I remember very clearly, as a child, being drawn to Bill Clinton. There was something about him-- his charisma, his confidence, his energy, his ability to inspire hope-- that, even as a second grader, I felt demanded my admiration. I can distinctly remember seeing him on Arsenio Hall playing the saxophone. I must confess that I wanted, with all my heart, to play the saxophone, but I was stuck with the clarinet. All throughout his term, I vigorously defended him. I was even a vigorous defender during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Hillary Clinton once famously remarked that they were the victims of a vast right-wing conspiracy, a comment for which she has since been lampooned by critics for making. I was unafraid, even around ultra-conservative-Limbaugh-die-hard adults, who were much older than me, to quip, "Yeah, there was no right-wing conspiracy. 'Conspiracy' implies that it was clandestine. The right-wingers have been pretty open about their attacks." As I've gotten older, the more people criticize the Clintons, the more I love them.



During the brutal 2008 Democratic Primary, Barack Obama was quick to down-play the significance of Bill Clinton's presidency and the success he achieved for the economy and for world peace. I personally found these attacks on the Clinton legacy to not only be counter-productive, but also, obviously, untrue. That he could make such comments, given that we had suffered through almost two terms of President George W. Bush, seemed ridiculous. One of my favorite remarks from Hillary Clinton, during her campaign, was, "It took one Clinton to clean up after the first George Bush, it'll take another Clinton to clean up after this one." President Bush (41) and his predecessor Ronald Reagan had, as Greenspan conceded in his book The Age of Turbulence, "borrowed from Clinton, and Clinton was having to pay it back." In other words, the so-called "fiscally responsible" Republicans had created such a massive deficit that it threatened to throw the American economy into a major recession-- and it forced Clinton to make budget cuts in order to pay down the deficit, which forced him to delay the advances in social programs (education, health care, infrastructure, environment) that he, in his heart of hearts, wanted so badly.
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Obama meets with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

Barack Obama and Joe Biden have set-up a website called change.gov. This is the first step in "building an open and transparent government and seeking input from all Americans." So, being the opinionated bastard that I am, I put in my own two cents:

I am a supporter of President-elect Barack Obama. I also support his call for change. However, I do not see change in your middle-east policy. You must understand that all the anger and resentment in the region stems from the failure to reconcile the Isareli-Palestinian conflict-- it also stems from our unflinching and unconditional suuport for Israel. By resolving this long conflict, and bringing statehood to the Palestinians, we not only bring greater security to Israel, who will be in goodstanding with its neighbors, but it will also bring the US much greater security.

Your plan for the middle-east will fail even more miserably than President Bush's-- which is a sad, sad statement. You not only supported Israel's invasion of Lebanon, but you also reject any notion that Jerusalem should be divided. I also have not heard you condemn the illegal settlements in the West Bank. You even went as far as to demand that Palestinians recognize Israel's right to exist, even though the PLO have done just that many times over the last few decades. Israel has never recognized the Palestinians right to exist.

If you want change, as you so often say, start in the middle-east. Listen to your friend Rashid Khalidi, he knows what he's talking about. Also, I would recommend not appointing Dennis Ross as your middle-east peace envoy. Not only is he very biased towards Israel, but he is also condescending towards the Palestinians, believing they suffer delusions of entitlement. He will not get the job done. You should appoint Dan Kurtzer. He knows the stakes and he understands that an evenhanded policy in the region will be successful.

In short, I would recommend an imposed two-state settlement. Its the only way to resolve this 60 year old conflict that threatens to send the world into even greater chaos. Every President before you has failed to be fair, and thus they have failed in bringing peace. You can change. You can bring peace and security to Israel, the middl-east, and America.
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First and foremost, I am pro-life. Now, I know a lot of you probably think, "Oh, he's one of these Ultra-right wing Christians who hate women."

Wrong!

I am actually a fairly liberal guy who proudly voted for Hillary Clinton in the California primary. I love women. I'm married to one. But I also love life.

Where I differ from right-wing extremists, is the fact that I am actually pro-life. That means I am against abortion, but I am also against the death penalty, I am against needless war, I am for a healthy and clean environment, I am for raising the minimum wage, I am for Universal Health Care, and I am for equal quality education across our country. The economic and social justice that the Democratic party fights for actually reduces the number of abortions across the country. The right-wingers don't support any of these pro-life measures. See, the right-wingers are simply anti-abortion. They are not pro-life.
( The Abortion Debate is Complicated )

Well, I've been married for about one month and 14 days. It was a gorgeous day and everything turned out better than I could have imagined. The ceremony itself was on the beach and we were lucky to have positively gorgeous weather. There were a few mess ups during the ceremony, but they were humorous. First, the mic refused to work. After a few tense moments, I saved the day by simply turning it on. Then, Danielle's father's cell phone went off twice during the ceremony, as he was crying tears of joy. He was super embarrassed, but Danielle and I laughed it off, as did the other guests. Luckily, that came at a moment when Danielle and I were on the verge of tears. Towards the end, the Pastor's watch alarm went off and it continued to beep for about two minutes. He seemed to ignore it the entire time, but Danielle and I kept looking at each other like Is he planning on turning that off soon? But we laughed that off as well. The last error came when my best man dropped Danielle's wedding ring in the sand! He scrambled on the ground for a few moments while all I could do was stand there like a jackass and hope to God that he find it! But, again, we laughed it off. Despite the errors, it was perfect for the humorous and lighthearted mood we were trying to create.
( The Best Day Ever Had... By Humans )

Kevin Hench of the Huffington Post posted 10 questions for Hillary supporters that are idiotic and insulting. Being the crotchety son of a bitch that I am, I decided to respond. I urge any Hillary supporter to do the same.

1. When did Sen. Clinton cross the Commander-in-Chief threshold?

What is the threshhold, exactly? Was Pres. Kennedy ready to assume the offic of the Presidency when he ran in 1960? Some said no, but his experiences suited him for the office perfectly (comparisons to Sen. Obama are far-fetched, as Pres. Kennedy was far more experienced when he ran for President than Sen. Obama is today). Sen. Clinton's experience ranges over thirty-five years in various positions. She is very bright, intelligent, and passionate. As First Lady she familiarized herself with world leaders and foreign policy issues. She is the ablest and most competent Senator to run for the office of the Presidency in a long time.

2. Was it before or after October 11, 2002 when she flunked the biggest foreign policy test of her career and voted to authorize the war in Iraq?

Unfortunately, like a majority of democrats in Congress, she was mislead by the President's intelligence. She was First Lady when Saddam Hussein threw out the UN. Her husband believed that Saddam Hussein did not adequately disarm and continued to represent a threat to the regional stability. This experience carried over into her experience as a Senator. However, this is an unfair indictment as she, like most, were voting to provide the President authority to use force after he had exhausted UN Inspections and the route of diplomacy. George W. Bush failed to follow through on that.
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