This is the kind of surge we like. After winning the Louisiana primary and caucuses in Washington state, Nebraska, and the Virgin Islands, Obama gave a strong, confident speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Richmond, sharpening the distinctions between himself and Hillary Clinton and asserting his strengths as a general election candidate over John McCain. The so-called GOP front-runner, who seems not to have won anywhere on Saturday, was Obama’s principal target.
Levees Not War
Geaux-’bama!
Our friend Oyster at Your Right Hand Thief sent us links to coverage of Barack Obama’s “O-vent” before a more-than-packed house at Tulane University’s Fogelman Arena on Wednesday, campaigning before the Louisiana primary on Saturday, Feb. 9.
Happy Mardi Gras 2008!
Today is both Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday. Sounds auspicious to us. May the best candidates win, and may the public have some good news to celebrate. Drink up. Tomorrow it’s all ashes.
What John Edwards Brought Us
We are voting for Senator Barack Obama in the primaries—as many times as possible. The more we see of him, the more we like. But first, we want to take a parting glance at the contributions our First Favorite, John Edwards, made to the presidential campaign of 2008.
MLK 3rd Urges Edwards: ‘Keep going . . . My father would be proud’
Crooks and Liars alerts us to a powerful letter of encouragement from Martin Luther King III to John Edwards, written after their meeting over the MLK Weekend. An excerpt follows.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: January 15, 1929–April 4, 1968
“I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘isness’ of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal ‘oughtness’ that forever confronts him.
Huffington Posts LNW’s ‘Ballsy’ Edwards Endorsement
Perhaps it was because the whole world was waiting to see whom among the 2008 presidential candidate Levees Not War would endorse—or maybe there was another reason—but the admirable HuffingtonPost featured our John Edwards endorsement in their “Off the Bus” campaign section (‘Ground Level Coverage of Campaign ’08’). The editors chose an amusing headline: ‘NOLA Endorsement: Edwards Will “Kick Repubs in the Balls”.’ Actually what we said (as you can see below) was: ‘Democrats need a tough candidate who won’t hesitate to kick the Republicans in the balls’—but who’s quibbling?
John Edwards for President 2008
It is not often we wish we lived in New Hampshire (nice place to visit), but we sorely wish we could be there on Tuesday to ‘vote early and often’ for John Edwards. Although we do not at all dislike the prospect of a President Obama, and though the nation would be in good hands if any one of the four Democratic candidates in Saturday’s New Hampshire debate were to win the White House, we have long preferred the 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate and former senator from North Carolina. (Edwards/Obama? In what order? The ‘change’ candidates could alternate being president/vice president.)
Kristolnacht at The New York Times
Levees Not War is strongly opposed to Kristol’s becoming a New York Times columnist because that paper would give him an even more prominent platform (in addition to his magazine The Weekly Standard and his appearances on Fox News) from which to push for war with Iran as lustily as he pushed for war with Iraq—a ‘regime change’ he believes is going just fine.
A Christmas Wish
On Christmas morning, on Christmas day we pray for gifts of home, food, family togetherness, good health, and heart-warming music for all, especially for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods, and those who find themselves far from home in a foreign war — may they all be never far from the peace of the Lord born this day in a lowly manger. In the new year may our faith and our works help bring shelter to those who have none. Peace to all.
Homeless for the Holidays: Who Would Jesus Evict? A Tale of Two Christmases: 2007, 1959
In New Orleans, where rental costs and homelessness have doubled since Katrina, protesters at City Hall clashed with police and some were Tasered while inside the City Council voted unanimously to allow the federal government to demolish 4,500 units in the city’s four largest public housing projects.
Years of Decision
On the very same day that Al Gore was awarded his (shared) Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway (Dec. 10), the also honorable Henry A. Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a report concluding that “the Bush Administration has engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate climate change science and mislead policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming.”
The Destroyer
If a president recites this oath, is he legally bound to take care of the nation itself, or only to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution’ of the United States (however White House legal counsel may interpret that clause)? Does he have some ‘wiggle room’ here? (Does the oath pertain only to duly elected chief executives?)
Homeless for the Holidays
At the very same time that permission has been cleared for demolition of public housing units in New Orleans—at the same time the U.S. is burning through about $12 billion per month in Iraq—FEMA is planning to close the trailer parks in which displaced New Orleanians have been warehoused for the past 28 months.
White House Seeks 56% Cuts in Anti-Terror Grants; Slashes Port Security, Police, Emergency Services; ‘Dead on Arrival,’ Scoffs Incensed Senator Boxer
The Associated Press reports that the White House plans to cut Homeland Security’s counterterrorism funds by more than half next year—slashing grants for police, rescue departments, firefighters, port security, transit security, and other anti-terrorism programs.
Naomi Wolf on ‘The End of America’
We urge everyone to read the following AlterNet.org interview with Naomi Wolf, author of the new book The End of America: Letter of Warning to A Young Patriot. (Ms. Wolf, best known for her book The Beauty Myth [1992], is not to be confused with the other admirable Naomi, Ms. Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine [2007].) This spring Naomi Wolf published “Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps” in The Guardian (UK).
Grinch Wins Plastic Turkey Award: Pentagon Demands Repayment of Disabled Vets’ Signing Bonuses
Pittsburgh’s KDKA reports that the Defense Department is demanding that thousands of disabled U.S. soldiers return parts of their signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments. They had to go and get blown up so bad the army couldn’t patch them up well enough to push ’em back out on the streets of Baghdad as they do with other wounded soldiers. It is well known that the army has had to resort to signing bonuses of up to $30,000 to attract new soldiers to an increasingly unpopular war (though the army continues to fall short of its recruiting goals).
“Conservatives cannot govern well . . .”
The article below by political scientist Alan Wolfe explains in convincing detail the deadly consequences of the conservatives’ unbelief in governing and reveals why a deliberately weakened FEMA was unable to respond to the destruction and suffering wrought by Hurricane Katrina:
Omigod! Operation Iraqi Freedom Isn’t Free!
As we reported in “Let the Eagle Soar” below, the Congressional Budget Office released a report Oct. 24 estimating that the total expenditures for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost over $2.4 trillion over the next ten years—or $8,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. We hear often enough that “freedom isn’t free,” but we’re not sure we’re getting our money’s worth—especially when so many important priorities are neglected here at home.
Celebrate! Good News for Water Works! (A One-Two Punch for The Decider)
Within two days, the two chambers of the U.S. Congress have voted to override the president’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)—the first water projects bill in seven years (normally passed every two years), and the first override of a presidential veto since 1998. Today the Senate voted 79 to 14—an overwhelming margin similar to that of the House’s 361 to 54—to authorize spending levels for about 900 projects nationwide, including about $7 billion for Louisiana coastal restoration and flood protection. Bruce Alpert of the Times-Picayune notes, “Congress still must approve individual appropriations to get the work done.”