Posted by PoliShifter at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This was one of those news items (sort of like the team of retired generals pushing Pentagon propaganda) that didn't get much attention. The democratic primary for a time seemingly sucked all the oxygen out of the room. But now that it's over perhaps we can pay attention to important news items such as the following:

Post-War Veteran Suicides May Exceed Combat Deaths: U.S.

Bloomberg

By Avram Goldstein

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government's top psychiatric researcher said.

Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven't provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Washington.

Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post- traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web site.

Based on those figures and established suicide rates for similar patients who commonly develop substance abuse and other complications of post-traumatic stress disorder, ``it's quite possible that the suicides and psychiatric mortality of this war could trump the combat deaths,'' Insel said. Continued Here

VA Confirms 18 Aghanistan, Iraq Veterans Commit Suicide Everyday

CBS Nov 07 - Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans

CBS explains Veteran Suicide Death Numbers

VA Tried to Conceal Extent of Attempted Veteran Suicides, Email Shows

Veterans Affairs official denies cover-up of suicide rates

US congressional hearings expose stonewalling on veteran suicide data

Posted by PoliShifter at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Mitt Romney was on Morning Joe earlier this week. As many Republicans are starting to do (finally) he acknowledged that the United States has an energy problem, particularly our dependence on oil from the Middle East. The money we pay to fuel our oil addiction ends up funding the terrorists we are supposedly at war with. Only in America is such absurdity possible.

So what was Mitt’s great idea? Develop nuclear power and drill for more oil. Now there is a truly Republican Energy Policy completely regressive in its thinking. Staying true to his roots and pushing policies Republican contributors lobby for Mitt didn’t so much as bat an eye while suggesting nuclear power was a cure-all for America.

Thom Hartmann made a great point earlier this week and that is the amount of oil it would take to mine and transport the uranium needed for nuclear power plants essentially wipes out any energy gains. Not to mention the nuclear waste which will last for millions of years.

If only we had listened to Jimmy Carter imagine how far we would be today? I fail to comprehend why the American People continue to be duped by Republicans and vote against their best interest. When Reagan came into office he ripped the solar panels off the White House and declared that the era of Big Oil would live on. Reagan did not care about posterity nor do most Republicans. All they care about is enriching themselves. Well, 28 years later and guess what? We Posterity are getting the shaft.

What’s even more shameful is that Republicans put their contributors ahead of what is best for America. They continue to shill for oil companies, coal companies, and nuclear energy. They remain defiant when it comes to shifting away from fossil fuels toward viable alternatives.

It’s not rocket science. Solar and wind power are tangible realities. Biodiesel derived from green algae on a large scale would go a long way toward decreasing our oil imports.

We spend $14 billion a month in Iraq. How many solar panels would that buy? How many wind farms would that build? Republicans cry foul any time domestic spending on the American People is suggested. Yet they gladly open the tax payer check book for ill-conceived occupations so long as their donors are the ones benefiting from no-bid cost plus contracts. Nearly $2 Trillion has already been spent on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Imagine if that money were instead used to reduce our dependence on foreign oil?

Republicans have once again sacrificed America, Americans, and posterity for their own benefit. The big question is now will Americans be duped once again into voting for them.

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Hillary's last gasp is to say that white working class people who voted for her won't vote for Barack Obama. She assumes every white person that voted for her in the primary won't vote for Obama in November.

Personally if I was a Hillary voter I would be offended by her campaign strategy. She's basically saying anyone who votes for her is a racist and won't be able to bring themselves to vote for a black man.

I realize there are racists in America. On any given day there is a klan rally, a nazi gathering, or a celebration of the Confederacy. It is my opinion however that these elements in our society are extremely small. All estimates are that about 8% of the country would never vote for a person of color. That's much lower than Hillary claims. She claims all the whites voting for her won't vote for Barack.

I am not as cynical as Hillary. I realize race is still an issue but I don't think it's as big an issue as she thinks it is. Sure, there may be some percentage of white folk who voted for her that won't vote for Obama. But the opposite is likely true in that there are probably black people who voted for Obama that won't vote for Hillary or McCain. These percentages though are not game changers and would likely wash out.

Still if Hillary truly thinks we are a nation of racists and if she thinks every working class person that voted for her won't vote for Obama then she might as well go all in. Down south she should drive around in the General Lee screaming "Long Live the Confederacy!" and "Segregation Now! Segregation Forever!". In the north and midwest she can don a Nazi uniform and yell "Seig Heil!!". Attending a klan rally just might put her over the top.

Hillary's only hope is to convince the Super Delegates that whites won't vote for Obama. It's cards on the table time for Hillary. If she believes that then she needs to prove it. Seig Heil Hillary.

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow.

Today was the first day in weeks that I flipped on MSNBC and there wasn't a Republican Strategist or Black Minister telling me how the Jeremiah Wright controversy was going to sink Obama's campaign.

The news anchors (gasp) actually reported...get this... NEWS!

Over 100,000 dead in Myanmar, bad weather on the east coast, tornados, and a volcano erupting in Chile. I mean, REAL news. The whole tone of the media nearly overnight took on a news tone as opposed to an opinionated tone.

Of course, Jenna's wedding is overshadowing any Iraq news or new developments in the Don Siegelman case. Baby steps I guess. It's amazing to me how fast nearly the entire media flipped. They went from acting like Hillary had a real chance at winning the nomination (when mathematically it's been nearly impossible for months) to proclaiming Obama the apparent nominee.

What I want to know is who has the power to flip that switch in the corporate media?

All accounts point to Tim Russert being the first one to declare that the democratic primary race is over on tuesday night. From there others in the media followed his lead. Is Russert really that powerful? His one sentence literally flipped the media storyline away from Jeremiah Wright and toward Obama being the nominee.

Oh, and here is some more NEWS:

Cindy McCain says she'll never release her tax returns

WASHINGTON - Cindy McCain says she will never make her tax returns public even if her husband wins the White House and she becomes the first lady.

"You know, my husband and I have been married 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate," Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting John McCain, said in an interview aired on NBC's "Today" on Thursday.

Asked if she would release her tax returns if she was first lady, Cindy McCain said: "No." More Here

Posted by PoliShifter at 01:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Tips: Think Progress

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mission Accomplished.

Iraq prepares for Baghdad exodus

By Clive Myrie
BBC News, Baghdad

The authorities in Baghdad say they are preparing for an exodus of thousands of people from eastern parts of the city.

Fighting between government and US troops on one side, and Shia militia on the other, has intensified recently.

Two football stadiums are on stand-by to receive residents from two neighbourhoods in the Sadr City area.

The government has warned of an imminent push to clear the areas of members of the Mehdi Army, loyal to the anti-American cleric, Moqtada Sadr.

In the last seven weeks around 1,000 people have died, and more than 2,500 others have been injured, most of them civilians.

The fighting so far in Sadr City has been fierce - street to street, and house to house.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is showing a determination to disarm the country's Shia militia groups - particularly the Mehdi Army - that he has never displayed before.

However, Iraqi army operations, backed by US ground and air support, have so far failed to overwhelm the Shia militiamen, who are still responding with roadside bombs, sniper fire, mortars and rockets.

The government has distributed leaflets in two key districts of Sadr City, warning people to leave.

The speculation is that government forces are preparing for a big push into eastern Baghdad to end the current fighting once and for all.

Shortages of water and medical supplies have already made life inside Sadr City extremely difficult.

Posted by PoliShifter at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's 2008 NOT 1992.

Gotta adapt and change with the times. How can someone claim to be Presidential when all they do is live in the past? We need to move into the future and leave the past behind.

Posted by PoliShifter at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Oliver Stone couldn't make this shit up.

This is the war on drugs Bush Style. What is it with our country and our fascination with heroin especially in war time? Oh and kids, drugs are bad...don't do drugs...

Marines ignore Taliban cash crop to not upset Afghan locals

By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer

GARMSER, Afghanistan - The Marines of Bravo Company's 1st Platoon sleep beside a grove of poppies. Troops in the 2nd Platoon playfully swat at the heavy opium bulbs while walking through the fields. Afghan laborers scraping the plant's gooey resin smile and wave.

Last week, the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit moved into southern Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy-growing region, and now find themselves surrounded by green fields of the illegal plants that produce the main ingredient of heroin.

The Taliban, whose fighters are exchanging daily fire with the Marines in Garmser, derives up to $100 million a year from the poppy harvest by taxing farmers and charging safe passage fees — money that will buy weapons for use against U.S., NATO and Afghan troops.

Yet the Marines are not destroying the plants. In fact, they are reassuring villagers the poppies won't be touched. American commanders say the Marines would only alienate people and drive them to take up arms if they eliminated the impoverished Afghans' only source of income.

Many Marines in the field are scratching their heads over the situation.
#

Afghanistan supplies some 93 percent of the world's opium used to make heroin, and the Taliban militants earn up to $100 million from the drug trade, the United Nations estimates. The export value of this harvest was $4 billion — more than a third of the country's combined gross domestic product.

You don't think Bush and Bin Laden are getting a taste of that $4 Billion do you? How much is going to the CIA?

Posted by PoliShifter at 06:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Reality is starting to sink in...

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The big talking point tonight seems to be that Obama can't win the white working class vote.

This assumes that all those white working class people who voted for Hillary won't vote for Obama in November.

Just another fallacy being pushed by the media.

There is no way anyone can claim that all the white people voting for Hillary won't vote for Obama in November. We can argue percentages but these blanket claims people like Pat Buchanan make like "why can't Obama win the white vote?" is bunk.

A majority of the white people voting for Hillary in the primaries will vote for Obama over McCain come the fall.

To suggest that Obama can't win the white working class vote is asinine. But that's not stopping them from trying it.

Posted by PoliShifter at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s time once again for the National Media Circle Jerk. Listen up as they tell us how today’s primaries hasn’t determined anything and how we need to look forward to the next primary. Hillary’s the fighter. She’s not out of it yet! Listen as the media parrots talking points with no basis in reality. “She’s won the popular vote! She wins the big states! Is Obama electable? Hillary’s a fighter! She’s really come on strong at the end!”

Here’s a sports analogy for you since we know how the media loves sports analogies. Let’s say a baseball team has a losing record. Let’s say there are 15 games left in the season for this team. Let’s say the team goes on a winning streak, defies the odds, and wins all of the 15 games left in the season. It doesn’t matter. They still won’t make the playoffs.

Do sports commentators cry foul and say they will lobby the Commissioner of Baseball to get this team a spot in the playoffs? When the manager of that team says “boy we really sucked the first 3/4 of the season but we sure turned it on at the end! We deserve a spot in the playoffs!”, do sports commentators do anything but laugh at that manager?

All that matters in the end are the stats. When the season is over you look at the record. If you won enough games in your conference you're in the playoffs. If you didn't win enough games you're out and there's nothing that can be done about it. There is the 'wildcard' but you still have to have the next best record in the division. If you don't have the stats and record you can't get in.

The media acts like Hillary still has a chance to win the nomination. She has no chance of winning the nomination. She can win the rest of the States and it won’t matter. The media also acts like the States voting last matter more than the States who have already voted. Since when have we not counted any votes until the very end of the primary season?

The media also repeats Hillary’s baseless claim that she has won the popular vote. The footnote to that is Hillary has generously given herself ALL the votes from Michigan and Florida as if no one voted for Obama. In Michigan, Obama wasn’t even on the ballot. Since when has the national popular vote been used to determine a Presidential nominee?

Obama leads handsomely in pledged delegates. It’s nearly mathematically impossible for Hillary to overtake Obama in the pledged delegate count. Obama only trails Hillary in Superdelegates by 15. The only realistic way Hillary can win the nomination would be for ALL of the Superdelegates to switch to her. The case Hillary Supporters are trying to make is that Obama is unelectable therefore these Superdelegates need to switch to her.

What we have seen is the opposite. Since Super Tuesday Obama has gotten more Superdelegate support than Hillary. Obama has also had several Superdelegates switch their support from Hillary to Obama. If Hillary’s argument rang true about Obama supposedly being unelectable we would have seen more Superdelegates switch by now.

Most of the other Hillary Campaign arguments are bogus. Keith Olbermann gave a good rundown on all the fallacious arguments her camp has made. First and foremost is this notion that Democratic States won’t go Democratic in November unless she is the nominee. The other is the notion that her win in Big Red States will translate into Democratic victories in November. Both are blatantly false arguments.

The remaining uncommitted Superdelegates will assess the situation as the primaries wrap up. They could still choose to throw their support behind Hillary however unlikely that may be. The reality is that Superdelegates are looking at Obama, seeing the amount of money he is raising, the number of people he is bringing into the Democratic Party, and having a hard time finding a reason to justify supporting Hillary. The Superdelegates are also very aware of Hillary’s extremely high negatives.

The Superdelegates are also not fooled by Hillary’s ‘fighter’ characterization the media loves so much. Since when has being a liar and a panderer been equated with being a fighter? Hillary will say anything to get people’s votes. If that means nuking Iran, dodging sniper fire in Bosnia, doing a shot, finding a new found love for guns, pumping her own gas, attempting to get her own coffee, promising everyone cheap gas, and claiming to be a working class girl with over $100 million in the bank she’ll do it. That doesn’t make her a fighter. It makes her a liar and panderer.

In the end barring a complete meltdown of Obama’s campaign Obama will be the nominee. The meltdown has yet to occur and at this point will likely not occur. The question that needs to be asked is what matters more? The Clinton’s or the Democratic Party?

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by PoliShifter at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ok, I can hear Hillary supporters screaming through my computer screen "But that's taken out of context!!".

Well, relax. Here is the second part of the interview In Context. Want to see the whole thing? Search YouTube for O'Reilly Hillary

Sure...Obama's elite while the Clinton's made $110 million since leaving the White House and Hillary dodged sniper fire in Bosnia. Believe what you want to believe but it don't make it true.

Posted by PoliShifter at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The media acknowledges that the gas tax holiday is an election year gimmick but still thinks you’re going to fall for it. Hillary Clinton hopes you will. It defies all logic and ration. Every expert and nearly everyone in Congress agrees it’s a bad idea. First of all, it was John McCain’s idea to begin with. Once again we see Hillary’s willingness to align herself with The Straight Liar. More importantly, this current Congress can’t even seem to wipe its own ass let along get a gas tax holiday passed. Even if Hillary was able to draft up legislation and ram it through both the House and the Senate before the start of summer (next month) it is highly unlikely that The Decider Bush will even sign it.

Lastly, by the time this gas tax holiday even takes effect it is likely gas prices will even be higher than they are now. There’s no guarantee that gas stations will lower their prices accordingly either. Experience shows us that gas stations will just keep their prices the same and pocket the extra money for themselves. Or, they will lower prices a few pennies and attribute it to the gas tax holiday hoping consumers can’t tell the difference between 4 cents and 18.4 cents.

How much will you save? Let’s assume you have a 12 gallon tank. Each fill up you will save $2.21 per fill up. Let’s assume you fill up once a week. You will save $8.84 per month. For the summer you will save $26.52. This assumes gas prices stay flat and the gas stations pass on the full gas tax holiday to consumers.

Suspending the gas tax will also lead to the loss of thousands of jobs as the money from the gas tax is used to repair roads and infrastructure. Hillary says she will pay for that by taxing the oil corporations’ excessive profits. Does she really think The Decider will stand for that?

What Hillary is doing is the classic old school political pander. Hillary might as well run around telling everyone she will put a chicken in every pot. She might as well hand out street money in exchange for your vote. Hillary will say and do anything to get elected even if that means lying and pandering.

This illustrates a tremendous difference between Hillary and Obama. Hillary thinks you’re an idiot. Hillary thinks she can promise you 18.4 cents per gallon relief at the pump and this will be enough to sway you to vote for you. Obama on the other hand talks to you like an adult. He explains why the gas tax holiday is bogus and lays out a plan that will give real relief at the pump by reducing demand for gas by raising fuel economy standards and aggressively pursuing alternative fuels.

Hillary just thinks you’re a big dump oaf who will believe anything she says. After all, Hillary said she was against Columbian Free Trade while both Mark Penn and Bill Clinton were lobbying on behalf of the Columbian Free Trade agreement. Bill Clinton considers NAFTA one of his finest achievements. Hillary now claims she is against NAFTA and free trade even though during the 90’s she supported it. Hillary sat on the board of Wal*Mart and watched as American jobs were shipped over seas. Why is she opposed to NAFTA now? Because she thinks by saying she is opposed to free trade now will convince you to vote for her.

Hillary voted for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. In the beginning of her campaign she said she would work toward getting the troops out of Iraq by the end of her first term. Her unpopularity with regard to Iraq has forced her to alter her stance on Iraq. Again, she does and says whatever she thinks you will believe thereby convincing you to vote for her.

Hillary claims Obama is the elitist. Meanwhile she sets up a photo op to drive to a gas station in a big SUV with an everyday working class guy. It was the first time Hillary had pumped her own gas in 20 years. When she went into the minimart to get coffee she couldn’t even figure out how to do that. Yet she expects us to believe she can fix healthcare? She expects us to believe Obama is the elitist?

When Hillary campaigned in New York she was from New York. When she campaigned in Illinois she was from Chicago. When she campaigned in Pennsylvania she was the girl from Scranton. See the pattern here?

Hillary is practicing Old School Politics where she will say anything you want to hear. She will do anything she thinks will get you to vote for her. The media along with Hillary thinks you’re stupid. They think you will fall for these obvious panders.

Hillary and the media also think you buy their bullshit every time they reframe the metrics for winning the nomination. The way the system works is that whoever gets 2025 delegates becomes the nominee. Hillary would have you believe that the popular vote is what matters. Hillary would have you believe she won Michigan even though Obama wasn’t on the ballot. Hillary tells you winning the Big States is all that matters as if California and New York won’t go Democratic no matter who is the nominee. Hillary says she can win Big States as if she has a chance at winning Texas in the general election.

So far the media and Hillary’s campaign thinks you’re an idiot. They think you are incapable of rational thought, unable to look at the facts and process them for yourself, and fall for every obvious political gimmick that is known to humanity.

The latest think Hillary is trying to do is change the rules in mid-stream by lobbying the Credentials Committee of the DNC which happens to have several Clinton appointees sitting on it. Hillary wants ALL of Florida and Michigan’s delegates seated for HER. This is how she is now saying she can win. Are you dumb enough to believe that?

Are you as stupid as they think you are?

Lest we forget that Bill Clinton has embraced the DLC, was it's Chair in 90-91, and has practiced the politics of Centrism and Republican-Lite. Clinton is a big supporter of Free Trade and NAFTA. If you take a close look at the divide in the Democratic Party being accentuated by the Obama - Hillary contest you will see two opposing view points. One view point says we need to emulate Republicans, move to the center, and build a Democratic version of K-Street where corporations hire lobbyists to write legislation and pay off politicians to pass that legislation. The other view point seeks to empower people, not corporations and to end the power and influence lobbyists have over Washington.

Clinton In 2005: 'I Agree With McCain' On Long-Term Iraq Presence

Posted by PoliShifter at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Running late today but I will be updating later. For now, here are a few headlines that may interest you...

Bolton: Striking Iran ‘Is Really The Most Prudent Thing To Do’

Baghdad Disneyland contractor: Violence in Baghdad is like ‘drive-bys’ in LA

Clinton Camp Says It Will Change The Rules, The So Called 'Nuclear' Option

'NYT' vs McClatchy on Iran's Link to Iraqi Insurgents

Posted by PoliShifter at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The news about The Pentagon paying retired Generals to spread propaganda around the news outlets has been in virtual corporate media blackout. When's the last time you saw a retired General on the TV? At least a week, right? What does it take to crush a story of this magnitude? Why is the corporate media doing the bidding of The Pentagon?

NYT - Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand
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To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Read It All Here

Posted by PoliShifter at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)