Same here, but the poster mentioned Republicans so that's why I

• Senate passes Children's Health Plan - Great news imo! (see msg) kam
  • Backers of vetoed SCHIP bill say it is - misunderstood. (kam) see msg
    • This does not tell the whole story either... - Observer
      • I want to correct myself on the above... - Observer
  • So now with my taxed insuring kids -- I can supervise their lifestyle, eating habits, etc. - Patti
    • To me $1000 health insurance premium is a lot - (sm) kam
      • Cheaper plans -- $107 to $220 - Patti
        • Great solution. Skip healthcare for the parents. - kam (sm)
      • So you are saying... - Observer
        • Yes, I think ALL kids deserve affordable healthcare. - kam (sm)
          • Okay....so where does it end? - Observer
            • It can end with affordable healthcare for kids. - kam (sm)
              • You did not answer the question... - Observer
                • Yes I did, and I never said I wanted free... - kam (nm)
                  • It would be wonderful if it was that simple.... - Observer
                    • Fair enough, but we need a more immediate - solution to a huge problem (sm) kam
    • You hit the nail on the head...YES! - Observer
      • Addendum to above post... - Observer
  • I'm sad but not surprised. Bill was vetoed by Bush. - (sm) kam
    • Wow, that is HARSH...... - Observer
      • We will never agree on this issue. - (sm) kam
        • I sleep very well at night, thank you. - Observer
          • I don't care how much the parents make per year... - kam (sm)
            • Okay, I finally get it... - Observer
              • No, you are not even close to getting it. - kam (nm)
                • I am not the only one not close to getting it.... - Observer
                • Also, do you acknowledge that the Iraq - war costs more than the healthcare would?
                  • Not thinking logically....you have room to talk.... - Observer
                    • It common sense - if we can afford one - we can afford the other (kam) nm
                      • Aha... - Observer
                  • Scaring them away? What, you can't hold debate with Republicans? - nm
                    • No, it is just annoying to me to come here - kam (sm)
                      • Hope you get to read this, as it is far down - DW
                        • I agree. - kam (see msg)
                      • With all due respect, and I am sincere in that.... - Observer
                        • No point in arguing with you though. So your - comments will be ignored by me from now on (kam)
                          • I got it...your way or the highway, (sm which I don't suppose I care if you read or not) - Observer
                      • Just an fyi...I am not a Republican. (nm) - Observer
                        • Same here, but the poster mentioned Republicans so that's why I - made that post. (sm)
                          • I really don't understand that, either.... - Observer
                    • You didn't answer MY question. - kam (nm)
                      • If you are talking to me... - Observer
        • Maybe the tobacco companies have - purchased the President's vote?
          • Sigghhhhhhhh.... - Observer
            • The cost of S-CHIP for an entire year equals - the amount we spend in Iraq daily. (sm) kam
              • You bet the government could come up... - Observer
                • So pretty much Jesus would be like, - sorry kids, you got crappy parents-ur on ur own!
                  • Let me try this one more time...sigh... - Observer
                    • Average family on S-CHIP makes around 40,000 - - not 80,000 - I believe 80,000 is just New York
                      • You are correct about the $40K.... - Observer
                        • This section of this article clarifies the - income issue somewhat (kam) sm
              • Correction: The cost to cover Montana kids. - kam (nm)
            • Republicans and Democrats worked together on - this bill (kam) sm
              • I didn't *demonize* anyone..... - Observer
              • You keep saying I don't want affordable health care for children... - Observer
      • Pardon the typo in the post above.... - Observer
  • More food for thought. Another - NY Times article (sm) kam
    • I would just like to know - DW
      • SCHIP program - Observer
        • Did Bush actually say he was against this bill - because of illegal immigrants? (sm) kam
          • SCHIP and Illegals - Observer
  • And pay for it with cigarettes? - Lifelong Democrat
    • How about knocking some of those able-bodied adults on welfare... - Observer
      • It's very difficult to qualify for welfare these days. It is the rich getting - richer and the poor poorer.
        • Not really sure what you mean by difficult... - Observer
      • Yet you are strongly pro-life - don't you care - what happens to the babies? They need healthcare!
        • Yes, I am strongly pro-life... - Observer
          • But while you are awaiting the perfect bill - children are suffering (sm)
            • They are looking at raising taxes on cigarettes... - Observer
              • Sounds like you have compassion for everyone! - nm
                • What is not compassionate about that? - Observer
    • I don't think most smoker's will quit just to - save money, so I think it's a great idea but...
      • If the cigarette tax would completely fund... - Observer
        • If we can find money for an expensive war - we can find money for healthcare (sm) kam
          • healthcare a problem prior to THIS war and they did - pretty much nothing for just about 4ever...n/m
          • I will try this one more time... - Observer
  • My big concern is what is attached to that - bill that we don't know about.....nm
    • Where's the concern for the dying US children? - No bill is perfect, but all kids need medical care
      • Sigh....Republicans are not against insuring children... - Observer
        • Agree illegal health care has got to go! - Lifelong Democrat
          • illegal health care - MTinIL
  • Many Republicans support the bill, but - Bush said in the past he will veto it. (sm)
    • Yes - Easily

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and there was an outcry that I made it up.  I have no investment in it at all -- true or untrue.  I do enjoy novelty information, though, and thought others might enjoy it also.

on TV.  I didn't see the whole video clip of them singing but the little bit I did see was enough to show me how eerie and just messed up that is.  This whole thing is just creepy. 

But read the rest and tell me how many times he mentions Islam, Muslins, and the rest:

"As the Holy Quran tells us: "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do, to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam at places like Al-Azhar University that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed.
 
Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognise my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote: "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims."
 
And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Quran that one of our Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson kept in his personal library.
 
So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: Epluribus unum: "Out of many, one."
 
Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president. But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.

Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the US government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.
 
So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.

The interview with Ken Allard is also very interesting. This can all be found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8838904/

Stephen Crockett posted this twice (at least) on the Conservative Board, in response to an old quote of his being used out of context and distorted by the usual suspects there.  Each time he posted it, it was deleted from the board.  It's certainly easy to understand why they don't want anyone to see this. 

Please read quickly.  They think they should control our board, as well as their own, so it probably won't last very long here, either.

African-American Voters Scrubbed by Secret GOP Hit List

Published by Greg Palast June 16th, 2006 in Articles
Massacre of the Buffalo Soldiers
by Greg Palast
As reported for Democracy Now!

Palast, who first reported this story for BBC Television Newsnight (UK) and
Democracy Now! (USA), is author of the New York Times bestseller, Armed
Madhouse.

The Republican National Committee has a special offer for African-American soldiers: Go to Baghdad, lose your vote.

A confidential campaign directed by GOP party chiefs in October 2004 sought to challenge the ballots of tens of thousands of voters in the last presidential election, virtually all of them cast by residents of Black-majority
precincts.  Files from the secret vote-blocking campaign were obtained by BBC Television Newsnight, London. They were attached to emails accidentally sent by
Republican operatives to a non-party website.

One group of voters wrongly identified by the Republicans as registering to vote from false addresses: servicemen and women sent overseas.

*******
For Greg Palast’’s discussion with broadcaster Amy Goodman on the Black soldier purge of 2004, go to
http://gregpalast.com/armedmadhouse/palastDN6-14-06.mp3

*******

Here’’s how the scheme worked: The RNC mailed these voters letters in envelopes marked, Do not forward, to be returned to the sender. These letters were mailed to servicemen and women, some stationed overseas, to their US home addresses. The letters then returned to the Bush-Cheney campaign as undeliverable.

The lists of soldiers of undeliverable letters were transmitted from state headquarters, in this case Florida, to the RNC in Washington. The party could then challenge the voters’’ registration and thereby prevent their absentee ballots being counted.

One target list was comprised exclusively of voters registered at the Jacksonville, Florida, Naval Air Station. Jacksonville is third largest naval installation in the US, best known as home of the Blue Angels fighting squandron.

[See this scrub sheet at http://flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=160156893&context=set-72157594155273706&size=o

Our team contacted the homes of several on the caging list, such as Randall Prausa, a serviceman, whose wife said he had been ordered overseas.

A soldier returning home in time to vote in November 2004 could also be challenged on the basis of the returned envelope. Soldiers challenged would be
required to vote by provisional ballot.

Over one million provisional ballots cast in the 2004 race were never counted; over half a million absentee ballots were also rejected. The extraordinary rise in the number of rejected ballots was the result of the widespread
multi-state voter challenge campaign by the Republican Party. The operation, of which the purge of Black soldiers was a small part, was the first mass challenge to voting America had seen in two decades.

The BBC obtained several dozen confidential emails sent by the Republican’’s national Research Director and Deputy Communications chief, Tim Griffin to GOP
Florida campaign chairman Brett Doster and other party leaders. Attached were spreadsheets marked, Caging.xls. Each of these contained several hundred
to a few thousand voters and their addresses.

A check of the demographics of the addresses on the caging lists, as the GOP leaders called them indicated that most were in African-American majority zip codes.

Ion Sanco, the non-partisan elections supervisor of Leon County (Tallahassee) when shown the lists by this reporter said: The only thing I can think of - African American voters listed like this - these might be individuals that
will be challenged if they attempted to vote on Election Day.

These GOP caging lists were obtained by the same BBC team that first exposed the wrongful purge of African-American felon voters in 2000 by then-Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Eliminating the voting rights of those voters —— 94,000 were targeted —— likely caused Al Gore’’s defeat in that race.

The Republican National Committee in Washington refused our several requests to respond to the BBC discovery. However, in Tallahassee, the Florida Bush
campaign’’s spokespeople offered several explanations for the list.

Joseph Agostini, speaking for the GOP, suggested the lists were of potential donors to the Bush campaign. Oddly, the supposed donor list included residents of the Sulzbacher Center a shelter for homeless families.

Another spokesperson for the Bush campaign, Mindy Tucker Fletcher, ultimately changed the official response, acknowledging that these were voters, we mailed to, where the letter came back - bad addresses.

The party has refused to say why it would mark soldiers as having bad addresses subject to challenge when they had been assigned abroad.

The apparent challenge campaign was not inexpensive. The GOP mailed the letters first class, at a total cost likely exceeding millions of dollars, so that the addresses would be returned to cage workers.

This is not a challenge list, insisted the Republican spokesmistress. However, she modified that assertion by adding, That’’s not what it’’s set up to be.

Setting up such a challenge list would be a crime under federal law. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaws mass challenges of voters where race is a factor in choosing the targeted group.

While the party insisted the lists were not created for the purpose to challenge Black voters, the GOP ultimately offered no other explanation for the mailings. However, Tucker Fletcher asserted Republicans could still employ the list to deny ballots to those they considered suspect voters. When asked if Republicans would use the list to block voters, Tucker Fletcher replied, Where it’’s stated in the law, yeah.

It is not possible at this time to determine how many on the potential blacklist were ultimately challenged and lost their vote. Soldiers sending in their ballot from abroad would not know their vote was lost because of a
challenge.

__________________________________

For the full story of caging lists and voter purges of 2004, plus the documents, read Greg Palast’’s New York Times bestseller, ARMED MADHOUSE: Who’’s Afraid of Osama Wolf?, Armed Madhouse: Who’’s Afraid of Osama Wolf?, China Floats Bush Sinks, the Scheme to Steal ‘‘08, No Child’’s Behind Left and other
Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War.

http://www.gregpalast.com/massacre-of-the-buffalo-soldiers