WHAT KIND OF LOSER

WILL HILLARY BE ?

Can Mrs. Clinton Lose?
By PEGGY NOONAN February 8, 2008

If Hillary Clinton loses, does she know how to lose? What will that be, if she loses? Will she just say, "I concede" and go on vacation at a friend's house on an island, and then go back to the Senate and wait?
Is it possible she could be so normal? Politicians lose battles, it's part of what they do, win and lose. But she does not know how to lose. Can she lose with grace? But she does grace the way George W. Bush does nuance.

She often talks about how tough she is. She has fought "the Republican attack machine" that has tried to "stop" her, "end" her, and she knows "how to fight them." She is preoccupied to an unusual degree with toughness. A man so preoccupied would seem weak. But a woman obsessed with how tough she is just may be lethal.
Does her sense of toughness mean that every battle in which she engages must be fought tooth and claw, door to door? Can she recognize the line between burly combat and destructive, never-say-die warfare? I wonder if she is thinking: What will it mean if I win ugly? What if I lose ugly? What will be the implications for my future, the party's future? What will black America, having seen what we did in South Carolina, think forever of me and the party if I do low things to stop this guy on the way to victory? Can I stop, see the lay of the land, imitate grace, withdraw, wait, come back with a roar down the road? Life is long. I am not old. Or is that a reverie she could never have? What does it mean if she could never have it?
We know she is smart. Is she wise? If it comes to it, down the road, can she give a nice speech, thank her supporters, wish Barack Obama well, and vow to campaign for him?
It either gets very ugly now, or we will see unanticipated--and I suspect professionally saving--grace.

I ruminate in this way because something is happening. Mrs. Clinton is losing this thing. It's not one big primary, it's a rolling loss, a daily one, an inch-by-inch deflation. The trends and indices are not in her favor. She is having trouble raising big money, she's funding her campaign with her own wealth, her moral standing within her own party and among her own followers has been dragged down, and the legacy of Clintonism tarnished by what Bill Clinton did in South Carolina. Unfavorable primaries lie ahead. She doesn't have the excitement, the great whoosh of feeling that accompanies a winning campaign. The guy from Chicago who was unknown a year ago continues to gain purchase, to move forward. For a soft little innocent, he's played a tough and knowing inside/outside game.

The day she admitted she'd written herself a check for $5 million, Obama's people crowed they'd just raised $3 million. But then his staff is happy. They're all getting paid.
Political professionals are leery of saying, publicly, that she is losing, because they said it before New Hampshire and turned out to be wrong. Some of them signaled their personal weariness with Clintonism at that time, and fear now, as they report, to look as if they are carrying an agenda. One part of the Clinton mystique maintains: Deep down journalists think she's a political Rasputin who will not be dispatched. Prince Yusupov served him cupcakes laced with cyanide, emptied a revolver, clubbed him, tied him up and threw him in a frozen river. When he floated to the surface they found he'd tried to claw his way from under the ice. That is how reporters see Hillary.

And that is a grim and over-the-top analogy, which I must withdraw. What I really mean is they see her as the Glenn Close character in "Fatal Attraction": "I won't be ignored, Dan!"

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TIME POLL: Obama Better

Against McCain Than Clinton

MICHAEL DUFFY/TIME MAGAZINE

Though the real election is nine months away, Sen. Barack Obama would fare slightly better than Sen. Hillary Clinton in a head to head match-up with Sen. John McCain if the general election were held today, a new TIME poll reveals.

Obama captured 48% of the vote in the theoretical match-up against McCain's 41%, the TIME poll reported, while Clinton and McCain would deadlock at 46% of the vote each. Put another way, McCain looks at the moment to have a narrowly better chance of beating the New York Senator than he does the relative newcomer from Illinois.
The difference, says Mark Schulman, CEO of Abt SRBI, which conducted the poll for TIME, is that "independents tilt toward McCain when he is matched up against Clinton But they tilt toward Obama when he is matched up against the Illinois Senator." Independents, added Schulman, "are a key battleground."

For much of the year, Democrats have enjoyed a wide margin over any Republican rival in theoretical match-ups. Those margins have begun to shrink in recent weeks.
According to the new poll, Democratic voters favor Clinton over Obama for the Democratic nomination by a margin of 48% to 42%.

Seventy percent of the voters polled by TIME said Bill Clinton's recent performance on the campaign trail had "no influence" on whether they were more or less likely to vote for his wife. Nineteen percent of voters said Clinton's recent comments made them less likely to vote for her; nine percent of voters said it made them more likely to vote for her.

The poll also sampled all voters' views of several possible vice presidential choices — and their various impacts on a potential race. According to the survey results, 62% of likely voters want Hillary Clinton to name Obama as her running mate. By contrast, only 51% of the same voters want Obama to return the favor. The same voters, by a margin of 55% to 11%, believed that Obama would help rather than hurt Clinton's chances were he to become her running mate. If Obama tapped Clinton as his running mate, that margin shifted, with 38% saying it would help his chances and 31% saying it would hurt.

The survey of nearly 1,000 likely registered voters was conducted February 1 through February 4, before Super Tuesday and the departure from the Republican race of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

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Rush Limbaugh To Fundraise For Hillary !
Calls Drive 'Keep Her In...So We Can Win !


Rush Limbaugh is ready to do his part for the GOP by putting on his own fundraiser. Even if that fundraiser is for the only politician that he believes can unite the party -- Hillary Clinton.

From today's show:
RUSH: All right, folks, I need to ask you a question, personal question from me to you. Do I sound like I need cheering up here? I'm getting e-mails from friends, "Boy, you sound like you could use a little cheering up." And they're sending me these stupid little Internet jokes, "for you to smile," like an Internet joke would cheer me up. Spam would cheer me up. But do I sound like I need to be cheered up? I can't wait 'til the Drive-Bys get hold of my thought, my consideration of helping Hillary raise money. They'll miss the reason. They'll just publicize, "Limbaugh is so upset at Romney getting out, he's thinking of raising money for Hillary, period."

But the reason for raising money for Hillary is because that apparently my party is relying on fear and loathing of Hillary to get the nomination, to unite Republicans, who are, some of them, off the reservation. The Republicans do not seem to be relying on leadership in their party to unite the party. They seem to be relying on all these external things, nobody is going to vote for Hillary, negative turnout factor. What if she's not the nominee? We've got make sure she's the nominee if the Republican Party is to be unified. What more loyal thing could I do than to run a fundraiser for Mrs. Clinton? You watch, though, you watch how that will be questioned.

Limbaugh said yesterday that "if Obama is the nominee, we are doomed, and you should get ready and prepared for it now," and previewed what he thinks will be the Democratic arguments against McCain:
RUSH: She just polarizes people. I think she's going to gin up enough anti-Hillary turnout out there to perhaps be a boon to whoever the Republican nominee is.

CALLER: Absolutely.

RUSH: Now, if Obama is the nominee, we are doomed, and you should get ready and prepared for it now.

CALLER: I agree.

RUSH: I'm going to tell you something else that's going to happen. In addition to all this emotion that Hillary's going to revive in people, all this, "I don't care, I'm not going to vote for that woman," you know she's going to redefine negative turnout. You know she is polarizing. I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. It's already started, I pointed this out. Last week after one of the primaries, Anna Quindlen, Newsweek magazine, "How Old is Too Old?" she laid the foundation for the Drive-Bys' eventual turning on McCain as an old guy getting older. I want to predict to you that once he's got this sewn up you're going to see the Drive-By Media start doing stories on his age, and they're not going to be mean, they are not going to be vicious, they're going to be almost sorrowful. Somebody wrote about this in American Thinker today, too, and I can't remember the name. I think I've got it here in the Stack, but take a look at some of the pictures from last night on television. Here you had McCain, you've got an aging senator here, and an aging governor, gray-haired governor there, you've got old people, gray-haired, blue-haired Bloody Mary gang, women, blue hair in the hives and so forth, you've got pearls and so forth. You contrast that to the Obama crowd that is youthful, it's energetic, it wasn't stoic. I am telling you, if that doesn't work, they're going to go after this age business, and they'll do it almost regretfully. We're going to get the worst pictures of McCain. We're going to get him looking tired. We're going to hear references to his forgetfulness. "Isn't it just a shame?" And if that doesn't work, then they're going to do stories on the fact he's nuts. Just mark my words. Mark my words and don't doubt me.

Limbaugh says he's calling his fundraising drive...'Keep Her In...So We Can Win !'

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IMPORTANT on-line PETITION DRIVE !
STOP HILLARY FROM STEALING ELECTION !

The Clintons have now resorted to absolute cheating in a desperate attempt to win nomination at any cost. Now they are trying to claim victory in Michigan and Florida despite being instructed by the Democratic Party to omit those states.

CHEATING WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED !

An on-line petition has been formed to let the Dem Party know that the American People WILL NOT tolerate the stealing of this election.

SIGN THE PETITION !

Just CLICK HERE to sign. You can also add any comments you desire. This petition is being sent to Howard Dean of the Democratic Party as well as other key Dems.In your comments you may want to express that if Hillary Clinton tries to steal the election through this tactic or through the 'so-called' Super Delegates, we will refuse to support a cheater or a party who refuses to hear the voice of America!

SPREAD THE WORD !

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Just In:

CLINTON CAMPAIGN GOING BROKE ?

Asks Campaign staffers to Work Without Pay !

February 6, 2008

Aside from losing 13 of 22 states and being behind in delegate count 838 to 834 after Super Tuesday, the Hillary Clinton Campaign has even more problems. In a report filed by Tucker Carlson of MSNBC it has been exposed that the Hillary Clinton Campaign may be in dire straits financially. The New York Post filed the following: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million from her personal bank account late last month, officials acknowledged today -- a surprising twist in the deadlocked race for the Democratic nomination.
"Late last month Sen. Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said late yesterday, after he was first questioned about possible Clinton-self-financing in a conference call with reporters.

"The loan illustrates Sen. Clinton's commitment to this effort and to ensuring that our campaign has the resources it needs to compete and win across this nation," he added.
"We have had one of our best fundraising efforts ever on the web stoday and our Super Tuesday victories will only help in bringing more support for her candidacy."

The move came after Clinton's fundraising for January paled in comparison to rival Sen. Barack Obama's – he raised a staggering $32 million to her $13.5 million, officials said.
And the two are hunkering down for a drawn-out war of attrition over the next several weeks of primaries and caucuses, after last night's Super Tuesday battles failed to crown a clear winner.
Several people close to the campaign were unaware of the loan, sources said.
"He's got a huge advantage in that he is the Internet candidate," said one Clinton campaign source, referring to Obama's ability to raise web bucks. (end of article)

In spite of the spin the Clinton Campaign may attempt to put on this revelation, MSNBC's Carlson reported today that Clinton Campaign staffers are being asked to work without pay through the month of February including some of the higher-ups on the staff. Andrea Mitchell from MSNBC reports that the Clinton campaign mismanaged funds by over spending in Iowa which was a losing effort. We already know that she can't manage Bill but now Clinton's financial woes make some wonder, if she can't manage her campaign....how could she manage a country. Should she be trusted handling America's economy ? With money problems like these....no wonder she cried !

To donate to the Obama for President Campaign visit:

www.BarackObama.com

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NEWSFLASH ! Following WEEKEND SWEEP

OBAMA LEADS In Delegate Count !

MSNBC just released the final numbers for the delegate count following Super Weekend Sweep and on the Democratic side Barack Obama has made an incredible comeback maintaining a lead in the delegate count 943 to Hillary Clinton's 895 . These are the actual delegate numbers which do not include super-delegates which can change their vote in either direction at any time therefore are considered un-commited. Obama prepares to extend his lead as the campaign goes into Louisiana, Nebraska and Maine this weekend. All viewers of political news programs should beware of false reporting which may state that Clinton is ahead, a tactic commonly enjoyed by quoting super-delegate numbers. Potomac....HERE WE COME !

Visit: MSNBC to see complete candidate delegate breakdown per state

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Say It Loud...BARACK & I'M PROUD !!!

Clintons Latino Advantage Decreases,

Obama Surges as Latinos Vote Beyond Blacks and White

Robert Lovato (Huffington Post)

Posted February 6, 2008

Asked on Super Duper Tuesday to choose between a black candidate, Barack Obama, and a white candidate, Hillary Clinton, Latinos chose both -- and neither.
In a Democratic race in which the issue of race has played a definitive role, racially fluid and ambiguous Latinos delivered a loud and historic message to the candidates and pundits and to the country as a whole: the black-white electorate of yesteryear is dead.

Preliminary results of the most intense primary in recent memory indicate that predictions of a monolithic Latino "firewall" for Clinton have fallen short. The candidates split key Latino states in different parts of the country. Clinton won states like New York and New Jersey while Obama won states like Colorado and Illinois. Exit poll results also demolished widely-held notions that Latinos are unwilling to support a black candidate. Obama succeeded in dropping Clinton's Latino advantage from 4-1 (68% to 17% according to a CNN poll conducted last week) to 3-2 last night. And in almost every Latino-heavy state that voted Super Tuesday, Obama received more than the 26 percent of the Latino vote he got in Nevada just 2 weeks ago.

Analysis of Latino voting patterns indicates that Latinos did not, as predicted, march monolithically into the voting booths to vote racially black or white. Instead, the Latino vote segmented along other vectors, the most interesting of which is the regional vector.
In what appears to be the development of a Latino voter regionalism, the vote varied depending on what part of the country (and in some cases what part of a state) the vote was cast. For example, while Clinton secured 74% of the Latino vote in her home state of New York, available data also indicates that Obama won 59% of the 30-44 year olds, the largest age bloc, in his home state of Illinois' Latino electorate.

Obama won important Latino votes -- and delegates -- in Colorado, Arizona and other states where Clinton was expected to overwhelm him. With the support of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and other members of the Latino political machine nurtured by her husband, the former President, Clinton won more than 60% of the Latino electorate in states like New Jersey and New York. And regardless of the final tallies in California, the Latino electorate has already proven to be a powerful, new and greatly misunderstood segment of the no longer solely black and white electorate of the United States.

"Candidates are spending tens of millions of dollars trying to capture the attention of Latino voters, mostly in the Spanish language media" said Maria Teresa Petersen, the Executive Director of Voto Latino, a nonpartisan voter registration organization that also uses technology and pop culture to promote the political participation of new Latino voters. "But what the campaigns haven't figured out is that 79% of the 18 million eligible Latino voters consume media in English" said Petersen adding, "So, it's terrific that they're targeting 21% of the voters with Latino messages, but when will they learn to target us with Latino ads in English?"

Analysts like Petersen, whose organization registered more than 7,500 young voters this past January, agree that the youthfulness of the Latino vote guarantees that this vote will both continue to see great flux. "Exactly 50% of the 18 million voters eligible to vote are under 50 years old. And this is a generation growing up in the era of anti-immigrant politics. This is why they marched and this is why they are voting. Immigration is more than an issue. It's a great catalyst. The candidate who understands this will win the Latino vote in the future, including the near future."

As the highly contested Democratic primary rages beyond Super Duper Tuesday states, Latinos will continue to play critical roles, especially in tight races, according to Antonio Gonzalez, the President of the California-based William C. Velasquez Institute.

"The big enchilada will be Texas, followed by mid-sized states where Latinos are about 5% of the vote, states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and Washington" said Gonzalez. "It's going to continue to be very interesting" said a smiling Gonzalez. "On the one hand," he added, "Latinos are clearly trending towards Obama who overcame a 27 point difference nationally. But, on the other hand, Clinton still won several states with (Latino) margins of more than 50%." If estimates of a 61 to 38 percent Latino advantage for Clinton hold and if the trend, especially the youthful Latino trend, favoring Obama continues, understanding the fluidity of the very racially and ethnically diverse Latino electorate will be mission critical to success well into November's general election.

Standing outside Public School 24 in Brooklyn's diverse working class neighborhood of Sunset Park, one sees and hears the political future in the opinions -- and votes -- of Latino voters like 31 year-old Smithe Celestrin. She and millions of other Latinos made clear to the country how far it has moved beyond the black-white electorate of yesteryear. "The candidates need to understand where Latinos stand" says Celestrin, a dark-skinned Puerto Rican-French-Chinese digital advertising manager whose main issues are the war, the economy and immigration. "This is our country and we will have our say in it."

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BARACK OBAMA

An American & Kenyan Hero

With Kenyan grandmother (pictured)

By Christopher Wills Associated Press

KOGELO, Kenya »Barack Obama pushed through surging crowds and hurtled down roads lined with screaming fans yesterday before settling into the calm of a quiet meal with his grandmother in the Kenyan hamlet where his father grew up and is buried.

The U.S. senator from Illinois stopped at his father's grave for a few moments before ending his visit to the compound, a collection of small buildings, towering mango trees and assorted dogs and chickens.

"Anytime a child comes back to a parent's grave, it makes you reflect on your mortality and the next generation," Obama said, adding that he was especially happy to be able to bring his two daughters along.

Obama also spent much of the day studying the toll AIDS is taking on African families. He and his wife took HIV tests as thousands of people watched and he visited a project that helps grandmothers find the money to care for children orphaned by AIDS.

Obama's 85-year-old grandmother, Sarah, met him at the foot of the small hill where her house sits and hugged him. Then they and Obama's family walked to the house amid a crush of relatives, friends and reporters. Someone carried a huge American flag.
The family shared a meal of chicken, porridge, cabbage and more. His grandmother had told reporters that she would make eggs, which she said was the appropriate thing for a grandmother to serve a visiting grandson.
"She said she was only going to fix eggs, but I think somebody convinced her to go overboard," Obama said.

The 1979 Punahou Schools graduate began his day with an appearance at a hospital in Kisumu, Kenya's third-largest city. Thousands of people waited for him, even climbing trees for better views, as he visited a mobile HIV-testing center. When Obama appeared, the crowd surged forward and had to be held back by police.

Obama and his wife, Michelle, entered the mobile lab and underwent HIV tests in an effort to reduce the public stigma associated with testing in Kenya. He said the results were good news but the most important thing was the control that comes with knowing their HIV status.
"If a U.S. senator can get tested and his wife can get tested, then everybody in this crowd can get tested. Everybody in this city can get tested," Obama said.

As he left, people surrounded his car and the others with him, running alongside.

People lined up along city streets and rural highways and dirt roads to cheer Obama as his caravan passed by. The students of Jubilee High School rushed to the road in their uniforms of white shirts and dark pants. Old men waved. Barefoot children stared.

With his Kenyan heritage, Obama is getting a warm reception everywhere, but the reaction has been even stronger in this part of the country -- home to the Luo tribe, which includes Obama's family.

Kenyans have claimed Obama as one of their own, even though he was mostly raised in Hawaii and did not know his Kenyan father well. This is his third visit to Kenya, but his first since being elected the United States' only black senator in 2004.

"We love him so much. He has the same blood as our origins," said Austin Ochieng as he waited in a tree for the chance to see Obama. "We are expecting a lot of development from him. We also expect employment. We need him to talk to our government."

Obama's father, also named Barack, grew up herding goats and going to tin-roof schools, but he won a college scholarship in Hawaii. There, he married Obama's mother. The two soon separated, however, and Obama's father eventually returned to Kenya and worked as a government economist.

His father died in a car crash in 1982.

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Politicals Target Blacks4Barack Blog
DailyKos/Politico Attempt To Scar Obama Campaign via B4B blog
posting of Robert Novak's Revealing Hillary Civil Rights Article !

By Greg Jones

________________________________________________

I occassionally do a search of our site, Blacks 4 Barack to see what sites or blogs may have picked up on some of the things we're discussing and to my surprise....make that shock....I saw that there were national articles about us on the major political sites.....Politico and Daily Kos, both of which I have always enjoyed. I immediately clicked to see what it was about....and I could not believe my eyes. They both wrote national articles about my posting of Washington columnist Robert Novaks May 2007 article on my personal Barack Obama blog. Novak's article entitled Hillary, King, Goldwater discusses Hillary Clinton having been a 'Goldwater Girl' (Senator Barry Goldwater was against Civil Rights Act of 1964) during the same period she claims to have been 'inspired' after hearing a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, a story she commonly tells on the campaign trail. Novak's article questions how Hillary could have had two different mindsets at the same time.

Politico and DailyKos' whole point in their articles was to somehow blame Senator Obama for what was posted on the Blacks4Barack blog. To top things off, they went as far as to have the headline in big bold print 'Should Obama Be Accountable....'. ACCOUNTABLE ? This is America Daily Kos and Politico. I, Greg Jones can say whatever I want on my blog just as you can on yours and I will continue to do so. And to try to use an article by Robert Novak that I post on my blog in an attempt to discredit or scar Senator Obama is absolutely pathetic !!! Also, to falsely claim that the posting of Novak's article is the Obama Campaign way to try to smear Hillary is preposterous.

First of all, the article was written by Robert Novak....not Barack Obama. Secondly, it was posted on my community blog by me, Greg Jones, a Barack Obama supporter. Finally, everything in the Robert Novak article is true....Hillary Clinton was a 'Goldwater Girl'! This is a fact that even she wrote about in her own memoirs saying that she 'was a Goldwater Girl all the way down to my cowboy boots'. Truth is not a smear. Truth is truth. So if you Politico and DailyKos are upset that the truth about Hillary is coming out then say that.....but don't falsely insinuate that it is a smear tactic by the Obama campaign.

The fact that you are both this desirous to create negativity for the Obama Campaign is not only very revealing but extremely sad. Who are YOU working for ? I know that Senator Obama has been thoroughly researched all the way back to kindergarten, but now you're trolling through blogs of his supporters in hopes of finding ANYTHING you can to tarnish him with. And to blame Senator Obama for an article written by Novak in 2007 is really going to far. While you're trolling why don't you interview Ms. Clinton and ask her how she could have been be pro civil rights and pro Goldwater at the same time. While you're at it, ask her and Bill why Ms. Mirian Wright Edelman, (founder of the Children's Defense Fund, another story often shared by Clinton) is extremely upset with the Clintons to this day.( Google: Mirian Edelman Amy Goodman)

While I have your attention allow me to explain why it is upsetting to some of us, as blacks, to hear that Ms. Clinton was a staunch supporter of Senator Barry Goldwater who is known to have been a segregationist and adamently opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 while running for President against LBJ. Many of us are hurt to find this out because we had admired and even somewhat trusted the Clintons. For her 'Goldwater Days' to be exposed to us is quite revealing. Imagine, if someone claimed to honor a great Jewish person, then found out that the same person honored a Nazi at the same time. That would be very offensive to many in the Jewish community. It's the same thing here to many of us. We are pleased that Ms. Clinton has adjusted her civil rights stance since then, but we do have the right to question the contradictory facts about her past.

Since Senator Obama is totally dedicated to Unity, he would never bring up any issue related to the Clinton's past. I bring it up, on my own, not so much for Senator Obama.....but more so to let my fellow blacks (and whites) know the truth about the people we had brought into our hearts to the degree of even calling Bill 'The First Black President'.

Even though I am not a huge fan, I do thank Robert Novak for his very enlightening article. I'm sure you well informed political experts had seen it before, since it's been all over the internet for the last year. It's been on MSNBC's site.....Tucker Carlson discussed the article, in The Washington Post, Real Clear Politics, Townhall, etc (where's your aticle about them 'smearing' Hillary?) and all of a sudden you people are so desperate to scar Obama that you want to blame him for Robert Novak's article ! Again, that's pretty sad.....but I do thank you for the great exposure. Now I'm really ALL FIRED UP !!!!!

P.S. It's people like you who sit up nights trying to figure ways to divide people. That is why millions of us are for Barack Obama......his honesty, integrity, leadership and dedication to Unity! Not to mention....truth !

Greg Jones

Visit: Blacks4Barack Official Site (A Multi-Racial Organization)

SEE: Politico Article

SEE: DailyKos Article

Hillary's Health Care Plan Would Create

47 Million 'Universal' Law Breakers !

BEWARE !!! Hillary's so-called 'Universal' Health Care Plan is to make it AGAINST THE LAW FOR ANYONE TO NOT BUY THEIR OWN HEALTH INSURANCE (LIKE AUTO INSURANCE)That's not health care....that's just a law (that's what mandate means) !!!!! Under Hillary's health care plan everyone who breaks her law and does not buy their own health coverage (if not offered through their job) would be fined and wages could be garnished. Also, everyone would have to prove that they already have health insurance (show an insurance policy) before they could get a new job if that new job does not offer coverage.If people could afford health care they would have it already! To make it a mandatory law will just make people who are unable to afford the coverage (could be $300-$400 per month/per person) afraid to go to the hospital when seriously ill in fear of getting caught breaking the law (without coverage). Then we'll end up with millions of people simply hiding the fact that they don't have coverage....instead of receiving the true health care they need. TERRIBLE !!! DON'T BE FOOLED AMERICA !!!!!

"All Americans Would be required by law to purchase health insurance" reports CBS News Chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod.

UPDATE: Feb. 4, 2008

Clinton Admits health plan may mean Garnisheed Wages !

"Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to garnish the wages of workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed on ABC's "This Week," she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/viewstory.asp?

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BREAKING NEWS:
ABC News Uncovers Walmart Video Tapes
Exposes Hillary Was ANTI-UNION while on Board

After recently gaining the endorsement of the United farmworkers Union of California, Brian Ross of ABC News is uncovering hidden videos acquired from the Walmart Business Meeting archives which show that Hillary was anti-union and complicit with other members of the Walmart Board to do everything to make certain that Walmart remained anti-union. The videos have just become available to ABC News and will be exposed and broadcast. The videos show Hillary in board meetings absolutely silent on the subject of union formation at Walmart while stating that she was pleased with Walmart's stance in every way. Wonder how the Farmworkers Union is taking this news ? Look for more on this coming soon. To see more visit ABC News. Also, read ABC News FULL REPORT.

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Clintons Extremely Upset With Kennedys
For Endorsing Obama
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, and Domenico Montanaro

Ted Kennedy Is All In: The New York Times front-pages the news of Ted Kennedy endorsing Obama, which occurs today at 12:15 pm ET at American University in DC. "Both the Clintons and their allies had pressed Mr. Kennedy for weeks to remain neutral in the Democratic race, but Mr. Kennedy had become increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the Clinton campaign… He and former President Bill Clinton had a heated telephone exchange earlier this month over what Mr. Kennedy considered misleading statements by Mr. Clinton about Mr. Obama, as well as his injection of race into the campaign. Mr. Kennedy called Mr. Clinton Sunday to tell him of his decision.” Did we read that correctly? Ted Kennedy called Bill Clinton -- and not Hillary -- to tell him of the decision? Anyway, the Clinton camp trotted out a statement from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend as a counterpunch to the endorsements from Teddy and Caroline Kennedy (and, per NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Patrick Kennedy will also be endorsing Obama). Umm, not quite the same impact...

Where Kennedy Helps Obama: The thing about a Kennedy endorsement is that once he's in, HE'S ALL IN. Ask Al Gore or John Kerry. Kennedy loves campaigning and when he hits the stump, he gets fired up. And as the Times reports, Kennedy is going to head West and then back to the Northeast to campaign for Obama. He could be particularly helpful for Obama in wooing rank-and-file, blue-collar Democrats as well as Latinos, two parts of the Democratic coalition Obama's under-performed with. Of course, Obama -- as this YouTube clip shows -- hasn’t always had kind words for Kennedy…

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Clintons Block Airing of Hillary Movie !

Republicans Hope Hillary Wins Nomination

So GOP Can Win Presidency

You may have noticed that all of the media seems to be pushing Hillary and you've wondered why. Fact is, almost all of the cable news channels and press are owned and controlled by Republicans....and the Republicans want to win. They will do everything they can to help Hillary win the Democratic nomination because they know without doubt that the Republican nominee, whoever it is, will definitely defeat Hillary. (They're totally afraid of Obama).

The Republican Party has such an arsenal of scandalous facts on the Clintons that their mouths are just watering for the chance to tear them down. Scandal after scandal. Flip-flops. Lies, lies lies....and more lies. By the time the Republicans finish with Hillary, Chelsea won't want to vote for her own mom. One of the weapons that the Republicans have 'on the ready' is a new documentary entitled ' Hillary The Movie' which has so much information on the Clintons that they filed a law suit against the producers disallowing it to be advertised.

In a recent interview on CNN, the producer simply stated that if Hillary is the nominee, they're airing the movie one way or another. Do America a favor and don't waste your vote on Hillary. If she wins the nomination it will be your fault when the Republicans are back in the White House. Guaranteed !

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Kerry Blasts Clinton for 'abusing truth'

WASHINGTON (CNN) — John Kerry, the Democratic Party's 2004 nominee for president, took aim at Bill Clinton Friday, telling the National Journal the former president does "not have a license to abuse the truth."
The Massachusetts senator, who endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid earlier this month, said Clinton's criticisms of the Illinois senator have been "over the top," and suggested the former president is getting "frantic."

Targeting Clinton's recent spate of attacks on Obama, Kerry said, "I think you had an abuse of the truth, is what happened. …I mean, being an ex-president does not give you license to abuse the truth, and I think that over the last days it's been over the top.

"I think it's very unfortunate, but I think the voters can see through that," Kerry added. "When somebody's coming on strong and they are growing, people get a little frantic, and I think people have seen this sort of franticness in the air, if you will."

The former president has faced criticism for aggressively interjecting himself into the race between his wife and Obama of late. On Monday, Obama said he feels as if he is running against both Clintons, a charge the New York senator’s campaign said was borne out of frustration. The former president himself later dismissed Obama's comments, saying “I thought he was running against me.”
Campaigning in South Carolina Friday, Obama said the Clinton campaign has stepped up its attacks since his Iowa win, and joked that it's good practice for him, so "when I take on those Republicans I'll be accustomed to it."

Kerry formally endorsed Obama on January 10, saying then that Obama "isn't just going to break the mold….Together, we are going to shatter it into a million pieces."
The endorsement was seen as a blow to both John Edwards — Kerry's running mate in 2004 — and both Hillary and Bill Clinton, who had campaigned on behalf of Kerry's presidential bid.

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NEWSFLASH: Hillary WAS A Slumlord and

Predatory Lender With Her Whitewater !

… Then consider the Whitewater investment. Forget for a minute about all the scandal associated with the word and the convoluted financing arrangements. Look at it for a minute as a pure investment—the biggest business venture that the Clintons had ever been involved in prior to the presidency.

Back in 1978, Bill Clinton was a popular Arkansas attorney general running for governor. He was campaigning as a reformer, an advocate of “consumer protection” and “rights for the elderly.” Like Hillary, he was concerned about unscrupulous “private corporations.” And as he has so often done in his public career, he made a point of claiming the moral high ground over his opponent.

An old friend and political operative, Jim McDougall, came to Bill and Hillary with an investment idea. He wanted to purchase 230 acres of land situated along the White River in the Ozark Mountains of north Arkansas and subdivide it to sell lots as vacation sites. McDougall promised huge returns, on the order of 20 percent a year. The Clintons thought it sounded like a great plan. Hillary in particular had high hopes for the property. While publicly criticizing Ronald Reagan’s tax cuts, she wrote McDougall in 1981: “If Reaganomics works at all, Whitewater could become the western hemisphere’s Mecca.”

The Clintons put no money into the investment. But Hillary, as an attorney in private practice, played an important role in establishing and running the venture. And what a venture it was meant to be. Whitewater was not designed as a regular real estate company. The plan was to sell lots, mainly to elderly retirees and middle-class families, by advertising in small-town newspapers. (They advertised several times in Mother Earth News.) Ordinarily, of course, when you buy a piece of land and finance the purchase, you receive a copy of the deed. If you start missing payments and can’t work things out with the finance company, they will eventually repossess the property. After paying off fees and debts, you will get back any remaining equity.

But the Clintons and McDougall did things differently. When customers wanted to buy a lot, they signed a simple purchase agreement. But this was no ordinary real estate contract. The small print at the bottom read: “In the event the default continues for 30 days … payments made by the purchaser shall be considered as rent for the use of the premises.” In other words, the buyers did not actually take ownership of their property until the final payment was made. If a buyer missed just one monthly payment, all their previous payments would be classified as rent and they would have no equity in the land at all.

This sort of contract was illegal in many other states, because it was considered exploitative of the poor and uneducated!’ One look at the experience of those who bought into Whitewater and you can see why.
Clyde Soapes was a grain-elevator operator from Texas who heard about the lots in early 1980 and jumped at the chance to invest. He put $3,000 down and began making payments of $244.69 per month. He made thirty-five payments in all—totaling $11,564.15, just short of the $14,000 price for the lot. Then he suddenly fell ill with diabetes and missed a payment, then two. The Clintons informed him that he had lost the land and all of his money. There was no court proceeding or compensation. Months later they resold his property to a couple from Nevada for $16,500. After they too missed a payment, the Clintons resold it yet again.

Soapes and the couple from Nevada were not alone. More than half of the people who bought lots in Whitewater—teachers, farmers, laborers, and retirees—made payments, missed one or two, and then lost their land without getting a dime of their equity back. According to Whitewater records, at least sixteen different buyers paid more than $50,000 and never received a property deed. The Clintons continued this approach up until the 1992 election, when they tried to quietly get out of the investment.

I say “the Clintons” did these things because Hillary was at the center of it all. Monthly payment checks were sent to the Whitewater Development Corporation in care of Hillary Rodham Clinton. In 1982, Hillary herself sold a home to Hillman Logan, who went bankrupt and then died. She took possession of the home and resold it to another buyer for $20,000. No one was compensated (and she didn’t report the sale on her tax return).

Hillary has always very indignantly maintained that she and her husband “did nothing wrong” with regard to Whitewater. After all, they lost money in the deal. But they have always avoided discussions about how the business was structured, and how it exploited the very people they have often professed to help. In the meantime, Sen. Hillary Clinton has gone on to champion the cause of going after banks and other lenders for “predatory mortgage lending practices.” In an amazing feat of moral dexterity, she cosponsored the Predatory Consumer Lending Act, claiming that mortgage fees are too high. (No, the law does not outlaw the type of financing scheme she was involved in.) …

Just bear this in mind when you hear Hillary shedding her crocodile tears about predatory lenders and unfair mortgage foreclosures — or even “slumlords.” (Peter Schweizer)

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CLINTONS CAUGHT LIEING AGAIN !

Photo of Clintons with

slumlord' Rezko Surfaces

Means Clintons, Rezko have been friends for years !

(Rezko Raised Millions for Bush in 2003)

Hillary Clinton forgets that she has met and took a picture with Chicago slum lord, Tony Rezko. Hillary Clinton condemned Obama for the other night during a debate in regard the law firm's relationship with Tony Rezko in which Obama worked as a lawyer. Looks like the Clintons have never met a slum lord they never didn't like either.

Hillary Clinton injected the indicted developer’s name this week in heated debate with Obama: ‘I was fighting against those ideas when you were practising law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago’… Clinton tells NBC ‘TODAY’ show on Friday: ‘I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. I don’t know the man. I wouldn’t know him if he walked in the door’… Developing…
I guess Hillary Clinton forgot about this meeting also when she referenced Barak Obama’s ties with Chicago slum load, Tony Rezko. With all the excuses that Hillary Clinton comes up with that she can’t remember and cannot recolect when its convenient for her … do we really need such a forgetful person as president?

Hillary Rodham Clinton dropped the name of Barack Obama’s Chicago patron into the South Carolina debate Monday night, putting front and center a tangled relationship that has the potential to undermine Obama’s image as a candidate whose ethical standards are distinctly higher than those of his main opponent.

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Barack Obama's

CIVIL RIGHTS PLAN

Plan to Strengthen Civil Rights
“The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen — they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs. . . . We have more work to do.”
— Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

The Problem
Pay Inequity Continues: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only 77 cents, while African American women only get 67 cents and Latinas receive only 57 cents.
Hate Crimes on the Rise: The number of hate crimes increased nearly 8 percent to 7,700 incidents in 2006.
Efforts Continue to Suppress the Vote: A recent study discovered numerous organized efforts to intimidate, mislead and suppress minority voters.
Disparities Continue to Plague Criminal Justice System: African Americans and Hispanics are more than twice as likely as whites to be searched, arrested, or subdued with force when stopped by police. Disparities in drug sentencing laws, like the differential treatment of crack as opposed to powder cocaine, are unfair.

Barack Obama's Plan
Strengthen Civil Rights Enforcement
Obama will reverse the politicization that has occurred in the Bush Administration's Department of Justice. He will put an end to the ideological litmus tests used to fill positions within the Civil

Civil Rights Division.
Combat Employment Discrimination
Obama will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. Obama will also pass the Fair Pay Act to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work.

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes
Obama will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.

End Deceptive Voting Practices
Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.

End Racial Profiling
Obama will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.

Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support
Obama will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.

Eliminate Sentencing Disparities
Obama believes the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.

Expand Use of Drug Courts
Obama will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.

Barack Obama's Record
Record of Advocacy: Obama has worked to promote civil rights and fairness in the criminal justice system throughout his career. As a community organizer, Obama helped 150,000 African Americans register to vote. As a civil rights lawyer, Obama litigated employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and voting rights cases. As a State Senator, Obama passed one of the country's first racial profiling law and helped reform a broken death penalty system. And in the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leading advocate for protecting the right to vote, helping to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and leading the opposition against discriminatory barriers to voting.

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Prominent Democrats Upset With Bill Clinton

Tell Him To 'Pipe Down'
By Jonathan Alter NEWSWEEK
Jan 28, 2008 Issue

Prominent Democrats are upset with the aggressive role that Bill Clinton is playing in the 2008 campaign, a role they believe is inappropriate for a former president and the titular head of the Democratic Party. In recent weeks, Sen. Edward Kennedy and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, both currently neutral in the Democratic contest, have told their old friend heatedly on the phone that he needs to change his tone and stop attacking Sen. Barack Obama, according to two sources familiar with the conversations who asked for anonymity because of their sensitive nature. Clinton, Kennedy and Emanuel all declined to comment.

On balance, aides to both Bill and Hillary still see Bill as a huge net plus in fund-raising, attracting large crowds and providing a megaphone to raise doubts about Obama—even if some of those doubts are distortions. But there's concern that in hatcheting the Illinois senator and losing his temper with the news media (last week he thrashed a San Francisco TV reporter for asking about a lawsuit filed by Clinton-backing teachers union members to limit the number of Nevada caucuses), Clinton is drawing down his political capital and harming his role as a global statesman. "This is excruciating," says a member of the Clintons' circle, who asked for anonymity. "But the stakes couldn't be higher. It's worth it to tarnish himself a bit now to win the presidency."

During a December taping with PBS's Charlie Rose, a frustrated Clinton called Obama "a roll of the dice," as aides tried to end the interview. Then, in New Hampshire, he argued angrily that the story of Obama's principled position on the Iraq War was a "fairy tale," a charge few reporters bought. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the top-ranking African-American in Congress and officially neutral, found Clinton's tone insulting and said so publicly.

When the former president called Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat gave Clinton an earful, telling him that he bore some blame for the injection of race into the contest. In any event, both Hillary and Obama made peace on the race issue at the Las Vegas debate. The Clinton camp now fears that Kennedy is leaning toward Obama, according to the Clinton source, though Kennedy's office says he is making no endorsement "at this time."
Clinton aides admit the boss sometimes goes off script. Obama officials say this itself should be a campaign issue. Greg Craig, who coordinated Clinton's impeachment defense in 1998 and is now a senior Obama adviser, argues that "recent events raise the question: if Hillary's campaign can't control Bill, whether Hillary's White House could."

There is little precedent for a former president's engaging in intra-party attacks. In 1960, Harry Truman criticized the idea of a Roman Catholic president and tried briefly to stop John F. Kennedy's nomination. "I urge you to be patient," he told JFK publicly. But in 2000, former president George Bush declined to attack his son's GOP primary opponent, John McCain.Clinton is undeterred by the criticism and will likely keep hammering Obama if he thinks it helps Hillary. "History will judge the impact on the Clinton legacy, not daily or weekly political reporters," says Matt McKenna, Bill Clinton's press secretary.
© 2008 Newsweek, Inc.

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BEWARE !!! Republican Controlled Media
Pushing Hillary So They'll Win !!!
By: Greg Jones

I must admit, I'm a news and political junkie and I have been since 9/11. I'm one of those who literally watches every cable news show always with the remote in hand and I have learned a lot in doing so which I feel everyone should know. First of all, the news is no longer the news......it's the views. Always keep that in mind. The average person who tunes in occassionally, when time allows during their busy day, is totally mislead when watching only short portions of cable news. All of the news networks know this and they work it in a somewhat masterminded manner. But anyone who is able to watch for a regular duration can see through their tactics which seem not only elementary but are so obvious and blatant that there needs to be regulation by the FCC. Fact number one. The cable news and most newspapers are all Republican controlled. That is an absolute fact. But they like to falsely tell viewers that the media is liberal in case viewers catch any information that they don't want us to know, they blame it on the non-existent liberal media. From CNN, MSNBC to Fox, viewers are being manipulated by the Republican machine 24 hours per day.

CSPAN is one network that is most neutral and when viewed through a knowledgable eye, one can weed through enough to get to some truth. The other night I watched the Republican National Committee meeting headed by Chairman Mike Duncan. Held in a huge auditorium filled with hundreds of republicans it became obvious that this was a meeting that discussed the Republican strategy to win the Presidency in 2008. The first speaker was the one and only Karl Rove, the mastermind behind the Bush Regime. I sat there listening and found myself in a bit of shock. Here it was, on CSPAN, the Republicans literally spelling out exactly how they will attack Hillary Clinton should she become the Democratic nominee. It was amazing! They broke out a bunch of charts of all kind of wrong doings, then lists of how she voted on different issues, then pre-produced video footage of crazy statements she's made over the years plus all kind of flip-flop footage. It was incredible. They had everything totally together and super packaged. The program aired for 2 hours filled with 'attack on Hillary' methods.....and wow....what an arsenal. Toward the last 10 minutes they addressed Barack Obama and what their attack will be against him. They mentioned the fact that he voted 'present' a number of times while in the Illinois Senate and the level of his experience. That was it !!!

I learned a lot from this viewing. Firstly, there is no way Hillary will win the presidency. ABSOLUTELY no way !!! The Republicans have soooooooo much on her that by the time they finish with her, Chelsea might not vote for her. But they have little to nothing to use against Obama. Now, back to the news programs.

The Republican controlled news networks KNOW that if Hillary is the nominee it is certain that McCain (who they are now pushing in hopes that their number one choice Guiliani finally wakes up) or Romney (if they are forced to take him) are certain to beat her in the general election. THEY WANT HILLARY TO WIN THE NOMINATION !!! As one sits with remote in hand a number of tactics become obvious. The news constantly does everything they can to show Hillary as the underdog (which is a joke....she's the president's wife running against a mixed race man named Barack). The news lowers her expectations leading up to each primary or caucus, in other words says she's not expected to do well as in their reasoning in South Carolina which is since there are so many blacks there Obama should automatically win, instead of concentrating on the fact of how she is steadily losing black support. This way if she loses South Carolina they can minimize the loss while if she wins they can call it the great upset. They lowered Hillary's expectations in New Hampshire claiming that Obama should automatically win since he had won Iowa, then called her win a great come-back. It's crazy(like a fox). Another tactic is to pound the message in our minds that Obama is not experienced enough when in fact he has held an elected position for twice as long as Hillary. Then there's Bill, who the media is giving more air time than Hillary or Obama portraying Obama as the attacker when in fact Hill and Bill have done nothing but constantly attack and lie about Obama, not to mention their black attackers they've recruited. Obama is forced to answer to these lies and the media wants to portray that he's now 'off his message', while if he had not answered, they would have called him weak. It has been pitiful to watch what we claim to be 'the news. The bottom line is, we are being manipulated.....totally so the Republicans can win. Then there's the news that they don't give us. Did you know that the Democratic nominee will be determined by who has the most delegate votes at the end. Not who wins what state. It's all about the delegate count, and that's it ! Did you know that right now, following Nevada, Obama is winning in the race by 2 delegate votes (Obama 38, Hillary 36, Edwards 18). McCain is actually in third place with Romney in the lead but you'd think McCain already had the whole thing wrapped up based on the (lack of) news. Also, take note of how the news constantly talks about how the squabbling between Hillary and Obama are ruining the democratic side but never mention that the republican side is so ragged that they don't even have a true Republican running which marks the end of the party as they have known it.

Another tactic which is so see through that it is an insult, is for the networks to have their so-called 'experts' analyzing everything. They always have the very same experts....and they always portray Hillary as doing so great while emphasizing the so-called struggles that Obama is having. Then there's the black 'experts' who coincidentally always happen to cater to Hillary. It's really sad to watch this type of third world manipulation and the networks need to be called on it. Meanwhile, we have to know how to digest (or regurgitate) the information we recieve from the so-called news.

What this means is the Republican controlled news networks are going to do everything they can to pursuade the American Democrats to nominate Hillary so they can eat her alive in the general election. ALL Obama or Edwards supporters should be mindful of these manipulative tactics and not allow themselves to be mislead. Work hard for your candidate....don't be fooled. These are the exact tactics of political deception that are ruining our country which Barack Obama is dedicated to change. Remember, no matter what the news says.....Hillary will DEFINITELY lose to the Republicans......and they know it. I must give the Republican media credit. That's a great strategy ! p.s. Watch more CSPAN!

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Clinton's Arkansas still remains 1 of 3 states to
Honor Robert E. Lee on MLK Day !

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - While the nation honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, three states celebrate another man as well.
In Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi, the slain civil rights leader shares a state holiday with Robert E. Lee, commanding officer of the Confederate Army.
The two figures seem to coexist in the very fabric of the Arkansas’ capital city. Streets bearing their names intersect in Little Rock, though Lee Avenue is much longer than King Drive.

The large number of events celebrating King’s life always outweigh the nearly silent response to the Confederate general, said state Sen. Tracy Steele. He said some hope to separate the overlapping honors for Lee and King.
"It certainly has been discussed. In past years, there’s not been the type of community outcry or internal legislative support to get it done," said Steele, D-North Little Rock. "But it does seem the question comes up every year."
The pull of Civil War history, particularly the Confederacy, remains strong in Arkansas. Hats, T-shirts and pickup truck back windows still bear the "bars and stars" of the Confederate battle flag.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the state’s largest newspaper, typically runs a long editorial noting the general’s birthday each year. King receives a similar tribute.
In its Lee tribute last year, the newspaper’s editorial page read: "Despite his legend, the general could not command events — yet he remained in full command of his response to those events. Which is why not all the rains that have come and gone since his time have been able to wash out the single name that still sums up whatever is best in us and in this, our ever fecund, always forgiving South: Lee."
Lee, born 201 years ago, received the honor of having a county in eastern Arkansas named after him during Reconstruction. Another county in Arkansas is named for Lee’s adversary, president and former Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

The commemoration of Lee’s birth dates to 1943, when Arkansas legislators declared it one of several "memorial days" the governor would commemorate by a proclamation. In 1947, legislators amended the law to name Jan. 19 a legal holiday in honor of the general.
In 1983, lawmakers voted to recognize King Day as an official state holiday, but required state employees to choose which two holidays they wanted off — either King’s birthday on Jan. 15, Lee’s birthday on Jan. 19 or the employee’s birthday.
During the next regular legislative session in 1985, they voted to combine King and Lee’s holiday commemorations for the third Monday in January. Employees got to keep their birthdays as a holiday.
When Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe was asked if he would attend a Lee event, Beebe said he "wasn’t aware of any." He deferred when asked if the state should cede the day to King alone.
"The Legislature has to make the decision," Beebe told The Associated Press. "As a practical matter, virtually all the celebrations have been centered around MLK."
In 1997, a spokesman for then-Gov. Mike Huckabee said that both men should be honored. Huckabee, currently running for the Republican presidential nomination, in 1999 signed the bill that gave the Legislature a holiday on King Day.

"They’re both heroes. Their birthdays come the same week and you know the government likes to have holidays at the start of the week," spokesman Rex Nelson said then.
*************

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Says Dr. Joseph Lowery: Obama’s

black doubters have a ‘slave mentality’
Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 04:09 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In an address to the Hungry Club at Butler Street YMCA in downtown Atlanta, the Rev. Joseph Lowery re-stoked the fires on Wednesday when he told the largely African-American audience that “a slave mentality” was fueling black doubts about Obama’s chances of capturing the White House.

The report comes from our AJC colleague, John Hollis, who was at the event.
“No matter how much education they have, they never graduated from the slave mentality,” Lowery said of those who have advised Obama to wait, or have doubted his ability to compete in a general election.

“The slavery mentality compels us to say, ‘We can’t win, we can’t do,’” said Lowery, an avid Obama supporter and a co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Strong words, when you consider that they include people like U.S. Rep. John Lewis or former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young.
Lowery likened discouraging comments about Obama to ones Martin Luther King received while imprisoned in a Birmingham jail in 1963.

A number of local white ministers told King at the time they agreed with him, but they didn’t think the time was right for such civil dissent.
“Martin said the people who were saying ‘later’ were really saying ‘never.’ But the time to do right is always right now,” Lowery said.

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NEWS FLASH !!! Widespread Cheating & Vote Suppression by Clinton Campaign in Clark County, NV
From Daily Kos
Sat Jan 19, 2008 at 02:19:31

Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe has now made the accusation in the Atlantic, with over 200 separate allegations of irregularities at caucus sites. [UPDATE: I'm not claiming that these tactics were enough to flip the results. In fact, I don't think so. Hillary probably won more actual Nevada voters anyway, and would have won them without the cheating (though Obama won more delegates, which is what matters). The point is to illustrate the nature of her campaign; how it reflects on her character; and how it affects the Democratic base.
Also, word on the ground is that caucuses on the Strip and in Reno were clean.
For all you doubters out there, all I can do is tell you what I directly experienced, and heard firsthand from other volunteers at the campaign office. As further corroboration, the Obama hotline to report irregularities was busy for a full ten minutes.
Finally, Obama supporters: please listen to Markos. He's right: Edwards people are not necessarily Obama 2nd choice: in fact, it's closer to the opposite. You're not doing us any favors.]
Hey everyone,

I'm reporting in from one of the Obama field offices in Clark County, NV. My girlfriend and I just came back from being the precinct captains at our caucus, and the scene here is ugly.
Everyone is reporting election irregularities on the part of the Hillary campaign. There is widespread cheating and voter suppression going on all over Clark County--and it's obviously coming in from the top down. Whether it made enough of a difference to swing the election is another question--but there is no question that Hillary was running a scorched-earth, no-holds-barred campaign in which all of her surrogates were instructed to cheat in every way possible.
To be clear about the caucus process here: caucus doors opened at 11am today; people are allowed to file in and register on location until 12 noon, at which time the doors close and no one else is admitted. Those registering were given non-binding ballots to fill out to help assess in case of problems with head count. At this point, the total number of people in the room are counted. Viability is determined (15%), and then the viable sections have 20 minutes to convince the uncommitteds/unviables. Final counts are then made.

Here are just a few of the irregularities from the Clinton campaign that have come to my ears, before I tell my own story. Word on the ground is that we have video of some of these shenanigans as well.

No less than foureight Obama captains (including myself) have reported that Clinton operatives tried to close the doors at 11:30--a full thirty minutes before the doors were supposed to close. In some cases I am hearing they actually succeeded, and voters were turned away before more knowledgeable people could get there to reopen them. The Clinton campaign had obviously told their people to be there by 11:30--and they knew that the higher the turnout, the worse for them.

At least two reports of Clinton operatives telling the uncommitteds and Edwards supporters, once their numbers were deemed not viable, that they had to leave. Whether these tactics succeeded or not, I do not know. Obviously, the Clinton campaign knew that voters not already in her camp were unlikely to join her camp (I know from my own experience that I convinced many more undecideds than my opponent Hillary operative), so they attempted to suppress their vote.

At least one report of Clinton operatives telling Obama supporters with viable numbers that they were not viable, and had to leave. From what I hear, some of those voters did in fact leave.
At least two reports (including my own) of disabled voters being coerced into the Clinton camp against their will, or even having their voter card filled out for them against their will.

A few reports of probable out-of-state Clinton operatives being counted among the voters--though since checking ID is illegal, and other Hillary operatives from in-state would vouch for them, it's impossible to say.
At least one report of two large men standing outside the door checking voters for whom they would support, and telling all Obama people they were at the wrong location.
At least one other report of Hillary operatives doing the check-in, and telling all Obama supporters that they were not on the list, could not register at the location (not true), and that they could not caucus.
At least one report of ballots being filled out in advance for Hillary in mass.

At least one report of Hillary supporters saying that the caucus location was just the Hillary room--and that Obama supporters had to go to a faraway location.
At least one report of a voter registration list only in Spanish, and only with Hillary supporters on it. Obama supporters later found the registration list with the rest of the people--in the garbage can of the ladies restroom.
Several reports of Hillary signs on the registration table, and Hillary supporters in Hillary shirts doing registration.

And there's much, much more. It's only just getting started to come through. How many of these tactics worked is unclear. Certainly, aggressive Obama volunteers like myself should have nipped many of these in the bud, but we're actually counting on concerned citizens who care--not machine operatives trained to cheat and brought up in the nearly criminal Nevada machine and the ruthless, conscience-less Hillary campaign.

Here's my story:
I got to the location at 10:30am and set up. The Hillary people were already there. In charge of them was a 60-ish woman with a slight Brooklyn accent. Here were the irregularities in my precinct alone:
The Hillary operative tried to force the doors to close at 11:30am. KK was outside greeting people, and she overheard the Hillary campaign mention that the doors would be closing at 11:30am, and she went to talk to the precinct chair. So we intervened and said that that was absolutely not legal by the rules. She then started screaming at the chair to close the doors. When he read the rules that they were open until 12noon, she said that "that's not what I was told, other campaigns were spreading misinformation." We stood our ground, and the doors remained open.

A man in a wheelchair came in with his daughter, and said he was an Edwards supporter. When his daughter began to wheel him to the middle of the room, the Hillary operative tapped her on the shoulder, took the wheelchair and took him to the Clinton corner. I rushed over from talking to an undecided voter and objected loudly, but his daughter was a Hillary person. The Clinton operative said, "I don't control what he does; she does." At that point I said to the man, "Nobody controls you. If you want to vote for Edwards, you have every right to go to the center of the room. Do you need help?" He looked at me plaintively, but said nothing as his daughter dragged him farther back into the corner and just shook his head.

The Clinton operative herself had a Brooklyn accent and I overheard her mention having been from New York. When she stood to be counted in the middle of the room, I objected and asked her if she was actually from Nevada. She said yes. I talked to the chair and asked him to ask her name and find her on the list. He asked her her name and checked the list, and she was not on it. At this point the chair said, "well, I can't ask for ID." I said, "She can't participate if no one will vouch for her." At this point a Hispanic man wearing a Hillary shirt said she was his wife. While that's not impossible, it was also improbable--but I had no way to verify or object further.
One voter who hadn't even finished registering said that she was undecided, and the Hillary operative physically escorted her to the Hillary side. I went to talk to the woman, but she was immediately surrounded by 3 Hillary supporters who would not let me in, and I had to attend to others registering at that point (our operatives were outnumbered by hers 2-1).
Hillary supporters were doing check-in, and a Hillary sign was behind them. I forced the sign off the table, and I went to the front desk to verify that everything went according to the rules at checkin--but if nothing else, the necessity of doing so prevented me from doing other needed work.

Even so, KK and I managed to convince 6 undecided/Edwards voters (Edwards & uncommitted both lacked viability in my caucus), while their cheating, ruthless operatives only convinced two--and our caucus outperformed the field, garnering 4 delegates to her 5. It was intense--and it was war. I knew what the Clinton operatives were up to, and they knew I knew. It was bloodless war; I almost feel pity for the goodhearted Obama volunteers who were unprepared for the level of sociopathy that I expected--and encountered--from the Clinton campaign.

After being a part of this campaign, doing this work, and seeing this level of viciousness from a supposedly Democratic candidate, it will be a cold day in hell before I do any work for anyone in any way associated with Hillary Clinton. At this point, even my general election vote is in question. I am furious almost to the point of nausea. There are so many young, idealistic activists here who are absolutely crushed--not because we lost here, but because of the way we "lost." Disillusionment is running extremely high--and I doubt very much of many of them will be back in 2008, or ever again. Illegal and immoral campaign tactics like this aren't just reprehensible: they also come at a cost to the party in the long run.
Leaving behind the triangulating, DLC politics of the Clintons, this crap leaves me with just one question: with Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?