Stop creeping me out, Hillary!

Hillary Clinton: My other hot button on this day of thanks is the strangely Bush-esque qualities of the woman who's currently leading primary polls. I wrote about this months ago, and while at the time I tried not to be too harsh about it, I'm flat-out starting to worry. Since I heard Medea Benjamin from Code Pink talk about the "Clinton thugs" last year, I haven't heard any good news coming out of that camp.

Here's my problem: I smelled a rat with the Bush Administration when Cheney refused to release the information about his energy task force. (The rat was apparently named "we'll save the oil companies by bombing a country in the middle east and take their oil, and give it to the oil companies".) Free speech zones weren't far behind, and if you're not familiar, if you wanted to protest the government, you had to walk yourself into a little cage with other protesters where no one could see or hear what you had to say. We let a lot of really anti-American activities such as these occur on our watch, and I see the same kind of thuggery in Hillary. Now there's planted questions (as if she couldn't handle the crap questions that are asked in these debates anyway) and god knows what else.

We have two choices: either DEMAND that she change her tactics, or find an American candidate, one who will stand up for me to say whatever I want EVERYWHERE in this country. America is supposed to be one big giant Free Speech Zone, remember?

Quickly, because I'm late for turkey, let me say this: if you feel that getting rid of the Bush Administration is the most important goal, because our policies are better than their policies, then by all means vote for Hillary. As she constantly reminds us, she is the best fighter. If on the other hand you are more concerned with the behavior of this Administration and the trashing of the Constitution and the lying and the secrecy, you best look elsewhere. I see no evidence that her hands will be any cleaner. Personally, I can't take any more of this behavior.

Little Miss Hiatus

"This vote may have already happened!"

--Jeff Greenfield on Slate's Political Gabfest podcast (8/17/07) on the primary elections being held earlier and earlier.

I'm taking a break on posting to catch up on my podcasts and net surfing, and to catch up that my son has turned three. I noticed I pooped out last August, too. Lazy days of summer and all that. Enjoy your last days of sipping lemonade, and I'll see you in September (unless something outrageous happens before then). Keep watching the skies!

Obama's Plan to Solve this Mess

Today in Salon.com's War Room, they posted an "excerpt from the Obama campaign", which laid out his differences with the current adminstration vis a vis foreign policy and our answer to whatever war it is we're in. Now, it's only a campaign pledge, it doesn't mean much this early out, but I have to say, I do agree with this theory. The details may vary in yummy goodness, but this at least shows some intelligent thinking...

"Just because the president misrepresents our enemies does not mean we do not have them. The terrorists are at war with us. The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, but the threat is real ... To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

"The president would have us believe that every bomb in Baghdad is part of al-Qaida's war against us, not an Iraqi civil war. He elevates al-Qaida in Iraq -- which didn't exist before our invasion -- and overlooks the people who hit us on 9/11, who are training new recruits in Pakistan. He lumps together groups with very different goals: al-Qaida and Iran, Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents. He confuses our mission.

"By refusing to end the war in Iraq, President Bush is giving the terrorists what they really want, and what the Congress voted to give them in 2002: a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.

"When I am president, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on to the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world's most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland."

Obama hit two key points I agree with:

• the Pres has got us all confused. There are major differences in the different groups O mentioned. Al-Qaeda, for example, will NEVER be supported by Iran, because AQ is Sunni and Iran is Shi'a. They are not on the same side. These distinctions are not clear to the American public, and in this smoke and mirrors, the Pres can make anyone seem like an enemy.
• drying up support for extremists. The Pres once famously divided the world into those "with us" and "against us". The truth is, if you were inclined to divide the world in two, the split is over extremism v. moderation. Guess what, kids? We are extremists in this fight. The Islamic extremists, by Allah, want one world in their image, and the NeoConservatice extremists, by God, want another. We are caught between the two, and both seem intent on bloodshed. If, however, we had pressed for moderation, consideration, unity, and friendship with the nations of the world after 9/11 (and before), we could have helped to "dry up" extremism with moderation, much like a rash dries up with Caladryl.
  

Most people just want to live their lives in peace and freedom. Most people in the world are more concerned, truthfully, with their family budget, sick cat, carpools, their children's health, their parents' aging, and all the rest. They will only rise to arms when they feel like their well-being is threatened, either by their own society's or another's extremism. We excite these regular folks with our imperialistic "remaking" of the Muslim world. We are doing this, and it's time we realized it. We must remake ourselves into a voice for moderation, tolerance, freedom, and peace. I can't say this is what Obama was thinking, I can only go by the quote above, but I think his words represent a new way of thinking of our relationship with the world.

I am still not endorsing any candidate. It's too early. But I will report when they say something that rings true... or false.

Rummy's back!

And in fine form. He's testifying in front of the House hearing on Pat Tillman's death, and he answered Rep. Elijah Cummings' question (something like what the hell happened) was, (paraphrasing), "Well, you know, there are lots of investigations all the time, I mean, heck, how could everyone know everything?"

Someday when I grow up to be a real blogger I'll figure out how to get exact quotes while listening to CSPAN 3 on the net. In the meantime, here's where all the excitement is happening...