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Democrats and the Liberal Media attack Jindal in bid to cripple his Presidential Ambitions for 2012

The Democrats and their supporters in the liberal media have already begun a campaign to ensure the re-election of Barack Obama in 2012. Nothing is being left to chance. Likely Republican challengers for the presidency have been targeted. Bobby Jindal has come in for special treatment in recent weeks. The New York Times as usual has joined the fray with several unflattering articles. The Los Angeles Times also focussed on the negative when analysing his follow up speech to Barack Obama.

In a clip from liberal talk host Mike Malloy's nationally-syndicated radio show (25 February 2009)- viewable here Malloy laughs as his wife / producer openly mocks Bobby Jindal using a bigoted, mocking voice. This has a racist tone.

Here New York Sen. Chuck Schumer is highly critical of Bobby Jindal on MSNBC prior to Jindal's response to Obama

The Democrats and their friends in the liberal media appear to have launched a pre-emptive strike to damage Jindal before his campaign gets off the ground. Similarly the attacks on Sarah Palin and her family were designed to cripple her prospects for 2012.

Clifford T Ward Gaye-Original Sound with lyrics

Clifford T. Ward

Gaye,
Won't you let me have a say
In the way you behave,
I won't last another day
If you decide to go away.

CHORUS:
You're the tray of nice things
I upset yesterday,
The display of bright rings
I let slip away.

****

Oh Gaye,
You allay my every fear
In a most extraordinary way,
If I thought that I could find
my way without you
I would not ask you to stay.

CHORUS:
You're the tray of nice things
I upset yesterday,
The mainstay of my dreams
That I let slip away.

****

Gaye,
Won't you let me have a say
In the way you behave,
I won't last another day
If you decide to go away.

Don't go away,
Oh please stay,
Don't go away,
Please stay.

Pneumonia and other lung infections are the number-one killers of children worldwide

DAKAR, 27 February 2009 (IRIN)

Pneumonia and other lung infections are the number-one killers of children worldwide – deadlier than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, but in developing countries lacking medical staff and laboratories the illnesses are often treated blindly with antibiotics. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced it will give US$40 million to improve screenings for pneumococcal disease - the most common forms being pneumonia and meningitis.

In five developing countries yet to be selected, Gates Foundation will pay for laboratories to use screening techniques such as inflating children’s lungs with mist to get lung samples, and MassTag PCR technology to test for up to 30 causes of infection. Samba Sow, the director of Mali’s Centre for Vaccine Development, told IRIN that improving diagnostics is just as critical to saving lives as vaccines. “A given vaccine will cure only certain serotypes [strains]. Few [sub-Saharan African] countries can say ‘here is the data, this is the vaccine we need.’”

The World Health Organization (WHO) in August 2008 approved the use of a pneumococcus vaccine in 72 countries that qualify for donations from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). The alliance plans in 2009 to offer vaccines - donated by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals - that protect against seven strains of the lung disease – 1.3 million in Rwanda and 500,000 in The Gambia. Candy GAVI has estimated that accurate pneumonia diagnostics and vaccinations can save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children every year.

Sow told IRIN the true number of children dying from or vulnerable to pneumonia is hard to measure. WHO estimates two million deaths per year worldwide from acute respiratory infections, of which pneumonia is the most common. Sow said when children fall ill in Africa, they are most often treated for malaria without laboratory confirmation. “People almost never think about pneumonia. If a child is lucky, the antibiotic [given] will kill the [pneumococcus] pathogens. In Africa, antibiotics are used like candy.” Medical studies have shown that more than one-third of pathogens causing pneumococcus are resistant to antibiotics. “Patients are still at risk of dying even with antibiotics,” said Sow. “Good diagnoses can save lives. And the ideal is to have vaccines to treat those accurate diagnose. (IRIN)

Texas Governor Rick Perry in sensational call for deployment of US troops on Mexico border

40,000 Mexican soldiers are deployed across the country in a campaign to root out drug cartels. There are four major cartels: The Sinaloa cartel, the Gulf cartel, the Tijuana cartel, and the Juarez cartel. They control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the US. The drug cartels are believed to be operating in many US cities.

The seriousness of the situation can be gauged from the fact that of the 6,000 murders in Mexico in 2008, 90% were drug related. Cartels are at war with each other - over territory-and with the government. There have been huge drug seizures, and senior cartel leaders have been imprisoned or killed.

It is estimated that 1300 people have been murdered so far in 2009-testament to the fact that that the level of violence is escalating. Atrocities include decapitation,cutting out of tongues and the use of acid in addition to the the usual shootings, kidnappings and robberies. Mexico is sending up to 5,000 new troops and federal police into Ciudad Juarez, where there is open warfare amongst drug gangs. Ciudad Juarez is across the U.S. border from El Paso, Texas. So far this month 250 people have been murdered in the city by hitmen.

It is against this background that Texas Governor Rick Perry has called on the Obama administration to provide 1000 troops to help guard the Texas-Mexican border and prevent an overspill of violence.

Steve Ellis and Love Affair:Bringing on back the good times

Love Affair sold more singles in 1968 in the UK than any other band, except for The Beatles. This classic hit comes from 1969 and it got to no.9 in the charts of that very year!

Jindal response to Obama speech prepares the ground for 2012 challenge

Governor Jindal's response to president Obama's speech has been criticized in some quarters as somewhat anodyne. Undoubtedly his delivery was largely monotone and somewhat devoid of passion. However on balance he is likely to benefit from this speech. He skilfully stitched his family background into the record. He stressed his humble origins. There is an uncanny resemblance between his upbringing and that of Barack Obama.

He stresses core Republican values such as lower personal and business taxation and less government. Here he is appealing to the GOP base. His speech is interspersed with a mix of criticism and praise for Barack Obama. Thus he comes across as fair minded and not meanspirited. Jindal is aiming to increase his profile among the electorate as he prepares to campaign for the GOP nomination for the 2012 presidential election. This speech should increase his recognition factor.
It is likely that Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Bobby Jindal will be front-runners in the race for the GOP nomination for 2012.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal gives the GOP response to President Obama's address Tuesday-Transcript

Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in the history of our Republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American president stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his speech tonight, the president completed a redemptive journey that took our nation from Independence Hall to Gettysburg to the lunch counter and now, finally, the Oval Office.

Regardless of party, all Americans are moved by the president's personal story -- the son of an American mother and a Kenyan father, who grew up to become leader of the free world.

Like the president's father, my own parents came to this country from a distant land. When they arrived in Baton Rouge, my mother was already 4-½-months pregnant. I was what folks in the insurance industry now call a "pre-existing condition." To find work, my dad picked up the yellow pages and started calling local businesses. Even after landing a job, he could still not afford to pay for my delivery, so he worked out an installment plan with the doctor. Fortunately for me, he never missed a payment.

As I grew up, my mom and dad taught me the values that attracted them to this country, and they instilled in me an immigrant's wonder at the greatness of America. As a child, I remember going to the grocery store with my dad. Growing up in India, he had seen extreme poverty. And as we walked through the aisles, looking at the endless variety on the shelves, he would tell me: "Bobby, Americans can do anything." I still believe that to this day: Americans can do anything. When we pull together, there is no challenge we can't overcome.
As the president made clear this evening, we are now in a time of challenge. Many of you listening tonight have lost jobs. Others have seen your college and retirement savings dwindle. Many of you are worried about losing your health care and your homes. And you are looking to your elected leaders in Washington for solutions.

Republicans are ready to work with the new president to provide those solutions. Here in my state of Louisiana we don't care what party you belong to, if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation's capital. All of us want our economy to recover and our nation to prosper. So where we agree, Republicans must be the president's strongest partners. And where we disagree, Republicans have a responsibility to be candid and offer better ideas for a path forward.

Today in Washington, some are promising that government will rescue us from the economic storms raging all around us.
Those of us who lived through Hurricane Katrina -- we have our doubts.
Let me tell you a story.
During Katrina, I visited Sheriff Harry Lee, a Democrat and a good friend of mine. When I walked into his makeshift office, I'd never seen him so angry. He was yelling into the phone: "Well, I'm the Sheriff and if you don't like it you can come and arrest me!" I asked him: "Sheriff, what's got you so mad?" He told me that he had put out a call for volunteers to come with their boats to rescue people who were trapped on their rooftops by the floodwaters. The boats were all lined up ready to go, when some bureaucrat showed up and told them they couldn't go out on the water unless they had proof of insurance and registration. I told him, "Sheriff, that's ridiculous." And before I knew it, he was yelling into the phone: "Congressman Jindal is here, and he says you can come and arrest him too!" Harry just told the boaters to ignore the bureaucrats and go start rescuing people.

There is a lesson in this experience: The strength of America is not found in our government. It is found in the compassionate hearts and the enterprising spirit of our citizens. We are grateful for the support we have received from across the nation for the ongoing recovery efforts. This spirit got Louisiana through the hurricanes and this spirit will get our nation through the storms we face today.

To solve our current problems, Washington must lead. But the way to lead is not to raise taxes and not to just put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians. The way to lead is by empowering you, the American people. Because we believe that Americans can do anything.
That is why Republicans put forward plans to create jobs by lowering income tax rates for working families, cutting taxes for small businesses, strengthening incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers, and stabilizing home values by creating a new tax credit for home-buyers. These plans would cost less and create more jobs.
But Democratic leaders in Congress -- they rejected this approach. Instead of trusting us to make wise decisions with our own money, they passed the largest government spending bill in history, with a price tag of more than $1 trillion with interest. While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes $300 million to buy new cars for the government, $8 billion for high-speed rail projects, such as a "magnetic levitation" line from Las Vegas to Disneyland, and $140 million for something called "volcano monitoring." Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, D.C.

Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line, and saddle future generations with debt. Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible. And it's no way to strengthen our economy, create jobs, or build a prosperous future for our children.

In Louisiana, we took a different approach. Since I became governor, we cut more than 250 earmarks from our state budget. To create jobs for our citizens, we cut taxes six times -- including the largest income tax cut in the history of our state. We passed those tax cuts with bipartisan majorities. Republicans and Democrats put aside their differences -- we worked together to make sure our people could keep more of what they earn. If it can be done in Baton Rouge, surely it can be done in Washington, D.C.
To strengthen our economy, we need urgent action to keep energy prices down. All of us remember what it felt like to pay $4 at the pump and unless we act now, those prices will return.

To stop that from happening, we need to increase conservation, increase energy efficiency, increase the use of alternative and renewable fuels, increase our use of nuclear power, and increase drilling for oil and gas here at home. We believe that Americans can do anything and if we unleash the innovative spirit of our citizens, we can achieve energy independence.

To strengthen our economy, we also need to address the crisis in health care. Republicans believe in a simple principle: No American should have to worry about losing their health coverage -- period. We stand for universal access to affordable health care coverage. What we oppose is universal government-run health care. Health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients, not by government bureaucrats. We believe Americans can do anything, and if we put aside partisan politics and work together, we can make our system of private medicine affordable and accessible for every one of our citizens.

To strengthen our economy, we also need to make sure every child in America gets the best possible education. After Katrina, we reinvented the New Orleans school system, opening dozens of new charter schools, and creating a new scholarship program that is giving parents the chance to send their children to private or parochial schools of their choice. We believe that, with the proper education, the children of America can do anything. And it shouldn't take a devastating storm to bring this kind of innovation to education in our country.

To strengthen our economy, we must promote confidence in America by ensuring ours is the most ethical and transparent system in the world. In my home state, there used to be saying: At any given time, half of Louisiana was said to be half under water, and the other half is under indictment. No one says that anymore. Last year, we passed some of the strongest ethics laws in the nation and today, Louisiana has turned her back on the corruption of the past. We need to bring transparency to Washington, D.C., so we can rid our Capitol of corruption and ensure we never see the passage of another trillion dollar spending bill that Congress has not even read and the American people haven't even seen.

As we take these steps, we must remember for all our troubles at home, dangerous enemies still seek our destruction. Now is no time to dismantle the defenses that have protected this country for hundreds of years, or make deep cuts in funding for our troops. America's fighting men and women can do anything. If we give them the resources they need, they will stay on the offensive, defeat our enemies, and protect us from harm.

In all these areas, Republicans want to work with President Obama. We appreciate his message of hope, but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington -- they place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you, the American people. In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government. We oppose the National Democratic view that says the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, to empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and to create jobs.

In recent years, these distinctions in philosophy became less clear -- our party got away from its principles. You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline and personal responsibility. Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust -- and rightly so.

Tonight, on behalf of our leaders in Congress and my fellow Republican governors, I say this: Our party is determined to regain your trust. We will do so by standing up for the principles that we share, the principles you elected us to fight for, the principles that built this into the greatest, most prosperous country on earth.
You know, a few weeks ago, the president warned that our nation is facing a crisis that he said "we may not be able to reverse." Our troubles are real, to be sure. But don't let anyone tell you that we cannot recover. Don't let anyone tell you that America's best days are behind her. This is the nation that cast off the scourge of slavery, overcame the Great Depression, prevailed in two World Wars, won the struggle for civil rights, defeated the Soviet menace, and responded with determined courage to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The American spirit has triumphed over almost every form of adversity known to man, and the American spirit will triumph again.

We can have confidence in our future, because, amid all of today's challenges, we also count many blessings: We have the most innovative citizens, the most abundant resources, the most resilient economy, the most powerful military, and the freest political system in the history of the world. My fellow citizens, never forget: We are Americans. And like my dad said years ago, Americans can do anything.
Thank you for listening. God bless you. God bless Louisiana. And God bless America.