Obama takes 1st step in presidential bid - Yahoo! News

From Yahoo News:

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama said Tuesday he is taking the initial step in a presidential bid that could make him the nation's first black to occupy the White House.

Obama announced on his Web site, http://www.barackobama.com/, that he was filing a presidential exploratory committee. He said he would announce more about his plans in his home state of Illinois on Feb. 10.

"I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago," Obama said in a video posting. "I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics. So I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need."

Obama, a little more than two years into his Senate term, is the most inexperienced candidate considering a run for the Democratic nomination, but nonetheless ranks as a top contender. His appeal on the stump, his unique background, his opposition to the Iraq war and the fact that he is a fresh face set him apart in a competitive race that also is expected to include front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Other Democrats who have announced a campaign or exploratory committee are 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

Obama tried to turn his biggest weakness — his lack of experience in national politics — into an asset.

"The decisions that have been made in Washington these past six years, and the problems that have been ignored, have put our country in a precarious place," he said.

"America's faced big problems before," he said. "But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, commonsense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions."

He said Americans are struggling financially, dependence on foreign oil threatens the environment and national security and "we're still mired in a tragic and costly war that should have never been waged."

Independent Online Edition: Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity

Hat tip to The Randi Rhodes Show for this article from the Independent Online:

In Iraq, there is a draft for a new law that would give Western oil companies a massive share in the third largest reserves in the world. To the victors, the oil? That is how some experts view this unprecedented arrangement with a major Middle East oil producer that guarantees investors huge profits for the next 30 years.

(There are other sites with articles about this, here and here. However, neither of these online publications are considered "mainstream").

So was this what the Iraq war was fought for, after all? As the number of US soldiers killed since the invasion rises past the 3,000 mark, and President George Bush gambles on sending in up to 30,000 more troops, The Independent on Sunday has learnt that the Iraqi government is about to push through a law giving Western oil companies the right to exploit the country's massive oil reserves.

And Iraq's oil reserves, the third largest in the world, with an estimated 115 billion barrels waiting to be extracted, are a prize worth having. As Vice-President Dick Cheney noted in 1999, when he was still running Halliburton, an oil services company, the Middle East is the key to preventing the world running out of oil.

Now, unnoticed by most amid the furore over civil war in Iraq and the hanging of Saddam Hussein, the new oil law has quietly been going through several drafts, and is now on the point of being presented to the cabinet and then the parliament in Baghdad. Its provisions are a radical departure from the norm for developing countries: under a system known as "production-sharing agreements", or PSAs, oil majors such as BP and Shell in Britain, and Exxon and Chevron in the US, would be able to sign deals of up to 30 years to extract Iraq's oil.

PSAs allow a country to retain legal ownership of its oil, but gives a share of profits to the international companies that invest in infrastructure and operation of the wells, pipelines and refineries. Their introduction would be a first for a major Middle Eastern oil producer. Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's number one and two oil exporters, both tightly control their industries through state-owned companies with no appreciable foreign collaboration, as do most members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Opec. Much more>>>>

AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Updated: Olbermann drives O'Reilly crazy [VIDEO]

Hat tip to Media Matters for finding this roundtable discussion of Bill O'Reilly's descent into madness.

This is Calgon for progressives, the soothing sounds of a once-popular blabbermouth raked over the coals by a right-leaning nerd and some media regulars. Problem is, it's about 3 years late. The schadenfreude's run dry.

I do enjoy it as much as the next guy, don't get me wrong, it's just that I can't help but wonder whether MSNBC's self-serving discussion isn't doing for O'Reilly what they claim he did for MSNBC... give them publicity.

I'd consider it one big case of logrolling if we weren't talking about the spittle-flecked O'Reilly... More>>>

A Young Marine Speaks Out - by Philip Martin

December 8, 2006

Source: LewRockwell.com

I'm sick and tired of this patriotic, nationalistic and fascist crap. I stood through a memorial service today for a young Marine that was killed in Iraq back in April. During this memorial a number of people spoke about the guy and about his sacrifice for the country. How do you justify 'sacrificing' your life for a war which is not only illegal, but is being prosecuted to the extent where the only thing keeping us there is one man's power, and his ego. A recent Marine Corps intelligence report that was leaked said that the war in the al-Anbar province is unwinnable. It said that there was nothing we could do to win the hearts and minds, or the military operations in that area. So I wonder, why are we still there? Democracy is not forced upon people at gunpoint. It's the result of forward thinking individuals who take the initiative and risks to give their fellow countrymen a better way of life.

When I joined I took an oath. In that oath I swore to protect the Constitution of the United States. I didn't swear to build democracies in countries on the other side of the world under the guise of "national security." I didn't join the military to be part of an Orwellian ("1984") war machine that is in an obligatory war against whoever the state deems the enemy to be so that the populace can be controlled and riled up in a pro-nationalistic frenzy to support any new and oppressive law that will be the key to destroying the enemy. Example given – the Patriot Act. So aptly named, and totally against all that the constitution stands for. President Bush used the reactionary nature of our society to bring our country together and to infuse into the national psyche a need to give up their little-used rights in the hope to make our nation a little safer. The same scare tactics he used to win elections. He drones on and on about how America and the world would be a less safe place if we weren't killing Iraqis, and that we'd have to fight the terrorists at home if we weren't abroad. In our modern day emotive society this strategy (or strategery?) works, or had worked, up until last month's elections.

My point in this; to show that America was never nationalistic. If anything they were Statalistic (giving their allegiance to the state of their residence). This is shown in the fact that the founders created states with fully capable and independent governments and not provinces that were just a division of the federal government. These men believed that America was a place where imperialistic values would be non-existent. Where the people trying to make their lives better by working hard, thinking, inventing and using the free market would tie up so much of normal life that imperialistic colonization and the fighting of wars thousands of miles away for interests that are not our own would be avoided. They believed this expansion of power could be left to the European nations, the England, France and Spain of their time. However this recent, and current influx of nationalistic feeling has created an environment where giving up your rights, going to a foreign country to fight a people who did not ask for us to be there, nor did their leader do anything to warrant us being there, and dying would be considered honorable and heroic. I don't believe it anymore. I don't believe it's right for any American to go along with it anymore. Yes I know that we in the military are bound by the UCMJ and somehow don't fall under the Constitution (the very thing we're suppose to be defending) but sooner or later there is a decision that every American soldier, marine, airmen and seamen makes to allow themselves to be sent to a war that is against every fiber this country was founded on. I know that when April rolls around I will be thinking long and hard on that decision. Even though we in the military are just doing as we're told we still have the moral and ethical obligation to choose to do as we're told, or to say, "No, that isn't right." I believe that if more troopers like me and the professional military, the officers and commanders, start standing up and saying that they won't let themselves or their troops go to this illegal war people will start standing up and realizing what the heck is going on over there.

The sad fact of the matter is that we are not fighting terrorists in Iraq. We are fighting the Iraqi people who feel like a conquered and occupied people. Personally I have a hard time believing that if I was an Iraqi that I wouldn't be doing everything in my power to kill and maim as many Americans as possible. I know that the vast majority of Americans would not be happy with the Canadian government, or any other foreign government, liberating us from the clutches of George W. Bush, even though a large number of us would like that, and forcing us to accept their system of government. Would not millions of Americans rise up and fight back? Would you not rise up to protect and defend your house and your neighborhood if someone invaded your country? But we send thousands of troops to a foreign country to do just that. How is it moral to fight a people who are just trying to defend their homes and families? I think next time I go to Iraq perhaps I should wear a bright red coat and carry a Brown Bess instead of my digitalized utilities and M16.

Notice I never once used the word homeland in any of this. I have a secondary point I want to bring up now. Never once was the term homeland ever used to describe the country of America until Mr. Bush began the department of homeland security after the 9/11 attacks. Taking a 20th century history class will teach us that the most notable countries in the last century that referred to their country in this way were Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Hitler used the term fatherland to drum up support, nationalistic support, for his growing war machine. He used the nationalism he created in the minds of the Germans to justify the sacrifice of their livelihood to build the war machine to get back their power from the oppressive restrictions the English and French had put on them at Versailles. This is the same feeling that has been virulently infecting the American psyche in the last hundred years. This is the same feeling that consoles a mother after her son is killed in an attempt to prosecute an aggressor's war 10,000 miles away. It's also known as Patriotism these days, but I say, "No more." No more nationalistic inanity, no more passing it off as patriotism. Patriotism is learning, and educating oneself to understand what their country really stands for.

I heard a lot during the memorial service about how the dead Marine did so much good for others and how his helping others was like a little microcosm of America helping because we have the power to do so. Well if we have the power to help people why aren't we helping in Darfur where hundreds of thousands of people have died in the last 10 years. Saddam was convicted and sentenced to death for killing 143 Shiites who conspired to assassinate him. (I know all you "patriotic" Americans would be calling for the heads of anyone who conspired to assassinate supreme leader Bush). And yet we spend upwards of 1 trillion dollars and nearing 3,000 lives to help these Iraqis when they don't even want us there. Not to mention we don't have the legal justification to be there. I guess we should wait around for the omnipotent W Bush to decide who we should use our superpowerdom to help next. It's about time to throw him and the rest of the fascists out. Moreover it's about time to start educating Americans about their past and history, and letting them know that imperialistic leaders are not what the founders of this great country wanted.

Philip Martin [send him mail] has been a Marine for 2 years. He is in the infantry (a "grunt"), and spent 7 months in the al-Anbar province of Iraq. He went on more than 180 combat patrols in and outside of the city of Fallujah, where he was hit with 2 IEDs (luckily never injured) and was involved in a number of firefights. He is currently stationed in Twentynine Palms, CA, and due to return to Iraq for a second deployment in April 2007. He is 21-years-old.

Revealed: Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran - Sunday Times - Times Online

ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources. More>>>

Army asks dead to sign up for another hitch - CNN.com

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Army said Friday it would apologize to the families of about 275 officers killed or wounded in action who were mistakenly sent letters urging them to return to active duty.

The letters were sent a few days after Christmas to more than 5,100 Army officers who had recently left the service. Included were letters to about 75 officers killed in action and about 200 wounded in action.

"Army personnel officials are contacting those officers' families now to personally apologize for erroneously sending the letters," the Army said in a brief news release issued Friday night.

The Army did not say how or when the mistake was discovered. It said the database normally used for such correspondence with former officers had been "thoroughly reviewed" to remove the names of wounded or dead soldiers. More...

Poll: High Hopes For New Congress, 68% Are Optimistic About 110th Congress, But Half Doubt Democrats And Bush Will Cooperate - CBS News

(CBS) Americans are generally optimistic about the new Democratic-controlled Congress that convened on Thursday, according to a CBS News poll. But half the public doubts that President Bush and the Democrats will be able to work together to get things done — including dealing with the situation in Iraq.

Sixty-eight percent of those polled said they had optimistic feelings about the 110th Congress, which will be led by Democrats for the first time in 12 years. Just 25 percent said they were pessimistic.

Nearly half expect that this Congress will accomplish more than usual over the next two years.

FEELINGS ABOUT NEW CONGRESS:
Optimistic
68%
Pessimistic
25%
But when asked if Democrats and President Bush can cooperate — in general and on Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Americans' top priority — half those polled were doubtful.

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Read the complete CBS News poll results.

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Fifty-one percent said the White House and Congress will not be able to work together on Iraq, while 41 percent said they will.

WILL PRESIDENT BUSH AND THE DEMOCRATS WORK TOGETHER ON IRAQ?
Yes
41%
No
51%
Iraq was far and way the No. 1 issue Americans want the new Congress to address, easily outpacing other concerns like the economy/jobs, health care and immigration.
More than 70 percent expect Democrats in Congress will try to start bringing at least some U.S. troops home from Iraq — something a majority of Americans hope will happen.

WANT NEW CONGRESS TO CONCENTRATE ON:
War in Iraq
45%
Economy/jobs
7%
Health care
7%
Immigration
6%
Still, there is little confidence that either the Democrats or President Bush have a clear plan for Iraq. Less than one in 10 say the Democrats have a plan, while just one in five say Mr. Bush has one.

Starting off 2007, Mr. Bush's overall approval rating remains low at just 30 percent, his worst number ever in a CBS News poll, while his approval rating for handling Iraq is even lower at 23 percent — even after the execution of Saddam Hussein.

DO DEMOCRATS HAVE A CLEAR PLAN FOR IRAQ?
Yes
8%
No
82%
DOES PRESIDENT BUSH HAVE A CLEAR PLAN FOR IRAQ?
Yes
20%
No
76%

Americans don't think the execution of the former Iraqi president will improve the situation in Iraq. In fact, 40 percent believe Saddam's execution will make things worse and result in more attacks on U.S. troops. Just 5 percent think it will lead to fewer attacks against U.S. troops.
Mr. Bush did get a bump from last month in his handling of the economy, with 41 percent now saying they approve of the job he's doing — his highest rating on this measure since July 2005. Six in 10 Americans now rate the economy as being in good shape.

BUSH'S JOB APPROVAL RATING
Approve
30%
Disapprove
63%

BUSH'S JOB HANDLING IRAQ
Approve
23%
Disapprove
72%

Turning to how the new Congress will handle domestic issues, the poll found two-thirds of Americans expect a raise in the minimum wage, while 39 percent expect a tax increase.
Americans were split, 42 percent to 42 percent, on whether immigration reform would be passed.

The poll also found Americans have positive feelings about former President Gerald R. Ford, who passed away on Dec. 26. Sixty-nine percent approved of the way Ford handled his job as president, while just 4 percent disapproved.

For detailed information on how CBS News conducts public opinion surveys, click here.

This poll was conducted among a random sample of 993 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone January 1-3, 2007. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

Crooks and Liars » Calling the Waaaahhhhmmbulance

We're now in the Congressional Democratic majority's first 100 hours to clean things up and make some positive changes. More power to them. However, I would be remiss to not mention David Dreier's (R-CA) little petulant press conference before the swearing in. Poor "wittle wamb" doesn't think the Democrats are going to be nice to the minority party. Gosh, can anyone think of where a precedent like that originated? Hey David, does this ring a bell?

News Hounds describes the fun, as covered by Major Garrett on FOX News Special Report:

Major Garrett: "Key Republican, David Dreier, a member of the outgoing GOP leadership who has to date been reluctant to criticize Pelosi, today lashed out."

David Dreier: "There is tremendous inconsistency in virtually everything we are seeing in their plans, and I'm so disappointed. They've basically said they're going to stomp all over minority rights."

Comment: Dreier is complaining about what he sees in their plans, not in anything they've actually done. On top of that, Dreier, who was a part of the GOP controlled Congress is complaining about "minority-rights" when the Congress he was a part of refused to even respond to Pelosi when she asked for a "Minority Bill of Rights", which Dreier and fellow Republicans are now seeking for themselves.

In 2004, Pelosi submitted this "Minority Bill of Rights" to former Speaker Dennis Hastert, who refused to respond. The Washington Post reported on this in 2004. More>>>

Eat The Press | Fox News Is 8th-Most-Watched Cable Network | The Huffington Post

The Fox News Channel ranks 8th on the 2006 primetime ratings list for cable networks, with 1.4 million average primetime viewers. It's the only news network in the top 20, says TVNewser. CNN lags at #26, MSNBC at #35. FNC primetime viewership is down 20% from last year, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and MSNBC is the only news network to gain both total-day and primetime viewership over last year.

FNC still has more viewers than CNN and MSNBC combined, but the other two are catching up. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's popularity is pulling the network up, but he's implied that MSNBC needs him more than he needs them. Meanwhile, the Democratic Congress could give FNC more bad news to tell its viewers. This year could be anyone's game.

Rep. Goode Has It All Wrong About Rep. Ellison

Representative Virgil Goode (R-Va) has publicly stated that:

"The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Qur'an."

Ellison is an African American Muslim who expressed the desire to take his oath of office with his Qur'an in place of the Bible.

Goode made several television appearances during which he pushed the above line, even after it was pointed out to him that Ellison was born in the United States and traced his families roots in this country back at least to 1742.

Ellison will be using Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an to take his oath. Meanwhile, Goode et al continue to try and establish a religious test for those who hold office.

The Nation sums it up very well by stating:

The objections to allowing Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, to take the oath as he chooses were so absurd in its character and contention that they could easily be dismissed as a sideshow. But it would be dangerous to do so. The fact is that there has for a number of years now been a concerted effort by sincere if misguided religious zealots and conservative political strategists who delight in exploiting fears of diversity to redefine the American experiment as a Christian religious endeavor.

History does not provide even a soft grounding for this fantasy. The founders of the country were men and women of the enlightenment who, while surely imperfect in their thoughts and deeds, wisely sought to burst the chains of what Thomas Jefferson referred to as "monkish ignorance and superstition." They revolted against the divine right of kings, rejected the construct of state-sponsored religion, and wrote a Constitution that not only guaranteed freedom of religion but required that: "The Senators and Representatives... and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

CNN Apologizes for "Obama/Osama" Gaffe

From Raw Story: A Monday night broadcast of CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer confused America's "number one enemy" with one of America's most popular senators, RAW STORY has learned. CNN apologized for the error, which came after a series of incidents in recent months in which Illinois Democrat Senator Barack Obama was subtly or directly linked with militant Islamic personalities who have been hostile to the United States.
During the Jan. 1 broadcast of Wolf Blitzer's nightly news program, a pre-commercial preview of the show's next segment included a story on the hunt for Al Qaeda's leadership. Over a photo of Osama Bin Laden and his second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Blitzer stated, according to the transcript, "Plus, a new year, but the same mission. Will 2007 bring any new changes in the hunt for Osama bin Laden?" More>>>

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on "Sacrifice"

From Crooks and Liars: Keith Olbermann stepped up and slapped Bush's plan to use the word "sacrifice" as an excuse to send more troops to Iraq. Bush needs a new catch phrase to try and deceive the nation with, but Republican talking points won't work on the people anymore. They are fed up with Bush and this war and sending more troops to die is not an answer. John McCain and Lieberman will now wear the McCain Doctrine around their necks—as Bill Kristol drools with glee as he'll finally get his wish. More>>>

U.S. Troop Casualties Hit 3000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq has reached 3,000 since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, an authoritative Web site tracking war deaths said on Sunday.

The milestone comes as President George W. Bush weighs options, including more troops, for the deteriorating situation in Iraq, where daily violence plagues Baghdad and much of the country and has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.

The Web site, www.icasualties.org, listed the death of Spec. Dustin R. Donica, 22, on December 28 as previously unreported, and said that 3,000 U.S. military personnel had now died.

More>>>