Jim Dean, and his brother, are first!

The Dean boys are always first in this neck of the woods.

White House Leak: Cheney's Plan for Iran Attack Starts With Israeli Missile Strike

In the scenario concocted by Cheney's strategists, Washington's first step would be to convince Israel to fire missiles at Iran's uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Tehran would retaliate with its own strike, providing the US with an excuse to attack military targets and nuclear facilities in Iran.....

Instead of the previous scenario of a large-scale bombardment of the country's many nuclear facilities, the current emphasis is, once again, on so-called surgical strikes, primarily against the quarters of the Revolutionary Guards. This sort of attack would be less massive than a major strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Conservative think tanks and pundits who sense this could be their last chance to implement their agenda in the Middle East have supported and disseminated such plans in the press. Despite America's many failures in Iraq, these hawks have urged the weakened president to act now, accusing him of having lost sight of his principal agenda and no longer daring to apply his own doctrine of pre-emptive strikes.....

Former presidential adviser [Gary] Sick thinks Iran would strike back with terrorist attacks. "The generals of the Revolutionary Guard have had several years to think about asymmetrical warfare," says Sick. "They probably have a few rather interesting ideas."

According to Sick, detonating well-placed bombs at oil terminals in the Persian Gulf would be enough to wreak havoc. "Insurance costs would skyrocket, causing oil prices to triple and triggering a global recession," Sick warns. "The economic consequences would be enormous, far greater than anything we have experienced with Iraq so far."

Well, I read the American Dream Initiative (Full Version) as did Burt.  So I"m here to comment on it as promised.

I got all excited about the social security thing as they are talking about mandatory savings accounts.  with employers matching up to $2,000 per year.  OH yeah that sounds good to me!  My employer now contributes $4,000 per year through the FICA tax.  I'm  sure I'm going to want to get rid of THAT!  Lift the cap on wages/salary that is taxed!  takes care of problem - no need to fix!

Her health system is not as good as the Republicans, but it's not as good as Universal Single Payer Healthcare.  It's probably part of the way there. 

All in all, not as progressive as we'd like to see on anything.

Congrats to the World Champion Red Sox. I never thought I'd get to see them win the Championship twice in my lifetime.

Yippy!!!!!!!

Talked with Thankful tonight. She wishes me to convey Happy Birthday wishes to Robert.

grudging admiration for good hitting beating mediocre pitching

go Colts

that Thankful

tell her I've named dozens of babies in his honor and will do another tonight for jJem 

American Dream Initiative

Why does every half-baked political scheme have to have a title that insults our intelligence?

CNN's Jack Cafferty Calls On Viewers to Overthrow Bush [VIDEO]

Bill Maher Tells Andrew Sullivan: "It Was Not That Hard to See Bush Was a Moron in 2000" [VIDEO]

Good morning, everybody

About to hear how the Red Sox did.  

Great videos, Sitka. 

I don't follow sports but a friend is thrilled that her home team won.  whooptedo.

Had to change browser.  So, the spouse just returned from providing "oversight" to our local police who have just been itching to use their riot gear on the "celebrations" on the Red Sox nation.  They even borrowed cameras to set on light poles and a "command" vehicle from which the video could be monitored.  The spouse told the manager it was fine, as long as the tapes or discs didn't get "lost."  I doubt they had proper facilities to provide a secure chain of custody.  LOL

I suppose if I look up thread, I'll find out who won.   

2.  And where do they think those retaliatory missiles would hit?  Do they really want to test if all that concrete they poured on the bases will hold up?  Do they believe that because Google earth maps are distorted, the Chinese satellites don't know what's on the ground?  And the Russian? 

Well, maybe the neocon pundits DON'T know. 

 It's just politics they tell me.

"It is now more about "anything goes" politics and winning than it is about decency, being right, and having a moral center. And people who like me think first about the rightness and wrongness of an issue, and not so much its use poltically...are left out in the cold with nowhere to turn.
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/1610

floridagal

we face a long uphill fight but there is no alternative

Ok, so, there were no arrests in Durham.  The chief of police got testy when it was observed that no-one in the crowd of about a thousand was doing anything illegal.  He declared that this was an illegal assembly, unless the speaker wanted to grant a permit on the spot.  We will have to research on what basis a thousand residents getting together in the streets can be required to get a permit. 

The police were on motor-cycles riding up and  down the street and the side-walks (always a sore point with the spouse) and at one point brought out their batons.  Then the horses arrived and the crowd cheered.  The spouse suggests next time they'll want elephants.

150 cops from all over the state because they're afraid of the people.

Oh, I got another message from Stuart Taylor in response to my observation that it must be hard seeing oneself surrounded by enemies.

Perceive othis country to be surrounded by enemies? Did you notice what happened on September 11, 2001? Have you noticed that substantial numbers of people with very considerable resources are committed to the cause of murdering as many Americans as they can find, and doing so in the millions, with nuclear and biological weapons if they can get them?

Would you have condescended in the same manner to FDR and Congress for declaring war after Pearl Harbor?

No salutation this time and no signature.  But he did send back the original message.  This is one of our "objective" journalists.  Guess he didn't like the tone of my missive. It is wicked of me.  I do like to irk people.  People who deserve to be irked.

14.  Yes, isn't it strange that we are on the same side as the people who think "character" is important and includes more than spousal relations?  Of course, that's been my problem with the Clintons all along.  Bill's dalliances showed a lack of decorum.  And now they've got Rudy who's even worse.  The Mormon is going to stand out because he's only got one wife.  Don't know about Huckabee.

Sort of like that phrase.  "a lack of decorum" 

Good morning, BFA! Monica was either up VERY late or VERY early, even for her, LOL!

Here's something that you may be interested in, Monica.

I found it in a story that was part of the cluster of articles following the small blurb about Sarko walking out on Lesley Stahl's interview. Lesley is lucky that she is not French. He made heads roll in the French press when they published items about Cecilia's quite open affair with another man a few years back. Of course, Sarko has had a few of his own and the way I hear tell, that is one of the reasons for the split. But he is very sensitive about the issue and angels very much fear to tread there.

Anyway, among the articles was one about encouraging France's overtures to join NATO. Here's that url: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

But what I found to be even more interesting was an embed in that story talking about a survey done by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and other organizations, found at this url: http://www.transatlantictrends.org/trend...

I would encourage ALL serious political candidates to check this website out because it has some important points to make about US foreign policy ... and we know that clear thinking about foreign policy ... or anything else ... is NOT a hallmark of putzCo.

Or, unfortunately, of too many candidates for Prez.
====================
Trends Overview: 2007

Transatlantic Trends is an annual public opinion survey examining American and European attitudes toward the transatlantic relationship. A project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Compagnia di San Paolo, with additional support provided by Fundação Luso-Americana, Fundación BBVA, and the Tipping Point Foundation, this year's survey examines what citizens on both sides of the Atlantic think about a broad range of topics, including:

- The state of transatlantic relations under new leadership in Europe and in advance of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections

- Perceptions of international threats, such as terrorism, energy dependence, immigration, and global warming

- Attitudes toward the EU as a global actor in development, trade, peacekeeping, reconstruction, and combat

- Transatlantic cooperation on international challenges such as the mission in Afghanistan and the potential threat of a nuclear Iran

- Views toward a more assertive Russia

- Democracy promotion as a foreign policy goal

- Turkey's relations with the West

[...]
For key findings, try this url.

http://www.transatlantictrends.org/trend...

In my opinion, the results of the poll are WAY too optimistic so long as putzCo remain in office.

And things have certainly deteriorated since June, when the survey was taken.

But two stark facts remain: the main reasons for the decline in US respect from the EU are (a) the Iraq War and (b) putz himself. Interestingly, BOTH Europeans and Americans who were surveyed were united on this, with percentages being equal on Iraq and with Americans somewhat more to believe that putz himself was a major factor.

While 36% of Europeans surveyed felt that US global leadership was desirable, only 17% were positive about putz.

Check it out. It makes for interesting reading (all 28 pp) and it is a wake-up call for any serious Dem Prez candidate.

I will be sending the url to my Senators and Congressman today.

More about the GMF ... from Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Mars...

Congrats to Red Sox fans!

*************
As for putzCo, here are three stories in today's WaPo that are not at all surprising.

putzCo and their enablers are fast making the US irrelevant.

================
U.S. Promises on Darfur Don't Match Actions
Bush Expresses Passion for Issue, but Policies Have Been Inconsistent
By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 29, 2007; A01

In April 2006, a small group of Darfur activists -- including evangelical Christians, the representative of a Jewish group and a former Sudanese slave -- was ushered into the Roosevelt Room at the White House for a private meeting with President Bush. It was the eve of a major rally on the National Mall, and the president spent more than an hour holding forth, displaying a kind of passion that has led some in the White House to dub him the "Sudan desk officer."
[...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

=================
Iran Adapts to Economic Pressure
Oil Market Could Help It Weather U.S. Sanctions
By Steven Mufson and Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, October 29, 2007; A01

Confronted by mounting U.S. and U.N. pressure, Iran has been steadily shifting its trade from West to East and, with the benefit of record high oil prices, is likely to be able to withstand the new U.S. sanctions, according to U.S., European and Iranian analysts.

China, a permanent member of the Security Council that can veto any U.N. resolution, is expected to overtake Germany as Iran's biggest trading partner this year. Germany and other European countries had consistently been Iran's largest trading partners for more than a decade, according to the Iran Investment Monthly.
[...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

===========================
U.S. Guns Behind Cartel Killings in Mexico
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, October 29, 2007; Page A01

[...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

Hmm ... good news or bad news? Probably a little of both.

=================
October 29, 2007
Health Sector Puts Its Money on Democrats
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ and ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 — In a reversal from past election cycles, Democratic candidates for president are outpacing Republicans in donations from the health care industry, even as the leading Democrats in the field offer proposals that have caused deep anxiety in some of its sectors.

Hospitals, drug makers, doctors and insurers gave candidates in both parties more than $11 million in the first nine months of this year, according to an analysis of campaign finance records done for The New York Times by the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent group that tracks campaign finance.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/us/pol...

And the slaughter in Iraq continues ... so much for the *surge's* effectiveness.

=================
October 29, 2007
27 Killed at Iraqi Police Base
By REUTERS
Filed at 3:21 a.m. ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber on a motorbike killed 27 policemen at a base north of Baghdad on Monday, police said, in one of the worst attacks on Iraq's security forces in months.

The bomber entered the base, which houses a special rapid reaction unit, and attacked a group of policemen doing their morning exercises, said Major-General Ghanim al-Quraishi, police chief for Diyala province.

He said details of the bombing were confused because everyone at the scene had been killed or badly wounded.

The base is in the city of Baquba, capital of Diyala province, where al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups as well as Shi'ite Muslim militias operate.

At least 20 people had been wounded in the attack, including a woman and a child, police said.

No group claimed immediate responsibility for the bombing but it bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda, which has often used suicide bombers in attacks on Iraqi security forces to devastasting effect.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/int...

Krugman ... I'm with this op-ed 150%!!

===============
October 29, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Fearing Fear Itself
By PAUL KRUGMAN

In America’s darkest hour, Franklin Delano Roosevelt urged the nation not to succumb to “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror.” But that was then.

Today, many of the men who hope to be the next president — including all of the candidates with a significant chance of receiving the Republican nomination — have made unreasoning, unjustified terror the centerpiece of their campaigns.

Consider, for a moment, the implications of the fact that Rudy Giuliani is taking foreign policy advice from Norman Podhoretz, who wants us to start bombing Iran “as soon as it is logistically possible.”

Mr. Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary and a founding neoconservative, tells us that Iran is the “main center of the Islamofascist ideology against which we have been fighting since 9/11.” The Islamofascists, he tells us, are well on their way toward creating a world “shaped by their will and tailored to their wishes.” Indeed, “Already, some observers are warning that by the end of the 21st century the whole of Europe will be transformed into a place to which they give the name Eurabia.”

Do I have to point out that none of this makes a bit of sense?

For one thing, there isn’t actually any such thing as Islamofascism — it’s not an ideology; it’s a figment of the neocon imagination. The term came into vogue only because it was a way for Iraq hawks to gloss over the awkward transition from pursuing Osama bin Laden, who attacked America, to Saddam Hussein, who didn’t. And Iran had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11 — in fact, the Iranian regime was quite helpful to the United States when it went after Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies in Afghanistan.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/opinio...

Here's a voice from the past with some cautionary remarks. He's one who has *been there, done that.*

===============
October 29, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
The Wiretap This Time
By STUDS TERKEL
Chicago

EARLIER this month, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the White House agreed to allow the executive branch to conduct dragnet interceptions of the electronic communications of people in the United States. They also agreed to “immunize” American telephone companies from lawsuits charging that after 9/11 some companies collaborated with the government to violate the Constitution and existing federal law. I am a plaintiff in one of those lawsuits, and I hope Congress thinks carefully before denying me, and millions of other Americans, our day in court.

During my lifetime, there has been a sea change in the way that politically active Americans view their relationship with government. In 1920, during my youth, I recall the Palmer raids in which more than 10,000 people were rounded up, most because they were members of particular labor unions or belonged to groups that advocated change in American domestic or foreign policy. Unrestrained surveillance was used to further the investigations leading to these detentions, and the Bureau of Investigation — the forerunner to the F.B.I. — eventually created a database on the activities of individuals. This activity continued through the Red Scare of the period.

In the 1950s, during the sad period known as the McCarthy era, one’s political beliefs again served as a rationale for government monitoring. Individual corporations and entire industries were coerced by government leaders into informing on individuals and barring their ability to earn a living.

I was among those blacklisted for my political beliefs. My crime? I had signed petitions. Lots of them. I had signed on in opposition to Jim Crow laws and poll taxes and in favor of rent control and pacifism. Because the petitions were thought to be Communist-inspired, I lost my ability to work in television and radio after refusing to say that I had been “duped” into signing my name to these causes.

[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/29/opinio...

Here's an interesting history lesson from yesterday's NYT. Sorry that I missed this one.

================
October 28, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor
Bush’s Dangerous Liaisons
By FRANÇOIS FURSTENBERG
Montreal

MUCH as George W. Bush’s presidency was ineluctably shaped by Sept. 11, 2001, so the outbreak of the French Revolution was symbolized by the events of one fateful day, July 14, 1789. And though 18th-century France may seem impossibly distant to contemporary Americans, future historians examining Mr. Bush’s presidency within the longer sweep of political and intellectual history may find the French Revolution useful in understanding his curious brand of 21st- century conservatism.

Soon after the storming of the Bastille, pro-Revolutionary elements came together to form an association that would become known as the Jacobin Club, an umbrella group of politicians, journalists and citizens dedicated to advancing the principles of the Revolution.

The Jacobins shared a defining ideological feature. They divided the world between pro- and anti-Revolutionaries — the defenders of liberty versus its enemies. The French Revolution, as they understood it, was the great event that would determine whether liberty was to prevail on the planet or whether the world would fall back into tyranny and despotism.

The stakes could not be higher, and on these matters there could be no nuance or hesitation. One was either for the Revolution or for tyranny.

[...]
Confronted by a monarchical Europe united in opposition to revolutionary France — old Europe, they might have called it — the Jacobins rooted out domestic political dissent. It was the beginning of the period that would become infamous as the Terror.

Among the Jacobins’ greatest triumphs was their ability to appropriate the rhetoric of patriotism — Le Patriote Français was the title of Brissot’s newspaper — and to promote their political program through a tightly coordinated network of newspapers, political hacks, pamphleteers and political clubs.

Even the Jacobins’ dress distinguished “true patriots”: those who wore badges of patriotism like the liberty cap on their heads, or the cocarde tricolore (a red, white and blue rosette) on their hats or even on their lapels.

Insisting that their partisan views were identical to the national will, believing that only they could save France from apocalyptic destruction, Jacobins could not conceive of legitimate dissent. Political opponents were treasonous, stabbing France and the Revolution in the back.

[...]
On this principle, the Terror demonized its political opponents, imprisoned suspected enemies without trial and eventually sent thousands to the guillotine. All of these actions emerged from the Jacobin worldview that the enemies of liberty deserved no rights.

Though it has been a topic of much attention in recent years, the origin of the term “terrorist” has gone largely unnoticed by politicians and pundits alike. The word was an invention of the French Revolution, and it referred not to those who hate freedom, nor to non-state actors, nor of course to “Islamofascism.”

A terroriste was, in its original meaning, a Jacobin leader who ruled France during la Terreur.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/opinio...

Gary Younge points out conspicuous absences at the marches during the past weekend.

===================
Democrats are hocking their agenda as if they were at a fire sale
The Bush years have been so crushing that progressives have now set their expectations at disastrously low levels
Gary Younge in New York
Monday October 29, 2007
The Guardian

Just over a week ago, about a thousand activists from the Christian right gathered in Washington to pass verdict on the Republican presidential candidates. At the Family Research Council's Values Voters summit, the values most cherished did not sit well with most Americans. Polls show that a consistent and substantial majority in the US are pro-choice, supports stem cell research and opposes amending the constitution to ban gay marriage. All these issues figure low on the list of national priorities and high on the agenda of the FRC. None the less, all the leading Republican contenders showed up.

The more out of touch with mainstream America they sounded, the greater the applause. "Sometimes we talk about why we're importing so many people in our workforce," said Mike Huckabee. "It might be, for the last 35 years, we have aborted more than a million people who would have been in our workforce had we not had the holocaust of liberalised abortion." Huckabee was rewarded with a strong second-place showing in the summit's straw poll.

At the weekend, well over 100,000 anti-war protesters gathered around the country to protest about the occupation of Iraq. The demands of the demonstrations chimed with the views of most Americans. Polls show a consistent and substantial majority oppose the war and want the troops withdrawn immediately or soon. Indeed, at 34%, the proportion of Americans who support the war is identical to the proportion polled last week who believe in ghosts and UFOs.

Despite Iraq remaining the number one priority among voters, none of the leading Democratic presidential contenders appeared at any of the marches.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/...

While Gary Younge has got a lot of things right, the problem for progressives is much more difficult than it is for the Xtian evangelicals.

If they take their votes and walk away from the Rethugs, they can be fairly confident that the country won't go to Hell under the Dems. After all, Democratic administrations have brought the US back from economic and political disaster time after time.

If progressives withhold their votes, even for unsatisfactory Dem candidates, the problem is that we know that things will go to Hell even worse than they have already. What's worse is that we may not even have votes the next time that elections roll around. Contemporary Rethugs have shown time and again that they have nothing but scorn for laws, the Constitution, or for the rights of any person who disagrees with their view of the world.

We are well and truly screwed with the two-party system.

Well, it looks as if Turkey will not be making putzCo happy.

=================
Turkey kills 20 Kurdish rebels as hopes fade for peaceful solution
· Invasion fears rise after Ankara rejects Iraqi plan
· Istanbul protesters call for release of PKK leader
Michael Howard in Sari Rash
Monday October 29, 2007
Guardian

Turkey launched a new military operation against Kurdish guerrillas yesterday, killing as many as 20 in a raid in eastern Turkey, even as an Iraqi Kurdish leader warned that there could not be a military solution to the crisis.

Fighting took place yesterday in Tunceli, hundreds of miles from the recent clashes with rebels in Sirnak and Hakkarai provinces next to the Iraqi border. Twenty rebels were killed in the operation, according to a Turkish military source, who declined to provide further details. PKK sources could not be reached for comment. The two sides are providing starkly contrasting accounts of the ongoing clashes.

But the distance of the clashes from the Iraqi border, indicates that Turkey faces a problem with the rebels deep inside its own territory, and not just in the mountains of Iraq, from where it claims PKK guerillas launch cross-border raids.

In Istanbul, meanwhile, police in riot gear and armoured vehicles scuffled with demonstrators calling for the PKK's jailed leader to be freed and protesting against any incursion into Iraq. Protesters hurled petrol bombs after some 200 people marched chanting through the streets.

With pressure mounting on Iraq to oust PKK fighters or face a Turkish invasion, Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region where the rebels have been based, ruled out cooperation with Ankara if the Turks insisted on a purely military solution to the PKK crisis.

"We are a friend of Turkey and the Turkish people, but we will not respond to threats and blackmail," said Mr Barzani, whom Turks accuse of harbouring and supporting the PKK fighters. "I don't accept in any way that they blame us for Turkey's own failure to solve the PKK problem or to hold us responsible for that."

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33109...

Well, Benny XVI has deliberately inserted a big thorn between Rome and its relationship to the Spanish government. If, in a moment of insanity, I had ever thought of returning to the Church, this man's actions and policies would have stopped me cold.

===============
Hundreds of Spanish civil war 'martyrs' beatified
Dale Fuchs in Madrid and Tom Kington in Rome
Monday October 29, 2007
Guardian

The Vatican held the largest multiple beatification ceremony in its history yesterday, elevating nearly 500 priests, nuns and other Catholics killed by leftwing militia during the Spanish civil war.

Thousands of Spanish pilgrims thronged St Peter's Square to hear Pope Benedict exalt the dead clergy, for whom beatification is a first stage towards sainthood. The ceremony was held days before the Spanish parliament is expected to approve a law to make amends to victims on the other side of the 1936-39 war - those killed by Francisco Franco's dictatorship.

Tensions between the two sides briefly erupted in Rome when a brawl broke out involving Catholic worshippers and protesters carrying a reproduction of Picasso's Guernica.

[...] for many other Spaniards the mass beatification is a calculated retaliation by Catholic church hierarchy for what they consider to be a secular revolution by the socialist government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose grandfather was executed by Gen Franco's troops. His administration has legalised gay marriage, supported stem cell research and streamlined divorce proceedings - moves that enjoy considerable support in the traditionally Catholic country.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33109...

Well, as we have seen, it's not simply the putzCo ideologues, but their Congressional enablers as well.

And Hillary is clearly one of them. So is any Dem who will not participate in impeachment proceedings.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

=====================
Iran's leaders need enemies like Bush, and at every turn he obliges them
This latest batch of sanctions has little to do with diplomacy and only makes US military action more inevitable
Max Hastings
Monday October 29, 2007
Guardian

America's undersecretary of state for political affairs, Nick Burns, told the world last week that his country's latest batch of economic sanctions against Iran is designed to support diplomacy: "In no way, shape or form does it anticipate the use of force." Perhaps Burns believes what he says, for the state department is thought to oppose military action. But in the White House sits a man who may be discredited but remains, in the phrase of Robert Draper, his most recent biographer, "dead certain". For another 15 months George Bush retains almost unchallengeable mastery of the greatest military arsenal on earth. There seems a real prospect that he will use this to cripple Iran's nuclear programme.

These sanctions are directed more at foreign businesses that deal with Iran than US commerce, which is already barred. It is hard to believe that Washington expects them to have much practical impact. As long as China and Russia keep trading, those imposed on Iran will, even by the historic standards of international sanctions, leak like Tony Blair's Downing Street.

The Iranians have oil, which the world wants to buy. The EU is eager to build a gas pipeline there, to diminish its dependence on Russian energy. Beijing and Moscow show no interest in helping Bush face down the Iranians. The principal causes of Tehran's economic turmoil are not sanctions, but the incompetence of the government and its refusal to allow foreign companies to develop its oil resources, for which the domestic skills are lacking.

There are two strands in the west's sanctions activity. The first is the elaborate minuet being performed by the Europeans. Led by France's Nicolas Sarkozy, their chief objective is to rebuild relationships with Washington by being seen to support US objectives. It is unlikely that anyone in the chancelleries of Europe supposes that sanctions will cause the Iranians to stop building their bomb. But they might deflect the Americans from military action.

As for the US, the main purpose of last week's action is to focus on what it believes is the violent meddling of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Iraq. There is also a school of thought that anger about economic mismanagement is a more powerful driver of Iranian public opinion than enthusiasm for an Islamic bomb; President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is already unpopular, they argue, and in the perpetual power struggle that characterises Iranian governance, tightening the trade screws might tip the balance. Iran's moderates, the pragmatists who despair of rampant inflation, soaring unemployment and an economy wholly dependent on oil and gas, could gain the upper hand.

Unfortunately, this seems fanciful. It is easier to accept the view of the Texas academics who concluded in a recent study of sanctions that they make military showdowns more likely. Christopher Sprecher, of Texas A&M University, says: "The country being sanctioned views the sanctions as weak, and therefore becomes almost provocative." A genuine global diplomatic coalition against Iran's nuclear and foreign policies would be far more likely to impress Tehran, Sprecher and a colleague argue, than sanctions perceived as an overwhelmingly American play.

[...]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,33109...

Wow, I've been here for awhile, off and on. I'm waiting for someone to put a *Judas* in the door, which evidently the builders forgot to do earlier and is one of the touch-ups now goin one.

I was taken aback by the expression, which means the little eyehole in the door so that one can see who is on the other side.

We have a locked building, with a little video so that we can see who is at the front door before we buzz them in. [When we had our informal housewarming in August, Angus, the 10-year-old son of some of our guest was totally entranced by this, so I assigned him the *door duty* which he thoroughly enjoyed. I LOVE 10-year-olds!] But the *Judas* is for verifying that the one knocking at the apartment door is the person you wish to allow access.

Anyway, even while waiting for the *Judas* people, I'd better get some work done, so I'm off for now.

But I leave you with DU's wonderful EarlG and the most recent Top Ten.

===================
The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 312
October 29, 2007
Fox On Fire Edition

This week sees the California wildfires dominating media coverage - Fox News (1) knows who's really to blame, Glenn Beck (2) finds the whole thing amusing, and FEMA (3) gives itself a big pat on the back. Elsewhere, George W. Bush (6) is throwing your money down the toilet, Fred Thompson (7) speaks his mind (what little there is of it) and Chuck Norris (9) reveals his choice for president. Enjoy, and don't forget the key!

[...]
http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis...

*goin one* s/b *going on* ...argh!

Now really gone!

Monica was up way past her bedtime giving us her police report?

well, Senator Dodd has at least read the Constitution, even if he throws an occasional "here" into a speech

thanks for that Marshall Plan link Judy

read about our meeting last night in todays papers, we did our arguing in closed session so I'm keeping my silence til the official press release

harvest today

Just back for a sec: received this in my email yesterday ... nothing to do with politics (at least directly) but everything to do with helping out one small businessperson in NOLA.

I bought some of these candles from Rita when we were at the French Market in NOLA in Sept. They're made from soy and really do smell WONDERFUL ... for some GREAT Xmas gifts.

Here's the message that came with it:

Happy Holidays
Please visit us in the Historic French Market or shop with us online this holiday season. As always thanks for your support and hope to see you this holiday season.
Cheers
Robby
Rita
David

New Orleans still proud to call it home

www.frenchquartercandles.com

*******************
Phil ... waves ... and Happy Harvesting!

Whoops, it looks like you'll have to past the last in your browser. You can't just click.

Try this one.

http://www.frenchquartercandles.com/

Hope it works. Now gone.

Actually, I was awakened by the fact that the other side of the bed was empty.  LOL

And, after one AM, I often find it hard to fall asleep again.  Though, since I've discovered a new trick, it's easier.  Did you know that it's possible to relax your head and neck?  The trick to going to sleep is making sure that all the muscles in your body are relaxed, one by one, starting with the head, neck, back, arms, hands, legs, etc.  Then, when the survey is complete and all parts are comfy and not twitchy, you start counting.  I hardly ever get beyond thirty anymore.........

Anyway, Judy has left way too much stuff to read. If I do that now I won't get anything written.  That retort about WWII from Stuart Taylor has really set me off.  To compare the current crew of Americans in charge with the people who set about straightening up in Germany after WWII is the grossest insult.  The German people didn't kill American troops, not because they were intimidated and defeated, but because the American troops didn't behave like goons.  And Chris Dodd's father was one of those who set the standard of behavior.  There were no revenge killings in Germany.  The Germans who co-operated with the Americans weren't considered traitors.  Because, what the Americans brought with them was moral authority.  They did the right thing and everybody recognized it.

I leave you with my question of the day--which Democratic candidate will be able to clean up the moral cesspool that the Bushes have created?

Wonder what would happen if somebody told Hillary, "hey lady, it's not about backing cookies; it's about cleaning out the shit." 

The more I read the news, the more I really believe that we are at a crossroads, and I am unsure any of the candidates are adequate to the job.

Forget 9/11 -- our entire national culture has eroded unbelievably over the years. Shoplifting used to be rare, but now shoplifters are as likely to be of the "greatest generation" as they are to be kids raised by the TV. These are people taking non-necessities, like costume jewelry. And no, it isn't Alzheimer's at fault here.

Neighbors used to help each other, but now it's surprising to even know anything much about one's neighbor.

Government used to fear the people. Not anymore.

Is it our oversaturation of media escapism? Our faith crisis (lack/rejection of)? Materialism that forces everyone to work all the time? Other things I haven't even considered? Probably.

But the sobering fact is, even before 9/11 we had already turned into a nation preying on itself. And now it's much worse. And there's no one in either party with the combination of statesmanship and moral fiber necessary to take this on, because what it means is sending every last one of us, me included, to the time-out corner.

-- volney

Oh, BTW, I just wanted to send kudos to Jim Dean for all of his work on behalf of DFA candidates around the country.

Considering Jim never aspired to anything political, and could probably think of many ways to spend his time other than shaking hands and eating rubber chicken, I think he is a real hero.

I know it provided a tremendous boost to our local DFA candidate Ted Nixon's campaign for Jim to come to events not just once, but twice.

Now that the World Series is over, we have 8 days where the floodgates wil open and the attack ads will be leveled. Since Ted has received the major newspaper endorsement, it will be easier to counter the attacks but they will still be coming.

If you can hit Ted's site with a couple bucks, thank you! And thanks again to Jim for giving us so much support and visibility!

http://www.tednixon.com

-- volney

Al Gore is that man volney.

because he is stepping on some very big  toes he needs us to back him in his cause whether he does it as a Presidential candidate or citizen

Phil, I agree.

And I really still believe he is undecided because if he was sure he wouldn't run he would have asked the Draft Gore people to stop before spending money on a full-page NY Times ad and now TV commercials. As he asked them to stop last time.

I think to a great extent he would like to sit this one out from a personal standpoint. He has the cachet to do world-changing good from any chair he chooses to sit in.

But then you look at the facts:

He won't endorse Hillary, for about a million different reasons.

Choosing between Obama and Edwards is tricky because neither of them is a proven commodity. And, rumors to the contrary, I doubt even Al Gore is selfless enough to be the running mate to either.

The people who are proven commodities don't currently have the money or mojo to win the nomination and I'm not sure if Gore's endorsement, on its own, would be enough to get them there.

Plus, endorsing anyone is a crapshoot. You endorse and they screw up, people blame you. You endorse and they succeed, they get the credit.

Nah, he needs to run. Especially if part of him would like to be president someday, well that day has come and he is the person he's been waiting for.

And, given Barbara Boxer's courageous outing of the WH's redaction of the recent health testimony, I can only say:

Gore-Boxer '08

-- volney

I want a candidate who is a far distance from the DLC and their brand of politics, but demand one that isn't a member of the War Party.

Chris Dodd has a "How much are these haircuts?" barber shop ad here, and so evidently has made the calculation that Edwards is the front runner. ... done in a joking manner for sure but Edwards is running as a populist and that part of his story is his only real exploitable weakness as his platform is very close to the center of Iowa Democratic Platform planks

Edwards will be helped by Iowa's calendar change at the expense of Obama who was depending on those big college turnout numbers.

I'm still looking for a three way tie here so Iowa isn't going to decide anything except perhaps who comes in fourth will be given new life

Phil,

I'm trying to interpret the Democratic Party rules, as they exist on democrats.org. in relation to Iowa moving up its caucus.  As you understand, will Iowa pay any penalty for moving up from January 14th to the 3rd?  Best I can tell, technically they should, but nobody running dares call them on it (or NH once they officially move up. 

An Obama supporter told me they always wanted the college students in Iowa to caucus back in their home towns, so school being out isn't an issue.  I'm not sure I buy that, but that's what they're spinning.

I’m always slightly surprised by suggestions from past supporters of Gov. Dean that some Democratic presidential candidates do not warrant serious consideration because of a supposed lack of experience.

There’s two reasons: 1) Historically, experience in political office is among the least reliable indicators of presidential fitness, unless you value the skills of political maneuvering and beltway posturing for the job. Consider the qualifications of some of the ultimate resume candidates like George H.W. Bush or Bob Dole in contrast with Dwight Eisenhower or John Kennedy (or George Washington and Abraham Lincoln if you analyze it); and

2) I always found among the greatest assets Gov. Dean brought to the campaign was his vocation as a physician, which gave him a unique perspective on health care issues particularly, but on others such as abortion rights and economic polices, especially the effect of these issues on ordinary people. In general, candidates who are traditionally regarded most highly as experienced often tend to perceive problems dealt with on daily basis by common citizens from a relatively lofty and detached vantage point.