Democrats Debate LGBT Issues

Well here’s an interesting debate forum. LOGO and Human Rights Campaign will host the democrats in a debate on LGBT issues on August 9, 2007 at 9:00pm EST.

Olbermann To Moderate AFL-CIO Forum

Edwards should take this one. He has been consistent on workers rights and the unions like what they hearing from Edwards. Hillary on the other hand may be bruised with Bill’s NAFTA and her business ties of a top campaign aide who has angered the labor movement.

• Today, seven Democratic hopefuls will make their case before the largest audience of this early campaign season—the 15,000 union family members expected at the AFL-CIO Presidential Candidates Forum at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

• Moderated by MSNBC’s “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann, the forum will feature questions to the candidates from among 2,200 questions submitted by union members at the AFL-CIO’s Working Families Vote 2008 website. The questions from union members touch on health care, trade and jobs, freedom to form unions, the war in Iraq, retirement security and other key working family concerns.

• The 90-minute forum will be carried live on MSNBC television and XM Radio channel 130 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. CDT). “Countdown” will continue broadcasting from the forum until 8 p.m. EDT. If you miss it, XM channel 130 will rebroadcast the debate for 24 hours following its conclusion.

• The forum comes as the AFL-CIO Executive Council is meeting in Chicago. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told hundreds of union activists at Sunday’s Battleground States 2007 conference the candidate event is “the biggest job interview in history.”

• Tomorrow, the Executive Council will discuss the presidential endorsement process, but the AFL-CIO will not issue an endorsement until affiliated unions reach consensus on a candidate. The Federation’s General Board makes the actual endorsement. The General Board is made up of members of the council, the principle officers of each affiliated union, trade and industrial departments plus representatives from constituency groups, retiree organizations and local central and state bodies. An endorsement by the General Board will require a two-thirds per capita membership vote.

• The forum is part of an unprecedented outreach to union families to give them an opportunity to hear the candidates and make their voices and opinions heard. Earlier this year, the AFL-CIO spearheaded a series of town hall forums where the candidates met local union members and leaders. In addition, our Working Families Vote 2008 website provides current news on the election, issue guides, candidate profiles, a forum for union members to speak out about their concerns and links to other political blogs and sites.

Priceless Quotes From GOP Debate

(CNN Political Ticker) – Several Republican presidential candidates distanced themselves from President Bush’s foreign policy doctrine, and questioned the role of Vice President Cheney, during Sunday morning’s nationally-televised debate.

The foreign policy comments came in response to a question during on President Bush’s second term goal of spreading democracy and ending tyranny, during the debate from Des Moines, Iowa, broadcast on ABC’s “This Week.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said. “I’m not a carbon copy of President Bush. And there are things I would do that would be done differently.”

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said he would not follow the policy, saying “sometimes when you get what you want, you don’t get want what you get.” He said, “this is a great case of that happening. I don’t think it’s the job of the United States to export our form of government…I don’t think we can force people to accept our way of life, our way of government.”

Former Texas Congressman Ron Paul told the audience, “There’s nothing wrong with spreading our values around the world, but it is wrong to spread him by force.”

Moderator George Stephanopoulos noted in the question the victory of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and President Ahmadinejad in Iran during free elections. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, “in some cases, maybe going to elections so quickly is a mistake. Maybe the thing to do is to first make sure that you’ve developed the bedrock for democracy.”

On the role of the Vice President, Senator Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, said “Dick Cheney came in with a lot of experience, He came in with a lot of experience on defense, foreign policy issues, And I think the president over-relied on that. I think Dick Cheney has done an admirable job. I think the president’s over-relied on that.”

Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, said “I would be very careful that everybody understood that there’s only one president.”

But there were defenders of President Bush and Vice President Cheney’s role. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said, “I believe that Vice President Cheney is criticized for a lot of things he doesn’t do.”

And Romney added, “it’s been very popular lately for people to be critical of the president and vice president. And I know they make mistakes. But they have kept us safe these last six years. Let’s not forget that.”

Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Duncan Hunter, Tom Tancredo, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Sam Brownback, Mike Huckabee –CNN Political Desk Managing Editor Steve Brusk

Democrats Embrace Bloggers

Democrats spar at blog gathering

Seven of the Democratic candidates for US president have fielded questions from more than 1,000 political bloggers at an annual convention in Chicago. Correspondents say the candidates’ presence reflects the growing influence of such bloggers, seen as a key resource by candidates. The candidates’ appearance at the YearlyKos Convention follows a presidential debate on YouTube in late July, when they answered questions posed solely via online videos. Senator Joe Biden was the only candidate not to attend.

Wild Wild Web: Dems Court Online Mavens
Democrats Court Liberal Bloggers
Bloggers Give Clinton a Mixed Reception
Candidates Forum Highlights Importance of Net Roots to Democratic Party

Democratic presidential candidate pay homage to liberal bloggers

Blogger Event Draws Democrats

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton refused Saturday to forsake campaign donations from lobbyists, turning aside challenges from her two main rivals with a rare defense of the special interest industry.

Notice that Democrats are at least giving the appearance of communicating with ‘the people’ who they want to lead. Notice the Republicans are less enthusiastic about hearing the thoughts of the people they want to subject to Theocratic suppression. I give Ron Paul the ‘brass orbs’ to stand against the neocon line and be the last great hope for what used to be the party of Lincoln.

Red Mosque Redux, Taliban or Al Qaeda – Pakistan At Risk

Fresh paint on the shrine’s outer wall reads Lal Masjid, meaning Red Mosque

Pro-Taliban fighters have seized control of a mosque and shrine in the Mohmand area of Pakistan’s North West Frontier province and renamed it the Red Mosque. The tribesmen have expressed support for Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the leader of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, killed in a government assault last month.

Before he was killed in the raid on Lal Masjid, Ghazi warned that after his death there would be many more Red Mosques.

Obama willing to invade Pakistan in al-Qaeda hunt

Standing in front of a Stars and Stripes flag, Mr Obama said: “There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again . . . If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”

“Because of a war in Iraq that should never have been authorised and should never have been waged, we are now less safe than we were before 9/11. It is time to turn the page. It is time to write a new chapter in our response to 9/11,” he said.

Whether or not the US gets to resume it’s original mission to hunt down the operatives of 9/11, the game has changed. Obama’s attempt to bring attention to our failing to pursue Osama may be out of sync with our current situation. If he had only addressed relocating troops to home or to Afghanistan first, I would be much more impressed. His statements were too transparent as a response to Hillary’s war agenda. If we allow Musharraf to be dethroned, we had better have someone in the wings to replace him. As much as I want Osama and gang caught, this will doom Musharraf and the safety of his nukes.

Saber rattling does not become you Mr. Obama. Please resume your role to be above it all and find common ground to become the uniter we so desperately need. Accountability is what is missing from our world. Arrogance is no longer fashionable. Abuse of privilege must be outlawed. The GOP cannot be defeated if Democrats take their eyes off the ball.

Clinton Demurs On Obama’s Nuclear Stance

She Says It Is Unwise to Rule Out Using the Arms Against Terrorists

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton drew another distinction between herself and Sen. Barack Obama yesterday, refusing to rule out the use of nuclear weapons against Osama bin Laden or other terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Clinton’s comments came in response to Obama’s remarks earlier in the day that nuclear weapons are “not on the table” in dealing with ungoverned territories in the two countries, and they continued a steady tug of war among the Democratic presidential candidates over foreign policy.

Where are we going with this?

 

 

CNN Debate Review

I loved the format. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but then neither were the candidates. The format was such a refreshing break from the same old journalist prepared questions. It put real citizen in the debate. I felt it made the candidates answer a bit more honestly. I hope this format continues.

What I didn’t like was way too much time spent with Hillary, Obama and Edwards. Sometimes it’s nice to involve the others just to stir things up.

Hillary: Seemed relaxed, to the point. I hate to admit it but I think she came out on top; Still not jazzed about her;

Obama: Convinced me on a few points like the separations of church and state and lobbyist out of the energy and health care discussions. I’m not crazy about his health care bill since it’s not universal;

Edwards: I have to give him credit for being honest about his personal struggle with gay marriage. Hopefully Elizabeth can get him there. I did like his health care plan being universal. I thought his video was the best of all the candidates.

Biden: He didn’t seem as irritating as I expected him to be. He did however; want to bring most of his answers back to Iraq. He seemed a bit dismissive at times but I guess that’s Joe.

Richardson: I was shocked that he didn’t bring up his resume. You know I can’t recall anything remarkable or different that Richardson said.

Kucinich: Loved his immediate pull out from Iraq. Interesting that he wasn’t given enough time on health care since he authored a very good universal plan.

Dodd: Nothing remarkable. I thought he screwed up when he answered that as President he wouldn’t work for minimum wage because he has kids to put through school. I think he missed the point of struggling America; and

Gravel: He seemed to spend most of his time going after the other candidates instead of using his very few opportunities to make his case.

The GOP is next up on this format and that should be interesting since they can’t connect with the public.

Democratic Debate; My Opinion

Tonight CNN & YouTube will host the democratic debate, 7:00 p.m. EST. Personally I’m looking forward to this format; debates have become too scripted for me. The candidates won’t see the questions before hand. They won’t have scripted answers. The candidates will actually have to think off the top of their heads.  I’m sure their spin doctors are already going into shock.

Here’s what I think: 

Hillary: She won’t fare well in this format, she to much of a control freak.  I also think she’ll stray from the original question;

Obama and Edwards: These two love the net and know how to connect they’ll do fine;

Biden: He won’t shut up so what every the question is it will get lost in all his opining and pontificating; 

Dodd: I’m not sure about him, he never seem to get enough attention to even know if he’s still breathing at the podium; 

Gravel:  Well he speaks his mind all the time so this should be fun. Providing Anderson gives him more than one question;

Kucinich: He seems to stay on point so we might see him answers the question actually asked; and

Richardson: He tries to always come across as “Mr. Deep concern compassion”, so I think it will be a love fest for him and the camera as he tries to focus on whomever sent the video. It could be embarrassing.

The GOP Debate..Same Old White Guys

Last night I watch the GOP debate, yeah watched it. Basically they stink and not just because they are republicans. I notice several very annoying things:

1) They are all men (where is there inclusiveness);

2) They are all white (I know they have a few Blacks and Hispanics);

3) They are all stiff (basically tight ass white men);

4) They all hate immigrants (well McCain was nicer about it);

5) They all thought English should be the only language (that’s shocking since their fearless leader can’t speak English);

6They played follow the leader (McCain moves forward, they rest move forward);

7) They did however seem to take pleasure in Rudy getting a lighting zap when asked about a bishop or some religious crap;

8 ) Wolf Blitzer if a royal pain in the ass;

9) The audiences seem like they would have enjoyed watching paint dry then listening to the Goppers.

Basically in a nut shell it sucked. Sad to say but to me McCain seem to come out on top.

Both Sides Now: Impeach The Bastard – Immigration

Bush’s Push on Immigration Tests His Base

By JIM RUTENBERG and CARL HULSE, New York Times , June 3, 2007

Postings on conservative Web sites this week have gone so far as to call for Mr. Bush’s impeachment, and usually friendly radio hosts, commentators and Congressional allies are warning that he stands to lose supporters — a potentially damaging development when he needs all the backing he can get on the war in Iraq.

Tensions, ripple through the Republican presidential field, just as the Senate prepares to renew Immigration debate next week. Opponents seek significant changes — or outright defeat of the legislation —  raising the specter of a filibuster. The White House pits against a group that includes even Mr. Bush’s reliable supporters from his home state of Texas, Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, both Republicans.

 White House Officials express frustration at what they describe as ill-informed criticism that the bill provides amnesty for illegal immigrants, when it in fact trades legal status for fines and fees — more than $6,000 for green card holders.  Polls show 66% of Republicans supported its legalization provisions.

 Karl Rove, is confident that the White House will win over its critics as it explains the details of the bill and the administration’s continuing efforts to enforce existing border control laws.  He does not think that anger over immigration within the party will affect support for the president on the war and other national security issues.

Peggy Noonan, the Wall Street Journal opinion writer and former Reagan speechwriter who has supported Mr. Bush, said, “What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them,” in a column under the heading, “President Bush has torn the conservative coalition asunder.”

Democrats have their own serious differences on immigration.  Those closely allied with labor are fearful about impact on job opportunities; others oppose any plan that allows illegal immigrants to earn citizenship. But the Democratic divisions have been all but lost in the loud and volatile clashes among Republicans.

Common Ground!

Lets do the Impeachment dance!

Nations Must Spread Fear To Justify Human Rights Abuses

Thank you for this informative article By Nora Boustany,   Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, May 24, 2007

 Powerful governments and armed groups are spreading fear to divert attention from human rights abuses, exacerbating polarization in an increasingly dangerous world, Amnesty International said yesterday in its annual assessment of rights worldwide.

That is a common sleight of hand magic trick and we fall for it every time.

The United States is “the leading country using fear to justify the unjustifiable,” said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “The U.S. used to be in a position to speak out effectively against torture and military tribunals. We can’t do that now because we are carrying out some of the same practices,” he said.

This is the same successful ‘magic trick’ that has been a GOP favorite for the last 7+ years.  The GOP has brought this country down to the same level as the worst Human Rights offenders and uses the same mantra every time!  Remember 9/11!  Remember Al Qaeda!  and as for immigration … Remember the Alamo!

Democrats are given an opportunity to turn this around – change troop strategy – make mental health repair a requirement before releasing damaged soldiers back into society.  We want to hear a statement in the right direction!  Still waiting!