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"There is no Path to Peace. Peace is the Path" - Gandhi
"An Eye for an Eye will make the Whole World Blind" - Gandhi
Islam has not been hijacked, and there was large outrage in the Muslim community after 9-11.
The Question is Why is the Main Stream Media not talking about it.
I feel that if you search deep enough you will find that we have begun the wars over natural resources. Scarcity is the defining principle of economics. How much is an innocent life worth? It does not matter the nationality, race, religion, or socio-economic status. Through the study of Genomics, we have found that all of mankind has its roots in africa, and we are all brothers.
Shermann
Oh - Silly me. I thought you were a huge GW fan. Thought you might enjoy his quotes.
Show me one post where I have mentioned Goverment Conspiracies.
Quite succinctly put, The death penalty is a sin against God.
WWJD???
Suffice it to say that I consider the Death Penalty to be evil.
Suffice it to say that I consider the Death Penalty to be evil.
There are so many Christians that teach the gospel of Hate and War which are the antithesis of what Jesus taught.
Jesus, in his time, did not even belong to a specific religion. He was opposed to the Pharises which are Jewish Clerics.
Shermann
"The God Muslims worship is the same God Christians and Jews worship." - George Bush
""America treasures the relationship we have with our many Muslim friends, and we respect the vibrant faith of Islam which inspires countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and morality. This year, may Eid also be a time in which we recognize the values of progress, pluralism, and acceptance that bind us together as a Nation and a global community. By working together to advance mutual understanding, we point the way to a brighter future for all."
George Bush - Presidential Message Eid al-Fitr
December 5, 2002
""When it comes to the common rights and needs of men and women, there is no clash of civilizations. The requirements of freedom apply fully to Africa and Latin America and the entire Islamic world. The peoples of the Islamic nations want and deserve the same freedoms and opportunities as people in every nation. And their governments should listen to their hopes."
Remarks by the President George W. Bush at the 2002 Graduation Exercise of the United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
June 1, 2002
Read the rest of the (5) pages of Bush on Islam.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/islam.html
Shermann
The unfortunate thing about the execution of Saddam Hussein is that we will never get to read future writings that we can learn from.
President Nixon had writings of sheer brilliance after he resigned.
President Carter has said that he would have been a far better president if he knew then what he knows now.
Shermann
I am definitely not a Nancy Pelosi fan. I think she is corrupt, and does not have the best interests of the US Citizens in mind.
Having said that, I am willing to give her enough rope to hang herself with. No-one has ever succeeded without a chance to succeed.
Shermann
I think anyone with an Iota of common sense will realize that both parties are equally corrupt, and most have been bought and paid for.
We are blessed to have a man like Howard Dean who is willing to Fight the Inside the Beltway Dems, and the DLC. He cannot be bought, and the last election was a triumph for his 50 state strategy.
Now we need a similar movement on the right.
Shermann
The problem with the Use of Depleted Uranium is that most people do not know we are using it.
We are Poisining our own soldiers, yet we support the troops??
"War is a necessary Evil, but it is still Evil" - Jimmy Carter
Shermann
Legacy of Treason - Depleted Uranium and the Poisoning of Humanity
Alok O'Brien
June 24, 2006
In recent years I have become aware of the issue of depleted uranium (DU) and its use by the US Military in Iraq in 1991 and again in the current Iraq war. The photos of birth deformities and stories of suffering resulting from DU shocked me, reminding me of the Agent Orange victims of America's Vietnam war. Then I watched David Bradbury and Peter Scott's new film, Blowin' in the Wind . Its content shocked and appalled me, and spurred me into researching and writing this article. It is undoubtedly by far the most significant issue on the planet today, and yet the mainstream media stays quiet.
Depleted uranium (DU) is what is left after raw uranium has been enriched to the highly radioactive isotope U-235 used for weapons and power generation. For every ton of U-235 produced, there are seven tons of DU. Estimates vary, but it seems that currently the US alone has in excess of five million tons of stockpiles of DU. This has no commercial use beyond its use as a radiation shield in medical devices, and for adding to concrete to form radiation containing bunkers. However, this requires an insignificant quantity of the DU produced each year.
The half-life of DU is 4.5 billion years, so storing it safely and indefinitely is cost prohibitive. To remedy the situation, the US Department of Energy has made it freely available to the Pentagon and US armaments and armour manufacturers, and it has been used in weapons exported to 29 countries. It is simply cheaper to make it into weapons than store it.
It is widely accepted that DU itself is fairly stable, as the dangerous alpha particles which it emits cannot pass through more than a couple of centimetres of air. The problems arise when DU is in contact with water or is used in weaponry and explodes. (See the photo above — the sparks are DU that is on fire and exploding.) It then creates a vapourised, radioactive gas comprising of tiny nano-particles. The microscopic particles in this vapour are then littered, depending upon prevailing winds, up to 100 kms around (estimates on this vary — with some sources citing up to 1000 kms), where they fall on crops, water, or just on the ground to be picked up by the next gust of wind or by car tyres. Later, when this gas enters the atmosphere, it can spread worldwide.
The nanoparticles of DU enter the body, from the air, from landing on clothing or skin and from food or water. These nanoparticles penetrate all protective clothing and masks, and once it comes in contact with the body it immediately disperses and begins to alter DNA. As it is not soluble it cannot be excreted from the body. Uranium is a toxic chemical element, just like lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium.
According to the declassified Groves memo from the Manhattan Project in 1943, the properties of DU in weapons has been known and strategised with for 60 years. It is clear that the US has known for 60 years about the effects of DU on the battlefield, also the danger to its own soldiers.
Why is DU so useful as a weapon?
DU is very hard, the hardest and densest of metals, and so is used for armour piercing rounds, fired from tanks, ships, aircraft and snipers, and for the bunker buster bombs made famous in the 2003 attack on Baghdad. It is also in the Tomahawk Cruise missiles fired from ships. Being so hard, it is also used extensively in the armour plating of tanks and armoured cars.
DU is a pyroforic metal, meaning it burns. The bullets and large calibre shells are actually on fire when they come out of the gun barrel because they are ignited by the friction in the barrel and explode on contact — armour piercing incendiary ammunition. Most of the DU metal becomes a metal vapour, so it is really a radioactive gas weapon once the initial destruction has occurred. DU weaponry are nuclear weapons. No question.
However, the military use of DU violates current international law including the principle that there is no unlimited right to choose the means and methods of warfare.
When speaking of the quantities of DU used in various wars it is worth understanding that the amount of uranium used in the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima was approximately 13kg, about the size of a two-litre milk container. A Japanese professor, Dr. K. Yagasaki, has calculated that in terms of the atomicity, (the amount of radiation produced), a ton of DU used on the battlefield releases the equivalent of 100 Hiroshima bombs worth of radiation released into the atmosphere. Thus when experts refer to the 2000 tons of DU dropped on Iraq in the past three years, what is being released in the Iraqi atmosphere, and then spreading worldwide, is the equivalent of 200,000 Hiroshima bombs. The total amount of DU the US has used since 1991 is approximately 4600 tons (1000 in the first Gulf War, 800 in Kosovo, 800 in Afghanistan and a further 2000 tons in the current Iraq war.) This amounts to approximately 460,000 Hiroshima bombs, ten times the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere from all previous nuclear testing worldwide.
Sailors sort blue-tipped depleted uranium MK-38 25mm machine-gun shells while another fires them out to sea in exercises at Shoalwater Bay. Notice the protective clothing and gloves.
Gulf War Syndrome
Over the past 18 months there has been an erupting scandal in the US in the Department of Veterans Affairs as DU is blamed by more and more respected scientists for Gulf War Syndrome (and also, Balkans War Syndrome).
Of the 580,000 US soldiers that served in Iraq in 1991, by mid 2004 518,739 were on medical disability pensions. This figure is 150,000 higher than just one year earlier. There are no more recent statistics, but it would appear that by now the percentages of soldiers affected would be reaching 100%
According to Leuren Moret in a group of 251 soldiers from a study group in Mississippi who had all had normal babies before the first Gulf War, 67% of their post-war babies were born with severe birth defects. They were born with missing legs, arms, organs or eyes or had immune system and blood diseases. In some veterans' families now, the only normal or healthy members of the family are the children born before the war. 'The use of depleted uranium weapons is a crime against humanity, a crime against all species, and a war against the earth,' says Moret. 'It is imperative that we demand a permanent international moratorium on the sale and the use of depleted uranium weaponry.'
DU: Coming to a country near you
A 20-year agreement was signed last year between the United States and Australia, the specific terms of which are secret, but which allows the US military to train and test its latest weapons in Australia. This involves bombing ranges in the pristine Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton in Queensland and at Lancelin, the lobster fishing village 150kms north of Perth where there would be ship-to-shore bombing from nuclear powered and capable US navy ships.
Also in the Northern Territory a 'test' bombing range has been designated where B52s and Stealth bombers will, as of January 06, and as you read this, be dumping their payloads on their flights from Guam. The US Navy uses DU in its shelling, and the B52s will be most likely (presumably they will be testing the weapons they actually use) carrying bunker buster bombs with their 2.2 tons of DU each. Retrospective legislation was passed to remove the need for any Environmental Impact Study (EIS) before or after the duration of this agreement.
When asked in the Australian Senate about whether or not the US would be using DU in its bombing of Australian sites, Defence Minister Senator Hill said, 'In relation to Depleted Uranium used by our allies we have said that, if they believe it is the most appropriate element to use in their particular munitions in certain circumstances, we do not think it is appropriate for us to press a different view upon them.' Senator Hill has since retired from Australian politics and has taken up residence as the Australian UN Ambassador in New York
The death economy
More and more it appears that the things which are most important are simply those that generate the biggest growth in profits, in the GDP. Sickness generates business, cancer rates generate research dollars, war accelerates growth, and we wonder why peace is so elusive when we worship the economy. The following is equally applicable to Australia now as it was to the US in the 1960s.
Too much and for too long we seem to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product now is over $800 billion a year.
But that gross national product, if we judge the United States of America by that, counts air pollution, and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors, and the jails for people who break them. It counts the destruction of redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and it counts nuclear warheads, and armoured cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television program which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our passion nor our devotion to our country.
It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America — except why we are proud that we are Americans.
— Robert Kennedy, 18/3/1968
Ultimately we do not know how much DU is being used in Shoalwater Bay, or Lancelin or dumped daily in the Northern Territory.
We do know that Japan, the Philippines and Puerto Rica no longer allow the US to bomb their lands with DU, and that there is no ship-to-shore bombing allowed anymore on the US mainland.
We know that there are hundreds of very vocal groups in opposition worldwide to the use of DU, who have devoted their lives to this issue.
We also know that the US government does not particularly care about the safety of their troops or anyone else's, and is seemingly content to poison the world for eternity, and poison themselves in the process. We know that weapons usage is classified and that such information will never be freely supplied to the Australian people, while nuclear powered and armed ships are cruising the waters of the Great Barrier Reef. In January, the largest nuclear powered and capable aircraft carrier in the world, boasting 6000 marines on board, docked in Brisbane.
If the contamination of Shoalwater Bay and Lancelin is anything like Iraq, Kosovo, or Afghanistan, then the vicinity of these places should be avoided. But it would be a mistake to think that the troubles are confined to those areas. The beef and pineapples from Rockhampton, and the seafood from Lancelin, could be contaminated and end up on your bbq. After this article was first published a reader contacted the West Australian Government who assured them that the Federal Government had told them, in writing, that DU was not being used in WA. The Federal Government may in fact believe what it is saying, but given the photo that appeared on the US Navy's own website, of DU shells being loaded into a ship's gun in Shoalwater Bay (see http://www.c7f.navy.mil/ts05/photos.htm , scroll to near bottom of page), it beggars belief that they would not be using DU in WA. After all, according to the Defence Department, DU is perfectly safe. They test weapons that they use, and they certainly use DU weapons.
According to Leuren Moret, it is simply no longer possible to go to Afghanistan or the Middle East without being contaminated. How long before that is also true of Australia?
There are questions that need to be asked by everyone related to the integrity of our political leadership.
Does our government have our best interests in mind
• when they sign up for bombardments on Australian soil and in Australian waters by DU tipped weaponry?
• when they refuse to stipulate that no nuclear weapons are to be used on our shores, and will they guarantee that our children will not grow up breathing in DU nanoparticles?
• when they sign up for Son of Star Wars , which will cost in excess of $50 billion? (To protect us from what? Who?)
Does our government have our best interests in mind when they decide to sequester large tracts of land in the Northern Territory for eternity for a nuclear dump, so the US and UK can dump their 'spent' nuclear fuel and we can export more uranium?
Do they have our best interests at heart when they sign up for a de facto [unshielded] nuclear dump under the guise of a joint bombing facility in the Northern Territory?
Who is running the agenda that says that all of a sudden it is OK to talk about new nuclear power stations as if nuclear power is an answer to global warming? David Goodstein, professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) said on ABC's Lateline in October 2004 that if nuclear power were to provide all of the energy that fossil fuel currently provides there would be enough uranium for just 10 years!
Westinghouse and GE build most of the nuclear power stations in the world, and also happen to own significant stakes in most major media companies in the US, which is largely why no real discussion will arise from the US on this issue. Nuclear power becomes unviable if the cost of disposing of the DU is factored in, which is why it is given to the Pentagon. Now Australia wants to expand the number and size of its uranium mines to sell to India and China (Who knows how they will dispose of their DU!). Now Australia, thanks to John Howard, is talking seriously about building power stations when our largest single electricity supplier, the Snowy Mountains company, is running at 13% capacity! (SMH,24/5/06)
Together we need to do something. Research the internet, find out for yourself what the DU debate is about. Do the research before you speak to anyone so you know what you are talking about, as you will find that most people will not want to believe that this is happening. The list of websites supplied at the end of this article is by no means definitive, but is a good place to start. Get in touch with any of the many groups that have mobilised over this issue all over the world. Start your own group. Do not let the size of the opposition and the scale of the ignorance and unwillingness to know the truth that you will be confronted with, convince you that you are helpless and cannot do anything about DU. This is what they depend on .
Contact your local politician, and do not accept anything that smells like a brush-off. This may well be the most important thing you ever do.
Buy a copy and arrange a showing of the film Blowin' in the Wind at your local cinema, and get your local community radio station to broadcast talks, interviews and lectures like those available on www.alternativeradio.org or www.traprockpeace.org and many other websites.
If you live or holiday near the affected areas, make lots of noise with the local councillors and media. Be disobedient. Be seditious. Get the use of DU weaponry stopped. It is nuclear weaponry.
Find out who provides the Public Liability insurance for the army, and does that insurer know the risks associated with DU? Perhaps the way to stop this is through the public liability requirements that the Australian population is tied up with. Any insurance lawyers out there?
This is our home that is being poisoned. It is our country. Demand that it is respected and protected for our children and their children. History will not forgive us if we stand by idly.
Not to put a damper on this, but every administration since kennedy has been developing biological, chemical, and radioactive weapons for offensive use.
Shermann
Some Get Smart humor still good today!!!
Maxwell Smart: I'm getting complaints from the landlord about the gun battles in the hall, and the bombs in the lobby, and the knife fights in the elevator.
Chief: Well, when you rent an apartment to a secret agent, you've got to expect those things.
Maxwell Smart: But he doesn't know I'm a secret agent.
Chief: Well, how do you explain people attacking you and shooting at you?
Maxwell Smart: Well, I told him I work for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
--------------------------------------------------------
Agent 99: Oh, Max, how terrible.
Maxwell Smart: He desereved it, 99. He was a Kaos killer.
Agent 99: Sometimes I wonder if we're any better, Max.
Maxwell Smart: What are you talking about, 99? We have to shoot and kill and destroy. We represent everything that's wholesome and good in the world.
----------------------------------------------------------
Chief: I'm sure Congress will reconsider our budget cut.
Agent 99: Well, why doesn't Congress cut the CIA's budget?
Maxwell Smart: How can they? Nobody knows what their budget is.
------------------------------------------------------------
KAOS Agent: Look, I'm a sportsman. I'll let you choose the way you want to die.
Maxwell Smart: All right, how about old age?
I am Catholic, but not a devout Catholic so to speak. I have seen many who go to church for one of the following two reasons:
1. It is a social event - especially for prestige.
2. So they can be forgiven and be a jerk for another week just to keep repeating the same cycle.
I find it so Ironic that Jesus is the prophet Jesus Peace in the religion of Islam.
Being a truly spiritual person seems to be religion independent to me. All of the religions have some great parts to them and need to be appreciated by all of mankind. Peace seems to be the one common thread.
Shermann
That is simply the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.
Unfortunately, I make lots of mistakes.
You are a breath of Fresh air also, and I am a better person for having listened.
There are many things in life that are harder than others.
Peace is harder to achieve than war.
People need to realize that this Partisinship is intentional. Its purpose is to keep people divided and take their eye off the real prize.
Spiritual is a great word. I much prefer it to religious.
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
I really do believe that the situation in Iraq is Solvable. We just need to get the rest of the world involved. This administration does not want to do that. Maybe the next will??? what do you think?
Shermann
P.S. - My dad always said to lead by example, and I also believe it is the best philosophy.
I think that Howard Dean is one of the best things to happen in Politics - Regardless of Party or anything!!!
He is a Fiscal Conservative who hates politicians. Just like one of our local heroes here - John Kasich.
I can tell you for a fact that neither man can be bought!!!
Shermann
Clinton Hires Evangelical Consultant for Presidential Campaign
NOTE: Whatever Happened to the days when we got to know exactly what the candidate stands for instead of being told what we want to hear??
An “evangelical consultant” has been hired by Hillary Clinton to help attract Christian conservatives in her likely 2008 presidential campaign.
by Anne Thomas
Posted: Wednesday, December 27, 2006, 9:45 (GMT)
An “evangelical consultant” has been hired by Hillary Clinton to help attract Christian conservatives in her likely 2008 presidential campaign.
More than one-quarter of the USA's voters identify themselves as evangelical, a voter bloc that has long been courted by Republicans.
In addition, a similar political operative has successfully aided Democratic candidates in several states in the midterm elections.
Clinton’s new hire is Burns Strider, an evangelical Christian who directs religious outreach for House Democrats and is the lead staffer for the Democrats’ Faith Working Group, headed by incoming Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina.
Incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi created the group last year when Democratic strategists observed that the party lost ground in the previous election in part because candidates failed to reach centrist and conservative voters in rural areas, who tend to be churchgoers concerned with moral issues, according to the Washington, D.C.-based publication The Hill.
Strider was an aide to Pelosi when the group was formed and joined Clyburn’s staff as policy director of the Democratic Caucus earlier this year, the paper reported.
"Observers of Clinton’s expressions of faith say religion has always been important to her, that she attended prayer group meetings while first lady, and that she joined a Senate prayer group shortly after winning election in 2000,” The Hill reports.
"Reporters anticipating Clinton’s ’08 presidential run wrongly discount her expressions of faith as cynical political maneuvering," the observers add.
Clinton is not the only potential Democratic candidate for the White House to launch efforts to appeal to religious voters.
I thought it was funny. I post things from many points of view. And it was definitely political.
I really like how Howard Dean stuck it to the inside the beltway corrupt dems - Especially the DLC. That was my favorite part!!!
I said the context was important - but not as important as the words - And definitely not as important as the deed itself.
Here is an example where context was badly needed. The movie Farenheit 911. While from the strictest sense of the words, it was factual, the context for those words was totally different. There were so many quotes taken out of context in that movie as to render the movie worthless.
Although the scene of him driving around the capital building in an ice cream truck reading the patriot act is hilarious.
Shermann
I said the context was important - but not as important as the words - And definitely not as important as the deed itself.
Here is an example where context was badly needed. The movie Farenheit 911. While from the strictest sense of the words, it was factual, the context for those words was totally different. There were so many quotes taken out of context in that movie as to render the movie worthless.
Although the scene of him driving around the capital building in an ice cream truck reading the patriot act is hilarious.
Shermann
I added "(Yes this is definitely biased towards the left)" at the top title line.
I did not write the article, so that does not make me partisan, although I did point out it was partisan.
No Judgement there
I am glad we agree that Jesus was a phenomenal person. That is what matters here. As you can tell, I am not much of a fan of any religion. One of my favorite quotes is "What does religion have to do with god?".
The Martin Luther King Quote was a metaphor.
Context means nothing without the words and actions.
Context is important. Words are more important. Actions are the most important.
The reason the context is not as important in "He who is without sin may cast the first stone" is the deed he performed in doing it.
You might find this interesting.
My Favorite four presidents from 1950 on in order are:
Eisenhower, JFK, Reagan, and Nixon.
By the way - While Tax and Spend is a bad policy - Tax much less and spend much more is an infinitely worse policy.
I once had someone tell me that Martin Luther King Jr. was not a great man because he had copied half of his thesis from someone else.
Dont need anything to refute Romans - It does not say that rulers have the right to judge in gods name. One cannot refute what does not exist.
There is no context required to understand what Jesus meant by "He who is without sin may cast the first stone".
Jesus was pure of Heart. He said what he meant.
All religions are inherently corrupt as they are institutions of men. There are many contradictions in both the new and old testament. Having said that, all that is read has to be taken with a grain of salt. Context is important. The words are more important.
For fun - Check the difference of meaning in the word betrayal now and 2000 years ago.
Ugly scenes like this are not the divine providence of Islam.
Many countries and religious groups have embarked on campaigns much worse than you are describing. This would include the United States.
The "Threat of Islam" is just propoganda!!!
That is my last word on the subject.
Shermann
I have read all about it. For Judaism, the commadment is though shall not murder.
The Vatican is very succinct on this point. The commandment is "Though shall not kill".
There is a growing movement in the Evangelist community for "Though shall not murder". It gives them the right to kill anyone they say "murdered" or proclaim self-defense. However, Jesus would hear none of this.
The context is simple. Jesus was an honest man not afraid to die. He did not play contextual games or politics or any of that. His words are his words.
"God has given instruction to governing authorities to judge"
Belief in the above quote is bordering on delusional.
Shermann
Nosey - Not much substance here.
The term Islamofascist is an oxymoron and cannot exist relative to the religion of Islam. Fascism pertains to Nations and unrelenting Nationalism. Islam is a religion, and supports shariah law - Not nationalism.
I see no evidence that we are fighting a war on terror. When the govt decides to protect our borders and inspect more than 5% of cargo, I will be willing to listen. This pertains to BOTH PARTIES.
For the mentally hadicapped - In WWII, Germany and Japan invaded many countries before we declared war. Hitler called it "Pre-emptive" war. We invaded Iraq which was little threat if any to us. If you cant see the difference, then you need to switch brands of Kool-aid.
Shermann
I stated what I believe.
I will not get into Partisan shouting matches with anyone.
It is obvious that the majority of the two parties are fundamentally corrupt, and sold out a long time ago. There is less difference between them than there has ever been.
This partisan divide is intentional. It is meant to keep our eyes off the ball.
"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
Shermann
Howard Dean says the Democratic Party need...
Associated Press
Rasha Madkour
HOUSTON, Texas -- Howard Dean says the Democratic Party needs to look beyond its dated goal of getting gays and minorities a place at the table and instead work toward getting them on the ballot.
"We've got to share power, not just responsibility, from now on," Dean told about 200 people Saturday at the International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference, an annual gathering of gay public officials.
Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said little about issues such as same-sex marriage or civil rights, and instead addressed broader Democratic agendas such as raising the minimum wage.
Flush from big Democratic gains in last week's elections, Dean emphasized that the "new Democratic Party" reaches out to all citizens, even those less likely to vote for them.
The downfall of the "old Democratic Party," he said, had been its acceptance to represent half the nation.
"We've got to take the attitude: Everyone's our boss," Dean said.
He then outlined the issues he believes the party should focus on now that Democrats control Congress, including increasing college financial assistance and passing an energy independence bill.
Copyright Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. [11/28/06]
© 1997-2005 Ethan Interactive, Inc.
Howard Dean Gets It Right: Democratic Victories Are Loan, Not Gift
by Joe Gandelman
Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean got it right. He is telling Democrats that they shouldn't view the November election victories as a restoration, but as a loan of power — to see what they can do.
Basically, the Democrats are like a brand, new employee who's hired and is initially on probation. Should independents, centrists and moderates who fled today's GOP stay with them beyond this one election?
Should the Reagan Democrats who had left their party think about a more permanent return? Should some GOPers still upset about their party's apparent tin ear to voters wanting change (by retaining an old guard in its Congressional leadership, being clearly still enmeshed in the politics of polarization, and by not visibily shifting to a more effective Iraq policy with more than "we're going to win and not leave until this mission is over" as a policy formulation gameplan) stick around or revoke their support of the Demmies?
The Democratic National Committee chairman, Howard Dean, warned party leaders on Saturday not to revel too long in the victories from last month’s midterm elections or treat their Congressional majorities as a permanent directive from voters.
“The other party made mistakes in the past claiming that elections are mandates,” Mr. Dean said. “Elections are not mandates. The voters of this country loaned the Democrats the power of the country for two years. Now it’s our job to earn it back again.”
And, indeed, immediately after the hotly-disputed and controversial 2000 Presidential election news stories were peppered with a then-shocking concept: Karl Rove & Co decided to treat the Republicans' razor-thin victory as an actual mandate and push for big changes, as if they had won a landslide. That's what they did...and for a while it worked, helping helped expand executive wing political power and win Congressional seats.
In a speech to the party’s executive committee here, Mr. Dean said “governing is more difficult than campaigning,” and declared that Democrats must not squander opportunities to keep building the party. The modest gains winning over evangelical voters, he said, should be strengthened by asserting that “moral values are an important part of foreign policy.”
“If George Bush made any single huge mistake,” Mr. Dean said, “it’s that he thought he could be president by being president for half of America and by treating the rest of us with contempt. That is not a mistake I ever want Democrats to make.”
That's correct, athough you would not think that was the case if you listed to some progressive talk shows (particularly some of the non-network, local ones). The election is being interpreted as a massive mandate and a chance to undo ASAP a host of things associated with the Bush administration.
To some, it's take-no-prisoners-time and those mushy moderates and flaccid-believing independents who probably only watch American Idol should be ignored. (Apparently the mushy moderates and ignoramus independents were not so much or as ignorant about issues in 2006 because they voted in huge numbers...)
The Democrats now have a golden opportunity to win back the center and glue it in place as part of a winning or at least more competitive electoral coalition. And that won't be done by giving the back of the hand to parts of a possible winning coalition or powerful or rich Democrats looking down their snoots at the center.
If there is a lesson of the past six years — one that will be noted in future history accounts and any books that come out analyzing the Bush 43 administration — it will be that George Bush and Karl Rove calculated that independents, centrists and moderates really weren't independents, centrists and moderates and so they didn't really matter in campaign and governing calculations.
The idea was that government of the base, by the base and for the base could not only work but consolidate Republican power. That did prove feasible for some of the time — but, due to such narrow support, the GOP had no safety net if some things went wrong. And a few things didn't turn out too good...
If the Democrats adopt a Rovian view of politics — "Hey, if this is too liberal for those centrists let them go somewhere else because where can they go?" — they'll be doomed to the same fate as the Republicans.
Perhaps the U.S. would then shift into a new phase in 2008 or beyond, where voters who aren't 100 percent on the left or 100 percent on the right would then begin hunting for a third way. And third parties — so far at least — have generally thrown an election to one of the major parties...often the party with the ideas that third-party voters favor least.
My "McLaughlin Awards" For 2006 (Part 2) - by Chris Weigant (Yes this is definitely biased towards the left)
Notice that Howard Dean gets the credit he so richly deserves.
Yesterday, I listed my choices for the award categories given yearly by the McLaughlin Group show on PBS. All of the categories in yesterday's article were featured on last week's show.
Today, I offer my selections for winners of the rest of the McLaughlin Awards (assuming they haven't changed categories since last year).
These categories can be seen on this upcoming weekend's McLaughlin Group, on your local PBS station. The transcript, when it becomes available some time next week, will be posted at the show's website).
And now, the envelope please....
DESTINED FOR STARDOM
Eliot Spitzer. All eyes are currently on Barack Obama, but Eliot Spitzer may wind up being the one to watch. He just won a landslide (69%) victory in his campaign for New York governor, and many suspect he has set his sights even higher. He would likely annoy New Yorkers by jumping into the presidential ring in 2008 (after only serving one year of his term), but if the other frontrunners are damaged early, he may decide to jump in late in the campaign. Safer money is on him running in the future (2012 or 2016). But he is definitely a Democrat to watch in the future.
DESTINED FOR OBLIVION
Karl Rove. While other names suggest themselves (John Bolton, Tom DeLay, George Allen), I believe Rove is going to be tossed overboard by Bush at some point in the next year. Some have suggested that Rove's not going anywhere because he knows where the bodies are buried and which closets the skeletons are in, but I don't buy it. Rove didn't singlehandedly lose the House and Senate for the Republicans, but he was the one whispering in Bush's ear that everything was going to be OK, and that they weren't going to lose either house. Look for Bush to "accept his resignation" on a very slow news day, like the Friday before a holiday.
BEST POLITICAL THEATER
Barack Obama's recent television ad (which ran a couple weeks ago on ESPN, before a Chicago Bears game on Monday Night Football). The other contenders for this award were Latino voters marching en masse last spring (very impressive, but not very productive after the dust settled, in terms of new voters registered), and the giant rubber stamp (hilarious, but didn't make much of a splash). But Barack's ad tops them both. It was funny, both poking fun at himself and at the media frenzy which now surrounds him.
WORST POLITICAL THEATER
George Allen's "Macaca" moment. One stupid unscripted and revealing comment from Senator Allen, and he's out of a job and his dreams of running for president have been crushed forever. A cautionary note to all politicians from now on: no matter how "safe" an audience you think you have, resist the urge to reveal your true self by saying something idiotic. Because it will be on YouTube the next day. Honorable (dishonorable?) mention to the "Call me, Harold" ad run in the Tennessee Senate race.
WORST POLITICAL SCANDAL
Mark Foley. His trolling for Congressional pages helped suppress the Republican turnout nationwide. Denny Hastert learned Watergate Lesson #1 the hard way: it isn't the crime, it's the coverup. The media predictably went nutso-crazy over the story, since it was so salacious a scandal. Nothing else comes close this year.
MOST UNDERREPORTED STORY OF 2006
I have to give a three-way tie for this category, since I just couldn't pick between these three: Afghanistan and the resurgence of the Taliban; former Guantanamo prisoners (and other "extraordinary rendition" prisoners) speaking out and telling the world their first-person stories of abuse at American hands; and the gradual disappearance of our "coalition of the willing" in Iraq. There were many other stories that were underreported by the mainstream (corporate) media, but these three are the most egregious examples.
MOST OVERREPORTED STORY OF 2006
For the sixth straight year... Paris Hilton. No, seriously, I would have to say bird flu. I've heard rumors that Dick Cheney has financial interest in the company that makes Tamiflu, which sure could explain a lot, but for two or three months all the media could yammer about was the deadliness of a disease that killed a couple hundred people world-wide, none of them in the United States. Of course, over in Celebrityland, there were countless stories that could also qualify -- from Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson and Kramer to weddings to babies to adoptions to Katie Couric. Yawn.
BIGGEST GOVERNMENT WASTE
Iraq. Not just the war, but the reconstruction money that was supposed to rebuild the Iraqi infrastructure, but instead wound up in contractors' pockets (and Swiss bank accounts). One can only hope some Congressional committees will soon be holding hearings on the massive and widespread waste and fraud of our tax dollars.
BEST GOVERNMENT DOLLAR SPENT
The last dollar in Donald Rumsfeld's last paycheck. No? How about tsunami relief money then? Or perhaps the state money that is starting to flow into stem cell research, as different states compete to create research jobs.
BOLDEST POLITICAL TACTIC
Howard Dean's 50-State Strategy. I guess this is technically a "strategy" not a "tactic," but it still was the most brilliant political maneuver of the past year. Dean had to fight with centrists (Rahm Emanuel, the Democratic Leadership Council, et al) in the Democratic Party over this concept, but it paid off big time in November.
BEST IDEA OF 2006
Firing Donald Rumsfeld. It came about four years too late, but still, a wonderful idea.
WORST IDEA OF 2006
George Bush's "stay the course." With a runner-up mention for the Dubai Ports deal.
SORRY TO SEE YOU GO
James Brown. Also Ann Richards, Robert Altman and Bo Schembechler (Go Blue!). If there were a "not sorry to see you go" category, Pinochet would top the list, followed closely by Ken Lay.
FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME
Harry Whittington, who caught a face full of Dick Cheney's birdshot, and then subsequently apologized for causing such a fuss. Only the second person shot by a Vice President in American history!
MOST HONEST PERSON OF THE YEAR
Jack Murtha, with special mention for Keith Olbermann.
MOST OVERRATED
Ned Lamont. Once he won the primary, he just couldn't get any traction whatsoever. Honorable mentions for Katie Couric, and for Apolo Ohno, Bode Miller, Sasha Cohen (the ice skater, not "Borat") and all the rest of the over-hyped American Winter Olympic athletes.
MOST UNDERRATED
The Taliban and the Iraqi insurgents. By Bush, of course. In the political world, Virginia's Senator-elect Jim Webb and, of course, Howard Dean.
PREDICTIONS
Speaker Pelosi will do a great job.
Karl Rove will be booted from the White House.
Congress will censure Bush and Cheney and "move on," but will not impeach.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
To get paid for writing these columns. I love writing them, and now I'm ready for my paycheck!
The E. Texas LOI is the purchase of an OIL company much larger than ourselves.
BIGN got a New CEO, Jim Lancaster and made it their #1 priority.
Now compare the price of Oil to Natural gas over the last 18 months.
It is much better to be in Oil right now.
There is wisdom Here.
Shermann
What about all these Christians who favor the Death Penalty.
"Though Shall not Kill"
"He who is without sin may cast the first stone"
"Judge not lest you be judged"
Christianity is based on Christ, and not the "Eye for an Eye" mentality of Judaism and the old testament.
Shermann
Nosey - I could not disagree more with your partisan talk on this subject. Your description of Edwards "Mentality" could not be further from the truth.
He said he was wrong to vote for the war with NO QUALIFIERS.
Not like most dems who say they were mislead and did not have all the facts.
Hillary and Kerry fit into that category. Kerry is unfit for the job, and Hillary is just plain evil.
Shermann
Stephanie,
This perpetual campaigning gives us more time to get to know our candidates, and what they stand for.
That is the Silver lining inside the cloud.
I would much rather that we take who we elect seriously and not concentrate on Michael Jackson, etc ...
Shermann
Stephanie - I am really impressed with John Edwards - Especially his take on the two Americas.
I think with regard to Government Spending - The American people want to see their money spent wisely.
Not on Wars and Pork Barrel spending and Political Favors.
They want our representatives to understand they work for us.
Shermann
Why John Edwards Changes Everything
In the backyard of a Hurricane Katrina victim in New Orleans' 9th Ward, former Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards announced today that he is running for the Democratic presidential nomination. And, in what can be better characterized as a talk than a formal political speech, Edwards changed the dynamic of the fledgling Democratic race for 2008 with both the tone and substance of his message.
Asking Americans to "be patriotic about something beyond war," Edwards stood in the middle of a New Orleans yard and talked about getting Americans mobilized to create domestic change now and not just in conjunction with a political campaign. He talked earnestly about the need to restore America's battered global image, the critical mass being hit in the country's health-care crisis and the fact that he believes his vote to allow George W. Bush's war in Iraq was just flat-out wrong.
Edwards says he strongly regrets his 2002 vote on the Iraq war resolution, that it was "a mistake" and rebuked the entire notion of a troop surge and escalating U.S. presence in Iraq.
"We need to reject this McCain doctrine of surging troops and escalating the war in Iraq," said Edwards. "We need to make clear we're going to leave and we need to start leaving Iraq."
But more than anything, Edwards announcing so early and, more importantly, the way he's entered the race has changed the entire landscape for aspiring Democratic nominees.
For Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich -- the only other declared candidates at the moment -- Edwards is setting a standard for energy and relevance that they will either equal or drop quickly from the radar screen, as Edwards attracts all of the early support and media attention.
For Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Barack Obama (D-IL), Joe Biden (D-DE), John Kerry (D-MA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT), along with General Wesley Clark and Governor Bill Richardson, the sheer magnetism and established support that Edwards brings so early, forces them to either declare their intentions as well or risk losing support to the former North Carolina Senator with every passing week.
And why exactly would I say something like that when we're not even out of 2006?
To begin with, Americans are bone-tired of disliking and disrespecting their president and, I believe, are unusually anxious to begin the presidential season to, if nothing else, give them the feeling that a change is coming sooner than later. People hungered for a change in the Congress and made it happen -- now that strong desire to take out the trash moves to the executive branch of government.
Second, Edwards is starting his campaign in an interesting way by making it not about him personally, but about the problems of the world, the loss of global American prestige, our domestic strife and the extent to which his campaign is about getting people to make change now and not wait for the actions of a newly-elected president.
"We want people in this campaign to actually take action now, not later, not after the next election," said Edwards this morning. "Instead of staying home and complaining, we're asking Americans to help."
Finally, many people, including yours truly, believed in hindsight that Edwards would have defeated Bush in 2004 had he been at the top of the Democratic ticket. Edwards was undeniably a more engaging personality than John Kerry and with so much of the vote driven by sheer disgust with Bush, Edwards would have picked up Kerry's 49 percent of the vote and then some based purely on the likeability factor -- that's not the way a president should be chosen but, in our country, it just is.
And, after six years of Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, death in Iraq and the growing sense among Americans that life was much better -- and safer -- when we were liked and respected in the world, Edwards has a central theme that may resonate with millions of voters.
"The biggest responsibility of the next President of the United States is to reestablish America's leadership role in the world," said Edwards in his announcement this morning.
America is starving for genuine leadership and Edwards delivered an honest, inspiring message this morning -- let's see how his future opponents for the Democratic nomination respond.
Today (Wednesday) is the last day to get the Divvy - It takes 3 business days for the transaction to clear, and Monday is not an official business day.
Shermann
There is a lot of truth in this Iraq Article.
http://www.israelshamir.net/Contributors/Contributor42.htm