Hillary wins South Dakota

Tuesday! What a day, right? Okay. Let's start out with some of the good. Hillary has apparently won South Dakota. She's leading and there's more votes to come in but she's got a strong lead so she's got the state. I'm looking at the precents not reporting yet at the official South Dakota page and I know we hit those areas so I don't think there will be an upset. I feel safe calling South Dakota for Hillary.

Second, we saw the press was a bunch of liars again. Hillary did not withdraw from the race tonight. In her speech she said she'd be making no decision tonight.

Third, all areas have now voted. So put the electoral map up and look at who is the strongest candidate: Hillary.

(I'm not commenting on Montana unless I find out the results. I'm not ignoring it, there just aren't an results in. I was in Montana for one day with Ava, C.I. and Kat. Based on one day of speaking to voters, I really don't have anything to judge by. South Dakota, we were here over and over, day after day.)

Fourth, in Canada, the House of Commons voted to grant war resisters Safe Harbor. It's non-binding but thought that to deport Corey Glass now would be going against the will of the people. So that's really great news. C.I.'s got all of the Canada stuff in the snapshot.

So what a roller coster day. A thrill ride!

C.I. was focused and steady as a rock all day. Ava seemed tense between speaking things but was really pulled together in front of the crowds. By lunchtime, when she was working the phone (super delegates), she was calm. But I don't know how C.I. did that. I asked Elaine and she said that's just C.I.'s nature. The things make most of us bite our nails and sweat, C.I. just walks through, cool as a cucumber.

(Elaine joked, "If they put C.I. in charge of Centcom -- not that C.I. would take it -- the White House would be winning the illegal war.")

C.I. really does have nerves of steel.

By evening, it was C.I., Ava and Elaine that were the calm ones. The rest of us were looking at the stupid articles and feeling depressed and glancing at the TV and feeling depressed. But special note for C.I. because all day, nothing could faze.

Even when we were all waiting for Hillary's speech to start and convinced she was going to conceed, C.I. didn't lose it with us, just pointed out "I spoke with __ and ___ and . . ." and that the speech wasn't a concession speech and went over what the super delegates were saying and kept saying, "There's no reason to worry tonight."

I'd love to tell you that lifted the mood but it didn't. It wasn't until we saw Hillary speak (and Marcia and Wally were already getting ready to leave then) that we all felt like, "ALRIGHT!"

Hillary is the only one who can win in November and, most important, she's the only one who can lead as a president. Four years of Hillary as president would really take the country to a better place.

Here's Howard Wolfson's "HUBdate: Election Day in South Dakota and Montana:"

Crowds in South Dakota: During the last day of campaigning in South Dakota, Hillary greeted voters across the state. "In Yankton hundreds turned out to see her. In Sioux Falls, campaign officials estimate 3,500 to 4,000 people attended the event at the W.H. Lyons Fairgrounds. Many stood outside listening to the speech on speakers." One supporter said, "I'm really impressed she's taken the time to listen to South Dakotans." Read more.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Yesterday, Tompkins County Democratic Committee Chair and New York automatic delegate Irene Stein announced her support for Hillary Clinton. Louisiana Democratic State Party Chair and automatic delegate Chris Whittington also announced his support for Hillary Clinton yesterday saying: "There is no question that she is the strongest Democrat to go toe-to-toe with John McCain in a general election. It is our responsibility as automatic delegates to choose the candidate we believe best fit to beat Senator McCain. That candidate is Senator Clinton."
An Absentee Ballot in SD: From her hospice bed six weeks ago, 88-year-old Florence Steen marked an absentee ballot for Clinton, fulfilling a life-long dream for a woman born in 1920, months before federal law guaranteed women the right to vote. When Steen died…her vote went with her…[Steen’s] dying wish will be multiplied many times in the official vote tally by people who intend to vote or have already filled out absentee ballots for Clinton, with Florence Steen in mind…The first of those votes was the most meaningful. It came from Steen's husband…He decided to do something he hadn't done in years: He voted -- also by absentee ballot -- for Clinton." Read more.
Leading the Popular Vote: According to Real Clear Politics, Hillary’s popular vote lead over Sen. Obama has grown with her Puerto Rico victory. She has won 17,916,763 votes compared to 17,723,200 for Sen. Obama when every state that has already voted is included in the tally. Read more.
Previewing Today: Hillary celebrates Election Night at Baruch College in New York City.

Best moment of the day, Elaine and C.I. pointing out that South Dakota is McGovern The Loser's home state and he was pushing Barack. He's such a loser he couldn't even deliver the state for Barack. Remember that the next time McGovern wants to 'heal' the nation. They don't even listen to him in South Dakota.

I'm worn out from the roller coaster. Thrilled it had a happy ending, but worn out. So I'll swipe from Third.

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,

Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,

Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,

C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,

Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),

Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,

Mike of Mikey Likes It!,

Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,

Ruth of Ruth's Report,

Wally of The Daily Jot,

and Marcia SICKOFITRDLZ.

Betty had to go back Sunday night (from Puerto Rico) but everyone else was working South Dakota today (and yesterday) (most of us were in Puerto Rico over the weekend). It was a lot of fun even if the ending was a nail biter. I have some great friends. And I met some great people. Hillary supporters are the best people in the world.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, US war resisters get a huge win in Canada, Iraqi women are told they are worth 20% than Iraqi men (told that by the US government), and more.

Starting with war resistance. Earlier today John Ward (Canadian Press via Nova Scotia News) reported on the vote that would take place in Canada's House of Commons this afternoon -- on whether or not to grant US war resisters safe harbor: "The House of Commons votes today on a motion uring the government to allow deserters and their families to stay in Canada as permanent residents, as was done for the draft dodgers and" deserters during Vietnam. The issue was always a pressing one but only more so after last month. May 21st US war resister and Iraq War veteran Corey Glass was informed by the Canadian government that he had until June 12th (ten days from now) to leave the country or he would be deported. LondonTopic noted that US war resisters Tim Richards, Josh Randall and Rich Droste "will be in the gallery of the House of Commons as Parliament votes on an NDP motion to allow them to stay in Canada." As Greq Quinn (Bloomberg News) reports, the motion ("non-binding") passed -- "aimed at pressuring the government to freeze deportations of U.S. soldiers who fled to Canada after refusing to fight in the war in Iraq."

As Maggie Farley (Los Angeles Times) notes that Corey "Glass and a busload of resisters came to Ottawa to watch the pivotal hearing, and cheered from the gallery when the motion passed 137-110" and Farley quotes Glass stating, "This is just great. We hope the will of the Canadian people will be carried out. We will see what happens next."


The NDP issued "NDP motion to let war resisters stay passes:"

Iraq War Resisters residing in Canada received overwhelming support from the House of Commons following today’s passage of an NDP motion to let them stay in the country.
NDP Citizenship and Immigration critic, Olivia Chow's (Trinity-Spadina) motion reflected ordinary Canadians' belief that George Bush’s war in Iraq is wrong and that resisters should not be deported to jail.
The motion calls on the Harper Conservatives to allow American war resisters who have refused or left military service related to the illegal invasion of Iraq and their immediate family members to stay in Canada and be able to become permanent residents. Furthermore, the motion would force the government to immediately withdraw any removal or deportation orders against War Resisters.
NDP MP Bill Siksay (Burnaby Douglas), moved a similar motion a year ago on May 8, 2007 at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. His motion was rejected by the Conservatives, Liberals and Bloc.
Through ongoing campaigns and mobilizations, supporters have finally been able to sway the Liberal and Bloc vote in support of the war resisters
"Ordinary people want the Iraq war resisters to stay," said Chow. "The Harper Conservatives must respect this and immediately implement this motion."


The War Resisters Support Campaign notes:

The Canadian Parliament passed an historic motion today, June 3, 2008, that calls on the Canadian government to make a program to allow US war resisters to apply for permanent resident status in Canada and to cease all deportation and removal proceedings against US war resisters.

The next step is to write to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley, and prime minister Stephen Harper to ensure that the will of Parliament is implemented.

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley
phone 613.996.4974
fax 613.996.9749
email finley.d@parl.gc.ca and finled1@parl.gc.ca

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
phone 613.992.4211
fax 613.941.6900
email pm@pm.gc.ca

The above took place with no help from Queen of the Beggars Amy Goodman who, as Mike noted yesterday, continued to refuse to even mention Corey Glass let alone war resisters. Today was day 12 of Goody's silence. Maybe she'll finally discover the story tomorrow?


There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.


Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Yesterday's snapshot noted US Maj Gen Douglas Stone's attempted Happy Talk of Iraqis imprisoned by the US. Late yesterday Anna Badkhen (San Francisco Chronicle) filed a report on the "Awakening" Council members treatment of prisoners: "Deep gashes lacerated the detainee's head. Purple bruises and scarlet abrasions covered his face and neck. His eyes were bloodshot, his arms hung limply, and he could barely walk. U.S. soldiers were forced to carry him to an Army medic." These are the thugs on the US payroll who are 'allies' (at the moment) because a few coins were tossed at them. From the April 8th snapshot when The Peraeus & Crocker Variety Hour took to their revue to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and faced questioning by Senator Barbara Boxer:


She then turned to the issue of monies and the militias, "You are asking us for millions more to pay off the militias and, by the way, I have an article here that says Maliki recently told a London paper that he was concerned about half of them" and wouldn't put them into the forces because he doubts their loyalty. She noted that $182 million a year was being paid, $18 million a month, to these "Awakening" Council members and "why don't you ask the Iraqis to pay the entire cost of that progam" because as Senator Lugar pointed out, "It could be an opportunity" for the Iraqi government "to turn it into something more long term." This is a point, she declared, that she intends to bring up when it's time to vote on the next spending supplamental. Crocker tried to split hairs.

Boxer: I asked you why they couldn't pay for it. . . . I don't want to argue a point. . . I'm just asking you why we would object to asking them to pay for that entire program giving all that we are giving them in blood and everything else?

Badken observes: "The US military pays each member $300 a month to man thousands of checkpoints throughout Iraq. The Americans have credited Sons of Iraq for the waning Sunni insurgency and the decline in sectarian violence in Baghdad. But questionable loyalties, often brutal conduct and an uncertain future make these groups a wild card in the ongoing effort to stabilize Iraq. In April, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said these U.S.-funded militias may one day 'turn their guns on us'." But that cautionary note is dismissed by the White House and, on Friday, Jim Frederick (Time Magazine) reported on the lastest twist to the "Awakening" Council: Female recruits! US Capt Michael Starz told Frederick that "this is an employment program" and that "many of the women around here are widows and have no way of supporting themselves." What a load of crap.

If the concern was providing women with opportunities, the US could have done so long ago, could have fought to protect and ensure women's rights instead of installing radical thugs in the puppet government. Most importantly, while the men make $300 a month, they're paying the women eight dollars a day -- that would be two dollars a day less than their male peers while claiming that there "are widows" who "have no way of supporting themselves." The US government wants credit for 'creating' employment opportunites for Iraqi women but the US is paying them $2 less a day than the males while claiming that the women needs these jobs because they're supporting themselves and children. Can you say "exploitation"? The real reason the US is using women, as Capt Starz readily admits is that female bombers are now an issue. The women are being trained to 'inspect' and search other women. And apparently that's not a job important enough to warrant equal pay -- at least not according to the US. And the reason for including Senator Boxer's April remarks was to make it clear that the US government is the one paying the "Awakening" Council members, nothing has changed on that since April. So the US government is sending the message in Iraq that a woman's work is worth 20% less than a male's. If that figure sounds familiar, Nancy Clark (Womens Media, link has audio) was noting that figure last year: "Women are paid 80 cents for every dollar men are paid and that does NOT include any part-time workers! If it did, it would be even lower." The women in Iraq are being asked to do the exact things the males are being asked to do and the US government is sending the message that, for the same work, it is okay to pay a woman 80 cents while paying a man a dollar. Capt Starz tells Frederick that the increase in female bombers means, "It is a critical security issue that we find a way to have women searched at high-traffic areas." It's 'critical' but, apparently, work but apparently not critical enough to offer the same rate of pay. Repeating, US tax dollars are paying for this program. (US Ambassador Ryan Crocker repeatedly bragged in April, before Congress, that paying them off meant attacks on US service members was down. It's the hand-over-your-lunch-money-to-the-bully-and-you'll-be-safe-in-the-playground 'strategy.') Should it be funded by the US? I don't think so but as long as the US funds it, it certainly doesn't need to endorse gender discrimination. But that is what's taking place.

Yesterday, US Maj Gen Jeffery Hammond held a Baghdad press conference. In it he noted that the resistance and others were "using unwitting women and children to execute attacks." He then goes on to cite an example, however, all examples don't hold up. Last month Erica Goode (New York Times) was reporting on the denials that the two women taking part in the Feb. 1st Baghdad bombings were mentally ill. Hammond stated that the US is in Iraq "to protect the people." If the US government is going to pay "Awakening" Council male members $10 dollars a day and protecting the people is so important, why are Iraqi women only worth $8 a day?

Surprisingly, NPR's Tom Bowman filed no report on Hammond's press conference because Bowman had a great deal to say during that press conference.

Tom Bowman: General, it's Tom Bowman with NPR. You mentioned that there are a thousand filed claims in Sadr City. You paid out about 70,000. Can you give us a breakdown on those claims? How many for property damage? How many for injured or killed civilians?

Jeffery Hammond: Tom, I can't give you a specific -- I don't have the numbers in front of me. But I'd probably guess and say probably 85 percent is for property damage, much of that property damage coming at the hands of indirect fire that was shot from Sadr City. Much of that fell short. We had few mortar rounds that fell short in Jamila market, which I think you know is the critical market that provides much to the rest of Baghdad, and about 25 percent to one-third burned down as a result of short rounds. But probably 85 percent is paid out for propert damage -- as a result of that and just the direct combat fighting.

Hammond went on to make some fluff but quickly found out that it wasn't going to die so quickly with questions coming about this fifteen percent of "injured or killed civilians" and how this would mean "dozens, at least, of injured or killed civilians". [Anna Badkhen's Iraq dispatches for Salon are here, some of her previous Iraq reporting for the San Francisco Chronicle is here.]

Meanwhile the White House's attempt to force a treaty with their puppet government in Iraq hits a new wrinkle. AP reports: "The agreement, which both sides hope to finish in midsummer, is likely to be among the issues discussed this weekend when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is due to visit Iran - his second trip there in a year. Ahead of the visit, his party sought to calm worries by insisting that the deal would not allow foreign troops to use Iraq as a ground to invade another country - a clear reference to Iranian fears of a U.S. attack." Iran was a topic today on CNN when Kyra Phillips grabbed the first interview with Adm. William Fallon since he was ousted as Centcom Commander on CNN's American Morning. Here for video. Fallon insisted he didn't "believe for a second President Bush wants a war with Iran." Kyra Phillips asked, "Would you have done that? Would you have negotiated with Iran?" Fallon replied by repeating throughout that he didn't believe the White House "really wants to go to war with Iraqn. We have a lot of things going on." As for why he had been replaced, Fallon danced around the question even when Phillips asked it directly ("Do you feel you were pushed out, admiral?").

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing that left six civilians wounded, a Kirkuk roadside bombing wounded nine police officers, another Kirkuk roadside bombing wounded "[t]wo farmers," and a Diyala Province roadside bombing wounded ten Iraqi soldiers.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports: "Gunmen assassinated a city hall member and the public relations manager of PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) in Jamhouriyah neighborhood of Tuz Khurmatu (south of Kirkuk and north east of Tikrit). The majority of this neighborhood are Kurds."

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses discovered in Baghdad and the corpse of a young boy ("kidnapped two days ago") was found in Baquba.

Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Division -- Baghdad Soldier died from a non-battle related cause at approximately 8 a.m. June 3."


Turning to the US political race where Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vie for the party's nomination as Montana and South Dakota vote. In not at all surprising news, Barack attacks another woman but he does nothing but attack women so why is that a surprise at this late date? Wally's "THIS JUST IN! NOW HE THROWS SUPPORTERS UNDER THE BUS!" and Cedric's "Barack attacks another woman" notes this AP story by Kelley Shannon:
A Texas Democratic superdelegate who endorsed Sen. Barack Obama disputed claims Monday by state party officials and an Obama aide who say she may no longer be a superdelegate after the state party convention this weekend.Roy LaVerne Brooks of Fort Worth, vice chair of the state party, said she got a call last week from an Obama campaign worker who tried to persuade her to get out of the race for state Democratic chair against incumbent chairman Boyd Richie to avoid a divided Texas convention.
Even his own supporters aren't safe. Imagine that, Barack trying to force a woman out of a race for office. Shocking only if you've never heard of Alice Palmer.

Hillary will be in NYC this evening and there's been speculation all day and it continues. Carolyn Lochhead (San Francisco Chronicle) observes, "The inevitable will soon arrive. More interesting is Clinton's speech in Manhattan tonight. Listen very carefully. Tonight is Clinton's, even though Sen. Barack Obama will be the victor. It's an odd moment. Rest assured Obama will be bending over backward to smooth Clinton's feathers. She's got much of the Democratic base that Obama has been unable, despite weeks of bowling and waffle-eating, to win over. They are not convinced. He needs her." One Hillary will not be watching. Kevin Woster (Rapid City Journal) reports on Florence Steen who voted for Hillary via absentee ballot and passed away shortly afterward at the age of 88-years-old. Her ballot has been thrown out; however, her daughter Kathy Krause states, "I can't tell you the number of people who have come up to me and said they either changed their registration and voted for Hillary, or that they were going to vote for Hillary because they heard about all that" -- all that includes the fact that it was her mother's "life-long drream" to see a woman elected president. Cheryl Linsey Seelhoff (Women's Space) notes, "Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I have never supported Hillary Clinton’s candidacy (nor do I support Obama’s and certainly not McCain’s; I support only my own, and if not my own, then Cynthia McKinney’s), but I’m feeling Clinton very deeply these days. I think she has been made to be the focus of, and to bear up under, free-floating misogynist, sexist resentments and fears of decades and even centuries. The way she has been imagined and treated in this campaign does not bode well, not only for Clinton’s candidacy but for feminism, for the lives of girls and women everywhere."

Hill Is 44 quotes Bill Clinton:

It's part of the national media’s attempt to nail Hillary for Obama. It’s just the most biased press coverage in history. It’s another way of helping Obama. They had all these people standing up in this church cheering, calling Hillary a white racist, and he didn’t do anything about it. The first day he said ‘Ah, ah, ah well.’ Because that’s what they do-- he gets other people to slime her. So then they saw the movie they thought this is a great ad for John McCain-- maybe I better quit the church. It’s all politics. It’s all about the bias of the media for Obama. Don’t think anything about it.”
“But I’m telling ya, all it’s doing is driving her supporters further and further away-- because they know exactly what it is-- this has been the most rigged press coverage in modern history-- and the guy ought to be ashamed of himself. But he has no shame. It isn’t the first dishonest piece he’s written about me or her.”

To be clear, he's speaking on a process but also noting a specific reporter -- or thought to be -- and I am not commenting on that. I've avodied that article. Do not take the above to be agreement with that or disaggreement. Repeating, I have avoided that article. (I know Bill and Hillary and I know TSP. I'm not interested in reading the article.)


iraq
corey glassanna badkhen
erica goode
the new york times
the los angeles times
mcclatchy newspapers
kyra phillipscnn
carolyn lochheadthe san francisco chronicle
cheryl lindsey seelhoff
the daily jotcedrics big mix
mikey likes it

11 days and Amy Goodman can't say 'Corey Glass'

First, sorry! I had 23 e-mails asking why I didn't post Friday? C.I. had asked me the same thing Sunday, if I had posted. I said sure and talked about what I wrote and C.I. had a strange look but didn't say anything. Then today, I go into the e-mails and I'm thinking, "What is everyone writing about?" Turns out I hit "save draft" and not "publish"! :D I just published it. Sorry. I thought it was published. All I can tell you is that we are all so tired right now. We're working on getting out the vote in South Dakota and I think, come Wednesday, I'm going to be walking around in a stupor.

It has been busy, it has been draining and it has been fun. It really has been fun. Hanging out with everybody and working for something I really believe in.

If I didn't say it already, I am sorry that I hit the wrong button on Friday.

11 days and Amy Goodman still hasn't said one word about war resister Corey Glass. She's pathetic.

Now for a good laugh, here's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Queen Nancy Pelosi"

Aren't we all tired of Fancy Nancy? Won't impeach. Won't end the illegal war. Now she's trying to install Barack Obama as the nominee when Hillary's the winner. This is Howard Wolfson's "HUBdate: Leading The Popular Vote:"

Leading the Popular Vote: According to Real Clear Politics, Hillary's popular vote lead over Sen. Obama has grown with her Puerto victory last night. She has won 17,916,763 votes compared to 17,723,200 for Sen. Obama when every state that has already voted is included in the tally. Read more.
Victory In Puerto Rico: Hillary won the Democratic primary in Puerto Rico yesterday, capturing 68% of the vote to Sen. Obama’s 32%. Read Hillary’s remarks at the victory celebration here.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Louisiana Democratic State Party Chair and automatic delegate Chris Whittington announced his support for Hillary Clinton today saying: "There is no question that she is the strongest Democrat to go toe-to-toe with John McCain in a general election. It is our responsibility as automatic delegates to choose the candidate we believe best fit to beat Senator McCain. That candidate is Senator Clinton."
On the Air in SD and MT: The Clinton campaign began airing a 30-second spot statewide in South Dakota and Montana, highlighting Hillary's lead in the popular vote: "Tuesday, it's up you. You can join over 17 million people who've voted for a leader to fix the economy. 17 million for a Commander in Chief to bring our troops home from Iraq. 17 million who want to beat John McCain. 17 million Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton, more than for any primary candidate in history. Some say there isn't a single reason for Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee. They're right. There are over 17 million of them." Over 17 million Americans have voted for Hillary Clinton, earning her more votes than anyone in the history of Democratic primaries." View here.
SD Endorsement Watch: "In a clear display of momentum two days before the primary and on the heels of multiple visits by Hillary, Chelsea and President Clinton, the Clinton campaign in South Dakota today announced the endorsement of 17 county commissioners. These commissioners, who are endorsing Hillary because of her commitment to South Dakota, have been helping the campaign’s efforts in their counties and spreading the word about why Hillary Clinton is best prepared to be President." Read more.
Celebrating Gay Pride Month: In a statement on Sunday, Hillary recognized June as Gay Pride Month and stressed her commitment to the LGBT community: "America deserves a President who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a President who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. That is truly the promise of America."
Previewing Today: Hillary hosts "Solutions For Securing South Dakota's Future" events in Rapid City, Yankton, and Sioux Falls. In Sioux Falls, she will be joined by former President Bill Clinton and her daughter Chelsea.
On Tap: The Clinton campaign today announced that Hillary would celebrate tomorrow's election night in New York, NY.

Okay, time for Third. Along with Dallas, here is who participated (and I typed "who is here" at first, so I'm really wiped out tonight, FYI):

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim,

Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,

Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,

C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,

Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),

Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,

Mike of Mikey Likes It!,

Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz,

Ruth of Ruth's Report,

Wally of The Daily Jot,

and Marcia SICKOFITRDLZ.

And here's what we came up with:

Truest statement of the week -- This is the guy from the San Francisco Chronicle who may be the last sane person in the MSM.

Truest statement of the week II -- John Pilger is probably one of the few sane people in independent media. In fact, he's one of the few in independent media period because there is no longer an 'independent' media in this country. There is only the Barack fan club that Katrina vanden Heuvel has bought.

A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition. Along with asking me if I posted Friday, Kendall asked me if Jim was going to do a note? She was at Third when stuff was up but Ava, Jess, C.I., Dona, Ty and Jim do the note last. Ava, C.I. and Jess were already out the door and at work on turning out the vote in Puerto Rico. So Jim, Dona and Ty had to wait for a break to do the note so that Ava, C.I. and Jess could join them on the phone. (Jim, Dona and Ty stayed in South Dakota working on turning out the vote.)

Editorial: To the convention! -- I think this is a strong editorial but do understand why Jim wanted it to be a feature article. The fight should go to the convention. Neither Barack or Hillary will reach the magic number. Super delegates are not supposed to vote until the convention. The process is not being respected nor the fact that Hillary has the lead in the popular vote.

TV: Grime & Grit TV -- I love this. I really think this is just magic. Ava and C.I. always do amazing work each week but I was not expecting this. For one thing, the community's been in an uproar for months about the sexism at Danny Schechter's site. And I knew Ava and C.I. were trying to avoid it. But they ended up with a program he was a guest on and they didn't pull punches. They really are amazing.

TV: Basic cable rejects -- This is also by Ava and C.I. and it was actually one piece with the previous one. They came back after 90 minutes of writing and Jess was spooked! Because we hadn't done anything in that 90 minutes. They write longhand and had a huge number of pages in their hands. Jess grabbed it and said, "We'll make it two pieces." Ava, right away, guessed what that meant: we'd goofed off. :D We didn't mean to and we did choose a "truest" and also talk about the edition but we are all so tired. Ava and C.I. were but they still worked and this really does work as a stand alone.

War resistance ignored -- Should this have been the editorial? That was the question. We almost didn't have this. We were tired and C.I. said we had to do an article on this. Dona agreed. I was tired but my vote was "yes." We all ended up voting yes and wrote it. It turned out really great. Dallas had the idea to open with C.I.'s snapshot.

Roundtable -- Why wouldn't C.I. comment? That's the big question in my e-mails about the roundtable? Because C.I. doesn't comment on a process while the process is going on. It's bad luck, it's a jinx, etc. C.I. told me, "I'm a grown up. If I had a problem with the process and felt it wasn't worth it, I know how to not participate." So there's the comment.

What the hell's wrong with Nancy Pelosi? -- You think Fancy Nancy grasps that the same sexists tactics used to try to destroy Hillary -- ones Fancy Nancy never objected to -- could be turned around on Nancy?

Reality on the Democratic Primary -- Short post! This is an excerpt from a piece Dona found. I had to think a second because I couldn't remember us writing another piece on the primary.

Highlights -- Ruth, Betty, Kat, Marcia, Cedric, Rebecca, Wally, Elaine and I wrote this and chose the headlights except where noted otherwise.

Agustana's Sweet and Low -- Great video by a great group Agustana.

So that's going to be it tonight. I'm really wiped out and we've got to work tomorrow on turning out the vote as well.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Monday, June 2, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces another death, Australia pulls out 'combat' troops, Canada's Parliament gets ready to vote on a war resisters measure and more.


Starting with war resistance. May 21st US war resister and Iraq War veteran Corey Glass was informed by the Canadian government that he had until June 12th (ten days from now) to leave the country or he would be deported. Trashy filth Amy Goodman still hasn't 'informed' her declining audience about that development. But then, Goody's never mentioned Corey Glass. In fact, she'll soon be hitting the two year mark since she last sat down with a war resister. But let's all pretend Goodman has something to offer. (And, while we're at it, we can pretend that latest 'book' is actually selling.) Saturday John Hagan (Globe & Mail) pointed out, "The Liberals' Bob Rae recently joined the NDP's Olivia Chow and others in urging Parliament to pass a motion allowing American Iraq war resisters, such as Corey Glass, to stay in Canada. Last week, Mr. Glass was refused refugee status and became the first Iraq war resister to be scheduled for deportation." That is important but what Hagan did next was as well. Over and over, the lie is repeated that, during Vietnam, Canada welcomed "draft dodgers" and, even 'helpers' sometimes add, 'we don't have a draft today.' Hagan walks the idiots through slowly explaining "draft dodgers" and "deserters" and how both were welcome in Canada and, most importantly, "References to 'dodgers' and 'deserters' had no legal meaning in Canada. The Immigration Act made no reference of any kind to military service as grounds for prohibiting entry to Canada." Michele Mandel (Edmonton Sun) reports that "the estimated 200 Iraq war resisters who have sought haven here will be watching a historic Parliamentary vote that could be their last hope. The motion, with the support of all three opposition parties, asks the government of Candad to stop removal orders and allow conscientious objectors 'who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations' to apply for permanent resident status." Mandel reports that US war resister and Iraq War resister Phil McDowell will be present to see how the vote goes and he explains, "I was a good soldier, I was promoted quickly. It was just a moral decision. It was a tough thing to do, to stand up and say I disagreed with the war." Andrea Woo (Vancouver's Metro News) quotes Ann Wright on the impending vote, "The vote in the Canadian parliament about whether or not war resisters can stay is really monumental. It's important not just for the individuals who will be affected by it, but also on another level for the conscience of Canada." Wright is a retired US Army Col and also a US diplomat retired from the US State Dept. She was in Canada to speak at a rally Sunday for female war resisters. Chantal Eustace (Vancouver Sun) notes that Wright entered the country with no problems. Previously Canada had turned Wright away due to the US government putting her on a 'watch list' due to civil disobedience.

You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (http://us.f366.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.

In the US Friday, war resister Ryan Jackson faced a court-martial. At Courage to Resist, his attorney James Branum explains:

At the hearing, we argued that Ryan's actions were an act of civil disobedience that stemmed from his belief that all war is wrong and Ryan himself gave a moving statement in which he expressed his own views on the immorality of war and the necessity of breaking the law for the sake of conscience. At today's court-martial hearing at Ft. Gordon, GA, Conscientious Objector Ryan Jackson was given a sentence of 100 days in prison. With time already served, he has only 29 days remaining! Ryan was also sentenced to a Bad Conduct Discharge, demotion to E-1 (private), and reduction to 2/3 pay for multiple specifications of being AWOL (as well as minor count of having postive drug test for marijuana). You can find pictures taken after his court-martial, pictures from a vigil/protest held in Ryan's behalf by local Augusta residents, and the text of a statement that Ryan wrote while in prison for his supporters here.


There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).


Meanwhile foreign troops leave Iraq kind of. Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) reports, "The Austrailian flag was lowered Sunday at the ceremony in Dhi Qar province. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was elected in November, had pledged during campaigning to end his country's frontline military role in Iraq." Nick Squires (Telegraph of London) reports that Australia's Prime Minister made "an admission that will make uncomfortable reading in London and Washington, the Labour leader dismissed one-by-one the reasons used by his predecessor, John Howard, to join the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq five years ago" and quotes Rudd asking, "Have futher terrorist attacks been prevented? No, they have not been, as the victims of the Madrid train bombing will attest. Has any evidence of a link between weapons of mass destruction and the former Iraqi regime and terrorists been found? No."
Today the US military announced: "A Multi-National Force -- West Soldier died as the result of a non-combat related incident June 1." John Howard pouted publicly. CNN quotes him stating, "If I had been returned at the last election we would not have been bringing (troops) home" -- what a crowd pleasing message! Australia's ABC reports: "Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says Australia has to withdraw its combat troops from Iraq because the Defence Force (ADF) is over-stretched. Mr Fitzgibbon says all Australian combat troops in southern Iraq will be home by the end of the month. He says the number of troops in Iraq was unsustainable."

Australia's ABC notes (audio link), "5 years, 1 month and 13 days after the Iraq War began, Australia's combat role there officially came to an end in the early hours of this morning. The 550 combat troops are expected back in Australia for a welcome home parade at the end of this month. The Prime Minister today gave genuine thanks that no Australian soldier has been killed in battle. Kevin Rudd marked the lowering of the Australian flag in Iraq by addressing Federal Parliament and by attacking the former government for taking the nation into war based on flawed intelligence. 27 Australians were wounded over the combat period which has come at a cost of 2.3 billion dollars to the Australian tax payer."

Jake Kovco, Jacob Bruce Kovco, died in Iraq. He did not die in combat. He died . . . Well no investigation really ever got to that, did they? Amazing when DNA samples are ignored. Jake Kovco was 25-years-old when he was killed April 21, 2006. His coffin was shipped home to Australia . . . but he wasn't in it. The disrespect continued throughout the board of inquiry over the summer of 2006 when the 'tears' of whiney government officials were judged more significant than the tears of the loved ones. It was a joke -- as we noted in real time -- and last April's 'investigation' was even more so however it did reveal what a joke the 2006 inquiry was. Dan Box (The Australian): "The army has known since the first day of the military inquiry into Jake Kovco's death that a warrant officer from his unit allegedly intimidated witnesses about theire evidence, yet failed to make the claims public." Australia's Labor Party is trumpeting the withdrawal by noting, "Labor made a firm commitment to the Australian people that it would bring our combat troops home from Iraq and today it has fulfilled that commitment."

Of course, all Australian troops are not leaving, just "combat troops." AP notes, "Several hundred other troops will remain in Iraq to act as security and headquarters liaisons and to guard diplomats.

Meanwhile US Major General Douglas Stone held a press conference in Baghdad yesterday where he happy talked his way through the Iraqi prisoners being held by US forces. "First of all," he stated, "the detainees are given the right to have their case reviewed every six months." Huh? How would they do that? They can't contact their family and the majority are not represented by an attorney. What kind of review is that? "Please, US military holding me, will you rethink it?" "No." Is that the review? The prisoners are actually, Stone was proud of this, getting a review "a little bit above four months." He claimed 50 were being released a day, "a little bit above 50," and last month "it has been 52." The prisoners are allowed to go before a board. Prisoners never offered a trial by jury. Prisoners held by the US military who can appeal before a US military board. He state there were only "15 women in detention" and the figure flies in the face of other estimates. But it's an official number and the US military has refused to give one for most of the illegal war. The US has several prisons throughout Iraq that they maintain and, as a reporter pointed out, "there are 14 women in Cropper" and "Nobody has looked at their cases yet. They have not been sent to trial or to the courts and then there is delay."

The month of May ended Saturday so it was time to rush out end of the month reports at most outlets. (Most curious was seeing one outlet that generally provides their own numbers instead go with the US distributed ones.) The Los Angeles Times' Saif Rasheed provided the best overview of 'progress' noting an encounter he had with a member of Iraq's parliament in Baghdad:

Last week, I saw him for the first time since I returned to Baghdad. He was at the convention center where the parliament meets for sessions. After I finished interviewing him, he told me: "So you returned to Baghdad?"I said: "Yes, after my work visa was rejected, I moved back to Baghdad." He said: "It is better that you and your family have returned because Iraq needs educated and opened-minded people like yourself. The only people left in Iraq are the religious, sectarian-minded ones." Then he talked about how his family was still abroad. I thought to myself since it was "better" for me to stay here with my family, shouldn't he do the same?


And 'progress' also includes destroying Baghdad's Jewish community. Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reported Sunday that the 1300,000 person community has "now all but vanished in a land where their heritage recedes back to Abraham of Ur, to Jonah's prophesying to Nineveh, and to Nebuchadnezzar's sending Jews into exile here more than 2,500 years ago." The estimates are seven to eight Jews remaining in Baghdad today.

Meanwhile McClatchy's Leila Fadel posts some Iraqi political comics at Baghdad Observer that probably provide more reality than any of the "May was the month when . . ."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Baghdad roadside bombing claimed 1 life and left six other people injured, a Baghdad grenading left three people wounded, a Mosul car bombing claimed the life of 1 soldier and left another wounded, anoter Mosul car bombing was aimed at the police station and resulted in 7 people dead (plus the person in the car) with twenty-five more left wounded and Faris Yunis ("deputy dean of Mosul agricultural college") was killed by "[a] bomb . . . planted inside the car".

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a police officer was shot dead in Kirkuk (and one person was kidnapped).

Corpses?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports 3 corpses were discovered in Baghdad. Reuters notes 2 corpses discovered in Mahaweel.

Today the US military announced: "The Soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense."

Turning to US political races. And we'll start with a quote that really comments on the non-stop sexism in this primary campaign season and on this ridiculous notion that it can be ignored as well as how many male 'lefties' have stabbed women in the back -- yet again.

A genuine alliance with male radicals will not be possible until sexism sickens them as much as racism. This will not be accomplished through persuasion, conciliation, or love, but through independence and solidarity; radical men will stop oppressing us and make our fight their own when they can't get us to join them on any other terms.

You may be thinking, "Well that says it all." It pretty much does. But it said it all in 1969 as well. That's the late, great Ellen Willis ("Up from Radicalism: A Feminist Journal"). Not only have we seen it all before but some of the same sexists from that period (Tom Hayden, Robert Scheer . . . it's a long, long list) have really done their part from day one to make sure this campaign season was the most sexist campaign ever. They've lied about Hillary, they've smeared her, they've invented 'soul communications' they had with her from a plane of (mis)understanding far, far away. They've hidden behing women to make the attacks and, of course, Queen Bees have been happy to participate in the attack. Nothing says "Love me, I won't challenge you!" as much as kicking another women in the gut while a man looks on. Not all men are sexists and one of the accomplishments of the feminist movement has been to raise awareness for men and women. But there are sexist males and Queen Bees still out there -- a lot of them and, as Ava and I noted Sunday reviewing Grit TV, they're never so 'funny' as when they pretend to be 'enlightened.' Bob Somerby (Daily Howler) catches some pigs in action today: "One such crawler is creepy Roy Sekoff, Arianna's unseemly boy toy. Last Thursday night, Sekoff appeared on MSNBC's Verdict with Dan Abrams. Discussions of pundit misogyny/sexism had been in the air for weeks. And Sekoff wanted to vote with his mouth, which gave us a window to his soul. But then, to judge from the transcript–we didn't see the program--Jonathan Alter didn't exactly bathe himself with glory here either." And certainly they were out in full force Saturday at the DNC 'rules' committee meeting where they decided the best way to award delegates to someone who refused to have their name on a state's ballot (Barack Obama) was to give him more delegates than the winner of the state (Hillary Clinton) should have received. Nothing says 'fair' and 'orderly' -- apparently -- as much as rewarding Barack's tantrum by giving him not just the delegates they think he, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson and John Edwards might have won from those voting "Uncommitted" in the Michigan primary (of course some of those might vote "Uncommitted" today or might vote for Hillary), they had to give him more. More than Hillary who received over 50% of the vote. Apparently Barack would have cried real hard and might have wet his undies if the 'rules' couldn't be bent and then broken in his favor. Delilah Boyd (A Scrivener's Lament) shares her thoughts: "Bye bye, Howard. Bye bye, Ms. Brazile. (I like your girlfriend more than I've ever liked you, anyway; for the record, I'll even try to be civil to you when I run into you at Frager's Hardware Store... I'm just done with you, Donna.) Bye bye, DNC. You've made it perfectly clear that don't need me.... or the 17+ million others just like me."

Barack made public that he had left the Trinity Church over the weekend. This followed one clip of Michael Pfleger 'preaching' hate and sexism at Trinity. As Andrew S. Ross (San Francisco Chronicle) wondered, "Apart from the appallingly racist nature of Father Michael Pfleger's remarks about Hillary Clinton, what is one to make of the congregation who seemed to lap it all up?" Turns out Pfleger was saying more than the one clip showed. Last night, Jake Tapper (ABC News) reported on another clip of that same 'sermon' (now two Sundays ago) where Pfleger declared "America is the greatest sin against God" and Tapper observed: "But Obama's relationship with Pfleger -- who is the priest at a different, Catholic, church -- spans decades. In September, the Obama campaign brought Pfleger to Iowa to host one of several interfaith forums for the campaign. Pfleger has given money to Obama's campaigns and Obama as a state legislator directed at least $225,000 towards social programs at St. Sabina's, according to the Chicago Tribune. Pfleger appears to have been scrubbed from the Obama campaign's page that features the testimony of faith leaders, but you can see the cached version HERE."

Hillary is the winner of the popular vote but some want to force her out of the primary -- what does it matter if voters are voting for you? Just because you have the most votes doesn't mean you are a winner! Didn't we all learn that in 2000 when Al Gore had more votes and didn't become president! Yes, the DNC appears perfectly willing to trash democracy. Howard Wolfson (HillaryClinton.com) points out: "According to Real Clear Politics, Hillary's popular vote lead over Sen. Obama has grown with her Puerto victory last night. She has won 17,916,763 votes compared to 17,723,200 for Sen. Obama when every state that has already voted is included in the tally. Read more."
Strangely Barack leaving the nutty church required Amy Filth Goodman to do a long quote from Barack on what she tries to trick people into believing is a 'news' program (it's not even a public affairs program -- today's 'big' story? Scahill's book is coming out in paperback!) but she reduced Hillary to two sentences. Hillary Wins Puerto Rico on Sunday and Goody reduces it to two lines. Hillary won 68% of the vote to Barack's 32% in Puerto Rico yesterday in another blowout for the Clinton campaign. But again, what do voters matter? Not much to the DNC apparently.

June is Gay Pride Month. And here's Hillary's statement:As we begin Gay Pride Month, I join the LGBT community in celebrating an historic year in which our country continues to make progress towards the fair and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Still, we have so much work to do. I look forward to working with the LGBT community to make sure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and that nothing stands in the way of loving couples who want to adopt children in need. We need to expand our federal hate crimes legislation and pass a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And finally, we need to put an end to the failed policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice -- the traits that define our men and women in uniform -- have nothing to do with sexual orientation.To each and every LGBT American, I say this: You have done so much to help this country understand your lives by simply being open and honest about who you are and living your lives with dignity. Thank you for your courage. It is time that we recognize your hard work. I know that this country is ready for changes in the law that reflect the evolution in our hearts. You deserve a government that treats you with the respect you deserve. America deserves a President who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a President who values and respects all Americans and treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. That is truly the promise of America.

I did check Barack's campaign. We all know he used homophobia in South Carolina but maybe he wanted to make some weak ass statement? Nope. He threw the LGBT community under the bus a long time ago and apparently these days just wants to put the bus in reverse to now back over them.

the common illsthe third estate sunday reviewlike maria said pazkats kornersex and politics and screeds and attitudetrinas kitchenthe daily jotcedrics big mixmikey likes itthomas friedman is a great manruths reportsickofitradlz
iraqjohn hagan
corey glass
phil mcdowell
michele mandelandrea wooann wright
nick squiresned parkerthe los angeles times
saif rasheed
jacob bruce kovcojake kovco
stephen farrellthe new york times
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
ellen willis
andrew s. ross
jake tapper

Pelosi et al want to install the unelectable Barack

Friday and Puerto Rico. This is a big and important primary even if Nancy Pelosi is saying the race is already settled. Nancy Pelosi is not the ruler of the universe. She's not even the ruler of the Democratic Party. The people are the rulers, or they are supposed to be, in what is supposed to be the People's Party.



So if Nancy Pelosi attempts to hijack the process and install her crush Barack Obama as the nominee, she's not just sending a message that the voters don't matter to the party, she's also setting herself up for a big fall.



Hillary has received more votes and that will only continue through the end of the primary season. She is the strongest candidate the Democrats have and someone who can beat John McCain in the fall. If Pelosi, Harry Reid and Howard Dean hijack the process and install Barack as the nominee, come November, if he loses (as most polls indicate he will), all three will not just need to step down, they will need to be barred from the Democratic Party.



I'm not joking. They have abused their positions throughout this election cycle. They should never be allowed into the party's inner circle again. If Nancy wants to bet the farm on Barack, she should be willing to pay the price in November if her installed boyfriend loses. That doesn't just mean that she should step down as Speaker of the House, it means she should immediately retire from her Congressional seat. The same with Harry Reid.



If you hijack the process, if you stop it and overrule the voice of the Democratic Party base, then you should be prepared to accept the fallout from your decision.



They are rushing to tell people that none of this matters. Any scandal and it doesn't matter. Do you think Tip O'Neil would be doing this? I think Tip would be blowing a gasket over the Bill Ayers & Bernardine Dohrn friendship (with Barack) alone. That's before you include the crackpots Jeremiah Wright and Micheal Pfleger.



You do not have maturity in the 'leadership,' you have a bunch of assholes who think they are better than the country they claim to want to represent. They are not better, they may be bitter, but they are not better.



Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi called Democratic voters in Kentucky "racists." And she thinks she's fit to be Speaker of the House let alone to decide what's best for the Democratic Party. In the days of Tip O'Neil, Nancy Pelosi would have been told to apologize.



But, again, there is no maturity in 'leadership.'



Hillary can win. She has no surprises. How many times have we heard that Barack has nothing else to come out?



This week we find out that his friend, his spirtual adviser, part of his campaign ('until a few weeks ago' all the media reports insist), campaigned for him in Iowa and he's a nut job. He's also said that Americans rape "Black" people. I guess he couldn't very well say "African-Americans" because that would point out the flaw: African-Americans are Americans.



But the video that got in trouble was from this past Sunday when he spoke to Barack's church of 20 years and displayed sexism, racism and no class. And boy did the congreation, that Barack's a part of, eat it up. Read Andrew S. Ross on that.



Another crackpot. And Barack didn't apologize to America or to Hillary.



At what point do the remaining grown ups in the Democratic Party make clear to Pelosi, Reid and Dean that Barack is not merely unacceptable, he is an unmitigated disaster? How many primaries does the 'nominee' have to lose before they stand up and say, "Nancy, Harry, Howard, shut the hell up and sit down or go stand in the corner!"?



Barack Obama as the nominee most likely means four years of John McCain and a Republican controlled Congress. How many more of his trashy friends have to emerge before the party realizes how much he has turned off America?



He's the one claiming superior judgement. Do you really think Pfleger said anything on Sunday that Barack hadn't heard from him already in their twenty year friendship?



Here's Howard Wolfson's "HUBdate: 'Top Candidate for Dems':"


Argus Leader Endorses Hillary: South Dakota's Argus Leader today endorsed Hillary, calling her the "Top Candidate for Dems...Clinton is the strongest Democratic candidate for South Dakota. Her mastery of complex policy detail is broad and deep, and her experience as a senator and former first lady matches that…Her resilience and determination never should be questioned. She has met or overcome every challenge or roadblock in her way, and there have been many." Read more.
Automatic Delegate Watch: Washington State Democratic Party Chair Eileen Macoll endorsed Hillary yesterday: "On the issues that matter most -- from establishing universal health care to improving our schools to ending the war in Iraq--she has never backed down and never wavered. Hillary has what it takes to beat John McCain this Fall and win back the White House." Read more.
Endorsement Watch: Puerto Rican music artist Ricky Martin yesterday endorsed Hillary: "These elections will have historic repercussions both in the United States and the world. Senator Clinton has always been consistent in her commitment with the needs of the Latino community…she has always fought for what is most important for our families." Read more.
"She's Going to Pull It Off" Hillary had "one of the best turnouts of her South Dakota campaign" yesterday at a stop in Huron, where supporters waited to see her "in a line stretching down the block." One supporter said, "She's what we're for. She's against the war in Iraq…Hillary doesn't crack under pressure." Another supporter remarked, "We really think she’s going to pull it off in the end." Read more.
On the Air in Montana: Hillary began airing her first television ad "Only One" in Montana: "She's the only one in this campaign who voted against the Bush energy bill against six billion dollars to the oil companies, the only one taking on the insurance companies to guarantee health coverage for every American and she's the one who'll end fifty five billion dollars in giveaways to corporate special interests and cut taxes for the middle class instead." Watch here.
Previewing Today: Hillary travels to Puerto Rico to host a rally in Old San Juan.



We're in Puerto Rico working to turn out the vote for Hillary. She can win and she will fight for America. She won't cave in like Barack. She won't expect her ass to be kissed daily and whine "I just want to eat my waffles!" when that doesn't happen. She knows there are 50 states in the country, not 57. She doesn't see dead people and knows that "the fallen" refers to those who have died in service of the country. She is not Bully Boy in a skirt though Barack may be.



Remember how the 'left' outlets used to ridicule Bully Boy's vocal 'flubs'? Now days they don't even call out Barack's. They're nothing but a bunch of hypocrites determined to sacrifice control of both houses of Congress and the White House on their whim that they can redo the electoral map and the electoral rules. They are nuts.



In the existing system, Hillary wins against McCain. Barack loses.



Where is Pelosi's superiod judgement? Where is Reid's? Where is Dean's?



They have none.



I'm most disappointed in Harry Reid because he wrestled and he knows that some things are a given. You go to the mat, you give it your best but you know that the mats aren't going to change. The electoral college system isn't going to change either. And the general election will be brutal for Dems if they are foolish enough to go with Barack.



Remember that if they do and Barack loses. Remember that the warning signs were already known but they 'knew best' and decided to ignore them. They decided that the Democratic Party should nominate the weakest nominee, not the strongest.



In the snapshot, by the way, C.I. has a nice thing on John Pilger. I want to echo that. C.I. was returning a call while dictating the snapshot and got so mad. Pilger was being attacked in comments to an article he wrote. As C.I. points out, John Pilger did what he always does. He didn't do anything different. He reported. But Panhandle Media has so debased independent media that someone like John Pilger who always plays it straight gets attacked by The Cult of Obama. C.I. was outraged and didn't have time to say as much as needed (it was dictated right after Ava and C.I. viewed a program on a DVD a friend sent them -- they will be tackling that insane waste of time Sunday) so, seeing C.I. was frustrated by not having enough time, I said I'd mention it here at my site.



John Pilger has never tried to be anything but a truth teller. He's not run a fan club for anyone. And as a result, he's being attacked. He has upheld the standards of independent media and because he is one of the few to do so, the Cult they created out is now out for his blood. Amy Goodman, you fraud, you are responsible for this. You carry the blame just as you carried the water for Barack. You are a liar and a fake. You might want to check the books for Democracy Now because, as I understand, your program can't pass an audit.



Liars like you have created an environment where it is difficult if not impossible for people like John Pilger to do real journalism. You should hang your head in shame.



By the way, liar Amy didn't mention Corey Glass again today. Day nine since the news that he would be deported from Canada if he did not leave by June 12th and Amy Goodman has still not told her audience that Canada is now saying it will deport US war resisters. Still she wants to pretend to be a journalist and someone who gives a damn about war resisters. Don't believe her lies. The proof is in what she airs and what she doesn't.



And here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Friday, May 30, 2008. Chaos and violence continue, did the demonstrations take place as planned?, the media looks at their own pre-war behaviors, and more.

Late yesterday Canada's Liberal Party issue "Liberals Call on Government to Show Compassion for War Resisters."

The Liberal Opposition is calling on the Conservative government to support a motion that would allow conscientious objectors to apply for permanent resident status in Canada, said Liberal Citizenship and Immigration Critic Maurizio Bevilacqua. "Five years ago, the Liberal government made a principled decision not to participate in a war that wasn't sanctioned by the United Nations (U.N.). We should not now punish individuals and their families for making the same decision based on their personal principles," said Mr. Bevilacqua. The motion, which was passed by the Immigration Commmittee and is being debated in the House today, calls on the government to allow conscientious objectors, and their immediate family members, who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the U.N. and who do not have a criminal record to apply for permanent resident status and remain in Canada. The motion also stipulates that the government should not proceed with any action agains any war resister who currently faces deportation. "The government has a choice: it is not compelled to force these people to go back to a country where they may face prosecution under military law, or may be permanently branded for making a principled decision," said Mr. Bevilacqua. "Stephen Harper has indicated that, had he been Prime Minister in 2003, Canada would have participated in the Iraq war. I hope that the fact that Mr. Harper got it wrong at the time will not prevent him from showing compassion for those who made the right decision."

Kristen Thompson (Vancouver's Metro) reports that retired US Col and former US diplomat Ann Wright will be speaking in Vancouver Sunday "at an event honouring women war resisters". While Wright speaks up, many stay silent and war resisters in Canada today need support as they wait to see if the motion for safe harbor is going to come to the Parliament floor. You can utilize the following e-mails to show your support: Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca -- that's pm at gc.ca) who is with the Conservative party and these two Liberals, Stephane Dion (Dion.S@parl.gc.ca -- that's Dion.S at parl.gc.ca) who is the leader of the Liberal Party and Maurizio Bevilacqua (Bevilacqua.M@parl.gc.ca -- that's Bevilacqua.M at parl.gc.ca) who is the Liberal Party's Critic for Citizenship and Immigration. In addition Jack Layton, NDP leader, has a contact form and they would like to hear from people as well. A few more addresses can be found here at War Resisters Support Campaign. For those in the US, Courage to Resist has an online form that's very easy to use. Lahey quotes NDP's Oliva Chow, who steered the motion, explaining, "If (Liberal leader) Stephane Dion were to say tomorrow that he supports this motion . . . we will then debate it. So we need people to call Mr. Dion . . . 'whose side you on Mr. Dion'?" The number to call is (613) 996-5789.

There is a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Matthis Chiroux, Richard Droste, Michael Barnes, Matt Mishler, Josh Randall, Robby Keller, Justiniano Rodrigues, Chuck Wiley, James Stepp, Rodney Watson, Michael Espinal, Matthew Lowell, Derek Hess, Diedra Cobb, Brad McCall, Justin Cliburn, Timothy Richard, Robert Weiss, Phil McDowell, Steve Yoczik, Ross Spears, Peter Brown, Bethany "Skylar" James, Zamesha Dominique, Chrisopther Scott Magaoay, Jared Hood, James Burmeister, Jose Vasquez, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Clara Gomez, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Agustin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Abdullah Webster, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder, Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Stephen Funk, Blake LeMoine, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Logan Laituri, Jason Marek, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Dale Bartell, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Kjar, Kyle Huwer, Wilfredo Torres, Michael Sudbury, Ghanim Khalil, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, at least fifty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline [(877) 447-4487], Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters. In addition, VETWOW is an organization that assists those suffering from MST (Military Sexual Trauma).

Dropping back to this from the November 16, 2007 snapshot:Another reality that some (the press) has a hard time acknowledging is the number of service members electing to check out of the military on their own. AP reports that this year the desertion rate has jumped to "the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase" since the start of the illegal war. AP continues to deny reality by offering the claim that the US military does little to track down those who go AWOL or desert -- despite the mountain of public evidence to the contrary.As to the figure cited, September 21st, Nick Watt (ABC's Nighline) examined war resisters and noted the number of people being processed for desertion at Fort Knox "jumped 60% last year" (to 1,414 for Fort Knox -- US military figures) while concluding his report with, "If the total for the first six months of 2007 doubles by year end, it will become the highest annual total in twenty-six years." At 80% the total has more than doubled and not only is there another full month left in the year, it's also true that you have to be gone at least 30 days to be declared a deserter (unless you're Agustin Aguayo and the military wants to screw you over) and, in addition, the military figures have been 'lower' than they should be before (NPR caught that earlier this year) and the rolls aren't up to date for AWOL let alone desertion.

So last year saw the largest number of army desertions. What else did last year see? Australia's ABC notes that the deaths of 115 members of the US army were classified as suicides "in 2007, the most in one year since the service began keeping records in 1980."
Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "The study found a 'significant relationship' between the risk of suicide to the number of days a soldier serves in Iraq and Afghanistan. About one-quarter died while serving in Iraq of Afghanistan, the report found. The largest percentage of suicides occurred during the first three months of a deployment to Iraq or Afghnistan, the report found. The largest percentage of suicide attempts came during the second quarter of deployment." Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic (ICH) observes, "These traumas return home with us and we carry them, sometimes hidden, for agonizing decades. They deeply impact our daily lives, and the lives closest to us. To kill another human being, to take another life out of this world with one pull of a trigger, is something that never leaves you. It is as if a part of you dies with that person. If you choose to keep on living, there may be a healing, and even hope and happiness again, but that scar and memory and sorrow will be with you forever. Why did the recruiters never mention these things? This was never in the slick pamphlets they gave us."


Turning to Iraq where the big question today was regarding cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who had called a demonstration to protest the treaty puppet of the occupation Nouri al-Maliki and Bully Boy are attempting to work out (on al-Maliki's side it may or may be presented to the Parliament for approval; however, the White House made clear that the Constitutional provisions on treaties will be ignored). With speculation over al-Sadr's base (eroding or not), would his call for a protest be met or ignored? Thousands turned out today in Baghdad and throughout Iraq; however Khalid al-Ansary (Reuters) states the "turnout on Friday was lower than past marches" in Baghdad which al-Sadr's spokespeople said resulted from "the protests . . . [being] widely spread through the country . . . [and] security forces prevented marches in some areas." AP reports, "The outcry could sharply heighten tensions over the proposal. The deal is supposed to be finished by July and replace the current U.N. mandate overseeing U.S.-led troops in Iraq." Robert H. Reid (AP) quotes sheik Assad al-Nassiri declaring in Kufa, "We denounce the government's intention to sign a long-term agreement with the occupying forces. Our army will be under their control in this agreement, and this will lead to them having permanent bases in Iraq." Nicholas Schifrin (ABC News) describes the scene in Baghdad: "As American helicopters hovered overhead, young and old men and even children flowed out of their weekly Friday prayers and began burning American flags and chanting 'no, no to America' and 'yes, yes to independence.' The residents carried posters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American Shiite cleric whose Mahdi Army has fought against U.S. soldiers and who is accused of carrying out much of the violence here." Shifrin notes that Baghdad, Kufa, Basra, Amarah and Nasarriah are known to have demonstrations. Leila Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) observes, "In Sadr City, followers set fire to an American flag and an image of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki in Saddam Hussein's green military uniform" while chanting, "A curse upon him who agrees! We are with you Sayyed Muqtada for liberating Iraq from the aggressors." The New York Times' Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Stephen Farrell (IHT, some version should be in tomorrow's Times) quote a Baghdad particpant who declares, "This isn't an Iraqi government, it's an American government. The Americans keep pressuring Maliki to carry out what they want. The agreement will only serve the Americans' interests" and they quote Parliamentarian Mahmoud Othman who feels the UN mandate should be allowed to run out (end of the year) and only then should any talks take place: "The negotiations now are not equal, and the results will be more for the benefit of America. To have a long term agreement with the Bush administration, which has five months to go, is wrong. The Iraqi government should wait fo rthe new American administration and then have an agreement with it." [Here it is at NYT but you know they vanish things so don't e-mail a day from now saying "It's not there!" if it's gone.] James Denselow (Guardian of London) observes, "Despite more than five years of state collapse, civil war and chaos the US still seems to believe that it is in a position to dictate what is best for Iraq. The deadline for the UN security council resolution 'allowing' US troops to be in the country expires at the end this year. US diplomats are today desperately trying to create a bilateral SOFA by the end of July in the face of wide-ranging opposition."

Turning to some of today's reported violence . . .

Bombings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a Diyala Province mortar attack that claimed the lives of 3 women and left two men wounded, while a Buhrz roadside bombing claimed 1 life. Reuters notes a Baquba bombing that claimed the life of 1 child and left two more injured during a soccer game.

Shootings?

Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy Newspapers) reports police Col Ali Kadhim Salman was shot dead in Basra and an "Awakening" Council member was shot dead in Hibhib. Reuters notes the US military states they shot dead 1 man in Tarmiya and 1 man in Tikrit -- both were 'suspects.'



Turning to the media and Iraq. Earlier this week, CNN's Jessica Yellin -- while discussing the Scott McClellan book on Anderson Cooper's program -- spoke of the pressure she was under as a reporter from higher ups. Yesterday afternoon, she posted at CNN to explain all those leaping to the conclusion that she was referring to ABC were wrong, she was referring to "my time on MSNBC where I worked during the lead up to the war. I worked as a segment producer, overnight anchor, field reporter, and briefly covered the White House, the Pentagon, and general Washington stories." Media Matters notes that on NBC's Today show, guest (and former host) Katie Couric and Matt Lauer disagreed about pressure from the administration during that period.

Katie Couric: Well, we have different points of view, and I'll start by saying I think he's fairly accurate. Matt, I know when we were covering it -- and granted, the spirit of 9-11, people were unified and upset and angry and frustrated -- but I do think we were remiss in not asking some of the right questions. There was a lot pressure from the Bush White House. I remember doing an interview and the press secretary called our executive producer and said, "We didn't like the tone of that interview." And we said, "Well, tough. We had to ask some of these questions." They said, "Well, if you keep it up, we're going to block access to you during the war." I mean, those kind of strong-arm tactics were ... really inappropriate.

Who's right and who's wrong? Try who's truthful on top of that. Couric is telling the truth. Lauer (Poppy Bush's golfing partner and so much more) is lying. Ava and I covered the reality of Today during the lead up to the war in 2006 ("TV: Katie Was a Cheerleader"). And to add that, while Couric and others pressed for more to be done (Today's staff fought like hell to present a wide ranging picture), Lauer didn't give a damn. You didn't get that story from Michael Moore and why the hell aren't we surprised?

Less noted was another telling moment. Todd Purdum (Vanity Fair) examines his own various reactions to the book and concludes: "I do know one thing: even the slightest distance from an all-powerful institution like the White House (or a big corporation, or The New York Times) can produce a sudden, even stunning, clarity of feeling about all that was wrong with the place, and a terrific sense of liberation at being freed from it."


Turning to US political races. Panhandle Media is a complete utter failure and they damaged not only themselves, they damaged the work of the few truly independent journalists who actually work. John Pilger is one of the few and you can view the hatred in the comments (some of which may be deleted when this goes up) his article (New Statesman) has received. Pilger's not doing anything different than what he has always done, be a journalist. But those who pretend to be his peers have so debased 'independent' media that the real independent journalists have to put up with nonsense from the Cult Panhandle Media built. From Pilger's article (and, note, Pilger would be just as harsh on Hillary and has been before):

On the war in Iraq, Obama the dove and McCain the hawk are almost united. McCain now says he wants US troops to leave in five years (instead of "100 years", his earlier option). Obama has now "reserved the right" to change his pledge to get troops out next year. "I will listen to our commanders on the ground," he now says, echoing Bush. His adviser on Iraq, Colin Kahl, says the US should maintain up to 80,000 troops in Iraq until 2010. Like McCain, Obama has voted repeatedly in the Senate to support Bush's demands for funding of the occupation of Iraq; and he has called for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan. His senior advisers embrace McCain's proposal for an aggressive "league of democracies", led by the United States, to circumvent the United Nations.

[ . . .]

Despite claiming that his campaign wealth comes from small individual donors, Obama is backed by the biggest Wall Street firms: Goldman Sachs, UBS AG, Lehman Brothers, J P Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, as well as the huge hedge fund Citadel Investment Group. "Seven of the Obama campaign's top 14 donors," wrote the investigator Pam Martens, "consisted of officers and employees of the same Wall Street firms charged time and again with looting the public and newly implicated in originating and/or bundling fraudulently made mortgages." A report by United for a Fair Economy, a non-profit group, estimates the total loss to poor Americans of colour who took out sub-prime loans as being between $164bn and $213bn: the greatest loss of wealth ever recorded for people of colour in the United States. "Washington lobbyists haven't funded my campaign," said Obama in January, "they won't run my White House and they will not drown out the voices of working Americans when I am president." According to files held by the Centre for Responsive Politics, the top five contributors to the Obama campaign are registered corporate lobbysits.
What is Obama's attraction to big business? Precisely the same as Robert Kennedy's. By offering a "new", young and apparently progressive face of the Democratic Party -- with the bonus of being a member of the black elite -- he can blunt and divert real opposition. That was Colin Powell's role as Bush's secretary of state. An Obama victory will bring intense pressure on the US anti-war and social justice movements to accept a Democratic administration for all its faults. If that happens, domestic resistance to rapacious America will fall silent.

Meanwhile Barack is in trouble despite the efforts of John McCormick and Manya A. Brachear (Chicago Tribune) to rescue him. Another crackpot Barack friend, mentor and supporter (as noted in yesterday's snapshot) showed their ass: Michael Pfleger. Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite maintains that she spoke at Trinity (Barack's church) Sunday as well (different services -- Trinity has mutliple services each Sunday) and writes: "We in the United Church of Christ are trying to have what we call 'A Sacred Conversation on Race' and I did not find Pfleger's sermon to represent what we in the UCC are trying to do in having a sacred conversation. Instead, Pfleger's sermon was a bullying rant that was disrespectufl of the members of Trinity United Church of Christ, disrespectful of Senator Hillary Clinton and really also disrepectful of Senator Obama" blah blah. SBT, you lost it. You were making sense and then you had to toss out poor Barack. Poor Barack's been friends with Pfleger since Barack first breezed into Chicago over a decade ago. Also, the members you are offended for, the video shows no booing. Clapping, yes. If SBT is not the most embarrassing person in all of this named Barack or Pfleger, that's only because Senator Dick Durbin had to butt into it. He told the Chicago Tribune, "I like Mike. He's my friend." You need to find some better friends, Durbin. He almost outs himself in his vast wordage. What's the difference between Jeremiah Wright and Pfleger? Pfleger's White and that's it. They both 'preached' hate speech. But Wright, according to Durbin, allowed for 'marvelous' opportunities because Barack dould say, 'What's he so angry about?' And a race conversation, according to Durbin, could begin. That conversation never took place. But here's where Durbin clams up -- obviously when you ask, "What's he so angry about?" regarding Pfleger, you can't point to this and that and everything else that was trotted out for Wright's crackpot theories such as the US government created AIDS to wipe out African-Americans. Pfleger's just a hate monger.

Jake Tapper (ABC News) quotes Cardinal Francis George of the Archidoces of Chicago in this statement: "The Catholic Church does not endorse political candidates. Consequently, while a priest must speak to political issues that are also moral, he may not endorse candidates nor engage in partisan campaigning. Racial issues are both political and moral and are also highly charged. Words can be differently interpreted, but Fr. Pfleger's remarks about Senator Clinton are both partisan and amount to a personal attack. I regret that deeply." All the links contain text (and most video) of Pfleger's hate speech yesterday. This was Barack's response: "As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-thinking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause." That's not an apology.

Here's an apology Barack: "This will be the second time in two weeks I have apologized to someone over the actions of a Roman Catholic Priest. It is not a pleasant thing but it is the right thing. Rev. Michael Pfleger had no business giving any kind of sermon like the one he did ridiculing Hillary Clinton let alone giving a sermon anywhere else than in his own Parish at a Mass. This kind of grandstanding mockery of another human being is totally against the Catholic faith and the spirit of inclusivity and respect for all human beings that Catholics hold dear. He has sinned against God, Hillary, and his priesthood for which an apology is not enough. I hope he has scheduled a confession and a retreat to rethink his role as Priest would not hurt either. To Mrs. Clinton I apologize as a Roman Catholic and am embarassed by this priests words and actions. I have no idea his motivations but please do not take this man's view nor his words as that reflecting Catholics, or the Catholic Church." That's Catherine J. writing at Gather. She didn't do anything requiring an apology. She and Pfleger are the same faith. But she wanted to apologize and she offered a real and heartfelt one. That's an apology. What Barack offered was sop and insulting. His friend for over twenty years, his patron, his mentor, a part of his campaing (until weeks ago -- as all the media rushes to insist) trashed Hillary Clinton and others in despicable terms, in outrageous sexist slander and did so at Barack's church of 20 years -- to the applause and shouts of encouragement from Barack's church. He owes an apology. But he's never been forced by the press to apologize once. He's never apologized to anyone. "I regret . . ." That's not an apology, it's a declined invitation. That's Barack's buddy offering that hate speech. Barack steered $100,000 of tax-payer money to the crackpot's church. Yeah, he owes a big apology.

Pfleger thinks he can get away with this crap as well. CNN notes his 'apology': "I regret the words I chose on Sunday. These words are inconsistent with Sen. Obama's life and message, and I am deeply sorry if they offended Sen. Clinton or anyone else who saw them." He doesn't regret anything. He thought he was cute as he minced around and did his little parody of women on stage. You can watch the video and see him grinning. (Liars at the Chicago Tribune tell you he was rushed off stage by organ music -- that's a lie. Watch the video. There is a time lapse and no organ music is played to tell him to wrap it up.) Foon Rhee (Boston Globe) reports the Clinton campaign's Ann Lewis declared on MSNBC, "I'm not sure what the 'if' was about" -- Pfleger's statements are "simply appalling."

John Bentley (CBS News) notes Senator John McCain (presumed GOP presidential nominee) stating, "I have known Sen. Clinton for a long time. I respect her, and I think that kind of language and that kind of treatment of Sen. Clinton is unwarranted, uncalled for, and disgraceful." Barack could have said that but chose not to. If it's a race between McCain and Obama in November, McCain's ahead currently because spoiled little princes aren't generally embraced by America. As Ken Dilanian (USA Today) points out, "Obama has not specifically addressed what Pfleger said about Clinton."

Hillary's still in the race and she's winning the popular vote. Fabien Levy (HillaryClinton.com) observes, "Wild weather did not stop residents of Huron from coming out to see Hillary on Thursday. Droves of voters turned out to see Hillary at Campbell Park, but due to inclement weather the event was moved into the Huron Events Center. Once inside, a packed house heard Hillary speak directly about the issues including our broken economy, the war in Iraq, veteran's affairs and universal health care." Huron, South Dakota, bit of trivia, is where Cheryl Ladd was born. So there's the trivia and now for the important take-away. The primaries will end with neither Hillary or Barack having enough delegates awarded (through primaries and caucuses) to calim the nomination. The race should continue to the convention in August. Some are trying to stop democracy, some don't trust the voters, some don't trust Democrats. Apparently, Democrats gathering together in Colorado this August is a frightening thought to Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean and Harry Reid. Oh goodness, the trio worries, what might they do! They might ensure that the people are heard. Shame on anyone who attempts to end this historic race before the finish line is reached. Michael P. Forbes (Austin-American Stateman) tells you what Pelosi, Reid and Dean can't and won't:

As the last primary votes are cast on Tuesday, some will want a coronation before the will of the Democratic Convention has been adjudicated.There will be very loud and very determined illegitimate calls for Clinton to bow out. They will cry of suspect pleas to party unity and ill-conceived suggestions that a prolonged nominating process -- one that rightfully should go to decisive balloting for president at the Democratic Convention from August 25-28 -- is harmful to the party. That's baloney. The excitement of this Democratic primary season as attested to by burgeoning party coffers and unprecedented levels of voter participation serve to reinvigorate the national Democratic Party after 12 years of Republican reign in Congress and eight years of a very unpopular Republican president. With daily reminders at the gas pump and in the grocery store of an ailing economy and two wars abroad, Americans are more than ready to put Democrats back in the White House. A national dialogue that continues all the way to the Democratic Convention on the attributes and abilities of Clinton and Obama and who is the Democrat most competent to be president is healthy for the political process and advantageous to the nation.


iraq
john pilger
the new york timesrichard a. oppel jr.stephen farrell
todd s. purdum
leila fadel
mcclatchy newspapers
nancy a. youssef
john mccormickmanya a. brachear
jake tapper