Three leading candidates whove had it pretty easy

post from Crooks and Liars on 13 February 2008 08:21:42 AM. © Crooks and Liars

Hoping to instill doubt about Barack Obama?s general-election viability, Clinton pollster Mark Penn raised an interesting point the other day.?She has consistently shown an electoral resiliency in difficult situations that have made her a winner,? Mr. Penn said. ?Senator Obama has in fact never had a serious Republican challenger.?That?s certainly true. In 2000, he unsuccessfully [...]

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etty-easy/

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Derrick Ashong Speaks Out

post from The Osterley Times on 13 February 2008 08:13:00 AM. © The Osterley Times

When people say that Obama's supporters, especially the youngsters he attracts, are more interested in style rather than substance, this young man's response to penetrative questions from a journalist seems to put paid to that lie.

video details and more

He has also posted a response to the YouTube reaction his video has generated.

video details and more

Tags: Derrick Ashong, Barack Obama, US election 2008

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http://the-osterley-times.blogspot.com/2008/02/derrick-ashong-speaks-out.html

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Buh-Bye

post from Eschaton on 13 February 2008 08:06:00 AM. © Eschaton

Ha ha.

U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D) conceded a short time ago after losing to Prince George's County lawyer Donna F. Edwards.

Wynn, who had served in the 4th District for eight terms, had been targeted by an aggressive advertisement campaign, funded in part with hundreds of thousands of dollars from national labor groups and liberal organizations. The effort apparently convinced voters that Wynn had fallen out of step with his overwhelmingly Democratic district during his 15 years in Congress.

"The deed is done," Wynn told reporters at a Lanham union hall where his supporters had gathered after the polls closed. "I think the only thing that remains is to support the winner."

Edwards, speaking to her supporters at Largo hotel, said: "Today the voters went to the polls looking for a change, and they went out there looking for new leadership. They found what they were looking for in this campaign."

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Question of the Day: R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

post from My Left Wing - Front Page on 13 February 2008 08:05:51 AM. © My Left Wing - Front Page

The topics of name-calling and civility have been debated and discussed recently here, and in other corners of the North American blogosphere. Whether you come down on the side of absolute free speech, absolute politeness or some squishy middle ground, it can be agreed that there have been some things written here which we would not want directed at ourselves or our loved ones.

I feel strongly about respect. I try very hard in real life and on line to treat people with the same degree of respect I'd like to receive. I know I'm not always successful, but I make an effort. I do this not just to keep from offending the person with whom I'm interacting, but because I don't like myself very much when I'm hostile. A degree of righteous indignation is wonderful, even healthy, but I try to debate without getting angry, and if that fails, without demeaning or personally attacking the person who has pushed my buttons.

This was also my tactic when raising my kids. When they misbehaved, I was always careful to distinguish my feelings about their actions from my feelings about them. I also refrained from punishing them when I was angry, because it's really hard to make the punishment fit the offense when you're ready to throttle the little brat for drawing all over your freshly painted walls with permanent marker.

I always get the creeps when I hear parents say to kids: "You're not sad, you're just mad," or "You can't be angry about that," or the ever-popular: "Stop crying, you're not hurt."
To deny a child the right to feel his or her own feelings strikes me as an invasion of privacy and a denial of the child's basic sense of self.

So I was vaguely disturbed when I turned on Good Morning America Monday morning and saw a child standing on a street corner with tears pouring down his face. He was holding a sign, apparently made by his mother, which read something to the effect of: "I was rude to my teacher. I can't come to school. I am sorry," and on the reverse: "I will make good choices."

Part of me hates to see a seven-year-old subjected to that kind of public humiliation. I wonder if it will teach him the intended lesson, or just drive his anger deeper within, where it will be released later, after it has had time to fester and grow.

The other part of me applauds the mother for taking a stand, not condoning her child's rude behavior, and having the expectation that he can and will treat his teacher, and by extension, other people, with respect.

If it were my child, I probably would have expected him to make an apology to the teacher, both in person, and in writing, but I don't think I could ever have forced him to hold a sign on a street corner shaming him for all to see. Maybe I'm not tough enough. Maybe it's more important to me that my kids and I have a long-term relationship built on trust, than I teach them an indelible lesson by humiliating them.

There has also been an increase in this type of punishment being imposed by judges. A judge in Atlanta ordered two women convicted of shoplifting from their local Wal-Mart to stand in front of the store and hold up signs advertising their criminal status. The sentence was changed when Wal-Mart objected. Other judges have imposed sentences such as inviting burglary victims into the thief's home and allowing them to take whatever they want, and forcing convicted johns to sweep the streets in high prostitution areas while the public watches.

I agree with this blogger who said:

While we appreciate creative sentencing appropriate to the crime, we feel the hair on the back of our neck standing up when we see these sentencing orders that appear to enhance the "toughness" of the Judge at the expense of the remaining dignity of a convicted defendant.

Such punishments seem to be a return to the days of the public stocks and the scarlet "A," and are designed more to humiliate the offender than to rehabilitate him or her. There may be a powerful deterrent effect to these sentences, but does debasement of petty criminals serve us well as a society?

A young man who was a high school classmate of my eldest died last week in Iraq. They weren't friends, but it was a small school, and they had a passing acquaintance. When I called my son to let him know, he was very quiet, and uncharacteristically ended our conversation with, "I love you, Mom."

I may have failed as a "tough love" parent, but I prefer to teach by example, rather than by making an example of my kids. I hope they both outlive me by many, many years, and I hope when they look back on their childhood, it is with with fond memories, not thoughts of being subjected to shame and ridicule.

What's your take on the public humiliation punishments? Creative or cruel? Is there a difference in imposing them on kids versus adults?

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http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=20889

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We Need a Constitutional Democratic Party

post from Firedoglake on 13 February 2008 08:00:30 AM. © Firedoglake

The Constitution and the principle that no one is above the law suffered a numbing setback, Tuesday, when every Republican Senator, Joe Lieberman and 18 or so faux Democrats voted to gut the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, one of the most important[...]

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A GUEST POST FROM MARTIN HEINRICH, DEMOCRATIC
CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS IN NEW MEXICO

post from DownWithTyranny! on 13 February 2008 08:00:00 AM. © DownWithTyranny!

MY STORY, OUR LIBERTIES

by Martin Heinrich

When my father was just a boy, his parents fled Nazi Germany and immigrated to the United States. The older I get the more I realize how much that history shaped my dad's world view and informed the values he and my mother taught me.

At an early age, I gained a real appreciation for our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our civil liberties. In my family, patriotism wasn't just about how high you could fly the flag, but rather how effectively you could live up to the democratic ideals that our flag and our country represent.

The Telecom Amnesty provision in the FISA legislation currently before Congress threatens those liberties we all hold so dear. If the Senate FISA bill passes, illegal spying programs will never be investigated and lawbreakers will never be prosecuted.

We all know too well what this means. It means that a company that broke the law and listened in on the phone conversations of millions of innocent Americans can not be prosecuted. It means that a company that illegally intercepted millions of faxes and emails sent by innocent Americans can not be prosecuted. And, it means that a company that illegally stored those faxes, emails and phone calls in a massive database is also immune from prosecution.

I believe that the House's RESTORE Act must be passed. The House bill provides the government with the resources it needs to keep our country safe and ensures that those who violate our civil liberties can be prosecuted. The Senate bill grants amnesty to lawbreakers and ensures that the Bush administration's illegal spying programs will never be investigated and the guilty parties will never be brought to justice.

Unfortunately, some House Democrats are thinking about siding with the Republicans on this critical piece of legislation. This is exactly why America needs more and better Democrats in Congress who will stand up for our values and vote to preserve the Constitution and the rule of law.

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http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/02/guest-post-from-martin-heinrich.html

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Hillary Clinton’s Trifecta

post from All Spin Zone on 13 February 2008 07:52:00 AM. © All Spin Zone

Boy, Barack Obama pulled off a trifecta in the Beltway yesterday, inning those elections by an average of over thirty points. But Hillary Clinton's trifecta is more impressive and says more about the state of this campaign. Three more campaign workers "resigned" yesterday, and Hillary Clinton is just a wee bit petulent on the campaign trail.

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http://allspinzone.com/wp/2008/02/13/hillary-clintons-trifecta/

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Despite All The BushshitBullshit, Women in Iraq
Still Suffer

post from Cut to the Chase: Zapping & Snapping The Zeitgeist on 13 February 2008 07:39:00 AM. © Cut to the Chase: Zapping & Snapping The Zeitgeist

Ashley Wright details some of the terrible stuff happening in Iraq that particularly target women. Mind you, before our invasion in March 2003, Iraq was perhaps the most "progressive" of the Islamic cultures toward women. But we put a stop to that! Just like Bush claimed we attacked Afghanistan to "help the women and let girls go to school" while women are at more risk there than ever before, and many (most?) girls have again disappeared from schools under threat of death.

How the bloody hell did we make Iraq even worse than it was under a brutal dictator like Saddam Hussein? Sadly, the answer falls under the category of our own brutal dictators, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.Media, Politics, United States, World, War, Terrorism, Propaganda, Constitution, Vermont, US.

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Cold War Rhetoric

By Cernig

I think we can safely assume the Cold War is back on again.

America has announced a third antimissile base in Europe will be built - probably in Turkey. This will continue the "accidental" encirclement of Russia by US anti-missile systems, ostensibly to guard against non-existant threats from Iran and North Korea. The US says it is surprised at the Russian reaction.

Russia is conducting long-range bomber patrols and full fleet exercises again - including overflights of US bases and carrier groups - and expresses puzzlement at the American reaction.

For those who weren't old enough to experience it first-hand, expressing puzzlement while carrying out provocative acts and attempting to out-manouver the other was a defining hallmark of the original Cold War. The inability to talk straight to each other ended up being the main reason the Cold War perpetuated itself. So we're back to that again. Nice.

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http://cernigsnewshog.blogspot.com/2008/02/cold-war-rhetoric.html

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The Morning News

From Yahoo News Top Stories1 Iraqi threatens to disband parliamentBy QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 56 minutes agoBAGHDAD - The speaker of Iraq's fragmented parliament threatened Tuesday to disband the legislature, saying it is so[...]

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