Saturday, April 26, 2008

Other Items

A deputy sheriff was waiting for Leif Kamunen when he and his girlfriend pulled out of the Carlton driveway on Friday morning in her grandfather's red Tacoma pickup truck.
His girlfriend, Angela Martini, said that Leif, 22, had gotten wind the military was after him and was planning to turn himself in to an Army office in Duluth after being AWOL for nearly 16 months.
The Carlton County Sheriff's Office saved him the trouble, arresting him about 7 a.m. on a desertion warrant.
Kamunen is one of three brothers from northern Minnesota who went AWOL from the Army at virtually the same time about 16 months ago, not returning to basic training after a Christmas break in 2006.
His twin brother, Luke, was spotted during a traffic stop in spring 2007 and arrested on a desertion warrant. He was flown to Fort Knox, Ky., where he was given an "other than honorable discharge" last year. He is now working and attending Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet.
The whereabouts of the third brother, Leo, remained a bit of a mystery on Friday night.

That's the opening to Randy Furst's "Deputy nabs second of three AWOL Minnesota brothers" (Minnesota Star Tribune). The Kamunen brothers self-checkedout in December of 2006 and quickly went public about it. If you never heard of them in all this time, take it up with the lousy 'independent' media in this country. Amy Goodman never interviewed or mentioned them. In fact Joel Bleifuss (In These Times, June 2007) was the only one to cover about them. All the outlets and only Joel?

The Kamunen brothers were class of 2007 and class of 2007 was completely ignored.


Charlie notes "HUBdate: 'A Rock Star Welcome'" (HillaryClinton.com):

"A Rock Star Welcome" Hillary received "a rock star welcome" from more than 3,000 supporters gathered last night in East Chicago, IN. "Amanda McKinney...said she entered Friday's event as a skeptic and left as a believer. 'I thought it was very informative. It wasn't just about charm and charisma,' McKinney said, officially renouncing her former support for Obama." Read more.
"Talk is Cheap" Yesterday, Sen. Obama renewed false attacks on Hillary for not standing up to the oil industry while he is the only candidate to have voted for the Bush-Cheney energy bill and has taken more money from oil company executives than any other candidate in the race. Hillary's response: "When it came time to stand up against the oil companies and stand against Dick Cheney's energy bill, my opponent voted for it and I voted against it. And that bill had billions of dollars in giveaways to the oil companies. It was the best bill that the energy companies could buy." Read more and read Hillary's response.
"It's Time for Leadership" Yesterday, Hillary launched a new ad airing in NC and IN highlighting her plan to take on oil companies and lower the cost of gas for Hoosier families: "These days it costs fifty bucks to fill up the tank. How can Indiana families afford that? ...With gas this expensive, talk is cheap. It's time for leadership." Watch it here.
The Tide is Turning: A new Gallup poll shows "support for [Hillary] is significantly higher in…post-primary interviews than...just prior to her Pennsylvania victory...Obama's lead dwindled steadily all week, falling from a high of 10 percentage points." Hillary and Sen. Obama are statistically tied, and Hillary now leads nationally against Sen. McCain (47-45). Read more.
Striking a Chord in NC: Hillary’s NC economic solutions have "struck home in the mountains, where working people feel the pinch from the state’s highest housing and fuel costs, thousands of workers have lost high-paying manufacturing jobs, and scores of local soldiers have served multiple tours in Iraq or Afghanistan...'I don’t know how anybody who listened to her tonight could vote for anybody else,' said Madison County resident Charles Tolley." Read more.
Previewing Today: Hillary campaigns across Indiana, holding "Solutions for the American Economy" rallies in South Bend, IN and Fort Wayne, IN.
On Tap: Hillary will meet with voters across North Carolina this Sunday evening through Tuesday morning. Monday, Hillary will attend a Club 44 event in Charlotte, NC.

The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:

Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
Trina's Trina's Kitchen;
Ruth's Ruth's Report;
and Marcia's SICKOFITRADLZ

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