From CNN World Headquarters
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama, a possible Democratic presidential contender, introduced binding legislation Tuesday that would bring all U.S. combat troops in Iraq home by the spring of 2008.
Obama's bill would stop President Bush's plan to send more than 21,000 additional troops into the conflict-ridden country to try to put a stop to insurgent and sectarian violence there. Instead, the Illinois senator is calling for troops to begin leaving by May 1, 2007.
Obama has formed an exploratory committee to look into a possible run for the Democratic nomination for president and plans an official announcement next month.
The senator's plan caps the number of troops in Iraq at the roughly 135,000 there on Jan. 10, 2007 -- when Bush announced he was dispatching more troops -- and lays down 13 benchmarks for the Iraqi government in the areas of security, political accommodation and economic progress. Should those benchmarks be met, the plan would allow for the "temporary suspension" of the troop withdrawal. (Posted 7:44 p.m.)
Almost everybody believes that the war in Iraq is a loss. The President is holding on way too long. I sincerely hope that this passes. As was pointed out today by prominent GOP Senator Arlen Specter -- "Bush is not the only decider."
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Bill Richardson Announces Presidential Committee Formation
While considered by most to not be as exciting as a former First Lady running for President, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico has announced he is forming a Presidential Exploratory Committee, to assess whether or not he has the popularity to become President. One thing he certain does have, though, is th experience.
Governor Richardson's political resume is something many politicians would pay to see. He was elected to Congress from the NM 3rd District in 1982, serving a little over 14 years in the House of Representatives. While Congressman, he traveled to Iraq and negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of two American aerospace workers. He was appointed the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1997 by President Bill Clinton. A year later Clinton made him Secretary of Energy, where he stay until the end of Clinton's term. In January of 2003, he took office as Governor of New Mexico.
Richardson certainly is the man of experience, and might make a good President, or Vice President, if he doesn't win the nomination. Definitely yet another one to keep an eye on.
But like Sen. Obama says "you don't run to be Vice President."
-Adam
Governor Richardson's political resume is something many politicians would pay to see. He was elected to Congress from the NM 3rd District in 1982, serving a little over 14 years in the House of Representatives. While Congressman, he traveled to Iraq and negotiated with Saddam Hussein for the release of two American aerospace workers. He was appointed the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1997 by President Bill Clinton. A year later Clinton made him Secretary of Energy, where he stay until the end of Clinton's term. In January of 2003, he took office as Governor of New Mexico.
Richardson certainly is the man of experience, and might make a good President, or Vice President, if he doesn't win the nomination. Definitely yet another one to keep an eye on.
But like Sen. Obama says "you don't run to be Vice President."
-Adam
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hillary Clintion Expected to Announce Formation of Exploratory Committee
Breaking news hot of the presses:
Hilly Clinton, New York Senator and former First Lady, is expected to make an announcement today that she is forming an exploratory committee to test her odds at becoming President of the United States.
It has been long rumored that Senator Clinton (D-NY) would run for President in 2008, and her announcement was not expected until the end of the month; however, freshman Senator Barack Obama's (D-IL) recent internet announcement that he was forming an exploratory committee of his own may have prompted Senator Clinton to move up her announcement to sometime today. Neither her personal website, nor her official Senate website say anything about her announcement.
Senator Clinton was elected in 2000, winning 15 of New York's 62 counties. She was re-elected in 2006, carrying 58 of New York's 62 counties.
-Adam
Hilly Clinton, New York Senator and former First Lady, is expected to make an announcement today that she is forming an exploratory committee to test her odds at becoming President of the United States.
It has been long rumored that Senator Clinton (D-NY) would run for President in 2008, and her announcement was not expected until the end of the month; however, freshman Senator Barack Obama's (D-IL) recent internet announcement that he was forming an exploratory committee of his own may have prompted Senator Clinton to move up her announcement to sometime today. Neither her personal website, nor her official Senate website say anything about her announcement.
Senator Clinton was elected in 2000, winning 15 of New York's 62 counties. She was re-elected in 2006, carrying 58 of New York's 62 counties.
-Adam
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Skinny Kid With A Funny Name Explores Presidency
Barack Obama, the self-proclaimed "skinny kid with a funny name", has announced he has filed papers to form a Presidential Exploratory Committee.
In a video on his website titles "A Message From Barack", Senator Obama says that America "must change its politics" before it can address its problems.
The video can be found here.
Obama has always been publicly opposed to the war in Iraq, saying it's been a mistake since the beginning; perhaps he'll be the solution to Iraq's problems.
-Adam
In a video on his website titles "A Message From Barack", Senator Obama says that America "must change its politics" before it can address its problems.
The video can be found here.
Obama has always been publicly opposed to the war in Iraq, saying it's been a mistake since the beginning; perhaps he'll be the solution to Iraq's problems.
-Adam
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Recent Democratic News
Recent Democratic News:
Denver has been chosen to host the 2008 Democratic convention. I think them choosing Denver oven a "blue powerhouse" like New York is a good idea.
70% of Americans oppose the President's troop surge for Baghdad. As one Congresswoman pointed out, there have been numerous "troop surges", some with more than the 20,000 troops now slated to go, and they have not worked; so why will this one?
The Democrats, while somewhat divided on how to do it, have vowed to resist the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq. Hearings by the House Armed Services Committee & the Senate Foreign relations Committee have been taking place the last few days.
The House of Representatives has recently passed a bill providing government funding to stem-cell research, with a vote of 253-174. It will probably have a harder time passing the Senate, and the President, as stubborn as he is, will not sign it, simply because he refuses to do tests on embryos that are already slated to be destroyed, instead of developing cures for diseases and conditions which could save millions of lives. This is foolish; people who are currently alive should come first over embryos that are sitting in a cooler.
The Iraqi Health Ministry has put the number of Iraqi deaths in 2006 at 22, 950. That's a lot of Iraqis. If the death toll for the other years we've been in Iraq is half of that, it already blows the U.S. count out of the water.
-Adam
Denver has been chosen to host the 2008 Democratic convention. I think them choosing Denver oven a "blue powerhouse" like New York is a good idea.
70% of Americans oppose the President's troop surge for Baghdad. As one Congresswoman pointed out, there have been numerous "troop surges", some with more than the 20,000 troops now slated to go, and they have not worked; so why will this one?
The Democrats, while somewhat divided on how to do it, have vowed to resist the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq. Hearings by the House Armed Services Committee & the Senate Foreign relations Committee have been taking place the last few days.
The House of Representatives has recently passed a bill providing government funding to stem-cell research, with a vote of 253-174. It will probably have a harder time passing the Senate, and the President, as stubborn as he is, will not sign it, simply because he refuses to do tests on embryos that are already slated to be destroyed, instead of developing cures for diseases and conditions which could save millions of lives. This is foolish; people who are currently alive should come first over embryos that are sitting in a cooler.
The Iraqi Health Ministry has put the number of Iraqi deaths in 2006 at 22, 950. That's a lot of Iraqis. If the death toll for the other years we've been in Iraq is half of that, it already blows the U.S. count out of the water.
-Adam
Friday, January 05, 2007
Army Inadvertently Asks Ultimate Sacrificers For More Time
The U.S. Army inadvertently sent out letters to fallen and wounded soldiers in the War on Terror, asking them to reenlist.
A few days after Christmas, the Army sent letters to over 5,100 soldiers, who had recently left the service, to reenlist for another tour. Unfortunately, 75 of those were sent to soldiers who had been killed in action, and another 200 were sent to soldiers who had been wounded in combat. The Army apologized Friday for the accident, and said they would send personnel out to personally apologize to the soldiers and families of the fallen for the mistake.
This is a horrible mistake made by the best and most equip army in the world. Their failure to update their mailing lists is an inexcusable mistake; I can only imagine the sad feelings that are stirred up when the families opened these letters. The last thing the the government needs is the military sending out reenlistment letters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
I would recommend that the U.S. Army change web hosts immediately, and try to find better software for their mass-mailing list. A $135K program should compliment that $40K hammer well.
-Adam
A few days after Christmas, the Army sent letters to over 5,100 soldiers, who had recently left the service, to reenlist for another tour. Unfortunately, 75 of those were sent to soldiers who had been killed in action, and another 200 were sent to soldiers who had been wounded in combat. The Army apologized Friday for the accident, and said they would send personnel out to personally apologize to the soldiers and families of the fallen for the mistake.
This is a horrible mistake made by the best and most equip army in the world. Their failure to update their mailing lists is an inexcusable mistake; I can only imagine the sad feelings that are stirred up when the families opened these letters. The last thing the the government needs is the military sending out reenlistment letters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
I would recommend that the U.S. Army change web hosts immediately, and try to find better software for their mass-mailing list. A $135K program should compliment that $40K hammer well.
-Adam
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Transfer Of Power
Happy New Year everybody!
The Democrat Congressmen (and women) who seized control of Congress after the November elections were sworn in today, marking the beginning of the 100th Congress. Leading them are two ground breakers.
Nancy Pelosi is the first woman ever to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, finding herself "two heartbeats" away from the Presidency, as the media continues to remind us. Rep. Pelosi is now the most powerful woman in U.S., overthrowing the former U.S.'s most powerful woman, Madeleine Albright. New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the first Mormon to lead the Senate. A Muslim & two Buddhists also expand the makeup of the next Congress.
The first day of Work in the House was pretty lax, with many praises of Pelosi, the newly elected representatives, the voters, and America as a whole. Things soon changed back to normal, when the first votes, dealing with rules and ethics changes, went along party lines. But I wonder how that could be? After all, didn't the Republicans want to continue the "bipartisanship" that they had under the 12 years of GOP rule?
What's left of the first 100 hours will show that the voters hopefully made a good choice last November.
-Adam
The Democrat Congressmen (and women) who seized control of Congress after the November elections were sworn in today, marking the beginning of the 100th Congress. Leading them are two ground breakers.
Nancy Pelosi is the first woman ever to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, finding herself "two heartbeats" away from the Presidency, as the media continues to remind us. Rep. Pelosi is now the most powerful woman in U.S., overthrowing the former U.S.'s most powerful woman, Madeleine Albright. New Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is the first Mormon to lead the Senate. A Muslim & two Buddhists also expand the makeup of the next Congress.
The first day of Work in the House was pretty lax, with many praises of Pelosi, the newly elected representatives, the voters, and America as a whole. Things soon changed back to normal, when the first votes, dealing with rules and ethics changes, went along party lines. But I wonder how that could be? After all, didn't the Republicans want to continue the "bipartisanship" that they had under the 12 years of GOP rule?
What's left of the first 100 hours will show that the voters hopefully made a good choice last November.
-Adam
Friday, December 29, 2006
Saddam's Execution Imminent...Maybe
Hopefully everybody had a Merry Christmas. Mine was merry and bright, but not white, sadly. It was rainy on Christmas Eve, but dry on Christmas Day, which is always nice.
As everyone knows by now, former President Gerald Ford, the only man never to be elected to either the Vice Presidency or Presidency, has died at the age of 93. He held out just long enough to claim the record of longest living former president from Ronald Reagan. If you are hoping to see a sweeping article about Ford's interesting presidency, you've come to the wrong place. I'll leave the news outlets to that sort of thing. I wasn't around yet when he was President, so I don't really have any firsthand knowledge of how he did his job.
Moving on to the world's biggest former annoyance, Saddam Hussein...
Saddam could be executed in a matter of hours, tomorrow, or by Sunday, depending on which Iraqi minister who wants his 15 minutes you want to believe. Supposedly, "key legal issues" have been hashed out, which has cleared the path to Saddam's hanging. One course to the news outlets has the Iraqi P.M. still talking to judges and other political figures, trying to figure out when this will take place.
Whenever that may be, it'll do to things. 1) it will shut up that bearded fool (who would look like Mel Gibson if he grew his beard out longer) and we won't have to hear about him anymore and, 2) his execution will more than likely piss off his "followers" (i.e. the al-Qaeda branch who uses his removal as a reason to finally kill their enemies) to the point that a massive surge of violence will ensue, causing many deaths. Of course, to counter the massive surge in violence, President Bush will want to add more troops, and go against everything that everybody is telling him...
...If you give a mouse a cookie.
-Adam
As everyone knows by now, former President Gerald Ford, the only man never to be elected to either the Vice Presidency or Presidency, has died at the age of 93. He held out just long enough to claim the record of longest living former president from Ronald Reagan. If you are hoping to see a sweeping article about Ford's interesting presidency, you've come to the wrong place. I'll leave the news outlets to that sort of thing. I wasn't around yet when he was President, so I don't really have any firsthand knowledge of how he did his job.
Moving on to the world's biggest former annoyance, Saddam Hussein...
Saddam could be executed in a matter of hours, tomorrow, or by Sunday, depending on which Iraqi minister who wants his 15 minutes you want to believe. Supposedly, "key legal issues" have been hashed out, which has cleared the path to Saddam's hanging. One course to the news outlets has the Iraqi P.M. still talking to judges and other political figures, trying to figure out when this will take place.
Whenever that may be, it'll do to things. 1) it will shut up that bearded fool (who would look like Mel Gibson if he grew his beard out longer) and we won't have to hear about him anymore and, 2) his execution will more than likely piss off his "followers" (i.e. the al-Qaeda branch who uses his removal as a reason to finally kill their enemies) to the point that a massive surge of violence will ensue, causing many deaths. Of course, to counter the massive surge in violence, President Bush will want to add more troops, and go against everything that everybody is telling him...
...If you give a mouse a cookie.
-Adam
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Generals Who Couldn't Get Through
The President is set to decide in the next few days whether or not it would be a good idea to increase the U.S. troop presence in Iraq. This, obviously is not a good idea, given the fact that Iraqi insurgents stepped up attacks last time there was a troop increase in Baghdad, and for once I have U.S. generals to back me up. What Bush has decided to do, however, is increase the size of the Army & Marines.
Bush seems to be standing alone on this one. However, being the determined fellow he is, he's sent newly-appointed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Baghdad to get military leader's opinions on the subject. General John Abizaid, who commands all the U.S. soldiers in the middle East, does not agree with the idea of an increase in troops, as he told a Senate Committee last month. Interestingly enough, Gen. Abizaid, along with Gen. George Casey (commender of all U.S. troops in Iraq) are planning to resign in the coming months. While CentCom says that Abizaid's resignation has been a long time coming, I have to wonder whether or not it was "encouraged", especially after he came out and disagreed with an increase in boots on the ground. In the interest of fairness, he also disagreed with a decrease in troops.
Former General & Secretary of State Colin Powell also disagrees with the Presidents proposal to a troop increase. Powell says that the military is overextended and "about broken". However, being the ever-loyal soldier, Powell hasn't gone as far as saying something along the lines of "We've screwed up", "The President didn't think before he leaped", or "Oops!"; hopefully he will before too long, especially at the rate he's speaking out.
I really, really hope Bush doesn't go out on his own, forging ahead with out listening to the military officers who actually know what they're talking about. But Bush will be Bush.
-Adam
Bush seems to be standing alone on this one. However, being the determined fellow he is, he's sent newly-appointed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Baghdad to get military leader's opinions on the subject. General John Abizaid, who commands all the U.S. soldiers in the middle East, does not agree with the idea of an increase in troops, as he told a Senate Committee last month. Interestingly enough, Gen. Abizaid, along with Gen. George Casey (commender of all U.S. troops in Iraq) are planning to resign in the coming months. While CentCom says that Abizaid's resignation has been a long time coming, I have to wonder whether or not it was "encouraged", especially after he came out and disagreed with an increase in boots on the ground. In the interest of fairness, he also disagreed with a decrease in troops.
Former General & Secretary of State Colin Powell also disagrees with the Presidents proposal to a troop increase. Powell says that the military is overextended and "about broken". However, being the ever-loyal soldier, Powell hasn't gone as far as saying something along the lines of "We've screwed up", "The President didn't think before he leaped", or "Oops!"; hopefully he will before too long, especially at the rate he's speaking out.
I really, really hope Bush doesn't go out on his own, forging ahead with out listening to the military officers who actually know what they're talking about. But Bush will be Bush.
-Adam
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Senate May Hang In The Balance
Senator Tim Johnson's (D-SD) possibly life-threatening illness, which required him to have brain surgery on Wednesday could put the Senate in Jeopardy. If by some horrible means Senator Johnson doesn't recover enough to carry on his elected duty in the Senate, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, is empowered with the gut-wrenching ability to pick a replacement, who will finish the remainder of his elected term.
Naturally, the most important thing is that Johnson lives, since this is potentially life-threatening, and hopefully he'll be alright and God-willing fully recover, even if he cannot continue his term.
If Johnson has to resign, Rounds will more than likely choose a Republican, which would knock the Senate back to a 50-50 split, this giving Cheney veto power. I urge the Governor that, if he is forced to pick a replacement, he respect the voters' opinions and pick a Democrat with similar views as Senator Johnson.
Will he do that? Most likely not, at the probable urging/threatening of the GOP. It would show his trust in th voters, and is naturally the best thing to do. It would be hard, but I hope the petty partisan bickering can be put aside for one moment, and the Republicans face the face that this is life, life isn't always fair, the voters weren't happy, and they need to try again in 2008.
But when the last time Republicans actually tried listening to the people?
-Adam
Naturally, the most important thing is that Johnson lives, since this is potentially life-threatening, and hopefully he'll be alright and God-willing fully recover, even if he cannot continue his term.
If Johnson has to resign, Rounds will more than likely choose a Republican, which would knock the Senate back to a 50-50 split, this giving Cheney veto power. I urge the Governor that, if he is forced to pick a replacement, he respect the voters' opinions and pick a Democrat with similar views as Senator Johnson.
Will he do that? Most likely not, at the probable urging/threatening of the GOP. It would show his trust in th voters, and is naturally the best thing to do. It would be hard, but I hope the petty partisan bickering can be put aside for one moment, and the Republicans face the face that this is life, life isn't always fair, the voters weren't happy, and they need to try again in 2008.
But when the last time Republicans actually tried listening to the people?
-Adam
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