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links for 2008-10-31

  • In a blunt assessment, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, said Thursday that there is a 20 percent to 30 percent chance that the United States and Iraq won't reach a deal to allow U.S. troops to operate in Iraq past Dec. 31.

    On a scale of one to 10, "I'm probably a seven or eight that something is going to be worked out," Gen. Odierno told The Washington Times during a visit to the 101st Airborne Division in Samarra, about 120 miles north of Baghdad. "I think it's important for the government of Iraq. I think it's important for security and stability here."

    Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish Regional Government, told The Times on Wednesday evening that he would be happy to host U.S. troops if the central government in Baghdad refuses to do so.
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    But, what will Obama do?

  • Taking the stage as one of the pre-program speakers at a Sarah Palin rally here in Rush Limbaugh’s hometown, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, fired up the crowd by warning them about Barack Obama’s judicial philosophy.

    “Just this past week, we saw what Barack Obama said about judges,” Bond said. “He said, ‘I’m tired of these judges who want to follow what the Founding Fathers said and the Constitution. I want judges who have a heart, have an empathy for the teenage mom, the minority, the gay, the disabled. We want them to show empathy. We want them to show compassion.’”

  • Internal polling for proponents of Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage in California, shows the race tied; public polls have it tied at 44% to 44% with 12 percent undecided. Internal polling for opponents of proposition 8 have the race within the margin of error.
    So it's real close
    A while ago, the No on 8 side was very worried; Patrick Guerrero, a senior political strategist affiliated with uber-gay-Democrat financier Tim Gill and a former executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, was brought on board to save the efforts. He raised a lot of money very quickly. A week and a half ago, Guy Cecil, who helped to engineer Hillary Clinton's (too) late-in-the-reason victories in PA and OH, joined as a senior strategist.
    ++++++
    Flap agrees with Frank Schubert: if it is tied or close in the internals on Monday – Yes Wins by 4 or 5 points.
    (tags: gaymarriage)
  • Today, a panoply of prominent tech and Internet leaders is taking a very public stand against a controversial initiative before California voters, which would eliminate the current legal right of same-sex couples to marry.

    Forming a group and taking out a full-page ad in the San Jose Mercury News tomorrow, the execs hope to convince voters to reject Proposition 8, which is titled “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.”
    The honorary co-chairs of “Silicon Valley Leaders Say NO on Proposition 8″ include: Brin; Bill Campbell, Chairman, Intuit; David Filo, Founder, Yahoo; Chuck Geschke, Founder and Chairman, Adobe Systems; John Morgridge, Former CEO and Chairman, Cisco Systems; Pierre Omidyar, Founder and Chairman, eBay; Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook; Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google; and Jerry Yang, Founder, Yahoo.
    +++++++
    The Silicon Valley crowd are becoming more like their Hollywood friends with each election cycle. Will there be a backlash?

    (tags: gaymarriage)
  • According to legal records on file with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, Massachusetts in the case Parker v. Hurley (514 F.3d 87 (1st Cir.2008)), some of the very organizations who are funding and driving the No on 8 campaign have argued vociferously that gay marriage should be taught in the public schools under the guise of “diversity,” and any attempt to prohibit such instruction – or to permit parents to opt their children out of it – must be stopped.

    The following are statements filed in amicus curiae briefs in Parker v. Hurley. The statements show how organizations leading the No on 8 campaign are lying to California voters when they say gay marriage will not be taught in California public schools.
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    More of the consequences should Propositon 8 fail at the California polls.

    (tags: gaymarriage)

3 Comments

  • Ling

    First, I don’t think the Iraqi govt. has enough courage to survive without the U.S. forces. Minute that happens, that Moqtada guy will run amok, not to mention the bombers. And just in case the Iraqi govt does work up the guts to go it alone, I think Obama will be more than happy to pull everyone out and send them off to Afghanistan. That’s what he’s been saying all along. That basically converts Afghanistan into an Iraq-like battlefield, while Iraq will then turn into a new and neglected Afghanistan-like place ripe for terrorists. That’s just re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic…