The Leibham campaign has just wrapped up their week-long series of events honoring Memorial Day, which they called "Bring Our Troops Home Week." A summary of all the events is below the fold. It was my pleasure to join them for the highlight of the week, visiting patients at the VA hospital in La Jolla and delivering gift baskets.
The group was assigned to the spinal cord injury unit. Most of the patients were from the first Gulf War or Vietnam; La Jolla VA is a center of excellence for spinal cord injuries, so they were from all across the western states--Nevada, Colorado, Arizona to name a few. They travel to the La Jolla VA annually for 3-4 days filled with tests and evaluations. The medical care was universally praised. The food, not so much. :-) One woman said she ordered her meals delivered from a variety of local restaurants! And many were especially grateful for the fudge included in Nick's gift baskets.
Visitors are prohibited from campaigning, and the group was meticulous about observing these rules. But many patients eagerly broached the topic of politics on their own, sharing their anti-Bush sentiments. Of those who said anything, anti-Bush feelings were unanimous. Most of the time it came up in off-hand jokes/mocking/derision. The most heart-breaking was a veteran of the first Gulf War, a mother whose son is now in the military. She said she didn't mind being deployed since it was her duty, but watching her son was too much for her. She choked up while expressing her hope for a new president with a new direction. Nick's volunteer's response was simply, "A lot of people are working really hard to make that happen." Amen.
I and others in the blogosphere (including Calitics) have given Jerry McNerney (CA-11) plenty of well deserved flack for his past statements and votes on the Iraq War.
Last week, he voted to deny $163 Billion for the purpose of continuing the war. I was glad to see McNerney squarely on the correct side of this vote.
Rep. Jackie Speier's congressional career began with some real fireworks. Her first speech on the war made the Republicans throw a hissy fit and several of them walked off the floor. Just a fantastic start. When we talk about electing more and better Democrats, this is what it looks like. Chron:
Newly elected Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough was sworn into Congress this morning and delivered a fiery speech criticizing President Bush's Iraq policy that led some Republicans to boo and walk out of the House chamber.
Speier, who won a special election Tuesday to fill the seat of the late Rep. Tom Lantos, was always an outspoken lawmaker in her years as a San Mateo County supervisor, state Assemblywoman and state Senator. She served notice Thursday that she plans be just as aggressive as a member of the House.
"The process to bring the troops home must begin immediately," Speier told fellow lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. "The president wants to stay the course and a man who wants to replace him suggests we could be in Iraq for 100 years. But Madam Speaker, history will not judge us kindly if we sacrifice four generations of Americans because of the folly of one."
While Democrats applauded, Republicans began a chorus of low boos. Some Republicans who had congratulated her just moments before, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), walked out of the hall in protest.
Of course Issa was one of the ones to throw a fit and walk off when she started saying something he didn't agree with. That is the congressional equivalent of putting his fingers in his ears and sticking out his tongue.
Thank you Rep. Speier. Just phenomenal work. Keep it up.
We want more of this! Maybe you can light a fire under the asses of a few of your new colleagues.
Remember when Democrats were pushing George Bush on the War in Iraq? Remember when presidential candidates were getting heat for having supported the War - or their being wishy-washy about getting us out? With California's presidential primary in just two weeks, we were supposed to have a Proposition on the February ballot - making it official policy that the people of California support withdrawal. State Senate President Don Perata championed the issue and the legislature voted to put it on the ballot, but then Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed it. If Democrats were serious, however, they could have gathered signatures to put it on the ballot - regardless of what Arnold did. Doing so would have boosted Democratic turnout, kept the issue alive and held all presidential candidates accountable. Instead, we have allowed Iraq to slip from the consciousness of politicians - eluding a golden opportunity to help end this quagmire.
Bill Richardson is goal-oriented, assertive and confident. He has served as a Congressman, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of Energy and is in his second term as Governor of New Mexico after a landslide re-election victory in November 2006.
Here are five of many reasons why I believe Richardson possesses the experience, vision and leadership skills to be a great President:
1. A Bright Vision for America
2. An Ironclad Promise to Promptly End the U.S. Occupation of Iraq
3. A Bold Agenda To Address The Pressing Challenges Facing Our Nation and Planet
4. The White House and A Landslide Victory for Democrats Nationwide in 2008
5. Comprehensive Immigration Reform In Accordance With the Values Upon Which Our Country Was Founded
Hillary Clinton's plan for ending the war is weak and imprecise. She refuses to commit to bring all of our troops home by the end of her first term in office. Clinton's military and diplomatic advisers believe our invasion of Iraq was justified and a military solution exits for resolving the war. Clinton is not demonstrating the qualities of leadership we need in our next President to end the war in Iraq.
Today, Chase Martyn of the Iow Independent reviewed a major policy speech by Bill Richardson earlier this week on how to improve the welfare of the human race and our environment. Martyn is no supporter of Richardson, noting "I expected would be ridden with gaffes, pie-in-the-sky policy proposals, and poll-tested mumbo jumbo. Having not seen Richardson stump in person for a period of two months, I had no idea what I was in for."
Martyn came away highly impressed. Martyn described Richardson's speech as "bold and informative. . . . I dare say he sounded presidential.
In his speech, Richardson set forth a global agenda to address the welfare of the human race, linking climate change, poverty, international disease and war. Richardson stated: "A hungry world will also hunger for scapegoats. A thirsty world will thirst for revenge. A world in crisis will be a world of anger and violence and terrorism."
Five years ago was critical week in the decision by our nation to go to war with Iraq. While the Senate was debating the war, Edwards gave a well-publicized speech in Washington, D.C. on October 7, 2002, supporting the Bush Administration's rationale for invading Iraq.
At the time, Edwards was busy planning his run for President and seeking to position himself as a Southern war hawk. He failed to read key intelligence reports available only to members of the Senate that cast doubt the Bush Administration's claims that Saddam possessed WMD and which influenced those that read them to vote against the war.
Edwards had made up his mind that the U.S. should invade Iraq. Edwards' judgment on Iraq was flawed in 2002 and it remains flawed today. He refuses to commit to the withdrawal of ALL U.S. forces from Iraq by 2010 or even 2013.
Bill Richardson gave an extremely thoughtful speech yesterday at Georgetown University on the responsible path out of Iraq. Richardson also outlined a new foreign policy for the U.S., discussed our relations with Iran and explained need to restructure our armed forces.
On Iraq, Richardson stated, "If you haven't seen enough to know that we need to get all the troops out then you aren't watching the same war that I and the rest of America are seeing. I don't think just changing the mission is enough -- we need to end the war."
Everyone should watch Richardson's speech and hear the compelling case he makes for ALL U.S. troops to leave Iraq now. The video clip follows.
Key bills and issues we've been following during the
Past week and beyond
With traveling solons returning home from various parts of the world next week, both Healthcare and Water Policy are two special session topics that are heating up. There are various views on both matters and some new Special Session legislation has been introduced this week.
And, in breaking news, the so-called "Dirty Tricks" initiative to change how California allocates its Electoral College votes appears to be dead, at least for now.
Governor "green" speaks at the United Nations, upstaging the absent President Bush (who held his "own" global warming conference to upstage the U.N.) and gets a chance to sign three major environmental bills. Let's see if he puts his pen where his mouth is.
Public Safety bills on the Governor's desk get support from the former Attorney General.
There's no fool like an old Beltway fool.
The media sell us a fantasy world, which Americans accept too quickly. The media fawned on Colin Powell and his bogus 2003 declaration about WMDs and Iraqi weapons labs. They fawn on Petraeus, his Ph.D. and his counterinsurgency wisdom. They support the cult of the soldier, the same corrupt military establishment that lied about Vietnam and lies about Iraq. They don't tell you that Petraeus and Michael O'Hanlon, media apologist for the war, have been buddies for 20 years. It's a good rule to expect the initial media response to be off base. The first words from inside the beltway about the MoveOn Petraeus ad were "What stupidity! The American public won't tolerate criticism of senior military men! We must respect the Generals."
Petraeus' critics are growing in strength
• MoveOn is getting lots of donations; that is real support
• How can Democratic "leaders" condemn the use of private money to express personal political opinions? It is the critics who joined the Limbaugh-Rove conga line and look like McCarthyites. They (Senator Feinstein for example) support military rule.
• Read the GAO September report, "While it is not clear if sectarian violence has been reduced, militia control over security forces has not been eliminated and remains a serious problem in Baghdad and other areas of Iraq".
At the Democratic debate in Davenport, Iowa, the most significant exchange to date in the debates occurred. Judy Woodruff asked the candidates how many U.S. troops would remain in Iraq one year after taking office if elected.
Biden said it depends on how Bush leaves Iraq. Edwards agreed with Biden, claiming "it's impossible to say." Clinton echoed Biden's view, vaguely offering "a reasonable and prudent plan" to get our troops out. Dodd objected to speaking about 2010 and said Congress should not wait that long to act.
Only Richardson provided a direct and unambiguous answer:
Zero troops! . . . Without getting our troops out you can not have a political settlement. . . . I would take all of our troops out. We need to end this war now.
This article written by: Former Assemblymember Hannah- Beth Jackson of Speak Out California
A weekly update on the goings-on in Sacramento
For the week ending September 15, 2007
Key bills and issues we've been following during the
past week and beyond
The final days of this year's regular session ended in the wee-hours of the morning, September 13 around 3:30am. At that moment, the Speaker banged the gavel, announced that the session had ended and likely declared victory of some kind for the work that had been done. The drama was somewhat undercut, however, by the fact that the Governor had already called a "Special Session" to consider the healthcare and water issues that were not resolved during the regular legislative year, thus extending the legislative year for some additional period of time.
A variety of bills were sent to the Governor's desk for signature and veto, a few of which have already been acted upon. With the Term Limits/Extension initiative taking front-and-center in the decisions being made on the floor and behind the scenes, the session produced lots of buzz and intrigue during its final days. Purely political decisions always do play in the equation (various interest groups try to jam bills through at the final hour when few are watching or awake enough to notice). This year the dance was made even more delicate by this all-consuming focus on pleasing the public, enough to justify their vote to extend the terms of current term-out members (particularly the leadership of both houses and both parties) in the February primary.
Ballot initiatives continue to grab headlines as the California Democratic Party has announced an aggressive and pro-active effort to keep the electoral vote-splitting initiative off the June, 2008 ballot. But a redistricting initiative will not be showing up in time for the February ballot, putting the Term Limits/Extension measure at risk. Nor will the Iraq War initiative, since the Governor made short shrift of it by veto earlier in the week. While perhaps restoring some of his lost credibility with his own party, the Gov. dropped the hammer on one of his appointees at the behest of 34 NRA-beholden legislators, further dampening the ability of those given certain responsibilities from carrying them out appropriately---in the Alberto Gonzales/ George Bush mold. But there is so much more, so we'll get to the details, but first:
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The best way to answer this question is to answer two other questions. Why should we allow such a corrupt individual to stay in office? And what has Gary Miller done for his constituents that has earned him the privilege of earning our votes for reelection? Once we figure out these answers, we can answer those other questions.
You may be surprised by these answers, so follow me after the flip for more...
Highlighting his considerable foreign expertise, Governor Bill Richardson last week set forth a path to avoiding military confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program. Richardson called on Bush administration to stop threatening Iran with "incendiary rhetoric," and instead recognize our interests in engaging Iran diplomatically.
Richardson's week ended with a well-received speech before Latino leaders in Florida. Decrying the tone of the debate in the Senate on the immigration bill and how Latinos are portrayed in the media, Richardson asked:
Do you notice that when they depict immigrants, they have someone crossing a wall, jumping as if they are criminals? How about the farmers who break their backs working or those who are cleaning the toilets and working at the hotel where we stay? How about the American media covering the immigrant who died protecting his country?
Also of note, Pollster.com added Richardson to its Top Democrats charts, joining Clinton, Obama and Edwards. Charles Franklin of Pollster.com stated, "For other Democratic candidates, we've not seen a substantial upturn anywhere. Richardson stands alone in that respect at the moment."
For a full review of Richardson's week, continue reading.
We used to have goals. Remember goals? Sending a man to the moon? Or how about ending poverty or balancing the budget?
Now we have "benchmarks." Like "surge" or "insurgents," it's become part of our everyday language when we're talking about Iraq.
Benchmarks are an important component of any plan - they help you measure progress, and they clue you into what is and is not working. But benchmarks absent any underlying plan or final goals are meaningless - nothing more than empty talking points meant to create the illusion of a plan that doesn't really exist.
Well, you can still listen to the show! Yesterday's show is now in the online archives. Go ahead and listen now, or download the podcast and play it in whatever you use to play mp3 files later.
So would you like a little sneak peek as to what we talked about on the air yesterday? And would you like to know who will be coming on to Ken Burke's radio show soon? Well then, follow me after the flip for more...
Hello again, and Happy Memorial Day! How's the barbeque coming along? Have any of the kids jumped into the pool yet? Or wait, is that YOU in the pool with the white t-shirt? ; )
When will American Jews wake up to the absolute wickedness of the Islamic religion. Every single follower of Islam: man, woman, and child, is taught nothing but such anti-semitism from the second they are born. The death cult of Mohammed is the biggest threat to American Jewry.
It would be a great service if Amir Abdul-Malik Ali would tell us how to recognize a Zionist Jew when wrapped from head to foot like a Muslim terrorist. If someone looking like that emerged out of the restroom on an airplane, it would be comforting to know that it is only some Jewish guy trying to make Muslims look bad. Then I can go back to reading my magazine.
These are just a couple of the many hate-filled comments that can be found on the recent Red County/OC Blog, which have now been "reprinted" at The Liberal OC. Now these folks were accusing the Muslim Student Union at UCI of inciting hatred by inviting a Muslim cleric to speak about the Israeli-Palestinean conflict. However, look at this video and try to find any "hate speech". Maybe they're just looking in the wrong direction.
But look at this. The Orange County Human Relations Commission reported in its 2006 annual report on hate crimes that attacks targeting Arab/Middle-Eastern/Muslim Americans have DOUBLED in the past year. And worse yet, the OC Human Relations Commission suggests that this may be due to the Iraq War.
Wait! Hold on here! Is this why we fight? Follow me after the flip for more...
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It's the day when we remember all the brave troops who gave their lives for the things that we cherish the most about America. Our freedom. Our liberties. Our way of life. Thanks to all the sacrifices of the past, we are the nation that we are today.
Follow me after the flip as we talk about what Memorial Day means for us this year...
