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Democracy for America personal blog for Brian Kanowsky
Primary Election Results: Success for DFMC A-List Candidates
Linked to groups: Democracy for Monroe County
As you know, the results are in. DFMC's A-List Candidates performed very well, and our winners included:
- * Mark Stoops (Commissioner)
- * Warren Henegar, Geoff McKim, Julie Thomas (County Council)
- * Kevin Enright (Surveyor)
- * Valeri Haughton, Elizabeth Cure (Judge)
Three members of the DFMC Executive Board won election as delegates to the state convention:
- * David VanDeventer (Vice Chair)
- * Eric Schmitz (Treasurer)
- * Carole Scifres (Secretary)
In addition, several DFMC members were elected as delegates - too many to list here, in fact!
I'd also like to remind everyone that DFMC will support every Democrat on the ballot in the fall, regardless of previous endorsement. We'd like to add a hearty congratulations to Iris Kiesling, Amy Gerstman, Jerry Reed, and Cathy Smith.
I hope you'll also join me in thanking all of the Democratic candidates for making this a race to remember - one that was full of positive and progressive choices. Hopefully, all of these candidates will run again in the future, and continue to bring their spirit of dedication, hard work, and public service to all of the citizens of Monroe County.
to post the link to this thread.
Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel and, of course, many commentators made comments.
Here is one from Johann Hari of The Independent. I am linking to this version from Common Dreams, rather than directly to The Independent, because I believe that many comments following Hari's show that more and more Americans are beginning to "get" this finely nuanced situation, in which balance is definitely needed. I find this heartening, although the US has allowed things to detoriorate so much during *'s years in office that more than one miracle ... and a lot of determination ... are desperately needed.
Some, of course, clearly do not "get" it and likely never will.
For information about Hari ... who is singularly unafraid to take unpopular stands, but also to acknowledge when his stand has been wrong, here is a Wiki summary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Hari
===============
The Loathsome Smearing of Israel’s Critics
The response? There was little attempt to dispute the facts I offered. Instead, some of the most high profile “pro-Israel” writers and media monitoring groups — including Honest Reporting and Camera — said I an anti-Jewish bigot akin to Joseph Goebbels and Mahmoud Ahmadinejadh, while Melanie Phillips even linked the stabbing of two Jewish people in North London to articles like mine. Vast numbers of e-mails came flooding in calling for me to be sacked.
Any attempt to describe accurately the situation for Palestinians is met like this. If you recount the pumping of sewage onto Palestinian land, “Honest Reporting” claims you are reviving the anti-Semitic myth of Jews “poisoning the wells.” If you interview a woman whose baby died in 2002 because she was detained — in labour — by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint within the West Bank, “Honest Reporting” will say you didn’t explain “the real cause”: the election of Hamas in, um, 2006. And on, and on.
The former editor of Israel’s leading newspaper, Ha’aretz, David Landau, calls the behaviour of these groups “nascent McCarthyism”. Those responsible hold extreme positions of their own that place them way to the right of most Israelis. Alan Dershowitz and Melanie Phillips are two of the most prominent figures sent in to attack anyone who disagrees with the Israeli right.
- Jimmy Carter, also not one to sidestep a controversy ...
By JudyforDean on May 9, 2008 3:38 AM EDThad this to say yesterday.
And most headlines and comments dealing with this today bear out the truth of Hari's comment above.
==============
Politics aside, a human rights crime is happening in Gaza
By Jimmy Carter
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza, where 1.5 million human beings are being imprisoned with almost no access to the outside world by sea, air, or land. An entire population is being brutally punished.
This gross mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza was escalated dramatically by Israel, with United States backing, after political candidates representing Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Authority Parliament in 2006. The election was unanimously judged to be honest and fair by all international observers, including a joint team I led from the Carter Center and the National Democratic Institute.
Israel and the US refused to accept the right of Palestinians to form a unity government with Hamas and Fatah and now, after internal strife, Hamas alone controls Gaza. Forty-one of the 43 victorious Hamas candidates who lived in the Occupied West Bank are now imprisoned by Israel, plus an additional 10 who assumed positions in the short-lived coalition Cabinet.
Regardless of one's choice in the partisan struggle between Fatah and Hamas within occupied Palestine, we must remember that economic sanctions and restrictions in delivering water, food, electricity, and fuel are causing extreme hardship among the innocent people in Gaza - about 1 million of whom are refugees.
[...]
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=91778
- This article was originally published in The Guardian (UK)
By JudyforDean on May 9, 2008 3:47 AM EDT
Anyway, the use of the adjective "innocent" to describe victims of official abuse is really unfortunate because it implies that if they were guilty the abuse would be justified. Keeping 1.5 million people concentrated within a small area cannot be justified on any grounds. Humans, being mobile creatures, have a natural right to move about the surface of the earth. I make that distinction for the simple reason that I don't think that includes flying through the sky. If states or other political subdivisions want to restrict who flies where, when and how, that's fine with me.
If the U.S. were prohibited from flying over Iraq, for example, that would solve a
lot of problems.
This time, it's Robert Fisk, an expert on ME matters, but with particular expertise on Lebanon.
===========
Lebanon Descends Into Chaos as Rival Leaders Order General Strike
Lebanon seems to feed on crisis, need crisis, breathe crisis, like a wounded man needs blood. The man who should be the president is head of the army and the man who believes he leads the resistance — Sayed Hassan Nasrallah of the Hizbollah — accuses Mr Jumblatt of doing Israel’s work while Mr Jumblatt claims the head of Beirut airport security, Colonel Wafic Chucair, works for the Hizbollah and should be fired.
Yesterday, in case you hadn’t guessed, was a “general strike” by opponents of the Lebanese government with all the usual chaos. Mr Nasrallah is to hold a press conference today and then we’ll all find out if this latest crisis is the greatest crisis since the last great crisis. Yes, a good cup of cynicism is necessary to wash down the rhetoric and threats of the past few days. At its most serious is the incendiary language in which Lebanon’s politicians now address each other, the kind of menacing words that could easily touch an assassin’s heart.
[...]
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/08/8811/
[...]
Tina Susman of the LAT has some fun with the Bush administration's fixation on Iran as a source of weapons and trouble in Iraq. She notes a major embarrassment last week when a cache of supposedly Iranian weapons seized in the Shiite holy city of Karbala turned out to be no such thing. The US military had just taken the word for it of local Karbala police. She says that this week when the Pentagon gave its overview of captured weapons, all of a sudden there was no mention of Iran at all.
[...]
Saddam Hussein was the Iraqi leader who invented the technique of ethnically cleansing rebellious populations as a way of making his rule stick. He did it to the Marsh Arabs in the south and also to Kurds in the north. The US has already either conducted or allowed ethnic cleansing in Falluja and West Baghdad. It now seems set to empty out the east of the capital.
Apparently the fractious, RPG-wielding slum dwellers are getting in the way of the planned Green Zone golf course, so they have to be removed.
[...]
McClatchy reports political violence for Thursday.
[...]
http://www.juancole.com/2008/05/sadr-city-residents-warned-to-leave.html#comments
Somebody somewhere commented that the Air Force prides itself at having golf courses on all its bases. Perhaps the stress of sitting still in cockpits needs to be relieved.
In some stories I've read, it seems that Iraqis refer to Shia Iraqis as Iranians. Sort of
like Catholics are referred to as Papists even though they don't live in papal lands.
For those who have liked at least some of what Ron Paul has had to say, rest assured that it is but words.
When it comes to adhering to the Republican line, Paul is right there.
Do not be mistaken about this ... here are some things that they have learned about him in MT, where he actually excited more than a few, however briefly when reality struck.
[The good thing is that Dennis Rehberg, once considered a sure thing, is considered to be more and more beatable. I personally am crossing my fingers that Jim Hunt will win out in the Dem primary because he will definitely provide a much-needed Dem voice to the Congress, should he get the opportunity to run against Rehberg and win.]
This is my last for now. Have good ones!
=============
So much for the Ron Paul “revolution”
May 8, 2008 in Denny Rehberg, Regressives, Ron Paul with 5 Comments
by Jay Stevens
You may remember that both Pete Talbot and I went to see Ron Paul when he made his appearance here in Missoula, and we both liked some of the things he was saying.
[...]
It should definitely come as a surprise and a disappointment to Paul fans that his rhetoric appears to be just that: hot air.
Why, do you ask, am I saying this?
Can you think of a Republican who more embodies everything that Ron Paul was speaking out against in the UC Ballroom? Does Rehberg support the war, and has he supported it since its inception? Check. Did he gladly support the administration’s illegal “anti-terror” policies? Check. Is he one of the “spend-and-run” Republicans? Check.
[...]
Really, what else can we possibly think of Ron Paul after this move, other than he really didn’t mean much of what he said here in Missoula? I mean, really? You support Dennis Rehberg?
exciting times, these! my fourth grandchild is about to introduce his/herself to the world - I'm hoping it's today because then they would share a birthday with my son, their Daddy! I'm sticking close to home as it's going to be a home birth and I'll get the call once things really get moving - it's a 25 minute drive. the plan is to keep my 2 yr old granddaughter occupied while her folks are 'busy' coaxing her sibling to join the party!!
there are some wonderful posts about the hope that Obama inspires in people here - ditto for me. it was a long trek for me to become confident in him - I certainly want change, but it's easy to hesitate when that opportunity actually presents itself. can I trust this - is it really going to be different? even our best instincts can be second-guessed by our long-held habits of struggling against real change. it won't be easy and it will certainly be messy - this isn't some little thing that's being attempted here - there's a lot to do! but I feel that if we're ready to work, to do our part, to trust in ourselves and stay open to change - this can work.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/08/AR2008050803494.html?nav=rss_email/components
sorry - I haven't had a toolbar for a couple of days... ;)
I'm thinking I should send a snap shot of the desk top and show HQ what two different
comment boxes together look like. But this computer doesn't have that function and
the other one doesn't have the problem. LOL
I think the tool bar is here if you are on one server and not if you are on the other and it is a random event to get one.
I have one now and was just going to say good morning before feeding group one instead of lurking through as I often do.
- Montana will benefit if Clinton forces Obama to campaign there.
By Phil Specht on May 9, 2008 5:28 AM EDT
..."and away we go !" --
-- Clinton only leads Obama by approx 6 superdelegates (endorsements since NC and IN voted on May 6):
http://demconwatch.blogspot.com/2008/01/superdelegate-list.html
2008 Democratic Convention Watch
Superdelegae Endorsement List
...
Superdelegate Comparison
Candidate DCW ...
Clinton 268.5 ...
Obama 262 ...
Updated 5/9/2008
...
5-7-08 - Added Rep. Heath Shuler (NC) for Clinton.
- Added DNC Jerry Meek (NC) and DNC Inola Henry (CA) for Obama
- Added add-on Dan Gelber (FL)# for Obama
- Switched DNC Jennifer McClellan (VA) from Clinton to Obama.
5-8-08 - Added Rep. Brad Miller (NC) for Obama
- Added Rep. Rick Larsen (WA) for Obama
5-9-08 - Switched Rep. Donald Payne (NJ) from Clinton to Obama
- Added Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR) for Obama
Stay tuned... we'll update this list as we find out more.
...
We are close enough to having Howard's fifty state dream realized that there is no reason to stop at 48. Montana and South Dakota will both need a GOTV structure in place for the fall and now that is just months away.
Clinton staying in keeps the juices flowing, go with it.
Just takes a few more bucks.
my words above (Phil) post below
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can help make sure Barack Obama is the nominee. Please make an additional donation of $100 now:
https://donate.barackobama.com/theresults
We want to be clear -- we believe that the winner of a majority of pledged delegates will be and should be the nominee of our party.
And we estimate that after the Oregon and Kentucky primaries on May 20th, we will have won a majority of the overall pledged delegates.
Evidently, the Clinton campaign agrees. According to a recent news report, by even their most optimistic estimates the Clinton Campaign expects to trail by more than 100 pledged delegates and will then ask the superdelegates to overturn the will of the voters.
But we have our own case to make: that millions of Americans volunteering their time and donating in small amounts have built a campaign that has won the most delegates, the most states, and the most votes.
And this campaign -- your campaign -- will be the one that wins the presidency in November and delivers a wave of support for Democrats at every level of office.
Please make an additional donation of $100 now to make it happen:
https://donate.barackobama.com/theresults
We'll be in touch as the situation evolves.
Thank you,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America
the potential onslaught of trash that may come from desperate folks watching their dreams of riches and influence die along with the Clinton campaign. and here it comes folks - this is going to get ugly. from Hill-schill Larry C Johnson this morning:
clip... I am a pessimist. Even though Hillary is the one who wins the big states that will count in the fall, the "supers" appear to be moving toward Obama. Even though Hillary has more popular votes and polls much better among the Reagan democrats, the supers appear to be moving toward Obama.
Hillary's only hope is that the super delegates will come to their senses and realize that Barack Obama's relationships with the corrupt Tony Rezko, the racist-wife stealing Jeremiah Wright, and the unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers will provide the Republicans with ammunition they have never had at hand to use against the Democrats' candidate. This is particularly true of that flag stomper, Bill Ayers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-c-johnson/the-obama-democrats-ostri_b_100942.html
really ought to learn the difference between "guilt by association" and "associated by guilt." McCain and Clinton are clearly equally guilty of having promoted an invasion that's killed and/or displaced over five million Iraqis and more are being displaced as we speak.
While you're thinking about that, ask yourself who benefits from the run-up in the price of oil? Before you give a quick answer, consider that the only way nuclear energy can be even close to competitive with energy generated from burning oil, is if the oil is much more expensive. I'm sure the energy monopolists were hoping that nuclear would get a better head-start towards resuming the building of plants during the Bush/Cheney tenure, but that was not to be, in part because the nuclear monster couldn't be located in either Iraq or Iran. (Though they're still looking for him in the latter venue). What's the connection between the nuclear monster and nuclear energy? Well, the hope seems to be that in the popular imagination the nuclear monster can only be vanquished by our nuclear knight and to that end we have to produce more enriched uranium and plutonium waste.
Perhaps now that Domenici, the erstwhile champion of all things nuclear, is leaving the Washington scene, it's appropriate to recognize that McCain is slated to be our new nuclear knight. Make a nice cartoon, don't you think?
I feel now with the almost nomination of obama, the hangers on are hanging on.
I guess if you saw the blog last nite I was pretty pissed.
I guess since I sent out my ad to the convention delegates the "chosen" thought that they would not be challenged. they set up a slate of the "elected" to get to Denver.
If they are on the ballot as the "uinity" slate, then I will challenge that cause they have to have appllied as such by the deadline. That was april 25.
so if they aren't on the ballot as such, they have to write it in.
I would not have known that but I did the caucus for our city and did the rules.
The ones on the slate are elected and ones that would not have otherwise got elected.
Wil let you know.
If you'll remember, I got that expensive subscription to the National Journal because it has lots of inside Washington stuff. Unfortunately, I hardly have time to actually read what they send me every week. But, this morning I dipped into the May 3rd issue and found a little report about the nuclear energy industry/monopoly signing up former labor leaders as lobbyists to keep pushing for more subsidies out of Congress.
The allure of nuclear power for labor is the massive number of jobs--as many as 71,300 during peak construction--that the industry says would be needed to build the 31 reactors on the drawing board. But none of the plants has received the required approvals and financing yet, so the promise of such jobs is just that--a promise.
http://meprandom.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-post.html
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Candidate Superdelegate Support by State
...
Blue = Obama, Red = Clinton
The darker the shade, the more wider the margin.
Green indicates a tie between committed supers.
let them get in line like the rest of us.
they are coming out of the woodwork to get to denver. slime.
they get elected and well they want to be treated like royalty.
you think I am mad, well I am.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/albanytownhall/
Town Hall Meeting with Barack Obama
Linn County Fair and Expo Center
Willamette Events Center
3700 Knox Butte Rd
Albany, OR
Friday, May 9th University of Oregon -- Memorial Quad Friday, May 9th, 2008
Doors open: 1:45 p.m.
Program begins: 3:30 p.m.Rally with Barack Obama in Eugene
East 13th Avenue
Between University St. and Kincaid St.
Eugene, OR
Doors open: 5:45 p.m.
Town Hall Meeting with Barack Obama
Summit High School
2855 NW Clearwater Dr.
Bend, OR 97701
Saturday, May 10th
Doors open: 9:30 a.m.
Program begins: 11:30 a.m.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/wvhome
Welcome to West Virginia for Obama
I
t's time to put an end to the say-anything-to-win politics of the past. Together we can face the challenges of the future with a new kind of politics and a new kind of leadership.
IMPORTANT: Independents can vote for Barack Obama on May 13. You simply need to request a Democratic ballot. Please call your local field office with questions.
Here's how you can take action right now:
 |
 |
 |
...
Couldn't get on again last night: pages just refused to ever load. After rebooting four times, I quit. Not worth the grief. . . .
already getting ready for a challenge.
all slates were to be submitted by the deadline.
if not then they are just filled in at the bottom of the ballot.
if they are on the ballot as the "unity" ballot then they are illegal.
...that so frustrates me about the Virginia party. Some people think it's a private club. It's all about their group maintaining power. Most of those people think we have to nominate Rockefeller Republicans to win an election. I have not been impressed by a lot Mark Warner said in his kickoff tour.
needs the Rockefeller Democrats as well as the Obama surge to win, I suspect rich.
Re-making a party takes time.
Those people kept the legal structure in place and a Party in existence through some dark times and probably paid some dues back in the past.
That is why super delegates were created to give the Party structure its due.
They just need to be ousted the old fashioned way by getting more people to the organizational meetings.
Linda, get a friend to challenge the Rules violation and don't make it personal if you want to get elected, since Obama is running as a unifier, his delegates need to show that side.
Their attitude is that they don't need the progressive wing of the party. Or at least that we should never get to nominate a progressive candidate or push progressive issues.
If we feel like contributing or doing field work for their candidates, they'll tolerate us.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/08/cindy-mccain-i-will-never_n_100769.html
UPDATE: Howard Dean has released the following statement:
"What is John McCain trying to hide? Throughout this campaign, he has acted like his own calls for openness and accountability apply to everyone but himself. Now he thinks he can bring that same double standard to the White House. Whether he is skirting the FEC, withholding his tax returns, or stocking his campaign with the same Washington lobbyists he attacks on the campaign trail, John McCain is showing that he doesn't respect the voters enough to be honest with them. John McCain may not like it, but the American people have a right to know about the well documented links between his political career and the McCains' business ventures. John McCain's refusal to meet the standard of every other candidate seeking the office is one more reason he's the wrong choice for America's future."
Obama needs to pile it on too--especially now
A quick morning Howard is First, McCain is Frist ( his dyslexic version of First ), Clinton has declared herself to be the "whites first" candidate, and . . . . . .
GO-BAMA !!!
And, as always, it is so very good to be here among friends.
Officers for Garden Club or Lions Club get elected as slates too. It is how networking plays out in "clubs".
The Democratic Party sometimes functions as a "Club", the Republican Party always does. It is human nature, not something to take personally.
The Obama delegation to Denver will be much more representative of the base of the Party and the Clinton delegates the "club", and the slate would be the ones trying to get to Denver as Clinton supporters had she been the presumptive nominee at this point.
yes they feel "entitled" and no they are not, so you could tactfully point out that this was Clinton's position all along and maybe they are running on the "wrong" slate
Your short speech must be directly to the people who are voting, reminding them that this is about making sure that Delegates to Denver will be the ones that come back inspired to deliver the State for Obama and your past actions show that you are the person that will do just that.
I am going to read up on the rules today. I think you have to break up by gender and if they don't, is a violation. that's why they made up a slate with all genders on it.
I promised Mike I would buy you both a drink at Deanfest if he went out and voted so I'll see you there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/08/obama-camp-faces-major-ob_n_100928.html
Top officials of the Barack Obama campaign are privately exploring ways to help Hillary Clinton discharge her debts and pay back the $11.43 million she has loaned her organization, but they are running into two major stumbling blocks.
The first is obvious: the deep and growing animosity of Obama supporters towards Clinton, whom they see as raising issues of race and 'elitism' that will hurt the Illinois Senator in November.
The second is less obvious: Mark Penn.
The immediate problem with Penn -- whose conflicts of interest plagued
the Clinton campaign and ultimately led to his being publicly, if not
privately, repudiated -- is that if Obama helps Clinton pay off her debts, a
big chunk of those debts -- an estimated $10 million or more -- is owed to
Penn.
So grassroots, mom-and-pop contributions go to making Penn's bank account even fatter
hmmmmmmmmmmmm
another SD (John Gage of MD) for Obama:
http://www.centredaily.com/news/politics/story/582606.html
Obama wins endorsement of government employees union
By JESSE J. HOLLAND
- AP Labor Writer
ASHINGTON — The American Federation of Government Employees endorsed Barack Obama Friday, giving the Illinois senator fresh momentum toward capturing the Democratic nomination for president.
"Our people, I think, recognize the enthusiasm and vitality behind Senator Obama's campaign," AFGE President John Gage said.
Gage, a previously uncommitted superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, said he is also personally endorsing Obama.
...
"That's the question that government, private economists and all of us at home are going to have to mull this summer, as an unprecedented flood of monetary and fiscal stimuli, and renewed global demand for our agricultural and industrial exports, appear to have yanked the U.S. economy out of a nose dive and landed it for a slow roll on the tarmac with just a few bumps and bruises.
This might not be everyone's idea of a perfect soft landing for an economy that was screaming along at 5% annual growth during the days of easy credit three years ago, but it's also not the crash that bears have been fearing.
One of the nation's top independent economists reported this week that his data show the United States is now on track for at least 1% annualized economic growth through the first half of 2009, with no three-month spans forecast in the red.
That economist, Ed Hyman, one of the few number crunchers to whom portfolio managers actually pay attention, acknowledges that his finding is surprising, considering he alerted clients at the start of the year to go on "high alert" for recession.
Yet the founder and leader of ISI Group in New York called off his alert Wednesday because he believes that improving credit markets, powerful federal policy action and a massive wave of investments from the global glut of commodity money will bolster U.S. corporate and consumer balance sheets enough to allow industry to muddle through at least the next 18 months without serious disruption." MSN Money
- Good going, DFMC!
By JudyforDean on May 9, 2008 3:13 AM EDTIt goes without saying that Howard is FIRST here.
But I'll say it anyway.
Howard is FIRST!