Making Flippy-Floppy--McSame's Convention Manager
Gone With The Wind

At 4:13 Josh posts:05.10.08 -- 4:13PM // link |HECKUVA JOB ...McCain taps former lobbyist for[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OpenLeft-FrontPage/~3/288090774/showDiary.do

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Sexism On Parade

Guest post by GreyIt was just a matter of time. First came the nutcracker; then they called her "sister Frigidaire," crazy, grossly ruthless and a shrill, petulant, whiny spoiled brat. Hillary Clinton is such a girl that her voice makes "a politically[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=27653

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

All Muck is Local: The Pretender

For the past several months, a mayoral race has been quietly unfolding on the Northern edge of Dallas County, in Carrollton, Texas. For incumbent Becky Miller, the main issues were transportation and air quality; opponent Ron Branson's was illegal immigration.

Miller was always a politician with an eccentric edge-- she rode a mustang in the 2007 Dallas Gay Pride parade. She liked young people, and she liked to party (at least, she used to). After she was elected in 2005, The Dallas Morning News wrote that Carrollton's incoming mayor spoke convincingly to teens about drugs, because she'd lived it: "'I used to be a backup singer. I sang with several different famous people,'" including Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne" she told them, and coke had been part of her rock 'n roll past.

This year, Miller seemed to be sailing to reelection. Then, Wednesday morning, the Morning News changed all that. The fight turned ugly-- and very weird.

The article revealed, in short, that Miller's tales about her past could not be corroborated. The big four knocked down by the Morning News: that Becky Miller had sung backup for Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, that she'd attended Western Kentucky University, that she was once engaged to Eagles singer-songwriter Don Henley, and that she had a brother who fought and died in the Vietnam War.

Things first began to unravel for Miller when Branson made inquiries into the story he had heard about Miller's dead brother. When things didn't quite add up, Branson questioned Miller about it, and the Morning News picked it up. Miller declared, bizarrely, that the tale had all been part of a plot to ensnare her rival:

Mrs. Miller admitted falsely telling Mr. Branson that an 18-year-old killed in Vietnam in 1968 was her brother. She said she deliberately conveyed the name of that soldier, Randolph Sampson, through a friend because she hoped Mr. Branson would use it and she could "catch him in a lie, get him to push this forward" and sue him for slander.

Mr. Branson said that after learning that the Web site the wall-usa.com listed the Army private first class as a "Negro," he informed a supporter of Mrs. Miller, who is white.

Mr. Branson provided the mayor's e-mailed reply: "The information on his being Negro is obvious [sic] a mistake, and those things happen from time to time."

"I took that as verification that she was saying this was her brother," Mr. Branson said.

Mrs. Miller said she misinformed Mr. Branson "out of anger" and "bad judgment."

Of course, it doesn't help Miller's convoluted explanation that her father, Edward Sampson, told reporters that he did have a son, who was alive and living in Maryland-- and had never been in the service. First Miller put this down to Alzheimer's, but later she changed her mind again, adding that the soldier was "not my blood brother. ... My mother did not have him." Then, in a letter to the Morning News, in which she attempted to address the paper's accusations, she said enough was enough:

My personal losses during the Vietnam war are exactly that. No one should be expected to put their personal grief on public display during an election. I certainly never brought this up as an issue.

And what of Don Henley, Jackson, Linda, Bonnie, and Western Kentucky U? Don's longtime rep told the Morning News, "Don said he's never heard of her, doesn't know her, certainly was never engaged to her." The story almost comes full circle when you look back through the archive of the local paper, the Carrollton Leader, where Miller explained in a May, 2007 story on her remarkable past that she'd become a backup singer by way of her brother, who was a songwriter for the Eagles.

Western Kentucky University echoed Don's claim of total ignorance:

Mrs. Miller states on her campaign Web site that she attended Western Kentucky University. Laura Dilliha, student records specialist there, said the school has no record of her having been a student. Mrs. Miller's former husband said that he attended Western Kentucky but that Mrs. Miller did not.

Mrs. Miller said Monday that she attended the school for about two months in 1968.

Ms. Dilliha said Tuesday, "Any time after two weeks, we do have a record ... unless they were dropped by the university for failure to pay."

As for the singers, it seems fitting that Jackson's great hit of the late 70s-- the very time Miller placed herself to be touring with him-- was The Pretender.

Of the various explanations Miller employed, the best was kept for Jackson and Linda. When informed that the singers didn't remember employing anyone of Miller's description, nor did they remember Miller's name (or the last names of her first two husbands), Miller responded:"Maybe I was going by a different name. Did you think about that?" At first she declined to offer what the name or names might be ("I'm not going to tell you what they are. You have to find that out."), but finally she acquiesced: Pinky. None of the singers remembered that one either. Ronstadt added that she hadn't employed any female backup singers during the period Miller said she'd toured with her.

Unfortunately for Miller, the voters of Carrolltown seem to prefer that their mayor's colorful past be verifiable. Miller, who'd been ahead by nine points in early voting, lost reelection yesterday.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Air Cindy

McCain is basically haggling over the definition of "is," when it comes to campaign finance law. Not exactly the position Mr. Campaign Finance should be taking. Though it's consistent with the way he went into the public finance system in order to secure a multi-million dollar loan, then pulled out so he could raise even more money, and now is talking about going back in since no one is donating to his campaign. McCain cutting the corners on ethics, yeah, no one could have predicted that. Keating Five anyone? More from the NYT:

Cindy McCain said Thursday that she would never release her personal income tax filing even if her husband, Senator John McCain, was elected president. But Federal Aviation Administration records indicate that she appears to be using her personal wealth to help his campaign, through the continued use of her corporate jet.

The New York Times reported last month that during a crucial five-month period Mr. McCain?s campaign regularly used a corporate jet owned by the Phoenix-based beer distributor that Mrs. McCain heads, saving the campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars. His campaign pays rates well below market ones for the plane?s use because of an unresolved exemption in a recent campaign finance law that Mr. McCain backed.

According to public records, the campaign has continued to use the plane, even as Mr. McCain, of Arizona, became the presumed Republican nominee and his campaign?s finances have improved. In late April, for instance, the plane landed in Selma and Birmingham, Ala., at the same time he was there as part of his tour of impoverished areas. It also landed last month in New Orleans just before Mr. McCain?s appearances there....

Mr. McCain has said his campaign?s method of reimbursing his wife?s company for the plane is legal, and no one disputes that. But critics have argued that Mrs. McCain is effectively subsidizing her husband?s campaign because either she or her company has to make up for the difference between what his campaign pays for the jet?s use and what it really costs to operate it.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Saturday Night Live Satirizes Hillary' Arguments
for Nomination

video details and more

Hat Tip to Black Women in Europe, an excellent blog about some striking efforts.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

The Diplomatic Art Of Listening

In Nietzche's Beyond Good and Evil, Chapter 4, entitled Epigrams and Interludes, contains one of my favorite philosophical musings: "In music, the passions enjoy themselves." One of my political philosophy professors -- who also happened to have[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://firedoglake.com/2008/05/11/the-diplomatic-art-of-listening/

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Happy Mother's Day to All

video details and more

It's Mother's Day.

I'm thankful my mother is still alive. Although, after 3 years in a nursing home and 5 years in assisted living before that, it's a greater struggle each year to help her enjoy this special day given her rapidly advancing dementia and the physical toll of Parkinsons's Disease. She still laughs, enjoys corned beef sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies and lights up like she won the lottery when I bring her any kind of chocolate or ice cream. She loves the white orchard plant I bring every Mother's Day and the flowers my sister sends from 2,000 miles away, as well as the nightgowns. Another of her favorites is having me read her mother's day cards aloud over and over.

Then it's time for my mother's day with the TL kid. [More...]

What's Mothers' Day without pictures of the kids who made us mothers? Here are some of my favorites of the TL kid, in chronological order, taken in Denver, Florence, Italy and New York City.

The TL kid has been on vacation this week since finding out last week he passed the Colorado Bar exam. I'll pick him up at the airport mid-afternoon and then we'll do our own celebration.

But for me, the real treat will be Monday morning, when I go with him to the Colorado Supreme Court and watch him get sworn in as a lawyer -- a criminal defense lawyer -- and then in the afternoon, when I'll sit in the back of the courtroom watching him make his first court appearance with a client accused of committing a crime. If I get through both of those with no more than a tear or two, I'll be in good shape.

Sunday and Monday nights, I'll be back here blogging.

I hope your mother's day is less bitter-sweet than mine with my mother and as fulfilling as mine with my son. I'm very thankful that both my mother and son are here. As we age, this holiday takes on a greater significance each year.

Happy Mother's Day to all TalkLeft readers and thank you for choosing to make us part of your day. Special Happy Mothers Day wishes to Hillary, Mrs. Rodham and Chelsea and to Michelle Obama and her daughters and to mothers and their sons and daughters everywhere.

And for our male readers, don't forget to call your mom. It wouldn't be Mothers Day for them without at least hearing your voice.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Reuters: Situation for Burmese people "grows
worse"

It's hard to comprehend the devastation that occurred from the typhoon that hit Myanmar last week. But, the response has been beyond appalling. The government actually held elections this weekend -- against the backdrop of unbelievable horrors affecting the Burmese people. And, Reuters reports the situation is deteriorating:

Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis headed out of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta in search of food, water and medicine, but aid workers said on Sunday that thousands will die if emergency supplies don't get through soon.

Buddhist temples and schools on the outskirts of the storm's trail of destruction are now makeshift refugee centers.

The U.N. humanitarian agency said in a new assessment that between 1.2 million and 1.9 million were struggling to survive in the aftermath of the storm that struck eight days ago.

"Given the gravity of the situation including the lack of food and water, some partners have reported fears for security, and violent behavior in the most severely afflicted areas," the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

It said "the number of deaths could range from 63,290 to 101,682, and 220,000 people are reported to be missing". It said "acute environmental issues" posed a threat to life and health.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

If an Iranian Weapon Bust Turns Out Not To Be
IranianDoes Anyone Hear A Sound

The Washington Monthly: (h/t Bill W)IRAN’S WEAPONS….Tina Susman of the LA Times reports that Iranian involvement in Iraq’s civil war may not be everything it’s been cracked up to be:There was something interesting missing from Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner’s introductory remarks to journalists at his regular news briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday: the word [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/11/if-an-iranian-weapon-bust-turns-out-not-
to-be-iraniandoes-anyone-hear-a-sound/

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

The Past And Future Election

American Presidential elections are about the future, and not the past. It's for that reason that the contrast between the junior senator from Illinois and the senior senator from Arizona is so fascinating.

The Republican National Committee is planning a $19.5 million advertising campaign to portray Mr. Obama, 46, as out of touch with the country and too inexperienced to be commander in chief, seeking to put him on the defensive before he can use his financial advantage against Mr. McCain, 71, party officials said.

"In 1984, Ronald Reagan said, ‘I’m not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience,’ " said Frank Donatelli, the deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. "Well, we are going to exploit Obama’s youth and inexperience."

On the Democratic side, Mr. Obama’s aides this week put finishing touches on advertisements intended to tether Mr. McCain to Mr. Bush and chip away at his image as a maverick, an identity that the aides said they found remained strong with voters.

"By November, every voter will know that McCain is offering a third Bush term," said Mr. Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe.

It isn't the age stuff (McCain at 72 would be the oldest President ever inaugurated, and as he put it himself, he's a man of "the twentieth century, my century"; Obama would be a year older than Bill Clinton was when Clinton took office.) It isn't character (McCain made it to the top the Republican way: he cheated on his first wife and married a Sugar Momma, who still finances his political ambitions; see McCain campaign violates own travel policy and the issue of Cindy McCain's tax returns.) No, it's none of that. It's the important stuff, issues in the real world that affect all of us. As David Gergen put it:

"The next president will inherit the most difficult agenda since the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt," he warned.

Gergen stressed that a continuation of current policies would likely result in the decline of America while Japan, China and India may become superpowers within the next few decades. Whether the U.S. will remain one is questionable, he said, especially if our policies remain static.

According to Gergen, America not only needs to change its policies, but revolutionize them. In addition, problems including two extensive wars, the education system and job growth require solving, not "sugar-coating."

It is in this regard that the contrast is so striking. So, let's look at the three issues Americans have identified as "most important" to them.

Iraq (statements from Foreign Affairs):

Obama:
To renew American leadership in the world, we must first bring the Iraq war to a responsible end and refocus our attention on the broader Middle East. Iraq was a diversion from the fight against the terrorists who struck us on 9/11, and incompetent prosecution of the war by America's civilian leaders compounded the strategic blunder of choosing to wage it in the first place. We have now lost over 3,300 American lives, and thousands more suffer wounds both seen and unseen.

McCain:
Whether success grows closer or more distant over the coming months, it is clear that Iraq will be a central issue for the next U.S. president. Democratic candidates have promised to withdraw U.S. troops and "end the war" by fiat, regardless of the consequences. To make such decisions based on the political winds at home, rather than on the realities in the theater, is to court disaster. The war in Iraq cannot be wished away, and it is a miscalculation of historic magnitude to believe that the consequences of failure will be limited to one administration or one party. This is an American war, and its outcome will touch every one of our citizens for years to come.

That is why I support our continuing efforts to win in Iraq. It is also why I oppose a preemptive withdrawal strategy that has no Plan B for the aftermath of its inevitable failure and the greater problems that would ensue.

So who's right? Hint: not John McCain. Writing this month in Foreign Affairs, Steven Simon notes in The Price of the Surge (bolded mine):

Unfortunately, such claims misconstrue the causes of the recent fall in violence and, more important, ignore a fatal flaw in the strategy. The surge has changed the situation not by itself but only in conjunction with several other developments: the grim successes of ethnic cleansing, the tactical quiescence of the Shiite militias, and a series of deals between U.S. forces and Sunni tribes that constitute a new bottom-up approach to pacifying Iraq. The problem is that this strategy to reduce violence is not linked to any sustainable plan for building a viable Iraqi state. If anything, it has made such an outcome less likely, by stoking the revanchist fantasies of Sunni Arab tribes and pitting them against the central government and against one another. In other words, the recent short-term gains have come at the expense of the long-term goal of a stable, unitary Iraq.

Despite the current lull in violence, Washington needs to shift from a unilateral bottom-up surge strategy to a policy that promotes, rather than undermines, Iraq's cohesion. That means establishing an effective multilateral process to spur top-down political reconciliation among the major Iraqi factions. And that, in turn, means stating firmly and clearly that most U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Iraq within two or three years. Otherwise, a strategy adopted for near-term advantage by a frustrated administration will only increase the likelihood of long-term debacle.

Of course, McCain (the so-called military expert) hasn't been pinned down for a response about this, which qualifies as an example of Gergen's "sugar coating":

"So the Pentagon would maintain a team of 'military analysts' who reliably 'carry their water' -- yet who were presented as independent analysts by the television and cable networks. By feeding only those pro-Government sources key information and giving them access -- even before responding to the press -- only those handpicked analysts would be valuable to the networks, and that, in turn, would ensure that only pro-Government sources were heard from.

Hmmm... well, let's turn to another topic of import: health reform.

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!