PDB Report for Thursday, August 28, 2008
By admin | August 28, 2008
Welcome back to the family, William Jefferson Clinton
Welcome back to the family, William Jefferson Clinton!
Finally, Bill Clinton became less Hillary Clinton's campaign strategist and more the man that every Democrat knew and loved. Finally, Bill Clinton let go of the unfounded resentment, resentment born out of his wife's campaign's incompetence and unfairly projected upon Senator Obama; finally, Bill Clinton became the elder statesmen that the Democratic Party has been so sorely lacking and even more sorely in need. Finally, Bill Clinton became—returned to his rightful place as President of the United States.
It is time now, for Democrats to unite! And, to that end, it is time for the Obama campaign to sincerely and honestly consider Hillary Clinton for a high level cabinet position—she would make a great Secretary of State. What is more, as Biden is too old to ever be President, assuming Bill and Hillary remain true to Obama and the Democratic Party, in 2012, Obama should hand Hillary the Vice-Presidency. As a woman, being Secretary of State would give Senator Clinton all the foreign policy experience she could ever need and being Vice-President would further strengthen her credentials. Then, with that experience in hand, in 2016, Hillary Clinton could easily walk into the Presidency.
Hillary Clinton would deserve that opportunity and Obama should make certain she is given that opportunity. In doing that, he would unify the Party well into the 21st Century.
It sure feels good to welcome back to the family, William Jefferson and Hillary Clinton! President Clinton earned and needed the standing ovation given him at Mister Obama's convention. That was, for Bill Clinton, truly cathartic.
Losing Afghanistan
It has been a bad week for those who still believe that Afghanistan constitutes the altruistic and winnable battlefront of the 'war on terror'.
On Friday, within days of a Taliban ambush that killed 10 French soldiers, 90 civilians died in a US bombing raid near Herat, 60 of them children. This attack followed last month's bombing of a wedding party, which killed 47 guests as well as the bride.
President Karzai wants to renegotiate terms under which US and Nato troops operate in Afghanistan. These bombings form part of a disturbing pattern. In the past 12 months, US & Nato bombings in Afghanistan have more than doubled as the Taliban-centred insurgency has grown more powerful. Taliban insurgents have also killed large numbers of civilians, but the increasing reliance on high-tech counter-insurgency tactics has resulted in a steady increase in 'collateral damage'. All this has fatally tarnished the coalition's attempts to present itself as the liberators of the Afghan people.
This discrepancy between rhetoric and reality is not new. From Napoleon's invasion of Egypt to Operation Iraqi Freedom, imperial interventions have been presented as disinterested and generous acts of liberation. When foreign armies are given unlimited and unchecked power over people of a different race, religion or nationality who they regard as backward and inferior, such powers are easily abused, particularly when the population refuses to accept its deliverance…
Finish reading this article at First Post (Note: continue in column 2, paragraph 3)
Englehart: I don't care…(cartoon)
Obama opens leads in key swing states
An exclusive TIME/CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll reveals that Barack Obama leads John McCain by several percentage points in three crucial battleground states—Nevada, New Mexico and Pennsylvania—while McCain tops Obama by 1% in Colorado.
Obama's widest margin is in New Mexico, where 53% of registered voters said they prefer the Democrat to 40% who favor McCain. Obama also holds a five-point advantage in Nevada (49% to 44%). Both states went narrowly to George W. Bush in the 2004 election.
In Pennsylvania, Obama leads 48% to 43, while McCain topped Obama in Colorado 47% to 46%. In all state polls, the margin of error is plus-or-minus 4%…
More at TIME
Arctic sea ice drops, proof of global warming 'tipping point'
More ominous signs Wednesday have scientists saying that a global warming "tipping point" in the Arctic seems to be happening before their eyes: Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is at its second lowest level in about 30 years.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that sea ice in the Arctic now covers about 2.03 million square miles. The lowest point since satellite measurements began in 1979 was 1.65 million square miles set last September.
With about three weeks left in the Arctic summer, this year could wind up breaking that previous record, scientists said.
Arctic ice always melts in summer and refreezes in winter. But over the years, more of the ice is lost to the sea with less of it recovered in winter. While ice reflects the sun's heat, the open ocean absorbs more heat and the melting accelerates warming in other parts of the world.
Sea ice also serves as primary habitat for threatened polar bears.
"We could very well be in that quick slide downward in terms of passing a tipping point," said senior scientist Mark Serreze at the data center in Boulder, Colo. "It's tipping now. We're seeing it happen now."..
More at Yahoo News
Bankruptcy filings up 30 percent
Nearly 1 million individuals and businesses filed bankruptcy in the 12 months ended June 30, up 28.9% from the prior 12 months, according to U.S. Court data released Wednesday.
Of the 967,831 bankruptcy cases filed since July 1, 2007, non-business filings made up 96.5% of those cases, totaling 934,009. Of them, 592,376 were Chapter 7 filings, which involve liquidation of non-protected assets, like family homes. ..
More at USA Today
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