"Into The West"

Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You've come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore.

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping.

What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home.

Don't say: 'We have come now to the end'
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping.

~AL

My God, it's quiet! It's nice talking to You, though.

Edmund

Kate, damn did God tell you to do that?

Edmund,
yes
of course

...
oh my gosh

What a loveable old Devil He IS

aye,
she is

and so are you!
:)
dearest

btw, pertinent poem, though I'm very much awake, you?

Gotcha!

I just can't yet fall asleep,
and I was thinking of you when I
posted
"into the west"

something about your comment to mine,
about the banquet
and time.

you are
on my mind

~ Kate

We just can't go on meeting this way. People will talk!

talk they will
no matter what
:-)

We'd better leave room for them sweet heart. x

then I will try for rest and sweet dreams now
and
silence

Thank you john, bonnie, edmund, irvine, derek, freyja and for your responses heather and north:

Thank you deeply for taking the time to reply. I have been pondering your replies. I appreciate every comment. I understand it is different things
for different people.

For me, it is a community. There are many places, forums, networks, discussions board and blogs I
visited or belonged. For me, many members are part of a loose online family irregardless of current
conflicts or disagreements between some.

I have maintained contact with some members I have really connected with, and treasure the deeper quality. There are members I have never or rarely replied to online or offline, yet they are part of my sense of community and valued very much.

Some names have come and gone and I still remember their impact. Every single poster I have read has touched me in some way.

Namaste,
Vanessa

Vanessa, I think it is all a stage, (all senses/meanings of the word) We are the players thereon, the script already written somewhere's deep in what parades as memory.

Bless you.

The earth is what we all have in common
----------------------------------------

Earth Day is April 22 and this is an excellent time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to speed-up the healing process of environment. Therefore, Earth Day is a time to unite around new actions. Earth Day is every day and a time to act to protect our planet.

The earth is what we all have in common and this is why I have
some very common things to share with you to control global
warming from every local home.

1. Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact
fluorescent light bulb (cfl) CFLs use 60% to 70% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 400Kg of carbon dioxide a year.

2. Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher
levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere! Plus, organic food is great for you!

3. Reach local farmers
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth.

4. Reuse your shopping bag
When shopping, it saves energy and waste too, use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

5. Recycle
You can save 1000kg of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just
half of your household waste.

6. Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water — use less hot water by
installing an energy efficient triple A rated showerhead (3 tones of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (225kg saved per year).

7. Avoid products with a lot of packaging
You can save 545kg of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

8. Be a thoughtful buyer
One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste
than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Also, choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can. By doing so, you will also cute down on waste production and energy use!

9. Tune your vehicle
Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve your car's fuel
efficiency. Every liter of petrol saved keeps 2.5kg of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!

When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

10. Use limited amount of electricity and turn off electric n electronic devices n gadgets if you are not using them.

11. PLANT A TREE
Tell your kid about the difference between flower-plants and a
Planting a tree. reaping a rose is different than harvesting big tall trees. Do plant a tree n inspire to do so on every possible occasions.

How drastically things will change globally when every local
home acts responsibly for the earth because The earth is what we all have in common. And I call it as a local change for global effect.

Each day is Earth Day - Celebrate it everyday
-----------------------------------------------

Nilesh Gore

SO MANY CONDITIONS

Out looking for the troubles we’ve mistaken
we manufacture heartbeats any cat can hear
Physical & emotional instincts clamor for
gratification
We promote the ones who smear our faces
with kisses of approval
You spark my lightning & trigger my thunderstorms
Whatever you become is a limitation
Whatever you overcome is a liberation

Your love comes with so many conditions
it never quite seems to make an appearance
You’ve turned self-deception into an art form
No one can sabotage themselves the way you do
How can I keep track of all your crowded flights?
Name your poisons in alphabetical order
along with your latest string of crimes
Let me witness your controlled intoxications

Slaves of futility all chasing illusions
Someone’s always dying to meet you
What will you hit when you crash
& the ground’s no longer solid?
Who but a willing fool would
accept the role of ruler for a moment?
Cry out the truths you can never express
as you’re melting on my tongue

The One and only, Steve Toth.

Gobsmacked am i

Something is the matter.

I just can't follow that.

Sudden suspicions come at me.

I'm trying to shoo them away.

The "Who's Who" of authenticity

lies in cover-ups and falsies.

.

If calling you, "Grandma" is an offense, pal, I apologize.

I am sorry. Good day to you! Ol'Chum

Ah Keith, just the man, don't be suspicious, neither you nor me.
What did I do? Those blessed doves are taking all the flowers off me primroses. Do you think it's the nectar they're after or before?

Phew, I think I need another glass of Sherry.

Gob smacked!

I drink to a little bikini, don't you?

#17 Aww.... hi Nilesh, I blessed your post and now I see it didn't go through.
What I wrote was, yes it is about time to stop taking our Mother for granted. My own mother died 'before her time' and that shames me. Yet, still she forgives me.
Ed.

Dear Kate,

#1 very apt. In fact I waited for the new OT to show up and somehow something came up and I missed it as I wanted to give our Keith a wake up call. You did that anyway, you and Edmund, and its nice to have a small manageable OT to visit made all the more pleasureable by the company here.

Its a nice day here too :)
Love
Dara

"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." --Albert Einstein

----

Kate.. I thought you and Keith have been an item for over 2 years here; in much the same way you are now, with Edmund? I'm confused...

Cinda..I hope you recieved your book. : )
Derek..glad you got yours. : )

Confused me, is off to shovel from the blizzard we had all night.

Love,
North

Jesse "The Body" Ventura! He always was my favorite wrestler, and I like his politics too!

Peace

Thanks Bonnie and Irvine Welsh for your welcome greetings. I did miss Irvine’s posts #197,198 and 199 on the previous open thread.

The reference to that skeptisch person got me wondering and digging in the IB archives. This guy was quite a prominent poster. He seems to have been against the Iraqi war from the beginning and had clashes with other prominent IBers like Amba and Norm. He got along with most people but especially a guy named Ron Saywack.

Skeptisch did have a clash with “Neocon Norm”. Norm blew a gasket during one of the exchanges. But in a classy move he gave the world a look inside himself, and into what it may look like in many of us.
Here it is again:

“Skeptisch,

We've had our rounds in the past, you said I wasn't a decent human being because I was able to look around me and be happy with what I saw, and I grabbed hold of my ego, called you an arrogant prick, and we parted ways not so amiably.

Will you allow me to apologize for that? I should have made an attempt to learn from you instead of reacting to you. I'm sorry.

I said all that, because I needed to, and also to try to enter this conversation with a clear mind and heart.

I find myself caught between you and the believers. I'm sure it's obvious to most I'm not highly educated as far as formal education goes. That is one of my greatest sorrows in life. My kids live under the threat, "you're going to college if I have to beat you every day and drag you there!!!" I have a good life, but education gives one a lot more options and quickens the mind...not sure why I'm saying all this....maybe just a preface...

I'm not a Christian, though raised that way by wonderful parents. I suppose that's why I have a heightened sensitivity to the sneering way Christians are talked about on this blog. I drifted away from that life in my late 20's. Since then, I've been at times like a ship without a sail, tossed on the tempest of life. Though sometimes I long for the haven of that life, (believing that sincerely is comforting) I can't intellectually return there.

I find myself caught in the middle. I believe in reason as you do. I believe most things will be borne out scientifically....yet I also believe there is 'something' out there. Call it conciousness, call it energy, call it love...it's there. I don't believe we were put here to walk around 75 years like an automaton, to fill a grave and be a banquet for worms, but I believe there is more to it than that....When the heart stops beating, the blood stops flowing...in some form I think we go on....

Anyway, if this is all there is...Oh Well!! If not, maybe someday we can sit on a cloud together, and smoke a cosmic cigar!!

norm

ps...on a lighter note...if this reincarnation stuff is correct....I wanna come back as a lesbian or a black angus bull!! Lesbian...well that's self explanatory....angus bull...well, he eats, he sleeps....he 's surrounded by pretty little heifers who never have a headache!!!”

80. Posted by norm on January 5, 2007 07:55 AM

Skeptisch’s response showed some class too:

“No problem Norm, welcome back!
Mind you, you are still a Neocon or at least a Republican, aren’t you? :-)”

83. Posted by Skeptisch on January 5, 2007 08:25 AM

Hi there Walter,

Norm, like Skeptisch was an authentic person, with no pretensions, a straightforward southerner. He is certainly missed and so is his bride Divya.

goodwednesday everyone

Well, I have been a busy lately and the news, well, it is never good, these days, but low and behold I found a few lines that made me smile and brightened my day, today.

I was over at huffpo and what caught my eye was an article, by Arthur S(sorry, didn't get the rest) about how Maureen Dowd from the nyTimes is recognizing Hillary's staying power and is just a tad bit admiring of it..saying this about the race...

"It has come to this -- even the acidic Maureen Dowd is showing a sneaking admiration for Hillary Clinton. In a column in Wednesday's New York Times, Dowd recognizes for the first time the tenacity and indominability of Hillary Clinton in this year's presidential race. Calling her a "scrappy blue-collar mama" in contrast to a more "effete" Obama, Dowd writes that "one of the most valuable lessons the gritty Hillary can teach the languid Obama -- and the timid Democrats -- is that the whole point of a presidential race is to win. It's not to share power, or force the squabbling couple into an arranged marriage. The winner wins, even if it's only by a fraction of a percentage point or one Supreme Court justice." The only wonderment is that it has taken Dowd almost the entire Democratic contest of 2007-2008 to finally reach this conclusion. But better late than never."

I love that Hillary has the vote of the blue collar workers the folks that know how hard these times are and the ones who are scraping by paycheck to paycheck their "high ideals" are the ones that will, not just keep them afloat, but keep them from drowning altogether sooner rather than later." They are not at all fooled by the man with the golden tongue.

Now, don't run too fast to read my latest, you might trip over your enthusiasm and really hurt yurselves.:)

have a great day everyone, ruth

Dear Edmund,

yes... u r right n ur comment is appriciated
be in touch

Nilesh

Yeah the blue collar workers, those less educated low info people can learn, and the more they learn the more they prefer the better candidate.

SHOCK POLL: Obama takes the lead in PA...
April 2

Barack Obama 45
Hillary Clinton 43

Barack Obama has taken the lead in Pennsylvania, a remarkable turnaround after trailing Hillary Clinton by 26 points in a PPP poll in the state just two and a half weeks ago.

Full results:

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Penn_Release_040208.pdf

just wanted to add...

I just read the nyTimes piece and Mauree Dowd ends with this line,.....

"Hillary’s work is done only when she is done, because the best way for Obama to prove he’s ready to stare down Ahmadinejad is by putting away someone even tougher.'

God, if folks think that this campaign has been a rough ride for Barak Obama because he was running against Hillary Clinton they must have been asleep for quite a few decades of our political process, really, I can't think of a Candidate who has had it this easy, so far into a campaign.

so long, farewell...by by ruth

The people who lack any original thought are not those who copy and paste articles, but those who use the opinions and words of others to craft their own.

Ruth, as usual misinterpreted Maureen's Hillary 'tougher than Ahmadinejad' comparison. It show that Obama shall have an experience dealing with a person who cannot see anything beyond his/her narrow, illogical, egoistic perspective to do anything justifying the means to an end.

"I can't think of a Candidate who has had it this easy, so far into a campaign."

Every front runner has it easy this far into a campaign. Though, I can't think of anyone like Hillary who uses negative tactics so far into a campiagn.

Ruth is perhpas ignorant of all the antics of Hillary and her campaign to try to win at all costs. I think I will enlighten the likes of her in subsequent posts.

Clinton campaign: popular vote doesn't matter

Harold Ickes:

"In the wide-ranging interview, Ickes also [confirmed] that the Hillary campaign could still try to woo super-dels even if she lost the popular vote, with Michigan and Florida counted"

So what's the point of even counting the popular vote?

Armando:

"Hillary Clinton is out there arguing in favor of counting the votes in all 50 states and here is Ickes saying that the RESULT of those votes will not matter to the Clinton campaign."

Of course it won't matter. I'm not sure why Armando or anyone else would be surprised about that.

Clinton's campaign has one premise -- victory at all costs. If that requires sundering the Democratic Party, so be it. She doesn't care. Therefore, there is no logic that applies. The popular vote only matters if it favors her. The pledged delegate lead only matters if it favors her. Michigan and Florida only matter if it favors her. States only matters if they vote for her. Groups and communities in this country only matters if they supports her. Super delegates only matter if they cast their lot with her.

Clinton personifies the worst of the "with us, or against us"-type thinking that has gotten us in trouble with the rest of the world.

So we have a campaign that is losing by every metric imaginable. And now that campaign says that it doesn't care if she's losing by every metric imaginable. Her campaign will carry on regardless.

No one can say that Clinton doesn't play to win. In some circumstances, that is admirable.

The only problem is that she already lost. At this point, this is just pathetic. --dKos

Clinton Dealing with the Devil

I'm flabbergasted. It appears that Senator Clinton has made a deal with the devil.

Everyone knows that Clinton recently said "He would not have been my pastor" -- trying to stir up the whole Jeremiah Wright thing again, but most people don't know that those words were spoken in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, a newspaper owned by Richard Mellon Scaife. Scaife himself was in the room during that interview.

* whim's diary :: ::
*

So who is Scaife? (Summary: He spent the '90s manufacturing vile innuendo about the Clintons. Scaife "spread the reprehensible allegation that Hillary Clinton killed Vince Foster" and said that Bill Clinton "can order people done away with at his will. He's got the entire federal government behind him. ... God, there must be 60 people who have died mysteriously.")

What does Clinton want from Scaife? Read this:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_559659.html

And his paper published this hit piece about Obama and Wright yesterday:

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/04/01/a-vote-for-obama-is-a-vote-for-murder.aspx

Can Clinton be courting Scaife for any other reason than to fan the flames of racism in Pennsylvania?

-----------

And if that weren't enough on Clinton, apparently she was fired from her job on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate investigation for lying and unethical behavior:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/1/12146/80206/920/488267

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/john-stephenson/2008/04/01/will-media-give-story-about-hillarys-unethical-past-legs-it-deserve

Hey, Chris, you're reading through your own bias in your comment 33. That Dowd piece was superb -- thanks, ruth, for pointing it out!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/opinion/02dowd.html

My favorite quote:

"...the Hillary camp will garrote him with his mistakes until he fully appreciates what garroting feels like..."

That's a worthy bit of writing, in any context.

All the more so, in Dowd's triple-wrap-back piece of mockery.

As for your contention in 32 that "The people who lack any original thought are not those who copy and paste articles, but those who use the opinions and words of others to craft their own." -- that self-defense is too silly for words.

"Hey, Chris, you're reading through your own bias in your comment 33. "

Probably that's not what Maureen meant, she left it it open for interpretation, but what I said is a true unlike Ruth's. I don't care to base my opinion on what Maureen says.

We are back to politics? So be it.

Obama endorsed by Lee Hamilton, Chair of 911 Commission and Iraq Study Group.

Obama endorsed by Lee Hamilton, Chair of 911 Commission and Iraq Study Group.

You don't need to base your opinion on Dowd's, but you can admire her scintillating skill in producing fine satire, which is as complex and lovely as a beautifully-embroidered silk cloth, to wrap her opinions up in. That piece is pretty great thinking and writing.

Life, endorsed by H.G. Quinn, despite all its difficulties and peculiarities.

Did I say, I don't appreciate Maureen's writing style and skills? I do appreciate it. What I disagree is with Ruth's opinion based on her article.

PS: You can praise Maureen's writing too, without looking for a pretense to do so.

There was no pretense. It's like having two gifts in one box. I appreciate the writing and thought, and the positions she's expressing, separately. And then there is a third gift, in its own box: the interplay between her sparkling wit and her serious thinking. Like musical counterpoint, like mustard curry, like hot fudge on ice cream, like neat Talisker and crisps.

or better, like a plunge in the ocean on a sizzling hot day.

...like a hot dance on a dark summer night, like the fragrance of jasmine in early morning cool.

like roses.

There you go again. You appreciate Maureen's writing and her article. Well good. But you do it with a pretense. The pretense being to rebut me. I have nothing against your opinions of her article. Listen AGAIN, my ONLY disagreement was with Ruth's statement which I addressed already.

Ratter than a "pretense," you just needed an "excuse." to express your admiration. I say, just make your statements, don't scapegoat others to express your views.

stop stop stop, please lower your ego... it's true you willfully misinterpreted Dowd's spectacular writing. but it is the writing I care about. if the piece hadn't been that good, I'd have kept my peace. her opinion is secondary, and your personal positions in general are tertiary. my going on about it has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with finding a great piece of writing on a day when I needed to find something like that. it's pretty much between me and me.

pax, baby?

Chris, I recommend purging your mind of all cliche, like scapegoat, strawmen, etc. try something new, fresh -- something from yourself! it will have much more meaning for those who read you, and it's a lot more fun.

love, h

You are blinded by projections. Oh, I guess I should not use cliche like "projection." and denial. And of course I am perhpas ignorant that you never project or don't harbor biases in cognizance. Sorry, cliches again.

I do appreciate Maureen Dowd's articles. That doesn't mean that I should agree with every crazy ass statement made by anyone based on those articles, or every interpretation of it, or with what I might see as overstatement or understatement of the literary and intellectual quality of her article.

#24 Dear North, I wouldn't want to upset Keith for the world. I hadn't perceived them to be an 'item.'

Read those first posts carefully and note the times. Kate and I are on opposite sides of the world, with, honestly no connections other than what Meike calls the 'heartphone.' We both walked away gobsmacked at that. That might be difficult to discern for a casual glancer.
This is Love not love. When it comes to 'Items' you are all included in this grandpa's book. It's just that Kate and I are easy-going and reaping the rewards of that, I venture to suggest. There IS a vibe between Kate and I, though I'd rather not speak for her. That vibe did funny things this, my morning and her night-time, and that was the 'item' if you wish to use such a word.

dear Chris, nowhere have I suggested, recommended or said you should agree with even a single letter in anyone's writing or opinions...

I believe in everyone's right to make their own decisions. If someone makes an interpretative error, whether it's accidental or otherwise, I'll point it out sometimes. That's it.

I like the pungency of your words today.

San Francisco Chronicle: Bill "Red-Faced, Finger-Pointing" At Superdelegates Meeting

Bill's Tirade In Private Meeting Stuns Superdelegates

"It was one of the worst political meetings I have ever attended," one superdelegate said.

"If someone makes an interpretative error, whether it's accidental or otherwise, I'll point it out sometimes. That's it."

Oh, really? I made an interpretative error?

My point in #33 was to point out the error made my Ruth about the nature of the race which is irrelevant to Maureen Dowd's opinion.

You said, Maureen's article was spectacular in #33 and that I am reading through my bias about 'tougher than Ahmadinejad' statement (I never hinted that I disagree with the spectacular part). Remember it is a interpretation which is supported by facts and sound arguments unlike Ruth's which are not supported by facts. So don't call it misinterpretation. I didn't interpret the whole article, for you to come out and argue with me about writing styles and content. Just the last line of Dowd's article, which was ironic, and my interpretation agrees with facts. If you see it differently based on your experince, it is okay too, but don't tell me it is a misinterpretation and that I criticized her writing skills or her artcile.

You misread and imagined what I did or did not state or imply, and you are trying to defend that position.

ai ai ai, I didn't do most of what you say I did in 57...

now that is bias!!

and you're tetchy today!

One can interpret 'tougher than Ahmadinejad' statement in as many ways one can want, but the interpretation should agree with facts. The interpretations may wary, but that's not the point. If an interpretation doesn't agree with facts then it can be labeled an misinterpretation. That's my point. Maureen's entire artcile, like poem can be interpreted in many ways, but the last line I thoigh was ironic, that's my interpretation you may disagree though. But don't be narrow minded fool to tell me it is a misinterpretation.

insults now. hmmmm.

I'm unwilling to use pejorative language (or thoughts!) against others. I think it's rude and dishonorable to do so.

One can interpret 'tougher than Ahmadinejad' statement in as many ways one can want, but the interpretation should agree with facts. The interpretations may wary, but that's not the point. If an interpretation doesn't agree with facts then it can be labeled an misinterpretation. That's my point. Maureen's entire artcile, like poem can be interpreted in many ways, but the last line I thoigh was ironic, that's my interpretation you may disagree though. But don't be narrow minded fool to tell me it is a misinterpretation.

One can interpret 'tougher than Ahmadinejad' statement in as many ways one can want, but the interpretation should agree with facts. The interpretations may wary, but that's not the point. If an interpretation doesn't agree with facts then it can be labeled an misinterpretation. That's my point. Maureen's entire artcile, like poem can be interpreted in many ways, but the last line I thoigh was ironic, that's my interpretation you may disagree though. But don't be narrow minded fool to tell me it is a misinterpretation.

Maureen Dowd is critical of Hillary and her campaign through out this season and is pro Obama. This artcile is no different. I don't really understand anyone who reads the entire artcile would assume Maureen's intentions are pro Hillary at this juncture - her satire and especially the ironic last line. Anyone who knows follow the facts and understand the references and allusions in the article can clearly see the artcile as a criticism of Hillary who is playing dirty to win at all costs.

Hey Chris, "The interpretations may wary"
Shouldn't that be vary? I'm conjuring with that one. Wary, hmmm.... who wouldn't be?

Hi Edmund; I was confused, as we've all been witnessing those two "at it" and I summized it were LOVE as in couple-dome. as what happend with Patzi and Dave. lol Little did I realize..I was ridiculously protecting.. no thing. lol sigggh

Received Easter chocolates today!! Ferrero Rocher.. I love them!! The pkg was torn open, no letter inside... thanks YOU(you know who you are), for thinking of me at Easter... (chocolate-melt face smiley)

Cinda..did you get your book yet? Has everyone recieved theirs?

Love,
North

It's an Irish thing -- the convoluted, back-on-itself satire, and the willingness to shift a position based on a person's performance. Often when such a shift is made, it's made on a trial basis and discussed with self-deprecating humor. We all don't have a lot of ego, but we have pride -- often too much of it. We all have been known to be critical in public of those we're privately supportive of. Being part Irish, I can get away with saying such silly things.

Later, babe.

Talking of misinterpretations, check these...

Below are just a sample of some of the comments to Stephen Schlesinger post at HuffPost (Ref. Ruth's post) titled "Maureen Dowd Likes Hillary!" in which he used a couple of excerpts from Dowd's artcile at MY Times:

Stephen, I doubt that you read the entire column, MoDo lampooned Hillary's many faux talking points, ending with ... " Hillary"s work is done only when she is done, because the best way for Obama to prove he"s ready to stare down Ahmadinejad is by putting away someone even tougher."

For those of you who can, follow this link and read the entire column ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/opinion/02dowd.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin ...
MoDo compares Hillary to a character in Strauss"s opera "Der Rosenkavalier" and is anything but flattering to Hillary or her mud- slinging, disingenuous campaign ...

***

If you came away from that Dowd article thinking it was approving of Hillary, I am stunned at how you can misinterpret the facts in black and white...

oh, never mind

You're a Hillary supporter. That explains everything.

***

Reading is fundamental...so is the context. Dowd said "Obama has been less adept at absorbing the lesson of Hillary"s metamorphosis from entitled queen of the party to scrappy blue-collar mama." This is not hailing Hillary as a mere blue-collar mama. Rather, this shows us how she can be any flavor of the day. You can dress up like Jesus and yet, you won't be walking on water. NAFTA was something which is hurting both OH and PA. Yet, as Dowd knows, Hillary was busy supporting NAFTA when she did not need the votes. http://youtube.com/watch?v=wFuA0z4kKD4

Dowd is playing with this "metamorphosis" not hailing Hillary as a "real" supporter of the blue collar worker. Surely, Schlesinger gets even that much.

***

In any case, having actually read the article, my takeaway is that Dowd believes that Hillary is a low down dirty fighter. Just like the Republicans, she has gotten this far by appealing to the worst in us. And Dowd believes that all of her dirty tricks will help the nominee (Obama) know what he's in for when he goes up against McCain and the pack of wolves backing him.

But I guess Hillary supporters are now reduced to turning a lack of integrity itno a virtue. I guess they have to find virtue where they can at this point.

***

I think it would be a good idea for anyone commenting here to actually read the Dowd article.
Ms. Dowd doesn't call HLC a scrappy anything, rather she comments on HLC once again redefining herself as such when it seems to be advantageous. Nor does Ms. Dowd contrast Obama as being effete, rather she comments on him unintentionally appearing so.

Mr. Schlesinger, you seem to share Hillary's ethic's, that is to say situational at best. And I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what the actual take-way from the Dowd column was; Hillary loses but unintentionally imparts valuable lessons to Obama in the process.

As an Obama supporter, you're beginning to irritate me by continually insulting my intelligence.

I suspect your only objective with these posts is to somehow further ingratiate yourself with the Clinton cabal - surely you can't hope that they have any persuasive value.

***

Actually given the shrillness that Dowd has used towards anything Clinton for more than a decade now, Schlessinger's column works as a kind of joke about Dowd. Dowd really has been the kind of shrill presence which makes me think that a president Clinton wouldn't be so bad. Unfortunately Clinton's actions tend to push me into thinking it really would.

The problem only comes in if Schlessinger means this as more than a joke at Dowd's expense and actually means this as an argument for Clinton.

***Maureen Dowd is leading by example. For Obama to rapidly heal the divisions in the party, both Obama and the Obamites (me included) need to start saying nice things about Hillary.

I'm going to try now. It's a bit hard. Well, she's likable enough.

Wow.

Tomorrow I'll try to go a bit further.

***

Stephen Schlesinger seems to be the only pro Hillary blogger at Huffington Post. Too bad he is bending over backwards to post anything positive about her.

For good coverage and information about the race and to keep in touch with latest developments so taht you interpret political articles properly, visit the community political blog Daily Kos (and see the diaries) which receives more than 20 million hits a month same as the breaking news site Drudge Report.

In refrence to North's comment in last OT,

I agree she doesn't post anywhere near my volume of posts. But that's not my point. She was supposed to have left for "greener pastures", but she is here reading, lurking and now posting. No I don't want to hear excuses. This is not an exception either, she bid farewell several times in the past, but still here. Something is pulling her back here. It is all good though, making friends, seeking connections, expressing oneself...

Welcome back North! You can stay, my comments are in no way trying to paint you "negative."

#70--John...I didn't want to post on the old OT anymore, b/c of the onslaught of cut/paste and projections of "ownership of the blog" and the namecalling; it's all rather selfish and immature to say the least. The cut and pastes from news sites is unnecessary; and blog-pollution.

I come and go often, as my schedule of time dictates.. I say farewells when I am to be in and out..as some of my friends here...are also in and out. I get an email or myspace mssage saying "hey, did you read DK's new post at IB?" I then come read. Many here, give notices of upcoming periods of absences.

I fail to see what my presence has to do with you personally though or as a topic worthy of discussionary interest... however? (wink!)

I do wish though; that people would allow us the priveleage of knowing their name? It is difficult to build a basic foundation of trust, honesty and friendship, to lead to a truth on a united basis; when "the other" deceives by the need to "hide" who they really are using an alias.

IMHO--multi-alias's prevents trust and growth.

I am North--as an artist; but, everyone knows me by name. It is "them" I am here..in and out of IB...for.

I cannot trust, or have interest to know anyone; who will not permit me/others to know who they "really are" as then, I/we/the whole...am put in a comprising position of mal-trust on one end.

Such is the way of the internet...

Love,
North

Not a pretense or an excuse, but an "opportunity."

Ed: Hey Chris, "The interpretations may wary"
Shouldn't that be vary? I'm conjuring with that one. Wary, hmmm.... who wouldn't be?

Interpretations are ...very weary indeed!

Ridiculous PA poll
by kos

Yeah, things have gotten better for Obama of late while things have gotten worse for Clinton. But this poll is just ridiculous.

PPP (PPP). 3/31-4/1. Likely voters. MoE 2.8% (3/15-16 results)

Obama 45 (30)
Clinton 43 (56)

There's no way in hell there has been a 28-point swing in this race in two weeks. During the same rough time period, Rasmussen and SurveyUSA both reported a 7-point improvement for Obama. That much is reasonable given the news cycle. 28? Patently ridiculous.

SUSA is still the gold standard this cycle, and their latest 53-41 results feel right. But remember, Clinton started with a 19-point lead. And right now, at this moment in time, we're in a mini-Obama surge and Clinton dip. His numbers are likely artificially inflated compared to hers.

If the election were held today, I'd give Clinton a 15-point victory. An improvement no doubt over Obama's position from the worst of the Rev. Wright mess, but still nowhere near close enough to make this a real contest. Obama still has a great deal of work ahead of him in the Keystone State.

-dKos

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal announced his support fro Obama.

"That brings our superdelegate count to Clinton 255, Obama 222.

Overall, with pledged delegates added, it's now Obama 1,638, Clinton 1,507."

Since March 4 Ohio-Texas, Obama has picked up 11 superdelegates to Clinton's one.

Hi Heather,

Maureen Dowd, can whip up an interesting opinion piece, for sure. Actually, I have had a hard time reading her this campaign, and, actually, have by-passed her alot because of her pro-Obama, anti-Hillary stance...although, I loved when she handed it to Bush and Cheney time and time again, no bias here:))))))))))...actually, I have to chuckle at how biased I am in this campaign, down in the trenches biased, I am. And, as boring as I find other's biased opinions, even Deepak's, I cannot help myself! I just have to grin and bear it until the plump lady sings, I suspect:)))))))

anywho, I have no idea who Chris and John are but WOW....I mean, I get it....you folks are voting for the other guy:))))))))))) hey, it is a free Nation, last time I checked....go for it!!!

lovely day, here, sunny, cool, sunny....spring is in the air, the birdies are a singing...the day is as it should be....ruth

"down in the trenches biased, I am." Lets celebrate that with this brilliant "The War Journals of Hillary Clinton, Vol. 1" piece by tripletee

(From the diaries. kos)

Note from tripletee: I wasn't expecting this to get front-paged (thanks Kos!), or I would have made it clear that yes, I'm the original author. I originally posted it in a comments thread at Balloon Juice where I go by the handle tBone - see here. I saw it being posted at a few other places over the past couple of days, so I thought I might as well finally put this account to use and post it here too.

As bullets clawed the air around us and screams echoed down the rubble-strewn tarmac, I felt almost peaceful.

It was a simple mission, they had told me - get in, shake a few hands and mouth a few platitudes, get out. Simple. Yeah.

Things had started going wrong while we were still in the air and only gotten worse from there. So here we were, pinned down, choking on the acrid tang of cordite and the heady scent of human blood. The mission was even simpler now: survive. Whatever the cost, survive.

* tripletee's diary :: ::
*

There was a grunt and a clatter of equipment as Sinbad threw himself down at my side. Sweat glistened on his bare arms, and I could see tendons contracting and relaxing as he squeezed off bursts from his M14. The motion was hypnotic, like a snake about to strike. Perhaps, when all this was over-

No. Concentrate. Focus on the mission. Survive.

A shout from my left drew my head around. Sheryl Crow, guitar still strapped to her back, had taken cover behind a haphazard pile of decaying corpses. Her hair, once lustrous, now lank and greasy, was held back from her eyes by a dirty red headband. Her slim nostrils flared in the dirt-smeared oval of her face, seeking air free of the funeral taint shrouding the airfield. Still, I saw a fierce exultation in her expression that I knew mirrored my own.

Her lithe, nimble fingers stroked the top of an M67 frag grenade, strumming a chord of impending doom. With one quick, economical movement, she plucked the pin free and sent the deadly payload sailing toward the ridge concealing our enemies. My eyes traced the arc, willing it to fly true, to rain death on-

"There!" Sinbad shouted. "The convoy!"

I wrenched my gaze in the direction he was pointing. The boom of the grenade registered only faintly, suddenly unimportant. Thirty yards dead ahead was the real target: the armored convoy, offering safety, shelter, survival. If we could reach it.

"Follow me!" Sinbad roared, levering himself to his feet. As I prepared to follow, a high-pitched whine arrowed across my eardrums and warm, sticky rain splashed my face.

I forced myself to look, already knowing what I would see. The big man lay there, crumpled, the left side of his head a nightmare maze of blood, brains and tight curls of yellowish-orange hair.

Time to mourn later. Survive.

I juked to my left, darting and weaving, somehow making it to Sheryl's position. Her eyes were wide, shock and fear clouding their emerald depths. "Is he-"

"Gone," I snapped. "We have to move. Now."

For a moment I wondered if I would have to leave her behind, but then her jaw tightened and she nodded sharply. "Stay behind me," she said with a brief squeeze of my hand, then she was up and running, moving like a deer.

I followed, matching her as best I could with the mindless insect hum of lead bees filling my ears and the cracked tarmac clutching at my heels. We ran, time stretching, flattening, the convoy impossibly distant, a cruel mirage, too far, too far . . .

And then, somehow, we were almost there. We had made it, we were going to -

A flat crack and the mournful twang of a guitar string. Sheryl fell, scarlet-splashed splinters from the shattered guitar seeming to hang in the air.

I stopped. Men were flooding out of the brush and streaming around the cars. One approached me, smirking, rifle held casually across his body, smoke still rising from the barrel.

"Every day a winding road," he said in heavily accented English, shrugging a shoulder toward Sheryl's body. He stepped closer, almost close enough to touch. "End of road for her today. And you."

Still smirking, he began to raise the rifle. I lunged forward, freed the ka-bar concealed under my pantsuit, and buried it to the hilt in his chest. He grunted, stiffened, and then slid backwards, the knife making a greedy slurping sound as it pulled free.

The other rebels froze, momentarily stunned. There were a lot of them - too many, surely - but it didn't matter. One day, I knew, I would be telling this story to rapt audiences as I made my inevitable march to the Presidency. Would this ragged group of smelly goatfuckers be the ones to stop me? Would they?

I raised the blade to my lips, licked it clean, and began to laugh.

Survive. Whatever the cost, survive.

Sunday Bloody Sunday: The War Journals of Hillary Clinton, Vol. 2

(From the diaries. kos)

Three a.m. in the Belfast Hills.

We crept silently along the path, two shadowy figures fading in and out of the surrounding darkness as clouds scudded across the harsh sliver of moon above. Occasionally the soft wind would deliver a brief snatch of muttered conversation, too low to be intelligible, from our quarry ahead.

We had been tracking them for half an hour, hoping they would lead us to any allies they had in the area. Intel pegged them as dead-enders, wannabes looking to make a splash by disrupting the delicate peace negotiations. We were here to make sure that didn’t happen.

Another murmur of conversation from ahead, sharper this time. I snapped a closed fist up and heard a faint rustle of grass behind me as my companion froze. I reached down, began to slide my trusty ka-bar from -

Strong hands gripped my arms from behind, pinning them in place. I knew instantly that it wasn't Bono; he had slim, girlish singer's hands, and I had felt their touch often enough to recognize the difference.

Ambush.

* tripletee's diary :: ::
*

Hot, moist breath fouled the back of my neck, a miasma of beer and stale tobacco. I exhaled and relaxed my shoulders, forcing my unseen captor to lean in to maintain his balance. As he did, I locked my left leg, pivoted slightly, and slammed my right foot down like a sensible-but-stylish-shod piston onto his arch.

I was rewarded with a wounded howl and a gratifying crunch of bone. I jerked my foot, popping the heel of the shoe off and leaving the enemy’s skewered foot pinned to the ground. As his hands dropped away from my arms I was already in motion, drawing the ka-bar with my left hand, spinning, extending the arm, the deadly pirouette ending with a hot jet of carotid blood as the knife traced a wet, mirthful smile across his throat.

He hadn't been alone, of course. There were four more, one of them holding Bono, and I could hear the others, the ones we had been tracking, crashing back down the path to our position.

No time for finesse, then. Move.

I moved. A jumbled kaleidoscope of images, grunts and flashing steel, curses and screams, my blade drinking deep, one to the next, so many of them, but not enough, never enough to slake that dark thirst -

"Enough!"

Ten feet away, the sole remaining enemy held a pistol to Bono's temple, the barrel quivering almost as much as his voice. "I - I’ll blow his fucking head off! I mean it! Drop the knife, now!"

I locked eyes with Bono, saw his almost imperceptible answering nod.

I raised my free hand slowly, projecting calm. "OK," I said, using a careful, exaggerated motion to extend the knife, holding it palm down with the blade parallel to my body. "Just take it easy."

The terrorist's wide, panicky eyes tracked the blade. I was only going to get one shot at this, I knew; better make it count.

I dropped my free hand. It was carefully calibrated, not too fast, not too slow, just enough to distract the enemy's attention for the split-second I needed. As his gaze involuntarily shifted, I flicked my other wrist in a quick, contemptuous motion.

Bono stumbled forward; the terrorist, his forehead sprouting a knife handle, fell bonelessly into the heather lining the path.

I went and retrieved my weapon, wiping it off absent-mindedly on the dead man’s shirt. Bono was stooped over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Thanks," he panted. "Sorry. Don't know how they got the drop on me."

I grunted noncommittally.

After a few moments the Irishman straightened and began surveying the aftermath of the battle, a slightly ill expression stealing over his face. For all his considerable talents, the singer had never had the stomach for wetwork.

"Does it ever bother you?" he said softly. Catching my tight expression, he hurriedly corrected himself.

"Not this - " he said, waving a hand to indicate the bloody scene. "I just mean - you’ve saved the Northern Ireland peace process, again, and no one will ever know."

I gave him a steady stare. "Someday people will know. When the time is right. Until then, I’m content to operate in the shadows."

The singer looked at me curiously, studying my face. "You seem – different, somehow. That thing in Tuzla, now this . . . it’s done something to you. Almost like you’ve - "

"Crossed a threshold," I murmured, the phrase springing to mind unbidden. The words felt powerful somehow, totemic, pregnant with future possibilities.

But that was the future. This was now.

I tugged my shoulderpads back into place under the pantsuit jacket and sheathed the ka-bar.

"Let’s go. I’ve got a peace park to dedicate."

We walked into the cool Irish night, the darkness swallowing us up as if we had never been there at all.

hi lady north...

it's always good to hear from u...u are real, honest, kind, caring, loving, thoughful, considerate, despite all the difficulties u face...that is why u are one of my favorites...

u mention blog pollution and endless cut and pastings...i'm sure most of the great posters who no longer write here left because of this kind of pollution..

it was in the news last week that people with an obsessive compulsion to text and text and text and text others to death...might be mentally ill...

by the same token...we can argue...that those who do the same on the net...cut and pastes others to no end...with unwanted clutters of blog trash, spams, junk....might be similarly unwell...

so it's probably best to ignore them in hope they seek professional help...because to respond to them directly...would be like adding fuel to the fire ...and likely to worsen their condition...whoa!

Peace North. Without your forgiving, feminine, creative and artistic spirit, I can't imagine what this place would have become by now! You were a glue that kept this place going in the most depressing times. Whatever be your future input, the connections you allowed to prosper here, and your optimistic and pragmatic attitude, and your sharing nature about your experiences, your work, lessons learned and life, will forever cast a cool shadow in the hottest of seasons. Thanks for being yourself. I love you!

Quiet, Diab, Christopher Robin IS SAYING HIS PRAYERS!

Can't you see it's worsened my condition as well.

Chris, excellent stories! Parody with brilliant imagery. hats off!

Walter wrote #25:

"The reference to that skeptisch person got me wondering and digging in the IB archives. This guy was quite a prominent poster. He seems to have been against the Iraqi war from the beginning and had clashes with other prominent IBers like Amba and Norm. He got along with most people but especially a guy named Ron Saywack.

Skeptisch did have a clash with “Neocon Norm”. Norm blew a gasket during one of the exchanges. But in a classy move he gave the world a look inside himself, and into what it may look like in many of us. ..."

Thanks Walter for reminding us of Skeptisch, Ron Saywack, Ambasteve and Norm. A pack of true gentlemen who were integral to some of the best thing that happened in the formative days of IB.

Joseph A. Palermo: Run, Hillary, Run, Just Stop Sliming Obama

Hillary Clinton's "negatives" started going up at exactly the same time she began throwing the "kitchen sink" at her Democratic opponent, Barack Obama. The Svengalis in her campaign, Mark Penn and Howard Wolfson, thought it advantageous to treat Obama as if he were a Republican while at the same time "triangulating" against him by heaping praise on John McCain, appearing on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, and most recently, genuflecting to the odious Richard Mellon Scaife (who Keith Olbermann accurately depicts as Mr. Burns from The Simpsons). Nothing turns off the Democratic Party's base more quickly than hearing Hillary smear Obama while she sidles up to right-wing extremists.

With its desperate tactics and negative tone the Clinton campaign only succeeded in casting doubts about Hillary's trustworthiness. Holding court with Richard Mellon Scaife, who savaged the Clintons throughout the 1990s, is like John Kerry giving a big sloppy kiss to John O'Neill and "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." It speaks volumes about Hillary's Machiavellian side.

...Go ahead and run Hillary. Be just like "Rocky Balboa" -- a contender -- and regale us all with your tenacity and winning spirit. Just stop the underhanded attacks against your fellow Democrat.

...Ronald Reagan had what he called his 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican." It seemed to have worked pretty well for him and his party. Can't Hillary simply adopt a Democratic version of this idea?

Ryan J. Davis: The Clintons: A Faded Franchise

Hillary Clinton said yesterday in Philadelphia, "When it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit."

She's a lot like Rocky, all right, but less the original masterpiece and more the desperate fourth sequel, Rocky V. By the fifth film the increasingly irrelevant Rocky Balboa was resorting to having classless fights in the streets, far from his gallant championship days in the ring. Plots like that made audiences grow quickly tired of the faded franchise.

There is no doubt the Clinton franchise is fading. Much like other horror franchises (Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and Halloween are wonderful examples), it will eventually come to an end. Probably not in Pennsylvania, but almost certainly in North Carolina. If she stays in after a loss there, we'll know she's "jumped the shark."

Chris: When in Philly you talk Rocky. But But I wonder if Hillary saw the latest movie. Rocky Balboa 'lost' (to a black man) alright!

BILL DIDN'T RECALL HIL'S NAFTA HATE
Daily News Blog
April 2, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s tune on NAFTA has been that she always disliked the trade deal. But in one of those moments that kind of got missed on the campaign trail in Iowa last December, Bill Clinton cast it a bit differently: It wasn’t necessarily the bill she objected to, but the timing.

It came up in Newton, Iowa, where the ex-President was asked the creative question of whether there was anything he did that Hillary disagreed with where he didn’t listen to her and she turned out to be right.

Clinton hemmed and hawed a bit as he gave it serious thought, and after two false starts, he offered:

“I think she thought we got the worst of both worlds with the timing of health care. We should have either brought health care up before the NAFTA vote so we could have gotten some Republicans who wanted NAFTA to vote for health care, or we should have told the American people what they now know, after watching this Congress, about the filibuster.”

His point was that health care was not going to get through the Senate without 60 votes, and perhaps the Clinton White House could have used that argument to build a more favorable environment for Hillary’s failed initiative. And perhaps they could have gotten more Republicans on their side if they had held NAFTA hostage.

After the former First Lady’s schedules were released a couple of weeks ago, it became clear that she lobbied for NAFTA, which she now says she did out of loyalty to the President. She still says she didn’t like it, though.

“I did speak out and opposed NAFTA,” she told the AFL-CIO in Philadelphia yesterday. “I raised a big yellow caution flag. I said, ‘I’m not sure this is going to work.’”

It’s interesting that Bill Clinton did not remember that disagreement when he was asked, coming up only with the rift on tactics.

Oh, and the thing that overshadowed those remarks? Bill Clinton said Hillary would have acted much faster on Rwanda, saving many thousands of lives there.

- Michael McAuliff

BILL DIDN'T RECALL HIL'S NAFTA HATE
Daily News Blog
April 2, 2008

Hillary Clinton’s tune on NAFTA has been that she always disliked the trade deal. But in one of those moments that kind of got missed on the campaign trail in Iowa last December, Bill Clinton cast it a bit differently: It wasn’t necessarily the bill she objected to, but the timing.

It came up in Newton, Iowa, where the ex-President was asked the creative question of whether there was anything he did that Hillary disagreed with where he didn’t listen to her and she turned out to be right.

Clinton hemmed and hawed a bit as he gave it serious thought, and after two false starts, he offered:

“I think she thought we got the worst of both worlds with the timing of health care. We should have either brought health care up before the NAFTA vote so we could have gotten some Republicans who wanted NAFTA to vote for health care, or we should have told the American people what they now know, after watching this Congress, about the filibuster.”

His point was that health care was not going to get through the Senate without 60 votes, and perhaps the Clinton White House could have used that argument to build a more favorable environment for Hillary’s failed initiative. And perhaps they could have gotten more Republicans on their side if they had held NAFTA hostage.

After the former First Lady’s schedules were released a couple of weeks ago, it became clear that she lobbied for NAFTA, which she now says she did out of loyalty to the President. She still says she didn’t like it, though.

“I did speak out and opposed NAFTA,” she told the AFL-CIO in Philadelphia yesterday. “I raised a big yellow caution flag. I said, ‘I’m not sure this is going to work.’”

It’s interesting that Bill Clinton did not remember that disagreement when he was asked, coming up only with the rift on tactics.

Oh, and the thing that overshadowed those remarks? Bill Clinton said Hillary would have acted much faster on Rwanda, saving many thousands of lives there.

- Michael McAuliff

Ref. 86.

...what had happened to the 1992 promise, four years earlier, that genocide in Bosnia would be opposed by a Clinton administration?

In the event, President Bill Clinton had not found it convenient to keep this promise. Let me quote from Sally Bedell Smith's admirable book on the happy couple, For Love of Politics:

"Taking the advice of Al Gore and National Security Advisor Tony Lake, Bill agreed to a proposal to bomb Serbian military positions while helping the Muslims acquire weapons to defend themselves—the fulfillment of a pledge he had made during the 1992 campaign. But instead of pushing European leaders, he directed Secretary of State Warren Christopher merely to consult with them. When they balked at the plan, Bill quickly retreated, creating a "perception of drift." The key factor in Bill's policy reversal was Hillary, who was said to have "deep misgivings" and viewed the situation as "a Vietnam that would compromise health-care reform." The United States took no further action in Bosnia, and the "ethnic cleansing" by the Serbs was to continue for four more years, resulting in the deaths of more than 250,000 people."

I can personally witness to the truth of this, too. I can remember, first, one of the Clintons' closest personal advisers—Sidney Blumenthal—referring with acid contempt to Warren Christopher as "a blend of Pontius Pilate with Ichabod Crane." I can remember, second, a meeting with Clinton's then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin at the British Embassy. When I challenged him on the sellout of the Bosnians, he drew me aside and told me that he had asked the White House for permission to land his own plane at Sarajevo airport, if only as a gesture of reassurance that the United States had not forgotten its commitments. The response from the happy couple was unambiguous: He was to do no such thing, lest it distract attention from the first lady's health care "initiative."

It's hardly necessary for me to point out that the United States did not receive national health care in return for its acquiescence in the murder of tens of thousands of European civilians. But perhaps that is the least of it. Were I to be asked if Sen. Clinton has ever lost any sleep over those heaps of casualties, I have the distinct feeling that I could guess the answer. She has no tears for anyone but herself. In the end, and over her strenuous objections, the United States and its allies did rescue our honor and did put an end to Slobodan Milosevic and his state-supported terrorism. Yet instead of preserving a polite reticence about this, or at least an appropriate reserve, Sen. Clinton now has the obscene urge to claim the raped and slaughtered people of Bosnia as if their misery and death were somehow to be credited to her account! Words begin to fail one at this point. Is there no such thing as shame? Is there no decency at last? Let the memory of the truth, and the exposure of the lie, at least make us resolve that no Clinton ever sees the inside of the White House again.

From the Slate artcile by Hitchens:
http://www.slate.com/id/2187780/

Chris, I take a more moderate view of Dowd's position on Hillary. Try reading the Dowd blog I gave a link for in last week's OT, and then reread today's. Yesterday was 1 April, too.

If it turns out the section of Dowd's column that dealt with his being flirtatious with women and resistant to chocolate is spurious, I'd agree it was a total trashing of HC. But if those sections were accurate, she's showing grudging admiration of HC. I haven't been able to find any sources that can confirm or deny BO's behavior yesterday, in those respects.

#79--Diablo--thanks for the kind comments about me. Nice accolade, and cooling comfort for the "battle wounds" to keep this a safe, respectful place for women and children also whom read...with troubles on their mind.

#80--John--I could easily say I love you too; after your lovely accolade in particularly, in noting my strengths and good intentions; but, it is difficult to say the words with meaning; when I do not know "who you are"..but, you did make me blush....both of you. (((smiles)))

"Suffering is the only true reality". So say all the brilliant minds of science, medicine and human developement.

In embracing our suffering; we lesten them; until one day, they exist no more within us... then, we will have reached our pinnacle point of Self.

To know you feel I had utilized my suffering as an educative tool; is worth the embarrasment I must surrender to willingly without doubt or question... so as to raise important human-suffering issues being ignored in this imperfect world of man, beast, and nature; all equally at risk of extinction.

But, that's another story...for another time, another place.

Love,
North

#71, and again, HEY EVERYONE ***#71***

Apply if necessary, you know ***#71***

.

Thank you, Mi'Lady North!

Even if I had had the time,

I hadn't the will to say it.

This item's been had more than once.

Getting used to it, or being philosophical about it...is of no use.

Thank God for people I know, really!

I have had this thought here.

A novelist could fine tune

characters at IB, if need be.

"If it turns out the section of Dowd's column that dealt with his being flirtatious with women and resistant to chocolate is spurious... if those sections were accurate.....I haven't been able to find any sources that can confirm or deny BO's behavior yesterday, in those respects."

Those sections on Obama were adapted by Dowd from The Washington Times National reporter Christina Bellantoni

http://thepage.time.com/obama-pool-report-from-allentown-pennsylvania/

Needless to say, the tone, nature and content of that artcile is not "accurate" or pass the minimum journalistic ethics. The Washington Times as you might(95%of Americnas don't) is owned by the cult leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the South Korean Billionaire who runs a conservative news paper for , with 3 billion in loses to date. It was the "most favorite news paper of Ronald Regan."

Read:

http://www.gorenfeld.net/book/

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

Maureen Dowd knows her sources, she was hitting Obama with right wings republican smears and distortions and the spins and strategies of Clinton Campaign in the artcile.

Meet Reverend Moon, conservative news baron.
(And you thought Tom Cruise was scary.)

Just how crazy have our politics become when members of Congress bow down to a cult leader on Capitol Hill who dresses up like George III...jet-sets around the world with the Bush family...and publishes a powerful newspaper?

This is the larger-than-life story of Reverend Moon, the billionaire Korean preacher behind the Washington Times, the heart of the GOP media machine...who literally claims to be the Second Coming...to whom D.C. insiders shamelessly pay homage.

Years ago, Moon was widely considered a dangerous madman, like Jim Jones or L. Ron Hubbard. He inspired TV specials with names like "Escape From The Moonies." His group earned its notoriety by prying young people from families, persuading them to sell flowers to underwrite Moon's New York mansions and yacht, and marrying his subjects to strangers as a show of domination.

Not only is he still around, but he is richer and more influential than ever...and an all-star cast of powerful Republicans have sold their souls to him.

In 2004, journalist John Gorenfeld scooped the Washington press corps when he exposed a dinner party on Capitol Hill, in which members of Congress watched as Moon held a ritual coronation for himself as the "King of Peace." Wearing a majestic cape and coronet, the publisher declared himself the Messiah. The New York Times editors compared the event, sponsored by a U.S. senator, to an act of the Roman emperor Caligula.

That, as you might imagine, was just the tip of the iceberg.

Bad Moon Rising takes you into the underbelly of the Religious Right. Which is surprisingly, scandalously entwined with Moon and his business empire--an untold chapter in American political history.

He's the man conservatives don't want you to know about, who has been coming to their rescue for years. And from his seat of respect, he is launching odd, multi-million dollar campaigns of his own to replace Jesus (whom he considers a failure), and attack the wall between church and state...his church, that is.

There's more. The Chicago Tribune has reported that he controls the U.S. sushi industry. He manufactures heavy industry, does business with Kim Jong-Il. And he now officially considers himself Emperor of the Universe, claiming the imagined endorsements of dead U.S. presidents.

Strange sex and violence, power and blasphemy...The author invites you on an arresting journey as he explores the skullduggery with which Moon insinuated himself into Washington's most moralistic circles, with a cast including the Bush family, Jerry Falwell, Left Behind author Tim LaHaye, Richard Nixon, an overseas gangster or two, and the men who built the Religious Right...with more than a little help from Moon.

Read about the state of American democracy in Bad Moon Rising, and you won't know whether to laugh or cry.

Bad Moon Rising:
How Rev. Moon Created the Washington Times,
Seduced the Religious Right and
Built an American Kingom

Published in the U.S.A. by PoliPoint Press
Sausalito, CA.

Okay, I just saw in the news the story of the "person" who was born a woman but felt more like a man all her life so she decided to become a man. Well, she did the whole hormone thing and WOW had both breasts removed BUT she kept her ovaries and uterus....hmmmmm. That is what caught my ATTENTION...if you go through the whole hormone procedure and then remove your breasts because you want to look and become a man WHY then would you keep one of the most feminine parts of being a woman your "reproductive organs?"

Well, this "Man" with her female reproductive organs is now pregnant and will be on Oprah tomorrow.

I have nothing but empathy for people who go through difficulty with their sexual identity, it has to be a huge challenge in one's life to sort out. I don't know, I just find it strange for one to say...no, I am really a male, and I want to look and act like a male so take off my breasts but.....no....not my ovaries or uterus because some day I may want to have children. hmmmmmm, complex...to say the least.

good evening, ruth

see, I am not ALL about Hillary.:)))

A hill of beans

compared to you?

Identifiable!

I am not ALL at all.

Once again...

Thank God! OB?

Means: Out Of Bounds

Don't go there.

Shoot! And keep it in play,

whoever the hell you are today.

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, "Because of its history of a seemingly ideological approach to the news, the paper has always faced questions about its credibility." Salon.com and The Daily Howler have published analyses of what they believe are serious factual errors and examples of bias in the paper's news coverage. Conservative-turned-liberal writer David Brock, who worked for the Times' sister publication Insight, said in his book Blinded by the Right that the news writers at the Times were encouraged and rewarded for giving news stories a conservative slant. In Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy Brock wrote "the Washington Times was governed by a calculatedly unfair political bias and that its journalistic ethics were close to nil."

Read the interview with the author of Bad Moon Rising by a Daily Kos blogger:

...."Various conservatives, including a Nixon aide, began to see a useful ally. I even found a letter from a young Karl Rove to RNC head George Bush, gleefully mentioning Moon's Freedom Leadership Foundation, in a list of right-wing youth groups who were mobilizing to win the debate on campus.

But it wasn't until 1982 that Moon hit upon his best idea yet: create The Washington Times. Overnight he became the VIP who published Reagan's favorite newspaper.

And since then, the paper has lost $3 billion, more or less loyally pushing the conservative message into the mainstream. Most recently its journalism has been credited by the ACLU with virtually inventing the Minutemen by blowing up their numbers to ridiculous proportions; it has launched fabulous tales about Saddam's WMDs being spirited to Syria by Russian agents, and Iraqis who wanted the war to start so bad that they would "commit suicide if the bombing didn't start.""

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/30/82321/2396

Do you have any idea whatsoever?

Keith.. (Hug)

The squeaky wheel gets blown away

DURING the lube job, and not before!

The so-called crisis...I mean, really!

Bill Clinton Says Hillary Tried to Join the Army
ABC News
April 02

A big Indiana national security endorsement today for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.

9/11 Commission Vice chair Lee Hamilton, a former member of Congress from the Hoosier state, announced that he's backing the lanky Illinoisan.

Possibly to avoid being one-upped on Indiana national security politics, former President Bill Clinton told a crowd in Columbus, Indiana, today that his wife had tried to join the Army.

Listen to an excerpt HERE.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4576203

"I remember when we were young, right out of law school, she went down and tried to join the Army and they said 'Your eyes are so bad, nobody will take you,'" he said, after heralding her record on issues of concern to the military, such as body armor and access to health care.

I assume this is a version of the "Hillary Clinton tried to join the Marines" anecdote that then-First Lady Clinton told in 1994 that *we wondered*[http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/03/jarheads.html] about since it's a story she never seems to have told again.

The original story was that in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in 1975, Hillary walked into a local Marines recruiting office. The Marine recruiter looked at her, she recalled, and asked how old she was. Twenty-seven, she said.

"He looked at me, and in those days that was before I learned how to wear contact lenses," Sen. Clinton told a crowd of women veterans in 1994. "I had these really thick glasses on. He said, ‘How bad's your eyesight?' I said, ‘It's pretty bad.' …Finally said to me, he said, 'You're too old. You can't see. And you're a woman.…But maybe the dogs would take you.'"

("Dogs" being a reference to the Army.)

Perhaps she did so -- and hence Bill Clinton's Army story today?

Or maybe he's conflating the two stories?

(Add that Bosnian sniper fire, and you might have something there that Julia Roberts would want to option.)

-- jpt

Twice in a row, Chris? Are you joking? WTF?

If your life is at stake, be wary. Otherwise,

stop listening to me! Do you hear? Whooooooaaaaa!!! damn

The two are twice good at telling stories that suits the particular audience that Bill (misspoke/sleep-deprived/memory-loss) forgot the facts.

UT invariably to be found out.

Seek...and you shall flounder.

"Knock...knock...knock...

on the ceiling if you wah-aant me.

Twice on the pipe, if the answer is no.

Oh, my darlin'!" Uhhh...whackawhackawhacka!!!!

Drudge is Reporting the Top News:

http://drudgereport.com/

HILLARY BOMBSHELL ROCKS CAMPAIGN: 'OBAMA CAN'T WIN'

"ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former President Bill Clinton are making very direct arguments to Democratic superdelegates, starkly insisting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., cannot win a general election against presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Sources with direct knowledge of the conversation between Sen. Clinton and Governer Bill Richardson, D-N.M., prior to the Governor's endorsement of Obama say she told him flatly, "He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win."

Richardson, who served in President Clinton's cabinet, disagreed.

At a rally in Oregon, standing next to Obama, Richardson insisted, "My great affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver," but he added, "It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting among ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the fall."

As far as I am concerned,

it's only make-belief,

if you can make 'them' believe it!

DISRUPTION INVOLVING DISRUPTIONS!!!

What's a ruption?

Okay...I fell...rather, I feel better, now. Chow!

Hillary: "OBAMA CAN'T WIN"

A random sample of reactions at HuffPost:

She should be sacked from party. You cannot support a GOP candidate!!!!! How can she do that?
Dr.Dean do you have disciplinary committee in the party?

==

There is an old adage about lawyers that applies perfectly to Hillary's situation:

When you don't have the facts, pound the law;
When you don't have the law, pound the facts;
When you don't have the facts or the law....pound the table.

Table time Hillary.

==

Is she trying to ruin any chance she has?

==

He couldn't beat Hillary either. Oh, wait...

==

I believe Hillary is invoking Disney's First Law, here: Wishing wll make it so.

==

Vain ... Insane .... or owns a big chunk of Diebold Stock.

PLEASE will someone get this piano off America's Back?

==

when Obama is sworn in next year, the Clintons will be banished to the disgrace and obscurity that they deserve

who is the real Judas, Hillary, who?

==

The Clintons master plan is failing and they're in denial.

[Chris: Yeah...16 years in White House.]

==

Oh my god ! He can't win?Maybe he should give up. What? This is not part of the corporate media's 24-7 claptrap.

==

I want to hear HRC lay out her plan for victory. Her prepared statements of, lets wait and see what happens are not cutting it. If she is of so much substance, lets have some.

==

Even Karl Rove's estimate is that Obama would have more electoral votes than Hillary against McCain.

Hillary just does not realize how much she sucks. Narcissistic sociopath.

But Obama is trying to hide his politics that suck. Flaming Liberal.

==

Hillary's egotistical pathos is exceeded only by her titanic sense of entitlement. He can't win? He beat you, Hillary.

==

No, you can't win! Hillary, you can't win!

==

Well, she is certainly doing everything in her power to make sure that happens. I'm expecting her to endorse McCain officially in August.

==

Hillary he is.

==

And we trust her judgement, why??

==

It is easy to say you can do better. Anyone can do it. Proving it, that is a little tougher and Hillary's second place facing insurmountable odds doesn't lend any fact to her argument.

Si