Friday, November 30, 2007

Contents 2007

2.0 Screen Time, 5.0 Face Time, Of Racialism, Progressive Group Dynamics
John Hot Air Edwards
I Don't Doubt Hillary's Compassion Overall, Just Her Judgment On Iraq
BarackObama.com: The Dashboard Is Too Slow
Benazir, One Whose Looks Have No Parallel
Barack's Politics Of Hope, Hillary's Politics Of Fear
Benazir, Last Month
Benazir, Benazir
Merry Christmas From The Obamas
December Baby?
I Want To Join The DL21C Steering Committee
Holiday Party 4: Is This Where The Bingo Game Is At?
Sunday 8 PM, Holiday Party 4
The Doors: Out Of The Box Thinking
"Is This An Obama Party?"
Africa And Colonialism 2.0
Hillary's Plans To Spin Her Loss In Iowa, Is It Hillary's?
Boston Globe Endorses Barack
Bill Clinton In Top 10, Barack Obama In Top 5
Warning Sign: BarackObama.com Is Melting Down
December 18: Crash The Party
Dumb Republicans And An Insecure America
Republican Debate In Des Moines
Des Moines Debate
The Des Moines Register Debate: Barack Looked Presidential
If Hillary Goes Negative, She Finishes Third In Iowa
Oh Oh Oprah
Women For Obama
Them Civil Rights Folks
O O O
O O Oprah, Sa Sa Santa
Charleston Law Review: Barack Article
Chuck Huckabee
Barack's Third Grade Essay
Hillary's Attacks: She Could Destroy Her VP Chances
Staff, Volunteers, Elected Officials
Define Mandate
The Meaning Of An Iowa Victory
Abraham Lincoln Had No Experience
Hillary's New Hampshire Firewall: She Plans On Losing Iowa
Living Abroad Counts
Iowa, South Carolina, And One Other
Engaging Hillary Will Bring Down Her National Lead
Soundbytes For December 10
Hillary's Health Care Plan: A Bonanza For The Insurance Companies
Maya Soetoro-Ng
Hillary's Middle Class
Las Vegas Debate
Gender: The Only Thing Hillary Has Going For Her
Hillary's Pro-War, Anti-Immigration Plank
Barack Exudes Power
Debate Watch Party: Venue Change
America Is A Senator Country
Tim Russert Measures Up
JJ
Bill Clinton's Swift Tongue
Barack Tackles Race Head On In A South Carolina Speech
New York City For Barack Obama 1-10
Charlie Rangel, Mr. 45%, Hillary Kitchen Rodham Clinton
Education, Health, Credit: Universal And Lifelong
Does Hillary Have A Gender Card?
Draw Distinctions, Work The Fundamentals
Rocky Barack Obama Won In Philly
I Am So Proud Of The Democratic Field
50 Days For Iowa
Barack In Boston
Hillary's Socialized Medicine
Don't Count John Edwards Out Yet
Bush Is Anarchy, Hillary Is Monarchy
Faith, Family, Work, Health
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Cuba, Bush, Clinton, Somalia, Bush, Obama, Iran
Matt Al American Goebbels Romney Al Zawahari
Why Hillary's Iran Vote Is Dangerous
Why Americans Are Fat
The 12 Year Itch
I Am Beginning To Like Bush Cheney
Barack, "He Walks Between Worlds"
Benazir Bhutto: No American Stooge
Benazir Should Address Many Mass Rallies, Hold No Street Events, Keep Tight Security Around Her House, Office
Benazir And Islamofascism
Out Of The Box Thinking On Burma: Total Engagement?
India Has To Get Into The Business Of Aggressively Spreading Democracy
Beware Dick Cheney
Taking Hillary To Task On Foreign Policy
Bush Meeting Dalai Lama: Is That All You Can Do For Burma?
A Ying Yang Scenario
Helicopter + Walmart + Iowa
Why Is There Secret Service Protection For White Male Presidents?
Hillary's Iran Vote, Not That Different From The Iraq Vote
Burma: 400, 000 Members, 400,000 Dollars
Burma: Time For Nonviolent Guerilla Warfare
Burma: Time For Hyper Action
The World Is Failing Burma
Coke Gatorade, Not Coke Pepsi
Hollywood Gets It
Imagining Obama As Vice President
Burma: Than Shwe Is Going To The Hague
How Many Of Hillary's Millions Are Lobbyist And Special Interest Money?
Britain Is Betraying Burma
Barack: Judgment And Leadership
Barack Has To Show Off His Policy Wonk Side
Hillary For Senate Majority Leader
Iraq Did Not Have The Bomb, Iran Does Not Either
Burma: Time For All Out Sanctions By All Powers
The Largest Rally In US Presidential Campaign History
Burma: Momentum Is Key To Victory
I Stand With Michelle: Iowa Must And Can Be Won
Give Me A Huge Rally In This City Before Summer Is Over
Tim Russert: Bill O'Reilly's Lower Case Cousin
Shame On The Top Politicians Of The World: Burma Asks For More
February To September: Little Change
In Solidarity With The Burmese People
The Experience B.S.
Obama's Masterstroke: Eliminating Income Tax For 22 Million Seniors
Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance
Not Allowing President Of Iran To Visit World Trade Center Is A Mistake
Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother
Mandating Health Insurance: The Poor Have Too Much Money
The Economy, Stupid
Barack: Strength And Judgment
Why Barack Obama Makes Sense To Arthur Schwartz
Obama's Card: Iraq
What Would Jesus Do?
Hands Off Eliot Spitzer
Where Is Bin Laden?
Oprah Needs To Hit The Campaign Trail
Strength? What Strength? Experience? What Experience
Hillary's Racist Twang: Between Hope And Hard Work
Neither Hillary, Nor Rudy
The 11th Hour
David Paterson
Elephant In The Room: Gender
173 Vs 1,433 Delegates: February 5 Is Key
Two Articles By Barack, Barack
Take Camp Obama Online: Cash On The Enthusiasm
Gonzalez: The Ethnic Angle
Arson, Terrorism, Land Mafia Or Global Warming
The Grassroots Power Woman
Zip Code By Zip Code: Synergy Needed Between Local Groups And The National Email Treasury
Pakistan Is Getting Interesting And Obama Might Have Shaken Things
Bill Clinton Is Still Relevant
Barack Vs Hillary
W Writes A Book On Vietnam
Barack In Brooklyn
Hillary On Cuba And Bush On Tax Cuts
Iowa Debate
Iowa Debate: Obama Clear Winner
One Debate A Month Is Enough: More Town Hall Meetings, Fewer Debates
Got To Tackle The Debates
The Countdown Has Begun: Marathon Now Turns To Sprint
Barack: Black Enough For Me
Black On Barack Racism
There Is A Lot Of Room For Newt
Let Me Get This Straight
Hillary's November Surprise: She Will Sell Her House
Register 100,000 New Voters In NYC For Barack
Engaging Third World Dictators
What Obama Said On Pakistan
Explaining Early State And National Polls
Chelsea For Obama, Caroline For Obama
Flatten It Out
The McCain Doctrine: Keep The Swamp, Keep The Mosquitoes
DL21C Annual Summer Bash: Barack Won The Straw Poll
Obama, Pick Up The Phone, Talk To Hillary
The Exchange
Global Warming
Winner Of The Debate: YouTube
20 Million Single Moms: Will Obama Go For Them?
NYC, Obama, Structure, Me
John Edwards, Voucher Man, Is A Republican
Got To Take The Lead In The Fourth Quarter
Hillary Is Not In The White House, But She Is The Establishment
Ice Breakers, Team Building Exercises, Face Time Tools
Impeach Bush-Cheney, Nancy Pelosi Gets To Become First Female President
Hillary Messed Up On Iraq, And Al Qaeda Is Strong, America Insecure
Jeff Kurzon's Living Room, Union Sqaure, Times Square, King Arthur
I Agree With Neocons, The War On Terror Is Same Magnitude As Cold War

Iowa Humanizes The Candidate
Yes, There Is A Hierarchy: Homework Is Online, Action Is Offline
Formula For Greatness
PBS Debate: Hillary Was Strong, Barack Was Warm, Edwards Was Composed
Some Recent Videos
Old Media Is The Reason Obama Is Lagging In The Polls
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous
1 Debate, 1 Major Policy Speech, 1 Rally, 1 Big Fundraiser A Month
I Touched Obama: Babel, Barack
Blair For Palestine, Blair For Europe
Hillary-Obama Vs. Rudy-Romney Vs. Bloomberg-Arnold
There Is An Albert Einstein On The Obama Campaign Staff
John Kennedy
Domestic Violence, Equal Pay
Tell Your Story To Barack
Submit Your Questions For The Debates
Total Campaign Finance Reform In New York
Wife Won't Do, Got To Court Women With Policy And Outreach
War, Politics, Business
Obama-Clinton: Ali-Frazier
Knock, Knock, Knocking On Heaven's Door
Immigration Is Today's Civil Rights Movement
Trent Lott, That Is Latin For Racist Asshole
Iraq, Energy, Global Warming: All Interlinked
I Told You So
Barack's Primary Opponents
Not Leading In The Polls Is Good News At This Point
Barack, The Comeback Kid
Hillary Is Pulling Ahead
I Watch Politics, World Cup Soccer, And The Olympics
If There Is Another 9/11 Style Attack
Barack, You Can Do Debates
High Energy Generation Obama Event: I Am Hooked
Political Socializing In NYC
DNC Needs To Take Over The Monthly Debates
Fitting In Hillary, Obama, Spitzer
Bill Richardson
Al Qaeda Strikes India, Wants Hindu-Muslim Riots
Bush Nabbed Saddam, His Mandate Was To Nab Osama
Barack, The Fundamentals: Money, Message, Organization
Hillary's Beijing Speech
A Song For Hillary
Some Obama, Hillary Videos
One National Primary, Monthly National Debates, Videoblogged
Debates Matter: The Election Is On
Facebook And Drinking Liberally
Terry McAuliffe: E=mc^2
Long Walk To Freedom
Barack Lost The South Carolina Debate
Bad MySpace Move By Barack Obama
Terry Alligator McAuliffe, May 9
Countering The Neocons: Progressives Will Have To Get Proactive
South Carolina Debate
Long Walk To Freedom: Just A Third World Guy Dazzled By The City
Obama Economic Plan
Obama-Spitzer Vs. Giuliani-Romney
Health Care As A Spectrum
An Obama Spitzer Ticket
Muscular Gender Agenda
Obama, Hillary, Spitzer
Virginia Tech Shooting: Hunting Must Be Regulated
HillCast
Health Care Options
Mike Gravel, April 19, 7 PM
7 Point Agenda For New York City
Wash Mugabe Away With A Revolution
Darfur: A Clear Case For External Intervention
Obama Gameplan: Stable, Democratic Iraq
Two Terms As Governor
DL21C Events: High Class Acts
Obama Is Going To Have To Jump Into The Fray
Barack: The Magic Presidential Candidate
The Ad
Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Bill Clinton: University Of Miami
McCain Is 1970s, Hillary Is 1990s, Edwards Is 2004, Obama Is Today
Simply Selma
Inspired By Barack Not Britney
Obama: More Than A Pretty Face
Will It Be Obama Versus Rudy?
Austin, Here I Come
Two Obama Events: Manhattan, Brooklyn
A Rare Email From Bill Clinton
BarackTV: Iowa To New Hampshire
Iraq On My Mind
Something Special Is Happening
Hillary Will Get The Black Vote, Obama Will Get The White Vote
Jupiter And Obama
Obama Is Running For President Of The United States
Race, Gender
Facebook: The Matrix Reloaded
State Of The Union Watch Parties
JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black
Fox, Barack, Islam
Hillary Is In
John Edwards: Antiwar
An Obama Administration
Rediscovering DFNYC
Burma: Shame On China, Russia
Rush Limbaugh: Idiot
Advice To Keith Olbermann
Barack Obama: My Plans For 2008
Obama: 2007 Gameplan: Money, Message, Organization
Keith Olbermann
Corporate Politics: Martial Arts
Media Smear On Obama's Name
Obama: The JFK For This Generation
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Obama Would Be A Lousy Vice President, He Is Too Much Of A Leader
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
Obama Has To Announce In January
MYD, High Tech, High Touch
Eliot Spitzer, Governor
Saddam Execution
Bill O'Reilly: A Right Wing Gadfly
Looking For Barack Obama
MYD Month
Happy New Year 8
Happy New Year 7
Happy New Year 6
Happy New Year 5
Happy New Year 4
Happy New Year 3
Happy New Year 2
Happy New Year

Contents 2006
Contents 2004, 2005

Define Mandate

Main Entry:
1man·date Listen to the pronunciation of 1mandate
Pronunciation:
\ˈman-ˌdāt\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle French & Latin; Middle French mandat, from Latin mandatum, from neuter of mandatus, past participle of mandare to entrust, enjoin, probably irregular from manus hand + -dere to put — more at manual, do
Date:
1501
1: an authoritative command; especially : a formal order from a superior court or official to an inferior one2: an authorization to act given to a representative mandate of the people>3 a: an order or commission granted by the League of Nations to a member nation for the establishment of a responsible government over a former German colony or other conquered territory b: a mandated territory

Main Entry:
sug·ges·tion Listen to the pronunciation of suggestion
Pronunciation:
\səg-ˈjes-chən, sə-ˈjes-, -ˈjesh-\
Function:
noun
Date:
14th century
1 a: the act or process of suggesting b: something suggested2 a: the process by which a physical or mental state is influenced by a thought or idea suggestion> b: the process by which one thought leads to another especially through association of ideas3: a slight indication : trace suggestion of a smile>

Hillary says she will mandate health insurance. As in, it will be illegal under Hillary's plan for an American to not have health insurance. She says she is especially targeting the 15 million people who can afford health insurance but refuse to get it because they think they are "immortal." Hillary's choice of words. Icey.

I am not opposed to the idea. If there are 15 million people who can afford it, and if you make them go for it, where is the sin? They got the money.

I guess Hillary's idea is that if you give more money to the insurance companies - which is what Hillary's plan is, more money, since if these 15 million healthy, rich people can afford it, if they were to fall sick, they would go ahead and get it anyway - then it becomes easier for us to ask them to deny ill people coverage as insurance companies routinely do.

Barack is saying, wait a minute. Why are we so scared? He is saying, it does not matter if those 15 million healthy, rich people pay in or not, I am going to make the insurance companies do the right thing. They don't get to deny coverage, period.

So it is not like Barack is against mandating. The difference in his plan his mandate is on the insurance companies. He makes them do things like not denying coverage to people who are already paying.

This is a serious difference.

Hillary's plan suggests that the insurance companies don't have enough money and that is why America is lagging behind in terms of health care. That is not a slick claim. That is just plain absurd.

Barack says wrong. The problem is not that the insurance companies don't have enough money to do right by everybody. The problem is they have too much money. And so he makes sure those insurance companies engage in major cost cutting efforts. That is mandate number two in Barack's book.

Hillary promises universal health care with $100 billion plus. Barack puts the tab at $50 billion plus. Because he puts a major onus on cost cutting. He is not only worried about the 45 million plus people who are not insured. He in some ways is even more worried about the hundreds of millions who are insured. He feels they have been paying too much. He thinks if you cut the costs down, the insurance companies still have plenty of money to cover all those currently covered as well those kept out right now.

So it is not like Barack's plan does not have mandates. It has two of them that Hillary's plan does not. His mandates he very much intends to enforce. If the insurance companies intend to stay in business, they will have no choice but to accept Barack's mandates.

Hillary's mandate on the other hand is on the 15 million rich, healthy, immortal people. But it can not be called a mandate because she has not outlined how exactly she will enforce it. What will you do? Garnish their wages? Say something.

And you know where the difference comes from? It comes from the fact that Hillary takes money from insurance companies, Barack does not. Barack's money comes from the people. His is a people powered campaign. And that is why their mandates are pointing in opposite directions. Barack manadates the insurance companies to do the right thing.

The biggest, starkest difference though is not in the plans. It is in who can actually deliver. That person is clearly Obama.

Hillary's Health Care Plan: A Bonanza For The Insurance Companies
Education, Health, Credit: Universal And Lifelong
Faith, Family, Work, Health
Mandating Health Insurance: The Poor Have Too Much Money
Health Care As A Spectrum
Health Care Options

In The News

Reporters Struggle For Access To Clinton CBS News ABC correspondent Kate Snow was ready to push through the crowd and ask Hillary Clinton a question until an aide blocked the path of Snow's sound man as he aimed his boom mike in the senator's direction. "Sorry, we've gotta go," the woman said, though it was clear that Clinton would be shaking hands for some time. ..... Moments later, as the Democratic presidential candidate was mobbed by well-wishers, Boston television reporter Joe Battenfeld managed to shout a question -- a meaningless question, truth be told -- about whether she needed to win both Iowa and New Hampshire. Clinton was defiantly bland in response, as if determined that her comments not be used. ...... reporters can generally get close enough to watch but no further, as if separated from the candidate by an invisible sheet of glass. ...... National correspondents are increasingly frustrated by a lack of access to Clinton. They spend much of their time in rental cars chasing her from one event to the next, because the campaign usually provides no press bus or van. Life on the bus means journalists don't have to worry about luggage or directions or getting left behind, since they are part of the official motorcade. News organizations foot the bill for such transportation, but campaigns have to staff and coordinate the buses -- and deal with the constant presence of their chroniclers. ........ Clinton differs only in her degree of discipline, honed during eight years of often testy media relations in her husband's White House. ........ She, like her rivals, wants to deliver a daily message, usually framed around some policy prescription, while reporters want to ask her about the latest polls, tactics or blast from Barack Obama or John Edwards. And answering questions off the cuff always risks the possibility of a blunder, as when Clinton told NBC's Andrea Mitchell during the 1992 campaign that she had chosen to pursue a career rather than stay home and "bake cookies." ....... much of what Clinton wants to communicate -- the nuances of her health-care plan, for instance -- doesn't fit the media's cramped definition of news. ...... Obama, for his part, held a conference call with reporters Wednesday. ...... much of the chatter among the reporters is about MapQuest and GPS devices and Hertz's NeverLost technology as they trade tips on how to track their constantly moving quarry. ....... When a colleague asked the staff for a chance to question Clinton, "they just kind of laughed it off." ...... When Clinton stepped away from the microphones, Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" began blaring from the speakers, which effectively drowned out any attempted queries from the journalists sprinkled throughout the room. Battenfeld, the Boston reporter, launched his horse-race question during a brief lull between songs. "It's kind of an art form," he said afterward. "I would have asked her about Obama, but I figured she would have turned and run." ....... The CBS anchor asked how disappointed she would be if she isn't the nominee. "Well, it will be me," Clinton said. When Couric pressed, Clinton insisted -- not terribly convincingly -- that she hadn't even considered the possibility she could lose. ........ Her rhetoric against health insurance companies was harsher than might have been expected. They give patients the "runaround," deny care, "slow-walk" the payment of bills, she declared. "This is all part of their business model. This is how they make money. . . . The small-business health-care market is really rigged." ......... As Clinton made her way to the door, she observed: "All this good food -- can we feed the press?" But the press was feeling undernourished. ........ Campaigns often brush off national correspondents in favor of local journalists, who tend to be less critical. ....... only a handful of reporters attended and I arrived late, driving down unlighted streets in a heavy rain as confused Clinton aides kept giving me the wrong directions. ..... I persuaded her tired-looking staff to grant me a single question as she made her way out. The question: Wouldn't providing more media access help get her message out? ...... "We try to balance what we do every day," Clinton said. "I'm trying to reach as many voters as possible one-on-one" while also dealing with the local press, "which has a very big role to play," and making time for occasional interviews with national news outlets. "It seems I have mushrooming demands," she said. "The balancing is really intense." With that, she was off to a waiting plane to South Carolina, while reporters headed for commercial flights to follow her there.
Clinton campaign demands Obama ad be taken down Boston Globe new polls out this morning showing Barack Obama still leading Hillary Clinton in Iowa and gaining ground on her in New Hampshire ..... Obama spokesman Reid Cherlin said it was "curious" that the Clinton campaign has decided to attack the ad today instead of when it first ran in Iowa two months ago.
With Iowa tight, NH becoming Clinton's firewall Boston Globe With Hillary Clinton faltering in polls leading up to the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary is looming as a possible make-or-break moment for her - in a place where she has most of the party's key endorsements and a sizable lead in the polls, but where a defeat could be devastating. ...... New Hampshire's recent tradition of electing female politicians. ....... her enviable organization does not guarantee protection against the wave of momentum that could propel Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, if he were to win the Iowa caucuses ...... she could not lose both Iowa and New Hampshire and survive in the race. ...... New Hampshire is the firewall of last resort .... Clinton is expected to spend much of December traveling the state. ...... a growing sense of urgency among the New York senator's Granite State ranks ...... Obama's campaign said it has kept pace with Clinton's in paid staff and its volunteers are just as busy knocking on doors, making phone calls, and writing postcards. ..... the campaign knocks on 20,000 doors a week, questioned the Clinton figures, saying Obama canvassers rarely run into their Clinton counterparts. ....... In 2000, Vice President Al Gore had the backing of most of the party establishment, and eked out a four-point win against Senator Bill Bradley ......... Obama has been on the scene for 10 months running against the most powerful Democratic political force for two decades, the Clintons ....... people do not enter the voting booth pondering whom their state representative has endorsed ........ Women are unusually prominent in New Hampshire politics, perhaps because its part-time Legislature has attracted female candidates for decades. ...... A CNN/WMUR poll in September put her ahead of Obama by 43 percent to 20 percent. In a Suffolk University/WHDH poll this week, she led him 34 percent to 22 percent. ...... the results of the Iowa caucus could significantly influence the New Hampshire primary ..... if Obama won Iowa, there would be a flood of positive press about him and questions about whether Clinton is electable. "It's unfair and inaccurate, but it would be a lot of chaff to have to navigate through in five days" ........ If Obama wins Iowa, Scala said, Clinton's imperative will be to hold on to college-educated, professional women, among whom she has done surprisingly well, considering that Obama's idealistic campaign is attractive to their demographic. ...... it will be five sleepless nights for the Clinton campaign
Obama vs. Clinton, Edwards and Paul Krugman Yahoo! News under the Obama plan, as it now stands, healthy people could choose not to buy insurance -- then sign up for it if they developed health problems later. Insurance companies couldn't turn them away, because Mr. Obama's plan, like those of his rivals, requires that insurers offer the same policy to everyone. ........ Obama claims that his plan does much more to control costs than his rivals' plans. ....... mandates won't work, pointing out that many people don't have car insurance despite state requirements that all drivers be insured. ....... Obama remains, in many senses, the most appealing Democratic contender. And there is good reason to believe that he could emerge in coming weeks as the most serious challenger to Clinton. He could, yet, be the Democratic nominee and the president.
Two Tough Timely Questions for Obama ABC News Obama points out that Clinton refuses to say how she'll require individuals to purchase health insurance.
Clinton, Obama go into slam flunk mode Chicago Sun-Times Health care is the top domestic issue for Democrats running for the White House and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton unleashed Wednesday another, stronger, round of criticism aimed at Sen. Barack Obama over whether a law is needed to require people to buy health insurance. ....... Gov. Blagojevich did not embrace mandates in a state plan now stalled in the Illinois General Assembly. ...... The Obama campaign vigorously rebutted, preparing now to make an issue over Clinton's failure, while first lady, to convince Congress to pass health-care reform. ....... "Another day, another desperate attack. Demonizing anyone who doesn't share her exact plans on health care is exactly why Hillary Clinton flunked the opportunity she had to pass universal health care in 1993. The truth is, Barack Obama's universal health care plan makes coverage affordable for every single American, he just doesn't agree with Hillary's plan to start by forcing everyone to buy insurance they can't afford" ..... Obama gauges people will buy health insurance if the federal government helps keep down the price. The Democrats call for insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions.