This is a real American tragedy. We all know that the VA confirmed that 18 veterans a day attempt suicide each day.
Conti said he didn't find any of the poor mental health care and other deep-rooted problems that the veterans alleged in their lawsuit.
How can this be?
We should all be outraged. This is a serious affront to the troops who are expected to make the ultimate sacrfice for their country, when Congress can't even be expected to fully fund a mandate.
I know a lot of us are still reeling over Obama's decision to come out and support the FISA compromise. Some of us have come out and declared that they would no longer donate money, volunteer, or work their hardest for Obama. What a shame.
The fact is, Obama has reiterated that he would not be a perfect candidate or President, but he would always be honest with us.
In the Boumedienne v. Bushdecision released about an hour ago, the Supreme Court asserted in a 5-4 decision that terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to petition civilian courts to release them.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court found parts of the Military Commission Act of 2006 unconstitutional-- which barred terrorism suspects from asserting the right of Habeas Corpus.
And who dissented? Chief Justice Roberts, along with Justices Scalia, Alito and Thomas.
Throughout this primary season, we have to be honest: Clinton supporters did not find much safe haven in the netroots. So many found respite in Taylor Marsh's blog. And while a lot of us aren't willing to forgive Taylor Marsh, she's at least willing to fight tooth and nail to get Obama in the White House. And I'm glad she is coming around.
However, those who frequented her website threatened that if Taylor supports Obama, they would abandon her website and make sure she doesn't get a radio show through letter-writing campaigns. They're a loyal bunch, aren't they? They're bullying the one who provided a sanctuary throughout the primary season. And true to their word, they've followed through.
So we need to do something about it. Help Taylor Marsh. Visit her website. Comment. Donate a couple bucks to her. Let's welcome her aboard the O-train and show her what we're all about, and let's send a message that bullying tactics aren't going to work.
I know this is short, but I just wanted to share this beautiful segment on what Obama's achievement means to the African American community.
The most striking moment for me was when it was mentioned that AA's have someone to look up to besides athletes and rap stars. There are so many young people out in the cities who think that their only shot at a good life lies in the chance occurance of becoming famous as entertainers.
"We are winning in Iraq," John McCain proclaimed to cheering crowd.
But it looks like the rest of America doesn't quite agree. According to a poll released by George Washington University, 56% of Americans believe that the war is not worth fighting for. A Gallup poll finds that 63% of Americans think that the war was a mistake.
But that won't stop John McCain from being George Bush's cheerleader for the war in Iraq. In fact, both are trying to convince us that withdrawing our troops is akin to surrendering. This imagery is so emotionally powerful because, well, no one likes to lose. But what are we losing?
Clintonistas have recently taken to comparing the Obama-Clinton campaign to a sort of hiring process, whereby the most qualified candidate in their minds, Hillary Clinton, has lost out on the promotion because of her gender.
Let's say for argument's sake, that it is appropriate to describe the election as a competition where Ms. (or Mr.) American Electorate, the CEO of the United States of America, has to choose the new manager of the firm. Senator Clinton and Senator Obama both want to be considered for the promotion, but Ms. American Electorate is pretty sure that he/she is going to hire Sen. Clinton. But, because the company policy requires that the candidates sit down for an interview (the campaign process), Ms. American Electorate has to go through the formality.
Barack Obama shows up for the interview, and Ms. American Electorate is surprisingly very, very impressed. He is well prepared, knowledgeable, and has demonstrated that he has the skills for the job. Ms. American Electorate is second guessing her previous decision to give Sen. Clinton the job and decides to see what Sen. Clinton has to say.
I'd like to reflect a little about my personal journey into this campaign... today was a little tough on me after hearing Clinton's remarks. But this is where it's helpful to remember: never in a million years did I imagine that Barack Obama could ever be president in 2008.
I remember when I first saw Barack Obama. I was 16 years old then, watching his convention speech with my Speech and Debate coach, Mrs. Howerton (trust me, it's not as "elitist" as it sounds).
By the end of his speech, I was choking back tears. Coming of age during the Bush presidency, 9/11, Iraq-- I had never been so moved about politics in my entire life.
I recognized him when he was on the cover of Time Magazine before the 2006 midterm elections. I was excited when he released his book... I wondered if it was possible that he would run for president.
It's 3:10am, I'm studying for a final I have tomorrow, but this is too important to let go. Like many of you, I have been pretty upset with the way Hillary Clinton and her surrogates are beginning to argue that she's behind in the democratic nomination because of entrenched sexism.
First of all, I don't think it's quite true, and secondly-- Clinton's surrogates and her supporters have made women feel that if we didn't vote for her, we're somehow against feminism.
What really ticked me off was watching Ferraro on the Today show with the most ridiculous assertion:
Ferraro accuses Obama of trying to act like a comedian. Sadly, the only comedian I see is Ferraro making an ass of herself on national television (again).
In a photo caption of Clinton shown in a yahoo news article:
Democratic presidential hopeful New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton(R) talks with her campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe as they board her charter plane in Washington, DC on her way to Charleston, West Virginia.
The November election can very much be considered as a referedum on the Bush years; I believe that voting for the change candidate in Barack Obama is a repudiation of Bush policies. A WaPo article illustrates just what, in fact, the American people will decide to either accept or repudiate:
As Tighter Immigration Policies Strain Federal Agencies, The Detainees in Their Care Often Pay a Heavy Cost Yusif Osman was a U.S. legal resident from Ghana and had been living in Los Angeles for five years. After a companion carrying false ID landed him in immigration detention, Osman was facing deportation on smuggling charges, an allegation he denied. While at an immigration detention center outside San Diego, he died suddenly. His story highlights the poor care some immigrants have received in the scores of immigration facilities across the United States.
He died of a heart attack because of a clerical error.
This is only one symptom of the post-9/11 world Bush has lead us to.
While voters in the California Democratic Presidential Primary backed Clinton by a 10-point margin, a new SurveyUSA poll shows that if given the chance to vote again, Californians would choose Barack Obama by a 6-point margin, 49%-43%.
Senator Clinton has her fair share of supporters, and we are delusional if we think Obama doesn't need them in November. That said, a big reason why Clinton supporters feel that they cannot support Obama is because of:
Electability. They believe he absolutely cannot win against McCain.
Electability is a hypothetical, intangible marker that cannot be accurately measured. Daily tracking polls, anecdotal goodies, and polls conducted six months before elections are not accurate indicators of electibility. To somehow demonstrate the concept of electibility, one must simply be able to prove that they can win elections. In the end, of course, the ability to win is what electability is all about.
Clinton supporters have constantly maintained that Obama is not electable, and firmly believe he cannot win the general election and use this to justify supporting Clinton. But again, since elections are the best way to measure electability, Obama has won more contests than Senator Clinton. He demonstrates an ability to win where Clinton does not.
Obama has not played the expectations game well, and his new Indiana superdelegate Joe Andrew didn't help by going on Fox News and saying that Obama was going to win both North Carolina and Indiana.
On Tuesday night, when Indiana breaks for Clinton, imagine all of the news networks proclaiming how big of a loss this was for Obama. Imagine the punditocracy saying that Hillary has the momentum.
Yeah, I know: he's a Republican. But he has been the most honest and upfront out of the Republican candidates for president. He has also garnered a lot of enthusiasm from young people, and his principled dedication to upholding the constitution is admirable.
That's right. The number of Reverend Wright diaries throughout the weekend shows that we're getting caught up in the distraction. And that's exactly what manufactured controversies are meant to do. The only thing we've learned is that, yes-- Obama can be swifted boated into oblivion, too. Great, but we all know that no one is completely perfect. If this week took the "shine" off of Obama for you:
While we're here, lamenting how terrible all of this is for Senator Obama, Clinton and McCain are making a killing (in the polls). I'm sure like many of you, I signed on to Barack Obama's campaign last year with hope of changing the way business is handled in Washington.
If there was any doubt that Clinton hasn't learned a thing from alienating natural allies in the healthcare debacle, I hope this settles it. As Newsweek reports, if Hillary gets the nomination, she will seek revenge from those that defected from her campaign.
Notables who abandoned her for Obama will get the Big Chill. "He's dead to us," a Clinton aide was quoted saying of John Kerry, who along with Ted Kennedy was turned off by the perception of race baiting that led up to the South Carolina primary. A major donor, conflicted between the two candidates and apologetic over his backing of Obama, found Hillary less than sympathetic. "Too bad for you, because I'm going to win," she snapped.
