SOLON wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:44 AM:Ignorance is bliss . .

. . and furthermore it inspired the snarky euphoria in Gov. Sarah Palin, so confidently wrong about the root cause of the federalization of most of the nation’s mortgage market. Both act as if the financial meltdown of the U.S. economy has nothing to do with the policies of their political party - but Palin can be forgiven. She is just an inexperienced novice. But what’s McCain’s excuse? He’s been in government long before his crooked involvement with the Keating Five savings and loan scandal in the 1980’s.

It was McCain’s party that cooked up this Ponzi-scheme, and it was the Bush administration that keep the regulators and auditors at bay.

The housing bubble popped, creating a credit crisis that was the result of the Ponzi-scheme antics of commercial banks, stockbrokers and hedge funds, which were allowed in a GOP-deregulated market to get into the “swap” business. Through the rampant reselling of loans, the obligation to collect on a loan was divorced from the act of selling it in the first place, so who cared if the recipient of the loan was not at all qualified or the appraisal of the property value was inflated, as long as the paper was traded away, or insured, before the moment of foreclosure?

We have not seen the worst of this financial meltdown. Wall Street knows it, and so do the Chinese and Middle Eastern magnates who forced Bush to make U.S. taxpayers guarantee their investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, under the threat of collapsing our whole financial system. Bush-McCain have sold out the keys to our nation to these foreign investors. We are now at their mercy. The great giant Gulliver is pinned down and powerless. America has been betrayed by her domestic enemies.

And of course, McCain-Palin are going to lead us out of this catastrophe.

John wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:57 AM:Hey Tony: That old man commanded a squadron. Obama made no decisions except voting against the banning of partial birth abortions and teaching 5 year olds about sex. Recent surveys indicate that the "conservative woman" was rated as more fit to be President than Obama.

SOLON wrote on Sep 11, 2008 1:04 AM:Impressed by Republican candidates . .

And aren’t we all. (Letter Greg Weir) After all, John McCain and Sarah Palin are la crème de la crème de la GOP. Of course they come from the bottom of a nearly depleted pot of rancid crème.

Actually the best of la crème left the pot long ago -- Ron Paul. Good luck to ya, Dr. Paul. You may be flawed, but you and Nader are the only candidates who understand what WAR has done to this nation. It has destroyed us as a people, and this time we may never recover.

SOLON wrote on Sep 11, 2008 1:14 AM:Where does crime rate . .

. . on McCain’s list, is the question letter writer Ray Erler should have asked. Oh, yes. We already know the answer: crime rates at the top of McCain’s list. It always rates at the top for white collar criminals who take campaign bribes from money bags like Charles Keating. For less than seven pieces of silver McCain betrayed millions of working Americans in that giant Lincoln Savings and Loans collapse in the 80’s. How blank has gone the memory of McCain and his crooked shenanigans.

Bill wrote on Sep 11, 2008 1:24 AM:Bob Harvey is clueless as to what happened during the surge.

We paid Sunni insurgents to fight Shia. The Sunnis dominate 85% of the Muslim world and only in Iran and the Caspian Sea region is there any Shiite control. That control was a result of the fundmentalist Shiite revolution in Iran in 1979 that saw Sunnis that lived in the region slaughtered by the thousands.

The fallacy of the left is that all Muslims and/or Al Qaeda are united against us but that will never happen since they hate each other. The fact that they know a civil war will ensue is proof. However, the Sunnis will crush them like they always do. Thats why Shiite Iran is sabre rattling and trying to develop Nukes.

So whats wrong with a divided enemy anyway?

Sunni and Shia Al Qaeda fighting each other is the key to victory in the war on terror.

However, there is no longer an AQ presence in Iraq.

You will see small skirmishes like you do in Israel and Lebanon but not much more since AQ is no longer there and providing Hawala money to pay for arms caches. The Shia fight a guerilla style since they are outnumbered and the civilians are rarely targeted due to lack of propaganda value.

The key to winning was turning public opinion on Osama bin Laden. That drove AQ out of Iraq.

Shiite AQ factions financed Al Sadr and when they cut and ran, he is now seeking amnesty as are his followers.

They have no financing or public support in Iraq and are asking for amnesty and not planning future attacks as Bob claims.

The Lions of Islam movement in Iraq is over.

That happened when AQ left and cut off financing to Al Sadr and company.

Abominable Senator wrote on Sep 11, 2008 1:24 AM:Not Barbara Boxer. She is the good one. It’s Nancy Pelosi who is abominable. Not as abominable as the fake Abominable Snow-job man McCain, but abominable enough to liberals in San Francisco who hope to replace her in November with Cindy Sheehan. ...

Bill wrote on Sep 11, 2008 1:29 AM:Chris

I really hope you someday find this Utopian place that you would like the world to be.

In the meantime, I will support those who defend us from the ones who wish to destroy both you and me.

Then, in another life, we can all sing Cumbaya in Utopia.

chuck wrote on Sep 11, 2008 3:21 AM:Mr Crews, if only you bashed the terrorists for 9/11, and their daily bombings of roadside, markets, hospitals, clinics and orphanages as much as you bash America, you might have credibility.

chuck wrote on Sep 11, 2008 3:26 AM:Maybe Hussein can look in his own backyard. If he thinks McCain van put lipstick on a pig and its still a pig, Hussein can put a diaper on a dinosaur and its still a dinosaur(with asthma)- not change.

To Ira Landis wrote on Sep 11, 2008 3:37 AM:I was thinking the very same thing. I think the bottom line is that we are screwed. How sad is it that we have no one to look up to and no one that we can support with any enthusiasm? Oh, I forgot that redneck women love Sarah. How pathetic. I never before felt the need to deny my redneck roots. Disappointed and embarrassed doesn't begin to describe my emotions. JFC.

Fool wrote on Sep 11, 2008 4:01 AM:To be Superman or Superwoman is an illsion. Wouldn't we all like to have it all? A thinking person should decide between vocation and avocation. Politics and parenthood are both extremely demanding if done right. Maybe, just maybe one should strike a balance and put one before the other. That is ... unless you are are Superwoman.

Alf wrote on Sep 11, 2008 5:25 AM:Where was I and what was I doing when I learned of the terrorist attacks of 9/11?
I was in the grocery store buying beer when a cashier shouted it to all in the store.
I don't drink any more, at least not for the last 6 months, 2 weeks and 1 day, one day at a time.
Regards, Alf.

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 5:41 AM:Barack Obama will be Herbert Hoover II, if elected, Glen Holzhausen.
There should be no doubt in anybody's mind.

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 5:52 AM:What have I been telling you about these Lib's? That if we had never gone into Iraq, they would have then turned their sights onto Afganistan, and would still make the claim America sucks.

Without skipping a beat...

J. Howard Crews:

"This is not a good war...
By this brutal act, we have immersed ourselves in the same evil as al-Qaida and the Taliban."

Given how Mr. Crews feels about Afganistan, I wonder if he's voting for Barack Obama who had pledged to bomb Pakistan? Obviously, a case of Battered Liberal Syndrone.

No Justice wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:04 AM:Seven years after those despicable acts of September 11, 2001. How has the hunt for Osama Bin Ladin been going? George Bush, John McCain and the Republicans have let this country get bogged down and distracted from the man behind the attacks. Instead, we've been preoccupied in the money pit that is Iraq.

Saddam Hussein was no doubt a terrible, vicious, and evil man. The same could be said of many of the worlds dictators. The world is full of them. But he was not responsible for, and had nothing to do with 9/11. Yet he was captured, tried, and executed in swift justice in just a few short years in the name of 9/11. The man actually responsible, Osama, has been all but forgotten by our Republican leaders. Listen to George Bush and the Republicans that speak out about September 11th today. They'll talk about Iraq. They may mention Afghanistan, but I really doubt any of them will mention Osama Bin Ladin by name.

As Americans, we need to demand accountability and justice for 9/11, and not be distracted by these Republican Jedi mind tricks. If we can capture Saddam Hussein as quickly and easily as we did, I have no doubt we could have done the same for OBL if we had put forth the same effort as we have in Iraq.

No Justice for 9/11 until Osama Bin Ladin is found. And he is not and has not been in Iraq.

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:06 AM:You really have to question one's logic when, they attempt to compare Sen. Obama's experience, to that of Govenor Pailn. Govenor Palin has been selected for the VP slot, not the President.
Barack Obama has been selected for the Presidential slot, not the VP slot.
Making the comparison between the Democrat #1, and the Republican #2 is not a good strategery.
By doing so, you are automatically acknowledging our #1 is less qualified.
But, if the Lib's want to help us, and not themselves, I'm all for it.

For example, let me re-write this for Obama:

I have severe doubts about the Democrats judgment in selecting Barack Obama as President. With his extremely limited qualifications and experience in national security, foreign and domestic affairs, I am very uncomfortable with the thought of him stepping into the role of our commander in chief.

In choosing Mr. Obama, the Democrats are clearly pandering to left-wing Liberal extremists to the detriment of providing for America's needs and best interests. What experience does he have with national security based upon her service as State Senator of a small district of 9,000 or his less-than-two years as a U.S. Senator? Democrats were obviously seeking to shock voters & the wrold; mission accomplished. They have convinced me that he lacks the good judgment that I want from our president by making such a risky and hazardous choice.

Told you guy's before, not good.
But, keep it up. and thanks.

To Glen Holzhausen wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:32 AM:So Glen, how has the economy faired under President Bush in YOUR fantasyland? No doubt, more of the same under McCain.

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:44 AM:I always have to chuckle whenever I read a letter like the one written today by Jack Davis.
Yes, Jack Davis, let's talk about France's healthcare system. Do you know very much about how they operate their system? Well, let me help you out with that, ok?
In France, they spend about $3,000 a year per patient. Now, think about that.. $3,000 a year. How much healthcare could you actually receive for $3,000 a year? In America, within MediCare, which would be the correct comparison, we spend about $9,000 per year, per patient. I'm always lectured by my liberal friends, of how wondeful MediCare is. How wonderful would MediCare be if we reduced the spending to only $3,000 a year per patient?
Would that be wonderful? Receiving one third {1/3} of the medical treatment they currently receive? I don't think many would agree with that statement.
Secondly, let's really take a look at the French system. If you go to any French medical websites, one of the first things they instruct you to do is to buy supplimental private insurance.
Private insurance. You know? The one's the Lib's say are mean, greedy, profit making privateering insurance companies on the backs of the poor and the needy? Well, yes... in France, that's exactly what your told to do by the government. And it does cost extra, so if you don't have the money, you'll get all the medicine your $3,000 a year can buy you. In other words, less.
Also, it's a funny thing, ya know? France's government-run medical system is going broke. This year, 13 billion in debt, just for medical care. Every year, they borrow more money just to provide existing services, even though they mimick {or we mimick, I don't know which} our MediCare system in paying all medical providers less in salary.
Doctors, nurses, lab techs, etc., all receive less per year to work for the government, this is how they try to keep medical costs down. And that's funny, cause we pay our doctors one-third {1/3} their normal fee's to keep our costs down.
Anyways.. their broke, we're broke, Canada's broke, Britian's broke..
Heck, their ALL broke. So much for keeping costs down, and fewer administrative fee's & overhead.
Now, finally...
As to this idea of any politician choosing government-run verses private medical care. What a red herring.
Now how long have we been hearing this nonsense, that we as citizens should have the exact same coverage as our representatives. Let me put it to you this way. Take a look at the cancer treatment Ted Kennedy received, then google Barbara Wagner, 64 year-old cancer patient denied cancer treatment.
That, my firend, is the difference between the ruling class, and the joe smoe's. Ted Kennedy was obviously too big to fail. Barbara was offered doctor assisted suicide, as part of her care package.

Alf wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:52 AM:It would do everyone well to remember, on this day especially, that -
"Fifteen of the attackers were from Saudi Arabia, two from the United Arab Emirates, one from Egypt, and one from Lebanon". (wikipedia)
Al Qaeda and the Taliban, supporters of Al Qaeda, AND Afghanistan, the country that "hosted" them, are responsible either directly or indirectly for the 9/11 attacks.
It MUST be noted that the United States MUST bear some degree of responsibility as well, for if we had not mucked around with governments over there, we would not have inspired such hate toward us. Whether you agree with me or not, like it or not, facts are facts, we did much mucking around and we did inspire extreme hatred toward us.
It also MUST be noted that both Saddam AND the people of the country of Iraq were HOSTILE to Al Qaeda
AND that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 at all, whatsoever.
Tell me again, why are we STILL in Iraq?
Regards, Alf.

Alf wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:55 AM:Well, "Bill" at 1:24AM,
there was no "AQ presence in Iraq" until,
we invaded and occupied the sovereign nation of Iraq.
Regards, Alf.

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:01 AM:Yes, "SOLON" @12:44 AM...
YOUR Ignorance is bliss . .

Did I not just write about this the otherday? I think I did.

Fannie is a dinosaur program, a left-over from the FDR day's. It was a government run mortgage monopoly until 1968, when LBJ was trying to balance his budget, he jettisoned the program, but gave it special rules to operate under, not industry standard rules, like everyone else.
Fannie, and Freddie for that matter, do not have to have the same credit/asset ratios as ALL other privately held corps. They do not have to file with the SEC, the Securities & Exchange Commission. They do not pay State or Local taxes either.
Plus the hire fraud's, fakers, and abusers, like one Jamie Gorelick.
No financial experience to speak of, Jamie Gorelick was one of the Fannie executives who benefited from inflated bonuses based on Enron-style accounting. She was Vice Chairman of Fannie Mae from 1997 to 2003 by Bill Clinton. Fannie’s fraudulent accounting scheme was made public in 2004.
Also, Vice Chairman Jamie S. Gorelick received $779,625 as a bonus, for such disasterous work. Much like we are seeing today.
No one will be Ken Lay'd, they are getting parachutes. Like I said, it's not a democrat or republican majority in washington, It's a Washington D.C. Majority.

Obama and the economy wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:06 AM:I don't get it. When Bush saw that the economy was tanking, his solution was to give many American families a rebate on their taxes, believing that if most Americans had some of the their tax money back to spend, it'd stimulate the economy. Now along comes Obama who says that he will cut the taxes of the bottom 95% of us (in other words, if you like, give 95% of the nation a stimulus rebate) and the conservatives are screaming. We've seen many times that the unregulated trickle-down idea, for all the logic of it in theory, just plain fails the empirical test in practice. Or rather, it works to a degree, but unpatriotically. The money that the wealthy keep is sometimes invested back into their businesses...but the jobs are shipped overseas, because their businesses are interested in profits, not patriotism. The ordinary American gets shafted while the financier and ceo get all the richer. that's how it's actually worked out. Time to try something else, I'd say. How about a tax rebate stimulus to the vast majority of us? Vote Obama!

Community Organizer wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:25 AM:The letter from Thomas Cowan was excellent as far as it went - about the importance of "community organizers" and the important work they do, but it fell short of the real issue in the hate-filled Republican attack strategy.

I am frankly sick and tired of the constant denigration of Obama as a "community organizer" and, frankly, disappointed in the Democrats for taking the high road and not striking back against the Swift Boaters (ironically, McCain who criticized the Swift Boat LIES against Kerry in 2004 has FLIP-FLOPPED and adopted the same tactics in 2008 - like flip-flopping on torture and flip-flopping on opposition to the "Bridge to Nowhere" then picking its chief [pre flip-flop reversal] proponent as his running mate).

This BALONEY about Obama being "just" a "community organizer" is a simple LIE.
How would YOU like to be labeled only by the first job you had right out of college?
Yes, he was a "community organizer" right out of college, but that was just the beginning of an extensive career of public service prior to going into politics.
After Obama graduated from HARVARD as an undergraduate in political science, he could have gone many places, but took a job working with the poor in Chicago.
He realized that his undergraduate degree was not enough.

He went back to Harvard LAW SCHOOL where, unlike McCain who graduated 5th fromt the BOTTOM of his class, he excelled with a distinguished record, and made history as the first ever African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, the most prestigious legal academic journal in the United States.
After this distinguished record, he could have gone anywhere, clerked for any large law firm or Supreme Court justice in the United States, but again he went to serve the poor as a civil right attorney for a law firm (where he met Michelle), and also became a renowned PROFESSOR of Contitutional Law at the University of Chicago - the same University where conservative justice Antonin Scalia had once held the same position.

I am sick and tired of the hateful flip-flops and lying "Swift Boat" attacks by the same people who were vitimized by them in 2000, denounced them in 2004 and now embrace them in the ultimate (I was against torture before I voted for it) flip-flop of 2008. Disgusting!

Karl wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:26 AM:J. Howard Crews "This is not a good war", you are correct sir. I might add that no war is a "good" war.

Peace

Hey John wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:29 AM:John: Senator Obama is pro-choice, yes. But you are mischaracterizing the pro-choice viewpoint. No one likes abortions on either side of the debate. Making abortions illegal will only cause new problems, and will not magically eliminate abortions, despite your conservative fantasy. It is my belief, and Senator Obama's, that the goal of everyone should be to reduce the number of abortions in this country, by reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in the first place. Abortion should never be the first option, but if someone is to have an abortion, it should be done as early in the pregnancy as possible, rather than later.

"Partial birth abortions" as you are calling them, should only be performed at the risk of life to the mother and/or baby, and it is not an actual "choice" someone would make. Demonizing the procedure doesn't help a mother who learns that her baby she has carried for so long will be born with it's brain outside its skull, and will not survive due to some horrible birth defect. Most definitely not the "choice" of the mother! So what would YOU do if that was the case?

And as to teaching Kindergartners about sex: as the father of a Kindergartner, I'm greatly offended by your mischaracterization. The legislation you and McCain are dishonorably referring to is designed to PROTECT Kindergarteners, teach them about inappropriate touching, and protect themselves from sexual predators. It is NOT comprehensive sex education. Don't be such a tool!

Bill One wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:36 AM:To Alf, concrats on your sobriaty!! Keep it up!

Apollo wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:36 AM:Re: Glen Holzhausen (letter) and Ron ( 5:41 and 6:44 a.m.)
Glen Hozhausen is the one living in an "economic fantasyland" - and he adds to the fantasy with an outright misrepresentation of Obama's tax policies, which would REDUCE taxes by more than three times the amount McCain would for 95% of Americans - and shows the kind of economic illiteracy that has led us to our widespread economic emergency.
Ron says Obama will be Herbert Hoover II, but that is who is in the White House right now - following the same Hooverian failed policies of hyper-deregulation, lower taxes for the richest few elites and the elimination of protections for workers and consumers. The result is skyrocketing prices and record foreclosures while people are losing their jobs as corporations are given tax benefits for outsourcing their jobs to foreign countries.
As Obama said yesterday, ENOUGH!

And as for Ron on healthcare, he further represents the failed policies of letting insurance bureaucrats divert healthcare dollars for profits and underwriting expenses (translation: prevent people from getting coverage or, if they have it, from getting their claims paid). No system is perfect, but try taking the healthcare away from those in Canada, England, France, Japan, Australia ... OK, ALL major industrial countries (except us), and see how long you'd survive politically. Even the Iron Lady Maggie Thatcher left healthcare as sacrosanct in England.
The best approach in the U.S. will not be a clone of any other nation's; we need to take the best features of each and devise our own. But the Jack Davis letter is right: public healthcare is clearly needed.

bogie wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:36 AM:Ron @ 6:44 AM:

Your cost comparison between the cost per patient in France to that of our Medicare system is an eye opener, thanks.

Peace

Bill One wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:38 AM:I was on the 15 north bound going to work near Corona when 9/11 happened.

Karl wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:39 AM:To Nick @ 3:21 AM: Yesterday

We need every single vote we can get. If there is a drastic spike in independent votes from previous elections it will pick up press attention and put the status quo parties on notice.

Talk to friends and neighbors as Nick and I have done. Send them to "Campaign for Liberty".

Thanks for any help that you can give.

Well Alf wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:44 AM:Alf
[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:55 AM: North America was also invaded, and occupied, and it's original occupants Men, women, and children, all but wiped out, (killed) in the name of freedom and conquest.

Do you have outrage over that as well?

bogie wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:48 AM:Ron, the other day some one on this blog accused you of abusing your employees. For clarification sake;

A) Do you have employees?
B) If you have employees, do you pay them minimum wage?
C) If you do not have employees, what would your compensation philosophy be if you had them.

I have found that finding the best (not necessarily the smartest) and compensating them well above the going rate bodes well for business.

Focal Point wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:49 AM:Alf[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 5:25 AM: Good for you, Alf. "Keep on coming back."

Focal Point wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:54 AM:Impressed by Republican candidates . Please send me a copy of your RX. Those drugs must be really good.

bogie wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:56 AM:Obama and the economy @ 7:06 AM: wrote;

"Vote Obama!". When pigs fly!

I couldn't resist.

liberaljim wrote on Sep 11, 2008 7:58 AM:Ron, I was so worried about you. Nothing from you yesterday. 24 hours must be a record without Ron's made up stuff and regurgated baloney from FOX and and the right wing echo machine. Ron, I'm sure it just slipped your mind, but you never responded to my post requesting the name of the asthma medication that prevents your asthmatic son from getting attacks, thus allowing him to serve in the military. My grandson's doctor needs to know because he has never heard of it. When I pointed out that no U. S. military branch would accept an asthatic for enlistment, you responed that they had revised their policy and cited AR4-501 as proof. As I wrote yesterday, this regulation has absolutely nothing to do with physical requirements, it involves the disposal of official army documents. More baloney from Ron, eh? I repeat Ron, give us the name of the miracle asthma medication. I'd like to relieve my grandchild's suffering and I'm sure there are others on this board who would like to know too.

To Chris Pulse wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:01 AM:I agree with you 100%! We the citizens of the United States of America are part of a global community. We belong to the human race.When the U.S. closes it's borders completely to immigration in and out and ceases all importing and exporting becoming a totally independent self sustaining country, then I might say I am a proud U.S. citizen. All this nationalism, people using U.S. flags and calling themselves patriots to justify hate and evil against other humans is disgusting! If others attack us, we defend and find a solution. We don't need to continue wars and hate!We do need to continue to help other countries and peoples. What happens in other parts of the world does affect us. We are all connected to eachother.Peace and love to all !

Patriot wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:14 AM:Mr. Crews respects Mr. Clinton's observation that people "have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." Unfortunately, demonstrations of weakness do make an impression on our enemies and embolden them to attack. The first World Trade Center attack happened on Mr. Clinton's watch, as did the USS Cole bombing. Mr. Clinton's response was underwhelming to both events. Too little was done to bolster security and tighten immigration enforcement to prevent 9/11. Mr. Bush was also negligent on homeland security for the first 6 years of his presidency, focusing most of his attention on Iraq. We can only pray that 6 years of lax immigration enforcement has not resulted in the arrival of new sleeper cells and WMDs to be used against us when the time is right.

Lemmings Unite wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:18 AM:I can say one thing for the Republican Party, they are masters of distracting our attention from their miserable failures. After 8 miserable years of George Bush here we are on the verge of basically voting him in again.
For any parents of teenage boys (or girls) I encourage you to watch the YouTube video "Republicans and military men on John McCain." There are things much more important than lipstick on pigs and pitbull hockey moms.

Marlowe wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:21 AM:Well, folks, Bush is oh-for-two in Iraq. Seems our fearless leader wanted two things out of the invasion: 1) a permanent US military (and mercenary) presence there, including 58 bases and immunity for our people from Iraqi laws. The Iraqi people and government told W where to put that idea, and we will pull out of Iraq altogether shortly, leaving them, a sovereign nation, to ally themselves with Iran. 2) Oil contracts for Bush's fat cat friends, a foot in the door for running the oil business, and profiting mightily from it, of Iraq. From today's NY Times QUOTE An Iraqi plan to award six no-bid contracts to Western oil companies, which came under sharp criticism from several United States senators this summer, has been withdrawn, participants in the negotiations said on Wednesday. Iraq’s oil minister, Hussain al-Shahristani, told reporters at an OPEC summit meeting in Vienna on Tuesday that talks with Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Total, BP and several smaller companies for one-year deals, which were announced in June and subsequently delayed, had dragged on for so long that the companies could not now fulfill the work within that time frame. The companies confirmed on Wednesday that the deals had been canceled. ENDQUOTE So that's it. All our kids who died and were wounded, all for nothing. Not even anything that Bush wanted. Yes, Saddam is gone. But Saddam was an impotent, contained former tyrant. Meanwhile, the entire infrastructure of Iraq is shattered, tens of thousands of Iraqis are dead, a fifth of the country is in exile. And the upshot? Iraq and Iran will be allies. Great job, W and Cheney. Your legacy. And McCain says: stay the course.

Ms M wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:21 AM:John
[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:57 AM: ...teaching 5 year olds about sex...John, that is a blatant lie. Obama wants 5 year olds taught about inappropriate touching and feeling by adults, you know, how to recognize when there is a potential threat to them by an older person. Just what can be so bad about that. If you knew ANYTHING about Obama, it would be the love of his family and protecting his daughters. Stop it John.

Obamas Economy wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:23 AM:If anyone believes Obama can cut taxes for 95% of the people and keep all of his spending promises, I have a beach house for rent in Galveston this weekend at 5% of the usual rent.

Marlowe wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:26 AM:Well, it took Bush a few years to catch on to the idea that more troops in Iraq might be a good idea. Now he seems to be understanding that there's a really important war going on in Afghanistan/Pakistan and that he should take Obama's advice on how to begin winning it. From today's NY Times QUOTE WASHINGTON — President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials. The classified orders signal a watershed for the Bush administration after nearly seven years of trying to work with Pakistan to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and after months of high-level stalemate about how to challenge the militants’ increasingly secure base in Pakistan’s tribal areas. American officials say that they will notify Pakistan when they conduct limited ground attacks like the Special Operations raid last Wednesday in a Pakistani village near the Afghanistan border, but that they will not ask for its permission. “The situation in the tribal areas is not tolerable,” said a senior American official who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the missions. “We have to be more assertive. Orders have been issued.” The new orders reflect concern about safe havens for Al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, as well as an American view that Pakistan lacks the will and ability to combat militants. They also illustrate lingering distrust of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies and a belief that some American operations had been compromised once Pakistanis were advised of the details. ENDQUOTE Imagine that: Bush is concerned about al Qaeda and the Taliban! Well, that's newsworthy, isn't it? Obama nailed this one too. We know McCain got it wrong. Not sure yet what Palin's position on this has been.

More lies wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:33 AM:I would encourage everyone to read more about Sarah Palin's wonderful natural gas pipeline deal that she says will historically free us from foreign oil dependency. Turns out her reports of this deal are quite wildly exaggerated. It exists only on paper and is by no means a sure deal. Republicans in her state are critical of how much leverage she gave to the companies. This whole thing may well never happen. Her claims about it, in her speeches, are mostly spin. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Wrong wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:34 AM:Alf
@ 6:55 AM:"there was no "AQ presence in Iraq" until,we invaded and occupied the sovereign nation of Iraq."

Unless you hold a security clearance and deal in the business of intelligence, you do not have the expertise to tell anybody something that you do not know all the information about. No matter who the media has talked to or what information the media has fed you.

You disagree with the war, got it. Doesn't mean you know everything about why we went there.

To John wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:38 AM:"
[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 12:57 AM:
Hey Tony: That old man commanded a squadron. Obama made no decisions except voting against the banning of partial birth abortions and teaching 5 year olds about sex. Recent surveys indicate that the "conservative woman" was rated as more fit to be President than Obama."

I say your statements are grossly incorrect. I say to you sir, that you are a liar.

Would you please provide sources for each of your statements?

Thank you.

Oh good Rons Back wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:43 AM:What was that asthma medicine again?

MisInformation... wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:45 AM:People, just to give you some insight, the majority of the time, the amount of "innocent civilians" killed in an American raid in Afghanistan is exponentially higher than ground truth.

I was on an operation where unfortunately, 5 innocents were INJURED, not killed, and promptly treated by our medical on the scene. But within hours of our operation the AP was reporting that we had killed upwards to 50 innocent civilians. They got their information from someone that supposedly was there and witnessed all the death and destruction. So what gets reported to the media isn't always correct.

I just ask that when you read something in the paper or hear a report of all of these innocent people being killed, that you just take it with a grain of salt. The enemy over there knows that they can win your appeal to them by falsifying the information and making us, the military, to look like the bad guys.

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:57 AM:Yes...What is a community organizer,
Thomas Cowan?
Who was Barack Obama's role model?
Well, some would say Jesus, himself.
Other's have told me more like Martin Luther King.
I've never heard Barack compare himself to either. Simply, he says he worked with laid-off steelworkers trying to get them job retraining from government resources. I have no problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is equating this experience to the skills necessary to be the President. It may qualify him to be the Labor Sec., but not President.
Further we know, that within the Chicago machine, community organizers are part of the political machinery.
Chicago has a long history of producing leftist activists connected to the Chicago political machine, and many, like Obama, use this step as a first step in boosting their careers.
Locally, we also have a community organizer, his name is Father Joe Carroll. And Father Joe has been at this a long, long time.
He's seen the Barack Obama's come and go. But Father Joe truly has a heart for those in need, so he stayed, while Obama left.
Now, who's really fooling who here?

Ron wrote on Sep 11, 2008 9:17 AM:Hey.. ah..
"Obama and the economy" @7:06 AM.

It's still trickle down economics in the Obama theory, with one exception.
He takes it from one group, dispenses to another, it bubbles back up to the group it was taken from, and then you repeat the process.
That's closed system thinking.
We don't live in a closed economic system, which is why it will fail. Again.

And I keep hearing this "he'll cut the taxes of the bottom 95% of us.."

Let's pursue this line of thinking, shall we?
As of tax year 2006, with an AGI of
$153,542 you were in the top 5% of all taxpayers, and this group paid 60.14%
of all income taxes.
Now, I personally know a lot of people who make $150K a year, and they ain't.. shall we say.. no CEO of some huge multinational corporation. They are average hard working Americans. Some are small business owners, they are part of the network of the nearly 70% of all jobs right here in California.
But, there's something amiss with Barack's math here. He keep's talking about those who make over $250K a year, and then says he'll give tax cuts to the other 95%. If you make $250K that places you in the top 1%, with the balance of 99% of taxpayers.
Those are the numbers, and those are the facts.
So, I guess my questions is, why does he insist his plan will only tax those with incomes greater than $250K, and still be consistant in saying he'll give tax cuts to the lower 95%?
If the bottom 95% begins at $150K?
That don't make sense.
And if you know that those around the $150K level are small business people, employing approx. 70% of all workers, and who usually file as a sole proprietorship, hence all business proceeds go thru their personal income tax returns, why would you tax them?
Cause that's the real deal with the 5% and the other 95%..
The top 5% begins at $150K, not $250K.
I know it sounds all good to chant the rhetoric, but this takes a little critical thinking.

Obama Wins California wrote on Sep 11, 2008 9:19 AM:As a 70 year old, 50 Year resident of California, I do believe Obama will take California by a landslide, Why? Because it is no secret that California is 80 percent comprised of fruits and nuts. I rest my case. Oh hell, I just want to rest.

Poor Chris Pulse wrote on Sep 11, 2008 9:26 AM:Man what a grumpy old man. I wonder what he has done to improve our country. He someday will find that place of wonderland and perhaps all will be well. As we all want a better U.S. and world, sometimes things are not real rosy. I would like to know what country that I or he can move to that would be able to satisfy all of his needs.

Focal Point wrote on Sep 11, 2008 9:43 AM:chuck[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 3:26 AM:
My o my today. Chuck is playing host for the Discovery Channel. Have a good day, Dr. Doolittle.

Focal Point wrote on Sep 11, 2008 9:44 AM:Alf[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 6:52 AM: I shall give you the answer that you already know. Its for the oil and a spring board for the invasion of Iran.

Judi wrote on Sep 11, 2008 9:59 AM:Does Jack Davis not realize that Sen. McCain is as justified in using his government provided health care as any other retired military person is. Or any person in the private sector that has healthcare as one of their retirement benefits. Not to mention as Senator he is an active goverment employee and has health benefits and it is no more hipocrisy to use them than it is for me to use my own employer based health insurance.

liberaljim wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:07 AM:Ron, you need to cite your sources for your 6:44 post slamming the health systems of other countries. It's also amusing that you defeat your own arguement when you note that France spends $3,000 per capita and the U. S. $9,000. France has the best health system in the world. Its citizens are healthier according to WHO statistics, live on an average, 2 years longer than Americans, and their infant mortality rate is 1/3 lower than ours. You write "If you go to any French medical websites (sic), one of the first things they instruct you to do is to buy supplimental private insurance." Please cite these websites. You can even give me the French sites because I read French. Considering the U. S. debt, I'd be very cautious critizing the debt of other nations. What does Oregon's limited and poorly funded state health plan for the poor have to do with a national health system? Why doesn't the company that makes the medication that would help Barbara Wagner's condition donate their product. The drug industry is bloated with profits from overpricing their products to the American consumer. It certainly wouldn't hurt them to come to the aid of a dying cancer patient. Ted Kennedy, like Dick Cheney, has a taxpayer supported health plan. Why can't the taypayers who fund their benefits get the same coverage? Speaking of medicine, you still haven't revealed the name of the asthma medication that prevents attacks and permits your son, contrary to military regulations, to serve. I told you my grandson needs it.

Focal Point wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:13 AM:Wrong[-] wrote on Sep 11, 2008 8:34 AM: Alf is right. The intelligence or lack of intelligence is out. There were no armed Al Queda units in Iraq until after we invaded. There were a few associated Al Queda in the north of Iraq licking their wounds from combat in Afghanistan. Subject been done to death on the blog already. If you have proof of the opposite present it.

to Poor Chris Pulse wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:15 AM:He has no country in mind... He would make a great politician. All whine and no action, and he likes it that way. As long as there is a problem he has something to spout off about. If it actually were to get fixed, he would have to shut up, and he can't have that.

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:16 AM:Lose your house, lose your vote . .

That’s the GOP scheme in Michigan. More than 60 percent of all sub-prime loans — the most likely kind of loan to go into default — were made to African-Americans in Michigan.

“We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses,” said Michigan GOP party chairman James Carabelli. MAMA heard the Republicans in New Orleans are planning to use the same tactic on people forced out of their homes.

Well, there you have it, folks. The McCain bunch are going to stomp on the poor and the desperate and the black voters. But community organizers are challenging this tactic as illegal. A foreclosure notice is not sufficient basis for challenging a voter, because people often stay in their homes after foreclosure begins and sometimes are able to negotiate and refinance.

We get the message: The GOP is a mean-spirited gang. They think that just because they are the party of the rich, they are superior. MAMA says ENOUGH! This ain’t America. ENOUGH! This country belongs to ALL of us, and we the people are gonna’ take it back from the corporations.

Caro Hussein Cogitatus wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:16 AM:Patriot, you claim that Clinton's response to the first WTC bombing and the USS Cole attack was "underwhelming". If you lift your head out of Faux News's rear end echo chamber once in a while, you might know that five perpetrators of the 1993 WTC bombing (one month into the new adminstration, so Clinton was still relying on GHWB's intelligence community) were caught, convicted in a public court of law, and now rot in prison.
The Cole attack happened in October of 2000, and the investigation into who was responsible did not complete until Bush came to office.
Cheezus, it's like you Right Wingers have never heard of Snopes.
Now, let's compare that to our sad anniversary today, shall we?
Bush was warned specifically about Osama bin Laden, New York, and hijacked airliners more than a month before the attack. He stayed on vacation and apparently did nothing about it.
National Security Advisor Condi Rice was set to give a speech that day. The subject? No, not terrorism, it was National Missile Defense. For her incompetence she was later promoted to Secretary of State.
Clinton captured and punished the perpetrators of the 1993 WTC bombing. Where is Osama bin Laden today?

To my dying day I will not understand how Republicans took their abject failure on 9/11/2001 and made it into a reputation for national security competence.

JSJ wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:19 AM:To Ira Landis, Palin has 100 times the experience as your boy. She is well spoken on real issues while Obama is out there pandering to every special interest trying to scrounge up votes. But dont let the FACTS clog your limited, liberal gray matter. Even Hillary has many times more experience than Barry, just sitting around the White House knitting for 8 years. Is it just me, or did any one else think she looked like a ventriloquist dummy with too many coats of lacquer on her face at the convention?

Focal Point wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:22 AM:TO WRONG; You are wrong. Intelligence reports were declassified in April ,2007
Instead, the report said, the CIA had concluded in June 2002 that there were few substantiated contacts between al-Qaeda operatives and Iraqi officials and had said that it lacked evidence of a long-term relationship like the ones Iraq had forged with other terrorist groups."
"The CIA was not alone, the defense report emphasized. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) had concluded that year that "available reporting is not firm enough to demonstrate an ongoing relationship" between the Iraqi regime and al-Qaeda, it said."

By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 6, 2007; Page A01

Obviously, you are no up on the history of this conflict. You are not aware of release of intelligence reports that are now public for over a year. Please do some research before you bag on Alf.

Focal Point
Alf Protection Services

Caro Hussein Cogitatus wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:38 AM:JSJ needs someone to explain to him/her the difference between assertion and fact:

"McCain is the same as George Bush" is an assertion.
"McCain has voted with George Bush 90% of the time" is a fact.

And in this case (pay attention now!) the assertion is backed up by the fact.

JSJ, if you have any facts to support your assertions, please provide them.

Alf wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:39 AM:Thanks, "Bill One" at 7:36AM,
that's what my Tuesday "date with an older woman" and my Saturday morning meetings are all about.
Regards, Alf.

Chris to bill wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:46 AM:Wow,according to you in yesterday's blog you called the NCTimes is a left wing second rate rag. Of course justlike in your blogs you can't show any of us any proof of your asinine statements. You say you served 26 years and the NCTimes owes you. First of all I don't believe you served 26 years in the military and if you did we don't owe you anything because as far as I am concerned you didn't do anything for our befefit and you should pay us for all the money we wasted on you so you could play soldier and collect all this retirement pay so you can continue to spout rubbish on this left wing second rate rag.

Nick wrote on Sep 11, 2008 10:46 AM:Well "Karl", I am doing all I can to spread the word amigo, and many of my friends and family are on board and spreading the word.

On another not, I remember where I was on 9/11.
I was in the mountains of Colorado building a custom log home(what I used to do for a living), 30ft in the air with a big Stihl chainsaw in my hands.
Usually the screaming of chainsaws on the jobsite is deafening all day long, but the silence that came over us as we all stopped working and listened to the radio was even more deafening.

To remember those we lost on this day, and where the true blame for this terrorist act, I am watching the movie "Zeitgeist" once again. If you folks haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and watch it. It can be found o