Obama defends his patriotism, lauds McCain's,
too By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 5 minutes ago
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - Flanked by American flags, Barack Obama forcefully defended his patriotism Monday against anyone who would challenge it, declaring he wouldn't stand for persistent rumors questioning his loyalty and aimed at sinking his presidential campaign.
However, he was forced to interrupt the launch of a week of Fourth of July-related events — in Harry Truman's old hometown — to respond to Republican rival John McCain's complaint that it was actually Obama and his campaign who were wrongly questioning the importance of McCain's military service.
McCain said that "that kind of thing is unnecessary," and the Obama camp agreed.
Obama praised McCain's service, and the Democratic candidate's spokesman rejected Sunday's remarks from a prominent supporter, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who said McCain's years as a Vietnam War fighter pilot and prisoner of war did not necessarily qualify him to be commander in chief.
As for his own patriotism, Obama said he chose Monday's topic in part because of questions raised during the presidential race so far, even though he had always considered his love of country a given, in fact his inspiration for running for office.
Obama acknowledged occasional "carelessness" on the topic. But he said that most criticism has been the result "of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for."
"I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign, and I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine," he pledged to cheers from a crowd of a few hundred people at the Truman Memorial Building.
Obama plans to spend all week in the run-up to Friday's July Fourth holiday focusing on American values — choosing a different theme each day and traveling to a mix of battleground states, including Missouri, Ohio and Colorado, and traditional Republican strongholds such as North Dakota and Montana. On Friday — also the 10th birthday of his oldest daughter, Malia — his wife and two children are to campaign at his side.
He is also beginning his second television advertising campaign of the general election season — all part of an attempt to define the first-term Illinois senator before Republicans do it for him.
The issue of patriotism has been turned on presidential candidates before to devastating effect.
In 1988, Republican candidate George H.W. Bush criticized rival Michael Dukakis for vetoing a bill, as Massachusetts governor, that would have required teachers to lead public school students in the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Dukakis, who lost to Bush, argued that he supported the pledge but vetoed the bill because a state Supreme Court advisory opinion said it was unconstitutional.
Obama, the son of a white mother and black father, now seeking to become the nation's first black president, has been the subject of several smear campaigns.
Some involve an allegation that he doesn't put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance and the fact that — until recently — he has refused to wear an American flag lapel pin. His wife, Michelle, drew conservatives' ire as well for saying during the Democratic primaries that she was really proud of her country for the first time in her adult life.
Earlier in the campaign, when critics questioned why he didn't wear the pin — as many male politicians do — he said he had stopped after the 2001 terrorist attacks because he felt it had replaced "true patriotism" for some public officials. Later, the pin on his lapel started showing up again. It was there Monday.
His campaign has answered the Pledge allegation by linking his Web site to a C-SPAN video of him leading the recitation with his hand over his heart as he presides over the Senate.
As for the latest controversy involving McCain, Obama didn't explicitly mention Clark's weekend remarks, but he attempted to distance himself from them.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the candidate "rejects yesterday's statement." Shortly after, Obama repudiated them himself.
Patriotism "must, if it is to mean anything, involve the willingness to sacrifice," he said. "For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country — no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary."
"Let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides," he said to loud applause.
McCain aides portrayed the comment as emblematic of what they say is an Obama campaign that talks about a new kind of politics while using the old kind.
"I think that that kind of thing is unnecessary," McCain said at a news conference in Harrisburg, Pa. "It doesn't reduce the price of gas by one penny. It doesn't achieve our energy independence or make it come any closer. Doesn't make any American stay in their home who's at risk of losing it today. And it certainly doesn't do anything to address the challenges Americans have in keeping their jobs, homes and supporting their families."
With his speech, Obama was attempting to accomplish several things: close the book on the debate about his patriotism, paint a vivid picture of a modest, all-American upbringing, and pre-empt Republican attempts to create an image of him as an elitist Harvard-educated senator.
He described scenes from his childhood to argue his born-in-USA bona fides: watching astronauts come to shore in Hawaii from his grandfather's shoulders, hearing his grandmother's stories from her work on a World War II-era bomber assembly line, handling his grandfather's Army dog tags and listening to his mother explain that the promises of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution apply to every American of any color.
He summed up his view of patriotism as "the liberty of each of us to pursue our own dreams." But he also quoted a favorite native son of Missouri — Mark Twain — to argue on behalf of speaking out when necessary, and drew a standing ovation.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it," he said, repeating Twain.
He added: "We should never forget that, especially when we disagree with them, especially when they make us uncomfortable with their words."
He told reporters afterward, as he strolled down some of Independence's sidewalks and up to the front doors of bungalows, that the setting of Truman's hometown seemed fitting for his message.
"He was a man of little pretense," Obama said after a private tour of the Victorian-style house that Truman called home as an adult and which he used as the "Summer White House" during his presidency. "He was somebody who came into the job with enormous humility, didn't have all the answers all of the time, made mistakes but constantly stayed focused on how could we make the country safe and make it better for ordinary people."
Monday, June 30, 2008
FOX NEWS WORLD: 28 Militants Killed in Southern Afghanistan: U.S.-led forces backed .. http://tinyurl.com/4wadp8
Might Obama's Success Undercut Affirmative Action?: Barack Obama's political success might claim an un.. http://tinyurl.com/4tleea
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Stroger to Use Homeland Security Funds to Upgrade SUV: Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is cat.. http://tinyurl.com/5rk67r
New from the press office: Franken May Owe Taxes In 11 Additional States, Plus Washington, D.C.http://is.gd/GD3
: Can Cities Ban Handguns?: The city of Washington, D.C. has banned possession of handguns. The U.S. Sup.. http://tinyurl.com/5emssr
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
NRSC: Reading: Paging Hanoi Jane, You're Needed By Fledgling Democrat Senate Candidateshttp://is.gd/EMe
Are They Chiefly to Blame?: The U.S. Senate today held hearings on whether oil speculators are the chi.. http://tinyurl.com/5ru9sp
2800 E. Observation Rd* Horse located 30 feet down hillside, upright, no visible injur... Read more at http://tinyurl.com/4h6dpb
Monday, June 23, 2008
Strippers Suing 19 Los Angeles Men's Clubs Over Pay Dispute: A group of e.. http://tinyurl.com/3tgo22
Reading: The Saloon - New Pro-McCain Ad From The NRSC- Freedom, Featuring Ronald Reaganhttp://is.gd/E60
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Obama supports Republican bill allowing warrantless wiretapping; many supporters upset
http://4info.net/x/unv1
http://4info.net/x/unv1
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Try talking to real women its fun
Japan's robot for lonely men (+video)
9:13AM Wednesday June 18, 2008
9:13AM Wednesday June 18, 2008
Sega's new Eternal Maiden Actualisation robot enters 'love mode' when a human head gets close. Photo / Reuters
Watch Video: Japan's sexy robot
Wired
Get Smart gadgets really do exist (+video)
Camera phones challenge the real thing (+photos)
TOKYO - She is big-busted, petite, very friendly, and she runs on batteries.
A Japanese firm has produced a 38 cm (15 inch) tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command, to go on sale in September for around US$175, with a target market of lonely adult men.
Using her infrared sensors and battery power, the diminutive damsel named "EMA" puckers up for nearby human heads, entering what designers call its "love mode".
US N-weapons parts missing, Pentagon says
US N-weapons parts missing, Pentagon says
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington
Published: June 19 2008 05:13 | Last updated: June 19 2008 05:13
The US military cannot locate hundreds of sensitive nuclear missile components, according to several government officials familiar with a Pentagon report on nuclear safeguards.
Robert Gates, US defence secretary, recently fired both the US Air Force chief of staff and air force secretary after an investigation blamed the air force for the inadvertent shipment of nuclear missile nose cones to Taiwan.
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Top US air force officials fired - Jun-05Gates raises concerns over energy tussles - May-31Amnesty calls for Guantánamo to be closed - May-27US army suicide cases at record 115 - May-29Editorial Comment: Ban the bomblets - May-28McCain steps up Iraq criticism of Obama - May-29According to previously undisclosed details obtained by the FT, the investigation also concluded that the air force could not account for many sensitive components previously included in its nuclear inventory.
One official said the number of missing components was more than 1,000.
The disclosure is the latest embarrassing episode for the air force, which last year had to explain how a bomber mistakenly carried six nuclear missiles across the US. The incidents have raised concerns about US nuclear safeguards as Washington presses other countries to bolster counter-proliferation measures.
In announcing the departure of the top air force officials earlier this month, Mr Gates said Admiral Kirkland Donald, the officer who led the investigation, concluded that both incidents had a "common origin" which was "the gradual erosion of nuclear standards and a lack of effective oversight by air force leadership".
Mr Gates added that the Pentagon was evaluating the results of a "comprehensive inventory of all nuclear and nuclear-related materials [conducted] to re-establish positive control of these sensitive, classified components".
Adm Donald briefed Congress on the results of his investigation on Wednesday. Bryan Whitman, Pentagon spokesman, declined to comment on the classified report.
A senior defence official said the report had "identified issues about record keeping" for sensitive nuclear missile components. But he stressed that there was no suggestion that components had ended up in the hands of countries that should not have received them.
But Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said the revelation was "very significant and extremely troubling" because it meant the US could not establish the positive control referred to by Mr Gates.
"It raises a serious question about where else these unaccounted for warhead related parts may have gone," said Mr Kimball. "I would not be surprised if the recent Taiwan incident is not the only one."
A senior military officer said the military leadership, including Adm Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was "deeply troubled" by the findings of the Donald report. He added that they would be paying close attention to recommendations for improving nuclear safeguards that Mr Gates has asked James Schlesinger, a former defence secretary, to make.
Gordon Johndroe, National Security Council spokesman, declined to comment on the disclosure about the unaccounted for components. But he said the "the White House has confidence that secretary Gates through his actions with the air force is addressing all of these issues".
LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM 79,82,86,04,05,07 AL WEST CHAMPS LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM 2002 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS The Anaheim Ducks 2007 Stanley Cups Champs My blog http://hendrickmotorsports08.blogspot.com/
'Hate me if you want to, love if you can" Toby Keith
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Muslims barred from picture at Obama event
Muslims barred from picture at Obama event
By BEN SMITH | 6/18/08 11:08 AM EST Updated: 6/18/08 12:48 PM EST Text Size:
By BEN SMITH | 6/18/08 11:08 AM EST Updated: 6/18/08 12:48 PM EST Text Size:
For Obama, the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics, and to embrace all elements of America.
Photo: AP
Two Muslim women at Barack Obama's rally in Detroit on Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women's headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.
The campaign has apologized to the women, both Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally.
"This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama's commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers."
Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness. Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate's message.
When Obama won the North Carolina primary amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags. On the Republican side, a Hispanic New Hampshire Democrat, Roberto Fuentes, told Politico that he was recently asked, and declined, to contribute to the "diversity" of the crowd behind Sen. John McCain at a Nashua event.
But for Obama, the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics and to embrace all elements of America. The incidents in Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, also raise an aspect of his campaign that sometimes rubs Muslims the wrong way: The candidate has vigorously denied a false, viral rumor that he himself is Muslim. But the denials seem to some at times to imply that there is something wrong with the faith, though Obama occasionally adds that he means no disrespect to Islam.
"I was coming to support him, and I felt like I was discriminated against by the very person who was supposed to be bringing this change, who I could really relate to," said Hebba Aref, a 25-year-old lawyer who lives in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. "The message that I thought was delivered to us was that they do not want him associated with Muslims or Muslim supporters."
In Aref's case, there was no ambiguity.
That incident began when the volunteer asked Aref's friend Ali Koussan and two other friends, Aref's brother Sharif and another young lawyer, Brandon Edward Miller, whether they would like to sit behind the stage. The three young men said they would, but mentioned they were with friends.
The men said the volunteer, a twenty-something African-American woman in a green shirt, asked if their friends looked and were dressed like the young men, who were all light-skinned and wearing suits. Miller said yes, but mentioned that one of their friends was wearing a headscarf with her suit.
The volunteer "explained to me that because of the political climate and what's going on in the world and what's going on with Muslim Americans, it's not good for [Aref] to be seen on TV or associated with Obama," said Koussan, who is a law student at Wayne State University.
Both Koussan and Miller said they specifically recalled the volunteer citing the "political climate" in telling them they couldn't sit behind Obama.
"I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me. Are you serious?'" Koussan recalled.
Shimaa Abdelfadeel's story was different. She'd waited on line outside the Joe Louis Arena for three hours in the sun and was walking through the giant hall when a volunteer approached two of her non-Muslim friends, a few steps ahead of her, and asked if they'd like to sit in "special seating" behind the stage, said one friend, Brittany Marino, who, like Abdelfadeel, is a recent University of Michigan graduate who works for the university.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
My thoughts on the sentor from Illinois
Its not about Obama being black or whatever, it is about he is an idiot. He will tear down this country like the burning of Atlanta. If you want to vote for him because he is so charismatic, then go ahead. You hate Bush so bad that you would turn the country over to a man that is known to associate with terrorists, then go ahead. If you think Bush is so bad that you would give the country over to a man whose family is in cahoots with muslim factions in Kenya and they are trying to overturn that country and turn it into a muslim country then go ahead. He wont even acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance or salute our flag!
If you want to turn our country over to a pathetic dweeb of that sort, I don't know what to tell you except you obviously have your head so far up your ass you need a plexiglass window in your belly button so you can see where you are going. The sad thing is that there are millions of others just like you that hate Bush so bad that they think a no voting senator with ties to muslims around the world (that want to kill us) is better than a man that fought for what America stands for.
Or at least it used to stand for freedom. It is not that way anymore, it appears. And when our world comes crashing down around us do you think you have a free ride because you cast a vote for Obama? He will chew you up and spit you out just like he will the rest of the country. There are no perfect candidates on either side. Never has been. But this clown Obama, he isn't even close.
His speeches are vested in lies about his accomplishments, and voting record in the House. He lied about his family and how he got here in his Atlanta speech last year. The idiot cant even do remedial math to figure out the years don't match up with what he said. He is pathetic,, and you can call me whatever you want, doesn't hurt me,,, but please don't vote the country down the tubes because you hate Bush.
If you want to turn our country over to a pathetic dweeb of that sort, I don't know what to tell you except you obviously have your head so far up your ass you need a plexiglass window in your belly button so you can see where you are going. The sad thing is that there are millions of others just like you that hate Bush so bad that they think a no voting senator with ties to muslims around the world (that want to kill us) is better than a man that fought for what America stands for.
Or at least it used to stand for freedom. It is not that way anymore, it appears. And when our world comes crashing down around us do you think you have a free ride because you cast a vote for Obama? He will chew you up and spit you out just like he will the rest of the country. There are no perfect candidates on either side. Never has been. But this clown Obama, he isn't even close.
His speeches are vested in lies about his accomplishments, and voting record in the House. He lied about his family and how he got here in his Atlanta speech last year. The idiot cant even do remedial math to figure out the years don't match up with what he said. He is pathetic,, and you can call me whatever you want, doesn't hurt me,,, but please don't vote the country down the tubes because you hate Bush.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Senator UBL wants to make WHITE WOMEN SHUT UP TYPICAL MUSLIM
Obama needs to pacify angry white women
NEXT | They threaten to be 'stay-at-home moms' on Election Day
June 5, 2008
Recommend (4)
BY CHARLES BABINGTON
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama has some urgent making up to do among a lot of angry white women.
They are lifetime Democrats who spurned him for Hillary Clinton in the primaries and now are threatening to stay home or even vote for Republican John McCain.
Amid all the talk about a first black president, some women are deeply disappointed, in some cases furious, that Clinton's own historic campaign fell short and that Obama's campaign undercut her along the way.
Her loss was painful for women who have encountered sex discrimination themselves, especially older women who saw her as the best hope for electing a female president in their lifetimes.
Obama himself must heal the rift with women, said Clinton fund-raiser Susie Buell of San Francisco, or a new brand of ''stay-at-home moms'' might sit out the election.
''I know that women are very worked up right now,'' she said. Obama ''has never apologized for the way Hillary has been treated.''
''Worked up'' could describe Cynthia Ruccia, a Democratic activist in Ohio who got a phone call from party chief Howard Dean about her concerns last week.
''Way too little, way too late,'' says Ruccia, who also says she'd prefer to see McCain elected over Obama. AP
NEXT | They threaten to be 'stay-at-home moms' on Election Day
June 5, 2008
Recommend (4)
BY CHARLES BABINGTON
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama has some urgent making up to do among a lot of angry white women.
They are lifetime Democrats who spurned him for Hillary Clinton in the primaries and now are threatening to stay home or even vote for Republican John McCain.
Amid all the talk about a first black president, some women are deeply disappointed, in some cases furious, that Clinton's own historic campaign fell short and that Obama's campaign undercut her along the way.
Her loss was painful for women who have encountered sex discrimination themselves, especially older women who saw her as the best hope for electing a female president in their lifetimes.
Obama himself must heal the rift with women, said Clinton fund-raiser Susie Buell of San Francisco, or a new brand of ''stay-at-home moms'' might sit out the election.
''I know that women are very worked up right now,'' she said. Obama ''has never apologized for the way Hillary has been treated.''
''Worked up'' could describe Cynthia Ruccia, a Democratic activist in Ohio who got a phone call from party chief Howard Dean about her concerns last week.
''Way too little, way too late,'' says Ruccia, who also says she'd prefer to see McCain elected over Obama. AP
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Things I Learned Being From Texas
Things I learned being from Texas
1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps
in the middle of the road.
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and
4,998 of them live in Texas ..
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders.
All 10,000 of them live in Texas ..
4. If it grows, it'll stick ya.
If it crawls, it'll bite cha.
5. 'Onced' and 'Twiced' are words.
6. It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.
7. 'Jaw-P?' means,
'Did y'all go to the bathroom?
8. People actually grow and eat okra.
9. 'Fixinto' is one word.
10. There is no such thing as 'lunch.'
There is only dinner and then there is supper.
11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and
you start drinking it when you're two.
We do like a little tea with our sugar.
12. Backwards and forwards means,
'I know everything about you.'
13. The word 'jeet' is actually a phrase meaning,
'Did you eat ?'
14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it
doesn't matter what time it is.
You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM.
16. You measure distance in minutes.
17. You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.
18. All the festivals across the state are named
after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.
19. You know what a 'DAWG' is.
20. You carry jumper cables in your car ---
for your OWN car.
21. You only own five spices: salt, pepper,
Texas Pete, Tabasco and Ketchup.
22. The local papers cover national and international news
on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip
and high school football.
23. You think that the first day of deer season
is a national holiday.
24. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm.'
25. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer,
still summer, and Christmas.
26. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as
'goin' Wal-Martin' or 'off to Wally World.'
27. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees)
as good stew weather.
28. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
29. We don't need no dang driver's ed.
If our mama says we can drive,
we can drive, dag-nabbit.
30. You understand these jokes and forward them to
your Texas friends and those who just wish
they were from Texas .
1. A possum is a flat animal that sleeps
in the middle of the road.
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and
4,998 of them live in Texas ..
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders.
All 10,000 of them live in Texas ..
4. If it grows, it'll stick ya.
If it crawls, it'll bite cha.
5. 'Onced' and 'Twiced' are words.
6. It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.
7. 'Jaw-P?' means,
'Did y'all go to the bathroom?
8. People actually grow and eat okra.
9. 'Fixinto' is one word.
10. There is no such thing as 'lunch.'
There is only dinner and then there is supper.
11. Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and
you start drinking it when you're two.
We do like a little tea with our sugar.
12. Backwards and forwards means,
'I know everything about you.'
13. The word 'jeet' is actually a phrase meaning,
'Did you eat ?'
14. You don't have to wear a watch, because it
doesn't matter what time it is.
You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.
15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH EM.
16. You measure distance in minutes.
17. You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.
18. All the festivals across the state are named
after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.
19. You know what a 'DAWG' is.
20. You carry jumper cables in your car ---
for your OWN car.
21. You only own five spices: salt, pepper,
Texas Pete, Tabasco and Ketchup.
22. The local papers cover national and international news
on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip
and high school football.
23. You think that the first day of deer season
is a national holiday.
24. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit 'a bit warm.'
25. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer,
still summer, and Christmas.
26. Going to Wal-Mart is a favorite past time known as
'goin' Wal-Martin' or 'off to Wally World.'
27. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees)
as good stew weather.
28. Fried catfish is the other white meat.
29. We don't need no dang driver's ed.
If our mama says we can drive,
we can drive, dag-nabbit.
30. You understand these jokes and forward them to
your Texas friends and those who just wish
they were from Texas .
Monday, June 2, 2008
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