Friedman poses questions

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Thursday November 11, 2004 · 6:25 AM PST

2004/11/11 · 06:25

This morning in the New York Times, Thomas Friedman lays out the unanswered questions about the condition of our occupation of Iraq. Friedman aptly notes that the recent Fallujah incursion is reminiscent of military operations in Iraq over 20 months ago.

I am not surprised we come such a short distance in so long amount of time. The reason why this is such a surprise to most is that the Bush Administration never honestly described how to win the peace, if this can even be called a peace. Friedman's article is a timely piece that frames the lack of progress in Iraq and public engagment from the Bush Administration.

On to Ohio

bubba76

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Saturday October 30, 2004 · 8:49 PM PDT

2004/10/30 · 20:49

I just got word that I have the time off to go GOTV in OH for ACT. Anyone know what's going on there with volunteers? Are there enough? Too many?

I am leaving Sunday morning very early so that we can start working middle of the day on Sunday. I've worked for Dean in NH and Obama in IL. This is going to be like nothing else, though. The final showdown!

I would appreciate it if anyone knows where volunteers are most needed in Ohio.
Thanks.

Glad they finally addressed it

bubba76

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Saturday October 09, 2004 · 10:18 AM PDT

2004/10/09 · 10:18

The candidates finally addressed the draft last night. Of course the combat soldier, Sen. Kerry, has the only foresight to see how these extended tours of duty and endless calls for more reservists will undoubtedly hamper future enlistment. Bush's neo-con foreign policy is going to shift the balance of power so that countries who want WMD will feel even more compelled to get them.

I can't believe he said that we should bring our army division based in S. Korea back home as N. Korea is developing more and more nuclear capability. What the sense of that? Although 30,000 troops can't really stop a nuclear bomb, what message does that send? This coming from a President whose only foreign policy platform is "Well what kind of message does that send our (blank--insert whatever country or branch of the military Bush wants to insult now).

House Votes on the Draft

bubba76

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Tuesday October 05, 2004 · 7:57 PM PDT

2004/10/05 · 19:57

Today, the house of representatives voted on a bill by Rep. Rangel (NY) addressing the draft. It failed 2 to 402.

Republicans brought up the bill under a "suspension of rules" process which is reserved for non-controversial bills. Under these rules, there is only 40 min of debate. Only 40 min!

This bill was brought up now because Republicans wanted to push it under the rug. But Alliance for Security and Rock the Vote have begun a letter writing campaign to make newspapers pay attention to the debate on the draft.

Everyone knows that if we need a draft for an emergency, then it should be employed. The real issue is that American foreign policy should not put us in a position where a draft is needed. Also, health care workers will be the first to go. This is something that no one is talking about but it's the truth.

If more people don't pay attention now, we'll be in a deeper mess.

Tough Day out in the Blogosphere

bubba76

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Tuesday September 21, 2004 · 7:50 PM PDT

2004/09/21 · 19:50

I feel like I've written a thousand emails, started a 100 websites and seen everything under the sun regarding engaging people online for the election. Today, I tired.

With all the talk about the relevance of bloggers as the new citizen journalists (see Dan Gillmor's book We the Media), which I totaly believe in, I wonder whether we are all just talking to ourselves. Are the hundreds of thousands of people who come to Kos everyday the same people who are going to Talking Points Memo. Are we creating the big echo chamber just for ourselves?

But we converse. This isn't just a one way dialog. When will the blogs be the foundation for the progressive message like radio is for conservatives? No media outlets are picking up good fact checking from blogs. It's still only the purview of media reporters like Kurtz. It'll happen...just a matter of time. Ahh, that felt good....

Iran Waging Proxy War in Iraq

bubba76

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Friday August 13, 2004 · 1:09 PM PDT

2004/08/13 · 13:09

If you extrapolate what is being reported in the Guardian (thanks Mitch2k2) and This Is Rumor Control, Iran is engaging U.S. forces in a premeditated way. The Guardian says that 30 Iranians were recently captured in combat operations by Iraqi forces. This Is Rumor Control reports:

Senior intelligence sources in the U.S., as well as officials in the Middle East, claim that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made a strategic decision to confront American forces in Iraq's Shi'a heartland. Those senior intelligence sources (a total of five separate individuals who either now serve or have served in key intelligence positions) base their belief on evidence showing that Iran has armed Shi'a groups in southern Iraq with sophisticated weaponry, has provided political and military guidance to Shi'a groups, has made and maintained contacts with Sunni resistance leaders in "the Sunni triangle" in central Iraq, and is pursuing a program of escalating confrontations between Shia militias and American troops.

Did the Bush Administration forsee this dangerous threat? The Iranians are capitalizing on a win-win opportunity for them. Iran gets to invigorate their militant base while engaging U.S. forces on Iraqi land. What if Iran plays coy and does not quickly and publically denounce these actions?

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