Jack & Jill Politics

Thank you for the picture of Paul Robeson---- he was the MAN!

1200 people showed up to volunteer at Barack's opening of his Colorado offices

I have read Robeson's biography several times - a TREMENDOUS man, despite all of his flaws.

Twins born in Germany....one black and one white.

Just in time for Barack's visit!

LOL

Oh my, Sheila Jackson was just on a clip and her hair looked like she just rolled out of bed!

Truth: The visual is HILARIOUS! :>) Come to think of it, on 7/16, billary showed up in the Senate with her new "hair-do". It was -JACKED!! Someone noted that it was now parted on the "RIGHT"! That's where she got her political start as a Rethug- "Goldwater Girl". I'm going searching for a video, if it exists.

Note To Myself: I found it! There are a series of historical pictures of billary's coiffs(sp). :>)
www.nydailynews.com/news/gallaries/hillary_play....

Praying for the hook-up! :>) :>)

It was said tha that one moved. Lawd. Try this one.
www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/07/16/20...

LOL

Just the description cracks me up.

I just raised this issue this morning, and "looky here! looky here!! :>) :>) BUT, I KNOW that the "Kiss my A$$" action was NOT the motivation! Maybe he was put in check by a "YA BETTER GET TA STEPPIN' ON IT" mosquito!!

www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/17/clinton-says-...

Lawd help me get this site correct! :>) :>)

While i understand the motivation behind posting Robeson's picture, the fact remains he was an apologist for one of the worst mass murderers in history. That outweighs whatever accomplishments he made on stage.

Could you go into further detail?

LYAO Alert:

Did anyone else see the video of the little girl, a Little League Player, who ran screaming off the field rather than meet Bush?

hilarious.

ok. I saw it this morning on Morning Joe....that was pure comedy!

rikyrah,

Ok...IF there is a video, please please post

for the whole article go to www.washingpost.com, over 200 journalists have requested to go on this trip with Obama, but, obviously they all can't be accommodated...........and by the way can someone tell me how to put a link to an article in my messages. I have tried yet still can't seem to get it done. Also, how can I bold words?

thanks!
Angela

3 Anchors to Follow Obama's Trek Abroad

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 17, 2008; Page C02

The three network anchors will travel to Europe and the Middle East next week for Barack Obama's trip, adding their high-wattage spotlight to what is already shaping up as a major media extravaganza.

Lured by an offer of interviews with the Democratic presidential candidate, Brian Williams, Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric will make the overseas trek, meaning that the NBC, ABC and CBS evening newscasts will originate from stops along the route and undoubtedly give it big play.

John McCain has taken three foreign trips in the past four months, all unaccompanied by a single network anchor.

Angela,

You need to use the following html tags:

bold = < b > your text < / b >
italics = < i > your text < / i >
indent = < blockquote > your text < / blockquote >
link = < a href =http://www.yourlink.com> your text < / a href >

I put spaces within the brackets so that the tags would show without being activated. Be sure to remove these spaces (except one space in "a href") when using them.

Hope this helps!

Let me give an example....I am www.washingtonpost.com and see and article I
would like to link to jjp.....how do I link that particular article?

Angela1, you would type this in where you wanted the link to show -- But without the spaces (except leave the one between a and href at the beginning).

< a href = "www.washingtonpost.com" > Look at this article in the Washington Post! < / a >

The web address you would actually use would be the one that is in your address bar when you are looking at the actual article (just copy and paste it is usually easiest).

Without the spaces it would look like this:

Look at this article in the Washington Post!

Let's see if this works. The code I use doesn't have that last href in there that taritac uses, but it seems to work the same.

Ok, that didn't work, I forgot to do the http:// before the www.

So the link doesn't go anywhere, let me try again:

1. Here is the generic link code with added spaces so you can see it:

<a href = "full address including http:// if it's in the address bar" > Text to be displayed as the link < /a>

2. What you would type in for your washingtonpost example, also with extra spaces so you can see it:

Look at this Washington post article < /a >

3. Removing the spaces (as you should) except for the space between the a and href, this is what it would look like on the page:


Look at this Washington post article

LOL! I give up!

I can't do this over the internet apparently. Someone else should be able to, though.

Sorry to sound so stupid, but, can you give me an example...i.e what is
"your text". For example I see articles I would like to link to jjp but I
just haven't figured out how to do that. I appreciate your tips, but, I am
not tech savvy and I still don't know what you mean.

Angela

"Your text" is the stuff you want people to see. The text that is in between the brackets is not visible, including long URLs (web addresses).

It seems like you are asking how to link to a particular article instead of just the main page of the Washington Post (or wherever). To do this:

1) Go to the article you want to link to, and copy the address in the browser's address bar (highlight the whole address/URL, right click on it, select "copy").

2) Then, go to the comment you are writing.

3) Type the necessary tags and paste the URL you copied into the tag

4) Then type the text you want to be visible to other readers.

So if you want to link to the article about AKAs march in DC, you would type in the comment box (without the spaces except in "a href"):

< a href = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...> Sorority Leads March for Change < / a href >

In this case, "your text" is Sorority Leads March for Change. The URL beginning with "http:// . . . " is what is copied from the browser on the article you want linked and pasted.

The link would look like this:
Sorority Leads March for Change

John McCain is boring. Barack Obama is exciting.

No matter who you support, you cannot deny it.

Yes, McCain is better than a sleeping pill. No medical side affects!

craig: TRU DAT!!!!!

simply put...and quite funny

You ever wonder about how some people can post the drivel they supossedly believe in.A Grim Fairy Tale: The Trolls Under the Bridge
http://www.johnmccain.com/ActionCenter/BlogInte...

I was just talking about that last night!

John McCain and his people are so incredibly clueless about how blogs actually work that they are openly/publicly calling on supporters to be ... Trolls! And get points for reporting the details of the trolling.

It was funny when I first say something on dailykos about it some time ago, and it's still funny now.

Total and complete cluelessness. Amazing that t's still up, that no one has clued them in to the fact that openly asking people to troll for the candidate on other blogs (and get points for it!) isn't the way to do the internet.

This is what it looks like to me: not only does McCain, by his own admission, not know how to "use computers" -- but he also apparently doesn't know how to compensate for that ignorance by hiring people who get it. I wonder if this is just an internet thing or if it extends to his whole campaign. Does he know how to compensate for his many weaknesses or is he hiring people who basically echo them?

In any case, it amazes me that this guy is a serious contender for any leadership position, let alone the one he's running for. I

He's a complete idiot.

That's all.

What a hypocrite
McCain Gets Social Security Benefits But Calls Current System A "Disgrace"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/17/mccain...

are those the government check that he gets tax free?

one of his government checks is non-taxable.

California Women's Conference 2008

hosted by First Lady Maria Shriver

Lineup for this year-

Christiane Amanpour
Lance Armstrong
Cherie Blair
Bono
Warren Buffet
Sister Joan Chittister
Marian Wright Edelman
Sally Field
Michael J. Fox
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Caroline Kennedy
Heidi Klum
Jack Kornfield
Jennifer Lopez
Chris Matthews
Jenny McCarthy
Indra Nooyi
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Russell Simmons
Gloria Steinem

This is such a great event and I'm grateful that I get to go every year. Can't wait to hear the tone this year with regard to the election

Texas: THANKS for REPRESENTIN'!! :>) :>) :>) You will collect information that will light up the blogosphere!! YAAAAAAA! :>) :>)

Bperiod, I wonder if that author ever wrote about Bush's Saudi friends, their link to 9-11 or even the Bush family working with Nazis? Something tells me no.

Two weird even for the Wire
.How black Baltimore drug dealers are
using white supremacist legal
theories to confound the Feds.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/...

thanks for posting this. that was CRAZY. and it worked...to a certain degree, cause they won't be on death row. wow.

Not sure if y'all have seen this...but...WOW:
http://www.irontontribune.com/articles/2008/07/...


Public shouldn’t fall for Obama’s rhetoric
Wednesday, July 16, 2008 11:36 AM EDT
The political correctness thought police won’t tolerate what you’re about to read.

I’m throwing the “bogus” flag upon the presidential bid of Marxist-Socialist turned Democrat Senator from Illinois, Barack Hussein Obama.

Somewhere around 75 or so years ago, from out of nowhere a stealth politician arose.

He too sought the nomination for his nation’s highest office; refreshingly different from other politicians of the era. This Austrian born wallpaper hanger’s background is too much like our Illinois lawyer’s. Both reared in single parent households; neither brought much of a resume on the campaign trail. The one hung wallpaper the other hung “present” votes. Neither has an authentic performance record for which the electorate might judge the candidate.

Our lawyer turned Senator keeps some odd company — maybe we should pay more attention to the “community” Mr. Obama keeps as a “Community Activist.” Because the company the paper hanger kept, unfortunately, wasn’t important to the inspired masses of three-quarters of a century ago. This clean and articulate new politician was active in a community of Marx inspired Socialists.

The paper hanger, just as the lawyer, delivered wonderful, inspirational public speeches. Both spoke of the “change” and “hope” their election might bring if people would “believe in” their country. Steeped in a similar class warfare rhetoric; their speeches emphasize the rich were keeping the poor people down.

Meanwhile, energy prices were raging out of control. If the streetcar was late, you’d miss a bank deposit; so now you’ll get more warmth from burning your wheelbarrow full of bank notes than from the coal you’d purchase by the bill’s face value. “Change” would improve the transportation infrastructure.

And in both cases “change” means free health care for everyone, increased equal rights, a retirement income, guaranteed wages, unemployment benefits, free child care, and more gun control. Trains and streetcars would run on time only if their party was elected. The list went on and on. The candidate gave people “hope.” It was the kind of “change” people might “believe in.”

Unfortunately, for both cases, the mass media is mesmerized by the candidate’s rhetoric and oratory style, instead of questioning the unknown candidate’s background extensively.

Without a track record to judge the man by, people simply fall for the rhetoric. The German people had to “believe.” They wanted “change.” And through “hope,” they only had to “believe” what Adolph Hitler and the Nazis said; without questioning what Hitler and his Marxist-Socialists pals had really designed behind the scenes.

Certainly, it was “change.” Did Germany “believe” this might happen? Was this the kind of “change” everybody would “hope” for and “believe in?” These are “just words,” as Senator Obama says. Relativism, whatever anyone wants the “words” to mean.

According to a Daniel Flynn expose titled Obama’s Boys of Summer, (http://www.city-journal.org/2008/eon0629df.html) the lawyer’s community is the Who’s Who of the 1968 Democratic Convention Marxist-Socialist inspired Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground movements.

Michael Klonsky, Carl Davidson, Bob Pardun, Paul Buhle, Tom Hayden, Todd Gitlin, plus Mickey and Dick Flacks. Yes, we ought to know more about this “community” of Marx inspired Socialists our lawyer Barry is “active” in.

The Nazis always knew what their version of Adolph’s “words” meant to them. To the public these “words” were vague platitudes which could be interpreted in any feel good way. Nobody cared to ask what Mr. Hitler’s “words” meant. And too little was known about the National Socialist community he actively kept.

Later, in the spirit of “fairness,” the opposition press was silenced. Guns were controlled, religion was suppressed; and the world again experienced what a Marxist-Socialist actually means by “change.”

Joseph Benning is a U.S. veteran who is originally from Illinois but now calls Lawrence County home. He and his wife have an agribusiness in Lawrence Township. Benning can be reached at Whisperer45645@yahoo.com.

well hi there troll person. Is this a paid gig or just for fun? Don't bother answering. I don't actually care.

You need to go take your meds

did y'all see this latest mess:

T-Shirt Wearer Beaten Up By Teens Wants to Sue Designer
http://www.livesteez.com/news/news_detail/934

Are you fucking kidding me?????????? I'm laughing my ass off that the teens beat that fool up, good!

I broke down the idiocy of Dowd's column over at my spot. http://ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com/2008/07/...

It's amazing how much more comfortable white people are with black people who smile a lot. If they don't see teeth, something must be wrong with us.

I keep a portrait of Mr. Robeson in my office. It helps me remember that no matter how beaten up you can get by folks you can and must maintain your dignity.

This piece features a Meet the Press transcript from 2001 that shows how both LIEberman and McCain conceded that bin Laden should be caught and Afghanistan should be settled BEFORE starting a war in Iraq.

Well, well, well.

The Dangerous One is caught again.

The Huge McCain Blunder No one Knows About... Yet

Time's Tumulty nails NYTimes

http://www.time-blog.com/swampland/2008/07/obam...

From the Columbia Journalism Review:

Another day, another shockingly dumb column by Maureen Dowd in The New York Times.

Dowd starts out by complaining that Obama had an “icy reaction” to the infamous New Yorker cover. “If Obama keeps being stingy with his quips and smiles,” she writes, “and if the dominant perception of him is that you can’t make jokes about him, it might infect his campaign with an airless quality.”

First of all, Dowd shows not even the slightest recognition that if “the dominant perception” of Obama becomes that you can’t make jokes about him, it’ll likely be thanks in part to Maureen Dowd.

The only evidence presented in the column that Obama has been “stingy with his quips and smiles,” by the way, is that he didn’t laugh at a drawing depicting him as a Muslim supporter of Bin Laden and his wife as a gun-toting Black Panther. Meanwhile, John McCain, who once reportedly called his wife a “cunt” after she joshed him, in front of reporters, about going bald, strikes Dowd as “a guy who can be teased harmlessly.”

But Dowd has another concern about Obama. He’s “in danger of seeming too prissy about food.”

In reality, it would be more accurate to say that he already seems this way…to Maureen Dowd. During the primaries, Dowd began to sense that Obama might not be a big fan of junk food. Since then, she has elevated this observation to the status of a brilliant character-revealing aperçu. She has mined every available piece of evidence in a dogged campaign to turn Obama’s eating habits into a proxy for his alleged inability to relate to those white working-class Americans for whom, from her Georgetown townhouse, she claims to speak.

In last week’s column, titled “No Ice Cream, Senator?”, she criticized his “finicky, abstemious tastes,” and highlighted the fact that his daughter had revealed he doesn’t like sweets or ice cream.

In April, she noted that, after Obama “force-fed” himself waffles, pancakes, sausage, and a Philly cheese steak, he was “clearly a man who can’t wait to get back to his organic scrambled egg whites.”

The previous week, she had described him as “resisting as the natives tried to fatten him up like a foie-gras goose.”

And two weeks before that, she had revealed to readers that, at a Pennsylvania chocolate shop, Obama “spent most of his time skittering away from chocolate goodies, as though he were a starlet obsessing on a svelte waistline,” and that he declined a chocolate cake with frosting, saying “that’s too decadent for me.”

Is it just me, or is there something a bit sad about using your New York Times column to pay this level of attention to a candidate’s eating habits?

Dowd concludes today’s column with perhaps her most revealing observation: “If Obama gets elected and there is nothing funny about him, it won’t be the economy that’s depressed. It’ll be the rest of us.”

Really? It’s definitely true that a president who’s hard to make fun of would make Maureen Dowd’s life more difficult—which is what seems to be the concern here. Still, most Americans don’t write shallow political commentary for a living. And, call me crazy, but I kind of think that after eight disastrous years under a president who got into office in part because he seemed like an easy-going guy, they’d settle for a president who was, you know, good at being president.


CJR

How dare Barack not subsist on a diet of Popeye's, Funyuns, and orange soda.

Sounds like my diet, especially if you substitute Utz potato chips for the Funyuns.

So let me get this straight:

$5+ gas prices, job losses, mounting casualties, the dollar falling faster than hair in the humidity, rampant foreclosures, inflation, etc. won't depress us as much as Barack Obama not chowing down on Cheetos and Lil Debbie will.

Ok.

Town: RUBBER BAND BRAIN!!!! SEE I told you! ????????? :>)

I liked this diary:

"But if I vote for Obama, I don't know what will happen!"

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/16/21043/0...

DailyKos really went after the NYTimes for their ' race' headlines (from the poll)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/16/6223/05...

Terrific piece on Atlanta and its contradictions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ar...

Similar to Cobb, my father was born in Atlanta; moved to California for opportunity and less racism; only for his only son to relocate to Atlanta 50 years later.

While I love Atlanta, I was hoping for unprecedented Black influence in business and politics. But it seems that for many transplanted Black folks, it's been more about the mini-mansion and the Benz rather than control of destiny.

I'm hopeful that a President Obama can inspire a new generation of Black and Brown Atlantans who are willing to forsake the short-term status of a luxury car, in exchange for acquiring that piece of the rock we've always deserved.

Preach.

FiveThirtyEight.com does the electoral map

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/07/538-batt...

Found this in BPOTW - Jamal Watson:
http://blackpoliticsontheweb.com/2008/07/14/con....
Somehow I'll bet that I could have done this in a shorter manner. :>) This 'learning curve' is mother! :>)

Folks are yawning through McCain's warmongering speech. They're standing up and applauding as well.

But he's a one-note politician.

"We have succeded in Iraq."

Okay, then let's move on.

"But that success is fragile and if we retreat the way Senator Obama wants us to, we won't win."

Huh?

"I've put my country first throughout my entire life."

No, you haven'.t

Anybody who can get Governor Patterson's clip off MSNBC and post it needs to.

Amongst other good remarks, he ended with something like, "Everytime I look up, somebody is trying to get attention off the back of Barack Obama."

He mentioned Michelle as a great wife and professional success story and had his own visceral take on the New Yorker cover.

Good stuff.

I don't know how, but I'll pass the request on.

I guess that Mr. Obama has not YET done the "Kiss my A$$" thing, soooo bill has turned his attention to fighting malaria-infested mosquitos?????? That'll show'im! :>)
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/17/bill-clintons...

I hope this works. I keep practicing er'ryday! :>)

Good. The further he is away from reporters the better I like it.

YEP!!! Additionally, he has shown his "erstwhile arse" and his jealousy by NOT campaigning. AND-MOST IMPORTANTLY - bill has "DISSED" billary - ONE MO' 'GAIN! And there is NO WOMAN involved! Big time DISS - on all fronts!! You go bill!

I've noticed an irritating meme spreading through the MSM about John McCain "deserving credit" just for showing up at the NAACP yesterday. If I may be so droll, my response to that is:

Giving McCain credit just for showing up at the NAACP is like giving me credit for saving a family in an expressway accident just because I slowed my car down long enough to watch.

I've noticed an irritating meme spreading through the MSM about John McCain "deserving credit" just for showing up at the NAACP yesterday.

White privilege -- Credit For Just Showing Up.

White privilege -- being taken seriously as a presidential candidate at all with nothing much to offer the nation.

Meanwhile, nothing Senator Obama does is really good enough. Today in the article I read about how he raised 52 million, they went to how this now sets the bar for all months to come and the implication is he will be failing if he doesn't do this well every time.

It's almost always like that, it seems to me - media reveling in how and in what ways are Senator Obama's actual accomplishments really not good enough (how his accomplishments are really failures if viewd through the "right" lens).

Another example: He's ahead in the polls, but why isn't he more ahead?

I was saying to my gf last night that if he wins the election with less than 100% then it will be all about how he failed and doesn't have a real mandate.

And while it's the mainstream media doing a lot of this, I see echoes and encouragements from the way that people will take it on themselves to write blogs and comments about how Senator Obama isn't doing things right and what he should do to correct what he is doing.

Like that whole thing about his press people -- some progressive blogger types saying his press people are bad and he should hire Clinton people. Why? She lost despite having nearly every advantage. Senator Obama bested her in the primaries, but apparently that wasn't really good enough so he should fire whoever he has doing his media now and hire her people because he's supposedly not doing good enough. If his campaign can't singlehandedly control the media and prevent all bad or potentially problematic press then he is supposedly failing.

And the interesting thing is unlike others, Senator Obama doesn't whine about this kind of thing. The White Privilege Candidates whine at the drop of a hat but Senator Obama doesn't seem to do that, from what I have seen.

.... Wow that turned into quite a little rant.

You are absolutely correct on all points!

".. In 1948, Davis and his second wife, who had married in 1946, moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, at the suggestion of Davis’s friend Paul Robeson." That's Frank Marshall Davis, Obama's childhood communist mentor.

“During the Soviet purges, Robeson allegedly told a Daily Worker reporter that “from what I have already seen of the workings of the Soviet Government, I can only say that anybody who lifts his hand against it ought to be shot!” (“Soviet purge” – aka “Great Purge”)

Sugar Ray Robinson said that he would “punch him in the mouth” if he ever met him, i.e. punch Robeson in the mouth.

In 1952, Robeson was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize. In April, 1953 shortly after Joseph Stalin's death he wrote a eulogy entitled To You Beloved Comrade, in which he praised Stalin's "deep humanity," "wise understanding," and dedication to peaceful co-existence with all the peoples of the world calling him “wise and good”. (Stalin…think Gulags, purges, labor camps, forced starvation of citizens, factory farms, ethnic cleansings, etc. No one knows how many people were murdered under Stalin, but estimates “ranged from a low of 3 million to as high as 60 million.”)

Like Obama, Stalin had also created a cult of personality around himself...

Wait, what? Is your connection, Obama's childhood/friend/mentor, knew Paul Robeson, who knew/and/or liked Stalin, so we should watch out for Obama because there is a cult of personality around both?

TW: In another post, I suggested the concept of the "RUBBER BAND BRAIN (MIND)". It was based on my recollection of an "old school" song - The Rubberband Man" and it was a way of describing how people can STRETCH their gray matter to CONNECT two diametrically opposed ideas and then they conclude - "SEE! I TOLD YOU!" This is a prime example of the "RUBBER BAND BRAIN (MIND)"
concept. SEE I TOLD YOU! :>) :>) :>) Deep breaths!!

Don't ask me questions...do your own research, and find out for yourself.

Most African-Americans expected Obama to carry on with the "Race Issue" - in the usual manner - and are somewhat surprised that he doesn’t. Obama is a communist, so the "Race Issue" is way down on his list of issues...

My dear Karmi. If you didn't want to defend/explain your post, then why post it? And can you tell me where I can find that survey about what "most African-Americans" expect from Obama because for whatever reason, I didn't get mine in the mail.

More questions…figures. Want a “survey”? OK…take Jesse Jackson for one example. The JJP is another example – look for the posts about Obama’s “Father’s Day” speech, and go from there…

Yup. Just what I thought. And we're done.

Obama is a communist...

BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

...next!

Yes, a Communist.

Whoopi and Sherri are on the View this morning defending the use of the N word by blacks. They were discucssing Jesse using the word on Fox.

video is up at HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/17/whoopi...

Is Sherry wearing an afro?

Did Elisabeth really cry?

That what Jesse gets for appearing on Fox News in the first place They knew that mic was hot. It was a set up. Notice the timing of the releases. Instead of talking about Bush and Rove and Torturegate and all the other real issues we are talking about Jesse calling Obama the N word. It's a weapon of mass distraction. I'm with Whoopi and Sherri. Black folks can use the N word all they want to.

Whoopi NOooooooooooooo!!!! Sherri, I would expect this from, but NOT Whoopi.

You CAN NOT rely on Whoopi to use common sense...especially after the Friars' Club debacle with Ted Danson.

How true.

Barack Obama tells Glamour: "Debate me, not Michelle"

http://www.glamour.com/news/blogs/glamocracy/20...

We've rid the country of WMD's, and executed its erstwhile leader.

Our job is done.

from www.guardian.co.uk

US plans to station diplomats in Iran for first time since 1979

Washington move signals thaw in relations

Ewen MacAskill in Washington The Guardian

The US plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years as part of a remarkable turnaround in policy by President George Bush.

The Guardian has learned that an announcement will be made in the next month to establish a US interests section - a halfway house to setting up a full embassy. The move will see US diplomats stationed in the country.

The news of the shift by Bush who has pursued a hawkish approach to Iran throughout his tenure comes at a critical time in US-Iranian relations. After weeks that have seen tensions rise with Israel conducting war games and Tehran carrying out long-range missile tests, a thaw appears to be under way.

The White House announced yesterday that William Burns, a senior state department official, is to be sent to Switzerland on Saturday to hear Tehran's response to a European offer aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff.

Burns is to sit at the table with Iranian officials despite Bush repeatedly ruling out direct talks on the nuclear issue until Iran suspends its uranium enrichment programme, which is a possible first step on the way to a nuclear weapon capability.

A frequent complaint of the Iranians is that they want to deal directly with the Americans instead of its surrogates, Britain, France and Germany.

Bush has taken a hard line with Iran throughout the last seven years but, in the dying days of his administration, it is believed he is keen to have a positive legacy that he can point to.

The return of US diplomats to Iran is dependent on agreement by Tehran. But President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicated earlier this week that he was not against the opening of a US mission. Iran would consider favourably any request aimed at boosting relations between the two countries, he said.

US interests in the country at present are looked after by the Swiss embassy. The British government restored its embassy in Tehran after Labour's 1997 general election victory as part of a policy of constructive diplomacy with countries that had previously been branded rogue states.

The creation of a US interest section would see diplomats stationed in Tehran for the first time since the hostage crisis that began when hundreds of students, as part of the Iranian revolution that led to fall of the Shah, stormed the US embassy in 1979 and held the occupants until 1981.

The special interests section would be similar to the one in Havana, Cuba. The US broke off relations with Cuba in 1961 after Castro's takeover but US diplomats returned in 1977.

The special interests section carries out all the functions of an embassy. It is, in terms of protocol, part of the Swiss embassy but otherwise is staffed by Americans and independent of the Swiss.

There has been an intense debate within the Bush administration over Iran, with the vice-president, Dick Cheney, in favour of a military strike against Iranian nuclear plants and the state department in favour of diplomacy.

The state department has been pressing the White House for the last two years to re-establish diplomatic relations with Tehran by setting up an interest section.

The state department is keen that the move should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness.

Sending Burns, who left Washington last night, to Geneva and the establishment of an interests section undercuts one of the main planks of foreign policy advocated by the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, who argues for direct negotiations with Iran.

The White House has been working in tandem over the last month with Obama's Republican rival, John McCain.

The US has had to rely on British diplomats based in Tehran, as well as other diplomats, for information about the inner workings of Iranian politics. Having its own staff would give them access to students, dissidents and others. The staff would also process visa applications, at present handled by a small office in Dubai, which is difficult for Iranians to get to.

Ahmadinejad told a reporter earlier this week, in response to a question about a possible US interests section: "We will receive favourably any action which will help to reinforce relations between the peoples." He added: "We have not received any official request but we think that the development of relations between the two peoples is something correct."

That sentiment was echoed last month by secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, who told reporters: "We want more Iranians visiting the United States ... We are determined to reach out to the Iranian people."

Iran has an interests section in Washington, which would make it harder for Tehran to deny the Americans a similar arrangement.

Rice set up a group to study the feasibility of re-establishing a presence after the idea cropped up repeatedly in discussions among Washington thinktanks.

Asked last month about the idea, she would not confirm or deny it.

But she indicated that the present arrangement where there is an American visa office for Iranians in Dubai was inadequate.

"We know that it's difficult for Iranians sometimes to get to Dubai," she said.

So now this lameduck administration does what Barack has been talking about for two years?

Unreal.

Has anyone noticed how the GOP's websiteis filled with images/information about Obama (of course mostly unfavorable), but no mention of their presumptive nominee?

The DNC's website is nice

What else can they talk about? He's a dangerous fool without a message.

Has anyone noticed how the GOP's websiteis filled with images/information about Obama (of course mostly unfavorable), but no mention of their presumptive nominee?

Makes sense to me. McCain has nothing really going for him except "oooh, don't vote for the scary Black guy running against me."

The Horn Rimmed Handkerchief Head is on....would it hurt him to have an original thought?

rikyrah: Obviously - YES! :>) :>) :>)

The Emmy Nominations were announced.
Mad Men got a nod!! 16 nominations!!
30 Rock got 17 nominations.
Two and a Half Men? Huh?

Fuming but not surprised that The Wire was snubbed yet again. But good to see Mad Men get all the props it did, I'm obsessed with that show.

Give it to Hugh Laurie!! Okay, fangirl moment has passed. Yeah, I know but I cannot chose whom I am smitten with. Powerless.

BET plans political coverage I'm just glad the host won't be that ghetto virtual VJ Cita.

OMG. I had completely forgotten about the virtual VJ--it was like a bad, hot ghetto mess nightmare. Great, now I'm probably going to dream about her tonight. Thanks Jay :)

LOL. I actually thought Cita was pretty funny. :)

I guess it's better late than never, but still.......

they were embarrassed because of what TVOne is planning.

Or Massa Bill and Missy Hillary gave them permission.

Rachel Maddow noticed. I believe there was commentary on it during her stint filling in for Keith.

Oh, they noticed; they just chose not to report it, like everything else that would duely damage McCain's campaign.

The news memo that was secretly sent out:John McCain is the defacto white candidate so ignore he doesn't know the difference between Shia and Sunni,do not piss off the elderly by reporting that he calls the way we fund social security a disgrace and his chief economic policy was the "brains" of the current banking mess Report it as a slip of the tongue that he keeps referencing a country (Czechoslovakia) that hasn't existed for over 15 years. And for gods sake paint Obama as a flip flopper on campaign finance while just ignoring McCain breaking the law during the primaries even though Obama position has remain the same on Iraq say McCain is brilliant for recognizing Afghanistan as the clusterf*ck that it is.

Barack outmaneuvered him on that one. McCain's idea was for O to go to Iraq under his supervision. Barack's going without McCain....and taking the press with him lol. So, to salvage that failed strategy, McBush says he's glad that Hagel is going with Barack...I guess Hagel is supposed to be the defacto supervisor.

They are revealing themselves to be petulant little children.

They find anything to whine about as it relates to Barack.

They know it's all about Barack.

If they want it to be about them, then they need to do something to make it that way. But they can't. And they know it.

Cry me a fcuking river.

the debacle in Iraq has led to a serious lapse in 'standards' for military recruitment.

we have Rural Terrorists (White Supremacists) being able to join, when before they would have been weeded out.

we have Urban Terrorists (Gangbangers) being able to join, when before they would have been weeded out.

and then, we have straight up CRIMINALS being able to join, when before they would have been weeded out.

I don't minimize the White Supremacist Groups, I really don't. But, as an urban dweller, I'm far more concerned about the force of gangbangers who now have military training.

From the article: "Senator John McCain's trip to Iraq last spring was a low-key affair"

It what?

As long as he dont give Charles Gibson the time of day.

No Charles for me, he will always be "Charlie". Or maybe douche bag after that debate with Mr. Stuppleupagus.

I read on a gossip site that Andrea Mitchell had bigfooted her way into covering Obama on his overseas voyage, while pushing aside her network coworker Lee Cowan. Cowan apparently has been a constant in Obama's traveling press corp putting his life on hold to travel with him.
I can believe the story. I can't stand Andrea Mitchell.

I don't think Charlie would know what time it really is anyway.

I keep hearing claims that McCain's spending more money on ads, has more ads running, than Obama. I wonder [assuming this is even true] if this is just because Obama's spending more money on ground organizing and is less interested in just ads.

I wonder if there's some way to get a list of exactly how many offices each candidate has in each state?

The man has got his ish together! He's almost always one step ahead.

Didn't I just read you say that you wanted Barack to be more aggressive?

(wink).

Saw that this morning.....and threw up. The whole world's about to come down on my head.

And if any JJPers plan on coming along to play in my state, please let me know so I can keep my people away from you!!!

(kidding, of course......maybe....)

Saw that this morning.....and threw up. The whole world's about to come down on my head.

Haha!!

It's really not funny.......the Obama campaign is a f'ing insurgency, with all the connotations that word carries with it.

Awwww . . . worried about the flag-burning, fist-jabbing, Black Panther, Nation of Islam, madrassa-attending, communist terrorist, I see.

Don't worry-- we won't let the boogie-man get you!

Okay, I didn't mean those connotations.

You might need to be admitted to the hospital if Obama wins VA. This means he ain't playin'. If he can run up the vote in NOVA and down the I-95/I-64 corridor as well as pick off the college towns like Charlottesville, he could very possibly win Virginia. Remember, NOVA is the most populous and most rapidly turning Democratic part of the state. Fairfax County alone has 1 million people and Virginia only has 7 million people.

....as I've found out of late. One of my assumptions in trying to organize was that I'd have more people for me than against me. The tide has definitely turned.

Willing to almost bet money that Obama makes a push in VA around the same time I try to make mine.

This really ain't helpful. By the time November gets here, I'll probably be too drunk to realize what happened.

I live in VA. I have not seen not ONE McCain commercial on TV. But Obama's commercials are being played ad nauseum. I have seen very few McCain signs and bumper stickers. I see more Bush/Cheney bumper stickers riding by than McCain stickers. I live in a congressional district (7th) that is 100% going to McCain in November; yet again I've seen very few McCain signs. From my understanding McCain only has 4 (?) offices in VA. Does McCain not think he has to put resources in VA?

I live in Arlington, VA (100% Obama nation) and McCain's adds have been airing here.

Hey NMP- I'm an Arlingtonian for Obama too. Wanna do some VA voter registration with me?

"I live in Arlington, VA (100% Obama nation) and McCain's adds have been airing here."


Ok, I see what's going on now. McCain didn't think he'd have to fight for VA because VA has always been red so the GOP wasn't going to put that many resources into the state. The quote from the VA McCain chairman ("I don't know why Obama's doing that because he doesn't have the support or momentum in VA") tells what the attitude really is.

BUT Obama is making a serious play for the state and if he can run up the score in NOVA and down the 95/64 corridor he could possibly win. McCain and them realize that too so they're gonna try to run their own score up in Nova because the rest of VA (beyond the 95/64 corridor where the black folks live) will reliably fall in line behind McCain.

The key to VA is Northern Virginia. Because I live along that 95/64 corridor and I have yet to see a McCain ad on TV.

That's probably where you'll see all the Jim Gilmore ads too because he really doesn't have the money to air ads like talking about it. I heard Mark Warner outraised him 9 to 1.

I grew up in Virginia, and I never understood why the Dems ceded the state to Republicans in the 80's and 90's. It's red, but it ain't that red. With NOVA, Tidewater, and central VA, there are large pockets of left-leaning people, and lots of African-Americans everywhere except Southwest VA.

This is the state that elected the first Black governor and that has managed to have Dem governors long after the "Reagan Revolution."

I've always been of the opinion that McCain would have to outmass Obama-that is, turn out more people sympathetic to him than Obama does-in order to win.

He's not making the effort to do that....not in VA, or anywhere that I can tell.

I'll see who shows up on Saturday, but single digit offices against Obama's 20 ain't gonna cut it.

Everywhere I go in VA, I'm going to have a minimum of 2-3 Obama offices within a half hour drive. That's not beneficial to me.

Gilmore's a lost cause; haven't signed on for that suicide mission.

McCain will carry SW Virginia definitely. From where I'm sitting, everything else is up in the air. Even Hampton Roads, where you'd think the military community would strongly lean McCain. I spend most of my time there, and haven't seen a single McCain ad. Saw an Obama one on the 10pm news last night, though (followed by a VFF ad; not sure how effective it is to show them that late. Oh well).

McCain can win without NVA; he just has to carry the rest of the state. That will be difficult at best....and just became a lot more so.

The McCain Hampton Roads office opens this weekend. He's just starting to put resources in the Commonwealth.

When I moved from DC back to VA, I would regularly ask about what efforts there were in VA. To date, none-except at the national HQ in Arlington.

I think McCain either expected VA to fall in his lap, or Obama not to fight for it. Either way, he's wrong.

I expected the Richmond/Hampton Roads/Northern VA offices from Obama.

But Castlewood? I don't even know where the hell that is.

Castlewood is in Russell County, out in Appalachia.

Finally, some good news!

Obama Raises 52 Million In June

Wow! 52 million in June.

If you had listened to the MSM you'd have thought that he was about to go in debt (lol). Very impressive.

He might take a dip in July, but I think August (VP pick and historic convention) is gonna break the bank!

And could the MSM please stop dealing in hyperbole when it comes to Obama? They make things out to be much worse than they are.

Obama has money problems = 52 million in one month!

Obama has a problem with xyz voters = a steady lead in the national polls and an estimate 310-320 electoral vote total (based on current state polls).

I've had my concerns about his campaign operations (I'd like for him to be more aggressive), but it looks like he's doing very well.

Great news.

I'm so relieved. I was getting kinda worried there. People are struggling with food & gas prices....and yet they give.

Still, there's something perverse about this political machinery that eats up so much money when there's such economic hardship.

Obama fundraising + DNC fundraising = $92 million cash on hand. I guess the media keeps making stuff up.

craig hickman,

you are right and wrong on the Jesse thing and the cable news networks (outside of Fox Noise)

wrong in that they have brought it up.

right in that they seem to be underplaying it.

Thanks you, rikyrah. I haven't been following.

Now I see Tamrond discussing the word with a very together brother.

Fox won't release the tape, huh?

So, that means he might not have actually said it. (Not that I believe he didn't say it, but still...)

I guess public discussions of the word remain useful.

I guess.

Ayo Riykrah - remember that problem you were having with the image being small then re-sizing itself upon launching the thread? Well it just happened to me with this post.

No worries tho', I just wanted you to know.

thanks jay. i thought I had corrected it.

Of course its working now...I'm not crazy. Don't judge me. LOL

More signs of "no progress" from that "failed policy" in Iraq....

Iraq's Security Remarkably Better

Just back from a tour of two war fronts - Iraq and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - Adm. Michael G. Mullen said he expected to witness improvements in Baghdad and across Iraq, but was surprised by how well a 17-month-old U.S. troop surge has worked.

So since everything is okey-dokey can we now come home?

Our troops will come home when conditions on the ground permit the Iraqi government to take full responsibility for their country's security.

That hasn't happened.

So, how are we going to know when conditions on the ground permit the Iraqi government to take full responsibility for their country's security? What about our country's security? Who is keeping our country secure while our troops are securing Iraq? And what part of they want us out of Iraq don't you and the Bush mis administration understand?

Do you really believe our country isn't secure? More importantly, do you really believe that we want to stay in Iraq forever?

Cause no one I know wants that.

And before anyone says, "Well, McCain said.....," you might want to read the entire "100 years" quote.

They need to send you and all of your kind to fight in Iraq and bring the rest of the troops home.

Quiet Iraq streets leave soldiers yearning for Afghanistan

With violence in Iraq at its lowest level in four years and the war in Afghanistan at a peak, the soldiers serving at patrol station Maverick say Gebhart's view is increasingly common, especially among younger soldiers looking to prove themselves in battle.

Our Troops are volunteers…volunteered to fight, and want some more action.

Been there, done that. Would go back if I could.

Violence up we stay. Violence down we stay.Ever since 2004 we have been hearing about all these 100,000's of troops and police that has been trained.I wish people like you and the other warmongers would just admit."Its our empire and we will fight forever to keep it"

Empire?

Show me one piece of Iraqi territory that we have raised our flag over in conquest.

I'll wait.

It's a long read but here you go
http://www.counterpunch.org/richman02062008.html

Okay, that says that some of the attacks against our country and interests have been retaliatory (sp?), due to our foreign policy. I don't completely disagree with that.

But it still leaves my question unanswered.

Corporate empire, did you see that Coke sign? That's the flag.

You are a lost cause.

D. has shaken hands with the Prez…impressive! D. should be in politics…IMHO.

How paternalistic. I suppose it's the US who will determine when Iraq is able to take full responsibility....The invasion and occupation has unstabilized Iraq and made it insecure.

Maliki wants you the hell out of his country. The Iraqi's will have to wage all out war to force your withdrawal.

ca-ching