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Fact check....if you are talking about
Obama, he will cut your taxes if you make less than 250K a year....McCain will tax your healthcare benefits as income, then give you $5000 to try and find healthcare that on average costs 14K a year. If you would like more information on these two candidates' policies, visit their websites where policies are outlined. Just trying to help. If you are just listening to what you want you to hear, you may voting against your own best interests this election.
Fact check on O's infomercial.
AP FACT CHECK: Obama Ad Avoids Budget Realities
The Associated Press takes a look at the details in Obama's prime-time ad
AP
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.
Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are -- beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn't tell them:
THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."
THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.
THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."
THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.
THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."
THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years -- and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."
THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "
THE FACTS: His proposals -- the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more -- cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged -- although not in his commercial -- that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."
The President burnishes the State of the Union through selective facts and strategic omissions.
February 1, 2006
Modified: February 1, 2006
The President left out a few things when surveying the State of the Union:
He proudly spoke of writing a new chapter in the story of self-government in Iraq and Afghanistan and said the number of democracies in the world is growing. He failed to mention that neither Iraq nor Afghanistan yet qualify as democracies according to the very group whose statistics he cited.
Bush called for Congress to pass a line-item veto, failing to mention that the Supreme Court struck down a line-item veto as unconstitutional in 1998. Bills now in Congress would propose a Constitutional amendment, but none have shown signs of life.
The President said the economy gained 4.6 million jobs in the past two-and-a-half years, failing to note that it had lost 2.6 million jobs in his first two-and-a-half years in office. The net gain since Bush took office is just a little more than 2 million.
He talked of cutting spending, but only non-security discretionary spending. Actually, total federal spending has increased 42 percent since Bush took office.
He spoke of being on track to cut the federal deficit in half by 2009. But the deficit is increasing this year, and according to the Congressional Budget Office it will decline by considerably less than half even if Bush's tax cuts are allowed to lapse.
Bush spoke of a goal of cutting dependence on Middle Eastern oil, failing to mention that US dependence on imported oil and petroleum products increased substantially during his first five years in office, reaching 60 per cent of consumption last year.
Analysis
We found nothing that was factually incorrect in the President's Jan. 31 State of the Union address to Congress and the nation. However, we did note some selective use of statistics. We also found that Bush omitted some relevant facts that tended to make the state of the union look less rosy than he presented.
in Sept. 08. Actually, it started crashing before that, warnings were given way before Sept. 08. That would have been Bush's admin. Please check your facts.
It will take months to get the full story, but meanwhile here are some of the key facts about what happened and when officials acted.
September 16, 2005
Summary
Multiple investigations are likely into the response by federal, state, and local officials to the disastrous flooding of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. New facts are still emerging, and we expect it will be months or years before a full picture can be properly assessed.
In response to numerous requests, we present here a brief timeline of events, as best as we can document them from public records and the best news reporting from the scene. We do not blame or excuse anyone, and leave it to others to judge what, if anything, could or should have been done differently. All times are converted to Central Daylight Time.
Analysis
July 23, 2004 - 13 Months Before Katrina
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) conducts Hurricane Pam exercise to assess results of a theoretical Category 3 hurricane. It assumes that a storm with 120-mph winds would force Lake Pontchartrain's waters over the tops of the New Orleans' 17.5-foot levees and through a gap in the levee system would flood major portions of the city and would damage up to 87 percent of the city's homes. The Times-Picayune reports that officials expect up to half the city's residents won't evacuate and that many will be trapped in attics, on rooftops, and in makeshift shelters for days.
—In Case of Emergency, New Orleans Times-Picayune, as posted on the website of the Louisiana Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness, 20 Jul 2004.
Friday, Aug 26 2005 - 3 Days Prior to Katrina's Louisiana Landfall
Hurricane Katrina strikes Florida between Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach as a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph winds. Eleven people die from hurricane-related causes.
—A chronology of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, Associated Press, 3 Sep 2005.
The storm heads into the Gulf of Mexico and by 10:30 am CDT is reported to be rapidly strengthening.
Blanco asks President Bush to declare a State of Emergency for the state of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina. Bush does so, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts… and freeing up federal money for the state.
—Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana Governor's Office , 27 Aug 2005.
Director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, calls the governors of Louisiana and Mississippi and the mayor of New Orleans to warn of potential devastation. The next day he participates in a video conference call to the President, who is at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
7 a.m. - Katrina is upgraded to a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm. NOAA predicts coastal storm surge flooding of 15 to 20 feet above normal tide levels.
—New Orleans braces for monster hurricane, CNN.com, 29 Aug 2005.
9:30 a.m. - With wind speeds reaching 175 mph, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin orders a mandatory evacuation of the city after speaking with Bush. The evacuation call comes only 20 hours before Katrina would make landfall – less than half the time that researchers had determined was necessary to evacuate the city.
10 a.m. - NOAA raises their estimate of storm surge flooding to 18 to 22 feet above normal tide levels. The levee protecting New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain is only 17.5 feet tall; the Mississippi River levee reaches 23 feet.
The Associated Press reports that New Orleans could become a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released…from the city's legendary cemeteries.
The storm threatened an environmental disaster of biblical proportions , one that could leave more than 1 million people homeless, the AP says.
—Matt Crenson, Katrina may create environmental catastrophe on epic scale, Associated Press , 28 Aug 2005.
11:31 a.m. - The President – at his ranch in Crawford – speaks briefly to reporters. His statement contains 203 words about Katrina and 819 congratulating Iraqis on their new constitution. We will do everything in our power to help the people in the communities affected by this storm, he says of the approaching hurricane.
8:30 p.m. - An empty Amtrak train leaves New Orleans, with room for thousands of potential evacuees. We offered the city the opportunity to take evacuees out of harm's way…The city declined, said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black. The train left New Orleans no passengers on board.
Two weeks later, Nagin denies on NBC's Meet the Press that Amtrak offered their services. Amtrak never contacted me to make that offer, the mayor tells host Tim Russert. I have never gotten that call, Tim, and I would love to have had that call. But it never happened.
6 a.m. - Katrina makes landfall on Louisiana coast as a strong Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of nearly 145 mph and predicted coastal storm surge of up to 28 feet. The National Hurricane Center warns that some levees in the greater New Orleans area could be overtopped. It says a weather buoy located about 50 miles east of the mouth of the Mississippi river had reported waves heights of at least 47 feet.
8.a.m. - The storm surge sends water sloshing up the Industrial Canal, and local officials immediately report flooding on both sides. Winds break a barge loose and it strikes the levee.
9 a.m. - The eastern part of the city and Bernard Parish are already flooded several feet deep, even before the eye of the storm has passed. Thousands of survivors are trapped. But worse flooding is to come: within hours, city canal floodwalls will also collapse and a second, slower wave of flooding will take place.
11 a.m. - New Orleans is spared a direct hit, as the center of the storm passes over the Louisiana-Mississippi state line 35 miles away from the city. Maximum sustained winds are now reduced, but still a strong Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds.
11:06 a.m . - Bush promotes his Medicare prescription drug benefit at a 44-minute event in El Mirage, Arizona. He devotes 156 words to the hurricane, among them: I want the folks there on the Gulf Coast to know that the federal government is prepared to help you when the storm passes. I want to thank the governors of the affected regions for mobilizing assets prior to the arrival of the storm to help citizens avoid this devastating storm.
Late Morning (exact time uncertain) - The vital 17th Street Canal levee gives way, sending the water from Lake Pontchartrain into the city in a second, slower wave of flooding. A full day will pass before state or federal officials fully realize what is happening.
Eventually, engineers will find five separate places where concrete floodwalls gave way. They will still be debating and studying the causes of the failures two weeks after the storm.
About 11 a.m. (exact time uncertain) - Roughly five hours after Katrina strikes the coast, FEMA director Michael Brown sends a memo – later obtained and made public by The Associated Press – requesting an additional 1,000 rescue workers from the Department of Homeland Security within 48 hours and 2,000 more within seven days. It is addressed to his boss, Michael Chertoff, Secretary of Homeland Security. Brown refers to Katrina as this near catastrophic event (our emphasis.) He proposes sending the workers first for training in Georgia or Florida, then to the disaster area when conditions are safe. Among the duties of the workers, Brown proposes, is to convey a positive image of disaster operations to government officials, community organizations and the general public. (Emphasis added.)
Later Brown will say FEMA itself has only 2,600 employees nationwide, and normally relies on state workers, the National Guard, private contractors and other federal agencies during disaster relief operations.
4:40 p.m. - Bush appears in Rancho Cucamonga, California for another Medicare event. He again devotes a few words to Katrina: It's a storm now that is moving through, and now it's the time for governments to help people get their feet on the ground. . . . For those of you who are concerned about whether or not we're prepared to help, don't be. We are. We're in place. We've got equipment in place, supplies in place. And once the -- once we're able to assess the damage, we'll be able to move in and help those good folks in the affected areas.
Time uncertain - Blanco calls Bush, saying, Mr. President, we need your help. We need everything you've got. Bush later assures her that help is on the way.
—James Carney et al, 4 Places Where the System Broke Down, Time , 11 September 2005.
—Evan Thomas, How Bush Blew It, Newsweek , 19 September 2005.
Tuesday August 30, 2005 - 1 Day After Katrina
Dawn - Water has continued to rise overnight and is coursing through the city's central business district, still rising. Eventually, at least least 80 percent of New Orleans is under water. Reports of looting surface.
11:04 a.m. - In San Diego, California, Bush delivers a 31-minute speech marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Of Katrina, he says, we're beginning to move in the help that people need.
Immediately after the speech, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tells reporters that Bush will return to Crawford, then cut short his Texas stay and go to Washington. McClellan says, This is one of the most devastating storms in our nation's history. I think that's becoming clear to everyone. The devastation is enormous.
3 p.m. - With water still pouring into the city, officials report that the Army Corps of Engineers has surveyed the damage to levees and will soon attempt repair.
At a Baton Rouge briefing, Sen. Mary Landrieu reports that most of the roads and highways are impassable, and water is still coming into the city of New Orleans. The water is up to the rooftops in St. Bernard and Plaquemine. We think there may be only one major way into the city right now and it has to be used for emergency personnel to get food and water and rescue equipment to people who are in desperate need.
But even now, federal and state officials alike seem unaware of the full extent of the unfolding disaster.
FEMA's coordinator William Lokey says of the still-rising water:
FEMA's Bill Lokey: In the metropolitan area in general, in the huge majority of areas, it's not rising at all. It's the same or it may be lowering slightly. In some parts of New Orleans, because of the 17th Street breach, it may be rising and that seemed to be the case in parts of downtown.
I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening.
None of the state officials present at the press conference correct Lokey's mistaken remark. And Blanco seems puzzled when a reporter asks the governor about the water pollution that will later emerge as a major public health risk:
Q: Does the water that's downtown -- does this represent what everyone feared before the hurricane would come, that you would have this toxic soup that has overrun the city?
Blanco: It didn't -- I wouldn't think it would be toxic soup right now. I think it's just water from the lake, water from the canals. It's, you know, water.
Q: Well, something could be underneath that water.
Blanco: Pardon?
—The Situation Room; Hurricane Katrina Aftermath ; Rescue Efforts and Assessing the Damage, Transcript, CNN, 30 Aug 2005.
Wednesday August 31, 2005 - 2 Days After
Morning - Bush, still in Crawford, participates in a half-hour video conference on Katrina with Vice President Cheney (who is in Wyoming) and top aides. Later, he boards Air Force One and flies over New Orleans on his way back to Washington. His press secretary tells reporters: The President, when we were passing over that part of New Orleans, said, 'It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the ground.'
Looting intensifies in New Orleans. Nagin orders most of the police to abandon search and rescue missions for survivors and focus on packs of looters who are becoming increasingly violent. The AP reported, Police officers were asking residents to give up any guns they had before they boarded buses and trucks because police desperately needed the firepower.
Late Afternoon - Bush, back at the White House, holds a cabinet meeting on Katrina and speaks for nine minutes in the Rose Garden to outline federal relief efforts. He says FEMA has moved 25 search and rescue teams into the area. As for those stranded at the Superdome, Buses are on the way to take those people from New Orleans to Houston, the President says.
7 a.m. - Bush says I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. His remark comes in a live interview on ABC's Good Morning America :
Bush: I want people to know there's a lot of help coming. I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm. These levees got breached and as a result, much of New Orleans is flooded and now we're having to deal with it and will.
—“Good Morning America,” Transcript, ABC News, 1 September 2005.
Time Uncertain - Red Cross President Marsha Evans asks permission to enter the city with relief supplies, but Louisiana state officials deny permission.
—Red Cross: State rebuffed relief efforts: Aid organization never got into New Orleans, officials say CNN.com , 9 Sep 2005.
Thirty-thousand National Guard Troops from across the country are ordered to report to the Gulf Coast, but many do not arrive for several days.
The first buses arrive at the Superdome to take evacuees to the Astrodome in Houston, 355 miles away. But the evacuation goes slowly and will take several days.
—Evan Thomas, The Lost City, Newsweek , 12 September 2005.
Associated Press photographer Phil Coale makes an aerial shot of scores of school buses sitting unused in a flooded New Orleans lot. Many will later question why city officials did not use these busses to evacuate residents who lacked transportation prior to the hurricane, or at least move them to higher ground for use later.
Evening - In a special report that is typical of the picture that television is conveying to the world, CNN Correspondent Adaora Udoji reports: Three days after Hurricane Katrina, and the situation is getting more desperate by the minute. Thousands are still stranded in misery. . . . They are marching in search of food, water and relief. They're surrounded by a crumbling city and dead bodies. Infants have no formula, the children no food, nothing for adults, no medical help. They're burning with frustration, and sure they have been forgotten.
And CNN's Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reports live from Charity hospital in New Orleans: It doesn't appear to be safe now, but it seems that a sniper standing atop one of the buildings just above us here and firing down at patients and doctors as they were trying to be evacuated, unbelievable. It just boggles my mind, actually.
Brown says FEMA officials were unaware for days that – besides the hurricane victims stranded in the Superdome – thousands more had taken refuge in the New Orleans Convention Center nearby. Speaking from Baton Rouge in a live interview with CNN's Paula Zahn, he says:
Brown : And so, this -- this catastrophic disaster continues to grow. I will tell you this, though. Every person in that Convention Center, we just learned about that today . And so, I have directed that we have all available resources to get to that Convention Center to make certain that they have the food and water, the medical care that they need... Q: Sir, you aren't telling me... Brown : ... and that we take care of those bodies that are there. . . . Q:Sir, you aren't just telling me you just learned that the folks at the Convention Center didn't have food and water until today, are you? You had no idea they were completely cut off? Brown: Paula, the federal government did not even know about the Convention Center people until today.
—Paula Zahn Now, Desperation in New Orleans; Interview With FEMA Director Mike Brown, Transcript , 1 Sep 2005.
Later, Brown will say he was wrong and that FEMA actually knew about the victims at the Convention Center 24 hours earlier but was unable to reach them until Thursday.
—David D. Kirkpatrick and Scott Shane, Ex-FEMA Chief Tells of Frustration and Chaos, New York Times 15 Sep 2005: A1
Evening - Nagin delivers a rambling diatribe in an interview with local radio station WWL-AM, blaming Bush and Blanco for doing too little:
Nagin : I need reinforcements, I need troops, man. I need 500 buses, man. . . I've got 15,000 to 20,000 people over at the convention center. It's bursting at the seams. The poor people in Plaquemines Parish. ... We don't have anything, and we're sharing with our brothers in Plaquemines Parish. It's awful down here, man. . . . Don't tell me 40,000 people are coming here. They're not here. It's too doggone late. Now get off your asses and do something , and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.
—Mayor to feds: 'Get off your asses,' Transcript of radio interview with New Orleans' Nagin, CNN.com, 2 Sep 2005.
Friday September 2, 2005 - 4 Days After
The Red Cross renews its request to enter the city with relief supplies. We had adequate supplies, the people and the vehicles, Red Cross official Vic Howell would later recall. Louisiana officials say they needed 24 hours to provide an escort and prepare for the Red Cross's arrival. However, 24 hours later, a large-scale evacuation is underway and the Red Cross relief effort never reaches New Orleans.
—Red Cross: State rebuffed relief efforts: Aid organization never got into New Orleans, officials say CNN.com , 9 Sep 2005.
8:02 a.m. - Bush leaves the White House to tour the hurricane area. He says, A lot of people are working hard to help those who have been affected, and I want to thank the people for their efforts. The results are not acceptable .
—President Heads to Hurricane Katrina Affected Areas, The South Lawn , 2 Sep 2005.
10:35 am - Bush, arriving in Alabama to tour the disaster area, says of the FEMA director at a live news conference: Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The FEMA director is working 24 -- (applause) -- they're working 24 hours a day. Again, my attitude is, if it's not going exactly right, we're going to make it go exactly right. If there's problems, we're going to address the problems.
Noon - A convoy of military trucks drives through floodwaters to the convention center, the first supplies of water and food to reach victims who have waited for days. Thousands of armed National Guardsmen carrying weapons stream into the city to help restore order. Commanding is Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, a cigar-chomping Louisiana native who soon wins praise for his decisive style of action.
—Allen G. Breed, National Guardsmen Arrive in New Orleans, The Associated Press, 2 Sep 2005.
5:01p.m. - Bush speaks at New Orleans airport, saying, I know the people of this part of the world are suffering, and I want them to know that there's a flow of progress. We're making progress.
10:06 am - Bush announces he is ordering additional active duty forces to the Gulf coast. The enormity of the task requires more resources, he says in his Saturday radio address. In America we do not abandon our fellow citizens in their hour of need. He says 4,000 active-duty troops are already in the area and 7,000 more will arrive in the next 72 hours. Those will add to some 21,000 National Guard troops already in the region.
The President issues a proclamation ordering the US Flag to be flown at half-staff at all federal building until Sept. 20 as a mark of respect for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
—Proclamation by the President: Honoring the Memory of the Victims of Hurricane Katrina, 4 Sep 2005.
Monday September 5, 2005 - One Week After
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers repair the levee breach on the 17th Street Canal and begin to pump water from the city.
—Pumps begin to drain New Orleans. CNN.com , 6 Sep 2005.
Tuesday September 6, 2005 - 8 Days After
FEMA asks reporters to refrain from taking pictures of the dead. Reuters quotes a FEMA spokeswoman as sending an email saying, The recovery of victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect and we have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media.
Nagin orders police and law enforcement officials to remove everyone from the city who is not involved in recovery efforts. Despite this order, many residents remain in New Orleans, refusing to leave.
FEMA brings in Kenyon International Services from Houston to assist in recovering bodies, many of which have been left in the open since the storm hit. A week later, state and federal officials will still be bickering over who is to pay the $119,000 daily expense of the outside mortuary specialists, and many bodies will still lie uncollected in the open and in drained buildings two weeks after the storm.
A bipartisan joint Congressional Committee is announced to investigate the response to Hurricane Katrina at all levels of government, as federal, state, and local officials continue to blame each other for the slow response in dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Brown resigns as head of FEMA saying, it is important that I leave now to avoid further distraction from the ongoing mission of FEMA.
—Statement by Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Department of Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness & Response and Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, News Release , FEMA, 12 Sep 2005.
September 13, 2005
11:30 a.m. – Bush takes responsibility for the federal government’s failures while speaking at a press conference with Iraqi President Talabani.
Bush: Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government. And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong.
—“President Welcomes President Talabani of Iraq to the White House,” The East Room, news release , 13 Sep 2005.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Brown, in an interview published in the New York Times , says the governor and her staff had failed to organize a coherent state effort in the days after the hurricane, and that his field officers in the city were reporting an out of control situation to his superiors. He says he asked state officials, What do you need? Help me help you. . . . The response was like, 'Let us find out,' and then I never received specific requests for specific things that needed doing. A spokesman for the governor said, That is just totally inaccurate.
8:02 p.m. - Bush says, in a prime-time, televised speech from New Orleans, that the system, at every level of government, was not well-coordinated, and was overwhelmed in the first few days. He says the military should have a greater role in reacting to future large disasters. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough. He promises massive aid, tax breaks, and loan guarantees to aid rebuilding, saying that there is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.
—President Discusses Hurricane Relief in Address to the Nation, Jackson Square, New Orleans, Louisiana 15 Sep 2005.
I have never claimed that. Did I vote for him....no. Have I given him a chance? What chance is there to give him? Look at what he has done in this short time. I don't want to wait another term in office before I see the huge mistakes that are happening now. And please correct me if I am wrong but I do recall many of you putting Bush down for every little thing that he ever did. I didn't vote for Bush either and I do believe he made some huge mistakes as well. You people have no problem cutting people down and not giving them a chance unless we are talking about Obama and then all of a sudden we are all horrible for opposing government spending MORE of our money. That makes us instantly prejudice.
You ridicule Bush for the war in Iraq and Obama said he would pull our troops out ASAP. We are still there and Obama has pushed back the time line to pull them out. Now we are in Afgan fighting the Taliban....which are the same terrorist freaks we ran out of Iraq. Gitmo is still open with no plan of where to put these terrorists. The usual rules in bankrupcty were changed in Chrysler's dealings so that the unions came out top dog....which is not supposed to happen like that. Obama has spent more money than Bush ever did and he wants to spend more. He promised no taxes of any kind to 95% of Americans and yet he wants to institute cap and trade which will tax everyone. The jobs that he claims will be created with the spendulous package are not sustainable jobs. Only 1 out of 10 green jobs are sustainable long term. He is capping what CEOs can make. He has done nothing but apologize for the US wherever he goes and yet he fails to comment on all the good things that we have done for other countries or how much we gave relief to people after natural disasters. A man who gives abortion rights but takes away the rights of doctors and hospitals to deny performing a procedure they don't believe in when those patients could easily go elsewhere for that particular procedure. Our government is getting bigger and taking over too much. What right does our government have to cap pay for anyone? What right does our goverment have to okay bonuses for AIG and then turn around and demand the bonuses be taken away. I don't agree that they should get bonuses but congress approved it in the first place. Did you sleep through all of this? They are talking about taxing health care benefits to help pay for universal health care when Obama ridiculed McCain during the campaign stating how ridiculous it is for McCain to want to tax someone's benefits.....hello?
ARE YOU LISTENING? How much more time should I give him because I can say that he sucks?
smoke anywhere but you did mention nonsmokers not being content with banning you from smoking in public places and this is a constant argument I had with my dad for many years. A lot of smokers are very inconsiderate. More often than not you see them smoking at ball parks that have no smoking signs just because they think it is their right to smoke no matter how many children are around them at the time. I've been in my car at a stoplight and my car filled with a smell of smoke and I looked over to see the person in the car next to me smoking. Smokers just do not realize how far their smoke carries and how really harmful it is to nonsmokers. Parents who continually take their kids to the doctors for ear infections or respiratory problems and yet continue to smoke around them. My dad used to smoke in the car with all three of us kids in the back but he thought we would be fine because the window was cracked. All that did was blow unwanted ashes back towards us. Amazingly none of us three kids smoke. We all vowed never to pick up the habit and none of us married a smoker either.
I wasn't trying to be rude.....but smoking is a very sore subject with me. Not only did I lose one grandpa to lung cancer and another grandpa to emphysema but I lost my dad 2 years ago to emphysema and I just absolutely HATE cigarettes. To think of the years those stupid things robbed me of my 2 grandpas and my dad.....I just loathe cigarettes.
This morning I was thinking this Rove thing over and the main issue is the deception by this administration over the wanting to buy uranium claim. When Wilson went to check it out and reported back that the claim was incorrect, it still was included in the State of the Union address, to scare the American people into war. That is the main issue, the lies for going to war.
even figure out who's WITH you, as evidenced by the little hissy fit above between you and another CON!!!
Please keep posting. You're getting whackier with each post and revealing yourself for the nut case you truly are!!!
Plus, I'm intrigued by all the different voices in your head who surface at different times. I guess tonight TM is doing the talking, and TM seems to be even more rude and angry and hateful than you usually are.
Why so angry, MT? Roberts was confirmed today. Why aren't you happy? Or do you just have a terminal case of chronic bitterness, no matter what? Have you ever been nice to ANYONE?
PLEASE keep posting. You're quite entertaining, even if in a pathetic sort of way.
After all, you are not GW who can manipulate the truth as he pleases. But anyway, please provide the "burn in hell for eternity" quote that seems to appear over and over. I notice that this "quote" also changes slightly each time it is "quoted."
When a senator sponsor a bill, he originates the concept, surveys the landscape for support or lack thereof, identifies targets for persuasion, and works for bipartisan consensus.This would involve extensive research on the content of the bill, assessment of benefits versus cost, knowledge of past voting records of constituents and fashioning persuasive arguments using pros and cons, according to who his individual target is and where he or she is coming from.He determines constitutionality, legality and any possible conflict of interests.He authors the bill.He introduces the bill, debates the bill in the chambers, takes and answers criticism, compromises, rewrites and so forth until passage is achieved.He then turns around and goes through much the same process to promote the bill in the house. Then he holds his breath and hopes the president from his opposition party does not wipe out all his hard work with the stroke of a veto pen.When he cosponsors a bill, he does much the same thing with a partner or partners.
The accomplishments I listed under the state experience section actually were Obama's initiatives.The US senate list does not just reflect legislation. It also demonstrates varied committee membership, which reflects a completely different type of experience, much along the lines of study groups and research focused on strategy building of national and internation consequence.
Two final observations.Every single item listed under O's experience indicates the issues he takes most seriously and aligns consistently with the platform he now proposes on a national level in the presidential campaign.Thus, this addresses the trust issue so often raised by his detractors.O obviously has been a quick study, or he would not have been able to successfully seize the nomination of his party.
I do not understand how SP's so-called executive experiences trumps this record.In fact, my question would be where then DID she get her consensus-building experience from if she was so totally in charge of people she expected to simply fall in line.Lastly, I am still wondering exactly how SP's record is comparable in this regard...or in words of one syllable...how does she stack up?
Apparently NOT. Your claim. Your citation.
no credibility. Got it? Just wondering what other verifiable examples you can come up with to support you claim of "Christian discrimination."
The math is based on Sam's claim
If Sam is talking 80% approval rating in Alaska, that would imply that she is talking about people who actually are familiar with her policies, programs, credibility, how she conducts herself and soforth...in other words, approval rating among those who actually know her/voted for her. That is what a governor's approval rating is.
The first 3 links are a few more articles on civilian casualties. You will notice they do not come from Al-Jazeera. Below that, THE LAST 9 LINKS ARE VIDEO accounts from a variety of sources. WARNING. These videos are extremely graphic and quite disturbing. If you are faint at heart, have just eaten or if there are children in the room, DO NOT VIEW THESE ACCOUNTS. However, if you are interested in this an unsanitized report of this conflict as seen by everybody else outside the US, take a deep breath and take a look at our tax dollars at work.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3922951,00.html
Details Israeli ground assault road kill, all in a day's work, some including entire families.
1) 13 in the Assamouni family including mom, dad and 8 children ages 4-15.
2) Abu Ashais family, mom, dad and 5 children.
3) 29 civilians on the Gaza City Strip, 17 of which were children from 3 families.
4) 4 civilians in Beit Hanoun.
5) East Gaza City, a mom and her 4 children.
http://www.countercurrents.org/habeeb050109.htm
1) 5 civilians at a mosque in the northern Gaza Strip
2) 17 members of the AL Atatra family in Beit Lahiya.
3) 3 paramedics and ambulance driver in Shikh Ejlin.
This article goes on to document 55 civilian fatalities in various places.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/day-11-israeli-war-gaza-620-dead-3000-injured
Day 11 of Israeli war on Gaza: 620 dead, 3000 injured. This is what a local news story documenting the civilian deaths looks like.
http://vodpod.com/watch/1268366-more-children-killed-as-war-on-gaza-continues-05-jan-08
More Children Among Gaza Dead
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/06/gaza-israel-death-un
Dozens dead after Israel bombs UN school in Gaza. Short clips of UN school bombing.
http://vodpod.com/watch/1268366-more-children-killed-as-war-on-gaza-continues-05-jan-08
Norweigian MD says he has only treated ONE Hamas military among the other hundreds of injured and dead.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/the-holocaust-of-gaza-part-one-/3978540845/?icid=VIDURVNWS02
The Holocaust of Gaza (Part One)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHjJAS9L8iE
Gaza Holocaust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=028fbRTpxaY
Gaza Holocaust, same name, different clip
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/israel-attacks-on-gaza-dec-27-2008-first-images-cnn-report/2305843012760637851/?icid=VIDURVNWS01
Israel Attacks First Images
http://uk.truveo.com/Raw-Israel-steps-up-its-strikes-on-Gaza/id/1194450857
One Man's Grief
http://palestinevideo.blogspot.com/2009/01/latest-from-gaza-1609-from-democracy.html
Parts 1 and 2. In depth 21-mnute investigative report by Amy Goodman. So, you claim she is a racist? Same old bull.
nm
I didn't claim exclusivity
Jesus did, so take that up with him.
By the way, did you know Muslims deny that Jesus is the Son of God, which is denying the divinity of Christ, which is thus denying Him? Many people try to fit Jesus into their view, to make him "socially acceptable" because they can't stand the fact that He expects them to live up to more than they can ever do on their own. No one wants to be accountable for their actions, and that's why they deny Him.
Jesus said "deny me before men and I will deny you before the Father." Obama is DENYING Jesus when he wants to hide His symbols when he speaks and when he dismisses prayer, which is one of the most powerful tools Christians have.
I don't want to be in your bedrooms, and I don't expect you to show up this weekend to church in your Sunday best. I want to live in a world where the creator is honored, not spat upon, and where morals still mean something.
I don't give one hoot about Republicans. All politicians are crooks to me, so that holds no water.
Once again, Christians did not claim to have the exclusive key to heaven, Jesus said He did. So you can twist it anyway you want, but in the end you have to take it up with Him. However, He told us to "go and tell" and that is what I will do. If you don't like me for it, that's fine with me, this life isn't a popularity contest. I'm tired of the "Christian-lite" that has been going around, offering the cure without telling you the disease. The disease is that you, me and everyone else are sinners, we have broken the laws of God, and have condemned OURSELVES to h.e.l.l. by doing so. The cure is Jesus, who basically said "if you will accept my sacrifice on the cross, follow me and try to live as I did, it will be sufficient to cover your sins." THATS IT! Everything else is extra. Going to church functions, even being baptized, is all EXTRA. The sacrifice of Christ is the one thing in this world that defies the "too good to be true" statement. We didn't deserve it, but out of love for us He did it. He went to the pits of h.e.l.l. and back for us and all He asks is that you tell others about it and try to live as He did. Why is that such a bad thing?
Claim: US Created al-Zarqawi Myth Claim: US Created al-Zarqawi Myth By Jennifer Schultz UPI
Thursday 10 November 2005
The myth of al-Zarqawi, Napoleoni believes, helped usher in al-Qaida's transformation from a small elitist vanguard to a mass movement.
The myth of al-Zarqawi, Napoleoni believes, helped usher in al-Qaida's transformation from a small elitist vanguard to a mass movement. (Photo: spacewar.com)
The United States created the myth around Iraq insurgency leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and reality followed, terrorism expert Loretta Napoleoni said.
Al-Zarqawi was born Ahmad Fadil al-Khalayleh in October 1966 in the crime and poverty-ridden Jordanian city of Zarqa. But his myth was born Feb. 5, 2003, when then-Secretary of State Colin Powell presented to the United Nations the case for war with Iraq.
Napoleoni, the author of Insurgent Iraq, told reporters last week that Powell's argument falsely exploited Zarqawi to prove a link between then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. She said that through fabrications of Zarqawi's status, influence and connections the myth became the reality - a self-fulfilling prophecy.
He became what we wanted him to be. We put him there, not the jihadists, Napoleoni said.
Iraq's most notorious insurgent, Napoleoni argues, accomplished what bin Laden could not: spread the message of jihad into Iraq.
In an article of Napoleoni's in the current November/December issue of Foreign Policy, she said, In a sense, it is the very things that make Zarqawi seem most ordinary - his humble upbringing, misspent youth and early failures - that make him most frightening. Because, although he may have some gifts as a leader of men, it is also likely that there are many more 'al-Zarqawis' capable of filling his place.
The myth of al-Zarqawi, Napoleoni believes, helped usher in al-Qaida's transformation from a small elitist vanguard to a mass movement.
Al-Zarqawi became the icon of a new generation of anti-imperialist jihadists, she said.
The grand claim that al-Zarqawi provided the vital link between Saddam and al-Qaida lost its significance after it became known that al-Zarqawi and bin Laden did not forge a partnership until after the war's start. The two are believed to have met sometime in 2000, but al-Zarqawi - similar to a group of dissenting al-Qaida members -rebuffed bin Laden's anti-American brand of jihad.
He did not have a global vision like Osama, said Napoleoni, who interviewed primary and secondary sources close to al-Zarqawi and his network.
A former member of al-Zarqawi's camp in Herat told her, I never heard him praise anyone apart from the Prophet [Muhammad]; this was Abu Musab's character. He never followed anyone.
Al-Zarqawi's scope before the Iraq war, she continued, did not extend past corrupt Arab regimes, particularly Jordan's. Between 2000 and early 2002, he operated the training camp in Herat with Taliban funds; the fighters bound for Jordan. After the fall of the Taliban, he fled to Iraqi Kurdistan and set up shop.
In 2001, Kurdish officials enlightened the United States about the uninvited Jordanian, said Napoleoni. Jordanian officials, who had still unsolved terrorist attacks, were eager to implicate al-Zarqawi, she claimed. The little-known militant instantly had fingerprints on most major terrorist attacks after Sept. 11, 2001. He was depicted in Powell's speech as a key player in the al-Qaida network.
By perpetuating a terrifying myth of al-Zarqawi, the author said, The United States, Kurds, and Jordanians all won ... but jihad gained momentum, after in-group dissension and U.S. coalition operations had left the core of al-Qaida crippled.
In her article, Napoleoni says, [Zarqawi] had finally managed to grasp bin Laden's definition of the faraway enemy, the United States. Adding that, Its presence in Iraq as an occupying power made it clear to him that the United States was as important a target as any of the Arab regimes he had grown to hate.
... The myth constructed around him is at the root of his transformation into a political leader. With bin Laden trapped somewhere in Afghanistan and Pakistan, al-Zarqawi fast became the new symbolic leader in the fight against America and a manager for whoever was looking to be part of that struggle, she wrote.
The author points to letters between al-Zarqawi and bin Laden that have surfaced over the past two years, indicating the evolution in their relationship, most notably a shift in al-Zarqawi which led to his seeking additional legitimacy among Sunnis that bin Laden could help bestow.
In late December 2004 - shortly after the fall of Fallujah - the pan-Arab network Al-Jazeera aired a video of what was bin Laden's first public embrace of Zarqawi and his fight in Iraq.
... We in al-Qaida welcome your union with us ... and so that it be known, the brother mujahid Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is the emir of the al Qaida organization [in Iraq], bin Laden declared.
Napoleoni believes that al-Zarqawi, however, is still largely driven by the romantic vision of a restored Caliphate, and that his motives still are less political than some other factions participating in the Iraq resistance.
She questions whether he has actually devised a plan for what he will do, if and when, he wins.
JERUSALEM – Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim of Kenyan origins who studied in Islamic schools and whose campaign may have been financed by people in the Islamic and African worlds, Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi said during a recent televised national rally.
"There are elections in America now. Along came a black citizen of Kenyan African origins, a Muslim, who had studied in an Islamic school in Indonesia. His name is Obama," said Gadhafi in little-noticed remarks he made at a rally marking the anniversary of the 1986 U.S. air raid on his country.
The remarks, translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, MEMRI, were aired on AL Jazeera in June.
"All the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man," continued Gadhafi. "They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the American presidency.
"We are hoping that this black man will take pride in his African and Islamic identity, and in his faith, and that [he will know] that he has rights in America, and that he will change America from evil to good, and that America will establish relations that will serve it well with other peoples, especially the Arabs," Gadhafi said.
(Story continues below)
Gadhafi went on to lament statements Obama made at a June 4 address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in which the presidential candidate stated if he is elected president, "Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided."
But it seems Gadhafi was not aware that the next day, during a CNN appearance, Obama explained he meant Jerusalem shouldn't be physically divided with a partition and was not referring to the city remaining in exclusively Jewish hands.
Stated Gadhafi: "But we were taken by surprise when our African Kenyan brother [Obama], who is an American national, made statements (about Jerusalem) that shocked all his supporters in the Arab world, in Africa, and in the Islamic world.
"We hope that this is merely an elections 'clearance sale,' as they say in Egypt - in other words, merely an elections lie. As you know, this is the farce of elections - a person lies and lies to people, just so that they will vote for him, and afterwards, when they say to him, 'You promised this and that,' he says: 'No, this was just elections propaganda.' This is the farce of democracy for you. He says: 'This was propaganda, and you thought I was being serious. I was fooling you to get your votes.'
"Allah willing, it will turn out that this was merely elections propaganda. Obama said he would turn Jerusalem into the eternal capital of the Israelis. This indicates that our brother Obama is ignorant of international politics, and is not familiar with the Middle East conflict," Gadhafi said.
Gadhafi went on to express his hope if elected Obama will implement a "one state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meaning Israel would be flooded with millions of Palestinian Arabs who would terminate the country's Jewish nationality.
He said he was worried Obama may have a "black inferiority complex" whereby he may enact "white men" policies to prove he is no different from "white" America.
"The thing we fear most is that the black man suffers from an inferiority complex. This is dangerous. If our brother Obama feels that because he is black he doesn't have the right to rule America, this would be a disaster, because such a feeling would make him act whiter than the white, and go to an extreme in his persecution and degradation of the blacks.
"We say to him: Brother, the whites and blacks in America are equal. They are all immigrants. America belongs neither to the whites nor to the blacks. America belongs to its original inhabitants, the Indians. Both the whites and the blacks immigrated to America, and so they are equal, and Obama has the right to hold his head high, and say: 'I am a partner in America. This is my land as much as it is yours. If it is not my land, it is not yours either. It is the land of the Indians. You are immigrants, and so are we.'"
Obama was 'quite religious in Islam'
Obama repeatedly has denied he is a Muslim. His campaign site states: "Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian."
But as WND has reported, public records in Indonesia listed Obama as a Muslim during his early years, and a number of childhood friends claimed to the media Obama was once a mosque-attending Muslim.
Obama's campaign several times has wavered in response to reporters queries regarding the senator's childhood faith.
Commenting on a recent Los Angeles Times report quoting a childhood friend stating Obama prayed in a mosque "something the presidential candidate said he never did," Obama's campaign released a statement explaining the senator "has never been a practicing Muslim."
Widely distributed reports have noted that in January 1968, Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. He was listed as an Indonesian citizen whose stepfather, listed on school documents as "L Soetoro Ma," worked for the topography department of the Indonesian Army.
Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students but exempt them from studying religion. Obama's school documents, though, wrongly list him as being Indonesian.
After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled "also as a Muslim, according to documents" in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta.
Laotze blog, run by an American expatriate in Southeast Asia who visited the Besuki school, noted: "All Indonesian students are required to study religion at school, and a young 'Barry Soetoro,' being a Muslim, would have been required to study Islam daily in school. He would have been taught to read and write Arabic, to recite his prayers properly, to read and recite from the Quran and to study the laws of Islam."
Indeed, in Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," he acknowledged studying the Quran and describes the public school as "a Muslim school."
"In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies," wrote Obama.
The Indonesian media have been flooded with accounts of Obama's childhood Islamic studies, some describing him as a religious Muslim.
Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.
"At that time, I was not Barry's teacher, but he is still in my memory" claimed Tine, who is 80 years old.
The Kaltim Post said Obama's teacher, named Hendri, died.
"I remember that he studied 'mengaji (recitation of the Quran)," Tine said, according to an English translation by Loatze.
Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study.
Also, Loatze documented the Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post interviewed Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who described Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."
"We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny," Amir said.
The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque, something Obama's campaign claimed he never did.
"We prayed, but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played," said Adi.
Friday prayers
Aside from a new website to fight purported smears, Obama's official campaign site has a page titled "Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian." The page states, "Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ."
But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a "practicing Muslim" clarification to the Los Angeles Times.
An article in March by the Chicago Tribune apparently disputes Adi's statements to the L.A. paper. The Tribune caught up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama.
But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.
"Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia," states the Tribune article.
It quotes the presidential candidate's former neighbors and third-grade teacher recalling Obama "occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers."
Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, notes the Tribune article "cited by liberal blogs as refuting claims Obama is Muslim" actually implies Obama was an irregularly practicing Muslim and twice confirms Obama attended mosque services.
In a free-ranging interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as "one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset."
The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, "with a first-class [Arabic] accent," the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.
The first few lines of the call to prayer state:
Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme! I witness that there is no god but Allah I witness that there is no god but Allah I witness that Muhammad is his prophet ...
Some attention also has been paid to Obama's paternal side of the family, including his father and his brother, Roy.
Writing in a chapter of his book describing his 1992 wedding, the presidential candidate stated: "The person who made me proudest of all was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol."
Still, Obama says he was raised by his Christian mother and repeatedly has labeled as "smears" several reports attempting to paint him as a Muslim.
"Let's make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I pledge allegiance [to the American flag] and lead the Pledge of Allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I'm presiding," he told the Times of London earlier this year.
You Repubs are really embarrassing yourselves with your childish behavior. It is so, so sad to see SORE LOSERS!!! Please, grow up and GET BEHIND OUR PRESIDENT!
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