenda is on CNN?
I want a Brilliant Leader. I do not care if I ever have a beer or an ORANGE soda with my President! But Lou Dobbs, he likes you stupid!
Forget about "...Five different schools in six years. What was that about?" for the VICE presidential Nominee for the Republicans. Forget the fact that the Presidential Nominee does not even KNOW HOW To send an EMAIL! And this leader talks about the FUTURE?
I have to agree with Roger Ebert :
Roger Ebert on Sarah Palin: The American Idol candidate
September 11, 2008
BY ROGER EBERT Sun-Times Movie Critic
I think I might be able to explain some of Sarah Palin's appeal. She's the "American Idol" candidate. Consider. What defines an "American Idol" finalist? They're good-looking, work well on television, have a sunny personality, are fierce competitors, and so talented, why, they're darned near the real thing. There's a reason "American Idol" gets such high ratings. People identify with the contestants. They think, Hey, that could be me up there on that show!
My problem is, I don't want to be up there. I don't want a vice president who is darned near good enough. I want a vice president who is better, wiser, well-traveled, has met world leaders, who three months ago had an opinion on Iraq. Someone who doesn't repeat bald- faced lies about earmarks and the Bridge to Nowhere. Someone who doesn't appoint Alaskan politicians to "study" global warming, because, hello! It has been studied. The returns are convincing enough that John McCain and Barack Obama are darned near in agreement.
I would also want someone who didn't make a teeny little sneer when referring to "people who go to the Ivy League." When I was a teen I dreamed of going to Harvard, but my dad, an electrician, told me, "Boy, we don't have the money. Thank your lucky stars you were born in Urbana and can go to the University of Illinois right here in town." So I did, very happily. Although Palin gets laughs when she mentions the "elite" Ivy League, she sure did attend the heck out of college.
Five different schools in six years. What was that about?
And how can a politician her age have never have gone to Europe? My dad had died, my mom was working as a book-keeper and I had a job at the local newspaper when, at 19, I scraped together $240 for a charter flight to Europe. I had Arthur Frommer's $5 a Day under my arm, started in London, even rented a Vespa and drove in the traffic of Rome. A few years later, I was able to send my mom, along with the $15 a Day book.
You don't need to be a pointy-headed elitist to travel abroad. You need curiosity and a hunger to see the world. What kind of a person (who has the money) arrives at the age of 44 and has only been out of the country once, on an official tour to Iraq? Sarah Palin's travel record is that of a provincial, not someone who is equipped to deal with global issues.
But some people like that. She's never traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America or Down Under? That makes her like them. She didn't go to Harvard? Good for her! There a lot of hockey moms who haven't seen London, but most of them would probably love to, if they had the dough. And they'd be proud if one of their kids won a scholarship to Harvard.I trust the American people will see through Palin, and save the Republic in November. The most damning indictment against her is that she considered herself a good choice to be a heartbeat away. That shows bad judgment.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Lou Dobbs...MR PHONY!! Where is the ECONOMIC GURU?
Lou Dobbs:
NO PRESS CONFERENCE FOR PALIN….
OBAMA HAS BEEN ABSWERING THE PRESS FOR 19 MONTSH
LAST TUESDAY…. OBAMA TOOK QUESTIONS!
.
ECONOMIC GURU!
YOU were the one ASLEEP at the SWITCH!
MOUTH!
Like I have asked you before, where were you when the banks were ripping the AMERICAN PEOPLE OFF?
Mouthing off about the illegals and NOTHING ABOUT THE EMPLOYERS HIRING THEM! PHONY MEDIA! HANK POULSEN IS OK WITH YOU!
HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN IN THE APPOINTED OFFICE?
DO you think ALL AMERICANS are as STUPID AS MOST OF YOUR LISTENERS?
PLEASE...YOU ARE SUCH A MISLEADING PUNDIT AND A LIAR!
YES A LIAR! YOU PHONY MOUTH! HEY...those CASUALTIES IN IRAQ....HOW MANY TODAY....MOUTH. Since you measure “SUCCESS” as YOU and MCCAIN agree but Petreaus does not.
YOU ARE ONNLY CONCERNED WITH CASUALTIES...YOU KNOW THE SURGE IS WORKING...
WELL
What did GENERAL PETRAEUS JUST SAY?
HUH?
I wonder what you would have done if one of Obama;'s girls came on NATIONAL stage UNWED, UNDER AGE, and PREGNANT?
I WONDER WHERE YOUR MOUTH WOULD BE?
MR DOBBS....MR ECONOMIC GURU,,,,MR INDEPENDENT PHIONY!
THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE!
NO PRESS CONFERENCE FOR PALIN….
OBAMA HAS BEEN ABSWERING THE PRESS FOR 19 MONTSH
LAST TUESDAY…. OBAMA TOOK QUESTIONS!
.
ECONOMIC GURU!
YOU were the one ASLEEP at the SWITCH!
MOUTH!
Like I have asked you before, where were you when the banks were ripping the AMERICAN PEOPLE OFF?
Mouthing off about the illegals and NOTHING ABOUT THE EMPLOYERS HIRING THEM! PHONY MEDIA! HANK POULSEN IS OK WITH YOU!
HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN IN THE APPOINTED OFFICE?
DO you think ALL AMERICANS are as STUPID AS MOST OF YOUR LISTENERS?
PLEASE...YOU ARE SUCH A MISLEADING PUNDIT AND A LIAR!
YES A LIAR! YOU PHONY MOUTH! HEY...those CASUALTIES IN IRAQ....HOW MANY TODAY....MOUTH. Since you measure “SUCCESS” as YOU and MCCAIN agree but Petreaus does not.
YOU ARE ONNLY CONCERNED WITH CASUALTIES...YOU KNOW THE SURGE IS WORKING...
WELL
What did GENERAL PETRAEUS JUST SAY?
HUH?
I wonder what you would have done if one of Obama;'s girls came on NATIONAL stage UNWED, UNDER AGE, and PREGNANT?
I WONDER WHERE YOUR MOUTH WOULD BE?
MR DOBBS....MR ECONOMIC GURU,,,,MR INDEPENDENT PHIONY!
THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE!
Letter toLou Dobbs....9-15-08
Just what the hell are you talking about. Where the hell have you been?
Obama has been talking to the press for 19+MONTHS …STRAIGHT
IDIOT
LIKE I ASK U ALL THE TIME…MOUTH…WHERE WERE YOU??????
MR MIA for ECONOMICS!
Oh, and we are in the MIDDLE of a RECESSION!
MR ECONOMIC KNOW NOTHING! HOW IS RUSH? HOWS THE RADIO?
Obviously, your expertise is just not CUTTING THE MUSTARD, MR ECONOMIC GURU!! Where were you? While the PRIVATE INVESTMENT CRONIES ROBBED US BLIND?? WHERE WERE YOU? This just happened? YOU MORON!
Regarding the immigrants, ALL YOU HAD TO PROMOTE WAS EMPLOYER REGULATION! REMEMBER THAT WORD,,,,REGULATION!
YOU MR ANTI-REGULATION!
But no, instead, you create HATE towards the immigrant and IGNORE the employers.
Who are you kidding? Make sure you take care of those employers, and then,,,JUST SHUT UP!
You have a real hate show! CNN Should KICK YOU OFF THEIR NETWORK!
AGAIN!
Obama has been talking to the press for 19+MONTHS …STRAIGHT
IDIOT
LIKE I ASK U ALL THE TIME…MOUTH…WHERE WERE YOU??????
MR MIA for ECONOMICS!
Oh, and we are in the MIDDLE of a RECESSION!
MR ECONOMIC KNOW NOTHING! HOW IS RUSH? HOWS THE RADIO?
Obviously, your expertise is just not CUTTING THE MUSTARD, MR ECONOMIC GURU!! Where were you? While the PRIVATE INVESTMENT CRONIES ROBBED US BLIND?? WHERE WERE YOU? This just happened? YOU MORON!
Regarding the immigrants, ALL YOU HAD TO PROMOTE WAS EMPLOYER REGULATION! REMEMBER THAT WORD,,,,REGULATION!
YOU MR ANTI-REGULATION!
But no, instead, you create HATE towards the immigrant and IGNORE the employers.
Who are you kidding? Make sure you take care of those employers, and then,,,JUST SHUT UP!
You have a real hate show! CNN Should KICK YOU OFF THEIR NETWORK!
AGAIN!
Friday, September 12, 2008
WHITE ABSTINENCE ONLY !!! EXCEPT FOR PALIN!!
Let's say that you enjoyed watching last week's Republican National Convention on television.
Let's say you drank in the almost uniformly white faces and the regimented revivalism, you clapped when speakers belittled Barack Obama's work organizing impoverished communities, indeed, you cheered with Rudy Giuliani's zinger, "Drill, baby, drill!"
Let's further stipulate that you were not at all discomfited by the convention's incessant "Country First" mantra that defines loyalty to America as lockstep fealty to the Republican Party.
Let's say - for sheer argument's sake, of course - all of this is true. What, then, of the substance? Stripping away the partisanship, passion and propaganda, what about the veracity of the claim that the GOP puts this country first?
Well, let's just say it's a little dicey.
On national security, the Republican Party advocates continuing to force thousands of young Americans to risk life and limb refereeing Iraq's civil war. Though the party's slogan hearkens back to conservatives' "America First" isolationism, the GOP nonetheless supports spending $12 billion a month on the war - money needed at home.
Same story on economics. In 2004, the Republican White House called outsourcing "a plus." In 2006, the Republican commander-in-chief OK'd the sale of critical infrastructure to foreign dictators. And today the Republican presidential nominee is demanding more NAFTA-style trade pacts that eliminate American jobs. This, says the GOP, is putting our country first.
But who is the "country"? According to the Census Bureau, it will soon be mostly non-whites. That is, the demographic groups who the alleged "country first" party regularly disparages, whether Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is scapegoating Latinos, Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., celebrating Japanese internment or President Bush genuflecting to Bob Jones University's white supremacists.
Maybe, you insist in your post-convention fervor, I just don't get it. Maybe "country first" really does mean refereeing foreign civil wars, spending billions overseas while cutting domestic programs, exporting jobs and bashing ethnic groups that will soon comprise the majority of the nation.
But I don't think so. More likely, Republicans have simply taken the famous parable to heart - the one about patriotism being the last refuge of scoundrels.
As a political strategy, it's not stupid. Following the Bush-DeLay-Abramoff era, many Americans rightly think Republican politicians are scoundrels. And so those politicians are trying to make sure "this election is not about issues," as McCain's campaign manager said this week, but about a hideous hypernationalism only Joe McCarthy could love. Employing flag pins, war stories and Bible-thumping social conservatism, former P.O.W. McCain and Christian fundamentalist Palin hope their red-white-and-blue phantasmagoria will hypnotize America into voting Republican.
On the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities, the Republican convention reminds us of what Barry Goldwater suggested 44 years ago: Terrorists are not the only ones who believe extremism is "no vice." And, as the old aphorism warns, when the most virulent extremism attacks our country, it won't be shrouded in Islamic fatwas - it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.
Sadly, the when is now. McCain is the flag, Palin is the cross - and Americans will have to decide whether we believe their zealotry puts country first.
David Sirota is a fellow at the Campaign for America's Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network - both nonpartisan organizations. His blog is at www.credoaction.com/sirota.
Let's say you drank in the almost uniformly white faces and the regimented revivalism, you clapped when speakers belittled Barack Obama's work organizing impoverished communities, indeed, you cheered with Rudy Giuliani's zinger, "Drill, baby, drill!"
Let's further stipulate that you were not at all discomfited by the convention's incessant "Country First" mantra that defines loyalty to America as lockstep fealty to the Republican Party.
Let's say - for sheer argument's sake, of course - all of this is true. What, then, of the substance? Stripping away the partisanship, passion and propaganda, what about the veracity of the claim that the GOP puts this country first?
Well, let's just say it's a little dicey.
On national security, the Republican Party advocates continuing to force thousands of young Americans to risk life and limb refereeing Iraq's civil war. Though the party's slogan hearkens back to conservatives' "America First" isolationism, the GOP nonetheless supports spending $12 billion a month on the war - money needed at home.
Same story on economics. In 2004, the Republican White House called outsourcing "a plus." In 2006, the Republican commander-in-chief OK'd the sale of critical infrastructure to foreign dictators. And today the Republican presidential nominee is demanding more NAFTA-style trade pacts that eliminate American jobs. This, says the GOP, is putting our country first.
But who is the "country"? According to the Census Bureau, it will soon be mostly non-whites. That is, the demographic groups who the alleged "country first" party regularly disparages, whether Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., is scapegoating Latinos, Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., celebrating Japanese internment or President Bush genuflecting to Bob Jones University's white supremacists.
Maybe, you insist in your post-convention fervor, I just don't get it. Maybe "country first" really does mean refereeing foreign civil wars, spending billions overseas while cutting domestic programs, exporting jobs and bashing ethnic groups that will soon comprise the majority of the nation.
But I don't think so. More likely, Republicans have simply taken the famous parable to heart - the one about patriotism being the last refuge of scoundrels.
As a political strategy, it's not stupid. Following the Bush-DeLay-Abramoff era, many Americans rightly think Republican politicians are scoundrels. And so those politicians are trying to make sure "this election is not about issues," as McCain's campaign manager said this week, but about a hideous hypernationalism only Joe McCarthy could love. Employing flag pins, war stories and Bible-thumping social conservatism, former P.O.W. McCain and Christian fundamentalist Palin hope their red-white-and-blue phantasmagoria will hypnotize America into voting Republican.
On the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities, the Republican convention reminds us of what Barry Goldwater suggested 44 years ago: Terrorists are not the only ones who believe extremism is "no vice." And, as the old aphorism warns, when the most virulent extremism attacks our country, it won't be shrouded in Islamic fatwas - it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.
Sadly, the when is now. McCain is the flag, Palin is the cross - and Americans will have to decide whether we believe their zealotry puts country first.
David Sirota is a fellow at the Campaign for America's Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network - both nonpartisan organizations. His blog is at www.credoaction.com/sirota.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
LIPSTICK ON A PIG- OLD FISH in a NEW Sheet of PAPER
Palin expensed her children's air travel to the state
By Kyle Hopkins | Anchorage Daily News
ANCHORAGE — Since Gov. Sarah Palin took office nearly two years ago, the state of Alaska has routinely bought commercial airline tickets for her daughters when they travel with her, a practice that raises questions about the governor's claim to being a fiscal conservative.
Travel records from the governor's office show that the state has spent at least $31,800 on dozens of airline tickets for the family, and more for meals and hotels.
Records show the family has traveled with Palin for events such as the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks last fall and to shoot official first family photos in Juneau, to draw raffle tickets at an event in Anchorage and to tour a teen center spearheaded by the Juneau Christian Center.
There's no specific state law or rule that says the state pays for family members to travel to events with the governor, but it's become tradition, according to Linda Perez, director of administrative services for the governor. The governor's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said paying the family's travel expenses is appropriate because people expect Palin to bring her husband and children along.
"There is an expectation of the first family to participate in activities across the state," she said.
But the issue of who should pay the family's travel expenses adds to questions about Palin's spending practices that were raised this week by revelations in the Washington Post that Palin also charged the state for meals while she was staying at her home in Wasilla, away from her official state duty station of Juneau, the capital.
Leighow said there was nothing wrong with Palin claiming state money while she was staying in her own home. "She's entitled to it," Leighow said.
Leighow noted that Palin's travel expenses last year — $114,000 — were far less than those submitted the previous year by Gov. Frank Murkowski — the Republican Palin beat in the primary to cement her reputation as a reformer willing to take on members of her own party. Murkowski's travel expenses for 2006 totaled $516,000.
But the Democrat who preceded Murkowski in office, Tony Knowles, questioned both the state's paying for Palin's children's travel and for Palin's collecting the state per diem while staying in her Wasilla home.
"When you're living at home, you don't pay yourself for living at home," Knowles said in an interview Tuesday. "And if you use a technicality to get around that rule so you can get paid for it, it's not right."
Knowles said in an interview last week that when he was governor his children were allowed to fly on state-owned King Air propeller planes, but that the state did not buy them commercial airline tickets.
"All of her travel-related activities have been appropriately documented, are completely transparent and entirely legal," said Ben Porritt, spokesman for Palin's vice presidential campaign.
Since Palin was named the Republican Party's vice-presidential candidate, the campaign of Sen. John McCain has promoted her as a fierce budget watchdog eager to shave frivolous government spending. At campiagn stops, Palin has repeatedly touted her record for selling the state's jet and laying off the chef at the governor's mansion in Juneau. Her presence on the campaign trail has energized the party's evangelical Christian base behind the McCain candidacy.
But her claims to middle-class frugality as the state's governor are undercut by the revelations about her travel expenses. The Post reported that she's billed the state thousands of dollars for meal money while spending more than 300 nights at her Wasilla home during her first 19 months in office.
The Palins split time between Juneau, the state's capital, and Wasilla, outside of Anchorage, with the governor often working in Juneau during the legislative session and in Anchorage for much of the rest of the year.
The state considers Juneau to be the governor's home base. That creates a scenario where Palin is considered to be "traveling" while living in her own house.
At least one member of Palin's cabinet also ate on the state's dime while staying in his hometown on multi-day trips during 2007, according to Division of Finance records. Palin doesn't require her cabinet members to live in Juneau, and most don't.
Knowles, who served as governor from 1994 to 2002, moved his family to Juneau and leased out his Anchorage home. When in Anchorage on official business, Knowles said he stayed at the Hilton hotel. He collected a meal per diem unless he was attending events at which meals were provided, he said.
Murkowski, who served from 2002 to 2006, lived in the governor's mansion in Juneau. The state rented an Anchorage apartment for him for business in the city, and he collected a per diem while staying there, Perez said.
Palin's travel expenses first drew attention during the summer when her daughter Piper joined Palin on a well-publicized trip to Barrow, in Alaska's far north. Critics wondered then who had paid Piper's travel expenses.
Travel records requested by the Anchorage Daily News show that the state did. The reports, which the governor and other state employees submit to get reimbursed for meals and lodging while on the road, also document thousands of dollars in per diem claims while Palin stayed in her own home.
For example, the reports show that in mid-June of 2007, Palin arrived in Anchorage on the state's King Air propeller plane for the beginning of a long stay away from the capital. On her agenda: a special legislative session on senior aid, signing the state budget and a baseball game between the Mat-Su Miners and Alaska Goldpanners.
During the same trip, Palin performed the coin toss at an Alaska Wild football game one day and vetoed $231 million for projects in the state construction budget the next.
For the two weeks she worked in Anchorage while living at home, she charged the state a total of about $800 in meal money, according to the travel records.
Leighow said the governor saves money when she's at home — it's less expensive than staffing and stocking the governor's mansion in Juneau.
Leighow also defended the governor's commercial air travel, noting that Palin flies coach and that Todd Palin's state-paid travel expenses so far total only $14,000, compared to $124,000 for Nancy Murkowski during Murkowski's four years in office.
Leighow also said that Palin has had to travel by commercial air with her children because the state's King Air aircraft often has been unavailable. Lately, when the King Air isn't down for maintenance, it's being painted or fitted with new electronics, she said.
Among the trips documented by the travel records where Palin took along her children:
-- July 7-15, 2008: Palin daughters Piper and Bristol flew to Philadelphia with the governor for a National Governors Association meeting. The state lists the purpose of the girls' trip as participating in "governor's youth programs and family activities." The airfare and lodging cost $2,500.
-- April 3-6, 2008: Piper joined the governor in the Anchorage area because -- according to state travel records authorizing the trip -- the first family was to read to students a Wasilla Christian school. The round trip flight from Juneau cost $550.
-- October 7-11, 2007: Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, flew with the governor to New York City at a cost of $1,390 because she was "invited to attend Newsweek's
Third Annual Women and Leadership Conference with the governor," Palin's office says. They stayed in a $707-a-night hotel for four nights.
Piper, who is 7, flew with Palin the most often, followed by Todd Palin and the governor's two older daughters.
The couple's oldest son, 19-year-old Track, enlisted in the Army last September and isn't listed on any of the travel forms. Neither is the governor's youngest, Trig, who was born in April and flies for free.
The family and Palin's staff also often flew on the King Air propeller plane, which is owned by the Department of Public Safety, according to the records.
The governor's office pays a flat rate -- which was about $900 an hour as of this spring -- when using the state plane, Perez wrote in an e-mail. When the jet was still in use, it cost roughly twice as much as the King Air, according to the Department of Public Safety.
One set of travel expense the state will not pick up are those generated by Palin since she's been on the campaign trail. The trip isn't considered state business, and Palin won't be able to collect a per diem or reimburse lodging costs since she's been gone, Perez said.
Palin chief of staff Mike Nizich, Anchorage office director Kris Perry, communications director Bill McAllister, and Bob Cockrell, one of Palin's security special agents, all joined the governor at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.
The state plans to pay only the travel expenses for McAllister and Cockrell, according to the governor's office.
By Kyle Hopkins | Anchorage Daily News
ANCHORAGE — Since Gov. Sarah Palin took office nearly two years ago, the state of Alaska has routinely bought commercial airline tickets for her daughters when they travel with her, a practice that raises questions about the governor's claim to being a fiscal conservative.
Travel records from the governor's office show that the state has spent at least $31,800 on dozens of airline tickets for the family, and more for meals and hotels.
Records show the family has traveled with Palin for events such as the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Fairbanks last fall and to shoot official first family photos in Juneau, to draw raffle tickets at an event in Anchorage and to tour a teen center spearheaded by the Juneau Christian Center.
There's no specific state law or rule that says the state pays for family members to travel to events with the governor, but it's become tradition, according to Linda Perez, director of administrative services for the governor. The governor's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, said paying the family's travel expenses is appropriate because people expect Palin to bring her husband and children along.
"There is an expectation of the first family to participate in activities across the state," she said.
But the issue of who should pay the family's travel expenses adds to questions about Palin's spending practices that were raised this week by revelations in the Washington Post that Palin also charged the state for meals while she was staying at her home in Wasilla, away from her official state duty station of Juneau, the capital.
Leighow said there was nothing wrong with Palin claiming state money while she was staying in her own home. "She's entitled to it," Leighow said.
Leighow noted that Palin's travel expenses last year — $114,000 — were far less than those submitted the previous year by Gov. Frank Murkowski — the Republican Palin beat in the primary to cement her reputation as a reformer willing to take on members of her own party. Murkowski's travel expenses for 2006 totaled $516,000.
But the Democrat who preceded Murkowski in office, Tony Knowles, questioned both the state's paying for Palin's children's travel and for Palin's collecting the state per diem while staying in her Wasilla home.
"When you're living at home, you don't pay yourself for living at home," Knowles said in an interview Tuesday. "And if you use a technicality to get around that rule so you can get paid for it, it's not right."
Knowles said in an interview last week that when he was governor his children were allowed to fly on state-owned King Air propeller planes, but that the state did not buy them commercial airline tickets.
"All of her travel-related activities have been appropriately documented, are completely transparent and entirely legal," said Ben Porritt, spokesman for Palin's vice presidential campaign.
Since Palin was named the Republican Party's vice-presidential candidate, the campaign of Sen. John McCain has promoted her as a fierce budget watchdog eager to shave frivolous government spending. At campiagn stops, Palin has repeatedly touted her record for selling the state's jet and laying off the chef at the governor's mansion in Juneau. Her presence on the campaign trail has energized the party's evangelical Christian base behind the McCain candidacy.
But her claims to middle-class frugality as the state's governor are undercut by the revelations about her travel expenses. The Post reported that she's billed the state thousands of dollars for meal money while spending more than 300 nights at her Wasilla home during her first 19 months in office.
The Palins split time between Juneau, the state's capital, and Wasilla, outside of Anchorage, with the governor often working in Juneau during the legislative session and in Anchorage for much of the rest of the year.
The state considers Juneau to be the governor's home base. That creates a scenario where Palin is considered to be "traveling" while living in her own house.
At least one member of Palin's cabinet also ate on the state's dime while staying in his hometown on multi-day trips during 2007, according to Division of Finance records. Palin doesn't require her cabinet members to live in Juneau, and most don't.
Knowles, who served as governor from 1994 to 2002, moved his family to Juneau and leased out his Anchorage home. When in Anchorage on official business, Knowles said he stayed at the Hilton hotel. He collected a meal per diem unless he was attending events at which meals were provided, he said.
Murkowski, who served from 2002 to 2006, lived in the governor's mansion in Juneau. The state rented an Anchorage apartment for him for business in the city, and he collected a per diem while staying there, Perez said.
Palin's travel expenses first drew attention during the summer when her daughter Piper joined Palin on a well-publicized trip to Barrow, in Alaska's far north. Critics wondered then who had paid Piper's travel expenses.
Travel records requested by the Anchorage Daily News show that the state did. The reports, which the governor and other state employees submit to get reimbursed for meals and lodging while on the road, also document thousands of dollars in per diem claims while Palin stayed in her own home.
For example, the reports show that in mid-June of 2007, Palin arrived in Anchorage on the state's King Air propeller plane for the beginning of a long stay away from the capital. On her agenda: a special legislative session on senior aid, signing the state budget and a baseball game between the Mat-Su Miners and Alaska Goldpanners.
During the same trip, Palin performed the coin toss at an Alaska Wild football game one day and vetoed $231 million for projects in the state construction budget the next.
For the two weeks she worked in Anchorage while living at home, she charged the state a total of about $800 in meal money, according to the travel records.
Leighow said the governor saves money when she's at home — it's less expensive than staffing and stocking the governor's mansion in Juneau.
Leighow also defended the governor's commercial air travel, noting that Palin flies coach and that Todd Palin's state-paid travel expenses so far total only $14,000, compared to $124,000 for Nancy Murkowski during Murkowski's four years in office.
Leighow also said that Palin has had to travel by commercial air with her children because the state's King Air aircraft often has been unavailable. Lately, when the King Air isn't down for maintenance, it's being painted or fitted with new electronics, she said.
Among the trips documented by the travel records where Palin took along her children:
-- July 7-15, 2008: Palin daughters Piper and Bristol flew to Philadelphia with the governor for a National Governors Association meeting. The state lists the purpose of the girls' trip as participating in "governor's youth programs and family activities." The airfare and lodging cost $2,500.
-- April 3-6, 2008: Piper joined the governor in the Anchorage area because -- according to state travel records authorizing the trip -- the first family was to read to students a Wasilla Christian school. The round trip flight from Juneau cost $550.
-- October 7-11, 2007: Palin's oldest daughter, Bristol, flew with the governor to New York City at a cost of $1,390 because she was "invited to attend Newsweek's
Third Annual Women and Leadership Conference with the governor," Palin's office says. They stayed in a $707-a-night hotel for four nights.
Piper, who is 7, flew with Palin the most often, followed by Todd Palin and the governor's two older daughters.
The couple's oldest son, 19-year-old Track, enlisted in the Army last September and isn't listed on any of the travel forms. Neither is the governor's youngest, Trig, who was born in April and flies for free.
The family and Palin's staff also often flew on the King Air propeller plane, which is owned by the Department of Public Safety, according to the records.
The governor's office pays a flat rate -- which was about $900 an hour as of this spring -- when using the state plane, Perez wrote in an e-mail. When the jet was still in use, it cost roughly twice as much as the King Air, according to the Department of Public Safety.
One set of travel expense the state will not pick up are those generated by Palin since she's been on the campaign trail. The trip isn't considered state business, and Palin won't be able to collect a per diem or reimburse lodging costs since she's been gone, Perez said.
Palin chief of staff Mike Nizich, Anchorage office director Kris Perry, communications director Bill McAllister, and Bob Cockrell, one of Palin's security special agents, all joined the governor at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.
The state plans to pay only the travel expenses for McAllister and Cockrell, according to the governor's office.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
National Security is not important to the American Mainstream Media
Chuck Todd from MSNBC warned his colleagues that they would be sorry they missed so much of the DNC Convention while lamenting over the CLINTONS for the first three days of the Convention. The media missed so much and I am very angry you decided to take this programming strategy and MIS-INFORM the AMERICAN PEOPLE, ONCE AGAIN!
I guess it wasn’t enough “RED MEAT” for the media. But let us not forget, the fourth arm of the People’s GOVERNMENT, the Media, and how well they did informing the AMERICAN PEOPLE prior to being MIS LEAD by CHENEY/BUSH into Iraq!
YES! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
I have my critique of the mainstream media but am more concerned of the continuous EXPLOITATION of the ignorance of Americans and allowing the Bush administration to bring this country to its lowest levels across the board. Domestic and Foreign!
Apparently, the National Security is not important to the American Mainstream Media and it’s responsibility to inform Americans of THE REAL ISSUES!
Wow! Amazing! The only MEDIA outlet that showed the CHAIRMAN of the Foreign Intelligence Committee Speech was C-SPAN.
After all, while banks were robbing the American treasury and its people, we were all exposed to the talking heads, misrepresenting themselves as reporters but bringing in the cash while focusing on Paris & Brittany.
As a matter of fact, the American Mainstream media has continuously exploited the ignorance of the American people and the fact that the education of its people has been fast eroding.
The mainstream media continues to bash government yet they are right there playing the same old game and not INFORMING the AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Now, NBC has refused to allow the T-Bone Pickens advertisement to be aired.
I guess it wasn’t enough “RED MEAT” for the media. But let us not forget, the fourth arm of the People’s GOVERNMENT, the Media, and how well they did informing the AMERICAN PEOPLE prior to being MIS LEAD by CHENEY/BUSH into Iraq!
YES! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!
I have my critique of the mainstream media but am more concerned of the continuous EXPLOITATION of the ignorance of Americans and allowing the Bush administration to bring this country to its lowest levels across the board. Domestic and Foreign!
Apparently, the National Security is not important to the American Mainstream Media and it’s responsibility to inform Americans of THE REAL ISSUES!
Wow! Amazing! The only MEDIA outlet that showed the CHAIRMAN of the Foreign Intelligence Committee Speech was C-SPAN.
After all, while banks were robbing the American treasury and its people, we were all exposed to the talking heads, misrepresenting themselves as reporters but bringing in the cash while focusing on Paris & Brittany.
As a matter of fact, the American Mainstream media has continuously exploited the ignorance of the American people and the fact that the education of its people has been fast eroding.
The mainstream media continues to bash government yet they are right there playing the same old game and not INFORMING the AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Now, NBC has refused to allow the T-Bone Pickens advertisement to be aired.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Comments to LOU DOBBS @ CNN
8-23-08
Isn't this interesting....
Oh and by the way, your concern for the EFFORTS in Iraq is REALLY, REALLY, about casualties...ARE YOU KIDDING?
Where in the hell were you when DEAD SOLDIERS, that we cannot view draped in the PROUD AMERICAN FLAG coming home to their final resting place, were receiving $6 000.00 Death Benefit. It was Don Imus, yes, DON IMUS, embarrassed you, (while promoting one of your books) , John Mc Cain , Rick Santorum and all the rest of you PHONIES! You only put up the FALLEN HEROES SITE on your CNN website to SHOW YOU CARE about the CASUALTIES in IRAQ! YOU PHONY!
It was DON IMUS, yes, DON IMUS that PUSHED the LEGISLATION to be CHANGED? And it was CHUCK HAGEL that would not accept the $12, 500.00
WHERE WERE YOU?
Another WHERE WERE YOU?
When the ROIBBERY the Fraudulent Financial institutes in this country that you are suppose to be the GURU.... ECONOMICS.... you LIAR!
Funny, troops MIGHT be out by 2011 but we won’t know until NOVEMBER, after the election, if this is agreeable!
Now, we attack PAKISTAN! WOW... PHONY! EDUCATE THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS,, HOW YOU RPRESIDENT, I NEVER would have voted for such an IDIOT,, is playing POLITICS!! SPIN ON THIS LIAR! HELP YOURSELF!
Isn't this interesting....
Oh and by the way, your concern for the EFFORTS in Iraq is REALLY, REALLY, about casualties...ARE YOU KIDDING?
Where in the hell were you when DEAD SOLDIERS, that we cannot view draped in the PROUD AMERICAN FLAG coming home to their final resting place, were receiving $6 000.00 Death Benefit. It was Don Imus, yes, DON IMUS, embarrassed you, (while promoting one of your books) , John Mc Cain , Rick Santorum and all the rest of you PHONIES! You only put up the FALLEN HEROES SITE on your CNN website to SHOW YOU CARE about the CASUALTIES in IRAQ! YOU PHONY!
It was DON IMUS, yes, DON IMUS that PUSHED the LEGISLATION to be CHANGED? And it was CHUCK HAGEL that would not accept the $12, 500.00
WHERE WERE YOU?
Another WHERE WERE YOU?
When the ROIBBERY the Fraudulent Financial institutes in this country that you are suppose to be the GURU.... ECONOMICS.... you LIAR!
Funny, troops MIGHT be out by 2011 but we won’t know until NOVEMBER, after the election, if this is agreeable!
Now, we attack PAKISTAN! WOW... PHONY! EDUCATE THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS,, HOW YOU RPRESIDENT, I NEVER would have voted for such an IDIOT,, is playing POLITICS!! SPIN ON THIS LIAR! HELP YOURSELF!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
DRILL, DRILL , DRILL....Is that all we can think of?
With a President with the intelligence capacity , I guess that is all we KNOW!
OIL!!!!
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!
Does T Boone Pickens have any credibility with any real thinkers?
"But Pickens knows he’s unique. Unless, he says, “Congress adopts clear, predictable policies” — with long-term tax incentives and infrastructure — so thousands of investors can jump into clean power, we’ll never get the scale we need to break our addiction. For a year, Senate Republicans have been blocking such incentives for wind and solar energy. They vote again next week.
If only we had a Congress and president who, instead of chasing crazy schemes like offshore drilling and releasing oil from our strategic reserve, just sat down with Boone and Shai and asked one question: “What laws do we need to enact to foster 1,000 more like you?” Then just do it, and get out of the way. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/opinion/27friedman.html?_r=3&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
OIL!!!!
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!
Does T Boone Pickens have any credibility with any real thinkers?
"But Pickens knows he’s unique. Unless, he says, “Congress adopts clear, predictable policies” — with long-term tax incentives and infrastructure — so thousands of investors can jump into clean power, we’ll never get the scale we need to break our addiction. For a year, Senate Republicans have been blocking such incentives for wind and solar energy. They vote again next week.
If only we had a Congress and president who, instead of chasing crazy schemes like offshore drilling and releasing oil from our strategic reserve, just sat down with Boone and Shai and asked one question: “What laws do we need to enact to foster 1,000 more like you?” Then just do it, and get out of the way. "
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/opinion/27friedman.html?_r=3&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Surge and all the IDIOTS on the so-called "NEWS'" Channels ...
Including the Racist Pig Lou Dobbs .
They should have consulted Joe Biden prior to mouthing off for a week on who would admit the 'SURGE' worked or as Dobbs Mouths it, "SUCCESS, GREAT SUCCESS"....
Refocus on Afghanistan
Despite surge, political progress and economic development lag in Iraq.
By Joe Biden
USA Today, 7/24/08
Recent events have demonstrated clearly that Barack Obama's judgment on Iraq is right. Now, it's time to heed that judgment so that we can successfully end the war while refocusing on the fight in Afghanistan.
Sen. Obama has said repeatedly that there have been significant gains in lowering the levels of violence in Iraq. These gains have come from the heroic sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, as well as the success of the Sunni tribes in fighting al-Qaeda, and the cease-fire that has been respected by Shiite militias.
But the stated purpose of the surge was to help bring about the political progress and economic development necessary for long-term stability in Iraq. That progress still lags.
That is why we must welcome the growing consensus in both the USA and Iraq for a timeline that will allow the responsible redeployment of our combat brigades out of Iraq. I agree with Sen. Obama and the prime minister of Iraq that we can safely redeploy all our combat brigades out of Iraq in 2010, with a residual force to fight terrorists, train Iraqis and protect our personnel.
This redeployment is absolutely necessary if we hope to restore our military strength and finish the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas. This is the central front in the war on terror. This is where the 9/11 attacks were planned and where terrorists could be plotting against America today.
With the Taliban and al-Qaeda on the rise and violence more severe than at any time since the beginning of the war, we must free up more resources in order to succeed. As Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledges, we can do so only if we redeploy our forces from Iraq.
Success in Iraq must not be defined by staying in Iraq indefinitely; success is leaving Iraq to an Iraqi government that is reconciling its differences and taking responsibility for its future.
It's time to encourage the Iraqi government to stand up on its own while we refocus on the war in Afghanistan and the broad range of national security challenges we face. Barack Obama is profoundly right that the next president must be more than commander in chief for Iraq — he must meet challenges to America's security around the world.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He wrote on behalf of the Obama campaign.
They should have consulted Joe Biden prior to mouthing off for a week on who would admit the 'SURGE' worked or as Dobbs Mouths it, "SUCCESS, GREAT SUCCESS"....
Refocus on Afghanistan
Despite surge, political progress and economic development lag in Iraq.
By Joe Biden
USA Today, 7/24/08
Recent events have demonstrated clearly that Barack Obama's judgment on Iraq is right. Now, it's time to heed that judgment so that we can successfully end the war while refocusing on the fight in Afghanistan.
Sen. Obama has said repeatedly that there have been significant gains in lowering the levels of violence in Iraq. These gains have come from the heroic sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, as well as the success of the Sunni tribes in fighting al-Qaeda, and the cease-fire that has been respected by Shiite militias.
But the stated purpose of the surge was to help bring about the political progress and economic development necessary for long-term stability in Iraq. That progress still lags.
That is why we must welcome the growing consensus in both the USA and Iraq for a timeline that will allow the responsible redeployment of our combat brigades out of Iraq. I agree with Sen. Obama and the prime minister of Iraq that we can safely redeploy all our combat brigades out of Iraq in 2010, with a residual force to fight terrorists, train Iraqis and protect our personnel.
This redeployment is absolutely necessary if we hope to restore our military strength and finish the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas. This is the central front in the war on terror. This is where the 9/11 attacks were planned and where terrorists could be plotting against America today.
With the Taliban and al-Qaeda on the rise and violence more severe than at any time since the beginning of the war, we must free up more resources in order to succeed. As Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledges, we can do so only if we redeploy our forces from Iraq.
Success in Iraq must not be defined by staying in Iraq indefinitely; success is leaving Iraq to an Iraqi government that is reconciling its differences and taking responsibility for its future.
It's time to encourage the Iraqi government to stand up on its own while we refocus on the war in Afghanistan and the broad range of national security challenges we face. Barack Obama is profoundly right that the next president must be more than commander in chief for Iraq — he must meet challenges to America's security around the world.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He wrote on behalf of the Obama campaign.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Vice President Dick Cheney made a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia
All Things Considered: November 25, 2006DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host:
Vice President Dick Cheney made a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia today to hold talks with King Abdullah on the growing problem in Iraq. The two leaders also discussed other troubled spots in the region, such as the Palestinian territories.
NPR's Peter Kenyon has more.
PETER KENYON: Officials said the agenda for the meeting between Cheney and King Abdullah included what to do about the violence in Iraq that appears to be worsening week by week, how to deal with the political crisis in Lebanon that has the government on the edge of collapse, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the question of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iraq was seen as the top item on the agenda, primarily because this coming Wednesday, President Bush is scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
It's not clear what Maliki will gain from his meeting with Bush, due to take place in Amman, Jordan. It is clear what he could lose, the support of a key Shiite faction in the Iraqi government, the one loyal to the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which is threatening to walk out if Maliki goes ahead with the meeting.
In Cairo today, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal raised the specter of a third Palestinian Intifada. He said it could come in six months if there isn't progress towards a comprehensive peace agreement. Meshaal insisted that such an agreement would have to include Israel giving up all the land it has occupied since the 1967 War.
Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.
ELLIOTT: In a related development today, Israeli President Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have announced a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Israel has mounted a series of raids and airstrikes there, which they maintain are to stop militants from firing rockets into Israel. The ceasefire is set to go into effect at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, ending a five month conflict.
Copyright ©2007 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2030.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.
Vice President Dick Cheney made a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia today to hold talks with King Abdullah on the growing problem in Iraq. The two leaders also discussed other troubled spots in the region, such as the Palestinian territories.
NPR's Peter Kenyon has more.
PETER KENYON: Officials said the agenda for the meeting between Cheney and King Abdullah included what to do about the violence in Iraq that appears to be worsening week by week, how to deal with the political crisis in Lebanon that has the government on the edge of collapse, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the question of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iraq was seen as the top item on the agenda, primarily because this coming Wednesday, President Bush is scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
It's not clear what Maliki will gain from his meeting with Bush, due to take place in Amman, Jordan. It is clear what he could lose, the support of a key Shiite faction in the Iraqi government, the one loyal to the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which is threatening to walk out if Maliki goes ahead with the meeting.
In Cairo today, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal raised the specter of a third Palestinian Intifada. He said it could come in six months if there isn't progress towards a comprehensive peace agreement. Meshaal insisted that such an agreement would have to include Israel giving up all the land it has occupied since the 1967 War.
Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.
ELLIOTT: In a related development today, Israeli President Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have announced a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Israel has mounted a series of raids and airstrikes there, which they maintain are to stop militants from firing rockets into Israel. The ceasefire is set to go into effect at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, ending a five month conflict.
Copyright ©2007 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript may not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission. For further information, please contact NPR's Permissions Coordinator at (202) 513-2030.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.
Friday, July 18, 2008
2nd Letter to Mr Lou Dobb's regarding his HYPOCRISY
8.8 Billion USD (Dollars) missing from the Profound Success, you INSIST to proclaim, in Iraq.
What about Afghanistan?
Financial Services Mr. Dobbs? What has happened to the Financial Services in this country MR. Dobbs? Did the ILLEGALS do this Mr. Dobbs? Did Obama Mr. Dobbs?
Seems to me, McCain should have warned the American People since he has the experience in the S & L SCANDAL in the eighties? You recall that don’t you Mr. Dobbs? Where is that 8.8 BILLION USD?
Cost-Plus Contracting has KILLED many of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan while taking a shower. To this date, have you reported any of this? If so, when. Once again, your hypocrisy of “supporting” our troops is reflective of your lack of reporting and knowledge. Once again, you have failed to inform your audience of the CORRUPT Execution of this debacle in Iraq and who knows where else, because you surely don’t report of seem to know.
It seems that you are sure ready to spout off your rhetoric on the age of Mr. Obama, the “YOUNG” Senator. Seems to me, Dick Cheney was of a particular age you seem to favor. What good was that Mr Dobbs?
What about Afghanistan?
Oh yes. Please Mr. Dobbs, tell us more please! Keep reminding us of the Profound Success in Iraq that you insist to proclaim.
What about Afghanistan?
Again Mr. Dobbs, what is YOUR AGENDA?
What about Afghanistan?
Financial Services Mr. Dobbs? What has happened to the Financial Services in this country MR. Dobbs? Did the ILLEGALS do this Mr. Dobbs? Did Obama Mr. Dobbs?
Seems to me, McCain should have warned the American People since he has the experience in the S & L SCANDAL in the eighties? You recall that don’t you Mr. Dobbs? Where is that 8.8 BILLION USD?
Cost-Plus Contracting has KILLED many of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan while taking a shower. To this date, have you reported any of this? If so, when. Once again, your hypocrisy of “supporting” our troops is reflective of your lack of reporting and knowledge. Once again, you have failed to inform your audience of the CORRUPT Execution of this debacle in Iraq and who knows where else, because you surely don’t report of seem to know.
It seems that you are sure ready to spout off your rhetoric on the age of Mr. Obama, the “YOUNG” Senator. Seems to me, Dick Cheney was of a particular age you seem to favor. What good was that Mr Dobbs?
What about Afghanistan?
Oh yes. Please Mr. Dobbs, tell us more please! Keep reminding us of the Profound Success in Iraq that you insist to proclaim.
What about Afghanistan?
Again Mr. Dobbs, what is YOUR AGENDA?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Since Poulsen's trial is now set to begin Oct. 1, it pushes the trial of James K. Happ, another former National Century executive, to Dec. 1.
Now why is this delay for Happ occurring? After the NOVEMBER election of course. Does any reporter really know where Happ is form or what his job at NCFE really was? If so, no one has yet to connect the dot!
Who does Happ really know? (Hint: Bush Connection)
The former CEO of National Century Financial Enterprises Inc. has successfully put off his trial on fraud-related charges by two months.
A federal judge ruled Friday that Lance Poulsen, the leader of the Dublin-based health-care financing company before it collapsed in 2002, will begin facing charges of securities fraud and conspiracy on Oct. 1 instead of Aug. 4. U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley granted Poulsen's July 7 continuance request after Poulsen's attorneys argued they needed more time to review 40 boxes of documents the government is scheduled to make available between now and August.
"A two-month continuance will ensure that Poulsen has the time to obtain and review the documents that he plausibly claims are central to his theories of defense," Marbley wrote in his July 11 order.
Since Poulsen's trial is now set to begin Oct. 1, it pushes the trial of James K. Happ, another former National Century executive, to Dec. 1. Poulsen and Happ have both pleaded not guilty.
Poulsen, 65, co-founded National Century in 1991, building it into a major health-care financing company. It specialized in buying receivables from medical providers at a discount, which gave the health-care businesses the quick cash they needed. The receivables were then packaged as asset-backed bonds and sold to investors.
But National Century fell into Chapter 11 bankruptcy six years ago. The Justice Department alleged Poulsen and other executives ran a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of nearly $2 billion. Poulsen pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and concealment of money laundering.
Five other former National Century executives were found guilty in March of running a multiyear securities fraud at National Century. Poulsen was scheduled to go on trial with them, but his day in court on those charges was delayed because the government also accused him of trying to tamper with a witness.
Shortly after the March convictions of the five executives, Poulsen stood trial on the witness tampering charges. A jury found him and an associate, Karl Demmler, guilty of trying to bribe a government witness who is planning to testify against Poulsen in his securities fraud trial.
Who does Happ really know? (Hint: Bush Connection)
The former CEO of National Century Financial Enterprises Inc. has successfully put off his trial on fraud-related charges by two months.
A federal judge ruled Friday that Lance Poulsen, the leader of the Dublin-based health-care financing company before it collapsed in 2002, will begin facing charges of securities fraud and conspiracy on Oct. 1 instead of Aug. 4. U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley granted Poulsen's July 7 continuance request after Poulsen's attorneys argued they needed more time to review 40 boxes of documents the government is scheduled to make available between now and August.
"A two-month continuance will ensure that Poulsen has the time to obtain and review the documents that he plausibly claims are central to his theories of defense," Marbley wrote in his July 11 order.
Since Poulsen's trial is now set to begin Oct. 1, it pushes the trial of James K. Happ, another former National Century executive, to Dec. 1. Poulsen and Happ have both pleaded not guilty.
Poulsen, 65, co-founded National Century in 1991, building it into a major health-care financing company. It specialized in buying receivables from medical providers at a discount, which gave the health-care businesses the quick cash they needed. The receivables were then packaged as asset-backed bonds and sold to investors.
But National Century fell into Chapter 11 bankruptcy six years ago. The Justice Department alleged Poulsen and other executives ran a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of nearly $2 billion. Poulsen pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and concealment of money laundering.
Five other former National Century executives were found guilty in March of running a multiyear securities fraud at National Century. Poulsen was scheduled to go on trial with them, but his day in court on those charges was delayed because the government also accused him of trying to tamper with a witness.
Shortly after the March convictions of the five executives, Poulsen stood trial on the witness tampering charges. A jury found him and an associate, Karl Demmler, guilty of trying to bribe a government witness who is planning to testify against Poulsen in his securities fraud trial.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
JOHN MCCAIN’S LOBBYIST CONNECTIONS TO DICTATORS
JOHN MCCAIN’S LOBBYIST CONNECTIONS TO DICTATORS, OIL REGIMES, AND CHILD ENSLAVERS THE WORLD OVER
Last week, two McCain staffers resigned after it was reported that they had performed extensive lobbying on behalf of the Burmese junta. However, Doug Goodyear and Doug Davenport are the not the only lobbyists on McCain’s campaign staff with ties to unsavory international figures.
Three other lobbyists, Charlie Black, Tom Loeffler, and Peter Madigan, and their firms’ clients, have generated at least $3.5 million in campaign donations to Sen. McCain over his career, according to Campaign Money Watch analysis of campaign finance data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (hyperlink: www.opensecrets.org). DCI Group, which employed Davenport and Goodyear, and their clients provided less than a quarter as much campaign money -- $817,685 — to McCain’s elections.
Charlie Black, McCain’s senior counsel and spokesman, began his lobbying career by representing numerous dictators and repressive regimes
Black’s firm represented the governor of Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos. According to a 1985 report, the firm Black, Manafort & Stone earned $950,000 plus expenses for its work to provide “advice and assistance on matters relating to the media, public relations and public affairs interests.”1
Black’s firm lobbied on behalf of Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire, earning $1 million a year for his efforts.2
Black’s firm lobbied on behalf of Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.3
Black’s firm represented Nigerian dictator Ibrahim Babangida, earning at least $1 million for his efforts.4
Black’s firm has represented Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich state “best known for the outlandish brutality of its rulers.”5
Black represented Angolan rebel and “classical terrorist” Jonas Savimbi, a job that earned him $600,000.6 “We have to call him Africa’s classical terrorist,” Makau Mutua, a professor of law and Africa specialist told the New York Times. “In the history of the continent, I think he’s unique because of the degree of suffering he caused without showing any remorse.”7
In recent years his client list has also included the Iraqi National Congress8, Friends of Blackwater9, and the China National Off-Shore Oil Corp.10
Since 2005, BKSH has received more than $700,000 in fees from foreign entities.11
Thomas Loeffler, co-chairman of McCain’s campaign, has represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid the Loeffler Group “a whopping $7.9 million from December 1, 2005, though November 2006 -- the largest fee collected from a foreign government by any lobbying firm in 2006,” according to National Journal.12 The Washington Times reported that “Mr. Loeffler's firm has received more than $10 million since 2006 from the Saudi Embassy and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”13 Much of this work was centered on gaining admission for the Kingdom to the World Trade Organization.14
Since 2005, according to the Washington Times, “the Loeffler Group reported more than $11 million in fees from foreign lobbying clients.”15
Peter Madigan, a leading McCain fundraiser, lobbies on behalf of the king of Dubai
Madigan has earned upwards of $800,000 to improve the United Arab Emirates’ reputation in the face of a class action lawsuit over the enslavement of boy camel jockeys.16
Last week, two McCain staffers resigned after it was reported that they had performed extensive lobbying on behalf of the Burmese junta. However, Doug Goodyear and Doug Davenport are the not the only lobbyists on McCain’s campaign staff with ties to unsavory international figures.
Three other lobbyists, Charlie Black, Tom Loeffler, and Peter Madigan, and their firms’ clients, have generated at least $3.5 million in campaign donations to Sen. McCain over his career, according to Campaign Money Watch analysis of campaign finance data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics (hyperlink: www.opensecrets.org). DCI Group, which employed Davenport and Goodyear, and their clients provided less than a quarter as much campaign money -- $817,685 — to McCain’s elections.
Charlie Black, McCain’s senior counsel and spokesman, began his lobbying career by representing numerous dictators and repressive regimes
Black’s firm represented the governor of Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos. According to a 1985 report, the firm Black, Manafort & Stone earned $950,000 plus expenses for its work to provide “advice and assistance on matters relating to the media, public relations and public affairs interests.”1
Black’s firm lobbied on behalf of Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire, earning $1 million a year for his efforts.2
Black’s firm lobbied on behalf of Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.3
Black’s firm represented Nigerian dictator Ibrahim Babangida, earning at least $1 million for his efforts.4
Black’s firm has represented Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich state “best known for the outlandish brutality of its rulers.”5
Black represented Angolan rebel and “classical terrorist” Jonas Savimbi, a job that earned him $600,000.6 “We have to call him Africa’s classical terrorist,” Makau Mutua, a professor of law and Africa specialist told the New York Times. “In the history of the continent, I think he’s unique because of the degree of suffering he caused without showing any remorse.”7
In recent years his client list has also included the Iraqi National Congress8, Friends of Blackwater9, and the China National Off-Shore Oil Corp.10
Since 2005, BKSH has received more than $700,000 in fees from foreign entities.11
Thomas Loeffler, co-chairman of McCain’s campaign, has represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia paid the Loeffler Group “a whopping $7.9 million from December 1, 2005, though November 2006 -- the largest fee collected from a foreign government by any lobbying firm in 2006,” according to National Journal.12 The Washington Times reported that “Mr. Loeffler's firm has received more than $10 million since 2006 from the Saudi Embassy and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”13 Much of this work was centered on gaining admission for the Kingdom to the World Trade Organization.14
Since 2005, according to the Washington Times, “the Loeffler Group reported more than $11 million in fees from foreign lobbying clients.”15
Peter Madigan, a leading McCain fundraiser, lobbies on behalf of the king of Dubai
Madigan has earned upwards of $800,000 to improve the United Arab Emirates’ reputation in the face of a class action lawsuit over the enslavement of boy camel jockeys.16
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Where is Paris, Brittany, or Hannah Montana?
isn't this is what is important in this country and for the news organizations?
probably , becuawe most of these "NEWS" people do not know anything about real issues that effect this country and will continue to do so!
So, Keep on keeping us STUPID!!!!!
What is our ranking in the United States for education? Yes, let's continue to speak about all the REAL ISSUES,,,,,,Like Lou Dobbs, talking about a fence at the border?
Does he really understand that the "FENCE" is OLD NEWS? ANY TECHNOLOGY in the country LOU? Or are you IGNORANT on what other countries are doing for border patrol that has a record of actually stopping illegal immigration.
Lou Dobbs should be concerned with who is going to clean up his daughter's equestrian riding stable's stalls!
On and on and on.....................
His entire show, and that is waht most of the media is, all show, no real SUBSTANCE, and all opinion....NO SOLUTIONS or NO FACTS!!!
JUST HIS OPINION>>>>>ANY THOUGHTS BIG MONEY MAN?
Bowling One, Health Care Zero
By Elizabeth Edwards
The New York Times
Sunday 27 April 2008
Chapel Hill, N.C. - For the last month, news media attention was focused on Pennsylvania and its Democratic primary. Given the gargantuan effort, what did we learn?
Well, the rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But in Pennsylvania, as in the rest of the country this political season, the information about the candidates' priorities, policies and principles - information that voters will need to choose the next president - too often did not make the cut. After having spent more than a year on the campaign trail with my husband, John Edwards, I'm not surprised.
Why? Here's my guess: The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country's inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments.
But I am saying that every analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture.
It is not a new phenomenon. In 1954, the Army-McCarthy hearings - an important if painful part of our history - were televised, but by only one network, ABC. NBC and CBS covered a few minutes, snippets on the evening news, but continued to broadcast soap operas in order, I suspect, not to invite complaints from those whose days centered on the drama of "The Guiding Light."
The problem today unfortunately is that voters who take their responsibility to be informed seriously enough to search out information about the candidates are finding it harder and harder to do so, particularly if they do not have access to the Internet.
Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about Joe Biden's health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know Barack Obama's bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties.
What's more, the news media cut candidates like Joe Biden out of the process even before they got started. Just to be clear: I'm not talking about my husband. I'm referring to other worthy Democratic contenders. Few people even had the chance to find out about Joe Biden's health care plan before he was literally forced from the race by the news blackout that depressed his poll numbers, which in turn depressed his fund-raising.
And it's not as if people didn't want this information. In focus groups that I attended or followed after debates, Joe Biden would regularly be the object of praise and interest: "I want to know more about Senator Biden," participants would say.
But it was not to be. Indeed, the Biden campaign was covered more for its missteps than anything else. Chris Dodd, also a serious candidate with a distinguished record, received much the same treatment. I suspect that there was more coverage of the burglary at his campaign office in Hartford than of any other single event during his run other than his entering and leaving the campaign.
Who is responsible for the veil of silence over Senator Biden? Or Senator Dodd? Or Gov. Tom Vilsack? Or Senator Sam Brownback on the Republican side?
The decision was probably made by the same people who decided that Fred Thompson was a serious candidate. Articles purporting to be news spent thousands upon thousands of words contemplating whether he would enter the race, to the point that before he even entered, he was running second in the national polls for the Republican nomination. Second place! And he had not done or said anything that would allow anyone to conclude he was a serious candidate. A major weekly news magazine put Mr. Thompson on its cover, asking - honestly! - whether the absence of a serious campaign and commitment to raising money or getting his policies out was itself a strategy.
I'm not the only one who noticed this shallow news coverage. A report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy found that during the early months of the 2008 presidential campaign, 63 percent of the campaign stories focused on political strategy while only 15 percent discussed the candidates' ideas and proposals.
Watching the campaign unfold, I saw how the press gravitated toward a narrative template for the campaign, searching out characters as if for a novel: on one side, a self-described 9/11 hero with a colorful personal life, a former senator who had played a president in the movies, a genuine war hero with a stunning wife and an intriguing temperament, and a handsome governor with a beautiful family and a high school sweetheart as his bride. And on the other side, a senator who had been first lady, a young African-American senator with an Ivy League diploma, a Hispanic governor with a self-deprecating sense of humor and even a former senator from the South standing loyally beside his ill wife. Issues that could make a difference in the lives of Americans didn't fit into the narrative template and, therefore, took a back seat to these superficialities.
News is different from other programming on television or other content in print. It is essential to an informed electorate. And an informed electorate is essential to freedom itself. But as long as corporations to which news gathering is not the primary source of income or expertise get to decide what information about the candidates "sells," we are not functioning as well as we could if we had the engaged, skeptical press we deserve.
And the future of news is not bright. Indeed, we've heard that CBS may cut its news division, and media consolidation is leading to one-size-fits-all journalism. The state of political campaigning is no better: without a press to push them, candidates whose proposals are not workable avoid the tough questions. All of this leaves voters uncertain about what approach makes the most sense for them. Worse still, it gives us permission to ignore issues and concentrate on things that don't matter. (Look, the press doesn't even think there is a difference!)
I was lucky enough for a time to have a front-row seat in this campaign - to see all this, to get my information firsthand. But most Americans are not so lucky. As we move the contest to my home state, North Carolina, I want my neighbors to know as much as they possibly can about what these men and this woman would do as president.
If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it. Not by screaming out our windows as in the movie "Network" but by talking calmly, repeatedly, constantly in the ears of those in whom we have entrusted this enormous responsibility. Do your job, so we can - as voters - do ours.
--------
Elizabeth Edwards, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, is the author of "Saving Graces."
probably , becuawe most of these "NEWS" people do not know anything about real issues that effect this country and will continue to do so!
So, Keep on keeping us STUPID!!!!!
What is our ranking in the United States for education? Yes, let's continue to speak about all the REAL ISSUES,,,,,,Like Lou Dobbs, talking about a fence at the border?
Does he really understand that the "FENCE" is OLD NEWS? ANY TECHNOLOGY in the country LOU? Or are you IGNORANT on what other countries are doing for border patrol that has a record of actually stopping illegal immigration.
Lou Dobbs should be concerned with who is going to clean up his daughter's equestrian riding stable's stalls!
On and on and on.....................
His entire show, and that is waht most of the media is, all show, no real SUBSTANCE, and all opinion....NO SOLUTIONS or NO FACTS!!!
JUST HIS OPINION>>>>>ANY THOUGHTS BIG MONEY MAN?
Bowling One, Health Care Zero
By Elizabeth Edwards
The New York Times
Sunday 27 April 2008
Chapel Hill, N.C. - For the last month, news media attention was focused on Pennsylvania and its Democratic primary. Given the gargantuan effort, what did we learn?
Well, the rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But in Pennsylvania, as in the rest of the country this political season, the information about the candidates' priorities, policies and principles - information that voters will need to choose the next president - too often did not make the cut. After having spent more than a year on the campaign trail with my husband, John Edwards, I'm not surprised.
Why? Here's my guess: The vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country's inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments.
But I am saying that every analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture.
It is not a new phenomenon. In 1954, the Army-McCarthy hearings - an important if painful part of our history - were televised, but by only one network, ABC. NBC and CBS covered a few minutes, snippets on the evening news, but continued to broadcast soap operas in order, I suspect, not to invite complaints from those whose days centered on the drama of "The Guiding Light."
The problem today unfortunately is that voters who take their responsibility to be informed seriously enough to search out information about the candidates are finding it harder and harder to do so, particularly if they do not have access to the Internet.
Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about Joe Biden's health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know Barack Obama's bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties.
What's more, the news media cut candidates like Joe Biden out of the process even before they got started. Just to be clear: I'm not talking about my husband. I'm referring to other worthy Democratic contenders. Few people even had the chance to find out about Joe Biden's health care plan before he was literally forced from the race by the news blackout that depressed his poll numbers, which in turn depressed his fund-raising.
And it's not as if people didn't want this information. In focus groups that I attended or followed after debates, Joe Biden would regularly be the object of praise and interest: "I want to know more about Senator Biden," participants would say.
But it was not to be. Indeed, the Biden campaign was covered more for its missteps than anything else. Chris Dodd, also a serious candidate with a distinguished record, received much the same treatment. I suspect that there was more coverage of the burglary at his campaign office in Hartford than of any other single event during his run other than his entering and leaving the campaign.
Who is responsible for the veil of silence over Senator Biden? Or Senator Dodd? Or Gov. Tom Vilsack? Or Senator Sam Brownback on the Republican side?
The decision was probably made by the same people who decided that Fred Thompson was a serious candidate. Articles purporting to be news spent thousands upon thousands of words contemplating whether he would enter the race, to the point that before he even entered, he was running second in the national polls for the Republican nomination. Second place! And he had not done or said anything that would allow anyone to conclude he was a serious candidate. A major weekly news magazine put Mr. Thompson on its cover, asking - honestly! - whether the absence of a serious campaign and commitment to raising money or getting his policies out was itself a strategy.
I'm not the only one who noticed this shallow news coverage. A report by the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy found that during the early months of the 2008 presidential campaign, 63 percent of the campaign stories focused on political strategy while only 15 percent discussed the candidates' ideas and proposals.
Watching the campaign unfold, I saw how the press gravitated toward a narrative template for the campaign, searching out characters as if for a novel: on one side, a self-described 9/11 hero with a colorful personal life, a former senator who had played a president in the movies, a genuine war hero with a stunning wife and an intriguing temperament, and a handsome governor with a beautiful family and a high school sweetheart as his bride. And on the other side, a senator who had been first lady, a young African-American senator with an Ivy League diploma, a Hispanic governor with a self-deprecating sense of humor and even a former senator from the South standing loyally beside his ill wife. Issues that could make a difference in the lives of Americans didn't fit into the narrative template and, therefore, took a back seat to these superficialities.
News is different from other programming on television or other content in print. It is essential to an informed electorate. And an informed electorate is essential to freedom itself. But as long as corporations to which news gathering is not the primary source of income or expertise get to decide what information about the candidates "sells," we are not functioning as well as we could if we had the engaged, skeptical press we deserve.
And the future of news is not bright. Indeed, we've heard that CBS may cut its news division, and media consolidation is leading to one-size-fits-all journalism. The state of political campaigning is no better: without a press to push them, candidates whose proposals are not workable avoid the tough questions. All of this leaves voters uncertain about what approach makes the most sense for them. Worse still, it gives us permission to ignore issues and concentrate on things that don't matter. (Look, the press doesn't even think there is a difference!)
I was lucky enough for a time to have a front-row seat in this campaign - to see all this, to get my information firsthand. But most Americans are not so lucky. As we move the contest to my home state, North Carolina, I want my neighbors to know as much as they possibly can about what these men and this woman would do as president.
If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it. Not by screaming out our windows as in the movie "Network" but by talking calmly, repeatedly, constantly in the ears of those in whom we have entrusted this enormous responsibility. Do your job, so we can - as voters - do ours.
--------
Elizabeth Edwards, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, is the author of "Saving Graces."
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