From the fanatic fringe, the ONLY political bodies that support the Gaza killings without question:

"The Senate has just passed, by voice vote, a resolution defending and praising Israel for its war in Gaza, an operation that yesterday won condemnation from the Red Cross.

The House is expected to follow suit with its own conspicuously pro-Israel resolution by week's end, with only a few lawmakers -- Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are two leaders on this issue -- expected to resist the tide."

Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul...are MAINSTREAM in this topic!

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The Obama administration simply cannot follow the "Bush doctrine" of death and destruction in the ME. I quote:

"Reliable sources at the UN say that the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, has received explicit instructions from his superiors at the State Department to torpedo any initiative proposed by the Arab bloc which is designed to grant the Security Council the status of an official arbiter that will have direct involvement with disentangling the Gaza crisis.

This directive can explain Washington's persistent opposition to even a non-binding declarative statement issued by the Council, as it did during an emergency meeting late Saturday night."

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WARNING!!! REAL news follow:

55 dead in bombing at restaurant in Iraq's north

"BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber killed at least 55 people Thursday in a packed restaurant near the northern city of Kirkuk where Kurdish officials and Arab tribal leaders were trying to reconcile their differences over control of the oil-rich region.

The brazen attack — the deadliest in Iraq in six months — occurred at a time of rising tension between Kurds and Arabs over oil, political power and Kirkuk.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack at the upscale Abdullah restaurant, which was crowded with families celebrating the end of the four-day Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Suicide operations are the signature attack of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Police Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qadir, who gave the casualty figures, said the dead included at least five women and three children. About 120 people were wounded."

More follows...

I am surprised to here some rumors about it. Presidente-elect Obama is not, I am sure, even thinking on that egregious possibility. General Hayden is a man lacking basic integrity:

"Exchange with Knight-Ridder’s Jonathan Landay at the National Press Club in January, 2006:

Landay: "...the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to violate an American’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures..."

Hayden: "No, actually - the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "But the –"

Hayden: "That’s what it says."

Landay: "The legal measure is probable cause, it says."

Hayden: "The Amendment says: unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "But does it not say ‘probable cause’?"

Hayden: "No! The Amendment says unreasonable search and seizure."

Link:

http://www.cosmictap.com/...

I have been following the excellent Glenn Greenwald and his take related to a very troubling lack of honesty from NBC's Brian Williams, that is what they have done to cover up the ties of their "military analysts" with the military/industrial complex:

Greenwald notes:

"Following up on yesterday's post regarding NBC News' suppression of the "military analyst" scandal and its ongoing reliance on the deeply conflicted Barry McCaffrey:  I have obtained, from a very trustworthy source, emails sent last week between NBC News executives and McCaffrey (which cc:d Brian Williams), reflecting the extensive collaboration between NBC and McCaffrey to formulate a coordinated response to David Barstow's story...  

Rather than honestly investigate the numerous facts which Barstow uncovered about McCaffery's severe conflicts, NBC instead is clearly in self-protective mode, working in tandem with McCaffrey to create justifications for what they have done..."

More follows.

These words were said by the BEST Democratic Senator around. Of course, he is not a Democrat, Bernie Sanders:

"To reward Senator Lieberman with a major committee chairmanship would be a slap in the face of millions of Americans who worked tirelessly for Barack Obama and who want to see real change in our country," Sanders in the statement sent our way by his office.

Appointing someone to a major post who led the opposition to everything we are fighting for is not 'change we can believe in,'" Sanders continued. "I very much hope that Senator Lieberman stays in the Democratic caucus and is successful in regaining the confidence of those whom he has disappointed. This is not a time, however, in which he should be rewarded with a major committee chairmanship."

Some thoughts...

You folks on the GOP, need to stop bigots from speaking on your behalf on national TV. This exchange between Buchanan and a black GOP strategist yesterday shows the huge problem you guys have. Excerpts:

"MIKE PAUL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I have something for Pat, I have something for Pat here. I respect him. He's a tremendous man. But the bottom line is, we need to think about some bigger ideas here. The party needs to change. The party has some fundamentals right now with a changing demographic situation in our country.

Quite frankly, Pat, there are more people that are looking more like me than you and we need to start looking at that as a party. You've been around a long time, a lot longer than I, but the party is starting to change. It's going through a midlife crisis. The country is speaking. And it's time for the party to follow suit. And it's not...

BUCHANAN: Well, I'm not sure what they-maybe a mea culpa for what Bush did. The two things Bush did.

PAUL: Not necessarily Bush."

More follows...

But what the heck, I watched Charlie Rose's interview with both of the white "liberal" journalists. Transcript follows:

"JON MEACHAM: He's very elusive, Obama, which is fascinating for a man who's written two memoirs. At Grant Park he walks out with the family, and then they go away.

CHARLIE ROSE: Mmm. Mmm-hmm.

MEACHAM: Biden's back, you know, locked in the bar or something.

ROSE: (haughty chuckle)

MEACHAM: You know, they don't let him out. And have you ever seen a victory speech where there was no one else on stage?

ROSE: Mmm.

MEACHAM: No adoring wife, no cute kid. He is the messenger.

EVAN THOMAS: There is a slightly creepy cult of personality about all this. I mean, he's such an admirable --

ROSE: Slightly. Creepy. Cult of personality.

THOMAS: Yes."

Next...

I read with surprise that Coleman has called Al Franken to concede.

The ever shrinking difference between the two is at this point:

438 votes!

AL's response:

"It’s very premature to prejudge the outcome of this, considering that we’re already seeing that once you start canvassing, you already see a lot of things," Franken, the DFL challenger to Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, told MPR’s Gary Eichten in a live interview moments ago.

Franken was referring to Coleman’s shrinking lead, which amounted to more than 700 votes when the senator declared victory Wednesday. That number has since dropped to 438 votes - which amounts to 0.01 percent of the nearly 3 million votes cast.

Franken said he didn’t foresee a Florida-style brouhaha surrounding the recount. The debate over the 2000 recount, Franken pointed out, took place in a state in which George W. Bush’s brother was the governor and the secretary of state had been accused by Democrats of suppressing votes. "Minnesota is very good at counting its votes. That ‘s why I feel this process will go in an orderly way. We just have to be patient."

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I guess I am in a mood that would warrant to call me an ass (feel free to do so), but I have been thinking of "grannydoc"'s diary the other day.

That diary talked about the lightweight diaries in the rec' list. They tell us about the "violation" of front yards, stealing signs, the threats to canvassers, the "I was crying in the parking lot the other day because...", "I just read this and now I am crying...", so on, so forth.

Please, don't get me wrong, I am not going to tell you what to write, what to think or what to do, however, it is true that the quality of the posting here has gone down since 2004.

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Many numbers going on here, but historic perspective is always good:

"President George W. Bush holds a slight edge over Senator John Kerry in the final days of Campaign 2004. The Pew Research Center's final pre-election poll of 1,925 likely voters, conducted Oct. 27-30, finds Bush with a three-point edge (48% to 45% for Kerry); Ralph Nader draws 1%, and 6% are undecided.

The poll finds indications that turnout will be significantly higher than in the two previous presidential elections, especially among younger people. Yet Bush gets the boost Republican candidates typically receive when the sample is narrowed from the base of 2,408 registered voters to those most likely to vote. (Among all registered voters, Kerry and Bush are in a virtual tie: 46% Kerry, 45% Bush)."

More perspective below...

You know the history of this country better than I do. You have been part of it. What you and your running mate are doing in the camopaign trail is dangerous. Do you remember this?:

"Two days before President Kennedy’s trip to Dallas, right-wingers began circulating around the city some 5,000 anti-Kennedy handbills.  Entitled "Wanted for Treason," these leaflets were designed to look like a police "wanted" poster, with front and profile photographs of Kennedy’s head.

The handbills shrieked:
"This man is wanted for treasonous activities against the United States:
1.  Betraying the Constitution (which he is sworn to uphold):
He is turning the sovereignty of the U.S. over to the communist controlled United Nations.
He is betraying our friends (Cuba, Katanga, Portugal) and befriending our enemies (Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland).
2.  He has been WRONG on innumerable issues affecting the security of the U.S. (United Nations-Berlin wall-Missile removal-Cuba-Wheat deals-Test Ban Treaty, etc.).
3.  He has been lax in enforcing Communist Registration laws."

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McCain's campaign has imploded and Obama has the keys to the Oval office if he plays his cards in a smart way. I cite the following:

"It’s hard to find anybody that does not believe it’s, at least in part, a political stunt designed to change the political narrative. Polls out today show McCain’s numbers cratering, mostly because of the economic crisis. McCain has pulled oddball stunts like this before in a moment of political peril (the Palin VP pick is an example)...

the American people overwhelmingly do NOT support suspending the political campaign because of this financial crisis and do NOT support postponing the Presidential debate.

Meanwhile, Ben Smith of Politico reports that McCain actually spent this morning meeting with Baroness Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a disaffected Hillary supporter, and not working to develop a solution to the financial crisis in Washington.

Everybody sees through it and recognizes it as a political gambit and not some truly selfless act of problem-solving."

More below...

Some more perspective and context will help you understand my plan, which is as good as Paulson’s to say the least.

There are about 147 millions of Americans who are taxpayers (correct this number if wrong). People are forgetting that those taxpayers already are footing several "Bush and screw-up friends" bills at this point. Example using a post from elsewhere and the 700 billions welfare for the rich figures:

"To put $700 billion of losses in perspective, the tax bill of every household in America just increased by $6,500. You will not get a bill from the IRS because the government has chosen the immoral route of shifting this burden to your children and grandchildren. The U.S. Government has no money. It is broke. The $700 billion will be borrowed from the Chinese and Saudi Arabia, with an annual interest charge of $10 billion. This is $700 billions that will not be spent on education, infrastructure, or energy independence. It is the cost of financial recklessness of banks, greedy CEOs, and Americans who thought you could get something for nothing. Future generations will pay the price of our greed and malfeasance..."

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I mean folks, I do not claim to be smarter than a Harvard economist, but the details of the "rescue plan" are mainly centered/focused in one basic principle/foundation:

THE PRINTING OF MONEY (as in monopoly). I quote:

"By Monday, investors still knew little about how the Bush administration would pay for mopping up the bad debt, how the process would work, who would run it and what the Democratic-controlled Congress would ask for to approve the plan.

The Bush administration is already forecasting that the federal deficit will hit a record $482 billion next year. Analysts say the bailout costs mean a $1 trillion annual deficit is not out of the question.

"When you try to print $1 trillion, that will kill your currency, lifting oil prices, which then in turn will not help the stock market," said Gary Kaltbaum, who runs the money management firm Kaltbaum and Associates in Orlando, Fla. "It is a vicious cycle, and we are seeing that right now."

More below...

This is from september 19. I would appreciate updates:

"First, we cannot lose sight that we are in the midst of a broad economic crisis that also requires immediate action to create jobs and help support distressed homeowners and communities. For too long, this Administration has been willing to hit the fast forward button in helping distressed Wall Street firms while pressing pause when it comes to saving jobs or keeping families in their homes. Swift and unprecedented action to shore up Wall Street must come alongside equally swift and serious efforts to help struggling families on Main Street, create new jobs, and grow our middle-class once more.

Second, any taxpayer-funded support must have as its focus protecting our nation's long-term interest in a stable financial market and a growing economy rather than rewarding particular companies or the imprudent decisions of borrowers or lenders. These extraordinary steps must be designed with only the public good in mind, not to enhance the personal gain of CEOs and management at taxpayers’ expense."

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Or that is what I learned you said earlier today.

Let me tell you something about Russia's arsenal and military doctrine, because apparently you do not know about it:

Nuclear arsenal of Russia

Russia is estimated to have around 6,681 active strategic nuclear warheads in its arsenal.Russia also has a large but unknown number of tactical nuclear weapons. Strategic nuclear forces of Russia include:

Land based Strategic Rocket Forces:

489 missiles carrying up to 1,788 warheads; they employ immobile (silos), like SS-18 Satan, and mobile delivery systems, like SS-27 Topol M.

Sea based Strategic Fleet:

12 submarines carrying up to 609 warheads; they employ delivery systems like SS-N-30 Bulava.

Strategic Aviation:

237 bombers(16 Tu-160,63 Tu-95,and 158 Tu-22m) carrying up to 884 Cruise missiles.

Russian Military Doctrine

According to a Russian military doctrine stated in 2003, nuclear weapons could be used either in response to a WMD attack against Russia and her allies, or while defending against a major conventional attack in a critical situation for Russia and her allies".

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Credit where credit is due:

"The story of the day out here in Minneapolis is the McCain campaign's war against the press. This has been building for some time. Those of us who have criticized the candidate--and especially those of us who enjoyed good relations with McCain in the past--have been subject to off-the-record browbeating and attempted bullying all year. But things have gotten much worse in recent days: there was McCain's rude, bizarre interview with Time Magazine last week. Yesterday, McCain refused to an interview with Larry King, for God's sake, because Campbell Brown had been caught in the commission of journalism on CNN the night before, asking McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds what decisions Sarah Palin had made as commander-in-chief of the Alaska national guard. (There was an answer that the unprepared Bounds didn't have: she had deployed them to fight fires.)"

More below the fold...