Spintested: 03/21/11

Health Reform Law: Same Opinions One Year Later

Monday, March 21, 2011

Dr. Margaret Flowers, a pediatrician from Maryland who volunteers for Physicians for a National Health Program, knows what it is like to challenge the corporate leviathan. She was blacklisted by the corporate media. She was locked out of the debate on health care reform by the Democratic Party and liberal organizations such as MoveOn. She was abandoned by those in Congress who had once backed calls for a rational health care policy. And when she and seven other activists demanded that the argument for universal health care be considered at the hearings held by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, they were forcibly removed from the hearing room.

“The reform process exposed how broken our system is,” Flowers said when we spoke a few days ago. “The health reform debate was never an actual debate. Those in power were very reluctant to have single-payer advocates testify or come to the table. They would not seriously consider our proposal because it was based on evidence of what works. And they did not want this evidence placed before the public. They needed the reform to be based on what they thought was politically feasible and acceptable to the industries that fund their campaigns.”

“There was nobody in the House or the Senate who held fast on universal health care,” she lamented. “Sen. [Bernie] Sanders from Vermont introduced a single-payer bill, S 703. He introduced an amendment that would have substituted S 703 for what the Senate was putting together. We had to push pretty hard to get that to the Senate floor, but in the end he was forced by the leadership to withdraw it. He was our strongest person. In the House we saw Chairman John Conyers, who is the lead sponsor for the House single-payer bill, give up pushing for single-payer very early in the process in 2009. Dennis Kucinich pushed to get an amendment that would help give states the ability to pass single-payer. He was not successful in getting that kept in the final House bill. He held out for the longest, but in the end he caved.”

KEEP READING
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

Know the area, learn the history - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8394647/Defeat-the-Libyan-regime.-And-then.html
About United Nations
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

Would it make a difference to you if it's true? Or is your sense of well-being dependent on believing and trusting in Obama?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html
About United Nations
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

It would be the first time in US history that we used our military for that purpose.

If we did use it for those who cannot fight for themselves, we'd have sent the military to Darfur, Rwanda, E. Timor and scads of other nations.
About United Nations
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

Treat the online support for what Obama has done with suspicion:

[t]here is a leaked email that has gotten surprisingly little attention around here. It's the one where AaronBarr discusses his intention to post at DailyKos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.

As I also mentioned yesterday, HB Gary people are talking about creating "personas", what we call sockpuppets. This isn't new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars & coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA - whose enemies are labor unions, progressive organizations, journalists, and progressive bloggers, a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, it involves creating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Thenvthe team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.

In another Word document, one of the team spells out how automation can work so one person can be many personas:

Using the assigned social media accounts we can automate the posting of content that is relevant to the persona. In this case there are specific social media strategy website RSS feeds we can subscribe to and then repost content on twitter with the appropriate hashtags. In fact using hashtags and gaming some location based check-in services we can make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise, as one example. There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas

It goes far beyond the mere ability for a government stooge, corporation or PR firm to hire people to post on sites like this one. They're talking about creating the illusion of consensus. And consensus is a powerful persuader. What has more effect, one guy saying BP isn't at fault? Or 20 people saying it? For the weakminded, the number can make all the difference.

About United Nations
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Obama Administration: There Are No Current Plans To Ask Congress For Libya Funds

"There are no current plans to ask Congress for Libya funds."

======================================================

Current adj.

1.a. Belonging to the present time

1 b. Being in progress now

Weasel-words.

Lawyer-speak.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

FYI:

[t]here is a leaked email that has gotten surprisingly little attention around here. It's the one where Aaron Barr discusses his intention to post at Daily Kos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.

As I also mentioned yesterday, in some of the emails, HB Gary people are talking about creating "personas", what we would call sockpuppets. This is not new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars and coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA - whose enemies are labor unions, progressive organizations, journalists, and progressive bloggers, a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, it involvescreating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Then, to top it off, the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.

In another Word document, one of the team spells out how automation can work so one person can be many personas:

Using the assigned social media accounts we can automate the posting of content that is relevant to the persona. In this case there are specific social media strategy website RSS feeds we can subscribe to and then repost content on twitter with the appropriate hashtags. In fact using hashtags and gaming some location based check-in services we can make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise, as one example. There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas

It goes far beyond the mere ability for a government stooge, corporation or PR firm to hire people to post on sites like this one. They are talking about creating the illusion of consensus. And consensus is a powerful persuader. What has more effect, one guy saying BP is not at fault? Or 20 people saying it? For the weak minded, the number can make all the difference.

The rest of the story here.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

FYI:

[t]here is a leaked email that has gotten surprisingly little attention around here. It's the one where Aaron Barr discusses his intention to post at Daily Kos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.

As I also mentioned yesterday, in some of the emails, HB Gary people are talking about creating "personas", what we would call sockpuppets. This is not new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars and coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA - whose enemies are labor unions, progressive organizations, journalists, and progressive bloggers, a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, it involvescreating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Then, to top it off, the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.

In another Word document, one of the team spells out how automation can work so one person can be many personas:

Using the assigned social media accounts we can automate the posting of content that is relevant to the persona. In this case there are specific social media strategy website RSS feeds we can subscribe to and then repost content on twitter with the appropriate hashtags. In fact using hashtags and gaming some location based check-in services we can make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise, as one example. There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas

Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

The "rebels" that we're protecting and supporting in this Libyan civil war are Islamist extremists, Al Qaeda recruitees/sympathizers.
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

Unlike you, BillLoney, I'm nobody's Iobbyist paid to spread disinformation.

How do you explain that the "rebels" that we're protecting and supporting in this Libyan civil war are Al Qaeda recruitees/sympathizers?
About United Nations
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

However bad you think we think Bush was, he was actually a whole lot worse.

=====================================================

Obama's actually more dangerous than Bush-Cheney.

Obama is continuing most of Bush-Cheney policies and going Bush-Cheney one better. Indefinite preventive detention.

And Obama's assertion that the president has the right to deny Americans their day in court, to murder American citizens with no due process, no oversight whatsoever:

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/06/25/assassinations/index.html

Bush and Cheney made no excuses for what they did. They made no bones about what they were about and who they are. Obama & Democrats ran on knowing better.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

That Obama was using weasel-words, or lawyer-speak. Like Bush-speak.
About United Nations
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Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

Last week, Sarah Palin criticized Obama's failure to "do more for Arab protesters" in the Middle East and called his not getting involved militarily in Libya “dithering”.

Obama's 'most ardent supporters' must now support Sarah Palin's foreign policy views.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Administration: There Are No Current Plans To Ask Congress For Libya Funds

Obama Administration: There Are No Current Plans To Ask Congress For Libya Funds

Americans are losing our jobs, our homes, our Social Security, Medicare, police, firemen, teachers, and going into debt to China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, (even our grandchildren won't be able to pay it off), for wars to protect and increase riches for the top elites (an oil pipeline & mineral riches in Afghanistan, not to mention the oil contracts in Iraq and now Libya). These are riches that ordinary Americans don't get profits from, but that the Establishment Elites (Dick Cheney & the Bush family among them) all are getting rich(er) from.

The American people derive only increased risk to our personal safety because those Afghans and Iraqis (and now Libyans) frustrated over the k!lling of their families and friends and of being occupied turn terr0r!st because they can't get at the political leaders ordering the bombing and occupation of their country (Obama doesn't fly commercial, doesn't have to be gr0pe-searched or exposed to X-ray radiation to travel for his job or visit family on Thanksgiving).

Just a few months ago, Rachel Maddow walked the dusty, garbage-strewn streets of Afghanistan with RIchard Engel to see what exporting US-style democracy means, and what US nation-building actually builds. Watch this to see where are our tax dollars going, and learn how we are not "nation-building", not making us safer, and not helping the Afghans or building their nation at all (or a democracy). Learn how this has all been just a huge rip-off of the American people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eR5BHnN__5M

The US as 'Empire' has been continuing under Obama and a Democratically-controlled Congress that has had a bigger arsenal of tools available to them as the majority in power, controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, than Republicans had as the minority.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Libya Rebels Advance, Buoyed By Allied Airstrikes

Workers Flee Japan Nuclear Plant As Smoke Rises

I think we should all go party in Brazil, too.
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Workers Flee Japan Nuclear Plant As Smoke Rises

Does anybody doubt that Obama and Congress are going full-speed ahead with the building of nuclear plants here in the US?
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Another sockpuppet weighs in.

Not that it matters, but both Iraq and Afghanistan had the support of the UN.

And as far as protecting citizens, the US has NEVER used its military for humanitarian purposes. Never. Never ever.

If it had, we'd have gone into Darfur, Rwanda, E. Timor. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Last week, Sarah Palin called Obama's failure to "do more for Arab protesters" in the Middle East and not get involved militarily in Libya “dithering”.

Obama's 'most ardent supporters' must now support Sarah Palin's foreign policy views.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Last week, Sarah Palin called Obama's failure to "do more for Arab protesters" in the Middle East and not get involved militarily in Libya “dithering”.

Obamab0ts must now support Sarah Palin's foreign policy views.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

This is what Sarah Palin wanted to do.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

On Meet The Press yesterday:

As Yogi Berra would say, 'Deja vu all over again'. And to tear down a couple of facades very quickly, one, that this about a no-fly zone. It's not. As a matter of fact, U.S. Air Force F-15s and F-16s today were over Libya with the express purpose of attacking Libyan ground forces, which they did. And yesterday, Admiral Gortney said, you know, this is all about protecting civilians and the opposition forces, which gets us into the middle of that civil war that Richard was just talking about. And finally, this premise that this is a coalition effort, right now it's all U.S. It's U.S. commanded, U.S. led, U.S. military. And when Admiral Mullen was talking about handing over command of the coalition, I was told, number one, well, "We're really not in any hurry to do that." And number two, it could be an American commander.

About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Was there a vote?

No.

There was a rally put together by Obama's advance team.

And Kucinich didn't amend anything. He got nothing.
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Kucinich is irrelevant. He's proven himself to be.

Obama pulled that stunt (a Brooks' Brothers-type rally in Kucinich's state) after all of the progressives who had pledged to not vote for a bill without a public option had caved -- Obama didn't need Kucinich EXCEPT to break the back of the call for a public option, to break the momentum of the left's call for it. What Kucinich did was even more treacherous, carried even more betrayal than the other progressives who had caved.

What Kucinich did was equivalent to "Et tu, Brute?"

By the way, what the Kucinich-tale shows us is how selling out, how caving to save yourself ("to fight another day" is what you try to sell it) never works:

The DLC-controlled Democratic Party machine is redistricting Kucinich out of a seat.
About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

When Obama blocked investigations and prosecutions into the Bush administration, that should have awakened all Americans to the fact that Democrats were in on everything that BushCheney did. Obama is just as culpable and in-bed-with transnational corporations as BushCo.

Obama and the DLC-controlled Democratic Party have adopted the Republicans' casual relationship with (and disrespect for) the rule of law. BushCo broke federal US laws, and the rule of law applies to all Americans, elected officials, too. Elected officials especially.

Preserving the rule of law underpins how the US has been the most successful, longest running democracy in world history. By refusing to investigate and prosecute Bush, by "looking forward, not back", Obama broke the covenant that the American people have with the government.

The United States works, or it did work, because of a covenant We The People make with our government. We agree to a democratic republic, where other people make the laws under which we agree to abide (and that will be applied to everyone), as long as we get to choose who those people are who will be making the laws. It is under those conditions that we consent to be governed.

When the rule of law isn't equally applied to all, we can no longer trust in the process. And when that happens all bets are off. When the trust is gone, no government can stand. For a president of the United States not to equally apply the law to all people, presidents, too, means that the grand experiment is over.

Not prosecuting BushCo is destroying the country. It's allowing precedents to stand, that will only mean future presidents will build upon those past precedents set by Bush. From those precedents spring aberration.

Obama already has built upon Bush's claims of 'Unitary Executive', asserting that a president has the right to k!ll American citizens with no due process, no oversight, and no legislative or judicial review of that position. Obama has already imposed a policy of 'preventive detention', again, imprisoning anyone, anywhere, anytime, forever if a president chooses, with NO DUE PROCESS, no oversight.

How any Democrat defends that is beyond my understanding.

And now, we have 'Iraq: Deja Vu all over again'.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

No, it isn't.

To begin with, the UN didn't compose a resolution all on its own and lobby members to support it. It was and is a US led operation, both in the desire for military intervention and carrying it out.

And the UN can resolve anything it wants, but the US military isn't required to commit its military to anything on the decision of the UN. As a matter of fact, that resolution could have passed WITHOUT the US's vote (it just took 9 votes, and the US's was the 10th). What made the US's vote significant is that it's up to those nations who voted yes to carry out the military action. 'No'-voters or abstainers aren't required to participate.

And given our reputation and the bad PR we have in the Middle East, it would have been smart to stay out of the vote, to abstain or vote no. But that would have meant no US military, and none of the other nations that voted yes would have gotten their militaries involved (or voted yes to support such an action).
About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Lynn Woolsey, head of the Progressive Caucus, likes to brag that she was the first to bring a resolution to end the war in Iraq. She, and congressional Democrats, and Obama, ran on ending the practice of paying for the wars through supplemental emergency spending bills, and putting the wars on budget (see why that is significant here).

Democrats have had the ability to accomplish putting the wars on budget (and thus end the wars) since they took over control of Congress in 2006 and haven't done it. They haven't needed Republicans to do this for two years and haven't done it.

As the head of the Progressive Caucus, Lynn Woolsey led 79 of the 82 members of the caucus to pledge that they would not vote for any healthcare reform legislation that didn't include a public option.

Woolsey then led the 79 to renege on the pledge.

Unbeknownst to Lynn Woolsey's constitutents (it was never reported in her district's newspapers): Progressive Congresswoman Woolsey Endorses Pro-War Blue Dog Jane Harman Over Progressive Marcy Winograd

Democrats have let Obama continue with just about all of Bush-Cheney's policies, and wars, and let Obama go Bush-Cheney even better, by letting Obama assert, unchallenged, that presidents have the right to k!ll Americans with no due process or oversight, push for 'preventive detention' and no transparency of anything a president asserts should be his secret.

Democrats have abdicated their Constitutionally-required role of oversight of the executive branch; they failed to perform it during the Bush-Cheney administration, and still don't with one of their own in the White House.
About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Kucinich proved himself as corrupt as the rest of the DLC-Democrats last year when he caved on healthcare reform.

Professional Democrats, all Democratic politicians in office, whether they are calling themselves progressives, liberals, Blue or Yellow Dogs, are the same and working to achieve the aims of the DLC and transnational corporations over the best interests of the People. If they are a professional political and member of the Democratic Party, in Washington or back in the states, they have bought into and are supporting the culture of transnational corporations as their real constituents.

Their only problem with this is that corporations don't vote, and politicians need votes to get into office. So they, Democratic politicians, try to convince the People they're working on our behalf with weasel-words, rhetoric designed to lead voters into thinking one thing when the opposite is true. Obama can say, "I got health insurance for the People", but having health insurance isn't what Americans wanted and isn't what Democratic voters put Obama and Democrats into power to get for them. Having health insurance isn't the same thing as everyone being able to get affordable, quality medical treatment.

Democrats in both chambers of Congress work as a team. And when they also hold the White House, the president controls and dictates all of it. They identify what they hope to achieve (pro-corporate legislation) and then strategize how to get it while saving each other's hides with constituents come election time. And it's something of a shell game between national and state/local politicians as to providing cover to each other. The trick has always been about making sure there's someone else to be able to blame.

Democratic politicians in liberal districts get to talk a good game about being champions of the People, but when push comes to shove, if their votes are needed to cross over and k!ll liberal legislation (like a public option or access to ab0rtion), the DNC will make sure they are covered come election time, with massive infusions of money into their campaign war chests and crushing any principled challenges to them from the left in their primaries.

Here's an example of how they tag team us:

KEEP READING
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Ideologically, Obama's a Republican -- More precisely he's a neoliberal (no relationship to liberal at all) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism .
About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Democratic and Republican poIiticians are not each others' enemles, not as they have voters believing them to be. Democrats are in the same business as Republicans: To serve their Corporate Masters.

Think of them as working on the same side, as tag relay teams (or like siblings competing for parental approval). 'Good cop/bad cop'. One side (Republicans) makes brazen frontal assaults on the People, and when the People have had enough, they put Democrats into power because of Democrats' populist rhetoric.

Once in power, Democrats consolidate Republicans' gains from previous years, continue on with Republican policies but renamed, with new advertising campaigns. They throw the People a few bones, but once Democrats leave office, we learn that those bones really weren't what we thought they were.

Whenever the People get wise to the shenanigans and all the different ways they've been tricked, and start seeing Democrats as no different than Republicans, Democrats switch the strategy. They invent new reasons for failing to achieve the People's business.

Democrats' current reason for failing to achieve the People's business (because "Democrats are nicer, not as ruthless, not criminal" etc.) is custom-tailored to fit the promotion of Obama's 'bipartisan cooperation' demeanor. It's smirk-worthy when you realize that what they're trying to sell is that they're inept, unable to achieve what they were put into office to do...And their ineptitude, like that's somehow "a good thing".

KEEP READING
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Dennis Kucinich proved himself to be irrelevant when he caved on a public option. All 79 of the 82 members of the Progressive Caucus in Congress who had pledged not to vote for any healthcare reform legislation that didn't have a public option, too. Read this whole thread -- The entire Progressive Caucus has to go.

The Democratic Party is too corrupted, and as an old, OLD liberal Democrat with long and deep ties to the party, I can't tell you how that pains me.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

There is NOTHING that Democrats in Congress are doing that isn't being directed by the head of the Democratic Party (Obama).
About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Total BS -- You don't know what you're talking about.

To begin with, the UN didn't compose a resolution all on its own and lobby members to support it. It was and is a US led operation, both in the desire for military intervention and carrying it out.

And the UN can resolve anything it wants, but the US military isn't required to commit its military to anything on the decision of the UN. As a matter of fact, that resolution could have passed WITHOUT the US's vote (it just took 9 votes, and the US's was the 10th). What made the US's vote significant is that it's up to those nations who voted yes to carry out the military action. 'No'-voters or abstainers aren't required to participate.

And given our reputation and the bad PR we have in the Middle East, it would have been smart to stay out of the vote, to abstain or vote no. But that would have meant no US military, and none of the other nations that voted yes would have gotten their militaries involved (or voted yes to support such an action).
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Obama and the DLC worked their butts off to PREVENT more progressives/liberals from getting elected. Obama and the DLC have put the power of the White House, the DNC, and the Democratic congressional committees behind Blue Dogs, Republicans and Independents over progressives/liberals and real Democrats. Some, but not all, examples:

Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln over progressive Democrat Lt. Governor Bill Halter.

Republican-turned-Independent Arlen Specter over progressive Democrat Joe Sestak.

Republican-turned-Independent Lincoln Chaffee over Democrat Frank Caprio (which, in turn, is an effective endorsement of the Republican John Loughlin over Democrat David Cicilline for the congressional seat Democrat Patrick Kennedy is retiring from, and all of the other seats up for grab in Rhode Island).

Republican-turned-Independent Charlie Crist over liberal Democrat Kendrick Meek.

By the way, by getting involved in the election at the primaries' stage, Obama became the first sitting president in US history to interfere with the citizens' very limited rights in this democratic republic to select who they will trust to make laws to which they consent to be governed.

Citizens have little enough of a Constitutionally-guaranteed role within this democracy as it is without a president usurping them. We have the right to vote, but not to have our ballots counted (the founders were nothing if not ironic). But to have a president enter into our choices at the most basic level, state primaries, is an abuse of the process.

Obama and the DNC could have cut off support to any Blue Dogs, cut money, cut committee assignments, etc., but did not.

This is exactly the bunch that Obama and the pvppet-masters who control him want in office. On both sides of the aisle. Obama, Ds & Rs in office, working on behalf of transnational corporations.

New faces within the Democratic Party wouldn't be any different from those already there. The party machinery recruits and backs those who will carry the same torch, and that's true for both the Republican and Democratic Parties.
About Barack Obama
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Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Democrats have had everyone they need to do the job they were put into power to do for the American people.

During the Bush years, Democrats said if the People wanted change, they had to put Democrats in the majority in Congress. So in 2006, we did.

Nothing changed.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, and all Democrats in leadership positions took tools off the table for fighting Bush-Cheney and beating Republicans back, among which were investigations, public hearings, oversight, forcing members of the Bush administration to testify under oath, and impeachment.

They said, "You have to give us more Democrats -- 60 in the Senate".

In 2008, we did. We gave them 60 for the Democratic Caucus. And we gave them the White House.

Obama came into office with the wind at his back. More people voted for him, a black man in good old raclst America, than ever voted for any other presidential candidate in the history of the US. They did it because of his ability to persuade that he was going to change the system, end the corporatocracy, lobbyism in government -- He was going to be the People's president, not a corporate t00I.

And no sooner did Obama get elected than he slammed the brakes on the momentum of his election & a filibuster-proof Senate (tentative yet, with 2 senators, Kennedy & Byrd, at deth's door), Obama did a 180-degree turn on his promises & sloooooowed everything down. To "work in a bipartisan manner with Republicans", after Republicans had already announced they were going to block everything Democrats wanted to do, vote no on everything, in lockstep.

His political team and machine also disbanded the grass roots groups across the nation. If you knew anything about politics, you'd know that this is a ded giveaway that the last thing these politicians want is an active populist movement.

Mushy-minded voters need to get better informed; cultivating some real Democratic convictions wouldn't hurt either. Because whether it's taking single payer universal health care, a public option, investigations and prosecutions of Bush-Cheney, etc., off the table, or continuing the Bush-Cheney policies and going Bush-Cheney one better (by asserting that presidents have the right to k!ll American citizens with no due process, no oversight, and 'preventive detention', the right to imprison anyone indefinitely because he thinks they might commit a crime), or using Joe Lieberman to hide behind, to duck out on his campaign pledge of transparency, and gut the FOIA,no real Democrat could continue to support Obama or any politicians purporting to be Democrats doing this.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

There's plenty to rail against Democrats for and call into question their real political bent and intentions, beginning with those who refused to read the NIE that was made available to them in a locked and guarded room in Congress. Hillary Clinton, even after being advised by Bob Graham to go to the room and read it before she voted, didn't. She also claims that she didn't talk her vote to authorize Bush to use military force in Iraq over with her husband, who as a former president got the same daily intelligence briefing that Bush got, and knew that it was trumped up twattle.

But here's the real smoking gvn, about the true nature of Democrats, and their not being any different than Republicans:

Obama & Democrats ran on putting the wars on the budget, with no more supplemental emergency spending bills to pay for these wars. Funding the wars through supplementals was how Bush & Cheney managed to avoid congressional oversight & public scrutiny.

After close to two years of controlling both Houses of Congress & the WhiteHouse, Democrats are continuing the funding of the wars through supplementals.

What's significant about this?:

When the funding of wars goes 'on budget', congressional committees & subcommittees then hold hearings & investigations into US policies, about US interests around the world, from which the UnitedState's overall foreign & military policies are derived. That's how civilian-control over the US military takes place: Through the citizens' chosen representatives choosing weapons systems & overseeing US military operations & installations, plans & policies, etc.

This doesn't happen with supplemental spending bills.

The nature of them is, "It's an emergency, we're running out of money, give us $80 billion now (that's the magic sum, invariably $80 billion) or you won't be 'supporting the troops'...We'll talk about it later".

"Later" doesn't happen.

The $80 billion ploy is so the American people think they're always talking about the same $80 billion.

I know, I know, "How is that possible that the average American wouldn't realize it's not the same $80 billion when it's year in& year out?" The average American is just barely keeping it all together as it is & fighting for his life(style).

Committees in both Houses of Congress have either never begun investigations into fraud and abuse, or dropped investigations (both on what happened during the Bush administration and afterwards), yet Congress is doing no oversight, & thieving criminal private contractors are still being awarded government contracts.

And we're now in yet ANOTHER war with a Muslim country.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Treat the online support for what Obama has done with suspicion:

[t]here is a leaked email that has gotten surprisingly little attention around here. It's the one where AaronBarr discusses his intention to post at DailyKos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.

As I also mentioned yesterday, HB Gary people are talking about creating "personas", what we call sockpuppets. This isn't new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars & coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA - whose enemies are labor unions, progressive organizations, journalists, and progressive bloggers, a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, it involves creating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Thenvthe team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.

In another Word document, one of the team spells out how automation can work so one person can be many personas:

Using the assigned social media accounts we can automate the posting of content that is relevant to the persona. In this case there are specific social media strategy website RSS feeds we can subscribe to and then repost content on twitter with the appropriate hashtags. In fact using hashtags and gaming some location based check-in services we can make it appear as if a persona was actually at a conference and introduce himself/herself to key individuals as part of the exercise, as one example. There are a variety of social media tricks we can use to add a level of realness to all fictitious personas

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

FYI:

As I wrote yesterday , there is a leaked email that has gotten surprisingly little attention around here. It's the one where Aaron Barr discusses his intention to post at Daily Kos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.

As I also mentioned yesterday, in some of the emails, HB Gary people are talking about creating "personas", what we would call sockpuppets. This is not new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars and coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA - whose enemies are labor unions, progressive organizations, journalists, and progressive bloggers, a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, it involves creating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Then, to top it off, the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.

The rest of the story here.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

They're not liberals.

FYI:

As I wrote yesterday , there is a leaked email that has gotten surprisingly little attention around here. It's the one where Aaron Barr discusses his intention to post at Daily Kos - presumably something negative about Anonymous, the hacking group. But that's not the email I'm talking about here.
As I also mentioned yesterday, in some of the emails, HB Gary people are talking about creating "personas", what we would call sockpuppets. This is not new. PR firms have been using fake "people" to promote products and other things for a while now, both online and even in bars and coffee houses.

But for a defense contractor with ties to the federal government, Hunton & Williams, DOD, NSA, and the CIA - whose enemies are labor unions, progressive organizations, journalists, and progressive bloggers, a persona apparently goes far beyond creating a mere sockpuppet.

According to an embedded MS Word document found in one of the HB Gary emails, it involvescreating an army of sockpuppets, with sophisticated "persona management" software that allows a small team of only a few people to appear to be many, while keeping the personas from accidentally cross-contaminating each other. Then, to top it off, the team can actually automate some functions so one persona can appear to be an entire Brooks Brothers riot online.

The rest of the story here.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

We've just taken sides in a civil war that's going to go on for years.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

A "coalition force"?:

...[R]ight now it's all U.S. It's U.S. commanded, U.S. led, U.S. military. And when Admiral Mullen was talking about handing over command of the coalition, I was told, number one, well, "We're really not in any hurry to do that." And number two, it could be an American commander.

USAir Force F-15s and F-16s today were over Libya with the express purpose of attacking Libyan ground forces, which they did.

We've just taken sides in a civil war that's going to go on for years.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

IOW: "Relaaaaaaax! Don't worry your pretty little heads about it. Close your eyes and go back to sleep. Better yet, go shopping!"
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

Taking part in a NATO action is NOT an act of war.

===============================================

It still has to be authorized by the US Congress. The president can't commit the US military to any action without the US Congress signing off on it.

And this premise that this is a coalition effort?:

...[R]ight now it's all U.S. It's U.S. commanded, U.S. led, U.S. military. And when Admiral Mullen was talking about handing over command of the coalition, I was told, number one, well, "We're really not in any hurry to do that." And number two, it could be an American commander.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

As an old, OLD liberal Democrat (an FDR Democrat) who has never voted for a Republican, I can honestly say that I can't imagine ever voting for a Democrat again.

I never advise people to sit out elections, because if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. It's what p!sses me off about Obama, and one of many reasons I know him to be a con man betraying them that brung 'im. Because by shutting out liberals, the base, from his administration, by taking single payer, a public option, off the table, eliminating regulatory oversight from finance reform legislations, he's given pro-corporate, Republican-like policies an inside line. The People's advocates can't even get in the door of this government.

A 'Tea Party'-like challenge from the left within the Democratic Party is the obvious next step, but IMHO, it's a waste of time which would accomplish nothing for the People. To begin with, no one in the Democratic Party will do it. It would be su!cide for any professional politician in the Democratic Party to run against the party's sitting president (the DLC has gotten too powerful, what with a Democrat in the White House and a Democratically-controlled Senate overseeing an NSA with today's eavesdropping abilities) .

Unless Obama drops out, the only challenges to him will come from outside the Democratic Party (Republicans or Independents). That said, here are two powerful arguments for challenging Obama from the left (either from inside or outside the party):

Michael Lerner's very powerful case for primarying Obama.

Ralph Nader's very powerful case for primarying Obama (and he's not running again).

Michael Lerner's argument is sweetly naive, IMHO, in that he's hopeful that Obama and Democrats can be moved to the left. I don't think that's true anymore. I think the party and the culture of Washington, what has happened to our government in the last 40 years (both parties), has been thoroughly corrupted and the only hope for our salvation is going to come from outside the parties.

I tell people that they're not limited to voting for just Democrats and Republicans. There are other alternatives besides sitting out the election or voting for Republicans. There are other candidates running as independents, from Green to Libertarian, in just about every race.

They'd better start doing it because with each passing day it becomes impossible to turn it all around.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

According to NBC News chief Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski (on Meet The Press yesterday):

As Yogi Berra would say, 'Deja vu all over again'. And to tear down a couple of facades very quickly, one, that this about a no-fly zone. It's not. As a matter of fact, U.S. Air Force F-15s and F-16s today were over Libya with the express purpose of attacking Libyan ground forces, which they did. And yesterday, Admiral Gortney said, you know, this is all about protecting civilians and the opposition forces, which gets us into the middle of that civil war that Richard was just talking about. And finally, this premise that this is a coalition effort, right now it's all U.S. It's U.S. commanded, U.S. led, U.S. military. And when Admiral Mullen was talking about handing over command of the coalition, I was told, number one, well, "We're really not in any hurry to do that." And number two, it could be an American commander.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dennis Kucinich: Libya Air Strikes Could Be 'Impeachable Offense'

What Obama just did is a neocon/Republican wet dream -- Republicans aren't going to get behind a move to impeach Obama over this.

And, as Democrats haven't pushed for Obama to end the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan or stood up to any of Obama's continuation of Bush-Cheney policies and Republican-like legislation, why would Democrats support impeaching the head of their own party over this?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Anti-American Extremists Among Libyan Rebels U.S. Has Vowed To Protect

Whitewashing Sudan:

President Obama is rewarding the government of Sudan for permitting the referendum on the secession of South Sudan by removing it from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism. This will drop some sanctions on Sudan just as protestors demand the resignation of President Omar Bashir, a man indicted for genocide who has recently pledged to turn his country into a Sharia state.
"For those who meet all of their obligations, there is a path to greater prosperity and normal relations with the United States, including examining Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism," President Obama said. The State Department confirms that the process to de-list the African country has begun.
The U.S. apparently agreed to de-list Sudan if the regime of President Omar Bashir allowed a referendum to be held on whether South Sudan should become its own country. This motion was approved and the new country will be formally created in July. Around the time of the vote, Bashir announced that he'd transform Sudan into a state where all law is based on Sharia and Arabic would become the only language. This means that the U.S. will be starting a new relationship with a fully radicalized Islamic state that will promote the ideology behind terrorism, if not terrorism itself.

The US does not, DOES NOT put its considerable military might to humanitarian rescues. We DO NOT support democracies around the world; we support governments that serve US corporate interests and desires even if those governments are led by brutal dictators who torture and commit genocide and other atrocities on their own people.

The US military exists for furthering the interests of corporations. The US military does NOT exist for the protection and defense of the American people.
About Iraq
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Anti-American Extremists Among Libyan Rebels U.S. Has Vowed To Protect

Umm do you think it happened by itself that Darfur is getting independence from Sudan? Not all problems need to be fixed by using guns.

East Timor was also solved politically more or less .

Rwanda was a miss. I don't believe anyone realized what was happening till it was too late.

===========================================

Abzurd.

Between Sudan and Libya, Critics See U.S. Inconsistency
Why the rush to use force against Qaddafi when Sudan has suffered more?

Report: U.S. Arms Helped Indonesia Attack East Timor:

U.S. political and military support for Indonesia was vital to its ability to invade East Timor in December 1975 and to sustain a brutal 24-year occupation that cost the lives of at least 100,000 people, parts of a Timorese inquiry made public Tuesday show.

KEEP READING
About Iraq
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

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Monday, March 21, 2011

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