PA04 Blue

Demand paper ballots now

2006-12-04T07:53:00.000-05:00

Sign DFA's Petition
Put paper ballots on the agenda
The Pennsylvania State House switched from Republican to Democratic this week thanks to the careful counting of absentee and military ballots in one close race. This powerful victory happened because every paper ballot was counted. But across America votes are increasingly being cast electronically with no paper record. Had the election in Pennsylvania been conducted electronically there is no saying how the race might have been decided.
You helped elect a new Democratic House and Senate in Washington, D.C. It's time to put our majority into action. Ask Speaker Nancy Pelosi to put paper ballots on the agenda in the new Congress's first 100 hours.

I hope that when this becomes a reality, someone gives Brad Friedman at Bradblog.com his just due. He's been relentless on this issue, and deserves a lot of credit.

another lazy journalist ignores the main issue of the NSA spying scandal or as Atrios would say, "Ow the stupid, it burns"

2006-12-04T00:54:00.000-05:00

Here's another misleading and confusing article about this administration's secret eavesdropping program, in today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Democrats say they're forging a coalition to limit domestic eavesdropping on terrorists, by James Rowley of Bloomberg News. Just look at how misleading the title is, "Democrats say they're forging a coalition," ok I'll buy that, but what about this, "to limit domestic eavesdropping on terrorists." How often does this crap have to be debunked? No Democrat wants to limit eavesdropping on terrorists, period.

How often do we have to keep pointing out to these lazy journalists that the President has all the tools he needs to eavesdrop on terrorists.....LEGALLY. It's called FISA and it allows for eavesdropping on terrorists. All you have to do is get judicial approval, and if it's a emergency the approval can be retroactive. Judicial approval is required, you see, because we've discovered in the past, when powerful people have control of big fancy spy agencies like the NSA, CIA, FBI, etc. they are very tempted to abuse that power (remember Nixon? how about Edgar J. Hoover?).

Mr. Bush himself said in April 2004, "Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."

Every president since FISA was passed has had no problem following this law. FISA has been revised, five times since 9/11 to accomodate the executive branch.

What Bush is doing is breaking the law, plain and simple. That should be what journalists are writing about, not confusing the public with ridiculous arguments about who wants to eavesdrop on terrorists and who doesn't. How stupid or illogical does anyone have be to not know that every American, republican or democrat wants terrorism stopped.

This is so bad, look at the first paragraph:

Democrats, about to take control of Congress, say they will forge a bipartisan compromise to put limits on President George W. Bush's program of domestic
eavesdropping of suspected terrorists.

Democrats don't need a bipartisan compromise to tell the President to stop breaking the law. And I don't believe anyone wants to put limits on, "domestic eavesdropping of suspected terrorists." Congress is obligated under our Constitution to force the President to obey the law, and the law says, "get a warrant." That's the issue.

More nonsense:

Democrats say they already have a starting point for a compromise, noting that bipartisan proposals this year require court warrants for eavesdropping. At the same time, party leaders will be treading carefully in an effort to assure Americans that they can protect privacy without sacrificing vigilance, and to discredit Republican charges they are weak on national security.

``How will the Democrats proceed? I think gingerly,'' said Steven Aftergood, who
directs a government secrecy project for the Federation of American Scientists
in Washington. ``They can no longer function as a protest group.''

Once again, there is nothing bipartisan about requiring warrants to eavesdrop, warrants have been required by law since FISA was passed in 1978. Party leaders do not need to tread gingerly, they need to honor their commitment to their constituents, and explain why. The American public expects Congress to do their jobs, and their job is to stop the President from breaking the law. If he refuses then the only recourse is impeachment.

Towards the end of this misleading blather, Rowley finally admits that this program has been ruled unconstitutional. So why isn't that in the title of his article?

I'm not going to quote anymore of the article, it's just more of the same lunacy.

Will the Democrats stop Bush from continuing to break the law, or will they allow Bush's continued lawlessness, like the rubberstamp republican congress did?

The fact that journalists continue to misrepresent this issue is maddening. Democrats should not allow this type of sloppy reporting to cloud their judgement. No one (including the President) can pick and choose which laws they wish to obey. The Democrats cannot allow this to continue, and they need to shout it in the halls of Congress, and get on the talk shows and explain that this is simply a law and order issue, that we are a nation of laws.

Here's some advice for the Dems, explain the situation to the public, like this, Bush is breaking the law, which makes him a criminal, and this Congress refuses to "coddle criminals."

Weird, I have a hard copy of the Post Gazette article, but it's not on their website

I found it at Bloomberg News but someone has changed the title of the article to, "Democrats Seek Republican Backing to Limit Bush's Surveillance."

Maybe he's already taking some flack, one can only hope so.

SCRAP THOSE MACHINES

2006-11-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

A federal agency is set to recommend significant changes to specifications for electronic-voting machines next week, internetnews.com has learned.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is recommending that the 2007 version of the Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG) decertify direct record electronic (DRE) machines.
…
According to an NIST paper to be discussed at a meeting of election regulators at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md., on Dec. 4 and 5, DRE vote totals cannot be audited because the machines are not software independent.

In other words, there is no means of verifying vote tallies other than by relying on the software that tabulated the results to begin with.

The machines currently in use are "more vulnerable to undetected programming errors or malicious code," according to the paper.

The NIST paper also noted that, "potentially, a single programmer could 'rig' a major election."

Will this be the straw to break the camel's back? Let's hope so.

So this explains the Jack Kelly's of the world

2006-11-29T19:39:00.000-05:00

Are George W. Bush lovers certifiable?

November 23, 2006
By Andy Bromage

A collective “I told you so” will ripple through the world of Bush-bashers once news of Christopher Lohse’s study gets out.

Lohse, a social work master’s student at Southern Connecticut State University, says he has proven what many progressives have probably suspected for years: a direct link between mental illness and support for President Bush.

Lohse says his study is no joke. The thesis draws on a survey of 69 psychiatric outpatients in three Connecticut locations during the 2004 presidential election. Lohse’s study, backed by SCSU Psychology professor Jaak Rakfeldt and statistician Misty Ginacola, found a correlation between the severity of a person’s psychosis and their preferences for president: The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush.

But before you go thinking all your conservative friends are psychotic, listen to Lohse’s explanation.

“Our study shows that psychotic patients prefer an authoritative leader,” Lohse says. “If your world is very mixed up, there’s something very comforting about someone telling you, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’” - Link

Ben Sargent

2006-11-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

Jack Kelly - please go away

2006-11-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

With the morbid curiosity of one who slows down to catch a glimpse of an auto accident I can't help every now and then, to read a Jack Kelly column. The latest is titled "Beware Iraq's neighbors." He hasn't changed a bit, I guess he missed the election or hasn't read the latest polls. From his column, here's a little bit of his neocon smut:

We are at war with Islamic extremism, which is by no means restricted by the borders of Iraq. Many in the Democratic Party think we can quit the war in Iraq at little cost to ourselves, as we did in Vietnam 30 years ago. But this is a war that will follow us home.

Our enemies hate us because we are not like them, and they will go on trying to kill us unless we become like them, whether we are in Iraq or not. They cannot be appeased. We can destroy them, or let ourselves be destroyed by them. There are no other choices.

Yak, yak, yak ....same old talking points.

Let me just ask, Jack aren't you tired of being wrong and/or stupid? There's a history here. Let's take a walk down memory lane, and read some of your past brilliance.

Many in my generation get misty-eyed when JFK is mentioned. Bush could be for Generations X and Y what Kennedy was for us. - How Bush could be Generations X and Y's Kennedy ... and guarantee a GOP victory in the midterm elections, Jan. 21, 2002

But the key to victory is a regime change in Iraq. If that occurs, it is likely that other terror-supporting nations can be induced to mend their ways without resort to military force.
If Saddam Hussein were replaced by a quasi-democratic, sort of pro-Western government, then Iran would be flanked on either side by relatively free countries. This could bring about a regime change from within. - Don't rule out a quick victory --- even if prez says otherwise, Feb. 25, 2002

Should we fight Saddam Hussein now? Or should we wait until after he attacks us with nuclear weapons and kills millions of Americans? This is, astoundingly, an agonizing question for many liberals. - Saddam's American friends, April 8, 2002

Sen. Tom Daschle D-S.D., and Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., are a lot like Yasser Arafat. They launch terror attacks from ambush. When their attacks go awry, they deny ever having intended to do anyone harm. - Political terrorists, May 23, 2002

There is one other way in which war might be averted. It is the way preferred by the French, the Russians, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and many American liberals, and it would have tragic consequences for the United States. This is that Saddam will again successfully play the game of rope a dope with weapons inspectors that he has played for lo these many years, with the compliance of UN weenies who would just as soon see no evil. War would be delayed past the season for campaigning. The international coalition against Iraq would fizzle. Support for military action against Iraq in America would decline.

A number of conservative commentators have warned of this possibility, and it can't be ruled out. But I think the odds on it happening are infinitesimally small. Pundits Left and Right continue to underestimate the will and the wisdom of George W. Bush. - Why war with Iraq can be averted, Nov. 25, 2002

The French and the Germans consider themselves morally and intellectually superior to Americans generally, and to our "cowboy" president in particular. But they exceed us only in their arrogance, cowardice, and short-sighted greed. - The "Axis of Weasels," Feb. 3, 2003

But viewed in historical perspective, things in Iraq are pretty good, and getting better. The insurgents are a tiny — and dwindling — minority. Most of the country is at peace. Nobody is starving. Signs of reviving economic activity are everywhere. In no country in the Arab world are Americans as popular as they are in Iraq. - Blackout on progress in Iraq? 9/24/2003

The people who predicted that Afghanistan and the assault on Baghdad would be a "quagmires" are now telling you the insurgency in Iraq is growing. - Prez needs to adapt Nixon's Vietnamization program to Iraq, Jan. 17, 2005

The likely elevation of Howard (the Scream) Dean to the chair of the Democratic National Committee indicates many Democrats think they haven't been rude and confrontational and extreme enough.

But if Democrats obstruct just for the sake of obstruction — if the Loyal Opposition becomes the disloyal and distasteful opposition — the Democrats likely will be the Opposition for a long, long time to come. - Are the Democrats trying to lose the black vote? Jan. 31, 2005

It will be some months before the news media recognize it, and a few months more before they acknowledge it, but the war in Iraq is all but won. The situation is roughly analogous to the battle of Iwo Jima, which took place 60 years ago this month. It took 35 days before the island was declared secure, but the outcome was clear after day five, with the capture of Mt. Suribachi. - Jack Kelly: All but won, February 27, 2005

Jack Kelly: I would say that it’s going very well and really a little better than we could have expected under the circumstances. From what I understand the amount of progress that we have made in just a bit over two years is astounding with all things considered. - The Jack Kelly Interview, 6/6/2005

Aren't you even a little bit embarrassed? How about an apology for your contribution to this mess we're stuck in.

2006-11-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

looks like there is someone who's going to miss man-on-dog after all

2006-11-25T09:27:00.000-05:00

Leaked Drug Company Memo: Santorum Loss "Creates A Big Hole We Will Need To Fill"..."We Now Have Fewer Allies In The Senate"...

Let the tears flow...

Blood Money

2006-11-25T08:56:00.000-05:00

UPDATE 2-Carlyle group plans $5.5 bln bid for Taiwan's ASE

By Sinead Carew and Sheena Lee

NEW YORK/TAIPEI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A private equity consortium led by The Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] is planning to make a $5.5 billion bid for the world's biggest microchip packaging firm, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) (2311.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) (ASX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the companies said on Friday.

Gee....I wonder where the Carlyle Group got all that cash. Looks like the Iraq war has filled their coffers quite nicely (from William Rivers Pitt):

The Carlyle Group achieved national attention in the early days of the Iraq occupation, especially after Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" exposed the firm's umbilical ties to the Bush family and the House of Saud. For the uninitiated, Carlyle is a privately-owned equity firm organized and run by former members of the Reagan and Bush Sr. administrations.

Currently, Carlyle manages more than $44 billion in 42 different investment funds, which is an interesting fact in and of itself: Carlyle could lay claim to only a meager $12 billion in funds in December of 2001. Thanks to their ownership of United Defense Industries, a major military contractor that sells a whole galaxy of weapons systems to the Pentagon, Carlyle's profits skyrocketed after the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Some notable present and former employees of Carlyle include former president George H.W. Bush, who resigned in 2003; James Baker III, Bush Sr.'s secretary of state and king fixer; and George W. Bush, who served on Carlyle's board of directors until his run for the Texas governorship. One notable former client of Carlyle was the Saudi BinLaden Group, which sold its investment back to the firm a month after the September 11 attacks. Until the October 2001 sellout, Osama bin Laden himself had a financial interest in the same firm that employed the two presidents Bush.

It's time to outlaw war profiteering, Alica at Hooterville has a good post up on this subject:

As in World War II, we need to take a stand - make war profiteering illegal. President Roosevelt said, "I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster". Harry Truman referred to war profiteering as 'treason'. And in 1953, at the height of the Cold War, President Dwight Eisenhower, a real war hero, said, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

Want to stop un-necessary war? Don't allow corporations to make a profit from the blood of our soldiers. And especially corporations controlled by former presidents and politicians.

the Pentagon's proposed new Iraq war strategys explained by the General

2006-11-23T09:09:00.000-05:00

Options

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Public financing of elections - the time is now

2006-11-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

From Just 6$:

Congress would only have to spend $6 per citizen per year to publicly fund each and every election for the House, the Senate and the White House. When you consider that "pork barrel" projects cost every one of us more than $200 last year alone, it’s no contest.

Think of it. With public funding, wealthy special interests and their hired lobbyists would no longer have a commanding influence over our politics and government. Instead of begging for campaign donations, candidates would spend their time communicating with voters. Once elected, our leaders would be free to focus on our nation's challenges rather than having to worry about financing their next campaign. And there's no doubt that more of our most able leaders would run for federal office when the ability to finance a campaign isn't such a daunting obstacle.

Americans for Campaign Reform is building a nonpartisan grassroots movement of citizens who support voluntary public funding and want Congress to act now. We can make this happen. Public funding is already working in Arizona and Maine, and was just passed by the Connecticut legislature.

As citizens we can complain about the corrosive influence of our election finance system, or we can do something about it. With your help, we can mobilize citizens across the country and put pressure on Congress to enact real reform.

ACR Honorary Chairs,

Bill Bradley
Former Senator
(D) New Jersey Bob Kerrey
Former Senator
(D) Nebraska Warren Rudman
Former Senator
(R) New Hampshire Alan Simpson
Former Senator
(R) Wyoming

how ironic would it be........

2006-11-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

......if Syria and Iran save Iraq?

Bloodshed piles pressure on Iraqi PM, Bush

no reason

2006-11-20T20:40:00.000-05:00

Barney's spreading lies about the Democrats.

Fox's Barnes: It's "a theological issue" for Democrats "to raise taxes even though there's no reason except vindictiveness against the well-to-do for doing it"

No reason? no reason? somebody needs to STFU! What about the trillions and trillions of dollars of debt you Republican idiots have piled onto our children. Is there a more worthless pundit on TV than Fred Barnes?

gesture of respect

2006-11-20T20:26:00.000-05:00

Iraq war memorial sets tempers ablaze / Creators say display is a gesture of respect
The sign on Louise Clark's Lafayette property calling attention to the U.S. troops killed in Iraq has provoked heated reactions. Chronicle photo by David Paul Morris

the people have spoken

2006-11-20T19:01:00.000-05:00

Sign up Come on
This one's nothing like Vietnam
Except for the bullets
Except for the bombs
Except for the youth that's gone - Michael Franti

Someone tell the Pentagon there are not three choices, going forward in Iraq. There's only one.

Someone tell St. McCain.......more troops will just get more people killed.

Somebody tell Obama the time to start leaving Iraq is now, not 4 to 6 months from now. He doesn't get it.

Nancy Pelosi gets it. Even with all harassment she's taken from the media, since the election, she refuses to be distracted. From her own lips: ('er keyboard)

This morning, I visited our brave men and women at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center. It is a place of prayers, of honor, of respect, and reflection. And I left there more committed than ever to bringing the war to an end.

I told my colleagues yesterday that the biggest ethical issue facing our country for the past three and a half years is the war in Iraq.
This unnecessary pre-emptive war has come at great cost. Nearly 2,900 of our brave troops have lost their lives and more than 21,000 more have suffered lasting wounds. Since the war began, Congress has appropriated more than $350 billion, and the United States has suffered devastating damage to our reputation in the eyes of the world.

the troop blamer wants to be el-presidente

2006-11-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

Sorry but we don't need a president that blames the troops for their CIC's fuck ups.

From the October 28 edition of NBC's Today:

GIULIANI: The president was cautious. The president was prudent. The president did what a commander in chief should do. And no matter how much you try to blame it on the president, the actual responsibility for it really would be for the troops that were there. Did they search carefully enough? Didn't they search carefully enough?

In fact, the troops who stopped at the Al Qaqaa facility on their way to Baghdad on April 10, 2003, did not have orders to search it; nor were they even informed that the site was sensitive. According to an October 27 New York Times article, Col. Joseph Anderson, the commander of those troops -- the 2nd Brigade of the Army's 101st Airborne Division -- "said he did not learn until this week that the site, Al Qaqaa, was considered sensitive, or that international inspectors had visited it before the war began in 2003 to inspect explosives that they had tagged during a decade of monitoring."

2006-11-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

Why We Fight!

Hey GOP, "Let me introduce you to my leetle frends."

h/t ConyersBlog

2006-11-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

I Know I'm Not Alone music video

New members of the Senate - a reason for hope

2006-11-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'- Dylan

Holding up combat boots worn by his son serving in Iraq, Democrat Jim Webb announces his victory in Virginia's Senate race.

"It's time for a change in Washington. We need new priorities and real leaders who will put the interests of the many ahead of the interests of the few."

"We proved a progressive campaign that fights for the middle-class can win in Ohio."

"Yesterday, we heard the voices of Missourians, and they have said, we want change.
They have said, we want accountability, we want an independent voice willing to stand up to anyone to fight for Missouri's families, we want to restore the American dream for everyone."

"I believe in taking a new path of hope where we roll up our sleeves and go to work together to create the jobs of the future, tackle the problem of unaffordable health care, and reduce the deficit."

"Winston Churchill said that politicians work for the next election, and that statesmen work for the next generation. I will do my best to work for the next generation of Montanans, and to get this country moving forward again for the benefit of Montana’s working families."

Bernie regards terrorism as a very serious threat to the United States and the world community, but believes strongly that we can combat it without undermining the basic constitutional rights which make us a free country.

So much for the new theme that "conservative democrats" won the election. We could only be so lucky as to get an influx of new Senators this "conservative" every election.

A few words of famous advice:
Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. And, uh, if that's what the grownups have done with this world that was given to them, then we'd better get those boys' camps started fast and see what the kids can do. And it's not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!

Message to Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid

2006-11-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

Now that the Republicans have been throughly trashed (must've miscalculated the e-vote count) the talking heads and the administration want "bipartisanship"..........

If I hear "bipartisanship" one more time, I think I'm going to choke someone.

"However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses," Bush told a raucous crowd of about 5,000 GOP partisans packed in an arena at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, one of his stops Monday. "That's what's at stake in this election. The Democrat goal is to get out of Iraq. The Republican goal is to win in Iraq."

MILWAUKEE - Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Democratic leaders aren't doing enough to fight terrorism and said Americans must "reject any strategy of resignation and defeatism in the face of determined enemies."

Speaking of Democrats, Boehner told reporters, "I wonder if they're more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people.

"The House Democrat Leader does not understand that our fight for freedom does not just happen on the battlefield but also on the floor of the House of Representatives. It should come as no surprise that the Democrats in the House put their liberal agenda ahead of the security of America." - Denny Hastert

Democrats Would Let Terrorists Free - RNC headline

In an interview with North Dakota radio host Scott Hennen, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said that “it would be logical” that terrorist groups are ramping up violence in Iraq and elsewhere to give liberals a boost in November’s election.

Early voters in the heart of the heated race to succeed former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay were greeted Wednesday with red and white signs that read: "Want more illegals? Vote Democrat" and "Encourage Terrorists. Vote Democrat."

Bush listed several key anti-terrorism measures opposed by Democrats, noting that when it came to eavesdropping on suspected terrorists, detaining them or trying them, members of that party "just say no."

Democrats "must think it's OK to respond after we're attacked. I believe we've got to do everything to prevent the attacks in the first place," Mr. Bush told 5,000 cheering supporters packed into a regional park building in this small town 60 miles north of Denver.

BECK: And the Republican -- Democratic Party has not seemed to me to give anything to vote for. They've had a lot to vote against. Are they repeating the same tactics that they have done for the last couple of elections?

SNOW: Yeah, I mean, you know, I guess you could call them the party of hecklers this year. Yeah, it's interesting, because here you've got key issues. You've got the war in Iraq and the larger war on terror, and every time the president proposes something, they say, "No, we don't want to do that. We don't want to pay for the war. We don't want the Patriot Act. We don't want the terrorist surveillance. We don't want military commissions. But, by golly, we can do it better."

Here's your fucking "bipartisanship"........

Melissa Hart - so gracious in defeat.......NOT

2006-11-09T02:54:00.000-05:00

Hart says she believes she lost because of Altmire’s negative ad campaign.

“I was not going to play the games. Unfortunately I think that took a toll. In retrospect, I had everyone in Washington, D.C., significant number of my colleagues, call me and say you need to cut his legs off, was the term they used,” Hart said. “And you know what, you don’t need to cut his legs off. He clearly did that his entire campaign, he’s new at this, I that hope he doesn’t do it the next time.”

WA, WA, WA ....she can't just congradulate her opponent and move on, she has to play the victim card. Typical Republican.

Dear Ricky,

2006-11-07T21:29:00.000-05:00

Don't let the door hit ya' where the good lord split ya'.

AMF......

Great Post

2006-11-05T08:45:00.000-05:00

ARE YOU FOR THE TROOPS... OR ARE YOU FOR RUMSFELD?

Is Hart using last minute Rovian campaign tactics?

2006-11-05T08:27:00.000-05:00

TORCH SONG. The battle for the 4th Congressional District seat between Republican incumbent Melissa Hart and Democrat challenger Jason Altmire certainly got heated last week.

Fire tends to do that.

Hart campaign manager Luke Myslinski contacted his counterpart on the Altmire campaign, Christina Stacey, expressing concern that Altmire supporters "may wind up hurting someone or destroying somebody's property."

He noted that a large Hart campaign sign at a prominent intersection was set on fire last weekend. "I trust you can agree that arson is an unacceptable campaign tactic," Myslinski wrote.

He also noted that Hart's signs are being defaced with preprinted stickers attempting to libel her.

Republican Chuck Schrankel of Ross said he and his neighbors were concerned -- "I've got a Melissa Hart sign in my front yard. Is someone going to firebomb it?" -- but not intimidated.

"I'll sit out there with a shotgun if I have to," he said.

Thankfully, he will have to do that only until Tuesday.

Sounds like a Rovian ratfuck to me....who remembers this?

In October of 1986, Rove was working for Republican Bill Clements in his race against then-Gov. Mark White. A few days before the candidates were to debate, Rove discovered a listening device that had been planted behind a needlepoint picture of an elephant hanging on his wall. The FBI investigated. Accusations and counteraccusations were made. But no charges were ever brought, and the matter slowly dissipated, amid general speculation that Rove had planted the bug himself.

After all Melissa Hart was a college Republican.

2006-11-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

Freedom - better quality

h/t Josh Marshall

Taylor Marsh describes the significance of the military rejecting Rumsfeld

2006-11-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

Bush and the Republican Congress have ignored pleas from retired generals for years. Now, in an unprecedented act, the Military Times Media Group is demanding Rumsfeld step down. It is unprecedented. They are offering this editorial on the eve of the election for one reason only. Our military establishment wants a change, is demanding that it happen now. Things are dire in Iraq, and the people currently in charge are not up to the task at hand. It is a rebuke of the most serious sort.

Underlying the editorial below is something else, an awakening. After years of refusing, Republicans have illustrated they cannot do the job. Bush is not capable of doing what any competent commander in chief would do. The U.S. military establishment is asking for the people to step in, regardless of their pronouncements to the contrary. Nothing could be any plainer, because it comes after Bush's stubborn stance that Rummy will stay until the end of his presidency.

Enough. Vote for change. The U.S. military has led the way.

Now if he would only take Cheney and Bush with him.

State of Shock

2006-11-03T20:49:00.000-05:00

"In their zeal to promote the idea Saddam Hussein in fact did have (WMD), congressional proponents of the war ... have put up documents on the internet that could give terrorists and states hostile to the United States the very instructions they need to build nuclear, chemical or biological weapons," he said.

"If Democrats had done that there would be mobs carrying torches in the streets tonight. The Democrats would be accused of treason and there would be calls for resignation," Cirincione told reporters Friday.

My God, these fucking idiots are dangerous.

Keith Obermann's special commentary from 11/1 (his best yet)

2006-11-03T20:43:00.000-05:00

Part 1

Part 2

are their any words to describe this putrid, piece of shit, named Rick Santorum?

2006-11-03T19:41:00.000-05:00

He's pulled out all the stops and is proving what a fucking redneck asshole he is, here's his latest ad (saw it at downwithtyranny.com)

He's so popular around these parts that some of the good people at partisanproject.org made him some very nice campaign posters.

See ya Ricky, it's been fun and please take your wingnut, college republican buddy, Melissa with you.

Woolcott's take on the latest Republican/Christofascist gay scandal

2006-11-02T21:24:00.000-05:00

I wonder if the toothy founder of the New Life Church and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the mesmerizing Ted Haggard, fell under the spell of trade, the pagan rhythm of tea bagging beating like a tom tom on his brow. I wonder, not because I'm prurient, but because the mysterious currents of human nature fascinate me so. And because it confirms my suspicion that all Republican men are privately, passionately, exceedingly gay. According to this exciting morsel, Haggard took part in weekly conference calls with President Bush--"he and the president like to joke that the only thing they disagree on is what truck to drive."

'What truck to drive'--I wonder if that is some kind of cryptic butch gay Western lingo. It's a shame Will & Grace is no longer on the air to provide enlightenment on such matters, leaving us to forage on our own.

If they're all gay why are they always gay bashing?

2006-11-02T21:17:00.000-05:00

Let's Impeach The President

2006-11-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

The Coolest 8 Year Old In The World Talks About O'Reilly

saw this at downwithtyranny, enjoy

KO in 2009

2006-11-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

Holy shit, Obermann was on fire tonight, can't wait to post the video.

There is tonight no political division in this country that he and his party will not exploit, nor have not exploited; no anxiety that he and his party will not inflame.

There is no line this president has not crossed — nor will not cross — to keep one political party in power.

He has spread any and every fear among us in a desperate effort to avoid that which he most fears — some check, some balance against what has become not an imperial, but a unilateral presidency.

And now it is evident that it no longer matters to him whether that effort to avoid the judgment of the people is subtle and nuanced or laughably transparent.

2006-11-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Getting Out the Base (GOP Style)

The General Rules

good news today in Pennsyltucky

2006-11-01T08:01:00.000-05:00

Keystone poll bodes ill for GOP

Democrat Bob Casey has opened up a 15-point lead over Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum -- more than double the lead the challenger held in September -- according to a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/WTAE-TV Keystone poll released today.

Casey leads Santorum 53 percent to 38 percent, with 9 percent undecided, according to the telephone poll of 626 registered voters conducted over five days ending Sunday. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

A Keystone poll conducted in late September showed Casey, the state treasurer from Scranton, with a 7-point lead over Santorum, of Penn Hills, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate.

"(Santorum) is falling further behind as voters seem to be rejecting his shift in course toward focus almost exclusively on the war on terror," said Keystone Poll director G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster County.

The closer to Nov. 7th it gets, the more people are rejecting Republican nonsense.

2006-10-31T21:55:00.000-05:00

Hart loves Bush

MoveOn to the rescue

2006-10-31T07:58:00.000-05:00

• MoveOn.org is launching a sneak attack on the suddenly vulnerable Republican Rep. Melissa Hart (PA-04) with a $240,000 ad buy

what a whiner

2006-10-31T07:55:00.000-05:00

Then there is U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, touchingly wishing her opponent Jason Altmire would stop the negative campaigning -- all the while the Republican National Committee posts ads that slam the same opponent.

war and faith

2006-10-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

Melissa's rubber stamp support for Bush's middle eastern adventure is taking it's toll on her reelection chances:

"I voted for Melissa last time," Ms. Capone said. "I'm not so sure this time. I'm pretty unhappy with Bush and the way they're handling the war."

"In the district, across the six counties, it comes up all the time," said Democrat Jason Altmire, who is mounting a vigorous challenge to the 4th District incumbent, Republican Rep. Melissa Hart. What's notable, he said, is the shift in opinion about the war over the last year. He's not shying away from it on the campaign trail, discussing his view that the United States should devote more resources to fighting terrorism and less to fighting in Iraq.

And wouldn't we all like to know more about Melissa's ties to this faith-based controversy:

Kuo, darling of the religious right and once the No. 2 guy in the Bush administration's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, offers a description of a treacherous blend of public money, religion and politics that involved local Congresswoman Melissa Hart.

According to Kuo, he devised a plan to use taxpayers' dollars to boost the political fortunes of endangered Bush-favored Congress members. And Hart was among the first politicians chosen by the White House for this help.

Hart campaign in full meltdown

2006-10-28T16:05:00.000-04:00

Let's take another look at this statement (my comments in red) Melissa issued after calling the in the SWAT team on the seniors who were packing a box of loaded, glazed donuts (watch out for those jimmies, you could put out an eye!)

"Our Allison Park office is a place of business, not politics. Their unruly behavior (damn dirty hippies) not only inhibited our ability to assist constituents with real requests for help. It also infringes on our constituents' privacy (we've seen over the last 6 years how concerned Melissa Hart and the Bush administration are about citizens' privacy). We always welcome constituents into our offices who have real problems or who want to deliver real input the issues. (Hey look, the drug companies wrote the prescription drug bill and dammit you people will like it!) This was unfortunately, not the case today."

She won't debate Jason Altmire and now this, that's some extra special campaigning there Melissa.

2006-10-28T15:30:00.000-04:00

Melissa Hart Calls Cops on Seniors

senior citizens carrying donuts

2006-10-28T05:29:00.000-04:00

Seems like in Allison Park, Pa., near Pittsburgh, the biggest threat to public security is 40 senior citizens carrying donuts. Yesterday, staff at Rep. Melissa Hart’s (R-Pa.) district office called for three armed police from nearby Hampton Township to disperse the group of seniors, all members of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans (PARA), who sought to deliver donuts to Hart’s office to protest the new Medicare law.

Wow, Melissa calls the cops on seniors, good move. I think if I was running against her I might, oh I don't know.....maybe find a couple of these seniors and maybe ask them if they'd like to be part of a campaign ad.

Keep talking Limbaugh

2006-10-26T19:56:00.000-04:00

A poll released late on Wednesday showed that U.S. voters' support for stem cell research jumped 5 percentage points after they viewed a television ad in which Fox -- whose body shook with spasms -- urges them to back candidates who favor the research.

The national poll by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion surveyed 955 people on Tuesday and Wednesday and found support for stem cell research at 83 percent after viewing the ad, up from 78 percent previously.

It also said the level of concern regarding a candidate's view on the issue rose to 70 percent after the respondents viewed the ad, up from 57 percent.

How many more people saw that ad because of the pig's gross comments. HA HA

more smoke and mirrors

2006-10-26T19:45:00.000-04:00

Bush signs a bill to build a fence:

Yesterday's signing, after the collapse of numerous efforts to produce a comprehensive package of new immigration laws, was deliberately timed to be as close to the 7 November mid-term elections as possible. The bill passed the House and Senate at the end of September and could have been on the President's desk four weeks ago.

but it's unfunded:

After all, they note that the 700-mile fence bill doesn't include a penny to actually build the double-layered barrier, estimated to cost anywhere from $2.2 billion to $9 billion.

What a balancing act, trying to please the bigots but keep the latino vote. The house of cards is crumbling.

2006-10-26T19:42:00.000-04:00

Video the Vote 2006

2006-10-24T21:44:00.000-04:00

Save Social Security

strategy backfires

2006-10-24T18:39:00.000-04:00

A frustrated Republican insider said the NRCC barged into the race because national GOP leaders didn't think Hart was being negative enough in her campaign.

Doing so has apparently fueled speculation that Hart's in trouble.

We'd be happy just to see a debate. But it looks like that's out of the question.

Myslinski, however, quashed those rumors in no uncertain terms Thursday, saying that Hart couldn't have backed out of a debate because she never agreed to one in the first place.

Well why the hell not?

more reasons to vote the republicans out

2006-10-23T19:43:00.000-04:00

"Don't forget that Jack Murtha is in a battle for the majority leader post with [Maryland Rep.] Steny Hoyer and if we have the majority leader of the House residing Pennsylvania, then I think we're doing pretty damn well," Mr. Doyle said.

Mr. Doyle noted that the House Democratic caucus apportions committee seats according to the relative membership strength of different regions of the country. Pennsylvania is in a region with Ohio and Kentucky. The Democrat predicted that Democratic gains in House races in both Pennsylvania and Ohio would boost the number of committee slots available to the state.

"[Our] region ... is going to be powerful because we're where all the growth [in seats] is," Mr. Doyle said. "If we run the slate, we could have as many as 10 new seats; that's going to make us one of the larger regions."

He predicted that new Pennsylvania Democrats would be in line for seats on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means.

"If we win three, four, five seats in Pennsylvania, we're going to want to position those members of good committees, so that they can help their districts and so that their committee slots can help them in their efforts to be re-elected," Mr. Doyle said.

more good press for Altmire

2006-10-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

Until recently, Hart was considered a shoo-in to win a fourth term. She has the power of incumbency, including a seat on the influential House Ways and Means Committee, and plenty of campaign cash.

But with the election less than three weeks away, national pundits are listing Hart's race against Democrat Jason Altmire in Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District as one to watch for a possible upset.

I couldn't agree more...

2006-10-19T09:42:00.000-04:00

from Josh Marshall:

If I were Altmire's folks I'd certainly want to make the point that DeLay and Hastert put Hart on the Ethics Committee after they purged it of non-loyalists. They knew she would be a rubber stamp vote for DeLay and other House GOPers who got into trouble. That's telling.

Hart and republicans getting nervous

2006-10-19T07:21:00.000-04:00

from the NY Times no less:

Recent GOP Spending in Pa. 4 Shows Hart May Be At-risk

But western Pennsylvania, or at least the Pittsburgh-area 4th District, is getting into the act as well. The contest between three-term Republican Rep. Melissa A. Hart and Democrat Jason Altmire, a former hospital association executive and congressional aide, now appears sufficiently competitive to merit a change to CQPolitics.com’s rating of the race, to Leans Republican from Republican Favored.

While the “Leans” rating means Hart still maintains an edge in the race, it also means that Altmire is waging a tougher fight than earlier expected and that an upset is a more plausible possibility. The previous “Favored” rating suggested that Altmire was a more distinct underdog.

As in many House districts in this difficult election year for the Republicans, national GOP officials unintentionally signaled the more uncertain outcome by rushing in resources and airing television advertisements in the 4th District, which takes in suburbs and exurbs of Pittsburgh — and which backed President Bush in 2004 by 54 percent to 45 percent.

According to a filing with the Federal Election Commission, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) on Tuesday reported spending $163,000 to produce and air a television ad opposing Altmire — one day after the House GOP campaign committee reported spending $10,569 to poll the district. (Altmire recently released a poll taken for his campaign that showed him trailing Hart by just 48 percent to 44 percent).

Altmire’s campaign now is airing a television ad that criticizes Hart while praising his own resume and stances on issues. Echoing a theme used by numerous Democratic candidates nationwide, Altmire accuses the incumbent of voting in near-unanimity with Bush, whose popularity has sharply declined nationally and statewide in the two years since he was re-elected as president.

running scared

2006-10-18T18:42:00.000-04:00

Political analyst G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, said the 4th District race, like many races, is more about voters' attitudes on the Iraq war, President Bush and the Republican Party than any one candidate.

Incumbents "are running hard and running scared if they're Republicans," he said.

Melissa declines to debate?

2006-10-17T16:38:00.000-04:00

PA-04 DEBATE UPDATE

someone's paying attention

2006-10-16T11:53:00.000-04:00

DCCC Emerging Races

well that settles that...

2006-10-16T10:54:00.000-04:00

the rumors are wrong, Bush is staying put:

Bush tells Iraq PM: Ignore deadline talk

WASHINGTON -
President Bush personally assured Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Monday that he has no plans to pull troops out and told him to ignore rumors the United States would enforce a timeline against Baghdad.

The president's pledge came in a 15-minute morning phone call with al-Maliki, who told Bush he was concerned because he had been hearing that the United States was giving him a two-month timeline to operate on his own.

troop reduction?

2006-10-16T10:04:00.000-04:00

from the Chicago Tribune:

Way forward in (out of?) Iraq

[snip]

For all the buzz that Republican heavyweight Jim Baker has generated with his public talk about an alternative to the “stay-the-course’’ or “cut-and-run’’ approaches to the war in Iraq, it will be some time before the bipartisan Iraq Study Group which Baker co-chairs will offer any glimpse at any alternative course of action.

“We're not trying to outsource the president's job as commander-in-chief,’’ Snow said.

Honestly, that's the one job in the whole country we wouldn't mind being outsourced.

[snip]

“The Iraq Study Group was created pursuant to an act of Congress, and certainly we'll want to hear what the Democrats and Republicans on the bipartisan panel have to say,’’ Snow said. “But the president also listens to a lot of other voices, and he's going to do what he thinks best pursues the aim that we have always said we want to achieve, which is a democratic Iraq, an ally in the war on terror, that is able to sustain, govern and defend itself.’’

"I hear the voices" - G. W. Bush 4/18/06, frightening isn't it. Guess he's still hearing them.

[snip]

“I think what Jim said was that there are options other than cut and run and staying the course,’’ he said. “And if you look carefully at his statement it was simply a statement of fact. He was not advocating anything… He was saying there are other options, and that is correct. He and I can’t walk out the door without people giving us recommendations.’’

Why don't they just listen to John Murtha.

To Redeploy U.S. Forces from Iraq.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MR. MURTHA introduced the following joint resolution, which was referred to the Committee on ____________________________

Whereas Congress and the American People have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to "promote the emergence of a democratic government";

Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U.S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;

Whereas more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;

Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;

Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency;

Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80% of the Iraqi people want the U.S. forces out of Iraq;

Whereas polls also indicate that 45% of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified;

Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action;

Therefore be it

1) Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in
2) Congress assembled,
3) That:
4) Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is
5) hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable
6) date.
7) Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines
8) shall be deployed in the region.
9) Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq
10) through diplomacy.

No, they couldn't debate that resolution, they chose to mock Murtha, a 37 year Marine Veteran, by rewriting his resolution and introducing it as a "cut and run proposal." Duncan Hunter worded it as follows:

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately. Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately.

I think Atrios is right as long as Bush is president they'll be no troop reductions.

PA-04 race tightening up

2006-10-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

Al Franken visits the 'burgh.

when is the Democratic Party going to hire Glenn Greenwald

2006-10-15T11:10:00.000-04:00

his posts are priceless:

Democrats so rarely mold, shape or drive public opinion because their consultants and pundits operate from the premise that passion and principle are to be avoided at all costs. Stripped to its essence, the core advice of these consultants, which most national Democrats have been embracing, is to follow, not lead. But Americans -- understandably -- want to elect leaders, not followers, and that is why nothing has been more damaging to the Democratic Party brand than the self-consciously clever, soul-less, fear-driven advice of their consultants to abandon their own beliefs.

Murtha

2006-10-15T10:22:00.000-04:00

"Democrats are fighting a war on two fronts: One is combating the spin and intimidation that defines this administration. The other is fighting to change course, to do things better, to substitute smart, disciplined strategy for dogma and denial in Iraq.

"That's not defeatism. That's our duty," Murtha wrote.

say it louder

2006-10-15T10:04:00.000-04:00

from the Beaver Co Times:

No joke
10/15/2006

Here's another example of lies, damn lies and statistics when it come to the federal budget.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the federal deficit for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30 was not the official $260 billion that many Washington types were puffed up about. Another $177 billion in debt needed to be added to the bottom line.

That's because "Washington's funny math excluded the Social Security trust fund, which is running a $177 billion surplus this year," the paper reported. "Washington spends it, but doesn't count it as spending. It's officially listed as 'off-budget' borrowing."

So it really doesn't matter if the official deficit of $260 billion was $58 billion lower than last year's and about $77 billion lower than projections at the beginning of the fiscal year. The real deficit was $437 billion.

When it comes to American children reaching proficiency in math by 2014, as President Bush has called for under his No Child Left Behind Act, it's obvious that members of the legislative and executive branches are falling far short of making adequate yearly progress, and the only way for them to hide that from the public is to cheat. By cooking the books, they hid more than one-third of their deficit spending last year.

Unfortunately, budgetary proficiency by 2014 will be too late for our children and grandchildren. Washington's funny way of doing math is going to bury them in debt - and that's no laughing matter.

This is an issue that's easy to understand, pay now or foist it on our children. Seems like a moral issue to me.

SIGNE WILKINSON

2006-10-15T09:47:00.000-04:00

how true

2006-10-15T09:39:00.000-04:00

from the Trib:

Political tsunami

[snip]

Hart, once a likely winner, now has two things going against her that certainly would have helped in prior elections: She is closely aligned with George W. Bush and she is a three-term member of the House Republican majority.

2006-10-14T11:52:00.000-04:00

Do more than vote

saw this at Taylor Marsh...

Passion of the Mel

2006-10-14T10:44:00.000-04:00

sounds like Mel's taking lessons from the republicans:

Actor Mel Gibson says his drunken, anti-Semitic outburst at police this past summer may have stemmed in part from lingering resentment he harbored over the barrage of Jewish criticism leveled at his 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ."

no money for Melissa

2006-10-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

from Josh Marshall:

Huge amount of independent expenditures today by the NRCC: $9.3 million.

If you follow the link you'll find that none of it went to PA04. What does it mean?

Had Enough?

2006-10-14T09:03:00.000-04:00

Does anyone see a problem here?

$19,999 FROM HASTERT

+$25,442 FROM BOEHNER

= $45,441 TOWARDS MELISSA HART'S REELECTION

How can we expect an honest, unbiased investigation of the House Leadership's cover-up of a Republican sexual predator by Ethics Committee member Melissa Hart, when she's accepted OVER $40,000.00 from their PAC's.

If she had any respect for her constituents she'd either return the money or recuse herself from the Committee. But then again she's a House Republican. Maybe give her office a call (202-225-2565) and ask them about this. Or better yet get yourself, and your friends and neighbors to the polls on Nov. 7th and vote!

thanks to 2 political junkies for digging up these dollar amounts

so much for the "moral high ground"

2006-10-14T08:50:00.000-04:00

from Yahoo News:

KABUL, Afghanistan - Sixteen Afghans and one Iranian released from years in captivity at Guantanamo Bay prison arrived in
Afghanistan on Thursday, an Afghan official said, maintaining that "most" of the detainees had been falsely accused.

[snip]

One of the released prisoners, Sayed Mohammead Ali Shah, said he had been a delegate at the country's first loya jirga, a council of leaders that helped establish the interim government in 2002 after the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban in 2001.

"For four years they put me in jail in Cuba for nothing," said Shah, a doctor from the eastern province of Paktia whose hands shook from nervousness when he spoke.

"All these people (the other prisoners) and all those Afghans still in Cuba, they are innocent," he told reporters. "All were arrested because of false reports, and the Americans, without investigating, they arrested innocent people and put them in jail for a long time."

Another former prisoner, 20-year-old Habib Rahman, said he was arrested because he had a weapon in his home.

"They told me, 'You are against us, you are anti-American and anti-government and you are fighting with us,'" said Rahman. "At that time in our area everyone had weapons. I was innocent and I hadn't participated in any fighting."

Rahman said that he was treated harshly at Guantanamo, and was once kept awake for 38 hours while being questioned about ties to terrorists.

Innocent people held for four years, without being charged with a crime,............... only in Bush's America.

2006-10-13T19:02:00.000-04:00

Altmire TV Ad

Boner's a scumbag

2006-10-13T18:57:00.000-04:00

they just can't help themselves....

Boehner, speaking at a campaign event for 3rd District Republican candidate Jeff Lamberti, said Democratic operatives have known about inappropriate e-mails sent by former Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican, to young male pages for some time. He said Democrats had been shopping the information around Washington as a political ploy.

"Someone who had this information allowed those 16-year-old pages to be at risk while they were playing their political games," said Boehner, R-Ohio. "I do not believe thus far that Republicans knew about these sexually explicit instant messages."

Liar.

another republican strawman knocked down

2006-10-11T20:52:00.000-04:00

Voter ID ploy stands on lame fraud claims

Published on: 09/24/06
Last week, the GOP-dominated House passed a measure requiring voters to show government-issued photo IDs to vote in federal elections by 2008.

"Americans should have their votes counted, and not negated by an illegal alien," said U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.)

Similarly, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and his state Republican colleagues have backed a stringent state requirement for government-issued photo IDs. (Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford struck down Georgia's voter ID law, ruling it violates the state's constitution. The state said it will appeal.)

Announcing a plan this month to crack down on fraudulent documents, Perdue said, "It's simply unacceptable for people to sneak into the country illegally on Thursday, obtain a government-issued ID on Friday ... and go to vote on Tuesday."

Now, you can be forgiven if you've never heard of a single case in which an illegal immigrant successfully used a fake ID at the polls. Neither Burton nor Perdue presented evidence of any such cases.

So the Republicans invent an imaginary problem then use it as an excuse to suppress even more votes. And then we find out today that their bullshit has been debunked and the proof's been supressed for four months, giving other states time to pass voter supression laws.

Report refutes fraud at poll sites
Updated 10/11/2006 12:32 PM ET

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — At a time when many states are instituting new requirements for voter registration and identification, a preliminary report to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has found little evidence of the type of polling-place fraud those measures seek to stop.

USA TODAY obtained the report from the commission four months after it was delivered by two consultants hired to write it. The commission has not distributed it publicly.

At least 11 states have approved new rules for independent voter-registration drives or requirements that voters produce specific forms of photo ID at polling places. Several of those laws have been blocked in court, most recently in Arizona last week. The House of Representatives last month approved a photo-ID law, now pending in the Senate.

The bipartisan report by two consultants to the election commission casts doubt on the problem those laws are intended to address. "There is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling-place fraud, or at least much less than is claimed, including voter impersonation, 'dead' voters, non-citizen voting and felon voters," the report says.

[snip]

That's one reason the commission decided not to officially release the report. "There was a division of opinion here," Chairman Paul DeGregorio says. "We've seen places where fraud does occur."

The consultants found little evidence of that. Barry Weinberg, former deputy chief of the voting section in the Justice Department's civil rights division, reviewed their work. "Fraud at the polling place is generally difficult to pull off," he says. "It takes a lot of planning and a lot of coordination."

Posted 10/10/2006 10:54 PM ET

The Democrats have got to take over congress....

conflict of interest........

2006-10-11T18:33:00.000-04:00

somebody needs to question Missy on this, read this post at 2 Political Junkies -

Melissa Hart & The Ethics Committee (Follow the Money)

vote on Nov. 7th

2006-10-11T07:05:00.000-04:00

And, as a last resort, we must be willing to use military force. We are doing everything we can to avoid war in Iraq. - G.W. Bush, March 8, 2003.

Hours Bush spent negotiating with Iraq, so that war would be a "last resort." - 0

U.S. casualities as of today:
U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 2737
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 16
Total 2753

An now this :
NEW YORK (AP) -- A controversial new study contends nearly 655,000 Iraqis have died because of the war, suggesting a far higher death toll than other estimates.

Is Bush ready to do the same thing in Iran? BREAKING NEWS: Eisenhower Carrier Group Sails for Iran Theater

Don't vote?.... or you don't think it matters who you vote for.....think again.

Just 6 dollars

2006-10-10T20:04:00.000-04:00

Check it out!

can't be trusted

2006-10-09T20:15:00.000-04:00

Let's not forget, that social security hangs in the balance, in this election. With Bush and Cheney as lame ducks, if Democrats don't take congress, they'll be no one to stop them from carving up the most successful governnment program in history.

Not surprisingly, Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, the vice president's co-host for the gathering, offered rave reviews both for Cheney's performance and for the merits of personal savings accounts.
Despite recent poll results suggesting that a majority of the public disagrees with the president's proposal, she predicted that Congress would enact some version of it this year. Hart said sessions like yesterday's would help that happen.

And Melissa Hart will be there leading the charge.

2006-10-09T20:05:00.000-04:00

Melissa Hart on Stem Cell Research, Republican Congress PA

clueless.....

Wow .....why would any senior citizen vote for Melissa Hart

2006-10-09T19:46:00.000-04:00

From Project Vote Smart.......

Senior and Social Security Issues
(Back to top)

2005 Representative Hart supported the interests of the Alliance for Retired Americans 0 percent in 2005.
2004 Representative Hart supported the interests of the Alliance for Retired Americans 25 percent in 2004.
2003-2004 Representative Hart supported the interests of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association 0 percent in 2003-2004.
2003-2004 On the votes that the Retire Safe considered to be the most important in 2003-2004, Representative Hart voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.
2003 On the votes that the Alliance for Retired Americans considered to be the most important in 2003, Representative Hart voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.
2003 Representative Hart supported the interests of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging 50 percent in 2003.
2002 On the votes that the Alliance for Retired Americans considered to be the most important in 2002, Representative Hart voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.
2002 Representative Hart supported the interests of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association 33 percent in 2002.
2001-2002 Representative Hart supported the interests of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare 31 percent in 2001-2002.
2001 On the votes that the Alliance for Retired Americans considered to be the most important in 2001, Representative Hart voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

does Melissa Hart believe in free speech?

2006-10-09T19:08:00.000-04:00

Apparently not.....
From a Mike Seate, Oct. 5th column in the Scaife rag, the Tribune Review:

Power corrupts parents and media

[snip]

After almost 20 years in the newspaper industry, I shouldn't be surprised at the disgusting ways people will prostrate themselves before the wealthy and powerful.

This spring, I wrote a parody column about the Iraq war and received an e-mail from a press agent for U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods. The e-mail suggested I stop poking fun at the government and, instead, agree to print official statements provided by the Pentagon about the war.

For someone who thinks official press releases are useful only as scratch paper, this struck me as downright nuts.

But after sharing the offer with some of my fellow journalists, I realized this was a minority opinion. Most of them said I should be thrilled to receive such an offer from a prominent politician, while others giggled like school girls at the possibility to perhaps have lunch with someone so powerful and famous.

Journalists, like the parents of that House page, aren't supposed to be so easily seduced by power. I've always thought our main responsibility was to keep the powerful honest by refusing to be charmed by their social position.

More people should resist those charms --- even if that means sacrificing a power lunch or a kid's political future in the process.

what are they thinking?

2006-10-07T10:01:00.000-04:00

These people have balls the size of watermellons....

Shimkus seeks apology from Pelosi, Durbin
DENNIS CONRAD
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Republican Rep. John Shimkus demanded Friday that two of Congress' leading Democrats apologize for what he said were accusations that he tried to cover up the Capitol Hill pages' scandal involving former GOP Rep. Mark Foley.

In interviews with news media outlets in his south central Illinois congressional district, Shimkus lashed out at a fellow Illinoisan, Sen. Dick Durbin, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

"People, like Sen. Durbin and Nancy Pelosi, who are using this for partisan gain, they ought to be ashamed of themselves," Shimkus said on WJPF-AM radio in Herrin.

Hey dipship, so now protecting children from sexual predators is partisan.....you'd be ashamed of yourself, if you had any fucking shame.

Shimkus also said in an interview with The Associated Press that Durbin and Pelosi should read an anonymous statement released Thursday and attributed to the parents of the former Louisiana page whose Internet dealings with Foley led to Shimkus' involvement in the case. The letter does not mention Shimkus, Pelosi or Durbin by name but expresses the parents' desire to protect the privacy of their family and son.

"(Durbin and Pelosi) have helped inflame the rhetoric which caused this family that wanted to be left alone, to be put in the national spotlight," Shimkus said, saying the parents also deserved apologies from the Democrats.

That's a fucking lie, it was scumbag blogger "wildbill" who outed the page and his family then was immediately linked to by a couple of the big rightwing blogs.

Rather than apologize, spokespeople for Durbin and Pelosi counterattacked.

Well that's good, I suspect Harry Reid didn't get a chance to talk to them yet.

"It's been a week since this scandal broke and U.S. Rep. Shimkus still doesn't get it," said Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker. "This isn't about too much partisan politics - it's about too little effort to protect children under his care. It is not a House scandal or a Republican scandal - it is a national disgrace."

Shimkus, the chairman of the three-member House Page Board, has been among a handful of Republicans, including House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, in the spotlight since Foley resigned from Congress last week after reports surfaced of questionable e-mails he sent the former page.

Republicans increasingly fear the scandal may help the Democrats regain the House and Senate after the Nov. 7 general elections.

"Republicans just don't get it; every mother in America is asking how Republicans could choose partisan politics over protecting kids, and the Republicans are still asking who could have blown their cover-up," Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider said.

Good response from Pelosi.....she's been impressive this last week.

Shimkus has said he confronted Foley and told him not to associate with the Louisiana boy or any other former pages after the e-mails were made known to him by Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who had sponsored the teenager.

The 2005 e-mails - which included a request of a photo of the boy - were not deemed to be as troublesome as instant messages sent by Foley in 2003 that only surfaced publicly when the Foley scandal broke last week. Those messages, lawmakers of both parties have agreed, made it appear Foley was pursuing the boys for sexual relations.

Durbin, the Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday that Shimkus, a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger and schoolteacher, should resign as page board chairman due to his conduct in the Foley scandal.

"The fact of the matter is at the highest levels of the leadership in the House of Representatives they have known for months that something awful was happening," Durbin said. "What they did was to try to contain it or cover it up. They tried to protect themselves instead of trying to protect these pages, and now is the day of reckoning."

Shimkus reiterated Friday that he has no plan to resign, because that is exactly what "partisan hacks" would want him to do so they could cite his resignation as evidence he had done something wrong, which he said is not the case.

"It's been a very tough time," Shimkus said of the past week. "I did what was best on the information that was available."

Keep saying stupid shit like that, "I did what was best on the information that was available." So the best he could do was cover it up? Why didn't he do what CREW did and forward the emails to the FBI?

Shimkus and Hastert have said in public statements that they did not know until last week about the most lurid messages Foley allegedly sent to interns in 2003. At a Thursday news conference, Hastert acknowledged House leadership could possibly have done things differently.

"Could we have done it better, could the Page Board have handled it better? In retrospect, probably yes," Hastert said. "But at that time, what we knew and what we acted upon was what we had."

Durbin spokesman Shoemaker questioned why Shimkus had not called police, contacted the House Ethics Committee, convened a meeting of the page board or checked with other pages to see if the "alleged misconduct" was occurring with others.

"No. Instead he `talked' with the suspected offender, and proceeded to sweep it under the rug," Shoemaker said.

Shimkus said the House clerk referred the former Louisiana page's case to him, explaining the parents wanted the matter handled quietly. He said that request was why he did not say anything about it to the other page board members, including a Democrat.

"Because I keep faith and confidence with the parental request" for privacy, he said.

Shimkus said if there had been suspicion Foley was a "sexual predator" sooner, the matter would not have been referred to him as the chairman of the page board, but would have been turned over to law enforcement.

Foley has not been charged with any crime.

The title of this book, being written be the house republicans is, "How NOT to handle a sexual predator scandal." Power trumps all.

who to believe? Marine Sergeant or Rich Lowry

2006-10-07T09:39:00.000-04:00

Marine Sergeant: Guantanamo Prison Guards Routinely Beat Detainees
By VOA News
07 October 2006

An affidavit by a Marine who visited the Guantanamo Bay detention center last month alleges that guards at the prison camp bragged about routinely abusing detainees both physically and mentally.

The Marine's name was removed from the statement before it was released to reporters.

She said she was with a group of guards who laughed while they described routine beatings of prisoners and doing such things as denying privileges to well-behaved prisoners just to make them angry.

In one case, she said a guard described slamming a prisoner's head into a cell door.

A Marine Corps lawyer defending one of the detainees said he has forwarded the affidavit to the Defense Department's inspector general with a statement saying the abuse described violates American and international law. - link

But Rich Lowry, editor of National Review says:

Interrogators rely on the soft sell. Detainees sit in a La-Z-Boy chair during interrogations, and beverages and movies are available to put them at ease. The most effective interrogator is said to be an older woman who adopts a nurturing attitude.

And there's this exchange between Hugh Hewit and Mark Steyn:

HH: Well, the alleged enemy combatants lost their habeus [sic] corpus rights today, thanks to the steely indifference to liberty, as the Democrats would put it, of the Republican majority in the Senate. Do they appear put upon to you, Mark Steyn?

MS: No, they don't. It's interesting to me. They were being treated very lavishly . . .

Don't these people realize that whatever we allow our Government to do to "others" we're allowing it to do to "us."

Melissa speaks

2006-10-06T06:25:00.000-04:00

Investigation on fast track (I'll believe it when I see it). The only thing that Republicans can do fast is cut taxes, or vote to harass families (Terri Shiavo)....

the whole article is here, I'm just going to hit the parts where my congresswoman speaks.

The scandal has shocked Pennsylvania lawmakers who knew Mr. Foley. "He was a hard-working congressman," said Ms. Hart, who served alongside Mr. Foley on the House's powerful Ways and Means Committee. "Members are outraged. The public is outraged, and that's justifiable."

Well I'm sure glad Melissa says we're justified.

On Wednesday, a House leadership aide who was a former chief of staff for Mr. Foley said Mr. Hastert's office had been aware of problems with his one-time boss as far back as 2003. The speaker's press secretary denied that claim.

"I have no way of knowing the accuracy of those statements," Ms. Hart said.

How much did you know about Foley and when did you know it? Because we're hearing that Foley's action were common knowledge on capitol hill, pages kept complaining but no one would listen.

But lurid accounts of Internet sex chats likely will continue to capture the public's attention as the multiple inquiries move forward. Ms. Hart said her Western Pennsylvania constituents have flooded her office with calls about it.

These hearings better be public and witnesses better be put under oath. I think I'll call again today and see what I can find out.

still quiet

2006-10-05T21:39:00.000-04:00

Still no call back from Melissa Hart's office, I also checked her website today, still no comments about Foley, Hasert, Boehner, Reynolds or any of the others involved in the page scandal.

There's a whole page about protecting the unborn children, but not a peep about protecting the born children that Foley harrassed and her leaders covered up for. Where's the outrage Melissa?

lower than Pond Scum

2006-10-05T21:33:00.000-04:00

OMG this is getting surreal. What's lower than pond scum? They hide a sexual predator, lie about it, hide behind children when asked about it, lie some more, blame each other, and refuse to take responsibility.

Now they're siccing their attack dogs on the victims, I can't fucking believe it. Some rightwing blogger has outed one of the pages and immeadiately gets linked to by a bunch of the inbreds.

Limbaugh and Drudge claim the pages were playing a trick on Foley, I doubt if it's true but if it is, so fucking what.... Foley still sent the emails to the pages and the morally bankrupt, criminal enterprise, known as the Republican house leadership covered it up. And now the networks are reporting that more pages coming forward, which will probably give others the courage to come forward. drip....drip .....drip

These stupid fucks just can't help themselves, they're such cowards and snakes, they know what they're doing is wrong but they can't just admit it to themselves. Just can't give up that power. I heard a rumor (on the radio) that all the gay Republican staffers will soon be outed (we'll see) These slimballs showed part of their ass during the "Terri Shiavo" episode, now they're showing the rest of it.

I hope they keep it up, burn that image into the American people's psyche, show everyone the true face of today's Republican party.

Here's a great piece by Richard Mathis, with lots of good links on OpEdnews.com....

Republicans blame everybody but Foley

by Richard Mathis

Slither hither, all you neo-con champions of traditional values. Let us hear your words about who is to blame for the gay Republican sex scandal on Capitol Hill. Tell us, you who promote personal responsibility, exactly who is responsible for Mark Foley engaging in steamy emails with underage males. Show us how to confess our sins, repent, seek forgiveness, learn from our mistakes and move forward. You Republicans are always talking about responsibility. Let's hear you assign responsibility instead of rationalizations in the Foley affair.

For starters, sister Michelle Malkin, preach that Democrats and the media are ever bit as responsible as the GOP. "It makes Republicans who downplay the messages -- and Democrats and journalists who sat on them -- look recklessly flippant about sexual predation."- read it all

Oh no, Newt speaks ill of Democrats

2006-10-05T04:21:00.000-04:00

I was going to comment about "divorce my wife while she's ~~dying~~ sick" Newt, then I read Susie Madrack's post. Here it is.

will Denny survive the week

2006-10-05T03:55:00.000-04:00

Hastert's Constituents Call For A Resignation

While politicians in Washington wait to see Hastert's next move, some local voters are more concerned about the young victim at the heart of this scandal.

"If I was a parent that had one of those pages there and it happened, I would be so upset. In fact I'm upset for the parents, because you'd think in congress they'd be safe and not subject to harassment like that," says voter Marilyn Logan.

This is not going to be swept under the rug like so many other Republican scandals, this resonates with everybody.

Looks like I missed this

2006-10-05T03:15:00.000-04:00

Melissa Hart did make a few comments after all.....

From KDKA on Oct. 2nd:

Hart, Doyle React To Resignation Of Rep. Foley
Jon Delano
Reporting

WASHINGTON Florida Congressman Mark Foley resigned late last week after allegations that he sent explicit e-mails to teenage congressional pages.

His resignation brought quick and similar reactions from local members of Congress.

However, the shared outrage over Foley's conduct split party lines when it came to who was responsible and what should happen next.

In five weeks, voters across America will decide whether Republicans should continue to control the U.S. House of Representatives.

So, no one should be surprised that the controversy over a Republican congressman from Florida and his questionable e-mails to under aged house pages is political fodder for those who think it's time for a change in Washington.

Both Congresswoman Melissa Hart and Congressman Mike Doyle have known Foley during his years in Congress.

Foley was first elected in 1994 when Republicans swept control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

"He was one of 74 Republicans, and I've known him for the past twelve years," said Doyle.

Hart said, "I served on the Ways & Means Committee with him, and no one would have thought this would happen. He was a committed congressman, just like the rest of us, taking care of the district."

"no one would have thought this would happen?" how about your leadership who's known about Foley's problems for what is it up to now? 11 years?

But unlike most, Foley, apparently, took a special interest in the teenage pages who work on Capitol Hill -- emailing and instant messaging sexually suggestive comments.

"It's hard to imagine," said Doyle. "The behavior is reprehensible. I certainly had no clue to it."

"It's a heinous thing," said Hart. "Everyone's disgusted. How could a person I work with every day have done something like this."

But Hart, a Republican, and Doyle, a Democrat, disagree about whether Republican leaders should have acted sooner when they learned months ago about Foley's e-mail.

"Well, the first e-mail was e-mail was of a non-sexual content, it is my understanding," said Hart.

So I guess Melissa thinks the first exposed emails where ok? Well here's what the 16yr old kid that received thm thought.....Sick, sick, sick,
sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick...

"You ask your nieces and nephews what they want for their birthday," said Doyle. "You don't ask total strangers that. It doesn't pass the common sense test. It should have raised an alarm bell."

And they disagree over who should investigate.

"The Attorney General is looking at the entire matter, and that's what needs to happen," said Hart.

Hey Melissa, a real leader would take full advantage of their position. How about a statement like, "I will use my position on the ethics commmittee to fully investigate this matter and I will push for those involved with covering it up to receive the committees maximum punishment. Just like I did with Tom Delay." hahahahahhahah....that would only happen if Melissa belonged to a different political party, instead of the rubber stamp Repubs.

"An independent review of this case is in order, so that we can take it out of the realm of politics because if we don't do that, if the administration looks at this, if the House leadership looks into this, then people will say there's a cover up going on," said Doyle.

Now both Doyle and Hart say this issue should not be politicized but that's exactly what is likely to happen especially as the parties disagree over who should do the investigation.

One thing they do not disagree about.

Both Hart and Doyle say if house leaders, or anyone else, knew what Foley was doing and didn't report it to the authorities, they should be fully prosecuted.

2006-10-05T03:05:00.000-04:00

John Laesch in Chicago 10.2

Hit 'em hard John...

still waiting Melissa

2006-10-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

When I called Melissa Hart's office yesterday, I asked if my Congresswoman thought Hasert, Boehner or Reynolds should resign. The only coment I could get out of the lady there was that Melissa thought the whole affair was "disgusting." She acted like not enough was known yet about who knew what and when.

Anyway, I asked her when Melissa Hart would have an opinion (no answer)or issue a statement (no answer) then I left my name and phone number and ask her to please give me a call when Ms. Hart figures out what to think. I'm still waiting for that call.

I just checked her website. Here's the headlines:

9/25/2006
Hart Announces that Tom Hughes of Sarver, PA Is the 2006 Good Citizen Award Winner
9/21/2006
Hart Supports Legislation to End Illegal Immigrant “Catch-and-Release” Policy
9/14/2006
Hart Supports Legislation to Help Secure Border

I guess she won't know what to say until the house leadership tells her.

shouldn't surprise anyone....

2006-10-04T20:26:00.000-04:00

Laura Bush campaigns for the protector of a sexual predator.....

Laura Bush makes a stop in Buffalo

10/4/06

Despite the controversy surrounding Tom Reynolds, Laura Bush came to Buffalo Wednesday to speak at a fund raising luncheon for the congressman.

Outside the Buffalo Marriott there were protestors demanding Reynolds’ resignation. Inside, the First Lady spoke highly of Reynolds during her speech and had praises for the work he's done in the 26th district. Mrs. Bush also talked about the recent school shootings across the nation. She announced plans for a national conference that will address the issue of school violence.

“The conference will help effected communities heal in the wake of these tragedies and will equip Americans with the information they need to ensure their children can learn in safety,” said Mrs. Bush.

The First Lady also made a stop at a community center where she was interviewed by students for a Buffalo radio station.

The Bush family is all class.

lowlifes

2006-10-03T19:24:00.000-04:00

Pondscum

Protecting sexual predators and then when asked about it, hiding behind children?........ more Republican family values? that's what one would have to assume, isn't it?.......The Democrats better seize this opportunity to call these people out for the sick fucking cowards that they are.

From Daily Kos:

Via Buffalo Geek and Jane Hamsher, who have the YouTube video, NRCC Head Tom Reynolds is facing a barrage of questions about what he knew in the Foley scandal, when he knew it, and why he didn't do anything about it other than passing it off to Dennis Hastert.

So today he held a news conference, in which he rented out a daycare center in order to surround himself with small children to talk about on Foley's sexual predation in the halls of Congress.

[snip]

Hunter sums it up here:

I'm looking at this point for one man in the entire Republican leadership with the integrity of a fleabitten stray dog. I'm still looking for that one man.

Very well put, can there be any more levels of depravity this "so called" political party can sink to?

what happened here?

2006-10-03T19:03:00.000-04:00

At first I thought was this done by some angry liberal..........

but then.... who would spell "needs" as "neds?" That's wingnut spelling, if I ever saw it, this looks like a setup.

Please Nancy let them go home

2006-09-25T19:30:00.000-04:00

I understand what Rep Pelosi is doing here and I sure she means well.....but please drop it and let the Republicans get out of DC ASAP. Everything they touch turns to shit, the longer they're in session the more will have to be undone later.

The House Democratic leadership has written Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) to tell him that they will "actively resist adjournment" at the end of the week, RAW STORY has learned.

The Republican leadership has scheduled a light calendar this year, leaving embattled incumbents more time than usual to campaign at home.

Democrats are pressing "five key issues" that they believe Congress hasn't addressed during the current session. Until those issues are addressed, Democrats say that they will use procedural maneuvers to resist calling adjournment.

how'd they get that whole head on one book cover?

2006-09-24T14:29:00.000-04:00

Media Matters slices and dices O'Reilly's new book.

I find it amazing that O'Reilly calls himself a warrior.

The only real battle he ever had was a legal one against Andrea Mackris, he got all puffed up for a little while then quickly folded like a cheap suit after she filed suit. He ended up giving her millions of dollars to avoid airing his dirty linen in public. Quite the warrior.

While we're on the subject of O'Reilly.....Why this little tidbit about the baffoon is never brought up is beyond me.

Right before U.S. forces invaded Iraq, O'Reilly made a bold promise on ABC about Iraq's WMDs: "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush Administration again, all right?"

The first thing I would say to him if I ever a guest on his show is - You know Bill I must admit when it comes to the trusting the Bush administration you and I are on the same page, and then throw his now forgotten quote in his face.

MSM catches up with the blogs

2006-09-24T10:39:00.000-04:00

Iraq war triggered terrorism, says US intelligence report

A report in The New York Times says an American intelligence report has concluded that the Iraq war helped spawn a new generation of Islamic radicalism and increased the overall threat of terrorism.
It quotes the report by the National Intelligence Council, a think-tank for 16 different US spy agencies, as saying Islamic radicalism has mushroomed worldwide.
The National Intelligence Estimate, as the document is known, reflects the views of no fewer than 16 US spy agencies.
According to The New York Times it says the Iraq war has triggered more, not less, terrorism and helped spread Jihadist ideology.
Overall, the report is consistent with other intelligence assessments that suggest that while Al Qaeda may have been weakened since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, the radical Islamic movement worldwide has strengthened.
It also reportedly concludes that Al Qaeda has now mutated into a global franchise of semi-autonomous cells.
In a series of recent speeches, US President George W Bush has been portraying the war on Iraq as the central front in the war on terrorism.
This report implies while that may be true, that it is a front the United States's own making.
In the past, President Bush has dismissed such reasoning by arguing that Islamic militants had hated the US long before it invaded Iraq, or even Afghanistan.
The estimate, the first US assessment of international terrorism since the Iraq war began, has not been seen by The New York Times.
But the paper has spoken to officials who have either read it or been involved in drafting it. - link
-BBC

Russ Feingold for President

2006-09-24T10:30:00.000-04:00

The President and the Law (1 Letter)

Published: September 24, 2006

To the Editor:

John Yoo, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Bush administration, acknowledges that President Bush’s unique approach to the law, which the president has insisted is necessary to fight terrorism, is motivated by the “broader’’ goal of strengthening executive power (Op-Ed, Sept. 17).

Mr. Yoo cites this goal as a reason the administration has fought a “pre-emptive’’ war, “data-mined communications in the United States to root out terrorism,’’ detained terrorists without “formal’’ charges and conducted “harsh’’ interrogations.

The agenda includes the reclassification of government information and the withholding of information from Congress and the courts, and has been buttressed by the president’s “signing statements,’’ which Mr. Yoo asserts claim the president’s right not to enforce “unconstitutional’’ laws.

In our system of government, it is the courts that determine the constitutionality of laws, not the president.

But Mr. Yoo takes his argument further, asserting that the president can ignore laws like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act because they have produced “dysfunction.’’ Indeed, according to Mr. Yoo, the president can ignore both laws and judicial decisions that he deems “wrongheaded’’ or “obsolete.’’

These views are clearly offensive to our constitutional system. It is long past time for Congress to reassert its proper role in checking an executive branch that has so little respect for the principles that have sustained our democracy for more than 200 years.

Russ Feingold
U.S. Senator from Wisconsin
Washington, Sept. 19, 2006

say no to torture

2006-09-23T11:30:00.000-04:00

Letter to my Congresscritters....

Dear ______,

As a citizen of this great counry I never imagined In all my wildest dreams that I would have to write the following to a member of MY GOVERNMENT.

Say no to torture! Reject Bush's compromise torture bill. If Bush doesn't torture as he's claimed on numerous occasions, then there's no need to change the current laws. You do realize that five former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff oppose this president's policys concerning treatment of prisoners, please stand with our military and force this administration to abide by existing laws and conventions.

Thank You

enough of this bullshit about Democrats not having any ideas

2006-09-13T19:42:00.000-04:00

THE DEMOCRATIC PLAN

21st Century Military
To Ensure Unparalleled Military Strength and Honor our Troops, we will:

Rebuild a state-of-the-art military by making the needed investments in equipment and manpower so that we can project power to protect America wherever and whenever necessary.

Guarantee that our troops have the protective gear, equipment, and training they need and are never sent to war without accurate intelligence and a strategy for success.

Enact a GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century that guarantees our troops -- active, reserve, and retired -- our veterans, and their families receive the pay, health care, mental health services, and other benefits they have earned and deserve.

Strengthen the National Guard, in partnership with the nation's Governors, to ensure it is fully manned, equipped and available to meet missions at home and abroad.

War on Terror
To Defeat Terrorists and Stop the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction, we will:

Eliminate Osama Bin Laden, destroy terrorist networks like al Qaeda, finish the job in Afghanistan and end the threat posed by the Taliban.

Double the size of our Special Forces, increase our human intelligence capabilities, and ensure our intelligence is free from political pressure.

Eliminate terrorist breeding grounds by combating the economic, social, and political conditions that allow extremism to thrive; lead international efforts to uphold and defend human rights; and renew longstanding alliances that have advanced our national security objectives.

Secure by 2010 loose nuclear materials that terrorists could use to build nuclear weapons or "dirty bombs."

Redouble efforts to stop nuclear weapons development in Iran and North Korea.

Homeland Security
To Protect America from Terrorism and Natural Disasters, we will:

Immediately implement the recommendations of the independent, bipartisan 9/11 Commission including securing national borders, ports, airports and mass transit systems.

Screen 100% of containers and cargo bound for the U.S. in ships or airplanes at the point of origin and safeguard America's nuclear and chemical plants, and food and water supplies.

Prevent outsourcing of critical components of our national security infrastructure -- such as ports, airports and mass transit -- to foreign interests that put America at risk.

Provide firefighters, emergency medical workers, police officers, and other workers on the front lines with the training, staffing, equipment and cutting-edge technology they need.

Protect America from biological terrorism and pandemics, including the Avian flu, by investing in the public health infrastructure and training public health workers.

Iraq
To Honor the Sacrifice of Our Troops, we will:

Ensure 2006 is a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with the Iraqis assuming primary responsibility for securing and governing their country and with the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces.

Insist that Iraqis make the political compromises necessary to unite their country and defeat the insurgency; promote regional diplomacy; and strongly encourage our allies and other nations to play a constructive role.

Hold the Bush Administration accountable for its manipulated pre-war intelligence, poor planning and contracting abuses that have placed our troops at greater risk and wasted billions of taxpayer dollars.

Energy Independence
To Free America from Dependence on Foreign Oil, we will:

Achieve energy independence for America by 2020 by eliminating reliance on oil from the Middle East and other unstable regions of the world.

Increase production of alternate fuels from America's heartland including bio-fuels, geothermal, clean coal, fuel cells, solar and wind; promote hybrid and flex fuel vehicle technology and manufacturing; enhance energy efficiency and conservation incentives.
- Link

2006-09-04T09:52:00.000-04:00

Howlin Wolf - I'll Be Back Someday

Republican war on Labor

2006-09-04T08:49:00.000-04:00

Great OP-ed by David Sirota:

On America Working
The war on workers

David Sirota
Monday, September 4, 2006

U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige labeled one "a terrorist organization." Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, called them "a clear and present danger to the security of the United States." And U.S. Rep. Charles Norwood, R-Ga., claimed they employ "tyranny that Americans are fighting and dying to defeat in Iraq and Afghanistan" and are thus "enemies of freedom and democracy," who show "why we still need the Second Amendment" to defend ourselves with firearms.

Who are these supposed threats to America? No, not Osama bin Laden followers, but labor unions made up of millions of workers -- janitors, teachers, firefighters, police officers, you name it.

Bashing organized labor is a Republican pathology, to the point where unions are referenced with terms reserved for military targets. In his 1996 article, headlined "GOP Readies for War With Big Labor," conservative columnist Robert Novak cheered the creation of a "GOP committee task force on the labor movement" that would pursue a "major assault" on unions. As one Republican lawmaker told Novak, GOP leaders champion an "anti-union attitude that appeals to the mentality of hillbillies at revival meetings."

The hostility, while disgusting, is unsurprising. Unions wield power for workers, meaning they present an obstacle to Republican corporate donors, who want to put profit-making over other societal priorities.

Think the minimum wage just happened? Think employer-paid health care and pensions have been around for as long as they have by some force of magic? Think again -- unions used collective bargaining to preserve these benefits. As the saying goes, union members are the folks that brought you the weekend.

The government's numbers explain how unions have helped their members. According to an analysis of federal data by the Labor Research Association, average union members receive a quarter more in compensation than nonunion workers. Eighty-nine percent of union members have access to employer-sponsored health care, compared to just 67 percent of nonunion workers. Unionized workers receive 26 percent more vacation than nonunion workers.

Unions also benefit nonunion workers. That's thanks to the "union threat effect" whereby anti-union companies meet higher standards in order to prevent workers from becoming angry and organizing. For instance, Princeton researchers found in industries that are 25 percent unionized, average nonunion workers get 7.5 percent more compensation specifically because of unionization's presence.

The flip side is obvious: The more corporations and politicians crush unions, the more all workers suffer. It is no coincidence that as union membership and power has declined under withering anti-union attacks, workers have seen their wages stagnate, pensions slashed, and share of national income hit a 60-year low. As Council on Foreign Relations scholars put it, the decline in unions "is correlated with the early and sharp widening of the U.S. wage gap."

Big Business claims union membership has declined because workers do not want to join unions -- a claim debunked by public-opinion data. In 2002, Harvard University and University of Wisconsin researchers found at least 42 million workers want to be organized into a bargaining unit -- more than double the 16 million unionized workers in America. A 2005 nationwide survey by respected pollster Peter Hart found 53 percent of nonunion workers -- that's more than 50 million people -- want to join a union, if given the choice.

Increasingly, however, workers have no real choice. According to Cornell University experts, 1 in 4 employers illegally fires at least one worker during a union drive, 3 in 4 hire anti-union consultants, and 8 in 10 force workers to attend anti-union meetings. When workers petition the government to enforce laws protecting organizing rights, they are forced to go before the National Labor Relations Board, which is both run by anti-union presidential appointees, and chronically understaffed so as to slow down proceedings. When Democrats have tried to expand workers' union rights by introducing the Employee Free Choice Act, the GOP has prevented a vote on the legislation.

So when GOP lawmakers pledge their commitment to workers at Labor Day celebrations today, remember -- Republicans are waging a war on the very workers they purport to care about.

happy Labor Day

2006-09-04T08:24:00.000-04:00

THE HISTORY OF LABOR DAY

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

On September 5, 1882, some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City to participate in America's first Labor Day parade. After marching from City Hall to Union Square, the workers and their families gathered in Reservoir Park for a picnic, concert and speeches. This first Labor Day celebration was initiated by Peter J. McGuire, a carpenter and labor union leader who, a year earlier, cofounded the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, a precursor of the American Federation of Labor.

In 1884, the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.