Clipmarks | kmcolo's Comments

The real Obama (is not fit for President)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:22:25 GMT

clipped by: pkronfield
clipper's remarks: The story of Obama's political career is not a pretty story. He won his first political victory by being the only candidate on the ballot-- after hiring someone skilled at disqualifying the signers of opposing candidates' petitions, on whatever technicality he could come up with.

Despite his words today about "change" and "cleaning up the mess in Washington," Obama was not on the side of reformers who were trying to change the status quo of corrupt, machine politics in Chicago and clean up the mess there. Obama came out in favor of the Daley machine and against reform candidates.

Senator Obama is running on an image that is directly the opposite of what he has been doing for two decades. His escapes from his past have been as remarkable as the great escapes of Houdini.

Why much of the public and the media have been so mesmerized by the words and the image of Obama, and so little interested in learning about the factual reality, was perhaps best explained by an official of the

Clip Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

Critics of Senator Barack Obama make a strategic mistake when they talk about his "past associations." That just gives his many defenders in the media an opportunity to counter-attack against "guilt by association."

Associations are very different from alliances. Allies are not just people who happen to be where you are or who happen to be doing the same things you do. You choose allies deliberately for a reason. The kind of allies you choose says something about you.

Jeremiah Wright, Father Michael Pfleger, William Ayers and Antoin Rezko are not just people who happened to be at the same place at the same time as Barack Obama. They are people with whom he chose to ally himself for years, and with some of whom some serious money changed hands.

Obama could have allied himself with all sorts of other people. But, time and again, he allied himself with people who openly expressed their hatred of America. No amount of flags on his campaign platforms this election year can change that.

Tags: obama the liar

U.S. occupation

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:26:35 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: "Now those that hate the US can condemn the US for its brutal success in defending its interests and those of other free nations around the world. But to instantly brand “Occupation” a dirty word belies the truth of history. The better economic and social system always wins...."

Clip Source: tech.groups.yahoo.com

In these days of transition in Iraq it is important to traverse the mine field of rhetoric on both the Left and the Right and find a reasonable balance. Not a balance that equalizes the rhetoric, but one that accurately predicts the future.

This is not the first time the US has invaded and “Occupied” a country

The three areas the US abandoned – Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam are all Communist states. The only remaining Communists states in the world.

Even Vietnam that has a firm economic footing today lags behind the place it probably would have been had the US developed better and more effective anti-insurgent techniques.

Germany, Japan and Korea were all occupied countries. Each one still has US troops providing protection. Each was criticized as a failure at the time. And each one drew internal protest.

The US occupied Cuba, Puerto Rico, Gram, The Philippines and Hawaii after the Spanish American War.

Tags: history, politics, war

Pelosi says $150B economic stimulus plan needed

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:08:50 GMT

clipped by: jatfla
clipper's remarks: Holy Cow!!! Is there no end to this giving away our tax dollars? They haven't even won the White House yet and they're giving more of our $$ away. Can someone just calm down a few days and think things through? These people are only making things worse. Talk about scare tactics!!!

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Pelosi says $150B economic stimulus plan needed

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that a $150 billion economic stimulus plan is needed now because of the faltering economy and she may call the House into session after the election to pass it.

Pelosi told reporters that the stock market meltdown, which has caused an estimated $2 trillion loss from pension funds, was a factor in her recommendation

If Democratic nominee Barack Obama wins the White House and if Capitol Hill Democrats make gains in the elections as well, it might be easier to pass a stimulus measure over dispirited Republicans,

Pelosi said a stimulus package would create jobs by investing in public works, increasing food stamps benefits and extending unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless.

Why polls are underestimating Obama's chances

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:23:43 GMT

clipped by: jklugman
clipper's remarks: Ezra Klein posts correspondence with Princeton political scientist Larry Bartels about why current polls are underestimating the support Obama will receive in the election.

Clip Source: www.prospect.org

First, there is a fairly strong tendency for late shifts in preferences to favor the incumbent party when the economy is strong and the out-party when the economy is weak; that makes Sen. Obama's position stronger than it looks in current polls.

Second,

given the pattern of new registrations and the apparent strength of the two campaigns' voter mobilization efforts, Sen. Obama seems more likely to benefit than to lose support from unexpected turnout.

Third, the possibility that undecided white voters may, in the end, be unable to bring themselves to vote for Sen. Obama on racial grounds makes his position somewhat more precarious than it would otherwise be. It is very difficult to estimate the importance of the racial factor (that is, the extent to which racial antipathy is not already reflected in current polls), but my guess is that this is less important than the other two factors, both of which seem likely to work in Sen. Obama's favor.

Tags: ezra klein, barack obama, john mccain, larry bartels, survey, poll, polls, elections

Historian on Panic of 1873 vs. now

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:15:47 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: the current economic woes look a lot like what my 96-year-old grandmother still calls "the real Great Depression." She pinched pennies in the 1930s, but she says that times were not nearly so bad as the depression her grandparents went through. That crash came in 1873 and lasted more than four years. It looks much more like our current crisis.

Clip Source: itulip.com

If there are lessons from 1873, they are different from those of 1929.

when banks fall on Wall Street, they stop all the traffic on Main Street — for a very long time

The post-panic winners

might be those firms

that have substantial cash reserves

widespread consolidation of industries may be on the horizon

The failure in July of the World Trade Organization talks begun in Doha seven years ago suggests a new wave of protectionism may be on the way

In the end, the Panic of 1873 demonstrated that the center of gravity for the world's credit had shifted west — from Central Europe toward the United States. The current panic suggests a further shift — from the United States to China and India

Tags: stock market, depression, geopolitics

Afghanistan code red

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:37:40 GMT

clipped by: deb2012

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The White House has launched an urgent review of Afghanistan policy, fast-tracked for completion in the next several weeks, amid growing concern that the administration lacks a comprehensive strategy for the foundering war there and as intelligence officials warn of a rapidly worsening situation on the ground.

Analysts have concluded that reconstituted elements of al-Qaeda and the resurgent Taliban are collaborating with an expanding network of militant groups, making the counterinsurgency war infinitely more complicated.

Alarms were first sounded early this year,

But seven months would pass before the administration, distracted by issues as serious as the Iraq war and as far afield as the Olympics, was seized with the urgency to put a new strategy in place.

the temporary deployment of 3,500 more Marines, an appeal for more NATO troops and presidential authorization for U.S. commando raids into Pakistan -- the downward spiral continued

U.S. military deaths

have risen to the highest levels

Tags: war on terror, politics

Most beautiful words in the English language

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:43:13 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee

Clip Source: www.listology.com

by diaskeaus

adumbrate To very gently suggest.

aestivate To summer, to spend the summer.

amaryllis Bulbous plants which have large red or pink flowers.

asphodel Plants having white, pink, or yellow flowers in elongated clusters.

beatific Befitting an angel or saint.

blandiloquent Beautiful and flattering.

bliss

blossom

bubble

champagne An effervescent wine.

cherish

chimes

cozy

cute

cynosure A focal point of admiration.

delicacy

destiny

effervescent Bubbly.

elysium Any place or state of perfect happiness; paradise.

enthusiasm

epiphany A sudden revelation.

eternity

extravaganza

fantastic

felicitous Pleasing.

fragile Very, very delicate.

galaxy

giggle

glamour Beauty.

gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider's silk.

grace

gracious

hilarious

home

hush

imbue To infuse, instill.

lagniappe A gift given to a customer for their patronage.

languor Listlessness, inactivity.

laughter The response to something funny.

lithe Slender and flexible.

lollipop

lovely

love

luminous

melody

moment

mother

murmuring

nobility

oeuvre A work.

I'll Take Hope Over Fear and Loathing, Thank You Very Much

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:00:26 GMT

clipped by: dulios
clipper's remarks: I am by training a historian. My focus of study has been 20th century Europe and the rise of fascism. The "othering' taking place on the right and from the Republican candidates themselves is horrifying to behold. Who's to blame for the economic crisis? Barney Frank (faggot!), ACORN (niggers!), Barack Hussein Obama (half-breed Muslim!). I see it on the internet, I see it on TV, I see it in newspapers, I see it here on ClipMarks: race-baiting, fear-mongering, scapegoating.

Enough! Not here! Not now! Not ever again!

If I may quote Obama, "Not this time!

Clip Source: mediamatters.org

Savage: "I fear that Obama will stir up a race war ... in order to seize absolute power"

During the October 8 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage invited callers to discuss what they "fear the most if [Sen. Barack] Obama wins" the presidential election. After airing a clip of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Savage said: "I fear that Obama will stir up a race war. You want to ask me what I fear? I think Obama will empower the racists in this country and stir up a race war in order to seize absolute power." Savage later said: "I want you to call this show and tell me what you fear about Barack Hussein Obama as president."

SAVAGE: Oh no, I want everyone to strip off all of their social constraints right now on this show. And I want them to get down to the core fear that they have for Obama. I want to hear it on this show, and I thank you. And you can call me at 1-800-449-8255. Don't hold anything back.

Tags: race

Feds to look into Lee County Sheriff Scott's 'Hussein' Obama comment at Palin rally

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:06:54 GMT

clipped by: Jorjor
clipper's remarks: For the record, it's John Sidney McCain III and Sarah Louise Heath Palin.

Gee..."Heath"...does that mean she's a heathen?

And Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.

The investigation, though, is not for what Sheriff Scott said, but that he was speaking ex cathedra as a law enforcement official, by virtue of the fact that he was in uniform and on duty at the time he spoke. Had he been in civvies and on his own time, it wouldn't be an issue.

Clip Source: www.news-press.com

One day after Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott sparked national controversy by referring to Democratic presidential candidate as Barack Hussein Obama, the federal government is investigating a complaint about his remark and members of the local ACLU and NAACP have called for an apology, saying Scott’s action was racist.

On Monday, Scott appeared in his uniform in front of more than 9,000 people at a rally for Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and used Obama’s middle name, Hussein.

Scott did not refer to Palin or Republican presidential candidate John McCain by their full names at the event at Germain Arena in Estero.

A complaint sent to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel alleges that Scott violated the Hatch Act because his agency receives federal dollars, and Scott was engaging in political activity while on duty and in uniform. Erica S. Hamrick, senior attorney for the agency, said in an e-mail Tuesday that an investigation was being opened.

Tags: politics, election, mccain, palin, biden, obama

The Years He Won’t Discuss May Explain The Ayers Tie He Denies

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 05:53:15 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: transparent whitewashing of the Obama/Ayers tie, the paper claimed that the pair first met earlier in 1995, “at a lunchtime meeting about school reform in a Chicago skyscraper[.]” That storyline is preposterous too, but it is also a marked revision of the paper’s prior account (which, naturally, reporter Scott Shane fails to mention).

Why the change? The tacit concession was forced by Stanley Kurtz and Steve Diamond — whom the Times chooses not to acknowledge but who hover over Shane’s sunny narrative like a dark cloud.

Despite all manner of stonewalling by Obama, Ayers and their allies, these commentators have doggedly pursued information about the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. That’s the $150+ million “education reform” piggy bank substantially controlled in the nineties by Ayers and Obama, who doled out tens of millions of dollars to Leftist radicals — radicals who, like their patrons, understood that control over our institutions, and especially our schools, . . . .

Clip Source: article.nationalreview.com

Why Won’t Obama Talk About Columbia?

Barack Obama does not want to talk about Columbia. Not even to his good friends at the New York Times, who’ve so reliably helped him bleach away his past — a past neck-deep in the hard Left radicalism he has gussied up but never abandoned.

Why? I suspect it is because Columbia would shred his thin post-partisan camouflage.

Mr. Obama was introduced to the couple in 1995 at a meet-and-greet they held for him at their home, aides said.

Now look, anyone who gave five seconds of thought to that passage smelled a rat. Ayers and Dohrn are passionate radical activists who lived as fugitives for a decade. There’s no way they held a political coming-out party for someone who was unknown to them. Obviously, they already knew him well enough by then to feel very comfortable. They might have been sympathetic to a relative stranger, but sponsoring such a gathering in one’s living room is a strong endorsement.

And now, even the Times now knows it’s been had.

Tags: obama, ayers/dohrn, scott shane/nytimes, columbia, $150+ million “education reform”, chicago annenberg challenge, stanley kurtz and steve diamond

Greed is not an explanation - Don Boudreaux

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:16:25 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: "Greed" certainly can be unleashed to do harm, but it can also be harnessed to do good."

Clip Source: cafehayek.typepad.com

Saying that "greed" caused today's problems is like saying that gravity caused the death of someone pushed from the top floor of the Empire State building. Some things are sufficiently constant in human affairs - and self-interest, even greed, is among them - that they explain nothing.

Any compelling explanation of any observed economic reality must take "greed" as a given while identifying the specific incentives provided by prevailing social institutions. If these institutions make serving the needs of others the best path to personal gain, then "greed" is harnessed for human betterment. But if these institutions make predating on others - either through force or fraud, or either intentionally or unintentionally - the best path to personal gain, then "greed" will indeed lead people to act destructively. In either case, though, it is the institutions and their accompanying incentives, rather than "greed," that explain economic reality.

Tags: boudreauz, greed, economics

Palin's mob

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:43:44 GMT

clipped by: deb2012
clipper's remarks: "Obama is a one man terror cell"

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: politics

Palin "a fatal cancer to the GOP"

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:40:16 GMT

clipped by: kmcolo
clipper's remarks: I agree with David Brooks yet again. I hope that one day the GOP will recover from this cancer so that I can once again call it my political home.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Sarah Palin] represents a fatal cancer to the Republican party. When I first started in journalism, I worked at the National Review for Bill Buckley. And Buckley famously said he'd rather be ruled by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty. But he didn't think those were the only two options. He thought it was important to have people on the conservative side who celebrated ideas, who celebrated learning. And his whole life was based on that, and that was also true for a lot of the other conservatives in the Reagan era. Reagan had an immense faith in the power of ideas. But there has been a counter, more populist tradition, which is not only to scorn liberal ideas but to scorn ideas entirely. And I'm afraid that Sarah Palin has those prejudices. I think President Bush has those prejudices.

Tags: brooks, politics, palin, gop, republicans, election08

Bush to America: Hang in there

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:25:00 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: ap.google.com

Bush to America: Hang in there

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Tuesday told a country engulfed by dire economic news that it should not expect a sudden recovery, but rather a gradual rebound that will test people's patience.

Pounding home a sober tone, Bush said about a dozen times that the nation is enduring "tough times."

"I know that the days are dim right now for a lot of folks," Bush said. "But I firmly believe tomorrow is going to be brighter."

Just not literally tomorrow.

The government's unprecedented plan to buy up Wall Street's failed assets has not kept the stock market from plunging or the credit crisis from imperiling financial markets around the globe. That, in turn, has exacerbated the confusion of the public, which was told repeatedly that the government plan was a rescue.

So the White House, led by Bush, is sending this message: Hang in there, America. The massive federal intervention will just take time to work.

Tags: bush, chantilly, economy, pep talk, finance, retirement, housing

Buy Stock now or Why You Should Fear the Future

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:54:12 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.fool.com

Why You Should Fear the Future

Remember when everyone was quoting Baron Rothschild, saying, "Buy when blood is in the streets"? Well, this is it. We're in the Wall Street equivalent of Kill Bill meets Jurassic Park. It looks like it's all over but the spurting.

Warren Buffett knows how to play this game. He's buying, and he says that in five or 10 years, "we'll look back on this period and we'll see that you could have made some extraordinary buys."

But when the market drops 9% in a day, it's hard to react logically, like Buffett -- and not, say, curl up into a quivering, sniffling ball. Here are five ways to help you achieve your goal.

1. Be afraid -- be very afraid
Instead of looking at how much you can make by buying a stock, examine all the ways that you can lose. Bruce Berkowitz, who manages the Fairholme Fund, swears by this strategy. He tries to think of every possible scenario that can kill a company -- and if he can't find any, then he'll buy.

Tags: stocks, market, economy, buffet, investment