tagged w/ Accountability Now
-
She nailed it! Facts matter! The truth matters!
-
-
The Curious Capitalist - Justin Fox
Ethan Harris, the chief U.S. economist at bankrupt Lehman Brothers, says it's been "the most tumultuous two weeks of my personal and professional life." Even on Friday, with the tumult settled somewhat by Barclays' purchase of Lehman's core business and Hank Paulson's plans to purchase the American financial system, things were still kind of weird: A Japanese TV crew was filming Harris as we talked on the phone. And next week, as Barclays takes over at Lehman, he gets to find out--or at least start to find out--if he still has a job.
For Harris and everybody else on Wall Street, the gravity of this financial near-meltdown is pretty clear. It understandably all remains something of a puzzle to a lot of other people. The New York Times reported that members of Congress were stunned into silence by the dire picture painted by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke of what would happen if they didn't create an agency to take bad debts off bank balance sheets. The picture? Financial breakdown, with banks ceasing to lend and the economy grinding to a halt.
That's clearly really bad. But what will the economy look like if Congress does approve a workable bailout plan, and the worst-case scenarios are averted?
Well, probably still pretty bad. "By the time we’re done here this is going to be equivalent to the big recessions of the past," says Harris. "Similar to the recessions of 1974 and 1982." That's a lot better than a rerun of the Great Depression. But it still means big-time job losses, and lots of painful retrenchment for consumers and business.
This is not, yet, a unanimously held opinion. There is even still some debate over whether this even is a recession. But I'm thinking that's going to fade away soon. "All my cousins already know we’re in a recession," says Bob Barbera, chief economist at ITG and, coincidentally, a former Lehman chief economist. "You need a Ph.D in economics to have a debate about it." Barbera thinks that, "in the fullness of time," it will be apparent that the recession began in autumn 2007.
Barbera also believes this recession will end early next year, which is a nice thought. But what comes afterward probably won't feel so great either. "I’d be very surprised to see a strong recovery in the economy," says Harris. "The consumer was being spurred along by two big booms, housing and the stock market, and this expansion of debt." No more. "You’ve got a much more conservative consumer in the next decade," he says.
This is what the aftermath of an epic credit bubble looks like. For the financial sector, never very good at retrenching in an orderly fashion, it's a time fraught with risk of collapse. But even if collapse is averted, the bubble still has to deflate. And it is deflating: Household debt, which grew at double-digit rates from 2002 through 2006, rose at just a 1.4% pace in the second quarter, according to data released Thursday by the Federal Reserve. This is, for the long-run financial health of Americans, a good thing. It just means there won't be much economic fun anytime soon.
"I think there is something fundamentally positive about the U.S. economy," Harris says. "Great technology, a great educational system, an entrepreneurial spirit. But those things don’t really matter that much over the next couple of years."
The Curious Capitalist - Justin Fox
Ethan Harris, the chief U.S. economist at... more
-
-
93% of US voters realize, they aren't bailing out ordinary Americans, they are bailing out the crooks who caused the problem. SAD! SAD! SAD! They wont be held accountable, they will be rewarded. Its an "Assault on Reason"!
Phoenix Business Journal - by Mike Sunnucks
There is little public support for the federal bailouts of Wall Street investment and insurance firms and growing worries the U.S. is headed for another Great Depression, according to new national poll by Rasmussen Reports.
Rasmussen said only 7 percent of U.S. voters surveyed supported the federal financial bailouts with 65 percent saying they'd prefer letting the firms go under or deal with bankruptcy filings and restructuring.
The Federal Reserve is helping insurance giant American International Group with an $85 billion bailout. The federal government has taken over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and promised to assume as much as $30 billion in Bears Stearns assets earlier this year to help with JPMorgan Chase's acquisition of the investment house.
The federal government has not yet acted in regard to Lehman Brothers Chapter 11 filing or Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
Congress is also looking at massive loans for General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler to help the struggling U.S. auto industry.
Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama have begrudgingly backed the financial bailouts and also back federal loans to car makers.
McCain likes a $25 billion plan while Obama supports a $50 billion auto industry bailout.
The Rasmuseen poll also showed 45 percent of U.S. voters say it is at least somewhat likely the economy could face another Great Depression, up from 38 percent who thought that in March. Forty-eight percent think a depression is unlikely.
Rasmussen surveyed 1,000 adults Sept. 15 and 16.
93% of US voters realize, they aren't bailing out ordinary Americans, they are... more
-
-
A new Government Accountability Office report on voting system testing finds that the Election Assistance Commission has not notified election officials across the country about electronic voting machine failures.
A line of voters cast their ballots in the primary March 4 in Columbus, Ohio.
And a new study by Common Cause and the Century Foundation finds that 10 very vital swing states have significant voting problems that have not been addressed since the last election.
Those 10 states, according to Common Cause, are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In Colorado, 20,000 left polling places without voting in 2006 because of crashed computer registration machines and long lines. And this election day, Colorado will have another new registration system.
"You know, Colorado is two years behind many states in implementing a statewide voter database. ... This is a new system, and there's just a lot of unknowns as to whether or not voters will be successful," said Jenny Flanagan of Common Cause.
The problems listed in the report range from not enough voting machines to glitches with electronic registration poll books. Read the report
"We're seeing a lot of problems where people are being kicked off the data base rolls if their name is on as Alex as opposed to Alexander or they've put a middle initial in there name and it's not there," said Susan Greenhalgh of Voter Action. "These are problems that are being created by software restrictions that are stringent or glitches in some cases where the program is incorrectly bouncing people off the rolls."
For voters with problems in registration, provisional ballots are provided.
But Tova Wang of Common Cause said there is a "very good chance, with all of the new voters that we are going to see this year, that there will be a big demand for the use of provisional ballots."
"And yet I see nothing, except in one of the 10 states, that the states are doing to ensure that there will be enough provisional ballots on hand so that they don't run out of them. Ideally, provisional ballots should be on hand for 10 percent of the voting population," she added. Watch more on the fight for swing states »
Common Cause said it's not too late to fix many of these problems. Although many states don't have the laws on the books to require some safeguards, they can act now to make sure that there are enough back up ballots at the polls, workers are properly trained and there are enough poll workers on election day.
Denver, Colorado, for example, is going back to a paper poll book registration for this election.
A new Government Accountability Office report on voting system testing finds that the... more
-
-
In the past 24 hours, Henry Paulson effectively committed up to a trillion dollars of tax payer money to bail out bankers and investors, and locked in fiscal policies of his choosing for the next several years. To try to understand the full implications of this, I asked Max Fraad Wolff for an email interview. Max's work regularly appears in the Asia Times, The Prudent Bear and many other international outlets. His work can also been seen regularly on his site GlobalMacroScope.com. Based in NYC, he does contract research on international financial risks and opportunities while teaching in the New School University's Graduate Program in International Affairs. Max is an unorthodox economist--just the kind we need right now.
ZE: Wow. What just happened?
MFW: We just went from Free Fall to Free Lunch. It turns out free markets are the greatest system on earth, but only when they go up. Market discipline is for low income people and homeowners. Short selling must stop only when it laps up on Goldman's shores. Today, the government deploys hundreds of billions, maybe more than a thousand billion dollars to bail out banks and owners, insurers and traders of mortgage backed securities. Wave after wave of cash infusions didn't work, Thursday morning's $183 billion did not work. So here come new rules and whole lots more money. The government will insure money markets, the government will buy between $800 billion to $1.2 trillion in distressed securities to sure up balance sheets. If this had been done last week, then Lehman, AIG and Merrill would still be out there with ALL their employees. If it had been done in March, Bear Stearns would be with us. This financial run just got more expensive than Iraq. Where will the money come from? Who gains and who loses? Is this the largest economic intervention in at least several decades?
ZE: So let me make sure I understand this. Big investors made trillions in bad loans over the past couple decades. Everyone just realized it and now markets are flipping into turmoil. Treasury Secretary Paulson and other financial big wigs decided that without intervention, we'd get into a 1929 free fall. And so they stepped in and said, "Everyone can stop panicking, because we'll insure all your bad loans." Is that right?
MFW: Basically, yeah. The crash is 13 months old. The pain is real and it is really slamming into employees, home owners and the global economy. Many of us have been warning of this for years. Federal regulators have lied and done day-late, dollar-short failed interventions for 14 months. After another round of false promises, they last night gave in and finally decided to admit that the financial sector was leading us into a global recession. So we just pledged years of tax revenues upfront to buy bad mortgage-backed securities. We still don't know the all important details. At what price is the U.S. tax payer picking up the tab? We have been told "market prices" but, what does that mean? Not the market prices before this announcement. Those prices were killing firms and spreading massive losses throughout the world economy. We still don't have congressional approval either. I have no doubt those dead fish will float with the tide. Congress will back the action. Action is needed. We were sliding off the edge. It is just a question of which actions and who benefits.
In the past 24 hours, Henry Paulson effectively committed up to a trillion dollars of... more
-
-
To hold John McCain accountable to his own standard, the Democratic National Committee will count and chronicle the lies here on the McCainPedia's "Count the Lies" page.
I posted this as an update on the Lie counter, Conniepae First posted this on September 15 and he was up to 51 lies, then I posted a similar story on the 16th because I missed her POD and he was at 54, Today the count sits at 61.
Click the link above to Check the Facts and The Lies.
To hold John McCain accountable to his own standard, the Democratic National Committee... more
-
-
John McCain may be trying to sell himself as a "maverick" and a "straight talker" who will tell the truth no matter the consequences, but independent, non-partisan watchdog groups aren't buying it. But, since he wrapped up his party's nomination, John McCain has offered more of the same false attacks and smears. To date, independent, nonpartisan fact checkers have published more than 50 fact checks debunking John McCain's lies and distortions.
To hold John McCain accountable to his own standard, the Democratic National Committee will count and chronicle the lies here on the McCainPedia's "Count the Lies" page.
60 Fact Checks
FactCheck.org: McCain Ad Repeats False Tax Cut Charge on Tax Cuts. "The McCain-Palin campaign has released a new ad that once again distorts Obama's tax plans. The ad claims Obama will raise taxes on electricity. He hasn't proposed any such tax. Obama does support a cap-and-trade policy that would raise the costs of electricity, but so does McCain. It falsely claims he would tax home heating oil. Actually, Obama proposed a rebate of up to $1,000 per family to defray increased heating oil costs, funded by what he calls a windfall profits tax on oil companies. The ad claims that Obama will tax 'life savings.' In fact, he would increase capital gains and dividends taxes only for couples earning more than $250,000 per year, or singles making $200,000. For the rest, taxes on investments would remain unchanged." [FactCheck.org, 9/18/08: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/there_he_goes_again.html
John McCain may be trying to sell himself as a "maverick" and a... more
-
-
Are America's news media too chicken to ask the tough questions?
-
-
By Joe Klein
Politics has always been lousy with blather and chicanery. But there are rules and traditions too. In the early weeks of the general-election campaign, a consensus has grown in the political community — a consensus that ranges from practitioners like Karl Rove to commentators like, well, me — that John McCain has allowed his campaign to slip the normal bounds of political propriety. The situation has gotten so intense that we in the media have slipped our normal rules as well. Usually when a candidate tells something less than the truth, we mince words. We use euphemisms like mendacity and inaccuracy ... or, as the Associated Press put it, "McCain's claims skirt facts." But increasing numbers of otherwise sober observers, even such august institutions as the New York Times editorial board, are calling John McCain a liar. You might well ask, What has McCain done to deserve this? What unwritten rules did he break? Are his transgressions of degree or of kind?
Almost every politician stretches the truth. We journalists try to point out the exaggerations and criticize them, then let the voters decide. When McCain says, for example, that Barack Obama favors a government-run health-care system, he's not telling the truth — Obama wants a market-based system subsidized by the government — but McCain's untruth illuminates a general policy direction, which is sketchy but sort of within the bounds. (Obama's plan would increase government regulation of the drug and insurance industries.) Obama has done this sort of thing too. In July, he accused McCain of supporting the foreign buyout of an American company that could lead to the loss of about 8,000 jobs in Wilmington, Ohio. McCain did support the deal, but the job loss comes many years later and was not anticipated at the time. That, however, is where the moral equivalency between these two campaigns ends.
McCain's lies have ranged from the annoying to the sleazy, and the problem is in both degree and kind. His campaign has been a ceaseless assault on his opponent's character and policies, featuring a consistent—and witting—disdain for the truth. Even after 38 million Americans heard Obama say in his speech at the Democratic National Convention that he was open to offshore oil-drilling and building new nuclear-power plants, McCain flatly said in his acceptance speech that Obama opposed both. Normal political practice would be for McCain to say, "Obama says he's 'open to' offshore drilling, but he's always opposed it. How can we believe him?" This persistence in repeating demonstrably false charges is something new in presidential politics.
Worse than the lies have been the smears. McCain ran a television ad claiming that Obama favored "comprehensive" sex education for kindergartners. (Obama favored a bill that would have warned kindergartners about sexual predators and improper touching.) The accusation that Obama was referring to Sarah Palin when he said McCain's effort to remarket his economic policies was putting "lipstick on a pig" was another clearly misleading attack — an obnoxious attempt to divert attention from Palin's lack of fitness for the job and the recklessness with which McCain chose her. McCain's assault on the "élite media" for spreading rumors about Palin's personal life — actually, the culprits were a few bloggers and the tabloid press — was more of the same. And that gets us close to the real problem here. The McCain camp has decided that its candidate can't win honorably, on the issues, so it has resorted to transparent and phony diversions.
By Joe Klein
Politics has always been lousy with blather and chicanery. But there... more
-
-
The documentary finally available online. A must watch.
-
-
In an extraordinary turn, the Federal Reserve was close to a deal Tuesday night to take a nearly 80 percent stake in the troubled giant insurance company, the American International Group, in exchange for an $85 billion loan, according to people briefed on the negotiations.
A person briefed on the matter said the agreement does not require shareholder approval.
If the Fed takes a controlling stake, it is likely that it would want to replace A.I.G.’s board as well as its chief executive and chairman, Robert B. Willumstad.
The Fed’s action came after Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson and Ben S. Bernanke, president of the Federal Reserve, went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday night to meet with House and Senate leaders. Mr. Paulson called the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, about 5 p.m. and asked for a meeting in the Senate leader’s office, which began about 6:30 p.m.
The Federal Reserve and Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase had been trying to arrange a $75 billion loan for A.I.G. to stave off the financial crisis caused by complex debt securities and credit default swaps. The Federal Reserve stepped in after it became clear Tuesday afternoon that the banking consortium could not complete the deal in time.
Without the help, A.I.G. was expected to be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.
They just can't give our money away fast enough.These guys are supposed to be conservative?!
In an extraordinary turn, the Federal Reserve was close to a deal Tuesday night to... more
-
-
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008; Page A23
John McCain's campaign acknowledged this weekend that Sarah Palin is unprepared to be vice president or president of the United States.
Of course, McCain's people said no such thing. But their actions told you all you needed to know.
McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden all subjected themselves to tough questioning on the regular Sunday news programs. Palin was the only no-show. And it's not just the Sunday interviews. She has not opened herself to any serious questioning since McCain picked her to be next in line for the presidency.
McCain's advisers clearly don't trust Palin to answer questions about policy and don't want her to answer many of the questions that have been raised about her tenure as governor of Alaska.
Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, gave the game away when he said on "Fox News Sunday" that she would not meet with reporters until they showed a willingness to treat her "with some level of respect and deference."
Deference? That's a word used in monarchies or aristocracies. Democracies don't give "deference" to politicians. When have McCain, Obama, Biden or, for that matter, Hillary Clinton asked for deference?
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008; Page A23
John McCain's... more
-
-
by: Michael Cambray
(NaturalNews) It seems that most people are finally awakening to the fact that it is not a good idea to blindly accept the manipulating lies with which we are daily brainwashed, particularly by the communications media. It is totally acceptable and sensible nowadays to be cynical and critical of any source of information, particularly when associated with politics, big business and the media.
The 'information' age has literally turned upon itself.
George Orwell in his prophetic book '1984' said, "Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful... and give an appearance of solidarity to pure wind."
Hitler's propaganda henchman Dr. Goebells said, "If you tell people a big enough lie, often enough, they will believe it."
There are many definitions of lies and the Thesaurus has a great source of words to describe the distorting and twisting of any facts. Among the word variations that cover the outrageous manipulations we experience daily are fabrication, inference misstatement, falsification, evasion, deceit and deception. A lie is the deliberate withholding of any part of the truth from someone who has a right to know.
People are becoming accustomed to receiving deceit and deception. We are being constantly lied to by governments, government officials, drug companies, the medical profession, multinational industry, food companies and politicians. Lied to by media, by 'reality' programs, doctored photographs in magazines, by employers and by unions.
Lied to in financial transactions, stockholders reports and false corporate statements. Lied to by advertising, salesmen and anyone trying to make money to our disadvantage. Falsification has been piled onto fabrication, until lying -- through omission, distortion, bias or clever wording -- has become a way of life! The list is truly endless.
Life has become like a jigsaw puzzle, but without the picture on the front of the box so that you don't know what it's really supposed to be like. Governments, multinationals and media are clever enough to make sure you don't always have all the pieces!
Try to look at the motives behind everything you hear and see, there is always a motive. What are they 'selling'? Keep an open mind and treat all information with a reasonable amount of suspicion. Look for seemingly reliable sources, as I do. We need to be constantly be alert and aware! Even question me.
We all know there is plenty of truth in our universe; it's just a bit hard to find. Try a little old fashioned commonsense.by: Michael Cambray
(NaturalNews) It seems that most people are finally... more
-
-
-
DENVER - Two Denver Police Department undercover officers could be charged with assault and perjury after a video surfaced of them arresting a man outside Coors Field last April, according to experts.
The detectives, who didn't know there was a videotape, denied slamming the man's head in to the ground in written police reports and under oath during court testimony.
"In law enforcement we say, 'You lie, you fly.' If your word is no good, there's no need for you as an officer," said Lou Reiter, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and current police consultant. "They're going to face the consequences of possibly never being able to testify again in a criminal matter."
The video obtained by 9NEWS, shows Detectives Michael Cordova and James Costigan arresting John Heaney on April 4 after the officers say he ran a red light on his bicycle at 20th and Blake Streets.
The detectives admit they punched, kicked and choked Heaney during the arrest. In police reports, the officers say they used excessive force because Heaney punched Cordova in the nose. Heaney denies he hit the officers.
The video also shows Cordova pulling Heaney's hair, lifting up his head and slamming it into the ground when Heaney was lying on his stomach while officers held his hands held behind his back. Two of Heaney's teeth were broken off in the head slam.
"They had him in a position of disadvantage on the ground for handcuffing. So there would have been absolutely no justification for that use of force," said Reiter. "That use of force would have been vicious and vindictive."
Cordova claims Heaney broke his $169 Nike brand sunglasses in the scuffle. Heaney was charged with criminal mischief for the sunglasses and second degree assault for allegedly punching Cordova in the nose. The assault charge carries a three-year minimum prison sentence, according to attorney Lonn Heymann.
The Denver District Attorney's office dropped all the charges against Heaney on Friday after 9NEWS showed prosecutors and police the videotape of the arrest.
"Officers face difficult tasks every day and they have to be above petty animosities and anger," said 9NEWS legal analyst Scott Robinson. "If that's why this individual was injured, that's utterly inexcusable."
Use-of-force experts say that head slams should only be used in situations that would warrant the use of deadly force because they can seriously hurt people.
"You're dealing with some vulnerable areas, you're dealing with all of the orbital fractures that could occur, you've got nose fractures, you've got all the mouth and teeth injuries and as a consequence, you're doing to induce serious injury to that person," said Reiter. "You're going to have to have justification to use that force."
Cordova joined the Denver Police Department eight years ago. In May 2005, the department awarded him the medal of honor for "displaying an act of courage that clearly distinguishes gallantry beyond the call of duty." Cordova and another officer pulled people out of a burning house.
Costigan became a police officer in 2000. Costigan and Cordova are on the vice-narcotics squad and were working on an undercover scalping sting when they arrested Heaney. The police department said it can not determine how many use of force reports have been filed against the vice-narcotics squad.
The city's independent monitor will monitor the police internal investigation and the results will be reviewed by Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe, according to Mayor John Hickenlooper's office.
The officers chose not to comment for this story.
Please click link for full TV report and slideshow-DENVER - Two Denver Police Department undercover officers could be charged with... more
-
-
August 8, 2008—this is the date for our Strangebedfellows MONEYBOMB on behalf of constitutional rights and civil liberties in America. Let's remove from power the key enablers of the tyrannical and lawless FISA 'compromise;' we can end the Patriot Act—and so much more. Join with us by pledging now—right here at AccountabilityNowPAC.com. Become a part of our transpartisan alliance of freedom lovers! Be a Strangebedfellow!
Who Are The Strangebedfellows?
Strangebedfellows is a unique and diverse left--right coalition which has come together to put a stop to the eradication of civil liberties in America. Modeled on a similar group in Britain, the initial Strangebedfellows group encompasses Ron Paul supporters (BreakTheMatrix.com, Rick Williams and Trevor Lyman), leading bloggers from the left (Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com, Jane Hamsher of firedoglake.com) and many more who share the view that warrantless surveillance, telecom immunity and other such outrages of the lawless surveillance state MUST END—AND END NOW. Our group of Strangebedfellows is organizing a moneybomb on behalf of AccountabilityNowPAC, and we’re reaching out to friends and colleagues from across the political spectrum who believe in the Bill of Rights and freedom in America. So join us-- become a Strangebedfellow! Add your name and group to our list of backers, and enter your pledge today to donate to AccountabilityNowPAC. Let’s reverse these police state sellouts by our political leaders—FOREVER.
*********
Democrats should start a ‘Anti-spin’ campaign. Working together to catch the spin and counter the spin with facts. Don’t move along! Counter the distorted facts before progressing to the next topic. Bring it up when given the opportunity to talk to the masses. Make journalists answer questions, why did they say what they said? Make them look foolish for distorting the facts. Journalists should report, not distort! They should not be spinning. America needs to get back on course with facts leading the way.
Journalists know when facts are being spun, there is no excuse for reporting fact and spin as equal. We should all, expose the spin as spin. If all Democrats would work to stop the spin, embarrass the spinners, eventually they would be afraid from the shame of being exposed. Many Americans have the opportunity to speak to the masses. Wouldn't it be great to see Americans with voices, stop the spin with facts, live on tv. Journalists should be held accountable. No one wants to be embarrassed, journalists should feel shame when they report distorted facts and actual facts as equal.
Eventually, ordinary Americans would hear spin and realize they are being spun. People with voices should ask journalists point blank, why they would distort the facts? If mainstream media continues to perpetuate spin, they should be exposed for their participation. They are not reporting facts and spin as equal by accident. They know their distortion makes ordinary Americans question the truth.
August 8, 2008—this is the date for our Strangebedfellows MONEYBOMB on behalf of... more
-
-
I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I really think this woman is on to something. If you really think about it, there have been an alarming number of rainbows coming from our sprinklers over the last 20 years. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!
We as Americans must all stand up and demand RAINBOW TRUTH NOW!!!!I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I really think this woman is on to... more
-
-
Now those of us who stayed in the inner-city through busing, the drug war, etc., will be forced to live through warmonger war. Because they can? War on Americans? We will be victims because we live in the inner-city? I don't want to live in a police state because I don't have a lot of money. My husband and I have worked hard to maintain a modest quality of life. A Military style policed state will hurt our modest quality of life more than it helps us.
If they are going to wage war on the inner-city, don't do housing bail-outs for those who fled the city and really couldn't afford it. Make them come back, they'll care if they have to live in a war zone. John McCain takes personal liberties for granted. I don't! I don't want a policed state in my neighborhood! Are American inner-cities going to be used as a trial run for martial law? SAD! SAD! SAD!
************
Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) spoke to the National Urban League, a group “devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.” When an audience member asked him how he planned to reduce urban crime, McCain praised Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s efforts in New York Cirty before invoking the military’s tactics in Iraq as the model for crime-fighting:
MCCAIN: And some of those tactics — you mention the war in Iraq — are like that we use in the military. You go into neighborhoods, you clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under control. And you provide them with a stable environment and then they cooperate with law enforcement, etc, etc.
Now that our military experts advocate approaching the “war on terror” with more policing and intelligence gathering, McCain wants to approach urban policing with more military power.
Now those of us who stayed in the inner-city through busing, the drug war, etc., will... more
-
-
*** If Paul Revere came riding through your neighborhood today, would you listen to him? Or just 'move along'? We are at a point in history where we have to 'Stand Up', stop moving along and listen to Patriots who are SCREAMING FOR LIBERTY. Is today making the future you 'hope' for tomorrow? Ron Paul and other Americans are coming together to try and help shape our future. Ron Paul is inviting all Americans to participate, Democrats, Republicans and Independents. 'WE THE PEOPLE'; should all participate, stand up and be counted! Campain for Liberty for you and me!
Regardless of who wins the '08 Presidential Race, we need to let them know, we care! Mainstream media will work hard to spin Ron Paul's message as irrelevant, but don't let them. Mainstream media promotes negative campaigning, they spin the spin (distort, distort, distort). We need to work hard to promote 'Americans First', Democrats, Republicans and Independents second. We need to form a 'Platform for Liberty'. What do we do today, as Americans will affect the future of America. I want a better tomorrow! Don't you?
***************************** CAMPAIGN FOR LIBERTY **********************************
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Dr. Paul is making two major announcements for the Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis from Aug 31 - Sept 2. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, you better hurry up! Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com, Ticket Master locations, and the Target Center box office.
"I consider this event equal to, if not more important, than anything I have done over all these years," said Dr. Paul in his video message.
Please take a few minutes and watch as Dr. Paul announces former Minnesota Governor and author of the book Don't Start the Revolution Without Me!, Jesse Ventura, and country music star Rockie Lynne.
*** If Paul Revere came riding through your neighborhood today, would you listen to... more
-
-
By Jonathan Martinm
VoteVets, the pro-Democrat group of retired military personnel, counters McCain's Black Hawk down statement with some outrage from Col. Katherine Scheirman (Ret.), the retired Chief of Medical Operations for United States Air Force in Europe Headquarters at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany:
"John McCain's new ad is dishonest and shameful, and I say that as the former Chief of Medical Operations. Senators Hagel and Reed confirmed to Bob Schieffer yesterday that Senator Obama visited the Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad as a part of their CODEL, with no media present.
"In Germany, Senator Obama made the right decision to respect wounded troops, and the doctors and nurses doing crucial and time-sensitive work, by not making a visit that was characterized as a campaign event by the Pentagon. Senator Obama should be thanked for putting our military above politics. And, I would hope that John McCain would think in those same terms, the next time he is put in a similar situation.
"Senator Obama has voted for the troops when John McCain has not, most recently on the new GI Bill. I am happy that Senator Obama puts the welfare of our troops above politics."
Also, it's notable that Obama's camp, quick to respond to most every charge and ever-conscious of not repeating the mistakes of Kerry, has yet to go on the air with a spot pushing back against McCain's charge on the troop visit. Apparently, they won't unless McCain puts real money behind his spot and goes beyond just gaming it for earned media.
By Jonathan Martinm
VoteVets, the pro-Democrat group of retired military personnel,... more
-
