Pamela's Sharebook 

an excerpt from Pam's Coffee Conversation:

Now that John Edwards has withdrawn from the 2008 Presidential Race I've received a few emails asking me which candidate I'm supporting now.

Well, since I was originally hoping for an Edwards/Obama ticket I am now supporting Barack Obama.

When I compare the positions and voting records of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton I could find reasons to go either way. I don't doubt either candidate's sincerity, ability to perform the duties of the office or their passionate desire to do the right thing for the American people. Both campaigns have had their high and low moments, thrown a few cheap shots but, as of today, tried to rise above the muck.

Sadly, members of the media have taken more cheap shots at Hillary Clinton than anyone in the Obama campaign. I expected this from the GOP but from people like Chris Matthews, Tim Russert and Wolf Blitzer it's been a bit hard to take. If the media thinks that Hillary Clinton's moments of emotion are less flattering than a Vice President standing on the Senate floor telling a Senator to go f**k himself, John McCain's rants or Mitt Romney choking back the tears during a second place finish in the Florida primary, it says more about their personalities than Hillary's.

As a woman, I could not be prouder of the grace and strength that Hillary Clinton has shown. And even if I disagree with her conclusions I always have to admit that Hillary Clinton has a command of her facts. If there was ever a doubt that a woman could hold the office of President of the United States of America she has dispelled that thought.

I once accused Hillary Clinton of pandering to her audience and trying to sound like Bill during a visit to a southern African American church. Let's face it, on her best day Hillary isn't going to sound like a Southern Baptist preacher. However, during the course of the past year. I believe that she has found her voice. Hillary Clinton and today, Maria Shriver, have shown that you can be a strong woman, married to a strong man, and still have your own ideas and your own voice. For that alone, a generation of women will be better off.

Yet, there are a few factors that swing my vote to Barack Obama, if only slightly.

Yes, Obama was against the war from the beginning and I applaud him for his stance. However he wasn't a Senator at the time and I'm not naive enough to believe that he wouldn't have been affected by the same political pressures that affected virtually every other sitting Senator post 9/11. I don't have amnesia and I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't admit that I too, was convinced back then that Saddam might have had WMDs. I'm sure that many in the House and in the Senate had that gnawing feeling in the gut that things were moving too fast and the US should have given the inspectors more time but who wanted to be accused of being unpatriotic or soft on terror? I remember the political atmosphere in this country at the time of the initial Congressional vote on Iraq even if everyone else wants to pretend that they've forgotten. Remember, George W. Bush had Americans convinced that an Al Qaeda operative was hiding under every bush, that every letter in the mailbox could contain anthrax and that they needed to run to the hardware store to buy tape and plastic sheeting.

In light of that, I forgive Hillary Clinton for her original vote on Iraq just like I forgave John Edwards. Even though many of us had our suspicions about Bush and Cheney, we had confidence in Colin Powell. I doubt that most of us could have foreseen the lengths that Bush & Co. would go to manipulate us into a war that they were eager to wage before 9/11. If Hillary was "naive" for believing that Bush/Cheney wouldn't abuse the power that they were given what does that say about the media, the fourth estate, which bought the Iraq story without question and in turn sold it to the American public.

What I cannot overlook is Hillary's "Yea" vote on the Kyl-Lieberman amendment. Yet, even though I totally disagree with her stance, I admire Hillary Clinton's courage for taking a stance. Barack Obama and John McCain did not return to Washington for this critical vote, which is disappointing.

(read the rest ... )

From The Gavel » Blog Archive » Oversight Committee Releases Report on Blackwater Incident in Fallujah:

On February 7, 2007, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to on performance and accountability of private military contractors in Iraq. The hearing included the examination of one prominent case study: a pivotal event of the Iraq War in which four Blackwater USA security contractors were ambushed and killed in Fallujah on March 31, 2004, while escorting a convoy. The Committee has since pursued a thorough investigation, and has just released its findings based on eye-witness accounts, unclassified investigative reports, and other evidence -- much of it obtained and discovered despite fierce resistance from Blackwater. The findings include:

At the time of the Fallujah incident, Blackwater was taking over operations from a British security company, Control Risks Group. The project manager for the British company states that Blackwater "did not use the opportunity to learn from the experience gained by CRG on this operation, ... leading to inadequate preparation for taking on this task." The company's incident report states that Blackwater was informed that Control Risks Group twice rejected the mission because of unacceptable security risks, reporting: "Blackwater were informed that we had turned this task down and the reasons why were given."



Prior to the Blackwater team's departure, two of the six members of the team were cut from the mission, depriving both security vehicles of a rear gunner. These personnel were removed from the mission to perform administrative duties at the Blackwater operations center.



Blackwater had a contract dispute with a Kuwaiti company, Regency Hotel & Hospitality, over the acquisition of armored vehicles for the Blackwater team. Blackwater officials instructed its employees to "string these guys along and run this ... thing into the ground" because "if we stalled long enough they (Regency) would have no choice but to buy us armored cars, or they would default on the contract," in which case the contractor who hired Regency "might go directly to Blackwater for security." According to a Blackwater employee, Blackwater's contract "paid for armor vehicles," but "management in North Carolina made the decision to go with soft skin due to the cost."



One day before the Fallujah attack, Blackwater's operations manager in Baghdad sent an urgent e-mail to Blackwater headquarters in North Carolina with the subject line "Ground Truth." The e-mail stated: "I need new vehicles. I need new COMs, I need ammo, I need Glocks and M4s. ... I've requested hard cars from the beginning. ... Ground truth is appalling."



Because they were without maps and the mission had not been sufficiently planned, the Blackwater personnel arrived at the wrong military base the day before the attack, where they were forced to spend the night. A witness at the military base assessed that "the mission that they were on was hurriedly put together and that they were not prepared."

Read the Full Report: Private Military Contractors in Iraq - An Examination of Blackwater's Actions in Fallujah (pdf) >>

Support the Petition Asking Congress to Demand That the DoD Fire Blackwater

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: Do We Really Need More Reasons To Impeach?:

During President Bush's speech on Thursday evening, most of us heard exactly what we expected.


We expected to hear Bush say that the surge was a success. We expected to hear him bring up 9/11, Iran, and the idea of fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here. We expected to hear him pledge to give the troops all that they needed to do the job. ( except adequate body armor and tanks). And we expected to hear him say that he has listened to his generals on the ground.


However, even I was surprised to hear Bush speak of a long term commitment to Iraq. Can everyone say Korea? The American military has been in Korea for over 50 years and they're asking us when we plan to leave.


Bush has officially given the finger to the American people, Congress, member of his own political party that will be running for re-election, and any other sane person who wants to end America's involvement in Iraq's civil war. His principle "Return on Success" is just a new way of saying "Stay The Course".


If we, the American people, let this go on either he is insane or we are.

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: Honor Them!:

Honor Them!

According to CNN:


"Two U.S. soldiers whose signatures appeared on an op-ed piece in The New York Times critical of the war in Iraq were among seven Americans killed in a truck accident outside of Baghdad, family members said Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Yance Gray and Sgt. Omar Mora were members of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Gray, Mora and five other soldiers died Monday when their truck overturned near the Iraqi capital, U.S. officials said.

Gray and Mora were among seven soldiers, mostly sergeants, who wrote the op-ed piece that appeared in the Times on August 19. It called the prospects of U.S. success 'far-fetched' and said the progress being reported was being 'offset by failures elsewhere.' "


There is a line near the end of the movie Gladiator which goes: " Is Rome worth one good man's life? We believed it once. Make us believe it again. He was a soldier of Rome. Honor him. ..."


Is the United States of America worth the lives of the seven courageous soldiers that spoke out in the New York Times ? We believed it once. Make us believe it again. These were soldiers on the United States of America. Honor them.


Bring their brothers and sisters home.

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: So just how safe are we over here?:

Since September 11, 2001, the Bush administration has tried to convince Americans that our greatest concern should be terrorist attacks. They have promoted the hypothesis that if we fight them over there we will be safe over here. As a result, for many years following 9/11 many Americans who accepted the Bush/Cheney/Rove hypothesis as truth lived in fear and voted in fear. They believed in the illusion of safety.


Of course, any rational person recognizes that there is certainly a radical Islamic fundamentalist element that has declared jihad against the West but I ask myself will more Americans die as the result of mis-directed fear than from attacks by terrorists?


Over there --

The Iraq war cost is rapidly nearly the $500 billion mark and more Americans and their allies have died in Iraq than died on 9/11.


Over here --

A considerable portion of a major US city has been destroyed due to a failed levee system.

Victims of hurricane devastation are being slowly poisoned in toxic trailers.

Americans are at risk from unsafe food and other dangerous imports because there are not enough inspectors.

And now a highly trafficked US interstate bridge has fallen down.


So just how safe are we over here?


Federal, state and local government officials were warned about the dangers of the New Orleans levee system for nearly a decade prior to hurricane Katrina, but they did nothing.

Federal, state and local government officials have been warned about the problems with American infrastructure and have done very little.

As long as the US government stays on its current course of doing little or nothing to protect the safety of Americans "over here", then we have more to fear from them than the terrorists.

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: What's The Message?:

Jack Cafferty of CNN recently asked his viewers: "What message does the $592 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad send to the Iraqi people?"

It sends a message that the US government cares more about the confront of his high-level officials than it does about restoring the lights, water and safety to the Iraqi people.

Now I have a question. "What message does the $592 million U.S. Embassy in Baghdad send to the soldiers in Walter Reed, the people in the Gulf Coast, the American people and the people of the world?"

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: Awaken Sleeping Giant:

Now that the Democrat's faustian deal to regain Congress is seen for what it is there is only one question left?

What are the American people going to do about it?

From Pam's Coffee Conversation: Dispelling The Last Argument For The War In Iraq:

Dispelling The Last Argument For The War In Iraq


OK, does anyone still believe the myth that "we can fight them over there so we won't have to fight them here"? Or the myth that any one man or political party is going to keep you safe?



I, for one, have more faith in the legend of King Arthur & Camelot.

This past Tuesday's arrests of suspected terrorists in Cherry Hill, NJ (USA) clearly illustrates that the current administration doesn't know exactly who "they" are and where "they" are?

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