The Obama Speech at the Connecticut State Democratic party Dinner

A detailed account of the Connecticut State Democratic Party Dinner and how Lieberman was booed can be found here . Very interesting.

Barak Obama's Positions Are Similar to Ned Lamont's

Barak Obama is a rising star in the democratic party. He is one of the few democrats that took a position against the Iraq war early on. And so is Ned Lamont. He is a real democrat that realized early the disastrous error that the Bush administration made in starting that war.

Although yesterday Obama had to "endorse" Lieberman in the Connecticut state democratic dinner, it is obvious that in reality he agrees with Ned Lamont. The reasons that Obama had to "endorse" Lieberman are obvious: Lieberman is a long-standing senator from Connecticut that run for Vice President in 2000. So he had to do it in order for the Democratic Party to appear united, especially in CT where 2 democrats are running for governor.

But Obama also brought up the issue of the "elephant in the room" and clearly stated his opposition to the Iraq war that Lieberman has been supporting. By doing so, Obama sent an unmistakable message: That he and Ned Lamont have the same position on the most important issue for the country these days. The Iraq war.

The whole thing shows that Lieberman will not be able to be re-elected in November. If the democrat-superstar that he invited to support his re-election feels that he has to openly state his strong opposition to Lieberman's positions, this shows that Lieberman's campaign is destined to fail.

It looks more and more that Lieberman will need to start making retirment plans. Crawford Texas would be a great place for him to retire. The weather there is warmer than Connecticut and that will also allow him to enjoy more the company of the Bush family that he so much adores.

"Joementum [Nedrenaline Mix]"

Cool music on Bush's favorite democrat.

And here is how it started.

Lieberman Booed by Connecticut Democrats

Lieberman Booed at Connecticut State Democratic Party Dinner
Well deserved....

Lamont's Campaign Moving Forward

For people who doubt that Lamont can win over Lieberman, this should be a wake-up call. Lamont had much more support than Lieberman in a recent caucus in in Ridgefield. Lamont is well positioned to win the democratic primary in Connecticut and I think he will.

By the way, I also made my first donation to the campaign of Ned Lamont a few days ago, and I am planning to donate more in the future, although I dont live in Connecticut.

Here is also a picture of Lamont with Clinton. We may see similar pictures of Lamont with a female Clinton in the future if both get elected.

How Lieberman Can Be Defeated and How Lamont Can Win

There is no question that democrats have the chance to take back the house and possibly the senate in November. All the indications are that, most likely, we will win back the house and we will make major gains in the senate. That's all great, and I hope this momentum lasts until Novemeber and this really happens.

Beyond these races, however, there is another very important and highly symbolic race within the democratic party. That is the race for the senate seat in Connecticut. Democrat Joe Lieberman currently holds that seat and he has been elected and re-elected for many years. As we all know, Lieberman was also the democratic Vice presidential candidate in 2000. So, Lieberman is a "high-profile" democrat with a lot of connections and name recognition. Normally, his re-election should be a routine process. But not this year. This year it is of outmost importance that Lieberman is defeated in the democratic primary and not re-elected in his senate seat.

Why is it so important that Lieberman is defeated? The reason is simple. The outcome of the Lamont-Lieberman race will have long-lasting effects in defining the character and the identity of the democratic party. Lieberman has defied the anti-war wisdom among the base of the democratic party and the majority of the country, and continues to openly support the war and president Bush. He clearly represents the far-right wing of the democratic party, despite some centrist positions on other issues. In fact, there are several republican senators that are to the left of senator Lieberman, like Chaffee from Rhode Island or Olympia Snowe from Maine.

Why will the outcome of the Lamont-Lieberman race have long-lasting effects in defining the identity of the democratic party? The democratic party has an identity crisis. That is the reason we lost the presidential elections in 2004. John Kerry behaved like a "confused" candidate who could not take a clear-cut position on the Iraq war. Although it is impossible to know what exactly was happening within the Kerry campaign, it somehow seemed that he was attempting to balance divergent opinions and positions within the democratic party. That led, of course, to the disastrous re-election of George W. Bush. Beyond the war though, there are several additional issues on which we see divergent positions within the democratic party. As an example, the call of senator Feingold to censure president Bush was seen with ambivalence, questions, concerns and anxiety by many democrats. Something so clear as censuring a president that broke the law can not unify the democrats.

So do we want a party infiltrated by right-wingers that are ideologically allied to republicans and other hawks, or do we want a democratic party that has clear-cut goals, identity and character? Defeating Lieberman will send an extremely important message to the "republican-allies" that have infiltrated the democratic party. It will establish that even someone who run for VP does not belong to the party, as far as he or she violates its principles and positions.

Lamont appears to be an excellent candidate with progressive thinking and liberal views. His positions clearly reflect the ideology of real democrats. He can and should win over Lieberman, but it will not be easy. It will take a massive national campaign to defeat Lieberman that will require the support of many real democrats across the country. It will be of outmost importance for people to contribute financially to his campaign and help in any way possible. But such efforts and investment will be certainly worth it. It may ultimately help redefine our identity as democrats and move the party to the right (left) direction. In the long run, it may be even more important than winning back the senate from the republicans.

McCain and the Certified Lunatics

How low can someone go to be elected president? It appears now that McCain likes one of the leading figures among certified lunatics: Jerry Falwell. In fact, McCain will deliver the commencement message at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. . Falwell said McCain's appearance at LU's graduation is another sign that McCain is wooing evangelical Christians.

It is kind of sad to see how low McCain has fallen. After his nauseating ass kissing of Bush, he now desperately tries to look good to the certified lunatics so he can get votes in the republican primaries in 2008. Now this is the same Falwell who has said things like "the Antichrist prophesied in the Bible is alive today and of course he'll be Jewish." McCain should be ashamed of himself.

Elections in Israel

Tomorrow there are elections in Israel. I hope the labour party does well. I would also not be disappointed if the Kadima party wins an absolute majority. The last poll shows that they are close. I think that would be just fine. Here is a list of the Israeli parties that participate in tomorrow's elections.

Here are the last predictions based on 2 recent polls:

Kadima 34 seats
Labour 19 seats
Likud 13 or 14 seats

40 seats are needed for absolute majority. My hope is that there would be a Kadima-Labour coalition if Kadima has no majority. But I doubt it would work that way.

Lieberman for Republican Spokesperson; Lamont for Senator

That is an interesting article. Click on the title above to read.

Condoleezza Rice and Lies

The Iraq civil war appears to be getting worse and worse, as it is obvious from this. Of course the admiministration refuses even the existence of a civil war. Yesterday, Condoleezza Rice gave interviews in many TV stations talking about Iraq. I watched the whole interview with Tim Russert in Meet the Press. The way she spins things and misleads is truly remarkable.

She mentioned again one of the "classic" statements to justify the invasion in 2003, that "Saddam attacked his neighbors" in the past and that's a reason he was a threat then. That statement is something frequently heard in shows in Fox News and, even, by the president. But Rice or the president never mention the countries he attacked by name. Well, one is obviously Kuwait. But the other country is...Iran. There is certainly some serious hypocrisy and deliberate misleading here, as Saddam attacked Iran in the 1980s with the full approval of the republican administratin then. During the 8 year war against Iran there was active military support to Saddam by the republican administration then. I dont criticize that and I think the Reagan administration made the right choice in supporting someone against the radical Iranian clerics. But I think it is extreme hypocrisy for Rice or her bosses to use that to demonstrate that Saddam was dangerous. Saddam was a criminal monster, but was weakened and not a threat in 2003. The way this administration spins things and misleads the public is remarkable. Of course thats exactly the reason they have lost their credibility and the support of the public.

Impeachment and Censure statistics

It seems that the moves to impeach or censure Bush are gaining support in the Congress. In Congress, 60 percent of Democrats and 20 percent of Republicans support a censure measure. Also, 32 Democrats have signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors of H.R. 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into grounds for recommending impeachment.

Lets hope that this wave will continue and grow. I am wondering how it would be having president Cheney if Bush were impeached and removed from office. Could it be worse? Nah, he has been acting as the president anyway.

Another Candidate for the Senate Seat of Lieberman

A moderate republican has just announced that he will enter the race in Connecticut for Lieberman's seat. His name is Alan R. Schlesinger. Schlesinger said that under one scenario, liberals, who normally turn out in higher numbers in such primaries, could give Lamont a victory over Lieberman, which automatically would improve Schlesinger's chances of winning in November.

I think that Lamont will win both the democratic primary and the senate seat. But if for some reason it ends up being Lieberman versus a moderate republican, I will support the moderate reprublican, as far as he is not a strong Bush supporter as Lieberman is. In fact, a moderate reasonable republican would be much better than Lieberman. Lieberman, like Zell Miller, pretend to be "democrats" when in reality they are right-wing hawks and they are certainly to the right of several republicans.

The Losing Lieberman Campaign

Here is the article in Connecticut News that was criticizing Lieberman that eventually led to Lieberman losing it on the air during his radio interview.

It is now very realistic to say that Ned Lamont has a real chance to win the democratic primaries. Voters like candidates who are in control and not panicked ones who are afraid that they may loose their senate job. Lieberman is apparently getting very nervous.

Senator Lieberman has to realize that Connecticut is a blue state and that the voters of his state have very different views and opinions than his on the Bush administration and several other issues. He has done a terrible job in the senate by supporting the irresponsible and reckless actions of the Bush administration. He is a supporter of Bush, but that is not why he was elected for as a representative of the democratic party. It is time for someone better to take his seat in the senate. And Ned Lamont will.

Lieberman losing it?

It appears that senator Lieberman lost it on the air . It is not so surprising, as he is destined to be defeated in the democratic primary in Connecticut. It just happens that Democrats do not like to vote for supporters of the worst republican president in the history of the country. Senator Lieberman just started realizing that he may have to look for another career after the elections in November. That's why he seems to be getting upset. Ned Lamont will be the next democratic senator from Connecticut.

10 Reasons Why Liberal Men Are Better in Bed

Via Echidne, I discovered this post , explaining why liberal men are better in bed :). Being a liberal man, I always knew that, but it is good to see a scientific analysis on the subject :) Now it all makes sense. I hope that the conservative male visitors to this blog will realize that it would be simply in their interests to become liberal.

How many people would be alive today?

I was just thinking. How many people would be alive today if the Iraq war never happened? For sure, there would be 2319 US soldiers alive. In addition, there would be 103 British soldiers alive and another 103 soldiers from other coalition countries alive. Among them the heaviest causalties were probably Italians and Spaniards.

So, think of it, 2319 Americans would be alive today if we were not led into that insane war. We are talking about people with families, brothers, sisters, parents, friends, lovers. People with jobs, studies, ambitions, aspirations, hopes, feelings. People like us. And they are all dead now. But they could be still alive pursuing their goals....

Talking about the numbers of civilian Iraqi casualties is more difficult. It is, for sure, tens of thousands, and possibly, more than 100,000 at this point. There has been no documented count prior to 2005. In 2005, 7516 Iraqi civilians died and 3029 police and military killed. And these are conservative estimates...

And one wonders whether all this would have happened if someone else was elected in 2000. It is hard to believer that a Gore administration would have behaved in such an irrational, irresponsible and reckless manner as the Bush administration did to start the war. This war should have never happened. It was obvious to the Europeans then that there was no imminent threat and no urgency to invade Iraq and they desperately tried to stop the Bush administration from pursuing this illogical war. But they failed. History will be very harsh in its judgement of this administration. It is probably the most disastrous error made by a president in our history.

One of the best posts I have ever seen

This post in Daily Kos from Georgia 10 is probably the best post I have ever read in any blog. It is clearly an inspired post and worth reading... Here is an except from the post of Georgia:

"This is not America. I refuse to accept it. America doesn't torture. America doesn't jail people incommunicado for years. America doesn't sit idly by as an entire people are exterminated in Darfur. America doesn't stifle science. America doesn't conduct massive, secret spying on innocent citizens. America doesn't believe the individual is an annoyance, an impediment to supreme government power. This isn't the greatest democracy on earth. This isn't the nation that pioneered human rights. This isn't the America that leads the world, that leads humanity towards a greater good.

No, I refuse to accept this America of shame. This is not my America. It is an America perverted by Republican stewardship. A nation that under GOP rule has abandoned its founding ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice for all. True Americans--coast to coast, young and old--now bow their heads silently in collective shame for a nation that has lost its way".

Primary Elections

Today I went to vote in the primary elections in my state. I was planning to vote in the democratic primary, as I always do. Unfortunately, when I got there I realized that I am not registered to vote!!! Why? because we moved to a new house a few blocks from our old one 2 months ago. Apparently you can only vote with your old registration if it is within one month after the move. So I had to leave the polling station without casting my vote...

I am not happy about it, because I really wanted to vote for the democratic challenger of the democratic governor of my state. I can not stand this governor. Now, without my vote he is assured to be re-elected :) Also a couple of real liberal candidates for other offices lost a valuable vote. The good news is that I have a lot of time until November to register under my new address and make sure I vote in the upcoming historic election in which we will take back the congress and the senate.

New Book...

This sounds like a potentially interesting book to read. At least judging by the cover...

Blue and White Island

Here is a picture I took last summer from an island in
the meditteranean that I was visiting. Notice the Blue and White Colors...

A new May 1968?

Will May of 2006 prove to be a new "May 1968" for France? The clashes between demonstrators and police that have been occuring the last few days are in a way reminiscent of France in 1968.

Hopefully things will calm down. Somehow though, I believe that things will get worse. It is hard to predict what will happen. It will be certainly a huge setback for Europe if things escalate and run out of control as in May of 1968.

The Iraq Civil War

Iraq is in civil war. There is no question about it. The only ones who dispute that may be the "spin" and misinformation experts in Karl Rove's group.

Now Iraq's former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi made a simple observation: " We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more - if this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is " Allawi said.

Iraq is in Civil War and there is no example in history that a 3rd power from the outside was able to stop the civil war and stabilize the country. We need to get out of Iraq now.

The Incompetent and the Dangerous

I think that there is universal agreement at this point regarding the (in)competency of George W. Bush. I personally think that he should be impeached and be forced to find another job for a simple reason: The country can not afford such incompetency at such a critical time. We are at the verge of world war III and we have Bush as a president? It is a scary thought.

So, who is the most electable republican in 2008? It is obviously McCain who has broad appeal to independents, conservative democrats and even some liberal democrats. In fact, I have to admit that at one point I used to like McCain myself. Why? Because of the McCain-Feingold initiative to decrease the influence of special interests in politics. Also, McCain is a war hero and a likeable person. But I have now changed my mind and I am now concluding that McCain is irresponsible and dangerous! I was listening today to his interview in the early morning show of NBC talking about Iraq. This guy still believes that we should send more troops to Iraq!!! Not only he is supporting the irrational war of Bush that was based on deliberate lies, but he advocates sending more troops. That clearly shows extremely poor judgement. Can you imagine what he would do if he was ever elected president? The fact that he is liked by independents and democrats makes him even more dangerous. The good news though is that there is no way he can be the republican candidate in 2008, simply because the wingnuts dont like him and he can not win the republican primaries. Thats probably the only positive contribution of the wingnuts to the country.

The Opinion of the Country

In a recent poll, 56 percent of Americans said that they believe Bush is "out of touch". His approval rating was 33 percent.

When asked for a one-word description of Bush, the most frequent response was "incompetent".

Will it go below 30% next time? Any bets?

Lieberman Takes Issue With Lamont's Tone

"This shouldn't be about one issue or about name calling ... angry name calling," Lieberman told the Associated Press Thursday. "I don't think the public wants that."

Wrong senator Lieberman. Lamont has been very accurate on everything he is accusing you of. Democrats simply dont like you and want to see your defeat. Although, I dont live in Connecticut, I will make sure to contribute to the campaign of Ned Lamont.

Senator Lieberman you are an embarasssment to the democratic party. You dont belong in the democratic party and thats why you will be defeated. Ned Lamont will be the next democratic senmator from Connecticut.

A Big Liar

Another person (in addition to GWB) who lied big-time as it relates to the beggining of the Iraq war was Tony Blair. That is well established, at least in Europe, where Tony Blair has very low favorability ratings.

But there are now new additional problems for Blair. Hopefully these scandals will force him to resign and take the place in history that he deserves: A big liar who misled his country and the world to the beggining of the disastrous Iraq war.

Dangerously Incompetent

Take a guess. About whom is this democratic senator talking?


Hint: His first name is George and his middle initial is W.

Feingold: Democrats Run and Hide

"Democrats run and hide when the administration invokes the war on terrorism" said Feingold to reporters today. He accused fellow Democrats on Tuesday of cowering rather than holding a vote to censure President Bush over domestic spying.

Only Tom Harkin from Iowa said so far that he will vote for it. The rest of the democrats have avoided commenting. An analysis of why they are afraid to support Feingold is in this article in the Washington Post.

Feinngold represents the majority of democrats in the country who are sick and tired of cowards in the democratic party who are afraid to take action to protect democracy. This approach of many democrats is a loosing approach. Thats why Bush is in the White House.

We have said before in this blog many times that Russ Feingold is the natural leader of the democratic party and the best possible candidate for 2008. The question is how may other democrats with guts are left in the party? Why dont they support Russ's call to censure the worst president in the history of the country? What is so difficult about it?

Cowering Democrats

I really dont understand what is the problem with some Democrats. Russ Feingold has introduced a motion to censure Bush for the illegal wiretapping. But so far, it appears that he has very little support by fellow democrats in the senate.

"I'm amazed at Democrats...cowering with this president's numbers so low," said Feingold.

We are all amazed. Whats wrong with many democrats? Why dont they stand for the right thing? Why dont they have some guts? Russ Feingold does, but many of the other democratic senators simply try to be "political". But they are not good at that. Thats why we keep loosing elections to an extreme right-wing radical reprublican party.

Chaos

The situation in Iraq is completely chaotic . Things are obviously getting worse.

We should start pulling out now. John Murtha is absolutely right. What are they waiting for? It is hard to imagine that the administration really believes that the situation will get better. I think that they simply dont want to admit that they were wrong.

Busy

I have been extremely busy at work the last few days, and that's why posting has been so light. But dont worry, things will get better from tomorrow and I will start posting again.

What should we expect next?

There is no question that the president has extremely poor judgement. He has proven that many times. But this is really unbelievable. His domestic policy adviser, Claude A. Allen, was arrested for a shop theft scheme. Even worse, Bush had nominated him for a judge position. We are lucky that the democrats filibustered him.....Unbelievable!!!

Congratulations Mr. President for your judgement. This maybe a new place in history for you. You are the first president whose domestic advisor was a "thief".

You continue finding ways to impress the country when everyone thought you can not do worse.

Ned Lamont and Lieberman

Crooks and liars has the audio of an interview of Ned Lamont. This guy is real good. He can really beat Lieberman.

Here is the link of the audio in Crooks and liars. Its is certainly worth listening to.

Here is the site to support Ned Lamont.

What a Looser

Bush: Port Deal Collapse Sends Bad Message


What a looser.....

Sharon Stone and Foreign Affairs

Here is a picture that I found of Sharon Stone with Simon Peres in Israel this week. She looks great for the age of 47.

She would certainly make a far better secretary of the state than Condoleeza Rice. With Sharon Stone, peace would have a chance.

Sharon Stone Offers Kisses for Mideast Peace

Sharon Stone said that she "would kiss just about anybody" to end the Israel-Arab conflict. " I would kiss just about anybody for peace in the Middle East," she said, drawing laughter from a throng of Israeli reporters.

However, Stone turned down calls from the crowd to give Peres a peck on the cheek. Well, I guess that's because Peres is not really a major player in the peace process anymore...

I guess she has a better chance to bring peace in the middle east than any American diplomat. Would anyone argue with that?

They are right

The residents of these towns in Vermont are absolutely right . It is possible that Bush will be impeached. The chances are not high but they are there if the democrats take back the congress in Novemember. I better not forget to give my DNC contribution.

Ban on Abortions

The extreme right that wants to transform the country to a conservative religious state took finally the expected action. The governor of South Dakota signed a near-total ban on abortions in the state into law in what the governor called a "direct frontal assault" on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize the practice 33 years ago.

I dont think many people would like to move to South Dakota anymore. It was not the greatest place to live before that anyway, but it now sounds like a state run by mullahs and religious fundamentalists.

Serious Damage

This post in Daily Kos and this original post to which Daily Kos links to reflect some of the serious (yes very serious) damage the Bush administration is causing to the country.

What I dont understand is why dont the democrats talk about it more. This should be one of the top issues in their agenda. Of course, it is understandable that they have a lot of other things to talk about. But the side-effects of these actions of the administration, referred in those posts, are apparently causing structural damage in that area and they will have long lasting effects.

Bush: Pakistan is a Force for Freedom in the Arab World

Before he left India for Pakistan, Bush said the remarkable "Pakistan is a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world." What a statement! Pakistan is not free (it has a dictatorship) and is not in the Arab world. What kind of a president is he? He does not even know the definition of democracy? Did n't he learn in high school what countries are in the Arab world?

This emphasizes the need for an ammendment to the Constitution requiring that to be elected President you have to demonstrate knowledge of basic facts taught in high school. Illiteracy is a bad thing.

The Rule of Law and the Bush Administration

The American Civil Liberties Union released newly obtained documents today showing that senior Defense Department officials approved aggressive interrogation techniques that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents deemed abusive, ineffective and unlawful.

So, here is a simple question. What happened to the rule of law? We are democracy and the Bush administration can not be operating in any way they want. There is no question that for the good of the country, the democrats need to win back the congress. Some key members of the Bush administration deserve to be impeached and/or indicted, but this will never happen with a republican congress.

Inferiority Complex

Does the president really suffer from inferiority complex?

Remarkable

That is remarkable. How can they keep O' Reilly in Fox News after that? Here is how Keith Olbermann responded in his show. Keith is the greatest.

Bush and Pakistan

I happened to dislike all dictators of any sort. Pakistan is a country with tradition in dictatorships and it now has a dictatorship for the last 6 years, after the army took control. Musharraf is a dictator, but he is considered by this administration a "good" dictator in a way as he is an "ally" in the war against terrorism. We are not in a position to judge how good of an ally he is. Only this administration really knows.

Anyway, I understand the need to have support from a "friendly" goverment in Pakistan where a lot of the terrorists have been hanging out. But, the president may well stop talking about spreading democracy etc etc.

You can not have it both ways. You are either for democracy in an uncompromised way or you are not. The support for democratic values and ideas can not be compromised under any circumstances. This president has hard time understanding that, as his actions relating to the NSA also show.

High school students support teacher put on leave for Bush comments

About 150 high school students walked out of class to protest a decision of the school to put a teacher on leave while they investigate remarks he made about President Bush in class.

The whole thing is ridiculous. They should leave the teacher alone and just tell him to be a little more careful with his comments next time. There is a thing called freedom of speech that should be respected.

Also, apparently these remarks were secretly recorded by a student in the class, who gave the recording to his father (apparently a republican), who complained to the principal. In most states it is a felony to record someone without their permission. I dont know what is the law in Colorado. It will be interesting to find out if it is a crime there or not.

Caught lying on Video

Chris Matthews in Hardball had a remarkable new video tonight, in which president Bush was caught on video lying to the country. Without shame.

It was about the Katrina disaster. It showed a recording of the briefing of the president by Mike Brown and the others from FEMA right before Katrina hit, in which they clearly told him that the levees may fail and there could be floading.

Then, it shows the president 4 days later informing the country that noone could ever predict that the levees would fail".

We all know that this president lies. He lied about WMDs and Iraq, and other things. But now he is caught on video. Congratulations Mr. President. Please, keep up the good work! The country is so proud of you.

The need to protect secular values and freedom

Salman Rushdie and a dozen writers have put their names to a statement in a French weekly paper warning against Islamic "totalitarianism". The writers say the violence sparked by the publication of the danish cartoons demonstrates the need to fight for secular values and freedom.

They are certainly right. Of course it is not only "islamic totalitarianism" the problem. All religious fanatics and fundamentalists, of any denomination, can be irrational and dangerous.