Barack Obama spent the Fourth of July in Montana.  A Red State. A state that few think he can win. A state that gave huge margins to George Bush the past two elections.

    But here he was. On Independence Day. Marching in a parade. Hosting a picnic for hundreds. Trying to rally support for his Presidential run. Trying to show that he can appeal to voters of every political, social, and economic demographic. His web site tells us he "shook hands, kissed babies, signed autographs and posed for pictures." Patriotism just oozed out of his every pore.

    Barack Obama is now as patriotic as the electorate wants him to be. During most of the primaries, he didn't wear a flag pin in his lapel. He didn't think wearing pins makes one patriotic, or not wearing one makes someone unpatriotic. But, the right-wing lambasted him for that. Now he wears a flag pin.

    And every speech he makes, he is now flanked by several American flags. Just in case anyone thinks he isn't patriotic. Or is a foreigner. Or worse, a Muslim.

    Barack Obama has changed in other ways. Once he said he would pull the U.S. out of Iraq. End that war. Now, he's calling for a phased withdrawal.

    Once, he opposed innumerable pieces of legislation sent to the Senate by the Bush-Cheney Administration--and which a Republican Congress rubber stamped. Now, as the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, he voted for provisions of a law that granted immunity to telephone companies that violated both established federal law and the 4th Amendment to the Constitution by voluntarily giving personal data about subscribers to the government.

    Once, he said he would accept government restrictions and decline the excessive private contributions that have muddied politics. Now, with a campaign war chest at least two or three times greater than John McCain's, he has flip-flopped and is taking whatever he can get--and doesn't have to report who gave what.

    Barack Obama isn't the only politician to forsake some of his principles for the greater principle--do whatever it takes to get elected. Hillary Clinton moved more to the center when she began to think she could be the next president, and even voted for the renewal of the unconstitutional PATRIOT Act. John McCain, by any standards a conservative, began playing even more to the right-wing when the evangelical Christians challenged some of his beliefs and voting record. Every politician, even the most maverick ones, say that they need to get elected to do whatever it is they want to do. But, once in office they continue to do whatever is necessary to stay in office and get re-elected.

    Barack Obama, like every other politician, needs to reflect upon the principles of what the Founding Fathers wanted. And maybe every politician should decide that on this Independence Day weekend, it is time to declare that once and forever they will follow their convictions, their beliefs, and declare themselves to be independent, now and forever, not only of special interests, but also of pandering for votes.

    [Walter Brasch has covered politics and presidential campaigns more than 40 years. He is professor of journalism at Bloomsburg University, a syndicated columnist, and author of 17books. His latest book is Sinking the Ship of State: The Presidency of George W. Bush, available through amazon.com and other stores.]

Khaleej Times Online  >> News >> MIDDLE EAST
Iran mulls death penalty for Internet crimes
(AFP)

2 July 2008

TEHERAN - Iran's parliament is set to debate a draft bill which could see the death penalty used for those deemed to promote corruption, prostitution and apostasy on the Internet, reports said on Wednesday.

MPs on Wednesday voted to discuss as a priority the draft bill which seeks to "toughen punishment for harming mental security in society," the ISNA news agency said.

The text lists a wide range of crimes such rape and armed robbery for which the death penalty is already applicable. The crime of apostasy (the act of leaving a religion, in this case Islam) is also already punishable by death.

However, the draft bill also includes "establishing weblogs and sites promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy", which is a new addition to crimes punishable by death.

Those convicted of these crimes "should be punished as "mohareb' (enemy of God) and "corrupt on the earth'," the text says.

Under Iranian law the standard punishments for these two crimes are "hanging, amputation of the right hand and then the left foot as well as exile."

The bill -- which is yet to be debated by lawmakers -- also stipulates that the punishment handed out in these cases "cannot be commuted, suspended or changed".

Internet is widely used in Iran despite restrictions on access and the blocking of thousands of websites with a sexual content or deemed as insulting religious sanctities and promoting political dissent.

Blogging is also very popular among cyber-savvy young Iranians, some openly discussing their private lives or criticising the system.

Human rights groups have accused Iran of making excessive use of the death penalty but Teheran insists it is an effective deterrent that is carried out only after an exhaustive judicial process.

The number of executions soared last year to 317 amid a campaign which the authorities said was aimed at improving security in society, and was sharply up on 2006 figures when Amnesty International recorded 177 executions.

All legislation in Iran has to be rubber-stamped by a conservative clerical watchdog before it is written into law. The Guardians Council vets bills to see if they are in line with the constitution and Islamic law.

The most I feel about these idiots is pity.

Under The LobsterScope

For more on pruning back executive power see Pruning Shears.

As someone who knows a thing or two about our auto industry, there are a couple of immutable facts that serve to distinguish our auto industry from its formidable Japanese competitors.

One,our industry is totally risk averse.The army of Harvard B-Scool graduates and their many accountants and lawyers who run GM,Ford and Chrysler will tell you, technology is risky and they are not about to commit the corporation to a risk over the long term.
Many GM engineers have gotten this message and avoid all possible talk of technical improvements in the presence of their bosses or colleagues.

The second point to note about our auto industry is that when a problem can be solved by money manipulations rather than technology, they will always adopt the former.

In some ways one can say that the Harvard B-school has caused the death of our auto industry.Its most illustrious product,Rick Wagoner,who is the current Chairman of GM, ascended to the throne after the board toppled an engineeer Robert Stempel during a financial crisis brought on by their risk aversion.Stempel, to his credit, wanted to take GM in a direction where Toyota is at the present time by building innovative cars that guzzle less fuel.Stempel was also interested in developing battery or gasoline/battery hybrids that were vetoed by the board as too risky.

In many ways, the death of GM by accountants and business school ignoramuses is a metaphor for the decline of the US economy as the economy moved from a technology based producer of tangible goods to one that now manipulates paper or electrons for the benefit of money managers.In some sense one can say that the money managers have been given the key to the equity that has been built up by the sweat of millions of people over many generations.That has resulted in looting on a vast scale, and as the store declines, the rats of Big Finance blame the engineers as is their wont.

I expect to see Rick Wagoner blame his engineers when finally GM bites the dust.

I wrote without reservation:

Idredit: "Barr is looking good"  

BooMan:"Are you not concerned about losing?"

On reflection a few days later, Yes. I. dred.it.

So,

I've been doing a lot of reading....and, asking myself why did Obama pivot? I'm one of those who thought Obama, the politician, has to dance in the general election campaign with those who brought him to the dance. Is he being a shrewd, ruthless politician - one who abandons his base, the many volunteers who worked their hearts out for him to retire the Clintons? Obama promised us change and unambiguously said he'd pull our troops out of Iraq. And there's the FISA telecom immunity issue.  

Well, I've discovered we should read beyond the headlines. There's a lot of lazy reporting being laid on our tables.

As this post by Arianna Huffington reveals, Opinions are all over the place.

Here are the persons who led me to shed my Chicken Little feathers:

During the howling and protests on Tuesday, July 1st, BooMan wrote, posted at 12:26:51 AM EST:

BooMan:

Can the Blogosphere Please Grow Up?

Barack Obama gave a speech today in Independence, Missouri. You can read the transcript here. It was another moving, excellent performance of the kind we've come to expect from Obama. Apparently, we now take it for granted that Obama will give a great speech, because we no longer give him any credit for them. He spoke of patriotism and of what it means to love this country. Here's just one example:

"I believe those who attack America's flaws without acknowledging the singular greatness of our ideals, and their proven capacity to inspire a better world, do not truly understand America.

Of course, precisely because America isn't perfect, precisely because our ideals constantly demand more from us, patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader or government or policy. As Mark Twain, that greatest of American satirists and proud son of Missouri, once wrote, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." We may hope that our leaders and our government stand up for our ideals, and there are many times in our history when that's occurred. But when our laws, our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism."

If you missed it, please read the entire essay and the comments - get the flavor of how worked over we were and for some, still are.

Hours later Al Giordano offered Smart Dissent - seeing things clearly on Obama's strategy to win the General Election. Giordano repeats essentially BooMan's essay - Can the Blogosphere Please Grow Up? Giordano's essay was posted July 1st, at 3:59 PM; regardless of time zones it's quite likely he may have read BooMan's post.

Nevertheless, Smart Dissent is also a MUST read:

Al Giordano: Smart Dissent.

"Please put aside 28 minutes and 22 seconds today to give your full attention to the video of that speech. And then, if you still feel this nominee is offering more of the same as previous nominees, come back here and make your case at least with the benefit of the full knowledge of what exactly was trampled upon during yesterday's Chicken Little stampede.

Obama said:

    "...it is worth considering the meaning of patriotism because the question of who is - or is not - a patriot all too often poisons our political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us together.  I have come to know this from my own experience on the campaign trail.  Throughout my life, I have always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given.  It was how I was raised; it is what propelled me into public service; it is why I am running for President.  And yet, at certain times over the last sixteen months, I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged - at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for.

     So let me say at this at outset of my remarks.  I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign.  And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine."

That last turn of phrase received such great applause from the Missourians in that hall because most people understand that an early skirmish in the general election fight will determine to what extent Republican nominee John McCain - the former prisoner of war in Vietnam - will or will not have the elbow room to impugn Obama's patriotism. McCain and his surrogates have tried to go there so far with limited success.

Those words put up a barrier around their ability to do so in deeper ways. Obama's "I will not stand idly by" was a warning shot.

The people in the room got it. They know what is at stake in a depth that perhaps not every progressive pundit or blogger does.

I myself relate very intensely to the paradox, cited by Obama yesterday, that it is often the greatest patriots whose patriotism becomes questioned by lesser lights:

go read the whole thing

(emphasis added)

Here we are on Friday. This may cap the week that was.. what a whiplash!

In addition to mounting criticism on his FISA stand, Obama gave a thoughtful speech on Patriotism and he got bashed. Obama made a policy statement on Bush's faith-based programs and it was reported he would expand the program. As it turned out, Obama said he would abolish Bush's faith-based program calling it little more than photo-ops. Obama promised he would be replacing the Bush program with a Council on Faith. It did not help that the Matthew 25 Network began airing a pro-Obama message on Christian radio, Dobson's home town included.

On Wednesday, Obama is said to have "revised, refined his policy on troop withdrawal from Iraq." Seen as walking away from a promised troop withdrawal, Obama held a presser to amplify; which prompted Josh Marshall, to post this observation on the lazy journalism being served up:

Josh Marshall:

Please, Please, Reporters with Brains

I spent most of today in bed with some kind of nasty cold. So I only caught up on any news this evening. And I must confess to being little short of astounded by the avalanche of press BS I'm reading on Barack Obama's position on Iraq.

The McCain camp seems to have a lot of reporters eating out of its hands since many journalists don't appear to grasp the basic distinction between strategy and tactics. I've even had normally sensible journalist colleagues forwarding me RNC press releases like they're passing on the revealed truth. McCain's campaign actually put out a statement claiming that Obama "has now adopted John McCain's position that we cannot risk the progress we have made in Iraq by beginning to withdraw our troops immediately without concern for conditions on the ground."

I've watched this campaign unfold pretty closely. And I've listened to Obama's position on Iraq. He's been very clear through this year and last on the distinction between strategy and tactics. Presidents set the strategy -- which in this context means the goal or the policy. And if the policy is a military one, a President will consult closely with his military advisors on the tactics used to execute the policy.

For the McCain campaign to put out a memo to reporters claiming that Obama has adopted McCain's policy only shows that his advisors believe that a sizable percentage of the political press is made up of incorrigible morons. And it's hard to disagree with the judgment.

The simple truth is that this campaign offers a very clear cut choice on Iraq. One candidate believes that the US occupation of Iraq is the solution; the other thinks it's the problem. John McCain supports the permanent deployment of US troops in Iraq. That is why his hundred years remark isn't some gotcha line.

It's a clear statement of his policy. Obama supports a deliberate and orderly withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. It's a completely different view of America's role in the world and future in the Middle East.

Reporters who can't grasp what Obama is saying seem simply to have been permanently befuddled by George W. Bush's game-playing over delegating policy to commanders.

More examples of lazy, biased journalism:

When AP Takes sides

WSJ editorial paints Obama as Bush's ideological heir

The truth be told. Charles Krauthammer, via Andrew Sullivan, plucked all my remaining feathers. Andrew Sullivan observes that Krauthammer is in panic. Big Time.

Krauthammer: A Man of Seasonal Principles

You'll notice Barack Obama is now wearing a flag pin. Again. During the primary campaign, he refused to, explaining that he'd worn one after Sept. 11 but then stopped because it "became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism." So why is he back to sporting pseudo-patriotism on his chest? Need you ask? The primaries are over. While seducing the hard-core MoveOn Democrats that delivered him the caucuses -- hence, the Democratic nomination -- Obama not only disdained the pin. He disparaged it. Now that he's running in a general election against John McCain, and in dire need of the gun-and-God-clinging working-class votes he could not win against Hillary Clinton, the pin is back. His country 'tis of thee.

Damned if Obama wears a flag pin, damned if he doesn't. Krauthammer's criticism and insults of our standard bearer reminds me of a domestic fight. Don't intervene, you're likely to generate unintended consequences.

Krauthammer is in panic mode means Obama is on the right track and the GOP and Neo-cons are sh*t scared.

This is too rich.  I'll beg some liberties to quote at length Sullivan's post - the money quote from Krauthammer and his (Sullivan's) reaction:

Andrew Sullivan: Krauthammer Panics

A classic today, but this is the money quote:

"Obama's strategy is obvious. The country is in a deep malaise and eager for change. He and his party already have the advantage on economic and domestic issues. Obama, therefore, aims to clear the deck by moving rapidly to the center in those areas where he and his party are weakest, namely national security and the broader cultural issues. With these -- and, most important, his war-losing Iraq policy -- out of the way, the election will be decided on charisma and persona. In this corner: the young sleek cool hip elegant challenger. In the other corner: the old guy. No contest...

As Obama assiduously obliterates all differences with McCain on national security and social issues, he remains rightly confident that Bush fatigue, the lousy economy and his own charisma -- he is easily the most dazzling political personality since John Kennedy -- will carry him to the White House."

They figure it out eventually (apart from the notion that Obama will "lose" any "war"). Having spent much of the year attacking Obama as a commie atheist alien (Hewitt only this week called Obama's post primary position a series of "lurches left"), the neocons are now going to have to attack him as a more electable version of the Clinton they came to love and praise in the primaries. Worse: they fear that Obama has shifted because he wanted to - not because they bullied him into it - and so they have no control any more. They won't be able to use all the usual FoxNews Rovian crap they have long been used to throwing at the Democratic nominee. Charles finishes with a question:

"Of course, once he gets there he will have to figure out what he really believes. The conventional liberal/populist stuff he campaigned on during the primaries? Or the reversals he is so artfully offering up now?

I have no idea. Do you? Does he"

It's a rhetorical question but I'll answer it. Yes, I do. And yes, he does. He wants withdrawal from Iraq as prudently as possible. That this might take longer than sixteen months, even though that is the goal, is Bush's fault, not Obama's. Yes, he does want to expand access to private healthcare, engage Iran with more than bluster, raise taxes on the successful, pass immigration reform, end torture, and restore America's moral reputation in the world. And he intends to do it without acting like a rigid, purist ideologue, of the kind Krauthammer admires and of the kind that has driven us into a ditch in Iraq. His adjustments in the post-primary campaign take the hard edges off his clear policy positions, defuse some obvious weaknesses, move aggressively to the center ... and use his money advantage to win the thing. Er: he's a skilled politician.

I know the Republicans are used to Democratic candidates being knocked about and defined and pummeled from the get-go. But Obama is different. Hadn't you noticed that yet?

Next question.

(emphasis added)

I don't need a tickle.  How sweet it is! The Neocons are in panic over Obama. They're hard pressed to define him. Obama is no "Kerry with a tan" as one McCain surrogate groped. And Rove keeps trying. Bless their weeping hearts.

Don't you just love it? ...Skilled, Shrewd and ruthless is what we need in Election 2008.

I need to lay to final rest, once and for all, the last tattered shreds of my love for and blind faith in this land of mine.

To lose a long beloved one, is very hard. Even harder, is having to admit that that long beloved one never truly existed in the first place.

As if only yesterday, the memories of being literally filled to overflowing with a such deep and abiding love of America I could hardly contain it are still fresh for me.  

Every soldier I saw on the street was a part of my very own child's heart: I loved them all so much, I embarrassed my mother terribly by inviting every soldier I met home for dinner. I had to do "something" for them at age six..anything..to show them how much I loved them all.

I remember that I cried off and on all day on the 4th of July, as I watched the Parade, hearing the Parade Drums, seeing the crisp formations of soldiers pass by, simply overwhelmed with pride and yearning to be a part of them someday. I'd find a way, even if I was "just a girl".  

Memorial Day and the Fourth of July were the most important days in the year to me,  much more special than Christmas. The whole world stopped back then, to honor these days of gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives for our beloved America, and to celebrate her with all we had, on Independence Day.

Some of those memories are permanently etched in my brain.
Memorial Day at Evergreen Cemetery, the whole town present, the crisply uniformed ranks, the solemn boom of the 21 gun salute, the planes flying over in missing man formation...and oh, all of the flags proudly flying against the verdant green, on the graves of all those who sacrificed their lives for us....

Then came the 4th of July. Independence Day. Time to truly celebrate the birth of this Great Nation: the Home of the Free and the Brave. I am feeling frustrated as I write, because I sense there are no words I could use, to bring anyone back there with me who has never once experienced this kind of Patriotism, the kind that  seemed programmed into ones very DNA.

Another memory is also etched permanently and so vivid it can still bring tears. Standing at full attention, saluting, as the crisp, perfect formations of Soldiers marched by, my own heartbeat in total synch with the Parade Drums. Every cell of my six year old body yearning to be a part of this, filled with determination to BE a part of it, someday, even if I was "just a girl".

So odd it seems, that memories like that not only refuse to die, but refuse to even fade, after all these long hard years of discovering that nearly all of it was a bald face lie.

This discovery took forever..and was, in a word, simply excruciating, every damned bit of it.  It was like getting my heart torn out of my body, one small bloody bit at a time. (Except during Viet Nam, when half of it got butchered and buried along side my brother in a very short time)

And it has meant giving up the very foundations my life was built on.  The love of a land where I "belonged" to something so vast, so grand, something that would always be there for me, take care of me, something so good, ... to  spend the rest of my life without that foundation at ALL. I am now a  "person without a country" because the country I thought I belonged to simply never existed  

"My Country 'Tis of Thee.." I sang out so proudly, for so long,  along with everyone else.."Sweet Land Of Liberty...of Thee I Sing!"

There is, I don't think, any safer more wonderful feeling a human can ever have, than to feel THAT  much belonging; THAT  much love for ones country.

So when I run into older right wing patriotic types now, the ones who WILL NOT SEE...and WILL NOT CHANGE, yes, I understand them. To expect them to change, is to expect them to willing cut out their own hearts. Not all of us can do that and still survive, or are willing to even try. Then factor in the effects of right wing fundamentalist religion,  ..and it's easy to see why maintaining the status quo is their life's work.

 I don't believe most of todays (ah hem) "leaders"  who have systematically torn down even the illusion of what America was and is, are old "cellular level" Patriots like this.

I think most of THEM  are greedy, power mad, souless, sociopathic  BASTARDS who are smart enough to have learned how to exploit and harness up all us old patriots, and exploit the hell out of us for personal power and gain.

And until "WE"  ALL DIE OFF...(everyone who was raised with that almost cellular level of  patriotic programming, about the history of this country, and those so well programmed by war-like religious fundamentalism,) and are replaced by enough of you, who were born into lifetimes where you had a damned chance to form your own beliefs..not a hell of a lot is going to go in any direction other than the one we're heading in right now, big picture. That's just how it looks to me from here.

So now must say my final good by to that America I once believed was my very own Heart-Land.  It was but an beautiful illusion, inserted into my soul.  

I can no longer sing  "My County, 'Tis of thee, Sweet Land of Liberty, of Thee I Sing!"

But I can still sing, in a softer, sadder voice,
"My Country, Yet To Be...Sweet Land Of liberty...of Thee I Sing.."

And I am singing it, to all of you.

Take her. She's yours now, such as she is.

Don't hate us too much please.
Most of us did the best we could, with what we believed was true.

Remember that America, as she could be, and as I believe she is intended to be, is still in the womb gestating. She has not yet truly been "born" yet: the labor is long and it is hard, and it is going to take all of you to get this baby delivered.

It won't be an easy birthing and I don't think it can be done with old methods and systems long in place, either. Those belong to an era that is passing by. If every there was a time for innovation, for blazing new pathways... it's now.

Me, well, I'm fine now. Us humans are remarkable in how much we can adapt to "whatever is", given time enough to get past all the phases of shock, denial, depression, bargaining and finally, to acceptance and peace.

I trust you. I can make my exit knowing you will do your part in this birthing process.

(Not perfectly, however. You will bumble and stumble and get lost and try to kill each other off..just as we did!)

I still can hear the fetal heartbeat of this land yet to be born and I believe she is still viable.

And somehow, I just know I will get to see it, wherever the hell I end up..even if only as dust on the wind.. :)  

Today, the 4th of July, we here in the States celebrate our "Independence", no need to go into an explanation, or give a link to read about, we're all supposed to know and understand what that means, and so are others who think they've achieved that.

This year there'll be alot less traveling to a further destination for relaxation or whatever, more home bodies, we all know the reasons, or we should.

Today is the 4th of July and is the day we celebrate American Independence.  There will be lots of flag waving, speeches, fire works and food.  While celebrating the 4th with family and friends at a back yard cookout, parade or political rally, I hope everyone takes a few moments to reflect on what they consider America and why they are celebrating. cross posted @ Daily Kos, Texas Kaos, Doing My Part For The Left

Environmentalism is not an upper-income issue, it's not a white issue, it's not a black issue, it's not a South or a North or an East or a West issue. It's an issue that all of us have a stake in - Barack Obama

Contrary to reports of my untimely demise I am still here I just have been having problems coming up with stuff to write about. I've written a lot of diaries on Obama's platform but there is one issue that I have not written about much. And it's a very, very important issue. A little something called our environment. Barack Obama has been a champion of the environment for a long time. In this diary I will take a look at his background on this issue and plans for moving our country and environment forward.

Kennedy leads renewed effort on universal healthcare
Presses for bipartisan support before new president takes office - The Boston Globe

Senator Edward M. Kennedy's office has begun convening a series of meetings involving a wide array of healthcare specialists to begin laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal healthcare, according to participants.

The discussions signal that Kennedy, who instructed aides to begin holding the meetings while he is in Massachusetts undergoing treatment for brain cancer, intends to work vigorously to build bipartisan support for a major healthcare initiative when he returns to Washington in the fall.

Those involved in the discussions said Kennedy believes it is extremely important to move as quickly as possible on overhauling the healthcare system after the next president takes office in January in order to capitalize on the momentum behind a new administration.[.]

Obama's Senate staff has attended the roundtable discussions. If Obama is elected, Kennedy's effort to identify points of agreement among senators could smooth the way for the new administration to press ahead on universal healthcare, which Obama has promised to implement within four years.[.]

 "The senator is trying to learn from health reform attempts in the past and to build a fair amount of consensus among his Senate colleagues, House colleagues, and the Obama campaign . . . and find a strategy that could carry with some momentum into the new administration," said Dr. Jay Himmelstein, a health policy specialist at University of Massachusetts Medical School and a former Kennedy staff member who has been involved in the talks.

The initiative also suggests that Kennedy, who has made healthcare his signature issue in his 45-year Senate career and who is fighting an aggressive brain tumor, is considering his legacy as a new administration arrives in Washington - a moment many see as the best chance for widespread changes in the healthcare system in 15 years.

"You have got to think this will be the Ted Kennedy Health Reform Act, because he's a beloved figure and he's championed the issue for so long," said John Rother, policy director for the AARP, which has been involved in the discussions.

Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for Kennedy, added that "Making sure each American has access to quality, affordable healthcare is the cause of Senator Kennedy's life."

Just watch the rush on both sides to co-sponsor the Ted Kennedy Health Reform Act. The wasted trillions of dollars spent on Iraq demands its passage.

Welcome back Senator.