I Don’t Hate America!

Recent news concerning Dr. Brian Davis of the Mayo Clinic has caused me to write. Ollie from Bluestem caused quite a stir with the conservative author at “Blonde Sagacity.” Apparently it was enough of a stir to get Dr. Brian Davis to answer Ollie’s questions on the (not surprising) conservative blog.

The posts are related to Dr. Brian Davis view on embryonic stem cell research and his ties with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology (ASTRO). Ollie writes:

“Mayo cancer doc Brian Davis came out with his views:

Mayo Clinic cancer physician Brian Davis said he was committed to conservative values like protecting life, stem cell research, no same-sex marriages, securing our borders and remaining offensive in the Global War on Terror.

“You don’t need to destroy a human embryo to do stem cell research,” Davis explained.

This is interesting. Brian J. Davis was in Walz’s DC office in April on behalf of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology & Oncology(ASTRO) to discuss Walz’s position about stem cell when he told Walz of his potential plans to challenge him in 2008, according to the Rochester Post Bulletin. The Cancer Leadership Council includes ASTRO among supporters of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act.

Will Davis continue to be active in an organization that supports legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research? We’re curious if he shared ASTRO’s agenda with New Ulm’s GOP funsters, or confided his opposition to embryonic stem cell research with Congressman Walz back in April while lobbying on behalf of ASTRO.”

Dr. Brian Davis answers these questions on the conservative blog:

1. Will Davis continue to be active in an organization that supports legislation to expand embryonic stem cell research?

Yes, I anticipate remaining active in this organization. While I may take issue with ASTRO’s stance on this particular issue, I remain supportive of the broader aims of the organization as they relate to providing quality cancer care to our patients and supporting cancer research.

2. We’re curious if he shared ASTRO’s agenda with New Ulm’s GOP funsters.

No, this was not a topic of discussion at the meeting in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota with the group from New Ulm and elsewhere.

3. Did Davis confide his opposition to embryonic stem cell research with Congressman Walz back in April while lobbying on behalf of ASTRO?

No, our discussions were focused primarily on the specific legislative agenda of ASTRO’s at that time. This agenda did not include any references to embryonic stem cell research. Nonetheless, Congressman Walz shared some of his views on embryonic stem cell research but did not inquire about mine. Consequently, I did not take the time to relate my personal views to him on this matter.

As a representative for ASTRO, Dr. Brian Davis should fully support measures that were passed as part of the organization’s legislative agenda. I keep thinking about how MSUSA students advocate for 0% tuition because we voted for this wording in our own agenda. When visiting with legislators, we are bound by our representation of MSUSA and the students to push a 0% tuition increase, not go there on our own and say we don’t personally care if tuition is increased. Dr. Brian Davis stated, “Consequently, I did not take the time to relate my personal views to him on this matter” referring to embryonic stem-cell research. If I was meeting with a legislator (or in his case, a congressman!) and they told me their stance on tuition, would I not take the time to advocate for my organization’s view… especially if I am there on behalf of the organization? Apparently if I didn’t feel strongly enough, I could ignore it. He pushed aside his trip to represent his organization, to represent himself instead. This is evidenced by his hinting of running against Walz.

The second statement that concerned me was his view on embryonic stem-cell research. Ollie quoted him saying, “You don’t need to destroy a human embryo to do stem cell research.” As a medical professional and person that people look up to, I am astonished that his personal bias goes beyond sound medical research. As a doctor, I respect him greatly for his work. I work with great doctors that excel in their practice. As a candidate for Walz’s seat, I criticize his belief that embryonic stem-cell research is the destruction of life. It is saving lives from soon-to-be-already-destroyed embryos! The American Medical Association, the organization that physicians are members of supports fully-funded embryonic stem-cell research. What is Dr. Brian Davis trying to prove when he doesn’t follow what research papers, organizations that he’s a part of, and many of his republican colleagues all agree on?

Just a quick paragraph from my 10-page research paper entitled, “Stem Cell Research: The Morality Policy and What Nurses Can Do”:

The authors, along with many organizations from the scientific community like the American Academy of Neurology and the American Medical Association show a congruent trend toward fully funding stem-cell research. Discussions are made on the ethics and how current restrictions limit research, slowing progression toward useful treatments. There were similar guidelines put forth among the articles that suggest new ways of ethically advocating stem-cell research (McCloskey, 2002; Okie, 2005). These guidelines tended toward stem-cell advocates and still the moral policy of opponents is challenged. The Committee on the Biological and Biomedical Applications of Stem Cell Research was quoted on a number of occasions suggesting recommendations to move forward with the vast potential stem-cell research has (McCloskey, 2002). The committee suggested that life is not being taken away from stem-cell research, and that stem-cell lines are from embryos already going to be destroyed. Opponents still hold their moral convictions despite the ethical bargaining of the committee.

Sources and great reads:

Cedar, S.H. (2006). Stem cell and related therapies: Nurses and midwives
representing all parties. Nursing Ethics, 13(3), 292-303.

Ennen, K. (2001). Shaping the future of practice through political
activity: How nurses can influence health care policy. AAOHN
Journal, 49(12), 557-569.

McCloskey, B. (2002). The controversy surrounding stem cell research.
Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 3(1), 4-13.

National Institutes of Health (2006). Federal Policy
[Stem Cell Information]. Retrieved November 11, 2006 from
Web site: http://stemcells.nih.gov/policy/defaultpage.asp

Okie, S. (2005). Stem-cell research: Signposts and roadblocks. The
New England Journal of Medicine, 353(1), 1-5.

Schwartz, R. S. (2006). The politics and promise of stem-cell research.
The New England Journal of Medicine, 355(12), 1189-1191.

Mark Olson, Representative from Big Lake was sentenced today on his “misdemeanor domestic assault conviction.” Rep. Olson avoids jail, but picks up 2 years of probation among other fines. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, this is the same man that knows the cure for diabetes, determined that global warming as an issue depends on your faith, and forcefully pushed early 1900’s research papers as required readings before making a decision that smoking is harmful.

Link to an earlier post by DJ for more information on the conviction.

Star Tribune reports:

ELK RIVER, MINN. — State Rep. Mark Olson was sentenced this afternoon on his misdemeanor domestic assault conviction. He avoids jail time – 90 days in jail was stayed – but he was given two years’ probation along with nearly $400 in fines and court costs.

Olson, a Republican from Big Lake, was convicted July 13 by a Sherburne County jury for causing his wife fear of bodily harm when they collided and fell to the ground behind their home in November. He was acquitted of intentionally harming or trying to harm her after his attorney argued that he had acted in self-defense in an abusive relationship.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher, DFL-Minneapolis, and House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, R-Marsahall, have conferred about Olson’s case, but no legislative action has taken place, said Andy Wittenborg, a spokesman for the DFL caucus.

According to Anderson Kelliher, for formal punishment to take place, a complaint signed by at least two members would have to be submitted to the House ethics committee.

“Members from both sides have said they’re ready to bring a complaint, but none has been filed yet,” Wittenborg said. “People were waiting to see what happened at sentencing.”

Any recommendation for disciplinary action from that bipartisan panel would be referred to the full House for final action, most likely during the 2008 session, he said.

Serving his eighth term, Olson was suspended from the Republican caucus after his arrest. Before he was convicted, members of the House Republican leadership suggested he resign his seat.

During the trial, both Olsons testified about having violent arguments for several years that led to numerous confrontations. But they disagreed on who pushed or hit whom. They accused one another of being in a rage and causing each other fear on that November day, with Mark Olson saying his wife pushed him and they fell down only once.

Heidi Olson testified he threatened her and pushed her down three times, as well as pushing her in two other incidents and bruising her arms once by throwing two Bibles at her.

Heidi Olson, 50 , admitted in court to being ashamed that she hit her husband once and another time stabbed his favorite dresser with a knife.

Along with being on probation and paying a $300 fine and $82 in court costs, Mark Olson must have no contact with Heidi Olson and attend a 12-week behavior-oriented course.

Staff writer Bob von Sternberg contributed to this report.

Sorry for my recent lack of posting. I’ve been dealing with some personal issues as of late. I also started my new job as an RN last week! Healthcare news coming up next!

Oh man I have just been buying my textbooks for this semester and it is getting f-ing ridiculous!! Least we have a people in office like my hometown State Senator Chuck Wiger who has been purposing pilot rental programs for years…Anyway here are the Obama weekly points.

Weekly Talking Points | August 13 – August 19, 2007

Barack Obama Schedule: Last Tuesday, Barack Obama hosted a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago just before taking a stand at the AFL-CIO Working Families Presidential Candidates Forum to impressive reviews. On Wednesday, he spent the day with a homecare worker as part of SEIU’s Walk a Day in My Shoes program. Thursday, he took part in The Human Rights Campaign Forum in Los Angeles. On Friday, he visited Las Vegas, where he addressed the National Association of Black Journalists Convention and the Culinary Workers Union. Over the weekend, he served as the grand marshal of the Bud Billiken Parade in Chicago. Monday, Barack Obama visits New Hampshire for a “Taking Back our Government” roundtable in Hanover, a rally in Keene, and an event in Nashua.

On Wednesday, Barack Obama begins the Road to Change Tour, starting off in Cedar Falls with a discussion on transparency in government, followed by an address to the state AFL-CIO convention in Waterloo. Thursday, he conducts a foreign policy discussion in Council Bluffs, then visits a potluck in Atlantic before attending the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Friday, he holds a rural policy summit in Tama before delivering the keynote address at the Wing Ding Dinner in Clear Lake. Over the weekend, Barack Obama will hold an energy discussion in Waverly, speak to the Workers for a Better Iowa Forum in Cedar Rapids, then participate in the ABC News Democratic Presidential Candidates’ Debate on Sunday morning in Des Moines.

Michelle Obama Schedule: Sunday, Michelle Obama was in Chicago with her mother, her daughters, and over 500 friends and supporters at the kickoff of South Side Women for Obama. On Wednesday, Michelle and her daughters will join Barack Obama on the Road to Change tour in Iowa.

The Road to Change Tour: Barack Obama’s hitting the road this week, bringing his plans for real change to towns across Iowa. He believes that for too long, we’ve had a politics that’s put the special interests ahead of the national interests. That’s what he’s running for President to change. He believes that if we can put our government back in the hands of the American people, then whether it’s universal health care or energy independence, there are few limits to what we can achieve in this country.

On Health Care: Over the last decade, the drug and insurance industries spent $1 billion in lobbying. And their friends in Congress made it illegal for our government to negotiate with the drug companies for cheaper drug prices. As President, he’ll sign a universal health care bill into law by the end of his first term that will cover every American, cut the cost of a typical family’s premiums by up to $2,500 a year, and make it legal to negotiate with the drug companies for cheaper drugs.

On Energy: When Dick Cheney was crafting our energy policy, he met with environmental groups once. He met with the renewable energy folks once. And he met with oil and gas companies 40 times. So at a time when Exxon is making record profits, Americans are paying three times as much at the pump as they were several years ago.

As President, Barack Obama will create a National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard to accelerate the production of renewable fuels. He’s also called for us to get half of all gas stations and all consumer vehicles E-85 compatible within a decade. And he has challenged our automakers to more than double fuel economy over the next twenty years.

On Rural Issues: When Barack Obama is President, he’ll make sure the rural agenda is America’s agenda. He understands that one of the reasons small towns and rural areas aren’t thriving as much as they should be is that our government is handing out subsidies to big agribusiness rather than investing that money in family farms and building up rural communities. He knows that when we lose our family farms, we lose something that’s distinctly American, so he’ll fight to make sure that doesn’t happen.

On Ethics Reform: Unlike some candidates, Barack Obama actually believes that Washington lobbyists don’t represent real Americans. He believes that if you don’t think lobbyists have too much influence in Washington, you’ve been in Washington too long. That’s why he has done more to curb the influence of lobbyists and special interests than any other candidate in this race.

He has said that money’s influence in politics is the original sin of everyone who’s ever run for office – himself included. But he believes in leading by example. In the Illinois State Senate, he brought both parties together to pass the first major ethics reform in twenty-five years. In this campaign, he has refused to take any money from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs.

On Foreign Policy: For years, conventional thinking in Washington has said that the United States cannot talk to its adversaries because it would reward them. By any measure, not talking has not worked. Barack Obama is not afraid of losing a PR battle to a dictator – he’s ready to tell them what they don’t want to hear. And he’s not afraid of defying the conventional thinking that says we should keep our troops in the middle of someone else’s civil war but not take out Osama bin Laden if we had him in our sights. Barack Obama’s national security strategy is just what we need now – a new era of tough, principled American diplomacy to deal with 21st century challenges.

On Iraq: Barack Obama knows that the time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in. He opposed the Iraq war before it was popular to do, and he introduced a plan that would have ended the war by commencing a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq with the goal of redeploying all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that U.S. forces will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

Fundraising: In a record-breaking outpouring of grassroots support, more than 258,000 donors – 154,000 in the second quarter alone – have joined Barack Obama’s movement for change. The campaign raised $31.6 million in primary funds for a total of $32.9 million in the second quarter – all of it without accepting any money from PACs or Washington lobbyists. $10.3 million was raised online, with 90% of all online donations in amounts of $100 or less and 50% of all online donations in amounts of $25 or less.

Web: Senator Obama is running a different kind of campaign, empowering people with the tools to take organizing into their own hands. The result: more people are more deeply involved than ever before. Since the website was launched in February, more than 5,000 grassroots groups have been created, and more than 70,000 people have created profiles on my.barackobama.com.

Barack Obama’s Biography: Senator Obama moved to Illinois over two decades ago with little money and no family connections, getting a job for $12,000 a year as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Later, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law before winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate.

As a State Senator, he joined both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education and the strongest ethics reform in Illinois in 25 years. After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In the U.S. Senate, Obama has worked with the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, to pass a law that would secure and destroy some of the world’s deadliest weapons. He has also helped lead the fight for the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate, and found common ground on issues including energy policy, helping push through a provision that will offer tax credits to gas stations for installing refueling pumps with E85 – a blend of 85 percent clean-burning, domestically grown ethanol and 15 percent petroleum gasoline.

Time for another dinner with Barack Obama. While I most certainly knew that I would not get chosen to attend this dinner, I figured that it never hurts to donate earlier than anticipated. Maybe me winning a sweet sweatshirt from the recent Moutain Dew promotion “Transform your summer” in conjunction with the July 4th release of Transformers got me excited, but either way whatever. Here is the text of those that have been chosen to attend Barack’s dinner….

Gabrielle Grossman of Exeter, New Hampshire
Gabrielle worked as a 7th grade teacher but recently became a stay-at-home mom. She’s been volunteering with the campaign for more than a month. The day she signed up to volunteer, she received some tough news: her two-year-old son was diagnosed with autism.In her letter to Dinner with Barack, Gabrielle said, “Autism is an epidemic, there is not enough funding to get kids the services they need. So many kids are getting diagnosed, and there just aren’t enough resources out there for kids. That’s a huge issue for me personally.” The campaign has kept her motivated and energized throughout this tough time in her life. She adds, “At a time when you don’t feel like you have a lot of hope, it’s done the total opposite, the campaign has got us involved and given me more hope than ever.”

Brittany Washington of Los Angeles, California
Brittany is a Howard University student who wants to join Teach for America, get her doctorate in education and public policy, and possibly open her own charter school. She currently volunteers in Washington, D.C.’s public school system and says, “The windows are broken out, and there are never enough chairs or lights. It’s just ridiculous. And we expect these kids to compete with other kids who have chairs and windows.” Brittany’s mother, who relied on California’s welfare medical coverage, recently passed away at the age of 38. Despite Brittany’s repeated pleas for a cancer specialist, she was told doctors wouldn’t look at her mother because she didn’t have the right kind of insurance.
She says she admires Barack’s style of politics because “it’s honest and realistic.” As a political science major, she’d want to ask him how he’s able to work in politics and stay true to his beliefs.

Michael Wilson of Cocoa Beach, Florida
Mike is an Air Force veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom who disagreed with why we went to Iraq. He plans to talk to Barack about some of the people he met an Iraq — for example, an Iraqi physician who invited him into his home and wanted to talk about anything except war and politics — and a young Iraqi who dreamed of coming to America. Although Mike is a registered Republican, he believes Barack reflects “what America is and what America needs.” And that, he explains, is the place where “people look for freedom and hope. It’s not imperialistic; it offers a light.” He hopes that Barack will position the country to be that light again.

Dorothy Unruh of Lakewood, Colorado
Dorothy is a senior citizen who is fed up with the current state of our government. As she said in her letter, “I’m sad that our great nation has lost its stature in the eyes of the rest of the world. I have been a registered Republican for years, but recently officially changed parties so I can attend the Democratic caucus and help elect Senator Obama. He is like a breath of fresh air to my husband and me.”Dorothy has never taken part in a political campaign before, but she and millions of other voters who want change are going to be the key to Democratic victories up and down the ballot next year.

Gabrielle, Brittany, Michael, and Dorothy are just four of more than 258,000 individuals who have made a donation to support our movement for change.

Thank you so much for being a part of this drive. By participating you are making good on Barack’s promise to run a campaign funded by ordinary people, not Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.

Think about what you would ask Barack and submit your questions now:

http://my.barackobama.com/dinner

Just like last time, we’ll film the dinner and share the experience with everyone online. It should be an evening full of good conversation and good ideas about restoring the power of our government to the people.

P.S. — There’s one other opportunity to join Barack and help build our movement that we’d like to share with you.

Next week, Barack is going to be a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. You and a friend could receive free tickets and travel to New York to be part of the studio audience.

http://my.barackobama.com/dailyshowtix

To participate, all you need to do is invite someone to join the campaign this week. We’ll choose an interesting story from those we receive, and send a new supporter to attend the taping. They’ll get a ticket to the show along with the person who invited them — you!

Invite as many of your friends, family, and colleagues as you want. Our movement is about reconnecting regular people with our political system, and restoring a government that serves everyone.

If they join our movement and share their story, you could be heading to Comedy Central’s World News Headquarters in New York.

Click here for more details and to participate:

http://my.barackobama.com/dailyshowtix

You can’t make this stuff up. Well, the story does come from Fox News. If there is better proof that our current criminal justice system does an inadequate job of rehabilitating offenders, or even instilling some semblance of sanity, someone please forward it to me.

On second thought, save the policy papers and other research: I don’t have time for that, ahem, frivolous stuff.

Embattled NFL quarterback Michael Vick, facing federal charges related to his alleged participation in dogfighting, has been hit with a “$63,000,000,000 billion dollar” lawsuit filed by a South Carolina inmate who alleges the Atlanta Falcons star stole his pit bulls and sold them on eBay to buy “missiles from Iran,” FOX News has learned.

Jonathan Lee Riches filed the handwritten complaint over “theft and abuse of my animals” on July 23 in the U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va.

Riches alleges that Vick stole two white mixed pit bull dogs from his home in Holiday, Fla., and used them for dogfighting operations in Richmond, Va. The complaint goes on to allege that Vick sold the dogs on eBay and “used the proceeds to purchase missiles from the Iran government.”

The complaint also alleges that Vick would need those missiles because he pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda in February of this year.

“Michael Vick has to stop physically hurting my feelings and dashing my hopes,” Riches writes in the complaint.

Riches wants $63 billion dollars “backed by gold and silver “ delivered to the front gates to the Williamsburg Federal Correctional facility in South Carolina. Riches is an inmate at the facility serving out a wire fraud conviction.

FOXNews.com attempted to contact Vick, but neither he nor his spokesman could be reached for comment.
Vick’s attorneys, meanwhile, are negotiating a plea deal with federal prosecutors before new dogfighting charges are filed next week, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

We trust our Minnesota Congressional delegation, including and especially John Kline and Michele Bachmann, are working on getting to the bottom of this.

Crossposted at Minnesota Campaign Report

On Tuesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced the appointment of two individuals to the state Firefighter Training and Education Board.

According to a press release from the Governor’s office, “the Board of Firefighter Training and Education reviews fire service training needs, establishes standards for educational programs and establishes qualifications for fire service training instructors. The Board consists of 15 members, including 14 appointed by the Governor.”

While these positions are filled by the Mr. Pawlenty, at least one is being pushed off, namely the position of State University student to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Board of Trustees.

The individual to be appointed was scheduled to begin serving his or her term July 1.

In the mean time, the previous/current/interim/who-in-the-hell-knows-anymore student trustee, Michael Boulton, has continued to serve. During that time the board has taken up important issues such as the system-wide bonding request for the next legislative year, the election of a chairman, the selection of a president at Normandale Community College, and the tuition reciprocity agreement between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Applying for the position are Minnesota State University Student Association recommended candidates Ezra Kazee and Adam Weigold. A third candidate, Luke Hellier, also applied.

Former according to former board Chair Bob Hoffman, the learning curve for this position is “almost two years.” The qualifications of the candidates not even in consideration, how effective can a trustee be when over 5 percent of his or her term is already evaporated before appointment when the term is already barely longer than the learning curve?

The last time we criticized Gov. Pawlenty about his non-appointment we speculated that it may have been due to golfing with other governors.

This time we understand he has been overwhelmed with the I-35W bridge collapse in downtown Minneapolis so greater patience is being given, however, sooner or later this appointment must be made.

While no one will question the importance of quality firefighters, students deserve representation on the statewide board, too.

Vote today if you live in southeastern Minnesota (portions of Goodhue, Wabasha and Winona counties).  I know we have readers in Goodview, at least!

The choice is between DFLer Linda Pfeilsticker and GOP “darling” Steve Drazkowski.

You can get more information here and here and here.

We have not had the chance to meet Ms. Pfeilsticker, but during the 2006 campaign, we had a chance to meet Mr. Drazkowski, and well, if strict iron clad conservative ideology about transportation funding, abortion, gay marriage and immigration is your thing, by all means vote for Drazkowski.

And if the items listed above aren’t your thing, then vote Pfeilsticker!

Now to the polls you must go!

Let me just say that I am very impressed by a recent showing of Obama supporters at the Rochester area Obama meeting last Tuesday. Due to the fact that I am so busy I have not had the chance to post since that time. I along with other MN Students for Barack Obama (WSU Chapter) drove to Rochester to gather with other supporters. Our meeting included special guest Chris Miller, Obama’s Midwest Campaign Director. We sparked some great discussion, and at least in Rochester I can already tell it will have very strong Obama support. I was very surprised to hear that other bloggers at the event knew of me and of IDHA! Who woulda thought? Well here are the Obama points for this week! Enjoy ~Ian
Weekly Talking Points
August 6 – August 12, 2007

Barack Obama Schedule: Last Wednesday, Barack Obama delivered an address on “The War We Need to Win” in Washington, D.C. Saturday, he participated in the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum in Chicago, where he made it clear that lobbyists and special interests would not control Washington under an Obama presidency. That night, he addressed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta. He was greeted by hundreds of supporters in Park City, Utah on Sunday, before heading to Elko, Nevada for a rural issues town hall meeting. This Tuesday, Barack Obama will host a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago before participating in the AFL-CIO Working Families Presidential Candidates Forum. He’ll take part in The Human Rights Campaign Forum this Thursday in Los Angeles.

Michelle Obama Schedule: On the heels of her husband’s successful trip to Elko, Nevada, Michelle Obama heads to Reno on Thursday to meet local supporters and activists to kick off a Women for Obama chapter at a midday event that’s free and open to the public.

The War We Need to Win: Last Wednesday, Senator Obama outlined a smart, muscular national security strategy in an address to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His five-point comprehensive strategy to fight terrorism includes: getting out of Iraq and onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan, developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and their most deadly weapons, engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism, restoring our values, and securing our homeland. National security experts agreed, and pundits called it “precisely right.”

Barack on Diplomacy: Barack Obama is the best candidate to end the Bush-Cheney foreign policy of not engaging our adversaries. He believes that a strong nation should never be afraid to negotiate. Anthony Lake, former National Security Advisor under President Clinton, agrees with Obama, as do security experts from the military and the State Department, and the recent Obama for Commander in Chief Tour further highlighted what makes Senator Obama the best person to be our next Commander in Chief.

On Lobbyists: On Saturday at the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum, the differences between the candidates could not have been more clear. Barack Obama refuses to take campaign donations from federal lobbyists because he believes the power they wield is one of the main reasons we haven’t made progress on some of the biggest challenges we face. People who don’t think lobbyists have too much influence in Washington have probably been in Washington too long. The new Obama campaign signs say it all: “Not paid for by PAC or federal lobbyist money.”

Recent Developments: Last week, the Senate passed tough ethics reform that was similar to what Senators Barack Obama and Russ Feingold proposed earlier this year. The bill will force lobbyists to tell us who they’re raising money from and who in Congress they’re giving it to. Senator Obama also helped push through the Military Family Job Protection Act, extending family medical leave job protections for up to one year for family members caring for wounded returning service members. And he also helped push through three pieces of legislation to enhance American competitiveness by investing in women and underrepresented minorities. Last week, Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to reward corporations that invest in American jobs and take care of their employees by ensuring decent wages, health care, and a secure retirement.

New Ad in Iowa: A new ad is up on the Iowa airwaves showing that Barack Obama is the best candidate to change the ways of Washington.

Iraq: Barack Obama knows that the time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in. He opposed the Iraq war before it was popular to do, and he introduced a plan that would have ended the war by commencing a phased redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq with the goal of redeploying all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that U.S. forces will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunnis and Shi’a to come to the table and find peace.

Fundraising: In a record-breaking outpouring of grassroots support, more than 258,000 donors – 154,000 in the second quarter alone – have joined Barack Obama’s movement for change. The campaign raised $31.6 million in primary funds for a total of $32.9 million in the second quarter – all of it without accepting any money from PACs or Washington lobbyists. $10.3 million was raised online, with 90% of all online donations in amounts of $100 or less and 50% of all online donations in amounts of $25 or less.

Web: Senator Obama is running a different kind of campaign, empowering people with the tools to take organizing into their own hands. The result: more people are more deeply involved than ever before. Since the website was launched in February, more than 5,000 grassroots groups have been created, and more than 70,000 people have created profiles on my.barackobama.com.

Biography: Senator Obama moved to Illinois over two decades ago with little money and no family connections, getting a job for $12,000 a year as a community organizer in some of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. Later, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, became a civil rights lawyer, and taught constitutional law before winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate.

As a State Senator, he joined both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. He also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education and the strongest ethics reform in Illinois in 25 years. After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
In the U.S. Senate, Obama has worked with the Republican leader of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Richard Lugar, to pass a law that would secure and destroy some of the world’s deadliest weapons. He has also helped lead the fight for the most sweeping ethics reform since Watergate, and found common ground on issues including energy policy, helping push through a provision that will offer tax credits to gas stations for installing refueling pumps with E85 – a blend of 85 percent clean-burning, domestically grown ethanol and 15 percent petroleum gasoline.

Just stunning. This is absolutely horrible.

They are saying six dead and many more injured.

Sad. Also sad is the fact that partisan hacks are already trying to politicize this event.

I would call on people from both sides of the political spectrum: It’s been just over three hours. Politics does not need to be brought into this yet. Show some class.

[Update] A part of me thought my simple request would be futile, and boy, I couldn’t have been more correct.  I am absolutely sickened by the rhetoric from both the right and left being exhibited in the media and on blogs and through comments replying to them.

There will be plenty of time for fact-finding, finger pointing, and being “know-it-alls.”  Seven families (for now) are mourning.   Others are looking at the process of recovery.  For the sake of these people, back off the politics. [/Update]