Friday evening mishmash

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Here’s PBO’s press conference, you know, the event in which the kids meets the adult.

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Rachel Maddow interviewing Richard Trumka, who, for some reason, is totally fine with the president’s handling of the issue:

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U.S. retail sales rise 1.0% in February

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Sales at U.S. retailers increased 1.0% in February, the biggest jump in four months and the eighth straight monthly gain, the Commerce Department estimated Friday.

The seasonally adjusted $387.1 billion in sales marked an 8.9% advance from the February 2010 level.

In another sign of strength, sales rose an upwardly revised 0.7% in January, compared with the originally reported 0.3% increase.

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Go over to Obama Diary to read a truly hilarious story about Sarah Silverman’s encounter with the president. Matt Damon who?

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85 thoughts on “Friday evening mishmash”

  2. Wait, I was first?!?! Should have written something less snarky and more eloquent, LOL and Oops!

    Well, PBO seems to be on top of his game as usual with his usual commanding presence. I will watch the press conference video this evening. I’m sure he schooled them….again.

    Thanks for linking it, BWD, and for all you continue to do.

  3. Thank you, BWD, for all the hard work you put into these posts. I appreciated the video of Trumka. I’ve been trying to help keep up the morale of my Wisconsin teacher cousin through all the madness. She affirms Walker is toast.

  4. LOL!

    Here’s one white female (old enough to be his mother) who would have first smiled, then passed out, were she that close to this wonderful President!

    Thanks, BWD, for the Friday evening mishmash!

  5. Well, I put my best poker, librarian face on for a patron. She was looking for something good to read, and told me “And don’t tell me Obama! How can he have time to write books if he’s supposed to be running the country, which is falling apart?” Ugh. She also berated the Bush and Rumsfeld books, and said we shouldn’t have been in WWII. Fortunately, she’s a minority of my patrons. But still, it was annoying.

  7. Ugh. Bush and Rumsfeld are done “ruining” the country and have plenty of time to rewrite the history of their awful ways in books.

    On the other hand, I believe the President wrote his books (not counting the book for his daughters) before he started “running” the country.

    Takes all kinds, right?

  8. It’s been a very serious news day – no big smiles at the news conference. So, it was nice to see a celebration of the Chicago Black Hawks having won the Stanley Cup. Cool jersey Mr. President – but next year it will be a Detroit Red Wings one.

  10. OK, I didn’t know that PBO wrote his latest book before he was inaugurated. Good information to have.

  12. He has not written a book since he’s been president. Letter to my Daughters was written in like 2007 but published in 2010.

  13. Yes, this has been an awful news day: two earthquakes, a tsunami, Gaddafi making gains in Libya. Even at my library we were discussing whether or not we’d open, since we’re in the tsunami zone. 3 a.m. phone call, indeed; there’ve been an excess of those these past two years.

  14. Trumka just gets better on TV, and I guess Ed Schultz needs to chill. Because I think nobody knows what labor wants better than Richard Trumka who said POTUS is “on our side,”

  15. Obama did a great jon at the news conference today….I love the way how he explains things….a true professor…

  16. My favorite part of the press conference was when he dismissed all the awful amendments attached to the Repug bill as just “riders” Not seriously part of the budget.

  17. The Rethugs threatening not to increase the debt limit without cuts to SS, Medicaid, and Medicare. So gross. Same situation with the tax cuts. Obama will be blamed yet again instead of Rethugs. Damn what have we done. I don’t know how Obama is going to figure this out.

  18. How to talk to your family, friends and coworkers about the Tea Party.

    The Bloomberg News poll on The Obama Diary yesterday showed that 25 percent of respondents still haven’t made up their minds about the Tea Party.

    I say we help them. To do so requires we learn some of the lessons from the Republican message machine about not always being right. For instance, if we know the difference between a continuing resolution and a budget, we don’t need to explain the difference to a listener. Just call it a budget. That’s all they need to hear.

    Applying that same technique to a conversation with coworkers at the water cooler can be made easy if we don’t concern ourselves with drawn out explanations and facts.

    Here is an example:

    Opening line: I don’t know about those Tea Party people. They want to keep my grandkids from going to school.

    Query from listener: What do you mean?

    Response: Well they want to eliminate the Department of Education and take all the funding away from public schools, even though they benefited from the public school system growing up. It just doesn’t seem right, does it?

    The objective is to inform the listener about some of the most egregious policies advocated by the Tea Party by using examples of day-to-day consequences of those policies. Make the statement personal.

    For example:
    I’m worried about this Tea Party. They want to keep us from having safe food and water in this country (eliminating funding for water quality control and food inspectors). (Or safe toys (product safety), safe roads, bridges, tunnels (no spending on infrastructure).

    Don’t dress up your comments with facts and figures. Just express your concern and see where the conversation leads.

    The Tea Party needs to start feeling like they have to defend themselves against all our accusations at every turn. The best defense is a good offense. We can’t keep letting what they’re doing go unchallenged. Help those 25 percent of people who are on the fence about the Tea Party climb down onto the side of reason. Help them into the Very Unfavorable column every chance you get.

  19. I was thrilled to hear President Obama tell the White House Press Corps and the nation a bit a truth about our dependence on foreign oil. Meanwhile, the Republicans want to “drill baby drill” and continue giving subsidies (that they don’t need) to the oil companies.

    PUTTING ENERGY POLICY ON THE FRONT-BURNER:
    ————————————–
    “So beyond increased domestic production, if we want to secure our long-term prosperity and protect the American people from more severe oil shocks in the future, the way to do it is to gradually reduce demand and then do everything we can to break our dependence on oil. […]

    “But the bottom line is this. We’ve been having this conversation for nearly four decades now. Every few years, gas prices go up; politicians pull out the same old political playbook, and then nothing changes. And when prices go back down, we slip back into a trance. And then when prices go up, suddenly we’re shocked. I think the American people are tired of that.”
    —————————————-
    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_03/028411.php

  20. It would be so nice for the President to have a couple of days when nothing happens but photo opps. It seems we have been on crisis patrol since the victory in Iowa.

  22. snowbird42 I agree. I thought President Obama did a masterful job of pointing out how petty and nonsensical the Republican budget proposals are. Essentially, the Republicans in congress are doing the same thing that Governor Scott Walker is doing.

  23. As I like to say, when it comes to President Obama, there is no rest for the weary.

    The drama has been endless. It makes you dizzy to think about all of the emergencies that President Obama has had to handle on top of the wreckage left by the Bush administration.

  24. Today has been a big news day indeed, and so very much of the news has been tragic. As much as I love Joe Biden and respect our President, I’m troubled by President Obama’s answer to the question about how Bradley Manning is being treated — a 23-year-old American GI who’s not had (indeed, hasn’t been given a date to expect the start of) a trial, not been convicted of anything, and the treatment is “appropriate”?

    Sir. Please. Go see for yourself. You’re a Constitutional scholar, Mr. President. Even if you’re not familiar with the UCMJ (and contrary to popular belief, taking the oath to support and defend the Constitution doesn’t invalidate a servicemember’s Constitutional rights), surely you too believe in the fundamental concept of innocent until proven otherwise, Mr. President.

  26. Thanks for the Friday evening mishmash BWD!! Awesome 🙂 Where can I buy one of those Obama jerseys??

  27. Liberal Librarian — are you in California, then? Or Washington-Oregon?

    I’ve been worried about my youngest brother-in-law who has a condo in Oceanside. It’s his one remaining investment after losing everything in the Great Recession. It seems from the maps I’ve found that the Oceanside area is on a tsunami warning.

  28. Not so sure Obama will be blamed for a gov’t shutdown. Bill Clinton was not hurt politically when Newt shut down the gov’t. The GOP is appearing more and more extreme, thanks to Gov. Walker. Differences between the parties are beginning to show, and Pres. Obama is appearing more and more reasonable. When the SS checks stop coming (especially with the GOP clamoring for cuts to SS), the GOP will again be guilty of overreach, and lose alot of support from seniors, IMO.

  31. I love Barack. That ring looks super big and audacious on our Pres finger, so not his style. lol thnx for the update bwd.

  32. Yes, I’m in Southern California. There was really no threat that we were going to get hit, but better safe than sorry. The west coast is on tsunami advisory, which is a notch below tsunami warning. If it had been a warning, there would’ve been major evacuations. In California, Crescent City suffered one death, but that was because someone was out taking pictures of the waves and got swept out to sea. Oregon saw some big swells, but nothing it’s not used to from a good-sized storm.

  33. I thought I’d pass on something that happened today. I was at work and got a phone call from someone who I used to talk politics with occasionally but who has since retired. She tracked me down because she said she is so upset about what’s happening in Wisconsin and so are her daughters, she thought I could give her some suggestions. She’s not someone who has ever been very active. I’ll be calling her tonight. And what I’ll tell her: consider making a small donation to the Wisconsin Democratic Senators (I’ve sent a couple of small donations), and then start gearing up for the 2012 election with OFA.

  34. Overseesgrany, I just wanted to second your comment. BWD works so hard every day and we all owe her a debt of gratitude. I also liked the clip of Maddow’s interview of Trumka. Here is a man who really understands the way politics is played unlike all the people who are outraged that the President didn’t go to Wisconsin to lead the Protest. I was really glad to see Trumka focus on the real issue: the Republican governors in all these sates that are waging war on workers’ rights; unlike many in the PL who want to make the President the issue. No one can dispute the fact the Trumka, unlike Ed Shultz, represents a very important base of the Democratic party.

  35. Here’s my good political deed for the day. I decided to go to the car wash—-before someone wrote “Wash Me” on the poor thing. It’s been a long dirty winter, and today was one of the first nice days, so the place was packed. A huge crowd was sitting around in the waiting area watching the TV which was tuned to —-FOXNews. I muttered “Ewwwww—-Fox News” a couple of times, and I decided that wasn’t good enough. So I went up to the young gal behind the counter and asked sorta sweetly, “Do we have to watch FOXNews in here?” And she said, “I know, right? Ugh.” And then I pleaded, “Do you think we could change the channel?” And she said, “Shhhhhh. Yes we can.” And she was smiling mischievously, did a quick look around for the boss, and switched to CNN. Not a great improvement but a big improvement nonetheless. I said, “Thanks. Much better.” She looked like she wanted to high five but held back. I had a kindred spirit at the car wash. The patrons looked confused for a minute but adjusted nicely to the lack of propaganda.

  38. I believe the President said that he is still accumulating all the facts. I would caution anyone to take the same approach before jumping to conclusions. And it seems as though you are operating under the assumption that you know all the facts, which you don’t. You have simply heard “reports.” Do you recall what happened with the Pakistani “reports” of torture?

  39. Thanks theresa for the link. I am just so elated to see the unity of workers in Wisconsin. I am also glad that they are beginning to use the weapon of boycott.

  41. LOL great story! I went into a bagel shop one morning and they had on Fox & Friends…almost walked straight out but I was hungry and knew I’d only be in there about five min (all of which was torture listening to their idiotic statements)

  42. I join in your prayers CR. It is on days like this when we realize, as the President suggested, how deeply connected we all are as human beings; despite all our daily petty squabbles.

  43. Here’s a “not feel good story” about Faux. Headline in today’s Knoxville News-Sentinel: “Legislative Plaza TVs ‘fair and balanced’. I swear……makes me sick……what a joke. The article says that voting patterns are not the only thing that has changed at Tennessee’s Legislature since R’ took total control of state government this year. Television monitors are now tuned to Fox News rather than CNN.And, they removed the word ‘Labor’ from a committee. It’s now the Senate Commerce and Agriculture committee. Give them credit though. That is another good example of how good they are at messaging. Dems just can’t do that. 😦

  44. I was happy to hear that Pres Obama had inquired about Manning – that this issue had reached his desk and that he looked into it. I know there are people on Kos who are not satisfied that he’s satisfied that the Pentagon told him Manning was receiving the “basic” of required treatment. They said it was like Rumsfield assuring Bush that nothing was going on at Abu Ghraib. I think that is a bad comparison because for one thing Pres Obama and Gates are the anti Bush and Rumsfield. Gates and Pres Obama have personal integrity and Bush and Rumsfield do not. I do not believe that if Gates or the president felt at any moment that Manning was being treated in a manner that was illegal, that they would overlook it or that it would be permitted to continue.

    PJ Crowley’s comments to me didn’t seem to suggest that he thought the Pentagon was committing illegal, “immoral” acts – he used the words ridiculous, stupid and counterproductive. Much stronger language is generally used for torture or abuse. It would seem that something did happen, which might explain why Pres Obama seemed to be choosing his words with caution while answering that question but I’m not convinced that it rises to torture as has been suggested by Greenwald, Hamsher, et al. They use that word too freely. And as for abuse of prisoner rights, I saw a tweet that suggested that Greenwald and co. didn’t seem to be in the least concerned about prison reform as it relates to other prisoners. I heard someone on Rev Al’s show the other day talking about prisoners that live four to a cell that was only made for two. They live in conditions that turn them into “animals” the guest said – forced to sleep on the floor under other bunks and in front of the toilet. They are forced to use the toilet in front of the other cell mates and they are cooped up in the cells and only let out for an hour. When Greenwald and Hamsher get behind general prison reform in America and not just for Manning, they could see more people and organizations like NAN and NAACP drawn to their cause.

    Now, I do believe that they need to charge Manning with whatever they have and get this thing moving. This delay only weakens credibility of the prosecution IMO.

  45. Great idea. I will give it a try. Have some friends who think the tea party is okay.

  46. Dear BWD:

    Thank you for the tirelessly and wonderful work you are doing keeping us informed and energized. Everyday I come to this site I am really amazed at all your posts. Where do you get all this time and energy to do all this work every day? By the way, I also admire your courage because often times you mince no words in calling a spade a spade.

    Today was really a very tough day because of the devastating tragedy in Japan. But I was deeply appreciative that you posted the President’s News Conference because his words about this immense tragedy clearly revealed his deep humanity.

    Any way, today I just wanted to say thank you. Just like the President you admire so much, you are an inspiring example of a loving and committed human being.

  47. Yup, POTUS has to get ALL the facts right. Just because a couple of journalist say the guy is being “totured” does not make it true. I disagree with POTUS on a lot of things, but I always respect that the guy usually waits to gather the facts before jumping to conclusions. Some reports say Manning could kill himself with his clothes, which is why he sleeps in his boxers. Now if progressives want to push for prison reform in general, then that is great. However, I feel that Manning is being treated like the millions of prisoners in this country.

  48. God Bless President Obama, I just don’t know how he does it.

    I can think just of a few disasters, crisis events since he took office.
    Just to name a few…

    1. It was the Sudanese Pirates
    2. The Christmas Underwear Bomber
    3. HN Flu
    4. NY Bomb plot
    5. BP Spill
    6. Arizona Shooting
    7. Ft Hood Shooting
    8. Egypt
    9. Lybia
    10. States Emergency crisis
    11.Two Ongoing Wars
    12. Getting us out of the great depression
    13. Rescuing the Auto Industry from a total collapse

    and I can go on and on, with all that it’s going on in the world and at home, he still have to deal with

  50. HI all

    Wanted to share this Wisconsin story that made me smile

    http://www.truth-out.org/activists-hold-wall-street-accountable-economic-crisis68286

    I believe there will be 2 positive reactions to the Wisconsin sneaky business.

    1. Surge of support for labor unions
    2. interest and energy for USUncut which holds protests on banks and corporations that don’t pay taxes

    Does anyone know anything about the blog TruthOut, it is the first time I have been there.

  52. AMEN, I want to a month in which the President a month of no problems.. God/the most High please…

  53. I do not intend to criticize the President unduly; but I think when you consider that Bradley Manning has not been tried, there is a very big difference between his status and that of a convict. I will not stray into general prison reform here; that by itself is an issue deserving of more discussion than a blog comment allows — or even one lone blog.

    Manning’s treatment is far more reminiscent of what is being done at Guantanamo and other similar installations than it is of what was done in the case of Lt. William Calley, after My Lai and after Lt. Calley’s conviction. I agree that this continuous escalation of the treatment of Manning weakens the Army’s case against him.

    I note that SecDef Gates also served in that post for President Bush; indeed, he is the immediate successor to SecDef Rumsfeld. Many of the policies Secretary Gates inherited from the Rumsfeld DoD remain in place.

    But I am convinced that when prisoners are treated in this manner *before* trial, it weakens our nation; many people feel that there is a distinct difference between treating an American GI in this fashion and treating an “enemy combatant” (and how I despise that term; the lack of a uniform doesn’t make a prisoner of war some other kind of creature, some alien construct; this legalistic language is a fraud!) in this manner. As it happens, I don’t feel that way.

    People who haven’t been convicted shouldn’t be treated as though they’re being punished; it isn’t justice. Indeed, such behavior toward accused persons — persons not tried, persons not able to face their accusers, persons not proven guilty — is many things; justice doesn’t make the list.

    I would feel much more encouraged, much more confident, if I didn’t think that the President has too much faith in the word of Mr. Gates and his department, not just in the case of Bradley Manning but in the cases of all the “detainees.”

    I don’t for a minute believe it’s deliberate malice on the President’s part. I wish I could be as sure about the people in whom the President rests his trust.

    Whether or not Bradley Manning is guilty, he’s being treated, before his trial, without a conviction, as though he belongs in a Supermax prison — Bradley Manning’s not Charles Manson, but of the two Manson enjoys a far less severe imprisonment.

  56. Here’s and idea for all of you to ponder, and if you like it, spread it.

    I’m going to post it at a few of our favorite places.

    I call it ‘Charge’um a >1000x’

    Let’s face it, thanks to public records, Google Maps, and all kinds of other easily accessed information we know where the wealthiest 2 % of Americans reside. Not just their primary residencies, but their many residences.

    Those places have lawns, and toilets, and refrigerators, and walls, and roofs, and chimneys, and sinks, and ….. you get the picture, i.e., those folk have an enormous number of dependencies on the other 98 %.

    What happens when the Kock brothers can’t find ANYONE to do ANYTHING for them – cook their food, clean their mansions, mow their lawns, repair their roofs ….. without charging them at least 1000 times (i.e., >1000x) what they would charge anyone else.

    What choice would that 2 % have but to pay, and pay and pay and pay.

    The only choice they would have – if we make it explicitly clear to them – is to back off the greed and begin behaving like a responsible member of the American society.

    It’s just that simple – Make’um pay. Provide zero services to them unless they do so.

    Forget ‘general strikes’ etc as those types of actions actually do nothing to the avaricious 2 %. In fact, those kinds of actions actually harm those most in need.

    Nope. Make the 2 % pay and pay and pay.

    And, BTW, all those Governors, and Senators and Representatives in both State Governments and the Federal Government who occupy their positions to serve, exclusively and demonstratively, the avaricious 2 % – we know exactly whom they are – make them pay 10,000 x for their next hair cut, spa treatment, lawn mowed, toilet repair, flat tire, ……………., For absolutely every service they need. Make’um pay.

    In a very few weeks, you will begin to see a transformation of attitude in this Nation that you have never seen before.

    They are all sooooo soft, they are all soooo dependent, that they will be the beggars on the street – they will begin to understand that all their money buys them very, very little and it certainly buys them zero respect and dignity.

    Call it an intensive experiential learning program in empathy and societal values.

    No violence. No ugliness. No loud voices. Just make’um pay commensurate with their wealth.

    Yes.We.Can.

    Yes.We.Will.

    Prevail.

  57. bwd, I cannot express how appreciative I am of what you bring to my day, every day. Every single day. I don’t say this enough; knowing that there is no landmine or craziness or content designed to draw out the worst in people here, just a steady recital of what’s gone on, some great links like that to ABL, some comforting pictures that POTUS is okay despite such a contrived media environment of disdain…I’m only fearful that we are burning you out with our need for this site, but this space is just such a Godsend to me. Just…thank you.

  58. I share your deep gratitude and respect for BWD, GN.

    And, am so appreciative of your message to her.

    Onward!

  60. Thanks, Jessica. Didn’t mean to give the wrong info – I know I got it for my granddaughter last year, and thought it was newly written. Hope LL saw this, for his next go-around!

  61. Let’s just hope the GOP sees some light before the Social Security checks stop going out to seniors, many of whom cannot live without them. Guess we’ll find out this week.

  62. I go to Truthout often…never commented. I check so many sites that it’s hard to keep up or remember which one says what, but I think it’s a good, informative site.

  63. If there is a heaven, she is going.I am appreciative and watch in amazement, as day after day, she gives us a wonderful assortment of truths and beautiful photos to begin our days and end our nights. I am in awe of her committment and dedication to this special place. It continues to be a salvation for me when the world seems too crazy and the noise won’t stop.She sets the tone, and the folks that congregate here are a testiment to her diligence and welcoming.I know I don’t have to agree with everything that is said here ( I usually do)but I don’t need to hear sniping and bitching all the time.It’s a place that I can go and say what I think and not get attacked…even if we don’t see things the same way.That is a precious gift to me.I would love to meet BWD one day….and all the people here.It is my intertube home.Thank you for all you do,BWD:)

  64. You care about about the little kids sitting in juvie for nothing…you care about the “three strikes” folks in MUCH WORSE conditions for literally stealing a loaf of bread or are we only supposed to give a damn about a netroots precious who downloaded the US diplomatic portfolio onto the net for shits and giggles who is not being tortured in prison? I have no opinion about this Manning case but I have to ask why all of these people who suddenly give a damn about prison conditions care beyond the treatment of one person. Just freaking saying. My view is a little different here.

  65. Sorry if I spelled things wrong, or didn’t make much sense…long day.Hope you get the drift:)

  66. typo: “*don’t* give damn beyond the treatment of one person…”

    Just don’t give a damn beyond, just don’t care, unless Glenn Greenwald and Jane Hamsher tell you to care about one person, who is their precious because they can slap the WH with him. Couldn’t care less beyond that unless it’s selling books or getting page clicks. The netroots is a f-ing joke to me right now. My eyes are opened.

  67. Hopefruit, don’t even let yourself go there in terms of the netroots claiming that they give a sugar honey iced tea about criminal justice matters. They don’t, never have. This is a slap at the WH. I personally might fall into the camp of “wtf, is this not excessive” in terms of Manning, but if he were a black man slinging crack on the corner instead of a white person who chose to freaking download the State Dept onto the net, none of these people would give a damn. Period. Be careful of the PL and their causes. Nothing is real with these people.

  68. Some have suggested a ‘political response’ is all that is needed, to which I replied:

    Appreciate your comment, but a ‘political process’ is not only going to fail – check ‘Citizens United’ – but they (the avaricious few) already own that process.

    No, it’s back to basics and a laser focus on the discipline required of the 98 % to refuse to be products or slaves.

    Truly regret how hard this is going to be for the 98 %, short term, but long term (actually, I estimate, a very short, long term) it’s the only way.

    For those – the totally pampered, soft, instantly whiny 2 % – I think days, let alone weeks, of not getting their every want and need, will be devastating, not just disabling.

    You have no idea how fragile, how brittle, how unsustainable their total existence is.

    I assure you, I do.

    Two weeks – max – of not serving their every need, and increasingly escalating that they pay and pay and pay for every single moment of serving those needs, and they will implode.

    No guillotine; no violence; no shouting … just pay 1000x, and when they do, then for the next service, pay 2000x, then for the next service, …..

    And, I assure you, we all know who they are, where their servants buy their food, etc. Couldn’t be easier, thanks to the intertubes, to know all that information and more.

    They are sooo very fragile, sooo very dependent, sooo very brittle. Even a tiny dose of no, a moment or two of no, and they will fold.

    For sure.

  69. I would suggest something else.

    We have no idea about the mental stability of Manning, nor do we have any real information about how Manning is really being treated.

    My guess, and I will admit it is a guess, is that Manning may well be on suicide watch and is deprived of his clothing during the night in order to prevent him from hanging himself. The President gave us a clue about this in his answer. Could be Manning has tried to commit suicide already.

    Now it could be that the military is lying to PBO, but I doubt it. That would be too stupid.

    PBO has outlawed torture and, beyond that, I just cannot see this kind and gentle man aiding and abetting in torture. I can see him being very concerned about the man’s life, and more so since he has not been charged yet.

  70. I doubt the SS checks will stop coming. They are processed very differently now since the last time the government shut down. It is now pretty much a push of a button to get all those direct deposits going. Those still getting paper checks might see a delay, but I doubt they will stop.

  71. Bob, In a way I sort of agree with you. I will share a story.

    A man here bought a very expensive estate house. There is an ancient graveyard at the back corner of the estate where many locals have their relatives buried, and they were used to going through the estate lands to get to it, which they had been doing for centuries.

    The new man decided to put an end to this and told them they would have to use the rough field next door to travel through. Naturally, the locals became very upset. Soon enough the man could no longer buy food or anything else within a 50 mile radius of his house. Locals stick together.

    The man refused to cave in, but within a couple of months he suddenly put the place up for sale. He knew he wasn’t going to ever win this battle. In this case, all the shops boycotted a single individual.

  72. Desertflower, what you said was wonderful and I agree with you 100 percent. We have been given a gift here, not just of information, but of health and sanity. Thank you for expressing it so well.

  73. Long time ago when I spent a lot of time reading the blogs, Truth.org, was among my favorites. It was always chock full with a broad spectrum of information.

    I have not visited for a long time, until you posted this.

  74. GN, I get what you are saying. I don’t pretend to know anything about the Manning case, but this I do know, there is something afoul with justice system in this country.

    There are so many people sitting in jail unjustly and some will never see the day of light because they are not in the spotlight or don’t have the money to spend on their cases.

    The uneven treatment given to some who commit the same crimes or similar crimes, while one is thrown in jail and the other doesn’t even get to set his or her foot in there is amazing.

    Roland Martin did a piece on Tom Joyner the other morning about this African American mayor, who is sitting jail in Louisiana, and has been since before his trial for trying to do his job. Apparently, the mayor of this small town, after he took offfice, decided to make some changes that upset the good ole boys. Both he and his police chief were thrown in jail.

    The way I understood it, the mayor was recently sentenced and supposedly the trial was a sham. There is some lawyer and some others down there fighting to get him out.

    This should be a good one for the do-gooders.

  75. One little difficulty the dems have with their messaging is a quaint reluctance to lie. This gives at least a short term advantage to the Republicans.

  76. I wasn’t just talking about prisoners that had been convicted. There are prisoners, who have been charged – unlike Manning, but have not been convicted and live in horrible conditions in overcrowded jails awaiting trials that are not exactly speedy. These people rarely get attention. Also, there are American citizens that have been tortured into making false confessions but their cases rarely get attention either. Take for instance former Chicago police commander John Burge, accused of torture, who, after decades, was finally convicted in Jan. of perjury and got 4-1/2years. Apparently, the statue of limitations ran out on the torture cases. He’d been accused of torturing nearly 100 men. (See it’s not only George Bush who got away with torture but at least this other guy was convicted of something but apparently he still gets to keep his pension…smh)

    I don’t follow Greenwald. Maybe he wrote about it. Maybe Jane did too but I suspect they didn’t. I guess what I’m trying to say is that when some people only focus on these high-profile cases without taking a serious look at the injustices actually occurring in our highly vaulted Justice System, its going to be hard to get buy-in from people who have family members who are being treated the same or worse than Manning. I’m not saying that’s right – we should care about injustice where ever it occurs. But this was the thought that dawned on me when I read that tweet yesterday about Greenwald not really caring about prison reform.

    But I wholeheartedly agree, I don’t like the continuation of some of the Bush policies and they should charge Manning or let him go. Still, I stand by my previous statement that the personal integrity of Pres Obama and Gates is far, far beyond the previous admin. Even though Gates was part of the Bush admin, he was brought in to clean up Rumsfield’s mess. I don’t think he or Obama are naive about what some people in the Pentagon are capable of.

  77. Thank you gn for your comment upthread. I too share your appreciation of BWD.

    It was only when our beloved President, then Senator, came on the scene after his keynote speech in 2004 that I started paying attention to national politics. I do not remember so many Americans interacting with our President in past Administrations. In fact, during the Bush years, it doesn’t seem like there was much activity at all. Did I miss it? Our President is truly the people’s President.

  78. Gn, you said exactly what I’ve been thinking. This “concern” about people being tortured in prison is just another hypocritical position adopted by the fauxgressives for the sole purpose of continuing their irrational nastiness towards our President. There is NO other reason, and no one will convince me that these fauxgressives are particularly concerned about the millions of minorities and other disadvantaged folks languishing in American prisons.

  79. BlackSheep1, again, you keep talking as though you know all the facts of this case. You are clearly getting your information from anti-Obama leftwing pundits like Greenwald, Hamsher, etc., all of whom have a single agenda, which does NOT involve prison/criminial justice reform. And many of these pundits will push a narrative, facts be damned. So again, I would caution you to be very careful about making comments about situations of which may not have all the facts.

    From your comments, it seems that your concern is more about Gates and the President than it is about the criminal justice system. It begs the question of why are you doubting President Obama’s judgment where his pentagon staff is concerned? Can you point to me any situation where Gates has betrayed the current President’s trust in a serious way?

  80. There are prisoners, who have been charged – unlike Manning

    This is where I’m confused. I thought he did have charges against him July of last year? I understand that he hasn’t had a trial yet, but that he has been charged. Anyways, my only question has always been whether or not he’s being treated any differently than prisoners who have the same security classification. But yeah, considering that hundreds of thousands of black men get charged and held indefinitely in awful conditions all the time without a peep from the PL, yeah, Bradley Manning is nowhere near the top of my list of priorities.

  81. It can work. Neat story.

    The key is, the 98 % have more than enough to do to take care of each other, so no one needs the pittance they’re paid by the 2 %. We can charge the 2 % as much as we want and they either pay, or they do the tasks themselves. What a sight that would be – them actually working.

    Onward.

  82. I just did a Google check and you are right. Manning was charged and there was a March 2, 2011 article that said an additional 22 charges were filed against him. That’s what I get for relying on the shrills of the PL for any shred of accurate info even if I disagree with their interpretation…smh That article also said: “Manning’s court martial has been on hold pending the results of an ongoing medical inquiry into his mental capacity requested by his lawyers.”

    HIS lawyers, according to the article are delaying the court martial. So I take back my other statement about the delay giving the prosecution a lack of credibility. If this reporter is correct then it makes the PL look even worse than usual…and that’s saying something…

    http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-03-02/news/28666854_1_adrian-lamo-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-new-charges

  83. I have to chime in with heartfelt thanks to our BWD for this fantastic site! You are the best.

  84. Bob, That sort of thing can work well here because everybody knows everybody else. I doubt it would work in the US as there are just too many stores and too many people willing and happy to make money off the rich guy and poop on their fellow sufferer.

  85. I will probably get a lot of blow-back, but I am not a big Manning fan. I spent 6 years in the military and releasing classified information is wrong on so many levels. Sorry. I disagree with what he did.

    That being said, I would hope he is being afforded the same rights as any other person accussed of a crime or treason or giving out state secrets.

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