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Online nowLunaticprophet: lunaticprophet is a 42 year old guy from Chicago, Illinois, USA.; Likes 1,291 pages, 130 videos, 45 photos • 102 fans • Received 30 reviews; Member since Apr 16, 2005

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Ex-officials: Bush admin. ignored Iraq corruption - Politics on The Huffington…: 10:13pm 1 review politics, bush, liars, republicans, crooks •http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05...; Ex-officials: Bush admin. ignored Iraq corruption

From the page: "The Bush administration repeatedly ignored corruption at the highest levels within the Iraqi government and kept secret potentially embarrassing information so as not to undermine its relationship with Baghdad, according to two former State Department employees.

Arthur Brennan, who briefly served in Baghdad as head of the department's Office of Accountability and Transparency last year, and James Mattil, who worked as the chief of staff, told Senate Democrats on Monday that their office was understaffed and its warnings and recommendations ignored.

Brennan also alleges the State Department prevented a congressional aide visiting Baghdad from talking with staffers by insisting they were too busy. In reality, Brennan said, office members were watching movies at the embassy and on their computers. The staffers' workload had been cut dramatically because of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "evisceration" of Iraq's top anti-corruption office, he said.

The State Department's policies "not only contradicted the anti-corruption mission but indirectly contributed to and has allowed corruption to fester at the highest levels of the Iraqi government," Brennan told the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.

The U.S. embassy "effort against corruption _ including its new centerpiece, the now-defunct Office of Accountability and Transparency _ was little more than 'window dressing,'" he added."

M.S. Bellows, Jr.: Clinton Camp Stoops To Language Games And Overt Race Strategi…: 9:51pm 1 review politics, democrats, clinton, elections, obama •http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-be...; Clinton Camp Stoops To Language Games And Overt Race Strategizing
From the page: "At points, the Clinton representatives' demographic parsing bordered on surreal. Wolfson seemed to imply that gasoline prices are primarily a white issue, suggesting that Clinton's proposal for a gas tax "holiday" had helped her with white voters and promising that she would continue urging that proposal on the stump. In response to a pair of questions about whether African Americans would support Clinton in the general election, Wolfson repeatedly referred to Obama's "passionate supporters," seeming to conflate the two.

In terms of campaign strategy, the Clinton camp almost expressly admitted that her presidential aspirations now lie in the hands of Democratic Party operatives, including the party committees that will determine the fate of the currently disqualified Michigan and Florida delegations and the undeclared superdelegates who theoretically could still give the nomination to Clinton. Although he described Clinton as focused on the last few primaries, Wolfson -- in terms redolent of Bill Clinton's infamous "it all depends on what the definition of 'is' is" -- admitted that she likely would not win the majority of elected delegates: "We expect that when we get to June 3rd we'll have a close result. It raises the question of how close is close."

Phil Singer seemed to admit that even Michigan and Florida are not likely to alter her probable loss in both the elected-delegate and total-delegate races, saying that seating both states would at best bring Clinton to "fewer than a hundred elected delegates, excuse me, total delegates" of the nomination. Nevertheless, Clinton is urging not only that delegations from those two states be seated, but seated in full (and without Obama receiving any delegates at all from Michigan, where his name was not on the ballot). Wolfson described Clinton's performance in both states' primaries -- in which neither candidate overtly campaigned -- as "significant victories" and disagreed with suggestions that the delegations be seated at half-strength as a penalty for knowingly advancing their primaries earlier than Democratic Party rules allowed: "Our feeling is that the delegations should be seated in full, that they should have full votes" "commensurate with the results from those primaries." Clinton also plans to keep making an electability argument to superdelegates, including in a meeting with undeclared superdelegates planned for Wednesday night."

So, of course, it comes to this.. race. Anyone surprised by this? And we don't even have to wait until the general election. Clinton's "Nuclear Option" is destroy the party so she can get what she's entitled to? Or is this the strategy of putting the obvious out there to take (some) of the sting away from the general election? Let's get it out in the open now... ad nauseam... before the republicans get to strike first. As with Rev. Wright, maybe those sitting on the fence will be sick of the din before the general election.

Possible strategy? Hmmm... seems too risky and cunningly smart(?) for the democrats to plan and pull off.

Robert Creamer: Top 10 Reasons Obama Defeated Clinton for the Democratic Nominat…

9:40pm

3 reviews

politics, democrats, clinton, elections, obama •http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-...

Top Ten Reasons Obama Beat Clinton
From the page: "

Chip Berlet: Lieberman Gift To McCain: Senate Islamist Terrorism Report - Off T…: 8:19pm 2 reviews politics, terrorism, bush, republicans, fear-mongering •http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chip-be...; Lieberman Gift To McCain: Senate Islamist Terrorism Report
From the page: "When a bipartisan Congressional committee issues a report on the threat of domestic terrorist violence during an election year, you can be sure that the centrist establishment is worried about the popular backlash against government repression and the threat to civil liberties.

That's nothing new.

Scholar William W. Keller argues that in times of wide-spread social unrest and tensions, some liberals retreat from their oversight function as protectors of civil liberties and allow authoritarian methods to be implemented in order to restore order and defend the state. Right now in Washington, DC, civil liberties activists have built a coalition that spans the political spectrum from left to right. This coalition recently managed to block legislation titled the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act." It was, as detailed here, lousy legislation and deserved to be squashed.

Many voters do not support the war in Iraq and are suspicious of Bush administration demands for even more erosions of civil liberties and Constitutional rights.This scares the bipartisan status quo brigade, and centrist Republicans and Democrats now rally behind the power of the state. Dissidents on the left and right already are all potential suspects in the "War on Terrorism." Who better to pick as the main target for the New Witch Hunt than Muslims in America? Is there a more vulnerable community for a new campaign based on fear?

So now comes a "series of reports by the Majority and Minority staff of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs...on the threat of homegrown terrorism inspired by violent Islamist extremism." The first report, "Violent Islamist Extremism, The Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat," (PDF) was published today, 8 May 2008.

What's really amazing, is that this travesty of a "majority and minority" report is not even really "bipartisan." The committee authors include Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the ranking Republican, and Committee Chairmen Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who has effectively lent himself to the McCain campaign for the last few months."

"Saturday Night Lives" Message From Hillary Clinton: "I Have No Ethical Standard…: 8:14pm 6 reviews politics, video, democrats, clinton, elections •http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05...; "Saturday Night Live's" Message From Hillary Clinton: "I Have No Ethical Standards" (VIDEO)

From the page: "The show opened with Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton giving a message to America.

Poehler's Clinton says how the race is "hopelessly deadlocked" and she gives reasons why she will make the better president. Reason one? "I am a sore loser... I will probably refuse to campaign for him." Second: "My supporters are racist." It goes from there."

Funny... in a sad, ringingly true way

Cafferty File: Tell Jack how you really feel Blog Archive - How will history v…: 8:12am 1 review politics, democrats, clinton, elections, obama •http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/200...; How will history view the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?
From the page: "For all those like Mitt Romney who said, when talking about Barack Obama, "The presidency of the United States is not an internship,"� consider this.

The young guy with not nearly as much political experience is on the verge of toppling one of the most powerful political names of the last 50 years, Hillary Clinton. For all her claims of having more experience, the relative newcomer proved to have a lot more moxie.

She said "experience." He said "change."� Voters bought change. He planned beyond Super Tuesday and paid attention to the caucuses. She pretty much ignored the caucuses and assumed she would be the nominee the day after Super Tuesday.

When she wasn't, she was in trouble. Poor planning on the ground and a shortage of money immediately put her at a disadvantage for the rest of the way. She relied on friends and people who were loyal to her. In time, as things began to sour, there was friction and key people left. Her husband hurt her" some say a lot.

As things got worse, she grew more desperate. The kitchen sink strategy appeared. So did demands to count the elections in Michigan and Florida --elections that are invalid. So did false claims about things like her trip to Bosnia.

And all along, she failed to recognize the overriding theme of this election year. The people in this country are sick and tired of their government. They want "change."� How could someone with so much "experience" not see that?

Here's my question to you: How will history view the race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?"

Crooks and Liars & McCain to Bush in 2000: &8220;Don't Give Me That Sh*t. A…

May 10, 10:07pm

2 reviews

politics, liars, republicans, elections, mccain •http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05...

Mr. (Integrity) McCain to Bush in 2000: "Don't Give Me That Sh*t. And Take Your Hands Off Me."
From the page: "Huffington's she said, he said about McCain's 2000 vote began on Monday. Huffington claimed that a gathering in Los Angeles after the November election John McCain told her, "I didn't vote for George Bush." (Cindy McCain, apparently more forthcoming about her 2000 vote than her 2007 tax returns, chimed in, "I didn't either.") After McCain spokesman Mark Salter protested, "it's not true and I ask you to consider the source," the Times and the Post verified Huffington's account with West Wing stars Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff, both of whom were in attendance at Candace Bergen's Beverly Hills bash that night.

What is beyond dispute, however, is McCain's past hatred for George W. Bush. As Time reported in March 2000, McCain then showed a visceral disgust towards Bush and his scorched earth campaign:

When McCain pointed out that Bush's allies were savaging him in direct-mail and phone campaigns, Bush played the innocent. "Don't give me that shit," McCain growled, pulling away. "And take your hands off me."

----

But by 2004, John McCain was looking towards his next White House run - and life after Bush. McCain's presidential ambitions let him forgive sins past in order to rebuild relations with Bush and the Republican establishment. McCain's long road back began during election 2004. McCain not only stumped for George W. Bush, but joined the chorus of the Swift Boat hacks by stating that "what John Kerry did after the war is very legitimate political discussion." (Only the previous month, McCain himself called the attacks on Kerry "dishonest and dishonorable.") Dana Perino was exaggerating only slightly when she claimed that "in 2000 and 2004, Senator McCain went on to work his tail off to help this president."

From there, the selling of John McCain's soul proceeded quickly and his Faustian bargain began to pay dividends. At the Southern Leadership Conference in March 2006, McCain McCain asked the delegates to throw their support to President Bush. McCain used the venue to offer a full-throated support of President Bush and his Iraq policy, proclaiming "We elected him, we need him, he needs to do well and the country needs him." McCain turned his vitriol towards the President's critics, claiming that anyone who said Bush lied about WMD in Iraq "was lying." By mid-2006, McCain had secured the backing of much of the Bush financial machine.

The rest, as they say, is history. With the GOP nomination still hanging in the balance, John McCain in February proclaimed, "I would be proud to have President Bush campaign with me and support me in any way that he feels is appropriate. And I would appreciate it." Having adopted virtually the entire Bush agenda in his 2008 run (including an acrobatic flip-flop on making the Bush tax cuts permanent), John McCain in March warmly accepted Bush's Rose Garden endorsement as coming from "a man who I have a great admiration, respect and affection" for.

Crooks and Liars & Digging a little deeper into McCain ethical lapses: May 10, 9:45pm 1 review politics, republicans, elections, crooks, mccain •http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05...; Digging a little deeper into McCain ethical lapses
From the page: "When considering John McCain's history of unethical behavior, the list usually starts (and ends) with the Keating Five scandal in the 1980s, for which McCain was rebuked by the Senate Ethics Committee for having shown, at a minimum, poor judgment. While McCain took on the role of a 'reformer'� in the scandal's aftermath, his ethical lapses have hardly disappeared.

The NYT noted a few weeks ago, for example, that McCain went to considerable lengths in 1999 to help one of his top campaign fundraisers buy the land at an Army base that was being closed. McCain helped his benefactor get the land --and special water rights-- for just $250,000, which the donor then sold two years later for $30 million. (The donor, Donald Diamond, was rather candid about buying influence with politicians: "I want my money back, for Christ's sake. Do you know how many cocktail parties I have to go to?" It's the kind of obvious influence peddling McCain swears he never gets involved with.

Today, the WaPo has a front-page item highlighting yet another real-estate controversy in which McCain helped out one of his most generous supporters.

>>> see post below "Mr. (Integrity re: Lobbyist Whore) McCain Pushed Land Swap Deal...""

YouTube - Sunset Boulevard - 1950 - Final Scene: May 10, 8:05pm 2 reviews classic-films, video, clinton, elections •http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhlhE3...; It's... it's... Hillary Clinton in all her glory!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050900415.…: May 9, 8:31pm 1 review politics, democrats, clinton, elections, obama •http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...; Obama picks up 9 superdelegates, union endorsement
From the page: "Barack Obama all but erased Hillary Rodham Clinton's once-imposing lead among national convention superdelegates on Friday and won fresh labor backing as elements of the Democratic Party began coalescing around the Illinois senator for the fall campaign.

Obama picked up the backing of nine superdelegates, including Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who had been a Clinton supporter.

In addition, the American Federation of Government Employees announced its support for Obama. The union claims about 600,000 members who work in the federal and Washington, D.C., governments.

Obama, who won a convincing victory in the North Carolina primary and lost Indiana narrowly on Tuesday, has been steadily gaining strength in the days since.

"I'm gratified that we've got some superdelegates who are coming our way. And I think we've got a strong case to make that I will be a nominee that can pull the party together and take on John McCain. Our focus has always been on the pledged delegates and just getting the American people to vote for us. And we think that ultimately that should be the strongest measure of who's the nominee," Obama told reporters in Woodburn, Ore."

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