January 25, 2015

Sounds like a resounding success being attacked by their batshit crazy versions of John McCain...

And still on the Great Satan thing, HUH?

Well, there is the matter of those cookies:



Yummy! Chowing down!

January 25, 2015

The paragraphs below said it all. Very well done, MM!

...Now, some are bringing all that up again, along with other rumors and accusations. Not accusations aimed at Hillary, but at Bill Clinton, a two-term Democratic President who hasn't been in office for a very long time. What that is is misogyny, pure and simple. It's assigning the faults of Bill Clinton, both real and imagined, to Hillary. Why? Because people who are doing that cannot possibly see the possibility of a woman in the presidency without wondering who would be telling her what to do. They don't want a woman as President. They didn't want a black man as President, either. Screw that!

...The right wing will, no doubt, continue to trot out stuff about Bill Clinton if Hillary decides to run. That's a given. Democrats, on the other hand, should not slavishly copy those accusations and that innuendo and spread them around. That's a weak argument, and an unfair one. It raises ugly questions when it happens...

January 24, 2015

Might be this one...

I see interest in HRC in the real world. I regaled a Jewish friend of mine today with Obama's jabs at the GOP at the SOTU and at FNN during last year's White House Correspondents Dinner. She laughed, clapped her hands and said:

"When Hillary is president in 2017, she will tell them just where to go."

My friend is not really political, but she expects HRC to clean house in 2016. Reading DU, I'd think from the media stories presented, that there is no way she will ever get elected.

I neverr bring up HRC to people in real life. Now I'm starting to wonder if she does have a chance.

Obviously, people do know of her in real life and don't hate her. Of course I don't hang out with Republicans, Tea Partiers, Liebertarians or Paulites. A lot of people want this country to move back to the way it was in the seventies progressive era, but they know it'll be a hard slog.

We need a Dem in the White House, in state houses and a majority in both houses of Congress to get there.

January 23, 2015

However, it's insignificant to a group that thinks in terms of generations and has world ambitions.

These numbers mean little other than an attempt to stall the IS Caliphate:

War with Isis: Islamic Militants Have Army of 200,000, Claims Senior Kurdish Leader

By Patrick Cockburn - November 16, 2014

...The Islamic State (Isis) has recruited an army hundreds of thousands strong, far larger than previous estimates by the CIA, according to a senior Kurdish leader. He said the ability of Isis to attack on many widely separated fronts in Iraq and Syria at the same time shows that the number of militant fighters is at least 200,000, seven or eight times bigger than foreign in intelligence estimates of up to 31,500 men.

Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said in an exclusive interview with The Independent on Sunday that "I am talking about hundreds of thousands of fighters because they are able to mobilise Arab young men in the territory they have taken."

He estimates that Isis rules a third of Iraq and a third of Syria with a population of between 10 and 12 million living in an area of 250,000 square kilometres, the same size as Great Britain. This gives the jihadis a large pool of potential recruits.

Proof that Isis has created a large field army at great speed is that it has been launching attacks against the Kurds in northern Iraq and the Iraqi army close to Baghdad at the same time as it is fighting in Syria. "They are fighting in Kobani," said Mr Hussein. "In Kurdistan last month they were attacking in seven different places as well as in Ramadi and Jalawla . It is impossible to talk of 20,000 men or so..."

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/11/16/war-isis-islamic-militants-have-army-200000-claims-senior-kurdish-leader

Not to mention the required amount of time that will be involved:

‘Apocalyptic’ Isis beyond anything we've seen, say US defence chiefs

Senior Pentagon officials describe militants as ‘apocalyptic’ group that will need to be defeated but maintain limited strikes are sufficient

...(General) Dempsey, an Iraq veteran, has long been sceptical of US military involvement in the Syrian conflict, citing among other reasons the threat to US pilots from dictator Bashar al-Assad’s air defences...

Echoing the White House’s stated position, Dempsey said the US needed “a coalition in the region that takes on the task of defeating Isis over time,” something the administration this week has put effort into broadening and strengthening.

But the group’s ultimate defeat, the general said, would only come “when it is rejected by the over 20 million disenfranchised Sunnis that happen to reside between Damascus and Baghdad.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/isis-us-military-iraq-strikes-threat-apocalyptic/print

While no doubt not all 20 million displaced people support ISIS, that's a significant number of refugees. They want a homeland. That is why this isn't going away any time soon.

Also the IS is kidnapping women and girls who will be forced to reproduce more cannon fodder for ISIL. They have an end goal, the deaths of their followers and those they kill mean nothing. They believe in their cause. Which I contend is nothing more than 'Lebensraum.' They're preparing for a multi-generational war, like it or not.

BTW, the idea of a world caliphate is nothing new:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025357236#post23

January 23, 2015

You're just a kid! Happy Birthday!

January 23, 2015

Those values need to be discussed. The love they express resonate around the planet:

Andrea Bocelli ~ Canto Della Terra

Si lo so
Amore che io e te
Forse stiamo insieme
Solo qualche instante
Zitti stiamo
Ad ascoltare
Il cielo
Alla Finestra
Questo mondo che
Si Sveglia e la notte e
Gia cosi lontana
Gia lontana

Guarda questa terra che
Che gira insieme a noi
Anche quando e buio
Guarda questa terra che
Che gira anche per noi
A darci un po' di
Sole, sole, sole

My love che sei l'amore mio
Sento la tua voce
E ascolto il mare
Sembra davvero il tuo respiro
L'amore che mi dai
Questo amore che
Sta li nascosto
In mezzo alle sue onde
A tutte le sue onde
Come una barca che

Guarda questa terra che
Che gira insieme a noi
Anche quando e buio
Guarda questa terra che
Che gira anche per noi
A darci un po' di
Sole, sole, sole
Sole, sole, sole

Guarda questa terra che
Che gira insieme a noi
A darci un po' di sole
Mighty sun
Mighty sun
Mighty sun

In English:

Yes I know
My love, that you and I
Are together briefly
For just a few moments
In silence
As we look out of our windows
And listen
To the sky
And to a world
That's awakening
And the night is already far away
Already, far away

Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope and some
Sun, sun sun

My love, you are you my love
I hear your voice,
And I listen to the sea.
It sounds just like your breathing
And all the love you want to give me
This love
That is there, hidden
Hidden among the waves
All the waves in the world
Just like a boat that...

Look at this world
Spinning with us
Even in the dark
Look at this world
Spinning for us
Giving us hope,
And some sun, sun, sun,
Some sun, sun, sun.

Look at this world
Spinning with us
Giving us some sun,
Mighty sun
Mighty sun
Mighty sun

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/andrea_bocelli/canto_della_terra.html

And use the illustration above wherever you please, it's a good meme for this situation.

'Night, MADem!

January 23, 2015

First sign of derailment or utter cluelessness, use this to alert those that their posts are:

A self-aware, cognizant person who read the OP and not the names, would realize this thread is clearly a celebration of the most cherished American values that have brought people from around the globe to live here. They believe, they hope and they do make their lives better.

OP is not a policy discussion, but meant to announce a return to the values BushCo discarded as he shredded the American conscience. He deliberately gave democracy such a bad name that he empowered fascists and bigots. Now some people will prefer fascism or theocracy. That's the end result of BushCo's acts and it was intentional.

Let Obama show these posters they are OFF TOPIC. Derailing by not commenting on the OP, denied people a chance to talk about Equality for all Americans and for would be Americans. The posters that have derailed are refusing to allow a discussion of the beauty of inclusiveness fostered by the Constitution and Amendments, and that reflects badly on them.

But what Obama said still speaks to a beautiful American Ideal. Have a good night.

January 23, 2015

Yes, transparency begins with making oneself available. PBO is always open to listen to everyone:

January 22, 2015

The YouTube Interview with President Obama LIVE:

Scheduled for Jan 22, 2015

YouTube creators Bethany Mota, GloZell Green and Hank Green interview President Obama about the top issues facing them and their audiences.

Live on Thursday, Jan 22, 2015 at 5pm ET.

Watch the livestream at 5 PM Eastern Time and I'll post the video when available. There was a series of Q&A's with Obama after the SOTU, but I haven't posted them with that thread here. It was one video for every question and IDK if there is sufficient interest.

PBO is well able to explain to those capable of understanding the kind of complex issues he deals with. I miss him already. He is very aware of the limited time frame alloted to accomplish his goals, and the views of the American people... and those of the world.

*Yes, it's the BOG. You know the drill.*

January 22, 2015

Mandatory Thrown Under The Bus Image goes here:

It's crowded under the bus, but the conversation is good and we share cookies with each other...

Expect to see a rash of coverage of all of Howard's sins. Just sayin'