I came across this article I thought it was a bit funny.
One would think that if you were running for President, you could at least get your daughter to vote for you.
I wonder why she wouldn’t vote for Rudy, I bet you that Chelsea is voting for Hillary…
Elizabeth Edwards, wife of the presidential hopeful John Edwards, has offered her insightful commentary on Hillary Clinton in a Salon interview.
Elizabeth Edwards gives a harsh critique of Hillary. She said that her husband better represents and advocates what women want (i.e. Health care) and tip-toes around the idea that Hillary is not women enough but her husband is.
When I was a lawyer, I was the first female lawyer many people had ever seen. I had an obligation to my client to do the work right, but I thought constantly about my obligation to the women who came after me. If I didn’t do a good job, they wouldn’t get a chance to sit where I’m sitting. I think one of the things that make me so completely comfortable with this is that keeping that door open to women is actually more a policy of John’s than Hillary’s.
No wonder why John Edwards is not doing so well in his campaign, he is a laughing stock. He lets his wife be his personal protector and she fights all of his battles for him, from Ann Coulter to Hillary Clinton, Mr. Edwards does not have to worry about anything his wife will take care of it for him.
I think the wrong Edwards is running for office…
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told NBC News’ Richard Engel that Iraqi forces can take over security by January,
according to this video (the link to it is on the page).
This is interesting, this brings up some good questions. If the Iraqi Government, which has been “sovereign” since 2004 says they can fully take over the security aspect, why not let them. I still have some problems with just leaving Iraq there are too many variables and questions but it is a completely different story if the Iraqi feel they are able to handle things. Whether you support the war or not, I think one thing we all can agree on is that Iraq must take control of it’s own destiny. Militarily, we freed them from Saddam now it time for them to fully take the reins.
This is always a great way America can bow out of Iraq. This would help us with keeping the strong American image, instead of an image that we left because we were defeated.
If they want us gone, we should go…
You might remember this story about the TB-Infected Man, well he is back in the news:
Eight people who shared a flight with tuberculosis-infected traveler Andrew Speaker on May 24 filed suit Thursday against him in a Canadian court.
TB patient Andrew Speaker set off an international health scare when he traveled to Europe for his wedding in May.
Canadian Press reported the suit, filed in Quebec Superior Court, seeks $1.3 million (Canadian $1.4 million) in damages.
Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta, Georgia, lawyer, caused an international uproar when he disregarded doctors’ advice and traveled abroad to get married, potentially exposing his fellow passengers to the disease.
Speaking with CNN from a hospital in Denver, Colorado, where he is undergoing treatment, Speaker said he is aware of the pending litigation but has not heard from his attorney in Montreal, Canada.
“I am not some trust-fund baby, and there is nothing to go after,” he said.
Rosalind Yee — an attorney for the plaintiffs who said her clients include a ninth person related to one of the passengers but who was not on the flight — said all eight passengers have undergone TB tests since they returned home.
One of them, a 72-year-old man, tested positive for TB on a skin test, though it was not clear that Speaker was the source. The man’s X-rays were normal, she said, and he is awaiting results of further tests…
Doctors at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver have since determined that Speaker is infected with MDR-TB, not the more serious XDR-TB. The CDC says the change in diagnosis would not have affected their recommendations regarding travel.
(read full article)
This is ridiculous if the other passengers did not catch TB, then why are they suing him. The only person that has a credible claim to sue Mr. Speaker is the 72 year old man that came up positive on the skin. However, how do we know if that is where he got it from. This is one thing that I truly abhor about our society we are too “suing happy” and we want to make some money so we sue people for frivolously reasons.
Come on people you will be alright! As global citizens we need to be worried with genocide, war, and famine; not on stupid lawsuits about how you “almost-kind-a-sort-of-but-not-really” got a disease or how the dry cleaners lost your pants and so you sue them for 54 million dollars. . .
The House approved the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act today by a vote of 223-201. The fell right along party lines, with four Republicans voting with the Democrats while 10 Democrats voted with Republicans.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor today in support of H.R. 2956:
Passage of Chairman Skelton’s bipartisan bill will reflect he will of the American people and reaffirm the judgment of the House. That the redeployment of our troops is a central element in an effective way forward in Iraq. We will repeat that judgment legislatively as often as necessary, hopefully with an increasing level of support from our Republican colleagues, until pressure from the American people causes the President to change his mind and his policies.
I’m not surprised that this bill was approved in the House and might have a chance in the Senate. However, if that does happen Bush won’t think twice about pulling his veto pen.
However, as more and more of these votes come up I think what would happen if we began to leave Iraq. There are great posts (part one & part two) I found on this very topic.
I think these are great questions to think about:
If we withdrew from Iraq today…
…what would happen to the U.S. image world-wide? Would it become worse or be better than it now is?
… what would be the plight and future of the Iraqi people?
… what would happen to the Iraqi government? Will maintain democracy?
… what impact would such a move have on the security of the greater Middle-East? Who would it help, who would it harm (if anyone)?
… what impact would it have on terrorist movements across the World? Would the US be safer from Terrorist attacks?
… what would Iran and Syria do? Would Iran attempt to install an Islamic government based on their theocracy? If so, is that a bad thing?
… would Iraq fall into full civil war that would evolve into another Somalia or Sudan?
… what would happen to the booming economies in the Northern (Kurdish) and Southern parts of Iraq?
… who would control the oil? Would the Iraqi people benefit from it?
… what do China and Russia do? Do they seek to exert their influence more?
… what economic impact does it have on the US? Does it promote or denigrate American economic interests and influence throughout the World?
I have being speaking against the war since the very beginning, but I do worry about what happens if we leave. It is no secret that the American people are not favor of the Iraq War; however, I’m concerned that if we leave before the Iraqi Gov’t is ready we would be doing more harm then good…
Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel Tuesday that top Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.The administration, Dr. Carmona said, would not allow him to speak or issue reports about stem cells, emergency contraception, sex education, or prison, mental and global health issues. Top officials delayed for years and tried to “water down” a landmark report on secondhand smoke, he said. Released last year, the report concluded that even brief exposure to cigarette smoke could cause immediate harm.
Dr. Carmona said he was ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. He also said he was asked to make speeches to support Republican political candidates and to attend political briefings…
Dr. Carmona is one of a growing list of present and former administration officials to charge that politics often trumped science within what had previously been largely nonpartisan government health and scientific agencies.
(read the full article)
This is the problem with being the President of the United States, one of your jobs is that you are the Head of your Political Parties along with being the Commander-in-Chief, Head of State, etc. Maybe this is just me caring about the right thing to do is but. Although, being the President is inertially political, your job is to do what is best for the American people. And not to “water down” reports and facts to ensure your positions seem the best to American people. That is not right, hopefully, in 2008 we can get someone who works truly for the interests of the people that represent.
I’m going to admit even as a moderate I like Bush, although do not I think he is doing an excellent job. I would say he is going a good job under circumstances. Mr. President, take the below advice, you have 18 months left get these things done or at least make some progress.
I promise that if you do that Mr. Bush that your rating will shoot up.Good Luck!
I was watching MSNBC and this was Breaking News, as soon as I find an article, I will link it out there…
Update: Here is the President’s full text…
This is a great move by Bush to try to get some of his conservative supporters back in his court. However, it will be interesting to see how Bush’s numbers change in the following days…
Update: I have to say I feel bad for George W. Bush, it was clear this was not something he did not want to do was not proud of. If he was truly proud of this there would have been a press conference in the Rose Garden, he would have taken questions and defending his choice. Instead, he sent out a Press Release on a holiday week and prayed that no one would notice this.
Latest News for Britain…
British police today arrested two more suspects in connection with the attempted car bombings last week in London and Glasgow, the authorities said, bringing the total number of arrests to seven in what the government has described as a plot linked to Al Qaeda.
The Strathclyde police in Scotland said the arrests of the two men, aged 25 and 28, occurred in the Paisley area west of Glasgow near Glasgow Airport, and followed a night of “intensive police operations.”
“It’s obviously in connection with the incidents at the airport on Saturday,” a police spokeswoman said.
On Saturday, two men rammed a Jeep Cherokee into the entrance of Glasgow Airport. That followed the incidents in the West End of London on Friday when two car bombs failed to explode.
(read more…)
To read about this is extremely saddening, the fact that someone would want to commit such acts is disappointing. I always seem to think about 9/11 when I hear about a terrorist or potential terrorist attack, I remember how the hold world was behind us and felt for us like we haven’t seen before. But instead of using a great chance to show the world that Terrorism is not just a problem for the US, it is a global problem and we need to work as a global community to end it. Our Government instead, waged an frivolous war on Iraq, I thought it if removed Saddam that everyone would love us and the world would be at peace; after all that is how the war was sold. Unfortunately, I believe that the world is more dangerous now then it was before the war began.
I think the most important thing we all need to do is understand what is motivating these people to do what they are doing. I believe chalking it up to the fact that they are from the middle east or the fact they were a “towel” is racist and is part of the problem. We need to become more educated about their culture and religion, contrary to popular belief Islam is not a violent religion and not all Muslims are terrorists.
In order to have peace, we must first start by understanding these “bad guys” and finding a way to live on the same planet without bombs.
It seems as though the so-called, “most powerful” Vice President Dick Cheney is not all powerful as he would like. He flip-flopped on his assertion that he is “not an ‘entity within the executive branch’ and hence is not subject to presidential executive orders.”
Dick Cheney’s office is abandoning a justification for keeping the Vice-President’s secret papers out of the hands of the National Archives.
Officials working for Cheney had tried to claim he is separate from the executive branch, but they will no longer pursue that defense, senior administration officials tell The Politico.
The decision follows a threat by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), the No. 3 House Democrat, to try to cut off the office’s $4.8 million in executive-branch funding.
(read more…)
The dispute came about after House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) posted an eight-page letter he had written to Cheney taking issue with Cheney statement that he is not part of the Executive Branch.
I found this very amusing that Cheney and his people would try to use a constitutional loophole (if you were to read the document, the only powers it give the VP is to be the President of the Senate and assume the Office of President in the event it is vacant.) However, it is clear that Mr. Cheney has something to hide, after all, why else would you not want National Archives handling your files and records. In positions that I have personally held, a group has collected and archived my files, but I never objected, that is also because I do not need to hide anything. But then again, I have never held the Office of Vice President and my name is not Dick Cheney, so maybe those two things together offer special privileges that are only eligible to His Royal Highness.
