R-ISLANDER

OBAMA WANTS US IN IRAQ UNTIL ALMOST 2011

The New York Sun is reporting that a key adviser to Senator Obama’s campaign is recommending in a confidential paper that America keep between 60,000 and 80,000 troops in Iraq as of late 2010, a plan at odds with the public pledge of the Illinois senator to withdraw combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office. MORE>>>

I bet Mika and Chris Matthews don't mention this, LOL.....And why is Patrick Kennedy backing Obama who wants the war extended until nearly 2011?  After all, most R-Islanders want it ended and ended now.

ANTI-WAR JACK MURTHA ENDORES HILLARY CLINTON

In the ever-expanding support for Hillary Clinton by all segments, the anti-war leader in the house, Jack Murtha, has endorsed Hillary Clinton as the best candidate for President:

"U.S. Rep. John Murtha, a leading congressional opponent of the war in Iraq, on Tuesday endorsed Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, saying her position on the war made her the best candidate to take over the White House. "

"Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, which holds a crucial presidential nominating contest next month, said Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, was best placed to deal with the issues surrounding the war and the economy."

"Senator Clinton is the candidate that will forge a consensus on health care, education, the economy and the war in Iraq he said in a statement. "MORE:

KRISTOL? AH! MAYBE IT'S TIME TO DUMP THE NYTIMES

RIslanders get their news from a variety of sources.  One of the major outlets is the NYTimes, a resource I use daily to form opinions.  I like to think the NYTimes as a paper of record not only for the Northeast, but the entire country knows what is doing.  It has balance and is usually fastidious about accepting essays from those who would misinform or have a record that is less than stellar about getting the facts straight.

Why, do I ask, does the NYTimes hire a man who failed so miserably to get the facts correct on the Iraq War, indeed the entire Middle East situation and give him a platform to put forward the unconscionably mistaken, and deliberately so, views of the Neo-Cons?  It makes me wonder if the Times is losing it:

"Kristol was mistaken about the justification for the war, the costs of the war, the planning for the war, and the consequences of the war. That's a lot for a pundit to miss. In his columns and statements about Iraq, Kristol displayed little judgment or expertise. He was not informing the public; he was whipping it. He turned his wishes into pronouncements and helped move the country to a mismanaged and misguided war that has claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians." --David Corn.    Also read Katha Pollitt.

So, RIslanders should be aware of this awful fact.  The New York Times has deviated from printing "All the News that's Fit to Print." 

10,000 in Boston Anti-War Rally

From today's Boston Globe:

10,000 in Boston rally against war

By Stephanie M. Peters, Globe Correspondent  | October 28, 2007

As an antiwar rally waged behind her on swampy Boston Common yesterday, Linda Tobin and her two children crouched over a pair of dusty black boots, one of 156 pairs representing each New England casualty of the Iraq war.

"There are so many ways other than war to communicate, especially in this day and age," Tobin said as she moved down a row of boots, part of the "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit. Her conviction brought her the 2 1/2 hours from St. Johnsbury, Vt., with six family members, including children ages 6, 4, and 2.

"It's especially important for the kids to see this because they're the next generation," Tobin said.

Tobin, 36, was one of an estimated 10,000 people who gathered on the Common to listen to speakers, including historian Howard Zinn and Councilor Felix Arroyo, and march to Copley Square and back.

The rally was one of 11 large antiwar held nationwide yesterday as part of the National Day of Action to end the war.

Despite the drizzle, the crowd was a sea of rainbow-colored peace flags, yellow balloons, and homemade signs bearing messages such as "Support our communities, fund human needs," "Vermont says no to war," and "Bush wants your children for cannon fodder."

Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States," spoke for about 15 minutes and received the loudest reception.

"You can't have a war on terrorism; war is terrorism," he said. "When enough soldiers refuse to fight, this war will not be able to go on, and we need to support them any way we can."

Zinn is renowned for an antiwar speech he gave in nearly the same spot in 1971, at the height of Vietnam War protests.

Paul and Lois Doerr, of Wayland, attended that speech and said a stronger antiwar movement packed Boston Common then.

"I'm not convinced of the value of this," Paul Doerr, 58, said, motioning around him. "The polls indicate that everyone's against the war . . . but Bush is still getting the funding he asks for."

Last Monday, Bush asked Congress for another $46 billion for 2008 to continue war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The rally attracted many passersby, who stopped to learn what the loud music and large crowds were about, said Angela Kelly, an organizer for the New England United Coalition, which sponsored the rally.

"As soon as they found out what it was about, many people decided to stay and pick up material," she said. "I think it was a powerful demonstration that the peace majority is growing each and every day . . . we certainly brought more people in to build our movement."

There were no rally-related arrests, police said.

When do we protest at the RI Statehouse?

CARCIERI DOES NOT SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

Soldiers of the Rhode Island National Guard are scheduled to leave the Ocean State today for deployment in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Denis Riel says about 175 members of the 103rd Field Artillery Brigade will serve as military police during a security mission near Baghdad. Their rotation will last for one year.

Like mothers and fathers across the country, with a deployment in Baghdad, RI parents will be suffering over the fate of their sons and daughters and for what?  OIL and those people like Bush/Cheney/who have invested heavily in the petroleum industries.

Gov. Carcieri, by giving up so easily on sending troops to die in Iraq does them a great disservice:  it puts them in harm's way and for profit, not the U.S. not its citizens, but the profits of the few.

South Kingstown Soldier and a Wish for the Best

No matter how you feel about the Iraq War, we wish this American soldier all the best:

Soldier makes remarkable comeback
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Seven months after suffering a brain injury from a bomb blast in Iraq, a South Kingstown soldier is making a miraculous recovery

DEMOCRATIC DEBATE ON MSNBC: "I AM YOUR GIRL!"

Wow! The Democratic Candidates Night at the AFL-CIO Convention on MSNBC tonight was just great. It was so good to see candidates who actually spoke to the needs of the larger American groupings of the middle and lower classes instead of the rich and corporate classes as did the Republicans. The need for Social Security protection, the protection of company pensions from coporate greed, and most of all the need for a Universal Government sponsored health care plan were the shining moments for the Democratic agenda. And of course there was none of the nonsense about how things were turning around in Iraq as we saw with the Republican Debates last week.

In one way of the other, all the Democrats called for an end the war and start of troop withdrawal.

One of the most moving moments was when a gentleman came to the mike, filled with emotions, and explained how his retirement was destroyed by coporate greed that saw the severe reduction of his pension and his loss of health care for his wife.

He asked "What is wrong with America?" Unlike the Republican candidates --all of them-- who want to continue the insurance scams, and the protection of the obscene profits of pharmaceutical corporations, all the Democratic candidates have promised health care for everyone. NICE. I was impressed with all of them on this issue. It's always been Hillary's issue. Kucinich was great on health care as was, as always Edwards and Obama. Even Joe Biden and Chris Dodd and Richardson, our next Vice President spoke of the need.

Hillary clearly won the debate. She gets better and better. "If you want some one to fight the right wing, I AM YOUR GIRL!" Anyone of the other candidates would be better than any of the Republicans running for president, but Hillary is still my candidate. With a Democratic president there will be health care for all.

BU$H COMES TO NAVAL WAR COLLEGE, RI, TO PUSH IRAQ WAR

It is by no mistake that President Bu$h has never been to Rhode Island before.  This is Clinton Country.  One of the bluest, if not the bluest of the U.S. states, and proudly so.  We are a state interested in a progressive future for all its citizens, except for maybe the barely elected, lame-duck Governor, Don Carcieri, who is being sued for neglecting the most fragile among us, foster children.  Bu$h could not speak at any of our great Universities and colleges, Brown, URI, Providence College, Bryant, Salve Regina, etc. because the only friendly audience he could find for his presidency, his failed presidency, was a group of a few hundred naval officers, probably required to attend the speech.

There was a presence of a couple of hundred people in Newport to demonstrate against Bu$h according to the Projo, all chanting "Troops out now!"

Some of the demands the protesters were making were: 

-- Immediately withdraw all of the "occupying force" from Iraq.

-- Reparations for Iraq.

-- Full benefits for returning servicemen and servicewomen.

-- No military action against Iran.

Bu$h left in a helicopter later to go to Quonsett Point where Air Force One was waiting.

WPRI has some good streaming of his speech and Carcieri's fawning.

Anti-War Rally: Bush comes to Newport

Bush is coming to Rhode Island. At 11 a.m. people will be gathering for demonstrations against his War:

Coming to Newport: Bush, War College grads, governors and Tall Ships

On the same day President Bush is reportedly speaking at the Naval War College in Newport, Governor Carcieri is hosting a fund-raiser in the City by the Sea for the Republican Governors Association, which finances Republican campaigns for governor across the United States.

According to RGA spokesman Matt Moore, Carcieri will be joined by U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and GOP governors Jim Douglas of Vermont, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Matt Blunt of Missouri. Spellings will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will also feature a discussion of education and financial services, Moore said.

The meetings, including a luncheon, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Goat Island, overlooking Newport Harbor, where the Tall Ships are now gathering for a visit to the city this week.

The Republican contributors will also be feted at a New England clambake Thursday evening at the Eisenhower House (yes, named after former GOP President Dwight D. Eisenhower) at Fort Adams State Park.

The White House has not officially announced Mr. Bush’s visit yet, but state and federal officials have said that the Naval War College campus is being readied for a presidential visit. It would coincide with a 50th anniversary celebration of its Naval Command College, a school for military officers from around the world.

Carcieri has been in Prince Edward Island, Canada, over the past two days attending the annual conference of New England Governors and premiers from Canada’s eastern provinces.

Jeff Neal, Carcieri’s spokesman, declined comment on the governor’s fund-raiser, or Mr. Bush’s appearance, saying only that ``I expect the governor will be at the war college’’ on Thursday.
-- Providence Journal staff writer Scott MacKay