At first I didn't like the fact that Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate.  I thought that Bill Richardson (Govenor of New Mexico, Hispanic male) would be an obvious choice.  The west is an area where the Democrats are weak and Bill might have been able to deliver a couple of those south western states because he's hispanic and from that area.  I thought that Hillary Clinton would be a great choice to bring the party togethor and really motivate the base.  So why Biden?  I can't say why Obama selected the Senator from Delaware, but I like the selection because Biden's oldest son is set for deployment to Iraq in October '08.  With Biden's son being in the fray, I think we might really have a voice for ending the conflict over there as soon as possible.  I also like the fact that he's witty and says what he thinks, even though people might get upset at him.  So, for me, its VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN!!!

There have been 4,290 coalition deaths -- 3,983 Americans, two Australians, 175 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, one Czech, seven Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 33 Italians, one Kazakh, one Korean, three Latvian, 22 Poles, three Romanians, five Salvadoran, four Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians -- in the war in Iraq as of March 11, 2008, according to a CNN count. (Graphical breakdown of casualties). The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments. The list also includes seven employees of the U.S. Defense Department. At least 29,395 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. View casualties in the war in Afghanistan and examine U.S. war casualties dating back to the Revolutionary War.

I have a question, how many more have to die?  Why does America give a damn about this country?  It certainly isn't oil, gas hit 3.50 a gallon yesterday.  It isn't to get at Al Queda.  They are still performing operations outside Iraq world wide.  Just last year they attacked the UK, and spain in the previous year.  I've been reading Che Guevera's Guerrilla warfare recently and he makes an interesting point, a group of guerrilla's (Al Queda) cannot operate in an area without the support of the people in that area.  The guerilla's would need food, lodging, weapon's and at the very least, not to be ratted out to the government.  What I'm saying is, a portion of Iraq supports Al Queda.  Most of that nation is Muslim, so I'd say a large portion.  Somebody has to see those Al Queda bastards planting road side bombs, and yet no one will warn our troops when they approach the bomb.  So, we're not there to liberate the people from the Muslim fascits, THEY ARE THE MUSLIM FASCITS!  So what's left?  To protect American's from being killed by terroists?  Hmm, lets see, nearly 4,000 troops dead?  Then that can't be the reason.  Whats left?  Oh, yeah, Haliburton.  They are some war profiteers if I've ever seen one.  Billions of dollars each year on no bid contracts.  Nice.  So if the war ends, Haliburton's gold mine will be closed.  Do you think that the Iraqi people got to decide which company got to rebuild their nation?  No.  I'd even go so far as to say Haliburton likes it when Al Queda causes trouble in Iraq.  If the terroists blow up a oil well, then Haliburton gets to charge the American people a bunch of money to fix it.  If the terrorists blow up a bridge its the same story.  The American armed forces are there for one reason, to promote American corporations in the middle east.       

 

My good buddy President W. came out with his new budget plan today.  Here are the programs he wants to cut money from.  I hate that bastard. 

Spending on poison control centers would be cut 62 percent, to $10 million. Rural health programs, a favorite of many senators, would be reduced 87 percent, to $16.9 million.

A special health program for rescue workers and volunteers who responded to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 would be cut by 77 percent, to $25 million, even though the administration has said that many workers were exposed to "unprecedented levels of risk" for lung disease and other illnesses.

Mr. Bush's budget would end the Community Services Block Grant, a $654 million program that provides housing, nutrition, education and job services to low-income people.

The budget would also end special programs to care for people with Alzheimer's disease and to treat people with traumatic brain injury. Mr. Bush would eliminate federal money for a new "patient navigator" program, which coordinates care for people with cancer and other serious illnesses. The administration contends that these programs are ineffective or duplicate other government initiatives.

Mr. Bush proposes a 22 percent cut in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides $2.6 billion to help people pay heating bills. Many lawmakers want to expand the program at a time when oil costs are soaring.

Mr. Bush wants to end the Hope VI housing program, which upgrades severely dilapidated public housing. The House voted two weeks ago to renew the program for eight years.

The White House wants to eliminate spending for more than a dozen education programs, including Even Start, which promotes family literacy; grants to the states for classroom technology; Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, for needy undergraduates; and a scholarship program named for the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia.

This was copy/pasted from the NY times.  I encourage all of you who read this to call/email your Senators/congressmen and let them know how you feel about it.

"It's the War," Says Iowa to Hillary -- And a "Happy Blue Year" To All! ...from Michael Moore
January 3, 2007
Friends,
There was no doubt about it. The message from Iowa tonight was simple, but deafening:
If you're a candidate for President, and you voted for the war, you lose. And if you voted and voted and voted for the war -- and never once showed any remorse -- you really lose.
In short, if you had something to do with keeping us in this war for four-plus years, you are not allowed to be the next president of the United States.
Over 70% of Iowan Democrats voted for candidates who either never voted for the invasion of Iraq (Obama, Richardson, Kucinich) or who have since admitted their mistake (Edwards, Biden, Dodd). I can't tell you how bad I feel for Senator Clinton tonight. I don't believe she was ever really for this war. But she did -- and continued to do -- what she thought was the politically expedient thing to eventually get elected. And she was wrong. And tonight she must go to sleep wondering what would have happened if she had voted her conscience instead of her calculator.
John Edwards was supposed to have come in third. He had been written off. He was outspent by the other front-runners six to one. But somewhere along the road he threw off the old politico hack jacket and turned into a real person, a fighter for the poor, for the uninsured, for peace. And for that, he came in a surprise second, ending up with just one less delegate than the man who was against the war from the beginning. But, as Joshua Holland of AlterNet pointed out earlier today, Edwards is still the only front-runner who will pull out all the troops and do it as quickly as possible. His speech tonight was brilliant and moving.
What an amazing night, not just for Barack Obama, but for America. I know that Senator Obama is so much more than simply the color of his skin, but all of us must acknowledge -- and celebrate -- the fact that one of the whitest states in the U.S. just voted for a black man to be our next president. Thank you, Iowa, for this historic moment. Thank you for at least letting us believe that we are better than what we often seem to be. And to have so many young people come out and vote -- and vote for Obama -- this is a proud moment. It all began with the record youth turnout in 2004 -- the ONLY age group that Kerry won -- and they came back out tonight en force. Good on every single one of you!
As the only top candidate who was anti-war before the war began, Barack Obama became the vessel through which the people of this Midwestern state were able to say loud and clear: "Bring 'Em Home!" Most pundits won't read the election this way because, well, most pundits merrily led us down the path to war. For them to call this vote tonight a repudiation of the war -- and of Senator Clinton's four years' worth of votes for it -- might require the pundit class to remind their viewers and readers that they share some culpability in starting this war. And, like Hillary, damn few of them have offered us an apology.
With all due respect to Senator Obama's victory, the most important news out of the caucus this evening was the whopping, room-busting turnout of Democrats. 239,000 people showed up to vote Democratic tonight (93% more than in '04, which was a record year), while only 115,000 showed up to vote Republican. And this is a red state! The Republican caucuses looked anemic. The looks on their faces were glum, tired. As the camera followed some of them into their caucus sites, they held their heads down or turned away, sorta like criminals on a perp walk. They know their days of power are over. They know their guy blew it. Their only hope was to vote for a man who has a direct line to heaven. Huckabee is their Hail Mary pass. But don't rule him out. He's got a sense of humor, he's downhome, and he said that if elected, he'd put me on a boat to Cuba. Hey, a free Caribbean vacation!
Bottom line: People have had it. Iowa will go blue (Happy Blue Year, Hawkeyes!). Whomever your candidate is on the Dem side, this was a good night. Get some sleep. The Republicans won't go down without a fight. Look what happened when Kerry tried to play nice. So Barack, you can talk all you want about "let's put the partisanship aside, let's all get along," but the other side has no intention of being anything but the bullies they are. Get your game face on now. And, if you can, tell me why you are now the second largest recipient of health industry payola after Hillary. You now take more money from the people committed to stopping universal health care than any of the Republican candidates.
Despite what your answer may be, I was proud to sit in my living room tonight and see you and your family up on that stage. We became a bit better tonight, and on that I will close by saying, sweet dreams -- and on to that other totally white state of New Hampshire!
Yours,
Michael Moore

According to the issues (and the NY times), here is where they stand.....

Iraq.......

Clinton- out by 2013 (she just lost my vote, even in the general election)

Biden-  Partition Iraq and out by summer 2008  (I'm pretty sure he wont be the President until '09, not a fan of partioning, not on my favorites list)

Dodd-   Leave Iraq by April 2008  (He won't be President until '09)

Edwards-   Out of Iraq within 10 months of election.

Kucinich-   Out of Iraq NOW!

Obama-     Leave Iraq within 16 months of election.

Richardson-   Withdraw all troops by 2010 (BEST, most believable answer). 

Health Care.......

Clinton-  Mandate that everyone get health care, subsidized by the government and employers, roll back tax breaks for people making over 250 grand a year. 

Biden-    All under 21 will be insured, pay for it by ending the Iraq war and tax cut roll backs (not insuring everyone?  Bad answer).

Edwards-  Has the same plan as Clinton.

Dodd-  Has the same plan as Clinton.

Kucinich-     Establish Medicare for all; pay for it by removing costs related to private insurers and implementing taxes for the highest earners and a payroll tax (BEST ANSWER!).

Obama-  Make Health Insurance affordable and require that all children have health care.  (Bad answer, definetly not on my favorites list). 

Richardson-  Requires that everyone have insurance, subsidized by the government and employers.

Iran......

Clinton-  Declared Iran's military a terrorist group, military option on the table, would not meet with Irans President (WRONG ANSWER).

Biden-  Engage in direct diplomacy; tighten economic sanctions with international cooperation; believes there is no military option.

Dodd-   Engage in direct diplomacy; use economic pressure; would not meet with the Iranian president; military option not off the table (WRONG ANSWER).

Edwards-  Engage in low level diplomacy; use economic pressure; military option not off the table (WRONG ANSWER).

Kucinich-   Would engage in direct diplomacy; says U.S. must disarm as well; opposes military strike (GREAT ANSWER).

Obama-     Engage in direct diplomacy; tighten economic sanctions with international cooperation; would meet with the Iranian president with no preconditions; military option not off the table.

Richardson-  Direct diplomacy without preconditions; work with international community to place sanctions; would not meet with the Iranian president; may allow civilian nuclear capability; opposes military strike (GOOD ANSWER).

All of the candidates are very close on Abortion, Climate Change and I still don't care about Immigration.  I don't know about you, faithful readers, but I'm still stuck between Kucinich and Richardson. 

This article can be found at http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/issues/index.html#/context=index/issue=immigration

 

     I've been toying with the idea of voting for a Republican in the upcoming primary elections.  As a West Virginia Independent, I am given the opportunity to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary as described here (http://www.wvsos.com/elections/voters/partyregistration.htm).  I've never voted for a Republican before and thought this might be the best time to do so.  I don't like Hillary Clinton (voted for the Iraq war and declared Irans military as a terrorist group http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/weekinreview/14cooper.html?_r=1&oref=slogin) and Barack Obama seems to have the John Kerry flu (never can give a straight answer.).  I like Kucinich, but he did claim to see a UFO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSRWRbuMqyc) which seems a little crazy to me.  Biden wants to partition Iraq into three countries based on religion (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/opinion/23galbraith.html?_r=1&oref=slogin), now tell me, how has that worked out for India/Pakistan and Israel/Palestine?  Edwards just seems ingenuine to me, I don't have a link for that, he just seems like a phony.  Bill Richardson is by far my favorite but I even have ticky tack problems with him, and it doesn't look like he'll win anyway.  However, even with the problems I have with the Democrats I truly believe that any one of them would make a capable President (well, maybe not Edwards).  So, by the time West Virginia rolls around to its primary on May 13th, We will probably be down to two candidates, Clinton and Obama.  Between the two I don't care who wins, I might flip a coin, heads its Obama! 

       Now, as far as the Republicans go, theres only one I could even dream of voting for, and he may be able to get me out of voting for one of two Democrats I don't particularly like.  Ron Paul.  I am now going to break down this candidate by the issue according to his website and tell you what I think...

On the environment...

     Congressman Paul states that the key to sound environmental policy is the respect for private property and that to punish polluters we as Americans should sue the polluter.  In that case, I should sue Masey for blowing up my mountains here in Kanawha county WV.  Tell me, who's going to have the better lawyers?  What Ron Paul forgets (and its the downfall of all Libertarians) is that the government IS the people.  I shouldn't have to sue a company.  Thats why we have the WV EPA.  The government is there to protect us, not hurt us.  Sometimes they do screw up, but its better than not helping at all.  Minus one for Ron Paul.

The war in Iraq.....   

     He wants out of Iraq in a big way.  Plus one to Ron Paul.

Universal Health Care......

     Against UHC.  Minus one to Ron Paul.

Public education....

     Against federal funding of schools.  For giving tax breaks to parents who want to send children to religious schools so they can learn all about creationism.  Minus one to Ron Paul.

Roe VS Wade....

      Against.  As President would do his utmost to overturn.  Minus one to Ron Paul.

Second amendment.....

       Against any restriction of fire arms.  Plus one to Ron Paul.

Right to Privacy.....

       Against the National ID and wants a repeal of the USA PATRIOT ACT.  Plus one to Ron Paul.

Those are the issues that he lists on his website that I care about (notice immigration is not one of them).  His total score is -1.  Alas, with a score of negative one, I cannot vote for a Republican in '08.  The search continues...........