tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post5261979341970057000..comments2024-02-24T11:50:55.413-08:00Comments on Lydia Cornell: A SPIRITUAL CRISIS * BLESS SHOOTING, TORNADO and WAR VICTIMSFans and Friends of Lydia Cornellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512357844572930333noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-86054601544557268572008-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:002008-02-12T12:30:00.000-08:00NEW THREAD IS UP ON THE SPYING ISSUEThanks TomCat!...NEW THREAD IS UP ON THE SPYING ISSUE<BR/><BR/>Thanks TomCat! I just posted it and then read your comment. <BR/><BR/>Everyone, Please leave comments on new thread.<BR/><BR/>thanks,<BR/>xoFans and Friends of Lydia Cornellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01512357844572930333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-9331417661444690302008-02-12T10:39:00.000-08:002008-02-12T10:39:00.000-08:00I'm sad to report that both Dodd/Feingold and Whit...I'm sad to report that both Dodd/Feingold and Whitehouse/Specter failed this morning and the cloture vote succeeded. The FISA bill the Senate will vote on is the Intelligence Committee version with telecom immunity intact. I'll have a list of goose-stepping DINOs up tomorrow.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11397335545286040472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-40384790972017445152008-02-12T10:35:00.000-08:002008-02-12T10:35:00.000-08:00Clif, Larry, Lydia, Enigma, Bart, Tomcat, Christop...<EM>Clif, Larry, Lydia, Enigma, Bart, Tomcat, Christopher, Pastriot etc.............I urge you all to PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE.</EM><BR/><BR/>Mike, I have. It's despicable.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11397335545286040472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-70549769852091304822008-02-12T06:01:00.000-08:002008-02-12T06:01:00.000-08:00Mike Yes it is a fact. Bush is building on the me...Mike<BR/> Yes it is a fact. Bush is building on the mess Reagan started and has always invoked Reagan as much as possible. <BR/> Now McCain is painting himself as Reagan and he too is promising to continue this nightmare. We have to unite and get rid of these Reagan wanabe destroyers once and for all or we are in serious trouble!jmsjoinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17631105639275375922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-84711697591785983652008-02-12T03:25:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:25:00.000-08:00As many as 100,000 independent voters in Los Angel...As many as 100,000 independent voters in Los Angeles did not -- and most likely will not -- have their ballots counted in last week's Democratic presidential primary because of an unnecessarily complex system, inadequately trained poll workers and little effort by elections officials to notify voters of the proper procedures, according to news reports and voting-rights activists.<BR/><BR/>In a system that seemed tailor made to fail, more than half of the Decline to State voters who cast ballots last week in Los Angeles County have been effectively disenfranchised. Unlike every other county in California, LA County requires unaffiliated voters to fill in an extra bubble on their ballot clarifying whether they plan to vote in the Democratic or American Independent Party primaries. (California's Republican party bars independent voters from casting ballots in its primary.)<BR/><BR/>Counting the ballots would not change the outcome in LA County, where Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama by more than 160,000 votes, but that is not the point, say outraged voters who are seething now that they've learned their exercise in democracy was fruitless.<BR/><BR/>"I was disenfranchised, and I am furious," wrote independent Steve Katinsky in an e-mail to the Los Angeles Times. "This nonpartisan registered voting disaster makes Florida look like pikers in election screw-ups. To find out my vote did not count was a sudden and unexpected shock and is completely unacceptable."<BR/><BR/>Voting rights group the Courage Campaign has started a petition urging LA County registrar Dean Logan to initiate a hand-count of ballots. But elections officials say that may be impossible because the same optical-scan ballot was used for Democratic and American Independent primaries. As the Times explained: <BR/><BR/>In the American Independent contest, there were three candidates running, while the Democratic Party had eight. The bubbles for the first three candidates in each party were in the same position on the ballot, making it impossible to tell after the fact if a voter was voting Democratic or American Independent -- unless that person also filled in the bubble indicating party preference.<BR/>In addition to being the only county to require the extra party-identifying step, Los Angeles County is the only one not to print candidates names directly on the ballot, making a re-count virtually impossible. <BR/><BR/>"Logically we know that most of these ballots were Democratic, because the number of American Independent Party voters is very small," Secretary of State Debra Bowen told the Times. "But in a democracy we don't guess what the voter's intent was."<BR/><BR/>Although he insisted his office "takes the issue of voter enfranchisement very seriously," Logan seemed to blame the problems on the voters in a statement responding to the complaints.<BR/><BR/>It is important to note that while hundreds of thousands of voters across the state encountered new voting systems this election, voters in Los Angeles County were fortunate to be able to cast their ballots using InkaVote Plus, which has been in place for several elections. The manner in which cross over voting was presented in Los Angeles County was no different than that of the last three statewide primary elections (2002, 2004 and 2006). The voter instructions provided in the sample ballot booklets, which were mailed to all voters in the County, highlighted the steps to be taken by nonpartisan voters when voting a cross over ballot. Likewise, poll worker training materials and the actual vote recorder page instructions were consistent with past practice. Additionally, this office engaged in extensive voter outreach and education focused on cross over voting.<BR/>That the system was used before also shouldn't provide Logan much comfort or cover. The Sacramento Bee observed in an editorial that only 40 percent of independent voters' ballots were counted in those elections.<BR/><BR/>"It is outrageous that the county knew of this massive disenfranchisement and did not make changes," the paper said. "This calls for an investigation."<BR/><BR/>The instructions mailed to voters made passing reference to the need to fill in the extra bubble at the bottom of the pagelong document, but poll workers say they were not told of the special instructions before last Tuesday's election, which featured vastly higher turnout than any of the previous elections Logan mentioned because of the intensely contested presidential race.<BR/><BR/>"No mention was ever given about the requirement to fill in the dot for either party before choosing a particular candidate," Michael Nola, an LA county poll worker who attended two pre-election training sessions told the Times.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-35750506109288118322008-02-12T03:19:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:19:00.000-08:00With Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Cl...With Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York nearly splitting the delegate count in the race for the Democratic nomination, party leaders have a major dilemma on their hands: a tie ballgame heading into the convention....<BR/><BR/>...CNN political analyst Donna Brazile railed against the scenario. "If 795 of my colleagues decide this election, I will quit the Democratic Party. I feel very strongly about this," Brazile said.<BR/><BR/>As should everyone.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-24753553731459753372008-02-12T03:17:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:17:00.000-08:00Sen. John McCain, a passionate advocate of limits ...Sen. John McCain, a passionate advocate of limits on campaign finances, is turning down government matching funds for the primary to free him to spend more money as he prepares for a general election contest.<BR/><BR/>Never fear the war loving neocons will fund the deranged one.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-39959209375955553132008-02-12T03:16:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:16:00.000-08:00Add yet another name to the GOP retirement list. A...Add yet another name to the GOP retirement list. Arizona Rep. John Shadegg (R) is on the verge of announcing that he will not run for re-election, according to Republican sources.<BR/><BR/>Shadegg is in his 7th term in the House and is the former chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee. He served briefly as House GOP Policy Chairman and then lost a bid for House Majority Leader in 2006.<BR/><BR/>Poor Repugs just can't face getting beat.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-9295083830199157682008-02-12T03:15:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:15:00.000-08:00Republican Rep. Ron Paul told the Tribune this mor...Republican Rep. Ron Paul told the Tribune this morning he will not back Sen. John McCain as his party's nominee unless the Arizona senator "has a lot of change of heart."<BR/><BR/>"I can not support anybody with the foreign policy he advocates, you know, perpetual war. That is just so disturbing to me," Paul said.<BR/>"I think it's un-American, un-Constitutional, immoral, and not Republican."<BR/><BR/><BR/>Finally a wise decision by a Repug.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-33320316543898666882008-02-12T03:13:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:13:00.000-08:00Will Joseph Lieberman appear at this year's Republ...Will Joseph Lieberman appear at this year's Republican National Convention? After the week that was, fellow Democrats in Lieberman's home state said they wouldn't put it past the U.S. senator to put in an appearance at the GOP summit in St. Paul, Minn., this summer to reaffirm his support for the presumptive presidential nominee, John McCain.<BR/><BR/>He'll probably be the keynote speaker.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-49897290622082591592008-02-12T03:12:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:12:00.000-08:00He's the most prominent Democrat yet to take a sid...He's the most prominent Democrat yet to take a side in the presidential election, but two sources close to Al Gore tell us not to expect the former vice president to endorse either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama any time during the primary season.<BR/><BR/>The sources say Gore talks with both Clinton and Obama, and is on good terms with bothLarryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-54384553446857527092008-02-12T03:09:00.000-08:002008-02-12T03:09:00.000-08:00Sen. Jim Webb thinks legal action against the Bush...Sen. Jim Webb thinks legal action against the Bush administration may be needed if the president pursues a long-term military presence in Iraq without Congress' approval. <BR/><BR/>"I'm not convinced we don't need to have a lawsuit ready," Webb told the Huffington Post. "This is a classic separation of powers issue. I started to talk to people about this today."<BR/><BR/>Haven't we heard this before?Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-54243679610918840152008-02-11T22:52:00.000-08:002008-02-11T22:52:00.000-08:00an average patriot said...Yes Bless them all. Sadl...an average patriot said...<BR/>Yes Bless them all. Sadly everything will get a lot worse. You know it drives me crazy that Bush is always there to say he'll save the day and then does nothing. <BR/>All the victims of natural disasters are still waiting. Minneapolis gave up and is looking for a way to pay to fix their bridge themselves. <BR/>It stinks but nothing gets done unless the people do it themselves. Bush even said when he went to Tennessee that plenty of volunteers would be there to help. <BR/>Without them there'd be nothing. At least people are coming through!"<BR/><BR/>Bush ALWAYS says he KNOWS or he UNDERSTANDS that things are bad............but he NEVER says what he is going to do to make things better or acts like he cares.........because he doesnt he TRIES to act like a god ole boy but he is as arrogant an elitist as there can be.<BR/><BR/>I was watching old clips of Reagan and it hit me Bush was TRYING to PRETEND to be the next Reagan, he tried to talk like him, act like him, even look like him...........Bush even bought a pig farm as a prop to make himself look like a a rustic Ronald Reagan like cowboy who owns a ranch and clears brush like a regular guy.............to bad he was to gutless to even ride a horse like his idol he was trying to be a mini me of.<BR/><BR/>Seriously if you dont believe me watch old clips of Reagan on his ranch and you will laugh at how pathetic GWB is trying to imitate him in every way,Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08956882396669105125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-24275464990726899392008-02-11T16:48:00.000-08:002008-02-11T16:48:00.000-08:00Yes Bless them all. Sadly everything will get a lo...Yes Bless them all. Sadly everything will get a lot worse. You know it drives me crazy that Bush is always there to say he'll save the day and then does nothing. <BR/> All the victims of natural disasters are still waiting. Minneapolis gave up and is looking for a way to pay to fix their bridge themselves. <BR/> It stinks but nothing gets done unless the people do it themselves. Bush even said when he went to Tennessee that plenty of volunteers would be there to help. <BR/> Without them there'd be nothing. At least people are coming through!jmsjoinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17631105639275375922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-59734397782569051672008-02-11T10:39:00.000-08:002008-02-11T10:39:00.000-08:00Great article, Lydia. The longer our nation remai...Great article, Lydia. The longer our nation remains in thrall to the greed, fear, hatred, and inequity brought to us by Bush and the GOP, the more such horrors will increase.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11397335545286040472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-37543866138787053092008-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:002008-02-11T06:00:00.000-08:00Clif,This was all that was reported, but consider ...Clif,<BR/><BR/>This was all that was reported, but consider the unreported coverups that have cost lives and treasure.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-44996120449208440302008-02-11T05:57:00.000-08:002008-02-11T05:57:00.000-08:00Larry in your NYT Rand story the last paragraph is...Larry in your NYT Rand story the last paragraph is very telling;<BR/><BR/><I>A Pentagon official who is familiar with the episode offered a different interpretation: <B>Army officials were concerned that the report would strain relations with a powerful defense secretary and become caught up in the political debate over the war.</B> “The Army leaders who were involved did not want to take the chance of increasing the friction with Secretary Rumsfeld,” said the official, who asked not to be identified because he did not want to alienate senior military officials.</I><BR/><BR/>Translation the army Generals were AFRAID of Rumsfeld so allowed soldiers and marine to be slaughtered because of their cowardliness safe in their pentagon cubicles.<BR/><BR/>Typical of the BUSH SUCK-UPS who placed their careers ahead of the troops lives.clifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789324243613548212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-16550698215181638802008-02-11T05:25:00.000-08:002008-02-11T05:25:00.000-08:00"If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it w..."If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. The loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or imagined, from abroad."<BR/><BR/> James MadisonLarryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-91664479243448321042008-02-11T04:50:00.000-08:002008-02-11T04:50:00.000-08:00and Ron Paul is more worried about his seat in the...and Ron Paul is more worried about his seat in the congress opig trough, then fighting for change in the USA;<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RON_PAUL_CAMPAIGN?SITE=MAFIT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT" REL="nofollow">Ron Paul Will Seek Re-election and Not Make Third Party Run for Prez</A><BR/><BR/>another right wing quack shows his real colors ........... I wonder what the psychotic <I> paulbots</I> think about, his cutting and running, just to save his seat on the congressional gravy train?clifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789324243613548212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-2775343278625647062008-02-11T04:46:00.000-08:002008-02-11T04:46:00.000-08:00I posted about the curious shenanigans going ons i...I posted about the curious shenanigans going ons in Washington State's repug primary;<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/177859.php" REL="nofollow">We Been Robbed</A><BR/><BR/>Well things are getting quite interesting if you happen to wonder just how crooked the repubies really are;<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/177863.php" REL="nofollow">WTF?</A><BR/><BR/><I>As you know, here at TPM we've been really curious what happened up in the Republican caucus in Washington state. For probably the first time in all the primaries and elections I've ever watched, the folks running the election decided to stop counting the votes with 13% of the votes uncounted. And this wasn't a 70-30 blow out, but a tight race where the two top vote getters were separated by less than 2% of the vote. Then this morning, state party chair Luke Esser <A HREF="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/177811.php" REL="nofollow">decided to declare McCain the winner</A>.<BR/><BR/>Now, when we were watching this last night and I was trying to examine the tea leaves this morning, I was assuming they'd come forward with some story that there was some hang up with the votes or some mechanical issue. Whether it would be true is another matter. But you'd think you'd at least come up with a good story.<BR/><BR/>But state party chair Luke Esser said that he just thought it was the right thing to do. According to Esser, sometime overnight Esser did some sort of back of the envelope statistical analysis of the the margin of McCain's lead (1.8%) and the number votes left uncounted (13%) and decided that Huckabee didn't have a chance and he'd shut the thing down and declare McCain the winner.<BR/><BR/>So was that a good idea? <A HREF="http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/davidpostman/2008/02/state_gop_to_count_more_today.html#start_comments" REL="nofollow">Here's Esser's rationale</A> ...<BR/><BR/> <B>“Maybe it would have been safer if I hadn't said anything. But it was an exciting and historic day for the state and I thought if I was confident about what the outcome would be I should share that with the people who had gone out to their caucuses.”</B><BR/><BR/>So it was just such a rollicking good time Esser figured he owed the participants a decision as long as he was confident what the outcome would be.<BR/><BR/>I'm really not sure I've ever heard anything that ridiculous.<BR/><BR/>In terms of consequence, Bush v. Gore it ain't. This is a relatively small contest in a nomination campaign that appears to be over. But this is something you'd expect either from Soviet history or a farcical passage in a Faulkner novel. And let's not forget the context. Huckabee starts the day with a blowout win in Kansas. That evening he gets the largest number of votes in Louisiana. Then in the third contest he's neck and neck with John McCain and looks like he may win all three contests of the day -- a shut-out for the all-but-declared nominee. Then as it's going down to the wire, the head of the state party decides he's seen enough and calls it for McCain.<BR/><BR/>Here at TPM, as we watched the rate of the reporting slow to halt on Saturday evening, we joked amongst ourselves that with McCain already getting beaten by Huckabee twice that day maybe the organizers of the election figured that if they just held out long enough people would just forget they'd held a caucus. But as it got later and later we started to wonder if it wasn't a joke.<BR/><BR/>I still find it pretty hard to imagine these bozos would try something quite this brazen. And it may well be an electoral tempest in a teapot. But this one looks and quacks like a duck. So someone should give it a much closer look.<BR/><BR/></I>Late Update:<I> It seems that Washington State GOP chair Luke Esser spent most of the day avoiding calls from the Huckabee campaign. And when he finally got back to them he told a lawyer for Huckabee's campaign that they'd probably count the rest of the votes some time next week. When the lawyer, Lauren Huckabee, the candidate's daughter-in-law, requested that a Huckabee lawyer be present when the remaining votes were counted, <A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/02/10/politics/fromtheroad/entry3813882.shtml" REL="nofollow">Esser hung up on her</A>. Before the hang up, Huckabee also asked Esser about the DIY statistical analysis he did to conclude that he should call the race (Esser's expertise in statistics apparently stems from previous work as a <A HREF="http://www.wsrp.org/About/Default.aspx?SectionID=114" REL="nofollow">state prosectur and a sports writer</A>). Was there an analysis of what precincts the remaining votes came from? According to Huck campaign manager Ed Rollins, Esser admitted that he didn't which precincts the remaining votes came from.</I><BR/><BR/>--Josh Marshall<BR/><BR/><BR/>Looks like the "powers that be" in the party of criminally organized corruption, pedophile protection and hypocritical family values fraud, have decided McCain is it, and want to shut down the process, so they can anoint McCain.<BR/><BR/>Here's a little more from Texas, the home of reichwing fraud from tommy <I>the crook</I> delay;<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/02/09/politics/fromtheroad/entry3812334.shtml" REL="nofollow">Texas Gov. Perry Personally Tells Huckabee to Drop Out</A><BR/><BR/>And of course this from the GOPer clown who lied about his cheating while trying to impeach the Clenis for his cheating;<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/09/gingrich-gives-nod-to-mccain-presidential-run/" REL="nofollow">Gingrich gives approval to McCain presidential run</A><BR/><BR/>Like St Johnny <I>the delusional</I> needs approval of this discredited political hack;<BR/><BR/>Looks like the reichwing is really as afraid of the batsh*t crazy wack-jobs who think the earth is flat and only 6000 years old, people rode dinosaurs and evolution isn't science but creationism in the dishonest robe of <I>intelligent design</I> is.<BR/><BR/>Nice to see the gutless chicken hawks showing their true colors.<BR/><BR/>What ever it takes to win eh guys? (no matter who you have to cheat or use?)<BR/><BR/>Hell the Hucklebee just showed up on CNBC trying to explain his case for counting ALL the votes, why don't the GOPers just tell him to call Al Gore and STFU? (which is sort of what the hacks who are trying to put lipstick on the pig which is the economy, they seem to be saying;<BR/><BR/> STFU and go home, like Willard M Romney did after wasting 50 million dollars, <BR/><BR/>in between they lines).<BR/><BR/>It's funny to hear the Hucklebee screeching the mantra<I> follow the rules</I>?<BR/><BR/>Where was this clown in 2000?<BR/><BR/>2004 circa the OHIO fraud anyone?<BR/><BR/>It is clear the CNBC propagandists want McCain over the Hucklebee. (like the powers that be in <I>the party of criminally organized corruption, pedophile protection and hypocritical family values fraud </I>seem to do) and they just want him to STFU and roll over in this case like John Kerry did about the OHIO fraud in 2004.clifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789324243613548212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-26849801798719452642008-02-11T03:36:00.000-08:002008-02-11T03:36:00.000-08:00John R. Koza gets his way, American voters will ne...John R. Koza gets his way, American voters will never again have to wonder about the workings of the Electoral College and why it decides who sits in the White House.<BR/><BR/>Koza is behind a push to have states circumvent the odd political math of the Electoral College and ensure that the presidency always goes to the winner of the popular vote.<BR/><BR/>Basically, states would promise to award their electoral votes to the candidate with the most support nationwide, regardless of who carries each particular state.<BR/><BR/>"We're just coming along and saying, 'Why not add up the votes of all 50 states and award the electoral votes to the 50-state winner?'" said Koza, chairman of National Popular Vote Inc. "I think that the candidate who gets the most votes should win the office."<BR/><BR/>The proposal is aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2000 election, when Al Gore got the most votes nationwide but George W. Bush put together enough victories in key states to win a majority in the Electoral College and capture the White House.<BR/><BR/>So far, Maryland and New Jersey have signed up for the plan. Legislation that would include Illinois is on the governor's desk. But dozens more states would have to join before the plan could take effect.<BR/><BR/>The idea is a long shot. But it appears to be easier than the approach tried previously — amending the Constitution, which takes approval by Congress and then ratification by 38 states.<BR/><BR/>The Electoral College was set up to make the final decision on who becomes president. Each state has a certain number of votes in the college based on the size of its congressional delegation.<BR/><BR/>Often, all of a state's electoral votes are given to whomever wins that state's popular vote. For instance, even someone who wins New York by a single percentage point, 51-49, would get all 31 of the state's electoral votes.<BR/><BR/>This creates some problems.<BR/><BR/>One is that candidates can ignore voters in states that aren't competitive. If the Democrat is clearly going to win a state, the Republican has no reason to court its minority of GOP voters there and instead will focus on other states.<BR/><BR/>Another problem is the possibility of a result like that in 2000, where one candidate gets more votes overall but the other candidate gets narrow victories in just the right states to eke out a majority in the Electoral College.<BR/><BR/>National Popular Vote says its plan would change all that.<BR/><BR/>"What's important to the country is that it would make presidential campaigns a 50-state exercise," said Koza, a Stanford University computer science professor.<BR/><BR/>Here's how it would work:<BR/><BR/>States forge an agreement to change the way they allocate general election votes. The agreement would take effect once it's been approved by states with a majority in the Electoral College, or 270 votes.<BR/><BR/>At that point, the states would begin awarding their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of who carries each state.<BR/><BR/>If the candidates tied in the popular vote, each state would give its electoral votes to the candidate who carried that particular state — basically the same system used now.<BR/><BR/>There are critics. The downside, they argue, is that a close presidential election would require recounts not just in one or two key states, but throughout the entire country.<BR/><BR/>They also say it would further reduce the influence of small states as politicians focus on such places as voter-rich California, New York and Texas.<BR/><BR/>"Any way you look at it, I think smaller populations have a greater voice under the current system than they would under a national popular vote system," said North Dakota state Rep. Lawrence Klemin, a Republican who voted against joining his state in National Popular Vote's agreement.<BR/><BR/>Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has not decided whether to sign his state's legislation to join the plan, his office said. When he was in Congress, Blagojevich co-sponsored a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College in 2000.<BR/><BR/>Legislation endorsing the National Popular Vote plan was passed in California and Hawaii but vetoed by their governors. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it would run "counter to the tradition of our great nation, which honors states' rights and the unique pride and identity of each state."<BR/><BR/>Koza believes the agreement proposal would standardize the way states award their electoral votes, give every voter equal influence and keep candidates from ignoring some states in favor of battleground states like Ohio and Florida.<BR/><BR/>He noted that neither presidential candidate visited Illinois in 2004, even though it has a population of about 12.8 million.<BR/><BR/>"The Republicans wrote it off and the Democrats took it for granted," Koza said, "and that's typical of two-thirds of the states."Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-27444475914501255052008-02-11T03:31:00.000-08:002008-02-11T03:31:00.000-08:00The Army is accustomed to protecting classified in...The Army is accustomed to protecting classified information. But when it comes to the planning for the Iraq war, even an unclassified assessment can acquire the status of a state secret. <BR/><BR/>After 18 months of research, RAND submitted a report in the summer of 2005 called “Rebuilding Iraq.” RAND researchers provided an unclassified version of the report along with a secret one, hoping that its publication would contribute to the public debate on how to prepare for future conflicts. <BR/><BR/>But the study’s wide-ranging critique of the White House, the Defense Department and other government agencies was a concern for Army generals, and the Army has sought to keep the report under lock and key. <BR/><BR/>A review of the lengthy report — a draft of which was obtained by The New York Times — shows that it identified problems with nearly every organization that had a role in planning the war. That assessment parallels the verdicts of numerous former officials and independent analysts. <BR/><BR/>The study chided President Bush — and by implication Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who served as national security adviser when the war was planned — as having failed to resolve differences among rival agencies. “Throughout the planning process, tensions between the Defense Department and the State Department were never mediated by the president or his staff,” it said. <BR/><BR/>The Defense Department led by Donald H. Rumsfeld was given the lead in overseeing the postwar period in Iraq despite its “lack of capacity for civilian reconstruction planning and execution.” <BR/><BR/>The State Department led by Colin L. Powell produced a voluminous study on the future of Iraq that identified important issues but was of “uneven quality” and “did not constitute an actionable plan.” <BR/><BR/>Gen. Tommy R. Franks, whose Central Command oversaw the military operation in Iraq, had a “fundamental misunderstanding” of what the military needed to do to secure postwar Iraq, the study said. <BR/><BR/>The regulations that govern the Army’s relations with the Arroyo Center, the division of RAND that does research for the Army, stipulate that Army officials are to review reports in a timely fashion to ensure that classified information is not released. But the rules also note that the officials are not to “censor” analysis or prevent the dissemination of material critical of the Army. <BR/><BR/>The report on rebuilding Iraq was part of a seven-volume series by RAND on the lessons learned from the war. Asked why the report has not been published, Timothy Muchmore, a civilian Army official, said it had ventured too far from issues that directly involve the Army. <BR/><BR/>“After carefully reviewing the findings and recommendations of the thorough RAND assessment, the Army determined that the analysts had in some cases taken a broader perspective on the early planning and operational phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom than desired or chartered by the Army,” Mr. Muchmore said in a statement. “Some of the RAND findings and recommendations were determined to be outside the purview of the Army and therefore of limited value in informing Army policies, programs and priorities.”<BR/><BR/>Another Bush coverup.Larryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283557503536810926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-18235627514467406272008-02-10T22:54:00.000-08:002008-02-10T22:54:00.000-08:00Amy Winehouse wins 4 Grammys. She is so gifted. Ho...Amy Winehouse wins 4 Grammys. She is so gifted. <BR/><BR/>Hope she makes it.FUTURE LYDIA CORNELL BLOG https://www.blogger.com/profile/01982609052975771387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-40077464592451682202008-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:002008-02-10T22:04:00.000-08:00It looks like the party is definitely over, especi...It looks like the party is definitely over, especially if this happens;<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080209/bs_afp/opeccommoditiesoilcurrency_080209001005;_ylt=ArCIxdpZrmOEsrJk42e3cxCAsnsA" REL="nofollow">OPEC could ditch dollars for euros: chief</A><BR/><BR/><I>OPEC could switch the pricing of oil from dollars into euros within a decade, secretary general Abdullah al-Badri told a weekly magazine.<BR/><BR/>The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could adopt the euro to combat the decline of the dollar, Badri told the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), published in London.<BR/><BR/>"Maybe we can price the oil in the euro. It can be done, but it will take time," he said.<BR/><BR/>Badri told MEED the change could happen within a decade, the magazine said.</I><BR/><BR/>Looks like the Saudis don't like the green toilet paper, Washington prints up and Helicopter Ben wants to throw to every one, either. This will have a double shock effect on the US.<BR/><BR/>1. Nobody will have to hold the useless green paper anymore, so quite a bit will get dumped, which means we will no longer be able to go to china and Riyadh to borrow back some of the dollars we gave them for OIL or useless cheap plastic junk.<BR/><BR/>2. With pricing in Euros, the Europeans will be safer from price hikes, and have a leg up in international trade because countries would need Euros to buy OIL, and when the dollar slid lower only we would face oil price hikes.<BR/><BR/>Wanna bet this move to the Euros especially the <A HREF="http://www.energybulletin.net/12125.html" REL="nofollow">Iranian oil bourse</A>, which<A HREF="http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/12621" REL="nofollow"> currently</A> is in <A HREF="http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=37468§ionid=351020103" REL="nofollow">it's beginning stages</A>, is connected with the reason somebody <A HREF="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F2008%2FWORLD%2Fmeast%2F02%2F01%2Finternet.outage%2Findex.html&ei=feKvR-inOpjoiAHx0aTLDg&usg=AFQjCNFZFWMB59HoN385nOhJwJPv3OnegQ&sig2=40CBNAgl66VQwjFJNs4aag" REL="nofollow">keeps cutting</A> Internet cables under the sea near the middle east. (5 so far)<BR/><BR/>Oh and BTW say good bye to China and the Saudis loaning the US money for the <I>idiot who wants to be king</I> to play with his army troops in the big sand box. (before ignoring them when they come home, or get wounded)clifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789324243613548212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102706.post-14728695443186320252008-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:002008-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:00CNBC is getting funnier and funnier to watch in th...CNBC is getting funnier and funnier to watch in the morning as the talking heads there keep trying to put make-up and a tutu on the pig that is the US economy now a days.<BR/><BR/>By June CNBC in the morning will be just another Kafka experimental theater exercise;<BR/><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/07/business/rtrcol08.php" REL="nofollow">U.S. economy's descent steepens</A><BR/><BR/><I><B>Job losses and a contraction in the business sector where more than 80 percent of Americans work</B> show that the angle of descent for the U.S. economy is steepening.<BR/><BR/>Unsurprisingly, while problems are spreading to the formerly indefatigable American consumer, the old issues - falling home prices and crippled credit markets - show no signs of healing themselves or being healed from on high.<BR/><BR/>And yet, the Dow Jones industrial average is just 14 percent below its all-time closing high, an improbable combination.<BR/><BR/>The big question - can the economy possibly shake off a deflating debt bubble? - seems to have been answered.<BR/><BR/>The Institute for Supply Management's index of the all-important services sector fell abruptly in January to 41.9, from 54.4 in December, <B>indicating that the sector is shrinking outright</B>.<BR/><BR/>Private-sector services account for nearly 70 percent of U.S. economic output and have been the engine of growth during the past seven years as manufacturing increasingly moved overseas.<BR/><BR/>"That was really a crunching number, <B>a recessionlike number</B>," said Lex Hoogduin, chief economist at the Dutch fund manager Robeco.<BR/><BR/>Hoogduin, who takes comfort from data showing an uptick in the manufacturing sector, said the services numbers had prompted him to rate a recession at nearly an even shot, up from about a 30 percent chance before.<BR/><BR/><B>The ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort index has just dropped to its lowest reading since November 1993, capping a monthlong decline that eerily mirrored drops before recessions in 1990 and 2001.</B><BR/><BR/>"They don't ring a bell when a recession starts, but that tinkling sound seems to be getting louder," said Kevin Logan, an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York.<BR/><BR/>"Some shift is taking place in January and February that wasn't evident in 2007."<BR/><BR/>And it is true that businesses and consumers have suffered through a blizzard of bad news since the year began, with President George W. Bush and others calling for a stimulus plan to rescue the economy, an emergency inter-meeting rate cut by the Federal Reserve and more pain from financial markets.<BR/><BR/>Seeing this, it is very likely that consumers and businesses are doing what they classically do in a recession: deferring decisions and consumption. This can combine with what is happening in credit in a dangerously self-reinforcing way.<BR/><BR/>An increasing number of American businesses and consumers will be finding credit harder to come by. The great piggy bank called home is definitely tapped out, with declining house prices and banks' unwillingness to extend more credit making further borrowing difficult.<BR/><BR/>Look no further for confirmation than the Fed's January senior loan officer survey, <B>which showed less demand for loans and less desire to make them on easy terms</B>, both to consumers and businesses.<BR/><BR/>Banks do not want to lend both because do not have the money, having already lent and lost too much, and because they are turning downbeat about overall prospects for the people they lend to.<BR/><BR/>Banks, too, are subject to huge evolving risks, not least the crisis among bond insurance companies, that could be causing them to preserve capital even more aggressively.<BR/><BR/>So-called monoline bond insurers, which insure structured financings and municipal bonds, are at risk of downgrades from ratings agencies that could touch off yet another round of losses and write-downs by banks.<BR/><BR/>In a week of incredible stories, maybe the most amazing was that Fitch Ratings was reviewing 172,326 bond issues after putting on a negative watch the triple-A ratings of one such insurer, MBIA.<BR/><BR/><B>Banks own about $615 billion of structured securities insured by monolines, according to Marc Chandler of Brown Brothers Harriman. A downgrade to double-A would force a write-down of $20 billion to $25 billion, while one to a single-A rating would require $140 billion to $150 billion, according to Chandler.</B><BR/><BR/>Besides hitting credit, this could undermine a stock market that is already looking vulnerable at these levels if we head into recession.<BR/><BR/>If American consumers really take a close look at their finances, they may not just defer spending but cut back hard.<BR/><BR/>Paul Kasriel of Northern Trust in Chicago points out that from 1929 to 1998 U.S. households had been in deficit in only six years, including two during the Depression and several after World War II when there was finally stuff to buy with money they had been forced to save.</I><BR/><BR/>Looks like trickle down economics and the ignorance of Bushco is finally coming home to roost in the US economy. No more bubbles to inflate and lie about how well everything is, like the reichwing has done since ronnie began his fraud perpetrated on us all.<BR/><BR/>Looks like milty fraudman should have just stayed out of things he really didn't understand.<BR/><BR/>and looks like the reichwing and CONServatives are gonna spend another 40 years in the wilderness, hope they actually learn something THIS time, because their 1932-1952 time was wasted. (They just tried to over throw FDR with the Smedley plan, help Hitler come to power and some even aided Hitler while the US was at war with him. (a certain <I>worst pResident ever's grand-poppy</I> anyone?)<BR/><BR/>I just wonder how they will LIE again and try to blame <I>the Clenis</I> for Greenspan and Bush's incompetence? (Like they ALWAYS tyry to do.)clifhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01789324243613548212noreply@blogger.com