There seems to be some lingering confusion over Senator Barack Obama's plan to end the Iraw War, so without further ado, and in an effort to promote accuracy when debating these topics on Partybuilder, here is the official plan:

"A Responsible, Phased Withdrawal:"

I. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war.

The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 - more than 7 years after the war began.

II. A residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel.

Obama will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism.

On a basic level, the difference between John McCain & George Bush's plans for Iraq, compared to Barack Obama's is this: Bush & McCain have a plan for STAYING in Iraq, and Obama has a plan for LEAVING.

Only one of these people will be giving a new mission to our military; that of ending this war. Without a new mission, there will be NO end in sight.

I can see how people want more details - especially people who are uncertain about or critical of Obama in general - however, we must remember this is a general election, and it would be political suicide to commit to more details at this time.

We have an election to win, and subtlety and nuance must sometimes be left for a later day. We must come together around the general terms of Obama's plan and in that sense it is as different from McCain's as night is from day.

As many of you might already know, the Friday Forums partybuilder group is set up to catalog and archive discussions about issues important to us.

Last Friday, there was a great amount of discussion on the topic of gender discrimination, both within the group and also independently and in other groups.

While we had out ups and downs, in all it was a truly successful Friday Forum.

As promised, the Friday Forums group is compiling all on-topic posts published to the group, in an effort to promote a means of in-depth discussion and a source of future reference.

There were some great posts by people who participated in the forum but did not publish to the group. Please consider joining the Friday Forum partybuilder group and publishing your posts to the group so they can be included in the archive.

Click Read More for the digest edition of last weeks forum, and to add your two cents about what topic should be debated next!   Read More »

He's been called a naive idealist. But in terms of foreign policy, he's the true realist in the race.

Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria wrote these words today in a very interesting piece on Barack Obama's "Realist" foreign policy ideas. In the article, Zakaria argues that while the Republicans criticize Obama as having "naive" ideas, it may be the republicans who are naive in the end:

Obama has elaborated more and more the ideas that would undergird his foreign policy as president. What emerges is a world view that is far from that of a typical liberal, much closer to that of a traditional realist.

Zakaria goes on to describe how out-of-touch conservative leaders are with the world, and the way it works.

Ironically, the Republicans now seem to be the foreign-policy idealists, labeling countries as either good or evil, refusing to deal with nasty regimes, fixating on spreading democracy throughout the world and refusing to think in more historical and complex ways.

The article concludes by contrasting the very different world-views of Obama and McCain, concluding that Obama's ideas will carry us forward:

In the end, the difference between Obama and McCain might come down to something beyond ideology - "temperament." McCain is a pessimist about the world, seeing it as a dark, dangerous place where, without the constant and vigorous application of American force, evil will triumph. Obama sees a world that is in many ways going our way. As nations develop, they become more modern and enmeshed in the international economic and political system.... America's job is to push these progressive forces forward.... Call him an Optimistic Realist, or a Realistic Optimist. But don't call him naive.

Click Here to read the entire article.

Best,
D. Tree

This man has no shame.

Huffingtonpost reports,

The Obama campaign has tried to cloak the Illinois senator's trip in some measure of secrecy for security reasons. The White House, State Department and Pentagon do not announce senior officials' visits to Iraq in advance.

"I believe that either today or tomorrow -- and I'm not privy to his schedule -- Sen. Obama will be landing in Iraq with some other senators" who make up a congressional delegation, McCain told a campaign fund-raising luncheon.

John McCain is damaged goods who has tried running for president and has lost one too many times. He is now nothing more than a Bush/Cheney puppet who will do ANYTHING to win.

"If it is true that Obama is going to Iraq this weekend, it is a very serious mistake for McCain to have disclosed it publically. Even for run-of-the-mill CODELs the military gives guidance like, "Please strongly discourage Congressional offices from issuing press releases prior to their trips which mention their intent to travel to the AOR and/or the dates of that travel or their scheduled meetings. Such releases are a serious compromise to OPSEC." If Obama is going to Iraq this weekend, I can not begin to imagine how much this is complicating the security planning for the trip."

This represents a serious lapse of judgment on McCain's part, and - like other recent instances - goes against his own stated positions on leaking this type of information. Earlier, he was furious when it was disclosed his son is serving in Iraq because he would become a target.

Pray tell, John - are you a little worried you can't beat Barack Obama? Hoping for a little "accident" to befall him in Iraq? You know that's the only way you can win. Let's hope the military can make up for your serious lapse of judgment.

In my previous post ruminating on the connection between sexism and terrorism, a couple of comments very correctly pointed out the importance of women's education in this equation.

Those comments reminded me of a news story I read a few years back. The story of Mukhtaran Mai, an honor rape victim from Afghanistan: She successfully sued the perpetrators, and used the money to open a school for girls! She is such a hero.

She is also known as the "Bravest Woman in the World"

From her Girls International Award:

Defying social stigma and the culture of shame surrounding rape victims in Pakistan, she not only spoke out about the assault, but in a valiant move, took the perpetrators to court and won. She then used the money she received from her court case to open a school for girls in Meerwala and enrolled in the school herself. This school is the first girls� school ever to exist in her village and the closest one for miles. The school has 5 classrooms, 5 teachers and nearly 200 students - all female. According to Mukhtar Mai, helping other girls and women gives her a reason to live and her school is indeed a testament to her courage.

Want to really make progress in ending the long term terrorist threat? This simple action will do more to transform the middle east than any army could accomplish in a lifetime.

I'm going to try something a little different for today's forum and post a completely un-formed idea; it is a thought I have been playing around with for some time, but for some reason or other has yet to fully form. Perhaps it is because there is no validity to the idea; or perhaps it is too complex for me to figure out. So I present it here to you to see if you think I'm nuts, or maybe on to something:

Can the global emancipation of women be a new means to combat terrorism?

(Click "Read More" for the rest....)   Read More »

Barack Obama, while having a liberal voting record, is known to work alongside, and be respected by, his republican colleagues.

Indeed, it is hard to paint Obama with the broad strokes of "liberalism" and "conservatism." I believe the reason for this has much to do with how our traditional notions "left" and "right" are in a state of transformation.

Obama is perhaps the first major candidate to come out of a "post framing" progressive movement. Traditional liberal ideas are presented differently than in the past, and communicated with a sensitivity toward voters with both conservative and liberal values.

(for anyone interested in the recent history behind all this, please check out Rockridge Institute: LINK )

Obama is also unconventional because of his family values, which are indeed more conservative than previous Democrat candidates.

Furthermore, Obama has an established track record of working *with* conservatives across the aisle in order to accomplish common goals. Bill Dickson's recent post about the "Accidental Surrogate" is very informative in this respect: LINK

Also, Obama's passing of historic civil rights legislation while an Illinois Senator is the perfect example of how he works with both sides, to accomplish traditionally progressive goals. In the case of the civil rights legislation, his bill was passed unanimously among both Democrats and Republicans. Since then, his legislation has been adopted in 4 different states.

That is really unprecedented! Remember folks, this guy has 12 years legislative experience under his belt, and is also an expert on Constitutional Law. He was president of the Harvard Law review for gosh-sakes! This is a very accomplished and intelligent person with a track record of getting things done and working with very diverse groups of people.

His track record backs up his words about how he will bring these same changes to Washington.

(boy, am i tired of people saying he has not track record of working across the aisle!)

So what does that mean for those of us who are hardcore liberals? (and being formerly registered as Green, I count myself in that group) It means we are going to have to do two things in order to act in the spirit of change Obama is talking about: We as liberals are going to have to acknowledge that we haven't always been 100% right about everything (LOL, that can be hard to do), and we are also going to have to be willing to compromise a bit and give some space to our conservative brethren so they can at least participate in the debate.

That's my thought for the day about Obama and how he seems to be tacking to what people describe as "the center."

Peace, and thanks for all that you do.

D. tree

One of the best things about getting my monthly subscription to Rolling Stone, other than the no-holds-barred political journalism, is reading the latest installment of Get Your War On, a brilliant comic strip by David Rees.

So after taking a couple weeks off from PB, I thought I'd start some new posts with a little tidbit from this month's issue of Rolling Stone (sorry, only text posted since this comic is not online yet):

Picture this: 3 office workers sit around a break room table, conversing and having coffee. Here's what they are saying to each other:

Woman 1: Did you see that John and Cindy McCain are carrying more than $200,000 in credit card debt?

Man: Goddamn, I knew they loved the Iraq War, but I didn't realize they were paying for it themselves.

Woman 2: McCain admits he doesn't "understand economics." Do you think it's possible he doesn't even understand what MONEY is?"

To enjoy more of David Rees' insightful humor, please check out his website here, and thanks to all the hard working Democrats out there doing their best to help us win this historic election!

Best,
D. Tree

I normally wouldn't post something so "cutesy" but I watched this video today and couldn't help but smile.... so I thought why not share it.

If you haven't seen this nifty little video of Barack and Michelle attending their child's soccer game, click the picture below to check it out.

Viewing this video reminded me of that fateful speech, in which Michelle talked about how proud she was to be an American (you know, the one where people twisted her words to make it sound like she was saying she'd never been proud before?)

Well, in that speech what moved me was hearing her talk about how committed and involved Barack is a a father. She talked about how despite the grueling campaign, Barack had *never* missed a parent-teacher conference or a birthday for one of his daughters.

Seeing Barack and Michelle enjoy some time together as a family, watching the soccer game, and playfully joking with each other, really brought a smile to my face.

I like seeing how much they enjoy each other's company, how comfortable they are with each other, how they smile at each other, and how much they genuinely love each other.

This is possibly the next first family of the United States, and I couldn't think of a finer example. It's a far cry from the family life I had growing up, but in many ways they represent the kind of family I always wished I had.

Please click the picture to check out the video, and enjoy!

Dear Fellow Partybuilders,

By now I hope most of you are aware of the new PB discussion group started by someonewhocares and a few other like-minded posters. The goal is to discuss a wide range of topics in a fair and focused way. If you haven't heard about it, please consider joining the group and participating.

Click Here to Join Friday Forums

Since PM is still down, I'm publishing this to the main blog to get the word out about the group, send an update to the moderators, and to dispel some confusion about the group's purpose.

Click "Read More" for the full update.   Read More »

In case you missed my post earlier today noting how John McCain's new "Truth Squad" has a member of Swiftboat Veteran's For Truth on it, it looks like John McCain's relationship to the "truth" is growing more strained by the minute.

As Thinkprogress reports today, McCain's new "Straight Talk Express" campaign plane will have a "special" area for a group of reporters to interview him. The only requirement to get access to this "special area?" Write nice things about John McCain:

John McCain is now traveling in a new "Straight Talk Express" campaign airplane.

It "features a special area" with "a couch and two captain's chairs" where "McCain will conduct group interviews with the press."

But not all reporters covering McCain can enjoy this new lap of luxury. Top McCain aide Mark Salter said "only the good reporters' would get to sit in the specially-configured section for interviews."

"You'll have to earn it," he said. So how can these reporters "earn" a seat? Never challenge the Senator, as McCain biographer Matt Welch explained in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times:

[McCain is] very open to people. You can come on the bus, everything is great but if he knows or if his team knows that you have a hostile line of questioning or you have a long and well documented critique, they're not going to talk to you.

As a human, he's haunted by the notion of honesty and about honor and truth. He wishes that he could speak the truth all the time. He doesn't. I don't think he speaks the truth any more than any other politician really, no more, no less .

True to form, John McCain is following in the footsteps of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Want more "free speech zones?" How about audiences in town hall meetings picked for their loyalty?

Want more politicization of our government like DOJ hiring only "loyal bushies?" How about firing US Attorneys who aren't being partisan enough?

My friends, with John McCain we can expect more of the Same.

Thinkprogress reports today that John McCain's new "Truth Squad" has a former Swift Boat Veterans for Truth as a Member:

One of the members of McCain's new Truth Squad - Bud Day - was a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and appeared in an attack ad for the group in 2004. Day said of John Kerry’s military service: "My view is he basically will go down in history sometime as the Benedict Arnold of 1971."

So far John McCain is following in Bush & Cheney's footsteps true to form by using terms like "truth" in the name of a group whose purpose may after all be set up to disseminate lies.

Why else would he hire a former Swift Boat Veterns for Truth member as part of his own "Truth" group? Might at well call McCain's "Truth Squad" by a more accurate name: how about "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Part II?"

Lastly, and true to form, John McCain seems to lack any sense of the irony that he formed this group to respond to those who might call into question his military career... by retaining the services of someone who ran one of the most famous and widely condemned attacks on military service we've seen in modern political history.

My contribution to this Friday's Forum on Race will be mostly be in the form of book recommendations. Click here to see my first recommendation, The Hip-hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African Amerian Culture, and Click Here to see my second recommendation, 2 Great Books by 2 Great Rappers.

In this next recommendation, I would like to suggest a book that incorporates contemporary feminism and ethnic studies into a coherent single vision - celebrated author June Jordan's Affirmative Acts:

In this collection of short essays, June Jordan reflects on the connections between gender and ethnicity, and posits questions that deal with topics as varied as politics, race relations, the intersections between activism and passion, women's health care, and affirmative-action debates.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in reading about these many issues and how they connect with each other. This book is really for people who are not uncomfortable discussing gay rights, sexuality, race, and religion all at the same time. Jordan's writing will swing from subjects like Mike Tyson and OJ Simpson, to passionate, sometimes unexpected, and often irreverent debates on gay rights. Above all else, this book is most certainly informative on the topic of race and I guarantee you will be surprised at how she connects race with gender and sexuality.

My contribution to this Friday's Forum on Race will be mostly be in the form of book recommendations. Click here to see my first recommendation, The Hip-hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture

In this next set of books, I would like to recommend to completely different books with wildly different perspectives. What makes me pair them together? They are written by two of the most prolific and seminal rappers of our time: Fight the Power, Rap, Race and Reality, by Chuck D from Public Enemy - and Ruminations by KRS-One.

Each book goes into the very personal and interesting background stories of each of these artists, but while their individual experiences may be similar in ways, their prescriptions for the future could not be more different.

For example, Chuck D devotes a chapter to the notion of reparations and comes out in favor of the idea (and even provides some math to illustrate how much such a thing might cost), while KRS-One also devotes a chapter to reparations but speaks out against the idea - and you might be surprised at the reasons why.... (but I can't give that part away, you have to read it yourself to see why).

I highly recommend both these books for anyone interested in the topic of race, politics, and our cultural landscape in america. I especially recommend reading these two books as a way of informing yourselves about the very different perspectives, and the debate on the issue of reparations from within the black community.

My primary contribution to this Friday's Forum on Race will be in the form of book recommendations.

Like the saying goes, never discuss politics at the dinner table, the same could be said of discussing race in politics.

But today is about breaking those taboos and - I hope - creating a safe environment where people can express their views frankly, and in a spirit of unity. We need to be sure that we are on the same page when discussing these issues.

That said, the books I am going to recommend I have read myself and found both illuminating and surprising. If the topic of race and politics in America is interesting to you - for negative OR positive reasons - then I believe you owe it to yourself and to the people you engage with to be informed in as many ways as you can about the topic.

The first book I would like to recommend is The Hip-hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture, by Bakari Kitwana.

In recent debates here on Partybuilder, I have often seen references to "young blacks" and "hip-hoppers." This book delves into the public policies and cultural psychologies of those born between 1965 and 1985.

In this book, author Bakari Kitwana does a brilliant job of laying out compelling and well-researched evidence of racially biased laws, as well as looking frankly at cultural issues like misogyny and self-perception.

Kitwana has also done extensive research on underground economies, and generational differences between those who grew up under the banner of Civil Rights, and those people who grew up in a post civil rights generation.

The book concludes with an eye-opening discussion on the changing forms of activism in a post-civil rights era, and devotes the final chapter to showcasing Hip-hop generation activists and the novel approaches they are using to help our culture progress.

This is en eye-opening book, and may change the way you look at everything from republicans to crack cocaine. It is a must-read for anyone interested in how youth culture - and hip-hop culture in particular - factor into larger cultural issues of economics, class, gender, and race.

My fellow Democrats,

Since social justice is an integral part of our party platform, and in the interest of making sure we are all armed with accurate information about public safety net programs like welfare, I thought I'd post this reference sheet from the American Psychological Association:

Myth: Poverty Results From a Lack of Responsibility

Fact: Poverty Results From Low Wages


Myth: A Huge Chunk of My Tax Dollars Supports Welfare Recipients

Fact: Welfare Costs 1 Percent of the Federal Budget


Myth: People on Welfare Become Permanently Dependent on the Support

Fact: Movement off Welfare Rolls Is Frequent


Myth: Most Welfare Recipients Are African American Women

Fact: Most Welfare Recipients Are Children-Most Women on Welfare Are White


Myth: Welfare Encourages Out-of- Wedlock Births and Large Families

Fact: The Average Welfare Family Is No Bigger Than the Average Nonwelfare Family


Myth: Welfare Families Use Their Benefits to Fund Extravagance

Fact: Welfare Families Live Far Below the Poverty Line

Finally, the APA goes further to suggest some recommendations for making the family safety net called "welfare" a more successful program:

1. Federal and state agencies should provide newspapers and other media with accurate information about welfare recipients and programs, including information on welfare reform.

2. Jobs need to pay better than welfare. Rather than focusing on welfare time limits, policy action at the state and federal levels must address reforming the low-wage labor market by raising wages and increasing the ability of low-wage workers to join unions and bargain collectively.

3. Public and private agencies should collaborate more effectively to promote and increase employment opportunities for women, especially of hard-to-place women.

4. States should provide training for case managers and other appropriate personnel to advocate for, support, and follow up with clients in ways that are not adversarial or punitive during their job search process.

5. States and federal agencies should fund and conduct research on the impact of the transition of mothers to work on the mother and the family and on what strategies best promote most positive outcomes for the mothers and their families.

6. States should require and fund formative and summative evaluations of proposed programs.

Thank you for your time and for all that you are doing to help us win in November!

Best,
D. Tree

Dear fellow Democrats (and likeminded Independents and Republicans):

I don't usually write posts like this on the front page, but I understand PB members plan to hold a forum on race and politics this Friday night.

For those who will be participating, I applaud your effort and willingness to participate in this forum, and I wish you all the best for a productive discussion.

I would like to suggest that anyone interested in these issues post their blogs to the Ending Racism group on Partybuilder.

This group is a moderated group with the goal of becoming a repository of on-topic information on racism, and to some extent sexism (because the two are connected).

For those interested in learning more about the group, here is the mission statement:

Racism is alive and well in our great land. It is vitally important for us to face the reality of racism in America if we are to succeed as a nation. Many citizens feel uncomfortable discussing this issue, and most prefer to ignore it. But we cannot continue to run from slavery and the Civil War and their echoes in our present. Post blogs that deal with the issue of racism and how to overcome it here.

Thanks again to all - both Hillary supporters and Barack supporters (and everyone in between) - for your hard work in getting us all on the same page when it comes to these issues.

We have along fight ahead of us, and no doubt the GOP will use very trick in the book against us. If we are not on the same page about what certain terms mean, and why they are used, we will be too busy fighting with each other to notice John McCain sneaking into the Whitehouse through the back door.

Again, thanks for all that you do and best wishes.

D. Tree

Good day fellow Democrats, I thought I would share this encouraging Quinnipiac University poll data that shows Barack Obama leading John McCain in three battleground states:

I encourage you to check out the article because there are some surprising trends in the statistics they present. For example in Pennsylvania,

Sen. Obama a solid lead of 52% to 40%. The Democrat dominates among women, 57% to 34%, but Sen. McCain leads among men. Among white voters, Sen. Obama leads by a narrow margin, 47% to 44%.

It's still early to predict how any of these trends will play out - and we all know how polls can be skewed in so many different ways they should not be thought of as the only indicators in an election.

But if trends continue the way they have been, things are looking good for the Democratic Party. By most accounts, the new electoral map indicates a strong likelihood of a landslide for the winning candidate. Let's all work together to make sure that winning candidate is a Democrat!

Thanks for all that you do,
D. Tree

As if it wasn't bad enough that Bush & Cheney have committed multiple crimes against our constitution, a new report released by Physicians for Human Rights found "clear" evidence of torture on terrorism suspects:

Former terrorist suspects detained by the United States were tortured, according to medical examinations detailed in a report released Wednesday by a human rights group.
...

The detainees were never charged with crimes.

In a 121-page report, the doctors' group said that it uncovered medical evidence of torture, including beatings, electric shock, sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, sodomy and scores of other abuses.

The report is prefaced by retired U.S. Major Gen. Antonio Taguba, who led the Army's investigation into the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal in 2003.

"There is no longer any doubt that the current administration committed war crimes," Taguba says. "The only question is whether those who ordered torture will be held to account."

George Bush and Dick Cheney have perverted our constitution, and have soiled America's reputation as a beacon for liberty and human rights.

Today, I mourn for my country.

How dare you Mr. Bush. How dare you take these innocent people and torture them for years on end without charging them with a crime.

You have made our country less safe with your irresponsible and reprehensible actions. It will take us years to undo the damage you have caused to our nation; but even if it takes years to convict you of the crimes you are surely guilty of, Mr. President, rest assured justice WILL find you.

That these men were released without ever being charged with a crime is perhaps the most condemning thing of all, Mr. Bush. You are a disgrace to the office of the president.

I am speechless, except to say this to you Mr. President. In the words of Bob Dylan:

But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

(Click "Read More" for the complete lyrics)   Read More »

The Obama family celebrated Father's Day together, attending services at Chicago's Apostolic Church of God.

Obama delivered a speech on fatherhood from the pulpit, and he didn't shy away from confronting difficult issues

"Too many fathers are also missing. Too many fathers are MIA. Too many fathers are AWOL. Missing from too many lives and too many homes. They've abandoned their responsibilities, they're acting like boys instead of men, and the foundations of our family have suffered because of it. You know and I know this is true everywhere, but nowhere is it more true than in the African American community," he said, delivering his straight-talking message to the African American congregation.

Obama continued, showing his commitment to confronting problems directly with honest solutions

"We can't simply write these problems off to past injustices. Those injustices are real. There's a reason why our families are just in disrepair, and some of it has to do with a tragic history, but we can't keep on using that as an excuse."

We need to be honest with ourselves if we are to rally together around the common causes of our time. Showing himself as the unconventional democrat that he is, Obama said it's not just government that we need to look toward to solve our problems, we must also look to ourselves

He recognized that the government has to change in order to improve the economy and schools, which is why he's running for president. But, he added, "The change we need is not just gonna come from government. It's not just gonna come from a president. It's gonna come from us. It's gonna come from each and every one of us. We need families to raise our children. We need fathers to recognize that responsibility just doesn't end at conception. That doesn't just make you a father. What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father."

A powerful Father's Day message indeed.

Best,
D. Tree

(and in case you missed my morning post about Barack Obama being named "Father of the Year" click here to check it out).