Open Thread

Things have obviously been very intense lately. We need to laugh more...(at things besides Hillary Clinton's claim that she's a hunter.) Last night, we had MediaBloodhoud. Tonight, I finally visited Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog. Too f-ing funny. The princess "keep[s] track of Condoleezza's hairdo so you don't have to." And, the princess also keeps track of Laura "Crazy Eyes" Bush, as you shall see from this link. Don't stop there. Start at the top and scroll down. You will laugh out loud -- repeatedly.

Okay. Enjoy. Read the rest of this post...

Import prices rise

Golly gee, the weak dollar isn't good news? You mean it impacts Americans? Shocking news indeed.

U.S. import prices rose by a more-than-expected 2.8 percent in March as petroleum prices jumped 9.1 percent, a Labor Department report showed Friday.

Frank Franklin Ii / AP
U.S. export prices rose 1.5 percent during the month, also more than expected and the largest monthly gain on record, as prices for farm and food products continued to rise.

Read the rest of this post...

It Takes Real Chutzpah for a Guy Who Owns Eight Houses (McCain) to Call Barack Obama an "Elitist"

McCain owns 8 houses (I hear the actual number is more like 10). From Huff Post. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary refuses to say when she last went to church or fired a gun - after touting her faith and saying how pro-gun she is compared to Obama

Hillary yesterday:



Hillary today:

After a weekend spent making direct appeals to gun owners and church goers, Hillary Clinton said Sunday a query about the last time she fired a gun or attended church services "is not a relevant question in this debate” over Barack Obama’s recent comments on small town Americans.

“We can answer that some other time,” Clinton said at a press conference held in a working class neighborhood here.

In all fairness, maybe church was canceled because of sniper fire. Read the rest of this post...

What foreign government hasn't donated to or paid Bill Clinton?

Last week, the right wing Moonie paper ran a front page story about advisers to McCain having ties to foreign governments:

The firms of McCain senior adviser Charlie Black, who until recently was the chairman of Washington-based BKSH & Associates, and campaign co-chairman Thomas G. Loeffler, who heads the Loeffler Group in San Antonio, received millions of dollars lobbying the White House, Congress and others as agents of nearly a dozen foreign clients in recent years.

So the conservatives are concerned about relationships between campaigns advisers and foreign governments. Huh.

Last week, we learned of Bill's close relationship with Colombia.

Today, the LA Times reports on Bill Clinton's dealings with a company that is abetting the Chinese government's crackdown on Tibetan protesters. That sounds bad enough. The Times also notes several other governments whose have financially aided the Clintons:

The Clinton foundation and the former president's library in Little Rock have received millions of dollars in donations from the Saudi royal family and the Middle East sheikdoms of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, along with the governments of Taiwan and Brunei.

We do need full disclosure. Who gave? And how much? No doubt, the Clintons would surely put the national interests before their own financial interests. But, we should know what countries provided the financial interests. Because, if Hillary somehow secures steals the nomination, no doubt the Republicans are going to make a big deal about this foreign influence in the fall. They're already laying the groundwork. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary doesn't think Pennsylvania voters are bitter. She thinks they're stupid.

In her latest effort to win votes by changing the color of her spots, Hillary has just announced that she's been a lifelong gun nut. Yes, you heard it right. The women who led the Million Mom anti-gun March on Washington is now a pistol-packing momma.

“You know, my dad took me out behind the cottage that my grandfather built on a little lake called Lake Winola outside of Scranton and taught me how to shoot when I was a little girl,” she said.

“You know, some people now continue to teach their children and their grandchildren. It’s part of culture. It’s part of a way of life. People enjoy hunting and shooting because it’s an important part of who they are. Not because they are bitter.”

Of course, Hillary couldn't let the moment go without a wee bit of parsing:

"As I told you, my dad taught me how to shoot behind our cottage,” she said. “I have gone hunting. I am not a hunter. But I have gone hunting."

This isn't the first time she's made the claim - there's this from this past February:

"I have hunted. My father taught me how to shoot. I went duck hunting in Arkansas I remember standing there in that cold water it was so cold at first light I was with a bunch of my friends - all men - so the sun is up and the ducks are flying and they were playing a trick on me they were saying were not going to shoot - you shoot they wanted to embarrass me so the pressure was on. And I shot a banded duck they were as surprised as I was."

Now, maybe Hillary's telling the truth. Maybe she stood at the crack of dawn "in the cold water" waiting to bag her first bird. Maybe she's a proud member of America's gun "culture." Maybe. But after her extremely detailed, and totally false, Bosnia sniper-fire snafu, I'd like a little more detail on her latest gun tale before we're going to believe that Ms. Gun Control is the new Charlton Heston.

Let's revisit Hillary's actual history with guns and gun control, which, you'll be surprised to find out, involves an awful lot of rewritten history:

ABC, February 2008 (via MyDD):

Gun Control Advocates Call Clinton a Hypocrite

...Andy Pelosi of Gun Free Kids, writes, "quite frankly, there are many gun control advocates that find it distasteful that Clinton appears to be running to the right of Obama on guns."

Running for the Senate in 2000, Clinton appeared before newspaper publishers in May of that year to say that gun control was part of the raison d'etre for her Senate campaign.

CNN, May 2000: Hillary Clinton renews call for gun licensing and registration

NYT, May 1999: Hillary Clinton Appeals For Gun Control Lobbying

NJ.com, February 2008:

Clinton's attack is highly ironic, as well, both because she has changed positions on guns even more rapidly than Obama, and because she has one of the strongest gun violence prevention (GVP) records of any federal office holder. To wit: Clinton stated her support for national licensing and registration of all newly purchased handguns in a May 2000 meeting with newspaper publishers, but stated during a debate last month in Nevada that she opposed implementing a national gun licensing registry...".

Yeppir, there's more than a bit of the pot calling the kettle in Clinton's carefully parsed, but transparent and toxic attack. So, not only is Clinton's arithmetic incorrect as to Obama's so-called "rapidly changed position," but her own stated stance on gun regulation has both changed dramatically and done so in a much shorter time frame. No hypocrisy there, right?

Gail Collins, NYT, February 2008:

"Clinton used to be very vocal about gun control when she was running for Senate in New York, but now there's nothing about it on her Web site."

So now Hillary says she's really pro-gun after a life of being one of the most anti-gun politicians on the planet. Show of hands: Anyone surprised? Read the rest of this post...

During his first race, Bill Clinton said voters are economically insecure scared white men

So "bitter" is bad but "insecure scared white men" is okay. Uh huh. Now that Hillary has opened this door, is she going to repudiate her husband's un-American comments too? We're waiting. Read the rest of this post...

Bush adviser: Boycotting Olympics ceremony is a "cop-out"

Yeah, it makes much more sense to do "quiet diplomacy," he says. So quiet, in fact, that no one is going to know it's even there. So basically, Bush is now doing China's bidding. Going public and actually criticizing other countries that have taken a stand against the Chinese communist dictatorship. Tell me again, what exactly do the Republicans stand for any more? Big government, wasteful spending, incompetent national security, and coddling communists. That's right. Read the rest of this post...

The Bandwagon Effect is Driving Campaign Coverage

I got mad last night. Really mad. The latest contortion of Obama's words is six shades of crap.

Then this morning, we flipped on "This Week" just in time to hear the following segment intro (paraphrased in the absence of transcript): "Obama's comments. Clearly a mistake. But just how bad a blunder is it?"

Really? Clearly? How about taking a logical stance and posing the real question like, "Doesn't this seem like much ado about less than nothing?"

Instead, we get the loaded question followed by a roundtable of DC insiders talking about how Obama insulted working class Americans (as if any of these panelists had actually bothered to talk to working class Americans in Pennsylvania or elsewhere). The lone exception at the table was Donna Brazile (who actually is one of the most unpretentious, down-to-earth women I know) trying hard to keep her cohorts chained to reality but, sadly, being outnumbered and overrun.

As this contest continues over the next few months - and it will - I challenge the big voices to be more critical. Don't let every little dust up dictate where you take your coverage and commentary. Stop. Breathe. Think about what you're calling news. Not allowing yourselves to be manipulated is tougher than regurgitating readymade talking points, but you may find it more gratifying.

We certainly would. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary's new message: I'm "more authentically American than Barack Obama"

From Jed who unmasks the latest Clinton strategy to destroy the Democratic nominee via video:

The kitchen sink must be just about empty, because now Hillary Clinton is using an argument that would make Karl Rove blush: she's making the case that she's more authentically American than Barack Obama.

I've edited together the essence of her message. Even if you've seen her statement before, watch this clip -- it's short, and I promise it'll be worth your while.

You'll see that Jed is onto something here. Keep in mind, nothing Hillary Clinton does or says is spontaneous. She's been living in a bubble for over 16 years. Every word is scripted (and usually poll or focus group tested.) Almost everyone in Hillary's bubble is paid by her or has donated money to be there. Now, despite the best laid plans, Hillary is at (or beyond) the point of desperation and will say anything to destroy Obama. Hillary's staff and supporters really need to think about what's going on here. Do they really want to be part of this? Do they really want to be doing the GOP's dirty work? Cause they are. Read the rest of this post...

People aren't bitter, they're happy!

Hillary is absolutely correct about Americans who have been shafted by the policies of the GOP, Bill Clinton, and Hillary's votes on the war and the bankruptcy bill. I don't know who Obama is talking to, but these people are smiling and happy. They're pleased that they've been given the opportunity to be thrown aside to help freedom, democracy, modern economics, corporate CEOs, and the government of Colombia.

Funny, but I've witnessed the same in poor countries around the world. Some people see suffering millions who have no idea how they will manage to put the next meal on the table - but no, that's just not right. I know when I look at the world's working class - and I think Hillary and McCain would agree - I see smiling happy people. I see starving people who are bloody well happy to get a three-day old crust of dried bread out of the waste bin, thank you very much. They're simple people, really, but perky as the dirt-poor clams they are. Oh, to be blue collar (or no-collared) and carefree. Heck, I know many a friend (and spouse) of Hillary and McCain would trade in their million dollar salaries and $200,000 speaking fees to live without the worry of where to spend their awfully inconvenient trust funds. Ahh, being poor, with no job (or just as bad, two jobs), no health insurance, an exploding mortgage, gas prices of $4 a gallon, two wars with no end, a massive budget deficit to hand down to the kids, and an overall bleak future - now THAT is the life. Just ask Hillary. Hillary connects with these happy people because she's had a hard life too, what with the sniper fire and all. And her chauffeur, her gardener and her cook are all simple people and she does talk with them, sometimes. And after all, she can shoot a gun just like John Kerry, or perhaps Mitt Romney. All regular people too, just like Hillary. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

An eclectic mix of guests today. Lot of foreign policy. Lot of politics. Jimmy Carter. Nancy Pelosi. Robert Gates. Hadley. A slew of Senators and a couple athletes.

Yet, Russert has yet another show with no guests -- just the same painful panel of pundits. I don't get that. Who cares what they think?

The full lineup is after the break.

Here it is:

ABC's "This Week" — Former President Jimmy Carter; national security adviser Stephen Hadley.

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CBS' "Face the Nation" — Defense Secretary Robert Gates; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

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NBC's "Meet the Press" — Democratic strategists James Carville and Bob Shrum; Republican strategists Mary Matalin and Mike Murphy.

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CNN's "Late Edition" — Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., Joe Biden, D-Del., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent; Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D.; Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Hadley; Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek; Alex Ovechkin, left wing player for the Washington Capitals hockey team.

Read the rest of this post...

China going down the freedom fries route

How original. Oh no, France failed to protect the sacred flame of Nike, IBM, GE and Coke. Damn you French! Damn you! Oh the humanity!

Chinese internet blogs and chat-rooms are full of calls for a boycott of French goods and contracts since the raucous protests which forced the Olympic torch off the streets of Paris last Monday.

French businessmen in China say that they are worried by apparently spontaneous signs of anti-French feeling but say that there is no sign, so far, of any official willingness to "punish" Paris.

How about another series of violent street riots just like the government tolerated (if not more) against the Japanese a few years ago. Please riot against the rest of the world so everyone can re-think and re-locate manufacturing to another location. Heaven forbid. How will the west ever survive? Read the rest of this post...

British PM calls for banks to pass on lower bank rates

Could you even imagine Bush publicly calling for this in the US despite massive funding to the banks? When pigs fly, I suppose.

Banks were urged by Gordon Brown today to pass on last week's interest rate cut to customers, and to 'come clean' about their bad debts, to help ease market uncertainty.

Amid continuing financial uncertainty, the Bank of England cut the base rate last week for the third time since December, but the cost of borrowing could continue to rise, putting thousands of homeowners under strain. Last night, Chancellor Alistair Darling said that the present turbulence was 'the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression'. He plans to meet lenders to discuss new measures to ensure those lower interest rates are passed on to mortgage holders.

Read the rest of this post...