The Watercooler for 07/08/08 6:00 PM

Here we go again!

Linda b, more than heartbreaking.  What kind of country, government does what this administration has done?  Those who want to protect and defend have been used brutally, and Bush and company haven't a clue.  If war is declared, the leaders should be sent to fight the war in hand to hand combat. 

My son was in the Army and the National Guard.  He is always the first to step forward to protect those in need.  It's a wonderful human characteristic, and we have  used it like disposable goods.

Denise, Susan, Karen, Phil, all, it's good to hear your thoughts.

I think of this blog and Ben Franklin's words: "You've got a democracy if you can keep it."  How easy it was to go from a grassroots, people energized effort to a top down, dictatorial hierarchy.  How did we lose the blog?  But, we did.

Beauiful day here, and we keep on trying.

It's going to sizzle here for a few days before it cools down.  Not good for the fires, though Big Sur is about 20% contained now.  No loss of life which is the best news.  22 homes destroyed, though none of the businesses that I so love to visit.  Not this summer though :(

A piece of heaven is burning

I hate it even when primroses along side the road are destroyed.  I'm positive that nature is sentient, and that we are part of the whole.  It's a tragedy when so much destruction occurs.

When we moved here, Denise, part of the Estes Valley, about 6800 feet above sea level, we received an evacuation order that summer, the summer of 2002, which was horrendous.  Everything was brown, the soil dust, and the heat and wind unremitting.  Well, when it came to evacuate, we packed up the hard drives, the photo albums, and some financial papers, and it told us that all the stuff we accumulate really isn't that important.  Survival is."

I've always wanted to see Big Sur.  It seems to me Eden with the mountains, the ocean, the forests, the sun.  My heart goes out to people in California.

We're thinking of taking our Jayco camper to California this year.  The only time I've seen California was a visit to Clovis near Fresno where my husband's sister lives.  Otherwise, it's all been in transit: Anaheim on the way to Colorado, and San Francisco on the way to Samoa.

Karen, my best friend Mary Bryant ( now deceased) lived in Port Huron on the lake front.  I visited her on my freshman summer.  I remember across the lake was Sarnia.  It was a beautiful place.

Susan, yes, visit in June.  The wildflowers have been wonderful this year.  I've been thinking that in the West you have names like Paradise, Eden, Nepenthe, Valhalla, Heaven's Door.  But, the whole planet is beautiful.  I just wish we weren't urbanizing it so fast.  We need the space and wild places.

We had a 14 point (on the antlers)  royal elk in our backyard several nights ago.  He moved to the front and headed toward the lilac bush.  My husband and I stood on the porch, clapping our hands, saying, no, no, don't eat the lilac.  He looked up at us, snorted, and moved on.

Iran begins large-scale military drill The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has begun a military exercise and issued a warning that Israel and US naval forces in the Persian Gulf would be prime targets if Iran is attacked. The US is also carrying out drills in the Gulf, which began last week and end on Monday. The US vowed that it would not let Iran block the strategic waterways, which are used to transport significant parts of the Gulf's oil to the rest of the world.

This is  ominous.  Is Keithie talking about this?

AIPAC’s Hirelings Rush to Resolution America’s Knesset, servile hirelings of Israel’s lobby, rush to pass yet another resolution conceived by AIPAC, authored and co-signed by its most slavish puppets, Ackerman and Ros-Lehtinen in the House and Lieberman and Bayh in the Senate--Resolutions H. Con. 362 and S. 580, the “Iran War Resolution.” Passage gives Bush power to impose a unilateral blockade on Iran, an act, if done without UN sanction, is an act of war.

David Glenn Cox: When Money Goes Out the Door, Love Flies Out the Window How do you explain it? Without need or justification Barack Obama has begun the Democratic death spiral. Like a moth to a flame or a lemming to the cliff, the presumptive Democratic nominee has started moving toward the center. Like Charlie Brown, running at full steam towards Lucy with the football, unburdening himself of his principles along the way to build up speed.

Free trade under fire as G-8 meets; Recent economic woes are raising new doubts about the benefits of globalization. 7/8

MIDEAST: Palestinian Village Takes On Israeli Military
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH - Ambulances were again prevented Monday from entering the central West Bank village of Ni'ilin, near Ramallah, to evacuate the ill and the wounded. Supplies of medicines were running low, as confrontations continued with youths defying a four-day-old curfew imposed by the Israeli military.
MORE >>

I guess what we're experiencing here is trickle down censorshiip

IRAQ: Journalist Charges Censorship by U.S. Military in Fallujah
By Dahr Jamail
SAN FRANCISCO - U.S. journalist Zoriah Miller says he was censored by the U.S. military in the Iraqi city of Fallujah after photographing Marines who died in a suicide bombing.
MORE >>

If Americans were Argentinians, bush and his band of murderers would be gone already.

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/2294  (still can't line from top)

We will be in acceptance mode again. We will understand why the telecommunications companies had to be immunized from lawsuits. It will all make sense, and we will be okay with it.

Soon the drums will start beating for attacking Iran. Many in our party are either silent, or already on board for firmer actions against that country. Just like it was before Iraq..the drum beating by the media and the silence by those who should not silent on such a dangerous move.

We pretty much accepted that those who voted to invade Iraq were misled not complicit. We don't like the deaths and the torture, but there is really nothing we can do...so we go into acceptance mode.

It is like the calls about CAFTA and NAFTA and other trade deals with other countries. They simply push them through anyway. Done deals. Too late to stop it, they tell us.

The bankruptcy bill, that was another. I remember when the House Blue Dog Democrats and the House New Dems wrote separate letters to Denny Hastert, begging him to bring the bill to a vote. They were anxious to bring it about. No need to go into the harmful parts of the bill, really doesn't matter anyway. It's done.

Today, a few minutes ago, I deleted a post of mine that was covering what the Third Way and DLC/PPI were urging about voting for the FISA bill.

I decided it just was not worth it. It is just assumed that because I have been posting about FISA and my disdain for it....that I was attacking Obama. That's how minds work here. I could tell you we sent another $100 to Obama through Howard Dean's letter to us yesterday. No one ever believed we supported Kerry financially either, because I often said he should stand up more forcefully.

SO this is not a post about FISA...it is a post about inevitability, about acceptance, about the many kinds of loyalty there are to be had.

It is the inevitability that our party will care more about pleasing the far right than about pleasing their base. There will be few speaking out differently than the nominee. It will just not be done.

Then after we find out that Bob Barr was right...that a government who takes away the privacy of a man will control him completely....we won't have to worry. The deed will be done.

And we will accept it because we have to do so.

So many of us are not posting anymore.  where's Anni?

Enuf from me for now.  Be kind to one another...we may not have much time, being mortal and all.

Unfortunately, I'm beginning to think that it has all been intentional.  I don't like having those kind of thoughts.  I would prefer that it be a competency or a management crisis problem more than anything else.

Of course not, Huron. The media gives all things israel a pass.

BTW, Argentina supplies its own gas and it costs about $2.60 a gallon.

Why would the critters be complicit in an Iran war?  Iraq I can understand, tho I think them complicit...but Iran?  Are they making money there too before the fact?

Dean, Sebelius Discuss Obama's Acceptance Speech at Invesco Field

I don't want to think about why sebelius is in on this.  Good grief.

i went back to get a drink of water and read lindab's post about the soldier.

And BO is thinking of extending just a bit?

May we could hire some Argentinians to do our work for us to rid ourselves of all the vermin on the Hill.  The people here are quite upset with what's going on and desperately hope that BO will end the wars.

I think they may be disappointed.

For those who missed it, the dollar is holding here at 3; the euro is at 4.75.  The place is crawling with Europeans.

Cheney Aides Altered Congressional Testimony
http://www.truthout.org/article/cheney-aides-altered-congressional-testimony
Juliet Eilperin reports for The Washington Post: "Members of Vice President Dick Cheney's staff censored Congressional testimony by a top federal official on the health threats posed by global warming, a former Environmental Protection Agency official said today."

War Powers Resolution of 1973 "Undermines the Rule of Law"
http://www.truthout.org/article/war-powers-resolution-1973-undermines-rule-law
John M. Broder writes for The New York Times: "Two former secretaries of state have declared the War Powers Resolution of 1973 obsolete and proposed a new system of closer consultation between the White House and Congress before American forces go into battle."

Please wish us well...

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SB 840 (Kuehl) Assembly Appropriations (July 16^th, 2008 9 AM)

SB 840 will be heard in Assembly Appropriations Committee on July 16th, 2008.  The hearing begins at 9 am and is being held in the State Capitol, Room 4202.

Members of the public are welcome to attend and to state their support for the measure.  Come show your support for Single Payer Health Care!

Prior to the hearing use the attached vote count to help secure the needed votes in the committee.  Please contact your own representatives and be mindful if you are calling a co-author!

17 members. 12 Democrats.  Need 9 votes.   We have 10 co-authors.

Actions:   Ask co-authors to recommit. Ask Leno to help pass the bill. Target the following office for commitments: Davis and Furutani.

This will be the last committee presentation for SB 840 this year.  The hearing is open to the public and we are encouraging supporters to come to the hearing.  SB 840 will be sent directly to the 'suspense file' alongside all other bills with cost impacts.  We need members to support the bill in committee on July 16^th and then again in the first week of August to bring the bill off of suspense.

Messaging on LAO report:  See also Senator Kuehl's essay posted at www.senate.ca.gov.

1.      The LAO did not actually assess SB 840.  The LAO was asked (by anonymous legislators) to assess whether the funding mechanism, developed for the Lewin study to fund the system in 2006, would still fund the proposal if it were implemented in 2011 -- after 5 years of skyrocketing health care costs.

2.      Unsurprisingly, the LAO found that following 5 years of health care inflation the specific numbers used in 2006 will no longer work in 2011 and will have to be higher.  However, whatever numbers are necessary to fund a single payer health care system in year it is enacted; they will be less than the premiums California will be paying at that time.

3.      The LAO report CONFIRMS that SB 840 would save billions of dollars in administrative spending and other efficiencies and that it would contain the growth of health care spending considerably. In fact, the LAO report specifically wrote that Lewin's assessments, which found that SB 840 would have been fully funded in 2006, were reasonable. The projected deficit largely represents the cost to the state of California for the Governor's veto of universal health care in 2006.

4.      The LAO report assumed precisely what Senator Kuehl has long been saying -- current health care spending is plenty of money to pay for universal health care, in whatever year single payer is enacted

Every news clip I see has the Obama ca,paign "responding" to a McCain attack or commercial.

Reminds me of both the Gore and Kerry campaigns.

At some point you have to go on offense

Huron,he's never been an offense kinda guy.  I don't think it's in his nature and he seems to like working well with others.   HC woulda been ripping McC a new one; not that I think she should be the nominee.  I also think JE would be ripping him a new one and I did think he should be the nominee.............

I've said repeatedly that we needed a fighter and that's not BO's MO.

Was this posted/

Maliki Stunner: He Wants US Pullout Timetable
http://www.truthout.org/article/maliki-stunner-he-wants-us-pullout-timetable
Robert Dreyfuss, of The Nation: "Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tossed a bombshell today. In a news conference about the still-secret US-Iraqi talks, which began in March, Maliki for the first time said that the chances of securing the pact are just about nil, and instead he said Iraq will seek a limited, ad hoc renewal of the US authority to remain in Iraq, rather than a broad-based accord."

Obama Faces Resistance From Top Supporters of Clinton 7/8

Tonight, Tuesday July 8, listen to Mimi Kennedy, Lila Garrett, and other PDA leaders,  plus endorsed candidate Harry Taylor from North Carolina. Richard Greene has been very supportive of PDA. Show PDA's support in return by listening to "Clout" at 9:00 PM EDT / 6:00 PM PDT every weekday and especially on PDA Tuesdays. Click here to listen to the live stream. Help us drive up online listener numbers to keep "Clout" on the air with PDA!