OHNOES: If I had your phone number before, I don't anymore. My phone died. Email me your number! <3
"Sorry Miss Jackson, I am for real."
The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for saying Barack Obama is “talking down to black people” during what Jackson thought was a private conversation before a FOX News interview Sunday.
Jackson was speaking to a guest at the time about Obama’s speeches in black churches and his support for faith-based charities. Jackson added before going live, “I want to cut his nuts off.”
His microphone picked up the remarks.
At a hastily arranged news conference Wednesday evening in Chicago, Jackson said he supports Obama “unequivocally” and that he hopes to “get this behind me.”
“I have great passion for this campaign and traveled across the country … arguing the case for the campaign,” Jackson said. “And this thing I said in a hot-mic statement that’s interpreted as a distraction, I offer apology for that. I don’t want harm or hurt to come to this campaign.”
He said, “They were hurtful and wrong … but we have a relationship that can survive this.”
Jackson said in a written statement he was trying to emphasize that Obama’s moral message should “not only deal with the personal and moral responsibility of black males, but to deal with the collective moral responsibility of government and the public policy.”
Jackson said the conversation “does not reflect any disparagement on my part for the historic event in which we are involved or my pride in Senator Barack Obama, who is leading it, whom I have supported by crisscrossing this nation in every level of media and audience from the beginning in absolute terms.”
Jackson told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he doesn’t remember exactly what he said Sunday but that he was “very sorry” for his comments about Obama. He called his comments “a side light in a broader conversation about urban disparities.”
Jackson said he has called Obama’s campaign to apologize.
Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton noted that the Illinois senator grew up without his father and has spoken and written at length about the issues of parental responsibility and fathers participating in their children’s lives, and of society’s obligation to provide “jobs, justice and opportunity for all.
“He will continue to speak out about our responsibilities to ourselves and each other, and he of course accepts Reverend Jackson’s apology,” Burton said.
Jackson’s comments sparked something of a family feud. His son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., said he was disappointed by his father’s “reckless statements.”
“His divisive and demeaning comments about the presumptive Democratic nominee — and I believe the next president of the United States — contradict his inspiring and courageous career,” the younger Jackson said.
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President Bush strongly signaled Wednesday that he won't order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned because he refuses to "jeopardize the hard-fought gains" of the past year. Labels: bush administration, democrats, government, iraq war, republicans
As anti-war activists demonstrated around downtown Washington, the president spoke at the Pentagon to mark the anniversary of a war that has cost nearly 4,000 U.S. lives and roughly $500 billion. The president's address was part of a series of events the White House planned around the anniversary and next month's report from the top U.S. figures in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. That report will be the basis for Bush's first troop-level decision in seven months.
"The battle in Iraq has been longer and harder and more costly than we anticipated," Bush said.
But, he added, before an audience of Pentagon brass, soldiers and diplomats: "The battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, and it is just. And with your courage, the battle in Iraq will end in victory."
Democrats took issue with Bush's stay-the-course suggestion.
"With the war in Iraq entering its sixth year, Americans are rightly concerned about how much longer our nation must continue to sacrifice our security for the sake of an Iraqi government that is unwilling or unable to secure its own future," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Democrats will continue to push for an end to the war in Iraq and increased oversight of that war."
Bush repeatedly and directly linked the Iraq fight to the global battle against the al Qaida terror network. And he made some of his most expansive claims of success. He said the increase of 30,000 troops that he ordered to Iraq last year has turned "the situation in Iraq around." He also said that "Iraq has become the place where Arabs joined with Americans to drive al Qaida out."
"The surge ... has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror," the president said. "We are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology, and his terror network. And the significance of this development cannot be overstated."
Bush appeared to be referring to recent cooperation by local Iraqis with the U.S. military against the group known as al-Qaida in Iraq, a mostly homegrown, though foreign-led, Sunni-based insurgency. Experts question how closely—or even whether—the group is connected to the international al-Qaida network. As for bin Laden, he is rarely heard from and is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.
The U.S. has about 158,000 troops in Iraq. That number is expected to drop to 140,000 by summer in drawdowns meant to erase all but about 8,000 troops from last year's increase.
Bush, who has successfully defied efforts by the Democratic-led Congress to force larger and faster withdrawals, said they could unravel recent progress. "Having come so far and achieved so much, we are not going to let this happen," he said.
He criticized those who "still call for retreat" in the face of what he called undeniable successes.
"The challenge in the period ahead is to consolidate the gains we have made and seal the extremists' defeat," he said. "We have learned through hard experience what happens when we pull our forces back too fast—the terrorists and extremists step in, fill the vacuum, establish safe havens and use them to spread chaos and carnage."
This sort of cautionary rhetoric is consistent with all the president's recent statements about Iraq.
It has been widely believed for weeks that Bush will endorse an expected recommendation from Petraeus next month for no additional troop reductions, beyond those already scheduled, until at least September. This so-called pause in drawdowns would be designed to assess the impact of this round before allowing more.
The surge was meant to tamp down sectarian violence in Iraq so that the country's leaders would have time to advance legislation considered key to reconciliation between rival Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities. But the gains on the battlefield have not been matched by dramatic political progress, and violence again may be increasing.
With just 10 months before he hands off the war to a new president, Bush is concerned about his legacy on Iraq.
Both Democratic candidates have said they would begin withdrawing forces quickly if elected. Only expected GOP nominee John McCain has indicated he planned to continue Bush's strategy of bringing troops home only as conditions warrant.
Vice President Dick Cheney, who just completed a two-day visit to Iraq, said the administration won't "be blown off course" by continued strong opposition to the war in the United States.
Cheney compared the administration's task now to Abraham Lincoln's during the Civil War. "He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there," Cheney said of Lincoln in an interview broadcast Wednesday on ABC's "Good Morning America."
As of Tuesday, at least 3,990 members of the U.S. military have died in the war, which has cost the U.S. roughly $500 billion. Nobel Prize- winning economist Joseph E. Stiglizt and Harvard University public finance expert Linda Bilmes have estimated the eventual cost at $3 trillion when all the expenses, including long-term care for veterans, are calculated.
Without specifics, Bush decried those who have "exaggerated estimates of the costs of this war."
"War critics can no longer credibly argue that we are losing in Iraq, so now they argue the war costs too much," he said.
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With Clinton winning in TX and OH, battle with Obama marches on into April.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama: Welcome to Pennsylvania, a sprawling state with two large cities and a farm region larger than Massachusetts.
It's 12.4 million diverse residents like the kind of face-to-face interaction with candidates more often seen in small caucus states such as Iowa and they're likely to get just that during the seven weeks until they vote in a primary to allocate 158 delegates to the Democratic national convention.
Thanks to Clinton's wins in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island on Tuesday, Pennsylvania has gone from political afterthought to must-win state for the Democratic presidential contenders.
With just two much smaller contests between now and the state's April 22 primary — in Wyoming and Mississippi — Pennsylvania is in for a marathon of rallies, town-hall meetings, television ads and high stakes get-out-the-vote efforts.
"We're going to get every bit, if not more, than the voters in Iowa and New Hampshire got," boasted Philadelphia lawyer Mark Aronchick, a national fundraiser for Clinton's campaign. Mark Alderman, a national fundraiser for Obama, agreed that Pennsylvania is going to "look more like the Iowa campaign than anything since Iowa."
One additional wrinkle in Pennsylvania: Only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary; independents, who have strongly supported Obama in other states, are barred. But the campaigns have until March 24 to persuade the state's 984,000 registered voters who are not members of either major party — plus any wavering Republicans — to sign up as Democrats so they can vote in the primary.
The nation's sixth most populous state, Pennsylvania bears many similarities to Ohio, where Clinton defeated Obama handily.
Two major metropolises — Philadelphia in the southeast and Pittsburgh in the southwest — bookend a vast rural region with 58,000 farms on 7.7 million acres — an area larger than Massachusetts.
It's a Rust Belt state largely abandoned by the once-mighty steel, coal and railroad industries. Today, its biggest employers are the federal government, the state government and Wal-Mart, in that order.
Pennsylvania's comparatively high union membership — 13.5 percent of state wage earners compared with 12 percent nationally — and large elderly population — only Florida and West Virginia exceed its 15 percent aged 65 or older — make it fertile ground for Clinton, whose political base is anchored by older white voters and blue-collar workers. The state AFL-CIO estimates a third of the registered voters live in union households.
Only 10 percent of Pennsylvanians are between age 18 and 24, a group that Obama has captured in other states.
Political observers expect Obama will do well in Philadelphia, the state's Democratic hub, where more than 40 percent of the residents are black, and among the younger, better educated voters in the city's suburbs. Clinton, they say, may do better among more conservative, working class Democrats in northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania.
The state has a slim track record of electing women and blacks to public office — relevant in a year when Democrats likely will have either the first female or first black nominee for president. Women comprise just 13 percent of the state legislature, in contrast to the national average of 23 percent. Blacks held 8 percent of the seats, equal to the national average.
In Washington, Pennsylvania's 21-member congressional delegation includes one woman and one black.
Of the state's 29 superdelegates — the officeholders and party leaders not bound by the primary vote — 13 have endorsed Clinton while four back Obama.
Most polls show Clinton leading in the state, but the margin has shrunk in recent weeks. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Clinton with 49 percent of the vote and Obama with 43 percent.
Clinton has the backing of Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, one of the state's prominent black leaders.
The last time the Pennsylvania's primary made a difference was in 1976, when former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter's victory cleared the way for him to win the nomination and, in turn, the presidency.
Registered Democrats numbered 3.9 million last fall, but officials in many counties say their ranks have swelled with voter interest in the Obama-Clinton contest. The 8.1 million voters registered for last year's elections included 3.2 million Republicans as well as the 984,000 voters not registered with either major party.
In presidential elections, Pennsylvania has been a "swing state leaning Democratic," according to Terry Madonna, a pollster at Franklin & Marshall College.
Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry carried the state in 2000 and 2004 while losing nationally to Republican George W. Bush. In the previous 12 presidential elections, Pennsylvania voted for the winner 11 times, siding with only one loser, Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968.
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Super Tuesday
Don't forget to vote if you're in one of the many many states voting in the US tomorrow. You can't say nuthin' for the next few years about how crappy things are unless you get out there and have your say. Sure your guy or gal may not win, but the important thing is voice your say. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
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Quickly all the news that's fit to type in like a few minutes.
* John McCain won the Florida primary in a tight battle against Romney. Labels: colin, democrats, election, Florida, loli, movies, myspace, personal, republicans, secret stash, yaoi
* Rudy 9/11 Gulliani 9/11 is expected 9/11 to quit 9/11 tomorrow.
* Hillary won in Florida for the Dems, but wins no delegates.
* Meet the Spartians STILL hurts days after I saw it.
* There are rumors of Hannah Montana naughty pics on her MySpace. Oh lawd.
* If you ever wanted to see me in a compromising situation...
* You are running out of time for January's Secret Stash.
* Next month's stash is all about love due to the Valentine's Day holiday.
* Yaoi posts may resume tomorrow if I'm feeling like it.
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America Politics Suck
Even the liberals are conservative. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
When I took the political compass quiz, my results put me close to Dennis Kucinich whom I did vote for in the 2004 Georgia Primary.
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Hillary sneaks past Obama; McCain wins more solidly in New Hampshire's primaries.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton powered to victory in New Hampshire's Democratic primary Tuesday night in a startling upset, defeating Sen. Barack Obama and resurrecting her bid for the White House. Sen. John McCain defeated his Republican rivals to move back into contention for the GOP nomination. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
"I felt like we all spoke from our hearts and I am so gratified that you responded," Clinton said in victory remarks before cheering supporters. "Now together, let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me."
Her victory, after Obama won last week's Iowa caucuses, raised the possibility of a prolonged battle for the party nomination between the most viable black candidate in history and the former first lady, seeking to become the first woman to occupy the Oval Office.
"I am still fired up and ready to go," a defeated Obama told his own backers, repeating the line that forms a part of virtually every campaign appearance he makes.
McCain's triumph scrambled the Republican race as well.
"We showed this country what a real comeback looks like," the Arizona senator told The Associated Press in an interview as he savored his triumph. "We're going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination."
Later, he told cheering supporters that together, "we have taken a step, but only a first step toward repairing the broken politics of the past and restoring the trust of the American people in their government."
McCain rode a wave of support from independent voters to defeat former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, a showing that reprised the senator's victory in the traditional first-in-the-nation primary in 2000.
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Iowa begins the race to replace Bush
DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Barack Obama swept to victory in the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, pushing Hillary Rodham Clinton to third place and taking a major stride in a historic bid to become the nation's first black president. Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to win the opening round among Republicans in the 2008 campaign for the White House. Labels: democrats, election, republicans
Obama, 46 and a first-term senator from Illinois, told a raucous victory rally his triumph showed that in "big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come.'"
Final Democratic returns showed the first-term lawmaker gaining 37 percent support. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina gained second, barely edging out Clinton, the former first lady.
Huckabee celebrated his own victory over Mitt Romney and a crowded Republican field. "A new day is needed in American politics, just like a new day is needed in American government," the former Arkansas governor told cheering supporters. "It starts here, but it doesn't end here. It goes all the way through the other states and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
Huckabee, a preacher turned politician, handily defeated Romney despite being outspent by millions of dollars and deciding in the campaign's final days to scrap television commercials that would have assailed the former Massachusetts governor. He stressed his religion to the extent of airing a commercial that described himself as a "Christian leader" in his race against a man seeking to become the first Mormon president.
Nearly complete returns showed Huckabee with 34 percent support, compared with 25 percent for Romney. Former Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. John McCain battled for third place, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul wound up fifth and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani sixth.
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Hillary haet Video Game sex
Hillary Clinton is still outraged that Rockstar Games left a sexually-themed mini game nestled in its best-selling Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2005. Labels: democrats, republicans, video games
You'll recall the kerfuffle when the deactivated love scene was found buried in the code for the otherwise wholesome car jacking, cop-killing shooter. The unfinished mini-game featured clothed characters simulating sex acts. To access the scene, randy teens had to download and install a special patch developed by a Dutch coder, expending more effort than it takes to find real, human adult content on the web.
That all led some cynics to suspect Clinton of grandstanding when she called a press conference to denounce Rockstar and demand a Federal Trade Commission investigation into San Andreas. The ESRB re-rated the game to AO for "adults only," raising the minimum age of purchase from 17 to 18 years old -- a crucial year in which a teen develops the necessary psychological defenses to resist the Siren song of polygon porn.
But in a response to a questionnaire from the watchdog group Common Sense Media, Clinton reveals today that she still sees the affair as a victory for child safety. She describe her introduction of the doomed Family Entertainment Protection Act as a response to the "illicit" sexual content in San Andreas, and says, as president, she'd support regulation of the gaming industry.
"When I am President, I will work to protect children from inappropriate video game content," she told CSM.
That puts her on the same page as Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who told CSM that the U.S. needs to "get serious against those retailers that sell adult video games that are filled with violence and that we go after those retailers." Clinton's fellow Democrats John Edwards, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson said they'd rather give the industry a chance to self-regulate, at least initially.
Clinton's Family Entertainment Protection Act would have made it a federal offense to sell adult-rated video games to minors. It never passed, but similar state laws have been struck down as unconstitutional. Clinton's co-sponsor on the bill, Joseph Lieberman, had his own video game nemesis: Stubbs the Zombie, who, like too many politicians, needs braaiiiins.
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Georgia's Republican voters defy National numbers.
Huckabee leads and Thompson's support is virtually cut in half in the Feb. 5 state of Georgia, a new Strategic Vision poll to be released tomorrow will show. Labels: democrats, government, local news, republicans
Huckabee grabs the top spot with 23%, up from just 5% from the same poll conducted in October. Thompson polls at 20%, down from 39%. Giuliani receives 17%, down from 20%. Like Huckabee, both McCain and Romney have risen in the polls, but not nearly as much as the former Arkansas governor. McCain is now polling at 11%, up slightly from 9%, and Romney receives 10%, up from 6%.
This poll was conducted December 7-9; 515 Republican voters were interviewed, and the margin of error for this poll is 5%.
On the Democratic side, Clinton has lost six points but still leads, with 34%. Obama's polling remains unchanged at 27%. Edwards received 12%. 468 Democratic voters were interviewed and also has a margin of error of 5.5%.
(Ed note: Huckabee's statements about isolating AIDS victims and saying "I feel homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk" back in 1994 are eyebrow raising to be sure. The fact that Evangelicals are starting to back him worries me to no end. Suffice to say, it's almost about time for the political news to start hitting pixiesticks.org more often.
Also, cocks.
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US House rushes vote that could create problems for yaoi/hentai fans.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000. Labels: anime, congress, controversial, democrats, loli, manga, pixiesticks, shota, yaoi
That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection.
Before the House vote, which was a lopsided 409 to 2, Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) held a press conference on Capitol Hill with John Walsh, the host of America's Most Wanted and Ernie Allen, head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Allen said the legislation--called the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act, or SAFE Act--will "ensure better reporting, investigation, and prosecution of those who use the Internet to distribute images of illegal child pornography."
The SAFE Act represents the latest in Congress' efforts--some of which have raised free speech and privacy concerns--to crack down on sex offenders and Internet predators. One bill introduced a year ago was even broader and would have forced Web sites and blogs to report illegal images. Another would require sex offenders to supply e-mail addresses and instant messaging user names.
Wednesday's vote caught Internet companies by surprise: the Democratic leadership rushed the SAFE Act to the floor under a procedure that's supposed to be reserved for noncontroversial legislation. It was introduced October 10, but has never received even one hearing or committee vote. In addition, the legislation approved this week has changed substantially since the earlier version and was not available for public review.
Not one Democrat opposed the SAFE Act. Two Republicans did: Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning presidential candidate from Texas, and Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia.
This is what the SAFE Act requires: Anyone providing an "electronic communication service" or "remote computing service" to the public who learns about the transmission or storage of information about certain illegal activities or an illegal image must (a) register their name, mailing address, phone number, and fax number with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's "CyberTipline" and (b) "make a report" to the CyberTipline that (c) must include any information about the person or Internet address behind the suspect activity and (d) the illegal images themselves. (By the way, "electronic communications service" and "remote computing service" providers already have some reporting requirements under existing law too.)
The definition of which images qualify as illegal is expansive. It includes obvious child pornography, meaning photographs and videos of children being molested. But it also includes photographs of fully clothed minors in overly "lascivious" poses, and certain obscene visual depictions including a "drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting." (Yes, that covers the subset of anime called hentai).
Someone providing a Wi-Fi connection probably won't have to worry about the SAFE Act's additional requirement of retaining all the suspect's personal files if the illegal images are "commingled or interspersed" with other data. But that retention requirement does concern Internet service providers, which would be in a position to comply. So would e-mail service providers, including both Web-based ones and companies that offer POP or IMAP services.
"USISPA has long supported harmonized reporting of child pornography incidents to the (NCMEC). ISPs report over 30,000 incidents a year, and we work closely with NCMEC and law enforcement on the investigation," Kate Dean, head of the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, said on Wednesday. "We remain concerned, however, that industry would be required to retain images of child pornography after reporting them to NCMEC. It seems like the better approach would be to require the private sector to turn over illicit images and not retain copies."
Failure to comply with the SAFE Act would result in an initial fine of up to $150,000, and fines of up to $300,000 for subsequent offenses. That's the stick. There's a carrot as well: anyone who does comply is immune from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions.
There are two more points worth noting. First, the vote on the SAFE Act seems unusually rushed. It's not entirely clear that the House Democratic leadership really meant this legislation to slap new restrictions on hundreds of thousands of Americans and small businesses who offer public wireless connections. But they'll nevertheless have to abide by the new rules if senators go along with this idea (and it's been a popular one in the Senate).
The second point is that Internet providers already are required by another federal law to report child pornography sightings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is in turn charged with forwarding that report to the appropriate police agency. So there's hardly an emergency, which makes the Democrats' rush for a vote more inexplicable than usual.
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Burning money in Iraq sure isn't helping.
WASHINGTON - Like a ticking time bomb, the national debt is an explosion waiting to happen. It's expanding by about $1.4 billion a day — or nearly $1 million a minute. Labels: bush administration, China, democrats, economic news, epic, government, iraq war, money, republicans
What's that mean to you?
It means almost $30,000 in debt for each man, woman, child and infant in the United States.
Even if you've escaped the recent housing and credit crunches and are coping with rising fuel prices, you may still be headed for economic misery, along with the rest of the country. That's because the government is fast straining resources needed to meet interest payments on the national debt, which stands at a mind-numbing $9.13 trillion.
And like homeowners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages, the government faces the prospect of seeing this debt — now at relatively low interest rates — rolling over to higher rates, multiplying the financial pain.
So long as somebody is willing to keep loaning the U.S. government money, the debt is largely out of sight, out of mind.
But the interest payments keep compounding, and could in time squeeze out most other government spending — leading to sharply higher taxes or a cut in basic services like Social Security and other government benefit programs. Or all of the above.
A major economic slowdown, as some economists suggest may be looming, could hasten the day of reckoning.
The national debt — the total accumulation of annual budget deficits — is up from $5.7 trillion when President Bush took office in January 2001 and it will top $10 trillion sometime right before or right after he leaves in January 2009.
That's $10,000,000,000,000.00, or one digit more than an odometer-style "national debt clock" near New York's Times Square can handle. When the privately owned automated clock was activated in 1989, the national debt was $2.7 trillion.
It only gets worse.
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End of Summer Reruns: Bush to address American People about Iraq tonight.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 — When top Democratic leaders visited him at the White House this week, President Bush told them he wanted to “find common ground” on Iraq. But when the president said he planned to “start doing some redeployment,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, cut him off. Labels: bush administration, congress, democrats, iraq war, republicans, television
“No you’re not, Mr. President,” Ms. Pelosi interjected. “You’re just going back to the presurge level.”
The testy exchange, recounted by three people who attended the session or were briefed on it, provides a peek into how Mr. Bush will try to sell Americans on his Iraq strategy when he addresses the nation at 9 p.m. Thursday. With lawmakers openly skeptical of his troop buildup, Mr. Bush will cast his plan for a gradual, limited withdrawal as a way to bring a divided America together — even as he resists demands from those who want him to move much faster.
The prime-time address will be the eighth by Mr. Bush on Iraq since the invasion in March 2003, the latest iteration of his efforts to sketch what he calls “the way forward.” It will be the first time he has described a plan for troop reductions, a radical departure for a president who has repeatedly defied his critics’ calls to bring the troops home.
Yet as the president outlines his plan, his critics say he is trying to have it both ways. He is, they say, taking credit for a drawdown that has been envisioned since he first announced the current buildup on Jan. 10 — a withdrawal that had to be carried out unless he was willing to take the politically unpalatable step of extending soldiers’ tours further.
The White House declined on Wednesday to preview Mr. Bush’s speech, but one senior administration official, speaking anonymously to avoid upstaging the president, said the reductions would be heavily conditioned on the situation in Iraq and would fall far short of the rapid withdrawal Democrats want.
Under the plan, at least 130,000 American troops would remain in Iraq next July, down from more than 160,000, decreasing to about the same level as before the buildup began, with any decisions on further withdrawals likely to be postponed until at least next March. The planned drawdowns between now and July 2008 are expected to be of the 30,000 that many assumed the president would suggest after this week’s testimony by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq. But, the senior official said, Mr. Bush’s ultimate goal would be a sustainable force of around 10 combat brigades, down from 20 now, at the end of his presidency, though a large number of support troops would also still be required.
“We want bipartisanship,” said this official, “but not to the point where it sacrifices success.”
Mr. Bush has repeatedly asked Americans to give him another chance in Iraq, and Thursday night will be no different. “His main goal at this critical juncture,” said another senior official, also speaking anonymously, “is to ask Americans to stop and take a fresh look.”
Whether they will take that look remains to be seen. This week’s Congressional testimony from General Petraeus was supposed to be a defining moment in Washington’s debate over the war.
But in fact, as was suggested by the Pelosi-Bush exchange during the White House meeting on Tuesday, very few minds have been changed.
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Patraeus and Congress push around numbers of troops in future Iraq.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gen. David Petraeus told Congress on Monday he envisions the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. troops by next summer, beginning with a Marine contingent later this month. Labels: bush administration, democrats, government, iraq war, republicans
In long-awaited testimony, the commanding general of the war said last winter's buildup in U.S. troops had met its military objectives "in large measure."
As a result, he told a congressional hearing and a nationwide television audience, "I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level ... by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains we have fought so hard to achieve."
Testifying in a military uniform bearing four general's stars and a chestful of medals, Petraeus said he had already provided his views to the military chain of command.
Rebutting charges that he was merely doing the White House's bidding, he said firmly, "I wrote this testimony myself. It has not been cleared by nor shared with anyone in the Pentagon, the White House or the Congress."
His testimony came at a politically pivotal moment in the war, with the Democratic-controlled Congress pressing for a troop withdrawal deadline and the Bush administration hoping to prevent wholesale Republican defections on the issue.
Petraeus said that a unit of about 2,000 Marines will depart Iraq later this month, beginning a drawdown that would be followed in mid- December with the departure of an Army brigade numbering 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers.
After that, another four brigades would be withdrawn by July 2008, he said. That would leave the United States with about 130,000 troops in Iraq, roughly the number stationed there last winter when President Bush decided to dispatch additional forces.
He said he believes withdrawals could continue even after the 30,000 extra troops go home, but added that it would be premature to make any further recommendations.
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"I do not recall."
WASHINGTON (AP) - Alberto Gonzales, the nation's first Hispanic attorney general, announced his resignation Monday, driven from office after a wrenching standoff with congressional critics over his honesty and competence. Labels: bush administration, congress, democrats, government, republicans
Republicans and Democrats alike had demanded his departure over the botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firings of U.S. attorneys, but President Bush had defiantly stood by his Texas friend for months until accepting his resignation last Friday.
"After months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department, Judge Gonzales decided to resign his position and I accept his decision," Bush said from Texas, where he is vacationing.
Solicitor General Paul Clement will be acting attorney general until a replacement is found and confirmed by the Senate, Bush said.
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Obama supports gay Civil Unions
LOS ANGELES - Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday he wanted to tap into the "core decency" of Americans to fight discrimination against gays and lesbians, and argued that civil unions for same-sex couples wouldn't be a "lesser thing" than marriage. Labels: democrats, gay news, government, republicans
At a televised forum focusing on gay rights, the Illinois senator was asked to explain how civil unions for same-sex couples could be the equivalent of marriage. He said, "As I've proposed it, it wouldn't be a lesser thing, from my perspective.
"Semantics may be important to some. From my perspective, what I'm interested (in) is making sure that those legal rights are available to people," he said.
"If we have a situation in which civil unions are fully enforced, are widely recognized, people have civil rights under the law, then my sense is that's enormous progress," the Illinois Democrat said.
Obama belongs to the United Church of Christ, which supports gay marriage, but Obama has yet to go that far.
The senator was the first of six Democratic candidates scheduled to answer questions at an event described as a milestone by organizers. It marked the first time that major presidential candidates appeared on TV specifically to address gay issues, they said.
Obama called the event "a historic moment ... for America."
The two-hour forum, held in a Hollywood studio with an invited audience of 200, was co-sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group active in Democratic politics, and Logo, a gay-oriented cable TV channel that aired the forum live.
"We already won because the candidates are here," Logo president Brian Graden said.
Of the eight Democratic candidates, two did not attend, Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd on Connecticut.
The candidates, appearing one at a time and seated in an upholstered chair, took questions from a panel that included Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese, singer Melissa Etheridge and Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart.
All of the Democratic candidates support a federal ban on anti-gay job discrimination, want to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring gays from serving openly in the military and support civil unions that would extend marriage-like rights to same-sex couples.
A majority of Americans oppose nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage and only two of the Democrats support it — Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, both longshots for the nomination.
Logo, available in about 27 million homes, wanted to hold a second forum for Republican candidates but GOP front-runners showed no interest, channel officials said.
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They'll lie and we'll buy.
For the first time the leading candidates for the presidency will hold a televised debate devoted solely to LGBT issues. Labels: democrats, gay news, government, television
The one-hour event will be held on August 9 and broadcast on gay network LOGO at 9:00 pm ET (6:00 pm ET) and through live streaming video at LOGOonline.com.
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have confirmed they will participate. Several other Democratic candidates also may join the debate.
The debate will be conducted with a live audience in Los Angeles. On the panel questioning the two Democrats will be Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese and singer Melissa Etheridge.
The debate was put together by LOGO and HRC.
"In the 2008 presidential election, issues of concern to the LGBT community have already been at the forefront of the national conversation,” said Solmonese.
"From the repeal of “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” to the recent signing of a civil unions bill in New Hampshire, there is no doubt that voters will demand answers to important questions affecting our community."
The panelists in a statement said they plan to cover a range of issues including relationship recognition, marriage equality, workplace fairness, the military, hate crimes, HIV/AIDS and other important issues.
The LGBT vote is considered a decisive electoral force and according to exit poll data make up approximately 4 percent of the voting population.
Los Angeles was chosen as the site for the event because of the state’s early primary election, on February 5th, 2008.
"We're honored to give the presidential candidates an historic opportunity to share their views directly with the LGBT audience," Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group, and President, LOGO said in a statement.
"This forum continues MTV Networks’ tradition of engaging vital niche audiences with voting and the electoral process."
In addition to questioning by Solmonese and Etheridge people will be able to pose their own questions through LOGOonline.com and HRC.org.
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War over war.
The Republican rebellion against the war in Iraq widened over the weekend as more of the party’s senators voiced dissent from President George W. Bush’s strategy. Labels: bush administration, congress, democrats, government, international news, iraq war, republicans
Republican unity on Iraq has shattered in recent weeks, amid mounting pessimism about the ability of US forces to bring stability to the country.
Weakening Republican support for the war has left Mr Bush increasingly isolated as congressional Democrats prepare for a fresh barrage of votes aimed at forcing a US withdrawal.
Three more Republican senators have called for a change of course recently, adding to a steady trickle of defections since Richard Lugar became the most senior to break from Mr Bush over the war last month.
“It should be clear to the president that there needs to be a new strategy,” Lamar Alexander of Tennessee told the Los Angeles Times on Saturday.
Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire told the same newspaper that efforts to quell the violence in Iraq by increasing US troop numbers “don’t seem to be making a lot of progress” and called for “a clear blueprint” to end the war.
The comments came two days after Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said he could no longer support current strategy.
The three senators are among six Republicans who have voiced support for bipartisan legislation that aims to prepare the ground for US troops to start leaving Iraq by March next year. The measure is among the more moderate of several proposals for troop withdrawal and limits on war spending set for debate in Congress over the next few weeks, as Democrats launch a fresh push to end the war.
The White House has appealed for Republicans to withhold judgment until September, when Gen David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, is scheduled to deliver a progress report to Congress.
But Chuck Hagel, the moderate Republican senator from Nebraska and a longstanding critic of the war, on Sunday warned that the party’s patience was wearing thin.
“If we do not see this administration take some initiatives to make some changes, significant strategic policy changes over the next 90 days, then of course it will be forced on [Mr Bush],” he told NBC’s Meet the Press.
The most urgent calls for a policy change are coming from Republicans facing tough re-election battles in 2008, highlighting concern throughout the party about the impact of the war on next year’s congressional and presidential polls.
Charles Schumer, Democratic senator for New York, said Republicans were “getting hammered” by their constituents over the war, and predicted the trickle of defections would soon turn into a torrent. “I think the dam is about to burst,” he told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. “By September there will be real change forced upon the president by a bipartisan Senate.”
Mr Bush last week re-newed his warning against a hasty exit from Iraq, arguing that a withdrawal “based on politics, not on the advice and recommendations of our military commanders, would not be in our national interest”.
US and coalition casualties in Iraq have increased to an average of about 3.5 a day since Mr Bush took his decision to increase troop numbers in January - the highest sustained rate since the end of the initial invasion in 2003. More than 3,600 US troops have died since the war began.
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Clinton and Obama keep their balls on Iraq; measure passes anyway.