As you know, there has been a great deal of news lately, from my colleague Dennis Kucinich introducing Articles of Impeachment against President Bush, to my recent questioning of Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
Tuesday evening, I am holding a private telephone town hall just for supporters such as yourself. I will call the evening number you enter when you sign up at Wexlerwantshearings.com and if you choose to join the call, just stay on the line and after a few minutes I will begin discussing the status of Impeachment, Inherent Contempt, and other topics, and then take your questions.
Schedule for Tuesday, June 24th:
Session 1: Approximately 7pm EDT:
All states except AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, NM, MT, OR, UT, WA
Session 2: Approximately 7pm PDT:
AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, NM, MT, OR, UT, WA
I hope you can join me! If not, we hope to do more in the future.
As always, I thank you for your support.
Congressman Robert Wexler
P.S. Over the next week I will appearing on numerous television programs where I intend to raise these issues as often as I can. You can see me on the following television shows:
• Tuesday, June 24 at 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm (EST) on Hardball on MSNBC,
• Wednesday June 25 at 3:30 pm (EST) on CNN's the Situation Room,
• Thursday June 26 at 11:30 pm (EST) on Comedy Central's the Colbert Report
• Friday June 27 at 7:30 am (EST) on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-webb22jun22,0,3338892.story
chicagotribune.com TRIBUNE PROFILE Is this man Obama's answer to McCain?By James Oliphant
Washington Bureau
June 22, 2008
WASHINGTON — The Marines, in full dress uniform, perform their summer drills in silence, flipping their rifles in near-perfect precision in front of the Iwo Jima memorial, illuminated by the glow of sunset.
One man, the guest of honor, stands stock-straight at the center of the pageantry, Marines on both sides, watching as they pass.
Order. Precision. Tradition. Just across the Potomac River from his Senate office, this is Jim Webb's world.
The first-term senator from Virginia has built a life around a deep love for the military. His sons have followed him, with one serving in the Marines in Iraq.
"It's very personal to us," Webb would say later of that evening.
Webb, 62, has had an almost absurd number of careers since leaving the Marine Corps in the early 1970s. But there's one more role he could yet play: Barack Obama's saving grace.
It is widely speculated that Obama will need to choose a vice presidential nominee versed in national security matters, perhaps with a strong military background, to attempt to blunt the edge his opponent, John McCain, carries in those arenas.
Webb seems made-to-order for that, a character right out of one of his novels. His careers keep evolving. Lawyer. Defense analyst. Journalist. Pentagon bureaucrat. Novelist. Screenwriter. Emmy-winning filmmaker. Businessman. And now, politician.
READ THE REST at:
chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-webb22jun22,0,3338892.story
Snippets from Boston (dot com) at this link.
Recently, during the MBA Games, GM ran ads that depict a starstruck arena parking attendant jabbering crazily as an all-star basketball player drives into the players' lot in a GMC Yukon Denali. "Never let up!" the attendant says. "Keep your eye on the prize!" "Hey man, you got to go for the gold. You got to be like a prospector."
At the end of one ad, a voice says, "The Yukon Denali from GMC. Engineering that happens when you never say never."
As GM mines the last of fools gold with engineering dinosaurs that are driven closer to extinction with every announcement from OPEC, and as President Bush responds to petrol prices by calling for more drilling, Japanese car makers putt-putt right past us. As GM depicted an NBA player in 5,635 pounds of bling, Honda announced the start of production of the hydrogen-powered FCX Clarity. One of the first customers will be actress Jamie Lee Curtis. "This is a must-have technology for the future of the earth," Honda president Takeo Fukui said.
Detroit is still stuck between its own promises of hybrids and electric plug-in cars and seducing buyers to live in the past. Chrysler, where sales were down 25 percent last month, compared with the same period last year, is trying to raise its vehicles from the grave by capping the price of gasoline for buyers at $2.99 a gallon. This is for a fleet that is at the bottom of Consumer Reports rankings. Honda, Toyota, and Subaru were ranked first, second, and third, respectively, while Ford, GM, and Chrysler were ranked 12th, 13th and tied for 14th, respectively.
The indecision to fully embrace a fuel-efficient future keeps costing American automakers with every passing month. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that based on May figures, Toyota's share of the US auto buyer market has more than doubled within this decade, from 9 percent to 18.6 percent. GM has fallen from about 30 percent to 19.4 percent.
So if Obama really beats John McCain, whose energy solutions are coastal drilling and 45 nuclear power plants, and if he really builds his basketball court, this should be one of his first pickup games.
Addressing fuel efficiency in a 2007 campaign stop in Las Vegas, Obama said, "If everybody here is driving an SUV, you know, getting 8 miles a gallon and then you're complaining about gas prices, I don't have that much sympathy for you . . . You need a smaller car." Noting someone in the audience who looked uncomfortable, Obama joked, "I know he's got one of those Dodge Durangos you know? He's got a Denali or something."
If Obama says to Stern and Wagoner what he said to the crowd, Detroit might have a chance. We could yet see an ad from GMC introducing a new car called the Dendron (Greek for tree). "Fifty miles per gallon to save the planet. Engineering that happens when you stop saying never."
The Obama campaign reported raising only $22 million last month, his weakest fundraising month this year - and just a little more than McCain's $21 million. Nevertheless, Obama's month-end total "cash on hand" is $43 million, nearly $10 million of which is for the general election.
We are going to need to raise much more $$$ if Obama is going to beat McCain and the expected 527 smear campaigns against Obama!
Meanwhile, Obama will campaign together with Hillary on Friday, June 27th. This move is seen as a reconciliation between our two camps after a long and hard-fought primary campaign. Now that the nomination is settled, we are joining together to set our sights on taking the office of the Presidency away from the Republican Party.
Public support from Hillary will absolutely benefit the campaign going forward. Look at how many of her supporters here have vowed that they would never switch their allegiance to Obama, even if that meant giving McCain the keys to the White House. By campaigning side by side, Hillary and Obama are demonstrating that the Democratic Party is aligned on one fundamental goal: to make sure that the Republican Party does not retain those keys to the White House in November!
McCain may be running close to Obama in early poll numbers because he had the Republican party all to himself for a few months. But that's about to end with the alliance of Obama and Hillary.
Meanwhile, Moveon.org's campaign comparing McCain to Bush (McCain equals "Bush III" ads) will be increasing!
I am happy that I am working in Obama's campaign! The following snippet is from today's NY TIMES (we need to make sure we donate a few bucks to the campaign!):
Obama’s War Chest Drives a 50-State Strategy
Obama is drawing up plans for extensive advertising and voter-turnout drives across the nation, hoping to capitalize on his expected fund-raising advantage over Senator John McCain to force Republicans to compete in states they have not had to defend in decades.
With his decision to give up public financing and the spending limits that go with it, Mr. Obama has added several seasoned hands to his advertising team, a harbinger of a multifaceted television campaign that people inside and outside Obama headquarters said would grow well beyond its already large presence in 18 states.
Future commercials could run on big national showcases like the Olympics in August and smaller cable networks like MTV and Black Entertainment Television that appeal to specific demographic and interest groups.
Mr. Obama is also dispatching paid staff members to all 50 states, an unusual move by the standards of modern presidential campaigns so often fought in just a contained group of contested territories.
His aides and advisers said they did not believe Obama necessarily has a serious chance of winning in many of the traditionally Republican states, but rather that he can at least draw Mr. McCain into spending time and money there while also swelling the rolls of Democratic voters and supporting other Democrats on the ballot.
His strategists are busily studying data from focus groups, magazine subscription lists and census studies. It is the beginning of an intensive door-to-door drive, using volunteers overseen by a growing staff of organizers, to reach voters using persuasive messages tailored to their individual interests through the mail, e-mail and word of mouth.
Now, free from the constraints of public financing, campaign and party officials have said that Mr. Obama’s budget for the rest of the year could be well above $300 million. But Mr. Obama’s fund-raising slowed abruptly in May, when the campaign raised $22 million, $10 million less than it had in April and an even sharper drop relative to his monthly performances earlier in the year. The decline was evidence that Mr. Obama might have to work hard to keep donations coming in at the record pace he has been setting.
READ the rest at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/us/politics/22obama.html?em&ex=1214193600&en=c0dfa3b5e6e55855&ei=5087%0A
Here's some good stuff about John McCain from Lonee Hamilton of: http://www.barackoblogger.com/
The Flipflop Express is great site that chronicles all of John McCain's flipflops. Check it out.
Olbermann: "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq Oil WarThe reason why we invaded Iraq has become clear. As Rachel Maddow states in the MSNBC clip at the link HERE, the United States (special interests of the US, anyway) needs to set up an oil colony.
We've been hoodwinked. (But we already knew that, right?)
The American companies supposedly got an "in" because they've been volunteering their time as unpaid advisers to this country that we've invaded.
We had to tear down Iraq so that we could rebuild its oil fields.
This is why the seemingly most powerful country on earth can't develop viable forms of alternative energy, why with all our know-how and technology, we can't stop our dependence on oil.
I guess McCain was right. We will have to be there 100 years... because we're going to be guarding the oil fields!
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. What should we expect when we have oil men running our government?
I get it.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
READ ON:
Read More »Cindy McCain better stop attacking Michelle Obama.
Check this out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
Data from 32 nationwide polls conducted from May 15 to June 15, 2008
For full results: http://www.pollster.com/08-US-Pres-GE-MvO.php
Obama-Mania Goes Global
Widespread International Interest In The Presidential Race May Help America's Image
by Amy Harder / Fri. Jun 13, 2008
The excitement surrounding Barack Obama's bid for the White House apparently isn't confined to U.S. borders. A new
Pew Research international survey [PDF] shows that the American presidential campaign -- and Obama's candidacy in particular -- has generated a very high level of interest throughout the world. The numbers also suggest that the attention surrounding the race could translate into some much-needed burnishing for the U.S.'s tarnished image abroad. In nearly all of the 24 countries surveyed, respondents who said they were following the election closely placed more confidence in Obama "to do the right thing regarding world affairs" than they did in John McCain. The largest gaps were evident in Europe, where overwhelming majorities -- 84 percent of French respondents, 82 percent of Germans and 74 percent of Britons -- said they had confidence in Obama while fewer than half said the same of McCain.
The one region this trend didn't hold was the Middle East, where confidence in both candidates ran low: 34 percent of Lebanese respondents said they had confidence in Obama, and a quarter said the same of McCain. In Turkey, Obama garnered 20 percent and McCain a scant 5 percent. Jordan was one of only two countries surveyed that had more respondents express confidence in McCain than Obama, a close 23 percent to 22 percent. What was the only other nation to show more love for McCain than Obama? The U.S., where McCain received 60 percent support to Obama's 59 percent. Read More »
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has a profound appreciation of the media's great possibilities. That's at least part of what earned him the presumptive Democratic nomination for president.
The great battle to get the nomination -- a bruising 13-month struggle against valiant New York Sen. Hillary Clinton -- has ended. The war, against Republican nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain, has only begun.
And if Obama's "Yes We Can" mantra leads to "Yes We Did" in a November election victory, he will be setting the tone for communications policy from the bulliest of all media pulpits. And he likely would have a solidly Democratic Congress behind him.
With that in mind, we asked the senator to weigh in on media's great challenges, issues and limits and go on the record with B&C about his communications agenda.
In e-mailed responses last week to questions submitted to his Capitol Hill office, Obama told us he is committed to working toward a digital-TV transition that is without significant disruption (the switchover would come less than four weeks after his inauguration); said the Federal Communications Commission needs to take merger reviews more seriously; asserted that FCC chairman Kevin Martin, like his predecessor, has tried to "dismantle" rules that protect the public; and gave his thoughts on whether cable content should be regulated or its channels unbundled.
Obama believes the consequence of consolidation has been less diversity, less local news and the parroting of stories across multiple outlets. That, he said, needs to change.
In other words, the media is on notice: The potential new sheriff is in town, and he believes there's plenty of cleaning up to do.
Q: You signaled that you would put the teeth back into antitrust enforcement. What would that mean for media companies that want to merge?
A: There is a clear need in this country for the reinvigoration of antitrust enforcement. Our competition agencies, the Department of Justice and the FTC [Federal Trade Commission], need to step up review of merger activity and take effective action to stop or restructure those mergers that are likely to harm consumer welfare, while quickly clearing those that do not. Specifically, for media mergers, the Department of Justice and the FTC should closely scrutinize all mergers for their implications for competition and consumer choice. The FCC should more seriously evaluate the impact of proposed mergers on the ability of divergent communities to participate in the national media environment.
Q: Where do you stand on the merger of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, the only two satellite-radio companies?
A: I am waiting for final resolution by the regulatory agencies and would want to ensure that the merger does not give the new firm excessive market power or unduly limit the choices consumers have for satellite-radio content.
Q: You have said network neutrality would be a priority in your administration. Why and how would you go about ensuring a neutral Internet while still allowing networks to manage traffic?
A: The Internet is a powerful, democratizing tool. There are very low entry barriers for the delivery of services over the Internet, and public debate is unfettered by either the network owner or any single dominant voice. The neutral nature of the Internet makes that possible, and it is something we should defend. Up to now, legislation has focused on protecting against the discrimination against or in favor of any single voice or legal service. All have made allowances for objective, nondiscriminatory network-management practices.
Q: What prompted you to weigh in on media ownership and diversity at an FCC field hearing in Chicago (http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6480419.html) last year?
A: I strongly favor diversity of ownership of outlets and protection against the excessive concentration of power in the hands of any one corporation, interest or small group. I strongly believe that all citizens should be able to receive information from the broadest range of sources. I feel that media consolidation during the Bush administration has had the effect of eliminating a lot of the diversity of information sources available to persons who have to rely on more traditional information sources, such as radio and television broadcasts and newspapers.
Q: What ill effects has the country suffered from media consolidation, if any?
A: This country's media ownership rules that both chairman [Michael] Powell and chairman Martin have wanted to dismantle protect us from excessive media concentration. However, even under current rules, the media market is dominated by a handful of firms. The ill effects of consolidation today and continued consolidation are well-documented -- less diversity of opinion, less local news coverage, replication of the same stories across multiple outlets, and others. We can do better.
Q: You co-sponsored the Dorgan bill to block the FCC's media-ownership change, which Martin has argued was a moderate compromise that took into account the input of opponents to consolidation. Why block it?
A: Chairmen Martin and Powell both argued that their previous effort to deregulate the media market was moderate, as well. Both the courts and a majority of the Senate disagreed the first time. And a few weeks back, the Senate disagreed with chairman Martin again. While he argues that the rule is no longer in the public interest, the public response has heavily weighed in against him. And common sense tells us that the consolidation of outlets in local markets will lead to fewer opportunities for diverse expression of opinions.
Q: What concerns, if any, do you have over violent or sexual content on TV? Should cable be regulated for content?
A: We have established a precedent that government should act to protect kids in a nonintrusive way on broadcast radio and TV. That does not mean that we need the same rules for other media, but it does require us to respect and remain true to the principle that our kids cannot protect themselves -- parents are their first line of defense, and regulation can make it easier for parents to exercise that responsibility. I am focused on ensuring that parents have the tools to protect their kids from offensive material. I prefer technological solutions to this challenge rather than extending content regulation to cable and satellite. Given modern technology and increasingly sophisticated cable and satellite boxes and services, the market should be able to rise to meet the market demand to protect kids from indecent content. If the market fails to meet that demand, legislative and regulatory action may be necessary -- but it must be crafted carefully and focus not on content censorship, but rather on tools for parents.
Q: Do you support requiring cable operators to sell their channels a la carte? Why or why not?
A: I think the jury is still out on a la carte. Several years ago, chairman Powell had the FCC study the effect on consumers of an a la carte system. That study concluded that on average, rates would go up for consumers because each channel would cost much more even if the consumer took fewer channels than they currently receive. Then during his term, chairman Martin had the FCC conduct a review of that study and reversed the findings. FCC staff said the previous report was wrong to conclude that the average cable household -- which watches about 17 channels -- would likely face a monthly rate increase of up to 30% under a la carte. That 2004 report reasoned that a la carte would drive up cable companies' costs for equipment, customer service and marketing, and that would almost certainly be passed on to subscribers. But the new report says consumers could receive as many as 20 channels without seeing an increase in bills and blamed the earlier finding on faulty data it obtained from the cable industry. I do not want to discourage diversity of programming on cable systems and fear that a la carte regulation may do that. But given the conflicting FCC reports, I remain open to review and discussion of the concept.
Read More »My client is an artist. He explained to me, visually, why McCain will not win in November. This is what he sent:
Throughout this primary season we all made history together.
Our work inspired millions to get involved in the political process, and injected new energy into our party to work for the changes we need.
Barack Obama shares Hillary's commitment to strengthening our economy, ending the war in Iraq, reducing energy costs, planning for a clean energy future, and providing quality, affordable health care coverage to all Americans. Watch Obama thank Hillary at this LINK.
But John McCain has outlined a vision of America that's very different from ours -- a vision that continues George W. Bush's disastrous policies. After more than 7 years of these failed policies, now is the time to unite around our common desire to bring change to our nation.
Throughout the primary, Hillary demonstrated her passion to improve the lives of ordinary Americans, no matter how difficult the fight may be.
At this critical moment we must come together, to continue this fight -- Hillary's, Barack's and all of ours. Together, we can bring a new and better day to America.
Learn more about Barack and join our movement for change:
http://my.barackobama.com/joinourmovement
Thanks,
Hope4
Hillary Clinton announced her support for our campaign today.
Senator Clinton made history over the past 16 months -- not just because she has broken barriers, but because she has inspired millions of Americans with her strength, her courage, and her commitment to causes like universal health care that make a difference in the lives of hardworking Americans.
Our party and our country are stronger because of the work she has done throughout her life, and I'm a better candidate for having had the privilege of competing with her.
Senator Clinton will be invaluable to our efforts to win in November, and I look forward to campaigning alongside her to bring this country the change it so desperately needs.
Hillary and her supporters are joining us at an urgent moment.
It's going to require a new level of commitment from every single one of us to build a national campaign in the general election.
And we're going win this election the right way -- by growing our grassroots network of ordinary people giving only what they can afford.
It's time for all of us to come together to take on John McCain in the general election. John McCain offers another four years of George Bush's policies, which our country simply cannot afford.
To win, we must continue building an unprecedented organization in all 50 states. And that will only happen if we all work together, side-by-side.
Thank you for joining this movement and supporting a new kind of politics. Together we can do more than just win an election.
Together we can change this country, and we can change the world.
And we are honored to have Hillary Clinton at our side as we do it.
Barack
ENJOY!
Obama's Weekend Off: Date With Wife, Hosting Sleepover For Eight Seven-Year Olds
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/06/obamas-weekend-off-date-w_n_105703.html
USA Today has details of Obama's weekend:
After appearing here, Obama traveled to a rally in northern Virginia's D.C. suburbs, then headed back to his hometown of Chicago to take the weekend off. He's looking forward to "a date" tonight with his wife, Michelle, a round of golf on Saturday ("the best I can do is the low 80s," Obama said) and a bike ride with his children on Sunday.
Not that he is expecting it to be entirely relaxing. On Saturday night, Obama will face a challenge familiar to many American parents: Eight 7-year-olds are due at his house for a birthday sleepover in honor of his daughter, Sasha.
"These kids are planning to make pizza so who knows what our kitchen will look like," Obama said. "They shouldn't call these sleepovers. They should call them wake-overs."
If you are upset about the nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic Candidate for President of the United States, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO GO TO THIS Candidate Match Game II. It will help you decide whether to vote for McCain or not.
About the game
USA TODAY researched candidate positions on a range of top issues and then devised issue statements that help differentiate the candidates and their stances.
As you answer the questions, you can roll over each "issue" button to find background on their positions. Your answers are matched with the positions of the presidential hopefuls to reveal who is closest to your views. The sliders allow you to assign relative weights to match the importance that you place on each issue.
Please check it out.
IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY, RESTORE OUR CONS