Matt Al American Goebbels Romney Al Zawahari

Romney Makes Obama-Osama Gaffe New York Times he twice confused Senator Barack Obama with Osama bin Laden when referring to the latter’s new recorded message. ...... “Actually, just look at what Osam — uh — Barack Obama, said just yesterday. Barack Obama calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq. That is the battlefield. That is the central place, he said. Come join us under one banner.” ........ It turns out, of course, Mr. Romney was talking about the new audiotape from bin Laden calling on insurgents in Iraq to unite. Oops. ....... It’s time to end the divisiveness and fear-mongering that is at the heart of Governor Romney’s campaign.” ...... “I don’t pay too much attention to Mitt Romney,” Mr. Obama said.

Adolf Hitler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is not a tongue slip on my part, and this is not a tongue slip on Matt Romney's part either.

These guys have to realize this is not funny.

Those who monkey around with Bin Laden's name are people who pretty much lose their security credentials forever. Do they find 9/11 funny? The Al Qaeda is stronger than ever before. If it could explode a dirty bomb in some American city, it would not hesitate for a second. The threat is very real. America has never faced a more grave threat before.

Matt Romney is trying to be racist by saying Osama when he should be saying Obama. There are very few Americans who don't know who Osama is. And most Americans know who Obama is. And most know the difference. That is extra true for someone running for president. Has to be. Otherwise you are too much of a political illiterate to run for anything in this country.

Matt Romney has better options if he is trying to sound racist. There are so many metaphors he could draw from American history itself. Why bother going offshore? Recently some racist drew the noose on some black Columbia University professor's door. As in, black people should be lynched. Romney could try that. He could go ahead and utter the n_______ word. That would be racist. He could go ahead and say Barack is biologically inferior because he is black. Or like James Watson said recently, he could go ahead and say Barack comes from a heritage - African - whose people are less intelligent as a rule. All that would qualify for racist but it would not be making light of 9/11 or America's continued threats. He would only be racist. After all, by calling Barack Osama is an attempt to sound racist. So why not do a better job of sounding racist? Why not leave the American people alone? Why not focus only on Barack and his blackness?

This is so out of line.

Matt Romney should be ashamed of himself.

Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is

Wildfires In Southern California: Welcome To Global Warming




Arson, Terrorism, Land Mafia Or Global Warming

This is the same thing that happened in Greece earlier this summer. Folks, my bet is this is global warming. Weather is not a very understood phenomenon. Slight changes in temperature can have major impact. Pollution in one part of the world could have dire impacts somewhere very far away.

Just like in Greece, people in California first suspected arson. The Greeks rounded up and jailed tens of known arsonists.

This is not arson. When patches of wildgrass or forests achieve a certain level of dryness, and temperature, they can start their own fires. That is what explains simultaneous fires erupting many different places. A perfect storm is created.

The knowledge of global warming is already here. The solutions are also known. Too bad we need Katrinas and wildfires and receding water lines in the Great Lakes to feel the urgency to bring forth the collective political will to do something.

Too bad we need a 9/11 to realize every Arab country has to be turned into democracies. We can't have the political foresight that will make us act before disaster strikes.

Fire and water retardant will not work in this case in California. The fire is too big. What will work is bombing. Yes, bombing. You strike parts of the fire like it was Iraq. I am not kidding. You can't wait for the wind to subside. Fire creates its own wind.

Added October 25, 11 PM: The line above suggesting bombing as a firefighting measure was not meant as a cynical statement to protest the war in Iraq. It is to be taken at face value. If a forest fire is about to eat up 100,000 houses, and if bombing the fire so as to break its path will help, that option has to be considered. Maybe that is not a good idea. I don't know a whole lot about firefighting. But I threw that in as an idea when little else seemed to be working.


In The News

Jesse Jackson Jr. cuts ad for Barack Obama Baltimore Sun The senior Jackson won the South Carolina Democratic primary during his 1988 campaign for president, a victory the younger Jackson recalled in the ad, which is airing on gospel and R&B stations with a predominantly African-American audience. “Once, South Carolina voted for my father, and sent a strong message to the nation,” the younger Jackson said. “Next year, you can send more than a message. You can launch a President.” ....... The younger Jackson lauded Obama for legislation he passed in the Illinois state senate combating racial profiling and for seeking to counter "the railroading of the poor in the justice system." ....... "A lot of politicians call themselves our friends," Jackson said. ...... "But Obama has a heart that beats for our community.

‘Spousal violence highest in Bihar’ Hindu Violence against women is a serious problem in India with 35 per cent having experienced physical or sexual violence. One-third of women in the age group of 15-49 have experienced physical violence and one in 10 has faced sexual violence ...... Married women were more likely to experience physical or sexual violence from husbands. Nearly two in five or 37 per cent married women have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their husband. The prevalence of spousal physical violence is higher among women in the poorest households (49 per cent) than among women in the wealthier households (18 per cent). ....... The prevalence of physical violence ranges from 6 per cent in Himachal Pradesh and 13 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir andMeghalaya to 46 per cent in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and 59 per cent in Bihar. ....... Other states with 40 per cent or higher prevalence of spousal physical or sexual violence are Tripura, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Assam. ..... one in six (16 per cent) married women have experienced emotional violence by their husband, only one per cent married women have ever initiated violence against their husband. ....... More than half of the women (54 per cent) and the men (51 per cent) agree that wife beating was justified under some circumstances ...... Buddhist/neo-Buddhist women reported the highest level of violence (41 per cent), followed by Muslim and Hindu women (34-35 per cent), and Sikh and Christian women (26-28 per cent). Jain women reported the lowest violence (13 per cent). ..... Prevalence of violence is also much higher among women belonging to the SCs and STs
New Bhutto Death Threat Reported New York Times
Pakistan's Bhutto Receives New Threat Guardian Unlimited Sen. Farooq Naik, Bhutto's lawyer, said he had received a two-page handwritten letter in the Urdu language from an unidentified person threatening to kill the former prime minister ``by any means.'' The writer claimed to be a friend of al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden and extremists in Pakistan. ..... Bhutto thinks ruling party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and a head of a spy agency - both close associates of Musharraf - could be behind the attack. ...... Hussain, in an apparently sarcastic swipe at Bhutto, said Monday that her husband, working with Bhutto and other party leaders, arranged the blasts to stir up public sympathy. The proof: Bhutto went into her armored vehicle minutes before the bombs exploded and was not hurt.
Myanmar: Envoy hints at bigger role for India Hindustan Times India’s response to the Myanmar crisis after it agreed to engage the authorities in speeding up the democratic process there. ...... The Prime Minister in a telephonic conversation with the UN Secretary General reiterated India’s commitment for speedy democratisation of Myanmar.
Put Dumbledore Back in the Closet TIME Dumbledore himself never saw fit to come out of the closet before dying in book six. ...... I'm not defending the closet, a perilous and sad place. ...... one of the most beloved figures in children's literature. ....... Rowling was so p.c. about making her magical creatures of different races and species, incomes, national origins, and developmental abilities ........ Dumbledore/Churchill eventually defeats Grindelwald/Hitler in a 1945 duel ........ an era of pop culture when the only gay characters were those who committed suicide or were murdered
Why Californians Don't Leave Research indicates that if a threat hasn't happened in our own cozy community, the human mind actually softens its threat assessment. Or worse, makes us cast a blind eye. ........ normal life intervenes, goading our brains into assessing risks based on emotional whispers rather than sound logic. ....... The Golden State? That refers to the dead, yellowed chapparal smothering the hillsides, not the sunshine. ..... They should know better. Would you live in gasoline? ...... Studies show that people can in fact train themselves to assess risks more accurately, even on the fly, by forcing themselves to estimate the frequency of events rather than simply picturing the last time they saw such an event.
Alabama Picks a Bible Textbook
Bush Stands by His Plan for Missile Defenses in Europe New York Times Mr. Bush would like to make missile defense a defining legacy of his presidency, though critics say the initial system, with a limited number of missile interceptors in Alaska and California, remains unproven. ...... usually criticize it for soaking up resources that might be better spent on more pressing threats or domestic needs. ....... even Mr. Bush said that intelligence agencies did not believe that Iran could build a ballistic missile capable of striking the United States before 2015 — and then only with foreign assistance.
California Fires Continue Raging Out of Control New York Times
Turkish Premier Renews Warning Over Rebels New York Times
Raging Calif. Wildfires Make 500K Flee ABC News Wildfires consumed hundreds of homes across tinder-dry Southern California on Tuesday, raising the number of people forced to flee the flames into the hundreds of thousands. ...... "If it's this big and blowing with as much wind as it's got, it'll go all the way to the ocean before it stops" ..... Tentacles of unpredictable, shifting flame have burned across nearly 600 square miles, killing one person, destroying more than 1,800 homes and prompting the biggest evacuation in California history, from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border. ......... flames were threatening 68,000 more homes. ...... very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind ...... "These winds are so strong, we're not trying to fight this fire" ...... More than a dozen wildfires blowing across Southern California .... evacuation calls to 346,000 homes ...... a federal emergency for seven counties ...... Fire crews were especially concerned about dense eucalyptus groves in Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe, fearing the highly flammable trees could turn neighborhoods prized for their secluded serenity into potential tinderboxes. ......... fires whipped by gusts that have surpassed 100 mph ......... embers can be swept miles ahead of the fire's front line ........ Any flame longer than 8 feet is considered unstoppable, and even water and fire retardant will evaporate before they reach the ground ........ fingers of flame pulsed across a 10-lane freeway and raced up a hill on the opposite side in just seconds. The fire engulfed white-washed homes at the top of the ridge. ......... Groves of eucalyptus trees exploded in the heat in one ritzy cul-de-sac in Rancho Santa Fe, sending off a scattered popping that sounded like machine gun fire. ....... a blood-red sun set over a sky choked with smoke and falling ash. ...... forest packed with dead or dying trees. ...... one person confirmed dead ..... he ignored warnings to evacuate and authorities left to take care of other evacuations ....... At least twice in the last two days, firefighters have had to unfurl their emergency fire shelters small fire-resistant tents to shield them when they can't escape a fire. .......... temperatures across Southern California about 10 degrees above average.
Turkey's War Drums Grow Louder TIME Sunday's attack may well prove the last straw for Turkey's hawkish military — NATO's second largest army after the U.S. ........ U.S. and Iraqi diplomats are trying frantically to come up with a non-military solution. ....... the border, where Turkey already has some 100,000 troops, backed by tanks, F-16 fighter jets and attack helicopters. ...... public events and celebrations (including a concert by the American pop star Beyonce in Istanbul) were canceled to mourn the army deaths. ....... the PKK .... wants to draw Turkey into north Iraq. Any incursion is potentially treacherous and could lead Turkey into a quagmire much like the U.S. is facing in the rest of Iraq. ......... could lead beyond fighting the PKK, to clashes between Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish soldiers, as well as civilian casualties. ......... "From this point on, our barrels are pointed at [Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud] Barzani," wrote Ertugrul Ozkok, chief editor of the top-selling Hurriyet newspaper. ....... it would take a major move, like a U.S. strike on PKK targets, or the capture and handover of several PKK leaders, to stop an imminent incursion. Neither appears likely.
Obama Criticizes Clinton on Iran The Associated Press a measure in the Senate which declared Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, which Obama called "conventional" ..... we have to completely rethink foreign policy and diplomacy ...... That includes Iran. That includes Syria ....... a fundamental disagreement between Obama and Clinton. ...... whether you are going to nominate a candidate who is not just tinkering around the edges or can bring about real change.
Romney Slip: Another Osama-Obama Mix-Up The Associated Press "Actually, just look at what Osam — Barack Obama — said just yesterday. Barack Obama, calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq. That is the battlefield. .. ......... Romney apparently was referring to an audiotape aired Monday in which a speaker believed to be terrorist Osama bin Laden called for insurgents in Iraq to unite and avoid divisions. ........ Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "Apparently, Mitt Romney can switch names just as casually as he switches positions
Clinton Considers Giving Up Some Powers The Associated Press they have this theory of the so-called unitary executive, and then Vice President Cheney has a whole different theory about how he's a fourth branch of government ....... Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Bush and Cheney have taken steps to expand presidential authority and diminish the role of Congress and the federal judiciary. Among other things, they have pushed for warrantless wiretapping of terrorist suspects and the use of "signing statements" to justify ignoring or defying laws enacted by Congress. ....... Clinton said that during the Bush administration "we've seen an orgy of cronyism and no-bid contracts, no accountability. It's just unbelievable."









Governor Christine Gregoire

Christine Gregoire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia her mother, Sybil O. Jacob, who raised Gregoire alone after leaving an abusive marriage shortly after the future governor's birth. Gregoire grew up on a small farm in Auburn ....... As an assistant attorney general, Gregoire concentrated on child-abuse cases, coordinating with social workers to get children removed from abusive family situations and placed with relatives or foster homes. ....... In 2003, she was diagnosed with breast cancer in an early stage after a routine check-up and a mammogram. She had surgery and recovered to good health. ....... she negotiated a three party agreement in 1989 with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to clean up waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. ....... now estimated to require a total of $50 to $100 billion. ....... Chris Gregoire was elected to three terms as attorney general and was the first woman to be elected to the position in Washington. During her time in office, she worked on children's issues, reformed the state's juvenile system, led an effort to strengthen identity theft victims' rights, worked to pass a new ethics law for state government and to find alternatives to litigation in resolving legal disputes. ....... Gregoire was also heavily involved in the lawsuit against the tobacco industry in the 1990s and won the state a $4.5 billion share of the settlement, including a $500 million bonus for her lead role. ...... "There isn’t a stronger tobacco control leader anywhere in the Country than Chris Gregoire" ....... Gregoire performed relatively poorly among blacks and liberal whites ..... Washington the first state with a female governor and two female US senators ...... One notable bill that failed in the 2005 session but subsequently passed in the 2006 session was a gay civil rights bill, expanding the scope of protected classes to include sexual orientation and gender identity in cases of discrimination. The bill was signed by Gregoire on January 31, 2006. ....... Governor Gregoire signed a law on April 21, 2007 granting same-sex couples domestic partnership rights.

Why Hillary's Iran Vote Is Dangerous

As someone said, the recent vote on Iran is like calling the US army a terrorist organization because it follows the orders of the President of the United States. So, through this vote, you are essentially calling the Iranian president a terrorist, kind of like you call Bin Laden a terrorist.

The Iranian president is not a nice guy, I don't like him. If he had been elected by the Iranian people, I would have been okay with him, but in that country a council of mullahs decides who may or may not run for president. They too have a caucus there, but it is not a caucus of the ordinary people.

But I would call the Iranian president a semi-elected theocrat rather than a terrorist. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, but he was a dictator, he was not a terrorist. Bin Laden is a terroist. You necessarily have to draw those distinctions if you want to make any headway in the Middle East.

Right before I came to the US as an international student, I bought a whole bunch of Hindi music tapes. I would play them in my room, different tapes on different days when I had time. Some were classical Indian music, some were gazals, some were songs from Hindi films, many different Hindi films from many different time periods, different decades.

Luke lived next door. He once asked me, "Can I ask you something?"

Be my guest, I said.

"Why do you play the same song again and again?" he said.

The dude could not tell the difference between one song and another, and I must have had more than 100 songs.

Hillary is acting like Luke. If Dick Cheney is Darth Vader like Hillary said recently, I guess Hillary is Lucas, or Luke.

Bin Laden, Saddam and Ahmedinejad are three different songs, rather three different genres. Classical, heavy metal and choir music.

A rule of thumb is you don't talk to terrorists. It is a physical fight to the finish. You don't negotiate, you don't talk.

This Iran vote means President Hillary will not want to talk to Iran. That is not Bush Lite, that is Bush on steroids. In February, Hillary said she was open to talking to Iran. Then a few months later she called Obama "naive and irresponsible" for wanting to talk to Iran. A few weeks back she again said she was open to talking to Iran. Now she has voted in a way that will make it impossible for her to talk to Iran: you don't talk to terrorists. She couldn't talk even if she wanted to.

Will the real Hillary please stand up?



Is Iran innocent? No, it is not innocent. No country that is not a democracy is innocent. Saudi Arabia is not innocent. Egypt is not. Burma, Zimbabwe.



Has Iran meddled in Iraq's civil war? Yes. Has every other country in the region? Saudi Arabia? Syria? Yes. They have all been discreetly taking sides. The non war option would be to hold a regional summit of all those powers, televised, open, transparent. That would be a great way to diffuse the tension. It is called direct diplomacy. Bush and Hillary wouldn't know.

Do I want regime change in Iran? Yes. Saudi Arabia? Yes. Egypt? Yes.

Should the US keep its military options with Iran? Yes. Why only Iran, the US should keep its military options open with every country, with China, with Russia. That is why there is a military.

But.

But, war is always, always the weapon of last resort. That was true in 2002, that is true today.

But when you snuff out possibility of dialogue, you are saying war is going to be your first option. That is a highly dangerous proposition.

When the US invaded Iraq, it took one eye off the Al Qaeda. If the US were to invade Iran, it will have taken both eyes off the Al Qaeda. That organization is stronger today than it was before 9/11, and, according to Hillary's recent article in the Foreign Affairs, the Al Qaeda will not hesitate for a second if it thinks it can strike America. It will strike. How much sense would it make to take the eyes off that organization completely?

The weirdest part is this. The US is so bogged down in Iraq, it does not really have the option to invade Iran. Unless you bring back the draft in a major way. Iran is a much bigger, more complicated country than Iraq was under Saddam. You could not just conduct air raids. Either way, you will start a regional war that involves Israel.

That is World War III.

And for what? Because you don't have the wisdom, knowledge, attitude and skills to exhaust all the non military options first?

Spreading democracy is a science. It can work like clockwork. It can work for Iran. You do it the grassroots way, the progressive way, organizing the diaspora way, a war with communications technology way, the nonviolent way. Now that war, I am for.

I am for a war of communications technology with Iran, with Saudi Arabia, with Egypt, Syria.

Only democratic Arab countries can co-exist with a democratic Israel. Democracy is key. And the only sure way to spread democracy is the grassroots way, the nonviolent way.

So I ask, is the US doing all it can to help the democracy activists in Burma? I don't think so. It is doing maybe 1% of what it could do. How about 10 million dollars in direct funding to the democracy activists there?

Nepal proved in April 2006 when people come out into the streets in the millions for days, weeks, the dictator has to get out of the picture. That is not anomaly, that is science.

Taking Hillary To Task On Foreign Policy
Hillary's Iran Vote, Not That Different From The Iraq Vote
Coke Gatorade, Not Coke Pepsi
Barack: Judgment And Leadership
Hillary For Senate Majority Leader
The Largest Rally In US Presidential Campaign History
Give Me A Huge Rally In This City Before Summer Is Over

In The News

US Prosecution of Muslim Group Ends in Mistrial New York Times prosecutors failed to persuade a jury to convict five leaders of a Muslim charity on any charges, or even to reach a verdict on many of the 197 counts. ....... the government’s largest and most complex legal effort to shut down what it contends is American financing for terrorist organizations in the Middle East. ......... the prosecution said, the foundation supported terrorism by sending more than $12 million to charitable groups, known as zakat committees, which build hospitals and feed the poor. ...... the largest Muslim charity in the United States until the government froze its assets in late 2001. ....... called into question the government’s tactics in freezing the assets of charities using secret evidence that the charities cannot see, much less rebut ........ Two previous cases, in Illinois and in Florida, ended with hung juries ...... Holy Land’s supporters, who packed the courtroom during the trial, and who carried some defendants around on their shoulders outside the courthouse chanting “Praise God” in Arabic. ...... Mr. Elashi’s daughter Noor, who was in the courtroom every day during the trial, said she considered her father a hero. “He was singled out for feeding and clothing and educating the children of Palestine,” she said. “Giving charity to the Palestinian people has become a crime in this country.”
The Elderly Always Sleep Worse, and Other Myths of Aging sleep starts to deteriorate in late middle age and steadily erodes from then on ..... To researchers’ great surprise, it turns out that sleep does not change much from age 60 on. And poor sleep, it turns out, is not because of aging itself, but mostly because of illnesses or the medications used to treat them. ........ “If you look at older adults who are very healthy, they rarely have sleep problems.” ....... Their sleep turned out to be different from sleep in young people: it was lighter, more often disrupted by brief awakenings, and shorter by a half hour to an hour. ........ Most of the changes in sleep patterns occurred when people were between the ages of 20 and 60. Compared with teenagers and young adults, healthy middle-aged and older people slept a half hour to an hour less each night, they woke up a bit more often during the night, and their sleep was lighter. But after age 60, there was little change in sleep, at least in people who were healthy. .......... The 80-year-olds took an average of 10 more minutes to fall asleep. ....... no increase in daytime drowsiness in healthy older people. ....... brief wakeful moments typically lasting about 3 to 10 seconds. ....... sleep apnea, chronic pain, restless leg syndrome or urinary problems ...... Fragmented sleep .. led to severe impairments the next day in pain pathways. The subjects felt pain more easily, were less able to inhibit pain, and even developed spontaneous pain, like mild backaches and headaches. ........ 10 hours a night. The extra sleep ... reduced their sensitivity to pain to the same degree as a tablet of codeine. ...... “It’s not normal to get a clinical sleep disorder when you get old.”
Can Obama Make Iran Clinton’s New Iraq? New York Times “Why is this amendment so dangerous? Because George Bush and Dick Cheney could use this language to justify keeping our troops in Iraq as long as they can point to a threat from Iran. And because they could use this language to justify an attack on Iran as a part of the ongoing war in Iraq.” ...... she implicitly takes at dig at Mr. Obama, saying “I was there, I exercised leadership, and I explained my vote.’’ ...... In 2004, Iowans showed they did not like attack ads, or even those providing strong, policy contrasts if presented in an aggressive fashion. ..... “murder-suicide.” ...... an old political rule that a harsh attack in a multi-candidate field can hurt the attacker and the one being attacked.
Obama going on offensive on Iran Baltimore Sun is sending out a color mailing today ....... Obama's campaign has been working hard to try to make an issue out of the vote, although some have criticized the effort, including the Washington Post's editorial page. ..... Iran, an issue that may be more important for the next president than Iraq. ..... Obama condemned as "dangerous" and "reckless" .... the resolution "opened the door to an extension and escalation of the ongoing war in Iraq to include military action against Iran." ..... the "first and most important avenue to contain Iranian aggression" should be "direct diplomacy"
First thoughts: Direct mail wars MSNBC Obama has issued a statement disagreeing with McClurkin’s views on gays ...... the new darling of the netroots: Dodd. .... the GOP race is now a five-way contest -- not just a two-man race between Rudy and Romney. Thompson, McCain and Huckabee all are viable as well ....... Obama attends a house party in Merrimack, NH and then rallies with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) in Boston ...... Bill Clinton -- who isn’t attending Shriver’s presidential spouse forum -- headlines a fundraiser for his wife in Minneapolis.
Obama under fire for gospel tour with anti-gay singer USA Today
Hillary Clinton defends Iran vote Telegraph.co.uk The message to Iowa voters, contained in an envelope promising an "important letter from Hillary inside", indicates she feels vulnerable on the Iran issue, particularly because of her 2002 vote to authorise the Iraq invasion. ....... accuse her of over-confidence and of misjudging the anti-war mood not just of Democrats but of the whole country.
Candidate Hillary: the GOP's dream Los Angeles Times the GOP is dying to run against Hillary Clinton ....... Mike Huckabee deadpanned: "Look, I like to be funny. There's nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being president." ........ something deeply advantageous about having her as an opponent ...... how Hillary gives the GOP its best chance at being the party of change. ..... Newt Gingrich, for one, has been pointing this out for months, using the electoral triumph of Nicolas Sarkozy in France last spring as an example. ....... Democrats got a significant victory in 2006, when they took control of both houses of Congress. And now Congress is even less popular than Bush. In other words, the clamor for change in Washington is much bigger than Bush. ....... Any Republican will start with 40% to 45% of the vote in his pocket once he gets the nomination. The question that remains is whether the critical 5% to 10% of swing voters will think Hillary Clinton represents the sort of change they want. ....... What most independents and swing voters want is an end to the acrimony and bitterness in Washington -- and a candidate they like. ..... Party activists are drunk with Clinton nostalgia. ...... Whitewater, travelgate, illegal fundraising, bimbo eruptions and impeachment ...... Howard Dean, the conviction candidate, experienced the political equivalent of spontaneous human combustion ...... synthesized Ted Kennedy's politics with Michael Dukakis' charisma while bragging about his service in a war he built a career denouncing. ....... Is it really so obvious that, say, Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney represent "change" less than the ultimate Clinton retread, complete with Bill as "first gentleman?"
Clinton camp relishes Republicans' focus Newsday jeers, snide remarks and hand-wringing warnings ....... her name was mentioned nearly three dozen times in the 90-minute debate ..... "Almost every one of them is within the statistical margin of error," he said. "If those polls are correct, then the president of the United States right now is John Kerry." ........ "I like to be funny ... There's nothing funny about Hillary Clinton being president," predicting higher taxes, government-run health care, a low-morale military and sagging U.S. resolve. ...... Ron Paul insisted he is more anti-war than Clinton. .... "She said that the troops would be there for another five years," he said. And even that attack on her won applause.

California Fires Destroy Scores of Homes New York Times the fires, a Hydra with at least 15 separate burns in seven counties fed by gale-force winds, one of the state’s worse. .... new fires erupting as others receded and reignited with every shift in the wind. ..... Officials feared the fires would burn from inland mountains all the way to the ocean. ...... more than 30,000 acres were burning ...... scores of homes burning in a remote area of Los Angeles. ........ Some of the fires appeared to have started by downed power lines but a few were believed to have been caused by arson. ....... Dozens of men, women and children in Canyon Country north of Los Angeles grabbed shovels and garden hoses and fought flames creeping up a canyon within 50 feet of their homes. About seven children and young teenagers worked in tandem with their parents as the flames approached their back fences.
Qaeda Link Suspected in Pakistan Blasts New York Times
Obama Criticized Over Singer New York Times
Obama's Campaign Seems To Have A Drudge Pipeline, Too Atlantic Online the curious, profitable alliance between Hillary Clinton and Matt Drudge, a connection mediated entirely through intermediaries. ........ the South Florida-based web traffic master.
Clinton Finds Way to Play Along With Drudge New York Times Within minutes, the Drudge site had injected Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s fund-raising success into the day’s political news on the Internet and cable television. .......... the front lines of the campaign — the hourly, intensely fought effort to capture the news cycle or deny ownership of it to the other side — ........ her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies ........ scoops, gossip and innuendo ....... television producers, radio talk show hosts and newspaper reporters view it as a bulletin board for the latest news and gossip. ....... its users clicked onto the site a combined 16 million times in the course of a single day last week ...... its ability to attract well-placed leaks and traffic in the freshest and rawest material — though sometimes including what some have considered smears. .......... for all his renown in politics is a somewhat spectral presence who rarely agrees to meet with political operatives or journalists ........ his syndicated radio program ...... what Republicans have always thought: “No single person is more relevant to shaping the media environment in a political campaign.” ........ in 2004 they considered Mr. Drudge’s site so central in their efforts to undermine Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign that they systemized their approach to him. ......... quoted as saying on his program: “I need Hillary Clinton. You don’t get it. I need to be part of her world. That’s my bank.”
Hillary Clinton woos man who nearly ruined her husband Guardian Unlimited Drudge is one of Hillary Clinton's best kept secrets. ...... the woman previously viewed by diehard Republicans as the mother of all that is liberal and permissive in America. ....... The story on Ms Clinton's fundraising prowess dominated the news cycle. ....... the site claims 422 million log-ons in the past month - with television and radio producers scouring the site for potential scoops. ...... her relationship with the media has remained frosty. ...... "She is one of the most isolated candidates in modern American history. Everything is stage-managed"
Obama long on ideals, short on details Arizona Republic, AZ
Sen. Obama says he is the candidate of real change The Union Leader, NH
Democrats 2008: Hillary at 46%, Obama 24% Angus Reid Global Monitor, Canada
Edwards Warns of 'Corporate Democrats' The Associated Press
Obama still tries to put best light on perceived gaffe Baltimore Sun, United States
Clinton uses Durbin against his ally Obama Chicago Sun-Times, United States
Watch Out for Lynne Cheney's Elbow American Spectator Second Lady Lynne Cheney, like her husband, really knows how to throw a vicious elbow. Last week she was doing the talk show rounds to promote her memoirs, Blue Skies, No Fences, when she let slip to MSNBC that Vice President Dick Cheney and Illinois senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama are related. "Isn't that an amazing thing?" she teased. ..... he and Dick Cheney are "cousins" -- eighth cousins, to be exact. .... Newspapers and cable channels broke out pictures of a smiling Obama, surrounded by his family, being sworn in as a senator by Vice President Cheney in 2005. ...... Worse, the second lady also attacked Senator Clinton by name. Mrs. Cheney told the AP that Clinton's wavering on Iraq "makes me uncomfortable."...... encourage the nomination of Clinton, a sort-of pro-war Democrat who will have a hard time drawing very sharp distinctions between herself and a Republican in the general election. .... former Crossfire co-host is well-connected, smart, and very good at inflicting pain on political opponents. ..... Lynne Cheney let Kerry have it. Speaking as "a mom, and a pretty indignant mom," she told a Pittsburg crowd, "This is not a good man." ..... Kerry tried to clarify his remarks but it was hard to know what to say that wouldn't make it worse. Lynne Cheney had caught him at just the right angle and he was smarting.

Pakistan, India share terror information Pakistan Dawn
Thanks to Google's Tools, I'm the Most Efficient Time-Waster Ever Wired News She'd describe the small frustrations and victories that punctuate office life. .... It took a couple of weeks before I finally noticed the concern in her eyes. Then she asked: "What else did you do?"
Taiwan To Spend $664 Million On WiMax InformationWeek

Bush’s Request for Wars Increases to $196 Billion New York Times the force in Iraq, now at more than 160,000 troops. ....... The spending request — declared an emergency under spending rules, even though the need for the money was never in question — ........ “The entire war has been paid with borrowed money” ...... the cost of less than 40 days in Iraq would pay for health-care coverage for 10 million children for a year. ....... nearly $800 million to support a United Nations peacekeeping mission and elections in Sudan; $106 million for fuel oil under a deal with North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program; and more than $400 million in assistance to the Palestinians as part of the administration’s efforts to nurture a peace treaty with Israel.
Inch by Inch, Great Lakes Shrink, and Cargo Carriers Face Losses Lake Ontario .. is about seven inches below where it was a year ago. And for every inch of water that the lakes lose, the ships that ferry bulk materials across them must lighten their loads by 270 tons — or 540,000 pounds — or risk running aground ........ 240 million tons of cargo travel across the Great Lakes every year.
Row over N-deal deepens in India Pakistan Dawn reports of Dr Singh’s anger at some of his cabinet colleagues who he is alleged to have accused of betrayal. ........ he felt let down .... the government was ready to convene a special session of parliament to discuss the deal.
Pakistani Official Offers New Details of Bhutto Attack New York Times the deadliest of more than 50 suicide attacks in Pakistan in recent years. ....... More than 500 people were wounded ....... the police had found no traces of a grenade ...... The governments of Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates had warned her that suicide bombers were intending to attack her cavalcade. ....... Security officials meanwhile had tried to persuade her to take the standard precautions that they employ for all official and political visits — such as not revealing the route of her procession, the vehicle she was traveling in or the time of her arrival, and moving as fast as possible from one place to another — but Mr. Ebad said she had not accepted their suggestions. .......... “They had decided to take 18 hours to travel to the mausoleum. .......... Bhutto had made well-publicized statements before her return to Pakistan that would have caused extremists to make her a target. ....... she had hailed the government’s military action against militants in the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, and she had said she would allow American forces to conduct operations in Pakistan ..........staging huge rallies has always been the traditional way of campaigning for elections in Pakistan, especially among the illiterate and rural communities. ....... the men were “100 percent” Pakistani. ...... The bombers used C4 plastic explosive, the same type used in the bombing of a United States consulate vehicle in Karachi in March 2006 ..... the first bomber was carrying 17 to 22 pounds of explosives and the second 33 pounds
Obama Says US Must Reach Out to ‘Friend and Foe Alike’ to Reclaim Role New York Times
McCain vs. Clinton? New York Times McCain does better than anyone against her in the hypothetical one-on-one match-ups.
Clinton draws huge crowds in Central Valley San Jose Mercury News What's a Democratic candidate for president doing in the state's conservative farm belt 100 days before the California primary? "It had all of us scratching our heads," Jay Hubbell, secretary of the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee, said with a chuckle. Especially considering there was no fundraiser on the schedule. ...... drew about 4,000 residents ...... a candidate who is running away from her rivals in California ..... Some old-timers said Clinton drew the biggest turnout for a presidential candidate's rally since Robert F. Kennedy stumped in Fresno in 1968. ...... Her visit is also a sign of her confidence that she has the primary election wrapped up in California. ........ Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Clinton supporter, was headed to Nevada to campaign for her among Latinos there. ....... Her campaign has issued a memo "How Hillary Will Win the West." ....... is supported by 44 percent of the state's non-white voters. ....... "We're going to lead the world with our values and our ideals as well as our strength." ....... Obama spokeswoman Debbie Mesloh said Clinton "may have more paid staff, but we have a ton of people organizing in the field," including a new operation in Fresno. 'We're not phone banking; we're going door-to-door asking for votes." ....... United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, the first black woman elected to the Fresno City Council and the first Hmong elected to a city council in the nation.
Hillary Clinton Seen As Strong Democratic Frontrunner Voice of America many Democrats and political experts are beginning to wonder if anything or anyone can stop Clinton's march to the nomination. ...... Clinton's lead in the polls has grown in recent months, as the pace of the campaign begins to accelerate. ...... "Well, if you are ready for change, I am ready to lead, and this country is desperate for leadership," she said. ....... a very skillful campaign ....... very disciplined and solid on the campaign trail ...... she has almost universal name recognition. And, I think, there is an increasing clamor in the country to see a woman nominated as president." ....... She leads in Iowa and New Hampshire ..... what has been surprising to me is how well the Clinton campaign has weathered the rigors of being the frontrunner ........ he has yet to give the American people a solid rationale as to why they should reject Hillary Clinton ........ a feeling that he may not be quite ready, and that he is a future, rather than a present presidential candidate ...... late August in Denver, Colorado.