Kicking Ass: The Democratic Party's Blog

Monday Night Open Thread

Posted by Christy McConville on October 30, 2006 at 06:44 PM

This is an open thread...

Comments (186) «

Get Out the Vote

1
dorsano on October 30, 2006 at 06:59 PM


{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Big Hugs }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

To all those who did campaign work today!

I thank you, we thank you and the this Courntry will thank you!

Remember to check out all information on the North American Union - we need to be informed on this.

2
dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:07 PM

interesting tonite. i called for my candidate gillibrand as well as for moveon.org. moveon was jumping me among several congressional races, murphy in penn, arcuri in ny, gillibrand in ny...had one republican guy tell me..."sure i am a registered republican but i can't possibly vote for any of their candidates..."

3
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:16 PM

President All Stumped Out

Stumping not boosting Bush popularity

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's popularity has not been buoyed by a series of public events in recent days, a new CNN poll has found.

The president's approval dropped slightly from the poll taken a week earlier, from 39 percent down to 37 percent, but the change was within the poll's sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Polls show that the President's support is still strong among voters who believe they were captured by UFO's and experimented on before being returned to earth.

4
dorsano on October 30, 2006 at 07:16 PM

Good Evening, All!


Keep the Faith!


:)

5
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 07:21 PM

great stuff dors...i accept the challenge...bush's numbers are going up among veterans of the condor legion...and he was recently endorsed by Francisco Franco who is...yes that's right chevy....still dead!

6
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:22 PM

My Lord!


Just listened to Kay Bailey Hutchinson.


She really is a royal pain.


7
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 07:23 PM

Posted by dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:07 PM

I cannot claim to have a clear understanding of the North American Union, but, I do understand that, at this point in time, The US Congress has neglected to perform its obligation regarding Oversight.

8
rashlimbo on October 30, 2006 at 07:24 PM

Thousands of weapons the United States has provided Iraqi security forces cannot be accounted for and spare parts and repair manuals are unavailable for many others, a new report to Congress says.

Posted by Esmeralda on October 30, 2006 at 05:51 PM

And isn't this the same administration that backed Rumsfeld when he told our troops to just leave behind those huge arms stockpiles on the route to Baghdad? When they went back, all of Saddam's artillery had vanished....just like these weapons.

9
SandyH on October 30, 2006 at 07:26 PM

paul, yes but she is texas royalty paul...kinda of the zircon of royalty. did you see the rasmussen poll on webb/allen? shows webb up by 5.

10
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:28 PM

Posted by gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:28 PM

Gregg, that pole was taken before the accusations by allen that Webb had authored porno. Its difficult to say what effect those accusations will have on the polls or the election.

11
rashlimbo on October 30, 2006 at 07:32 PM

Thanks, GregG ...


12
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 07:33 PM

Thanks, GregG ...


13
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 07:33 PM

Thanks, GregG ...


14
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 07:34 PM

The northamerican union is inevitable,our countries will merge and become united.It isn't the sellout of america but the expansion of our democracy to include all of the americas as the united states of the americas.Stopping it is futile.Fearing it is foolhardy.Better brush up on your spanish.Look at the european union.It's the future.Corporations are just trying to get a jump on it.

15
ER on October 30, 2006 at 07:34 PM

Does anyone know how the DCCC picks the races that they are helping, How do you get a candidate backing by the DCCC?

16
dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:36 PM

I am really tired of this lousy Blog package. It is so inefficient and RPITA to use.

Sorry. I got caught is the flip-flop.


Damn.


17
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 07:36 PM

Posted by SandyH on October 30, 2006 at 07:26 PM

Sandy, Rummy was in a hurry to get to Baghdad because DUH-bya was having his "mission Accomplished" banner printed.

18
rashlimbo on October 30, 2006 at 07:38 PM

ER if Canada and Mexico become our 51st and 52nd states and pay taxes like the rest of the country and so on. Then I might agreed with it. But I do not like the use and abuse the USA that Bush has set us up for.

19
dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:43 PM

Posted by gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:22 PM great stuff dors

I thought my "Halloween Extravaganza" GOTV party tomorrow, where I dress up like Frank Sintra and croon, was going to be the unofficial winner of the most fun volunteer GOTV event in the district

but someone (most likely younger than I) has one Thursday with a live band playing hot latin music and offering free salsa lessons.

I'm not sure which candidates they're working for, I doubt any GOP candidates, but I think I'm going to go help them out.

20
dorsano on October 30, 2006 at 07:45 PM

rash, the poll was dated 10/29, the attack on webb's book was a few days before that...it's rasmussen which is right wing but had the best 04 presidential prediction.

21
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:47 PM

ER, DK2

Canada has about 30 million people

Mexico has over 100 million people----

They only get to be one state? The same representation as Wyoming with less than half a million?

22
ranger995 on October 30, 2006 at 07:47 PM

"Media blackout on the dangerous CFR"


"President Bush and Congress have implemented a plan to create a North American Union, which will become an open border policy between the United States, Canada and Mexico."
"This is a plan, similar to the European Union, in which the security (primarily from the ocean borders), infrastructure, laws and economies of the three countries will become intertwined, with the United States citizens paying, not only monetarily, but also with our freedom and our sovereignty. We will have the shell of our Constitution with international laws controlling it. The official government name is the "Security Prosperity Partnership of North America," the SPP, which was initiated on March 23, 2005, with a meeting between President Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, in Waco, Texas. Work groups are now far into the process with the latest forum on Sept. 12 through Sept. 14, with Donald Rumsfeld and top security experts discussing security, infrastructure and integration."
"Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, has e-mailed me that he does support the SPP, and implied that this is now policy."

read it here

23
dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:47 PM

dk2-Try contacting Hillary's camp,they're safe this year and have lots of cash.They seem to have an interest in promoting every candidate.

24
ER on October 30, 2006 at 07:49 PM

Posted by gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:47 PM

Gregg, then, I stand corrected. I saw the same poll on MSNBC and it was taken before the accusations. I am pleased with the poll as you have stated it.

25
rashlimbo on October 30, 2006 at 07:50 PM

rash,

I guess Rummy just couldn't wait to stop and secure those stockpiles thinking about all those flowers and Hersey bars the thankful people of Baghdad were going to bestow on us. Guns in exhange for chocolate? Apparently, we didn't get either.

Republican screwups know no bounds.

26
SandyH on October 30, 2006 at 07:52 PM

rash, that is a rasmussen poll dated 10/29 which unless i am missing something means it was done several days after the book nonsense. in fact i think it may have been affected positively by the nonsense.

27
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:54 PM

the blog seems weird.

28
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 07:55 PM

Yeah I think they qualify for a few more states!Their current states would probably still remain,and they all do pay taxes now.And bush? He's history!His downward spiral is unstoppable.I've already written that moron off.

29
ER on October 30, 2006 at 07:55 PM

Posted by ranger995 on October 30, 2006 at 07:47 PM

Ranger - I'll take one state each, it is better then nothing, getting to be part of the USA - use the highways, infrastructures joining our electrical grids, mixed and joined phone lines and on, and on, and on.

Great highway that lets Canadian and Mexican drivers roll right through the US and not pay any up keep or taxes to fix highways that Tax payer dollars built in the first place.

Whats left of the US of A?

30
dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:57 PM

Oh, goody, goody. CNN's Jeanie Most says Bush has gone back to his cheerleader roots on the campaign trail....just say "not is the rally cry.

Maybe he will return to his National Guard duty routes, too. It would be nice if he finished this obligation to serve. Just say "no" has always been his answer to doing anything responsible in his life.

31
SandyH on October 30, 2006 at 08:03 PM

I have a stupid question. I just watched Bush Co down here in Texas. I won't comment on the speeches, that has already been covered. As I was looking at Air Force One, the Marine helicopter, the thought came to me, who pays for all of this? It was strictly a political trip for the benefit of one political party. It does not seem right for tax payers to pick up this cost since tax payer money is contributed by independents, Democrats, as well as Republicans. Does the RNC reimburse the government for the expences of this trip or is this just part of the perks of the office? Anybody got any idea how much these little trips are costing the tax payers, $100,000, $250,000, or $500,000 at a shot? As smart as you guys are out there, I know this sounds like a silly question, but I would really like to know. Appreciate any help you can give me.

32
goodfoe on October 30, 2006 at 08:09 PM

fox poll - please hit this poll

Will Democrats improve America's economy if they win the midterm elections?

vote - lower right side of page
http://www.foxnews.com/business/index.html

right now 89% say no,
I realize this is Fox, but I think they need an attitude adjustment.

33
dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 08:18 PM

Posted by goodfoe on October 30, 2006 at 08:09 PM

It may not still be true, but when I worked in the Government the President was required to travel with security protection and in Air Force 1, etc., for security reasons. For political travel, the RNC used to pay for his trip as if he were flying first class air fare.

34
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 08:19 PM

Perks, I believe,something else to put an end to.No more flights at re-imbursement rates equal to commercial flights.

35
ER on October 30, 2006 at 08:20 PM

ER,

I think there are way too many laws in effect to do away with Presidential travel perks.

No matter how much we might like him, we can't afford to permit any president to travel without those protections.

36
Paul on October 30, 2006 at 08:26 PM

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
1 hour, 46 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Campaigning for Republicans, President Bush said Monday that "terrorists win and America loses" if opponents of his Iraq policy triumph in next week's elections.

...make note that at the end of his reign of bullshit president george w bush attacked his fellow citizens in the most base and perverted way. and by all means impeachment needs to be on the table...

37
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 08:29 PM

Then how about no security when not on official business? No vacations for the entire term.No more politicking on the public dime.

38
ER on October 30, 2006 at 08:35 PM

Update II: The full list of late-breaking races in which the DCCC will air ads, send direct mail, and/or help out in other ways:

WA-05 KY-02 NV-03
PA-04 IL-10 NE-03
FL-16 NY-26 NJ-07
MN-01 NV-02 KY-03
NY-25 NH-02 KS-02
CA-11

****

Note whose race is on thd list:

NJ-7th

Linda Stender has arrived. She knocked that wuss Ferguson out on Sunday. Linda has momentum.

39
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 08:39 PM

Tar and feathered and exiled to Iraq,impeachment is too nice.

40
ER on October 30, 2006 at 08:40 PM

WASHINGTON - Campaigning for Republicans, President Bush said Monday that "terrorists win and America loses" if opponents of his Iraq policy triumph in next week's elections.
****

Bush and the Republicans are STAY THE COURSE.
They killed 100 of our citizens this month alone and for what? A BIG BUSH LIE.

41
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 08:43 PM

TN-Sen, VA-Sen: Backlashes brewing?
by kos
Mon Oct 30, 2006 at 01:54:09 PM PST

In both Virginia and Tennessee Republicans have upped the sleaze ratio to unimaginable heights. In Tennesse, it's the overt racism in Corker's and the RNC's ads. In Virginia, it's accusations that Webb is a smut writer.

Yet despite the nastiness, both races are trending our way once again.

TENNESSEE (Senate, open)

Benenson (D) for Harold Ford. 10/26-28. Likely voters. MoE 4.1%


Now 10/14 9/21
Corker (R) 43 45 41
Ford (D) 48 46 48


VIRGINIA (Senate)

Garin Hart Yang (D) for the DSCC. 10/26-29. Likely voters. MoE 3.5% (No trend lines)


Allen (R) 38
with leaners: 43

Webb (D) 43
with leaners: 47


But wait, you say, those numbers (which I blogged earlier today) are internal numbers!

Yeah, they are. But Rasmussen will soon release a Sunday-night poll showing Webb with the lead:

Rasmussen. 10/25. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (10/25 results)


Allen (R) 46 (50)
Webb (D) 51 (48)

That includes leaners. Without, Webb leads 48-46, so the undecided are leaning Webb. This is a dramatic reversal.

In 2005, Democrat Tim Kaine surged in the polls after Republicans ran the infamous "Hitler ad". Now, Webb appears to be surging based on the bullshit attacks on his well-received, well-respected scholarly books.

We won't know for sure until Election Day, but if both Ford and Webb win, their victories will come despite having been subjected to the worst garbage imaginable from the GOP sleaze machine.
****

Yes!!!!

Racist George Felix Allen is finished. The sleaze is turning against him just as it did with Kilgore.

Corker is finished as well. Harold Ford will prevail.

42
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 08:47 PM

Jacque,

Re: the question on voter information data.

I think you are talking about your STATE owned info, I was talking about the DEM PARTY owned info. I do not think our STATe shares their data bases with parties here.

43
PamB on October 30, 2006 at 08:47 PM

dk2-Try contacting Hillary's camp,they're safe this year and have lots of cash.They seem to have an interest in promoting every candidate.
****

Hillary helped Menendez quite a bit.

44
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 08:48 PM

10 MINUTES TO GO!

45
pee-wee on October 30, 2006 at 08:50 PM

Linda Stender in Statistical Tie
by: jmelli
Mon Oct 30, 2006 at 20:36:50 PM EST

RT Strategies. 10/24-26. 1013 Likely voters. MoE 3.1% (8/10 results)

Mike Ferguson (R) 46 (49)
Linda Stender (D) 43 (46)

Ferguson still holds a 3 point lead, but his support has weakened a bit. Last month 83% of his support came from "strong" supporters but that's shrunk a bit to 76%. It could be statistical noise, but in low turnout elections such as these, the intensity of support is important. Meanwhile Stender's "strong" support percentage has remained steady at 70%.

Update: Kos reports that the DCCC is jumping in to the race somehow.

****

Pour it on! From what I can tell when I was out canvassing, there is strong support out there for Stender. People know the name and they like the person. With Ferguson, they know the name but they either dislike him or don't know what he has done. That's because Mikey hides from his constituents. He pretends to be a moderate when he sides with Bush policies over 85% of the time!

46
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 08:51 PM

There have already been problems with voting machines during early voting along with various other incidents which now have insiders and outsiders wondering if Florida is headed for another 2000 disaster.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/elections/orl-voteproblems2906oct29,0,3709464.story?coll=orl-elections-headlines

47
J on October 30, 2006 at 08:55 PM

5 MINUTES TO GO!

48
pee-wee on October 30, 2006 at 08:56 PM

Well, Well, the two chicken hawks are Having A Bad Day? (Week? Month?)

Bush and Blair: Two Leaders Searching for a Way out of Iraq, and Finding None

The Independent UK


"Their credibility undermined, their moral authority shot, their populatrity in tatters, yet still they fight on. Rupert Cornwell on the bleakest week of the bloodiest month for the war leaders.
Their faces alone said everything. At his press conference on Wednesday, in the sumptuous setting of the White House East Room, George Bush was grim, bemused and aged. In the House of Commons 3,000 miles away, Tony Blair stood rooted to the same political spot he has occupied for more than three years. Two leaders, mesmerised and transfixed by the enormity of the crisis they face, searching for an exit and finding none.

In the bleak recent history of Iraq, this last week may have been the most despairing for them, when the converging disasters set in motion by their misconceived invasion of March 2003 became impossible to deny and the gap between their aspirations for Iraq and the reality on the ground there became a chasm.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/103006E.shtml

49
PamB on October 30, 2006 at 08:58 PM

Posted by gregg on October 30, 2006 at 08:29 PM

gregg,

I thought I heard Bush say today that in the spirit of Halloween, we will begin to look for the ghost of those WMD in Iraq...again. We must have missed them in Rummy's rush to Baghdad.

Besides the terrorists won and American lost the day that the Supreme Court crowned him King Louie.

Bush doesn't protect our borders or ports. He doesn't go after Bin Lauden in Pakistan. And he insists on allowing the Shiites to turn Iraq into an Islamic theocracy and become a satellite of Iran. He forced the Iraqis into a civil war.

Is there anyone who is really a supporter of Bush's Iraq policy? (Republicans don't appear to be jumping with joy these days about the situation over there.)

So I suppose by George's definition, everyone wants the terrorists to win....if Bush and Rummy continuing to run the military is the only alternative.

50
SandyH on October 30, 2006 at 09:00 PM

I just saw on CNN that Rush limpmember is accusing Wolf Blitzer of being liberally biased. That is beyond my wildest imagination. WOW!

51
rashlimbo on October 30, 2006 at 09:01 PM

That is what Republicans are all about - outsourcing jobs, cutting wages, busting up unions and stepping on worker's rights. Theye even have subverted safety regulations - just look at the number of deaths this year in mining accidents. Posted by rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 05:50 PM

And now Bush is bringing his "Republican Dream" to the country of Iraq. What Bush and his cronies are doing is tossing all the Iraqis out of work, bringing in, and only hiring illegal aliens to work on all the building projects over there in that country too.

52
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 09:02 PM

MIKE MALLOY RETURNS!

53
pee-wee on October 30, 2006 at 09:04 PM

Don't be surprised at anything that takes off down here because the GOP is desperate. They stand to lose up to four Congressional seats, the gap in the governor's race has closed to within 6 points and the legislature has an explosive issue to settle by Nov. 21 with a REP lawmaker who have DEMS refusing to seat and walking out of the legislature if this person doesn't resign due to racial slurs left on various other lawmakers phones.

So there you have it. Stay tuned.

54
J on October 30, 2006 at 09:06 PM

The DEMS lost the appeal to keep signs from precincts in Foleys Congressional District stating that someone else's name will be in the slot for Foley though he is not running. It's like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs.

As I have stated in earlier posts, it's called electioneering and it's against the law here in FL, BUT a judge ruled that the law was too vague and broad and thereby gave the REPS what they wanted.

No where else but Florida .....

55
J on October 30, 2006 at 09:16 PM

NBC News
Updated: 2 hours, 20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Without ever mentioning him by name, Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, in a court filing Monday, argues that a jury in the CIA/Leak trial should not consider evidence concerning why he did not charge former State Department official Richard Armitage with leaking Valerie Plame's name to reporters. It is a crime to intentionally disclose the name of a classified CIA operative...


...Fitzgerald writes, "The fact that no other person was charged with a crime relating to the disclosure of classified information says absolutely nothing about whether defendant Libby is guilty of the charged crimes."


----fitz really is going to get a felony conviction against libby isn't he....

56
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 09:16 PM

I thought I heard Bush say today that in the spirit of Halloween, we will begin to look for the ghost of those WMD in Iraq...again.
****

Lying about WMD in Iraq was the Republicans trick. Booting the Republican rubber stamps out on November 7th will be the treat.

57
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:17 PM

Look for further litigation on that appeal ruling because there is already talk of voters getting confused.

58
J on October 30, 2006 at 09:17 PM

America loses if Democrats win, President says

59
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 09:18 PM

MIKE MALLOY RETURNS!
****

pee wee,

I was wondering what you were counting for.

Malloy is back! I just clicked the link. I love Malloy.

60
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:19 PM

And now Bush is bringing his "Republican Dream" to the country of Iraq. What Bush and his cronies are doing is tossing all the Iraqis out of work, bringing in, and only hiring illegal aliens to work on all the building projects over there in that country too.
****

domingo,

I am convinced that is one reason for the Iraqi insurgency. It's now a civil war but I think it started because of pissed off out of work Iraqi citizens. Kerry said as much in 2004.

61
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:23 PM

hi honey, i'm home...malloy is ON THE AIR and there are hugs awaiting me on the blog...just walked in from HQ. polls look great!

Tammy is gettin' a bit o bounce. Clair is still in the game. We are cheering for you {{{ranger}}} and {{{sandy}}}

62
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 09:23 PM

----fitz really is going to get a felony conviction against libby isn't he....

Posted by gregg on October 30, 2006 at 09:16 PM

i wouldn't bet on it. just me. DPD would say yeah

63
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 09:26 PM

Those are some short, short coattails aWol is sporting.

We have known for years tht the president is a tool of limited urility, and now the Publicans are figuring it out too.

George is burning up the campaign trail...From Georgia to Texas and back to Georgia.

64
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 09:27 PM

I am convinced that is one reason for the Iraqi insurgency. It's now a civil war but I think it started because of pissed off out of work Iraqi citizens. Kerry said as much in 2004. Posted by rjsnj

Of course it is. He took away all their jobs, retirement, and national heath care, then he smirks about it. He wants to do the same thing to us. It's the Republican way.

65
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 09:28 PM

George is burning up the campaign trail...From Georgia to Texas and back to Georgia.
****

Let him burn it ... the more Dumbya campaigns the better it is for Dems.

66
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:29 PM

Tee, Hee, Hee

The British government hired Al Gore to advise them on global warming. Take that you jackass Bushitas. Gore was right; Bush is, was and always will be all wrong. Gore was elected; Bush was selected.

67
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:32 PM

Here's the GOP at work:

Videotapes Exist in Gibbons Alleged Assault Case
KESQ News Channel 3

Sunday 29 October 2006

Las Vegas - Videotapes from cameras in the parking garage where Congressman Jim Gibbons is alleged to have tried to sexually assault a cocktail waitress are now in the hands of Las Vegas police.

That's according to the lawyer for Crescent Properties, which owns the structure where Chrissy Mazzeo says Gibbons grabbed her and propositioned her on October 13th.

Sheriff Bill Young will not confirm the tapes' existence and says there is no investigation until Mazzeo signs the crime report.

Gibbons is running for Nevada governor against Democrat Dina Titus.

He says the tapes will exonerate him and his lawyer plans to file a court motion to force police to release them tomorrow.

At first, police said there were no surveillance tapes of the inside of the garage.

That has led Mazzeo's lawyer, Richard Wright to react to the reported existence of the tapes with caution.

Mazzeo says Gibbons tried to force himself on her, but Gibbons says he was helping her up after she tripped.

Both have said they are willing to take lie-detector tests.

68
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:34 PM

Conventional wisdom is that all politics are local. Well that was before THIS republican crowd and their current "leader". A majority of people in all the races want the rubber stampers gone so we can get back on the right track.

69
Chicago on October 30, 2006 at 09:35 PM

I just finished phone banking for Claire McCaskill, and the people I sploke with are genuinely pissed with the status quo, angry at the number of deaths in Iraq, have their blinders off about the false economy of the Bush tax cuts and fired up about stem-cell research.

I have been feeling good for a while now, but tonight just fired me up for the final week.

70
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 09:35 PM

Here's the GOP at work:

Videotapes Exist in Gibbons Alleged Assault Case
KESQ News Channel 3

Sunday 29 October 2006

Las Vegas - Videotapes from cameras in the parking garage where Congressman Jim Gibbons is alleged to have tried to sexually assault a cocktail waitress are now in the hands of Las Vegas police.

That's according to the lawyer for Crescent Properties, which owns the structure where Chrissy Mazzeo says Gibbons grabbed her and propositioned her on October 13th.

Sheriff Bill Young will not confirm the tapes' existence and says there is no investigation until Mazzeo signs the crime report.

Gibbons is running for Nevada governor against Democrat Dina Titus.

He says the tapes will exonerate him and his lawyer plans to file a court motion to force police to release them tomorrow.

At first, police said there were no surveillance tapes of the inside of the garage.

That has led Mazzeo's lawyer, Richard Wright to react to the reported existence of the tapes with caution.

Mazzeo says Gibbons tried to force himself on her, but Gibbons says he was helping her up after she tripped.

Both have said they are willing to take lie-detector tests.

71
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:39 PM

Malloy is on! Man is he ever on!

72
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:40 PM

oh yeah, baby...truthseekers are happy tonight! malloy is so awesome!

73
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 09:42 PM

You Get What You Pay For, and in Iraq We Paid for Death Squads

74
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 09:42 PM

Religion and science may coexist. I came to this conclusion a few years ago while doing an assignment in philosophy. We were discussing Creationism and Evolution at the time. Most people just couldn't wrap their heads around it, but it occurred to me that Evolutionary Science could be based on the physical remnants of our creators continuing efforts. We ourselves may also play a part in our creators efforts.

I bring this up because many of us are as religious as the so called religious right ever was and because we all need to have hope that our scientific abilities are not an afront to our religions or our creators. Too many spread hate and intolerance in the name of religion today for us not to share with them this reality.

75
Marine on October 30, 2006 at 09:43 PM

Malloy is playing Rums-skull. Oh man, is Rums-skull one sick person. His brains are rotted and so are the Republican rubber stamps that support him.

76
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:46 PM

rj, nobody like malloy! this is the best i've felt in a very long time. resistance radio is back.

don't you love to hear him scream, "what?"

yeah!

77
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 09:46 PM

From Charlie Cook:

October 30, 2006

• THERE IS NO EBB IN THE WAVE: With the election just eight days away, there are no signs that this wave is abating. Barring a dramatic event, we are looking at the prospect of GOP losses in the House of at least 20 to 35 seats, possibly more, and at least four in the Senate, with five or six most likely. (Read More)

****

Okay, no end zone dances. Pour it on. GOTV.

Ferguson is on the ropes. Stender is going to swept in with Menendez but we got to GOTV. Republicans are going to stay home just like they did with Forrester for the reason that Junior Kean is a sleaze ball.

78
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:49 PM

Posted by Marine on October 30, 2006 at 09:43 PM

okay, cool. i lost mine. religion, i mean.

let's make a deal. when the "faithful" decide that the literal word of their books is the truth and behave accordingly, and stay out of science unless they earn the right to have an opinion (educated opinion)...i'll say kewl. until then, i own this attitude.

when they stay out of walgreens and go to the preacher for healing, i'll be kewl.

when they don't need no in-sure-ance because their faith trumps the fear of "what if?", i'll be kewl.

when they keep their rosaries off my ovaries, i'll be kewl

79
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 09:56 PM

"We don't speak moron so we don't understand a word you just said." Malloy on Rummy.

80
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 09:56 PM

Malloy just said about Rums-Skull:

We don't speak lunatic!

Count Rums-Skull

81
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:56 PM

"We don't speak moron so we don't understand a word you just said." Malloy on Rummy.
****

LOL

He's going to talk about the Ghost-ess with the Most-ess next ... that will be Lynne Cheney!

82
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 09:59 PM

Yeah, lunatic, not moron. Mea Culpa.

83
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 10:00 PM

Fade, you're obviously angered by the sort of individual I'd like to see educated.

84
Marine on October 30, 2006 at 10:01 PM

Yeah, lunatic, not moron. Mea Culpa.
****

That line was a riot!

Donald Rums-Skull ... oh how true.

85
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:01 PM

Get this one:

The British consulate in Basra will evacuate its heavily defended building in the next 24 hours over concerns for the safety of its staff.

Despite a large British military presence at the headquarters in Basra Palace, a private security assessment has advised the consul general and her staff to leave the building after experiencing regular mortar attacks in the last two months.

The move will be seen as a huge blow to progress in Iraq and has infuriated senior military commanders.

****

Iraq is a Republican disaster. Boot the bums out.

86
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:03 PM

(Updated) October Surprise that Missed: Zawahiri Assassination Attempt kills 80
by Steven D
Mon Oct 30, 2006 at 12:49:09 PM PST

Earlier today a missile destroyed a madrassah (Islamic religious school) in Northwestern Pakistan, killing approximately 80 people in an attempt to kill the Al Qaeda's real #2 man, Ayman al Zawahiri. Although initial reports claimed the attack was launched from a Pakistani military helicopter, ABC has confirmed the missile was launched by the US:

(cont. below the fold with UPDATE)
Steven D's diary :: ::

Ayman al Zawahiri was the target of a Predator missile attack this morning on a religious school in Pakistan, according to Pakistani intelligence sources.

ABC News has learned the raid was launched after U.S. intelligence received tips and examined Predator reconnaissance indicating that al Qaeda's No. 2 man may have been staying at the school, which is located in the Bajaur region near the village that is thought to be al Qaeda's winter headquarters.

Despite earlier reports that the missiles had been launched by Pakistani military helicopters, Pakistani intelligence sources now tell ABC News that the missiles were fired from a U.S. Predator drone plane.

****

Perhaps ... but I still say that the Republican October surprise is a Tuna Noodle Casserole. There is no surprise just slime.

87
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:04 PM

Fade, abortion has been practiced by humans for hundreds of thousands of years, as has religion. Women had then and continue to have the right to prevent or end pregnancy when they deem such action necessary.

88
Marine on October 30, 2006 at 10:06 PM

"Wolf Blitzer does for the Bush Crime Family what Monica Lewinski did for Bill Clinton...Over and over and over."

That was too good.

89
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 10:13 PM

marine,

one might argue, given our historical record, that religion was originally a fertility game. with the wombs in the seat of power.

good times

90
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 10:13 PM

I've been saying along this is "Lieberman's war" more than it's "Bush's war".

Joe Lieberman on Iraq:

"In fact, five years ago, after Saddam ejected the UN inspectors, John McCain and I gave up on containment and introduced the Iraqi Liberation Act, which, when it became law, made a change of regime in Baghdad official US policy. You might therefore say that, when it comes to Iraq, President Bush is just enforcing the McCain-Lieberman policy." From Joe’s conference speech, February 2003

Crook and Liars

91
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 10:14 PM

Lynne Cheney:

Guilty until proven guilty and damn your habeaus corpus. Man, Malloy is hot.

The Empress of Darkness.

Well, I find it hard to feel bad for Wolf Blitzer who has been a Republican waterboy. But, the chickens have come home to roost. Blitzer now finds that he has been defending the indefensible. Well alas!

The Cheney's are unspeakable vampires.

92
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:15 PM

Yum yum yum. More bullshit to swallow from the Pentagon, and yes ... you, my fellow taxpayer, get to foot the bill for this faster-food meal, served up to spin the 24-hour news cycle:

Pentagon memo reveals launch of new PR war

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is buttressing its public relations staff and starting an operation akin to a political campaign war room as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld faces intensifying criticism over the Iraq war.

In a memo obtained by the Associated Press, Dorrance Smith, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said new teams of people will "develop messages" for the 24-hour news cycle and "correct the record."

...Another branch would coordinate "surrogates." In political campaigns, surrogates are usually high-level politicians or key interest groups who speak or travel on behalf of a candidate or an issue.

The plan would focus more resources on so-called new media, such as the Internet and Weblogs. It would also include new workers to book civilian and military guests on television and radio shows.
****

This is absolutely illegal. The Pentagon is not allowed to progandize the public. Henry Waxman should call them on the carpet for this.

93
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:18 PM

Wolf Blitzer, welcome to my world

Wolf Blitzer seemed totally in shock when Lynne Cheney questioned his patriotism after he asked her about Dick's statements supporting water-boarding. Whenever we question the Bush administration—we're called terrorist sympathisers and traitors–we're part of the "blame America first" crowd. It's a typical trick that the media falls for everytime (intentional or not), but we know it's bullshit. Is Wolf really that surprised Lynne did the same thing to him?

Crooks and Liars

94
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 10:19 PM

Who knows what indignities she has to suffer getting her husband ready to climb into his box of sacred dirt each night.

That's some good illustritive speech.

95
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 10:19 PM

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

****

Dumbya himself. These Republicans are lying dirtbags.

96
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:20 PM

Is Wolf really that surprised Lynne did the same thing to him?
****

he shouldn't be but the waterboys sometimes need to learn the hard way that they only matter when they faithfully carry the bucket. Spill some water and heaven help you, the Republican goon squad will decend upon you.

97
rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:23 PM

fade, I understand and respect religion as being our first attempt to understand the mysterious world in which we live. It has always offered answers for questions that science could not, and yes science has existed as long. Early science was responsible for providing humans with medicine and food, religion was an attempt to explain why it was there and where it came from.

98
Marine on October 30, 2006 at 10:24 PM

British to evacuate consulate in Basra after mortar attacks.

The British consulate in Basra will evacuate its heavily defended building in the next 24 hours over concerns for the safety of its staff.

Despite a large British military presence at the headquarters in Basra Palace, a private security assessment has advised the consul general and her staff to leave the building after experiencing regular mortar attacks in the last two months.

The move will be seen as a huge blow to progress in Iraq and has infuriated senior military commanders. They say it sends a message to the insurgents that they are winning the battle in pushing the British out of the southern Iraqi capital, where several British soldiers have died and dozens have been injured.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/30/wirq30.xml

99
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 10:24 PM

Phone calls coming up.

How fired up has he got the listeners tonight?

100
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 10:28 PM

What's up Dems?

Feeling good now that John Yarmouth is about to get a little help unseating Anne Northup in KY-3 from the DCCC.


101
MonicaR on October 30, 2006 at 10:34 PM

But I won't celebrate until November 8

102
MonicaR on October 30, 2006 at 10:36 PM

Waxman can after January 2, 2007.

Visualize a Democratic majority in the House and Senate.

103
MonicaR on October 30, 2006 at 10:39 PM

Posted by rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:04 PM

rjsnj,

I wonder what the British will do when one of these American drones hits Big Bend by mistake instead of a London Islamic religious school which the Pentagon belives houses al Queada "liquid" explosive makers?

These pilotless drones certainly don't have the panache of the WWI Red Baron. And they seem to hit the wrong targets more often than not....killing way too many innocent civilians. Maybe Cheney should start using "human" intelligence instead of depending on drones and robots like Rummy.

The media does not compute...the media does not compute, Will Robinson. They are not telling the American public what is really going on in Iraq and Afganistan.

Send out the clones, excuse me, clowns from the GOP/Pentagon propoganda machine to enlighten those who will not see the wisdom of our fearless leader.

104
SandyH on October 30, 2006 at 11:03 PM

The media does not compute...the media does not compute, Will Robinson. They are not telling the American public what is really going on in Iraq and Afganistan.

hi Sandy...it's big brudda, sistah! infotainment, not much different than the shopping network.

looks like Rove is rolling out a new line of merde, too.

105
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:12 PM

are you hearing this comment about the depends? HA

106
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:13 PM

The Cheney's are unspeakable vampires.

Posted by rjsnj on October 30, 2006 at 10:15 PM

They are also treasonists. Haliburton is ripping off the American taxpayer (us). both cheney's need to be tried for treason and hanged.

107
Johnedwrd on October 30, 2006 at 11:14 PM

War profiteering is treasonous activity. cheney and bush have practised profiteering to the detriment of the Iraqi people. bush and cheney must be tried for treason.

108
Johnedwrd on October 30, 2006 at 11:17 PM

{{{JohnEdward}}}

if these criminals even get half of what they deserve...

109
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:19 PM

CNN Poll Confirms That a Majority of People in Virgina are Smarter than the Allen Campaign

Among likely voters, the former Republican was the choice of 50 percent of those surveyed while 46 percent favored Allen and 4 percent were undecided.

The poll is the first to show Webb with an advantage in a mean and expensive campaign in once reliably Republican Virginia whose outcome could be pivotal in determining whether an embattled GOP can retain control of the Senate.

The latter two days of the survey, however, reflect two intensive days of news coverage of Allen's claim that selected sexually explicit passages in some of Webb's six gritty novels about war are demeaning to women.

The Allen campaign disputed the poll results and said they would provide specifics as soon as they consulted with Drudge.

110
dorsano on October 30, 2006 at 11:19 PM

The Congress has done nothing but rubber stamp bush and cheney's treasonous activities in Iraq. bush and cheney don't give a rats ass about the American people yet they want us to vote for their abettors in Congress. Don't fall for the lies. Replace them all.

111
Johnedwrd on October 30, 2006 at 11:20 PM

Bein' from Missouri and all, I have fantasies abotu a Truman Committee for today, whackin' snouts out of the public trough.

112
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 11:21 PM

Evening Fade,

Only a few days left and hopefully we will be rid of the do-nothings (except screw Americans) in Congress.

113
Johnedwrd on October 30, 2006 at 11:23 PM

Posted by BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 11:21 PM

Was the Truman Committee set up to investigate war profiteering?

114
Johnedwrd on October 30, 2006 at 11:24 PM

this is from kos and quite interesting. who knows if this will hold but it looks like the brilliant kiddi porn gambit isn't quite having its intended consequences. i bet we get some interesting numbers out of tenn. next:

In case there was still doubt about the veracity of the DSCC poll, Gallup now has chimed in with its latest:

Opinion Research for CNN. 10/26-29. Likely voters. MoE 4% (No trendlines)

Allen (R) 46
Webb (D) 50

Here are the other two polls from today for good measure:

Rasmussen. 10/25. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (10/25 results)

Allen (R) 46 (50)
Webb (D) 51 (48)

Garin Hart Yang (D) for the DSCC. 10/26-29. Likely voters. MoE 3.5% (No trend lines)

Allen (R) 38
with leaners: 43

Webb (D) 43
with leaners: 47

Notice how the DSCC internal poll is actually the most pessimistic of the lot?

115
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:27 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House economist Edward Lazear predicted on Monday that lackluster growth in U.S. gross domestic product during the third quarter would prove short-lived.

...and santa claus wants you wish list...

116
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:28 PM

Yep. Here is the Wikipedia link about it.

117
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 11:28 PM

Molly Ivins: It’s Good to Be the Richest of the Rich

AUSTIN, Texas—Oh, goody. According to the White House press office, President Bush will spend much of the next two weeks discussing what a swell economy we have. Did you know that the Dow Jones industrial average is at its highest point EVER? And the NASDAQ, ditto. Wow, breathtaking, huh? But the Dow is not a good indicator of how thing are really going for the majority of Americans.

I just love listening to the Bushies play with numbers. When Bush took over in 2001, he predicted a surplus of $516 billion for fiscal year 2006. Last week, the administration announced a 2006 deficit of $248 billion, missing its projection for this year by $764 billion. Bush said the numbers are “proof that pro-growth economic policies work” and are “an example of sound fiscal policies here in Washington.”

This is highly reminiscent of Dick Cheney’s recent observation about the Iraqi government, “If you look at the general, overall situation, they’re doing remarkably well.”

Bush’s main talking point on the budget is that he “cut the deficit in half”—that would be from 2004, the year the White House inflated the projected deficit for political reasons. Even conservatives disagree. Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation said, “The White House has a track record of projecting budget numbers to be a lot worse than they end up, which therefore helps them defeat the gloomy expectations and declare victory.”

Truthdig

118
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 11:30 PM

i'll link to that gregg and dors

119
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:33 PM

hey {{{DPD}}}

you're past curfew, young man. please report to the office. how'd your paint job turn out?

120
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:34 PM

i like that bush and rove and cheney are going whole hog and putting their reps on the line for this election. i want us to beat their best, nastiest game soundly and put them to rest for ever and ever and ever.

121
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:36 PM

By James R. Healey, USA TODAY
Gasoline prices are creeping back up after declining steadily for about three months. But there's disagreement about where prices go now.

gee i thought we were getting a reprieve until after the elections?

122
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:38 PM

jeez, where do we find these freakin' morons? nancy brazile's school for losers with loud mouths talking about their fears and doubts with the media?

The Republicans have convinced everyone, not least themselves, that the reason they did so well in 2004 was because of their turnout operation,” she said. “They think they’re smarter than us, and, the truth is, some of us think they’re smarter than us.”

the Democrats are spooked.

123
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:42 PM

Thomas Frank, Malloy. and a good question. why do these stupid people vote against their own economic self-interest?

abortion
homophobia

anyone else read the Kao book?

okay, nighty night truthseekers. how glorious it is to go to bed screaming again!

124
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:44 PM

I'll tell you why we're making headway where we haven't since the WPA...Thanks to Dr. Dean, they are realizing we don't want to take their hunting rifles and shotguns. That killed us in the middle and the west for far too long.

125
BlueGirlRedState on October 30, 2006 at 11:49 PM

fade, yeah isn't it time for brazile and the ragin cajun and the rest to get some real jobs and leave spare the rest of us their bullshit.

126
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:52 PM

something abou this doesn't add up:

DES MOINES, Oct. 27 — More than 6,000 state legislative seats in 46 states are on the Nov. 7 ballot, and like the seismic state elections in 1994 and 1974 the cumulative impact of the outcomes could be immense, with Democrats possibly gaining control of a majority of state capitols for the first time in a decade.

While the nation’s attention has been fixed on the question of which party will control Congress, another campaign season has been unfolding in the shadows — upstaged and overlooked but more likely to affect the day-to-day life of voters than the big-money Congressional races.

Most significantly, the groundwork for redrawing Congressional districts after the 2010 census will be done under the 50 capitol domes, and the party in power will set the table for those discussions in ways favorable to its interests. Gains made this year, analysts say, will help give incumbents a leg up in the final elections leading up to the redistricting...

***didn't the supreme court recently rule in the case of texas that a state legislature can repportion whenever they want regardless of the census cycle? so where ever the democrats take over i say apportion away...


127
gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:55 PM

so where ever the democrats take over i say apportion away...


Posted by gregg on October 30, 2006 at 11:55 PM

chop chop!

128
fade2bluz on October 30, 2006 at 11:58 PM

What!? You mean Democrats don't REALLY want to take away their guns, bibles, and force them all to into "Queer marriage"? Why those dirty Republicans musta lied to the voters again.

129
Domingo on October 30, 2006 at 11:58 PM

time to hit the hay. keep calling and canvasing and undercutting the bush/rove/cheney crime family every way you can, they are on the ropes, keep hitting them as they stumble...see you in the morning.

130
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 12:03 AM

I know. I've been a liberal - and proud of it - in conservative enclaves most of my life. Finally I get to act smug and insufferable. I've been keeping a list...I am going to get out my childrens school directory from 15 years ago and call Mark Gietzen personally (former head of the KS GOP) just to jeer at him.

He and I have history, to say the least. He threw a party the day the Air Force gave us orders out of town.

131
BlueGirlRedState on October 31, 2006 at 12:04 AM

Goodnight Gregg. I phone banked for Claire today, and hopefully I can get another day or two in. I am so fired up after talking to Missourians who are as pissed off as I am.

132
BlueGirlRedState on October 31, 2006 at 12:05 AM

I'm going to say goodnight myself.

One more week, fellow Democrats. One more week...

133
BlueGirlRedState on October 31, 2006 at 12:08 AM

If you want to see into the future, listen to Scott Ritter and Seymour Hersh talk about what will happen if the NeoCons stay in power, in their chilling account: Target Iran

Fade, we've got to get the word out!

134
tylinCA on October 31, 2006 at 12:12 AM

Domingo,

Don't forget we want to raise their taxes, surrender to the terrorists, and eat their babies!

135
ranger995 on October 31, 2006 at 12:15 AM

Evening,

What! exercises?:

WMD intercept exercise set to begin in the Gulf

By Guy Dinmore in Washington, Roula Khalaf in London and Najmeh,Bozorgmehr in Tehran

Published: October 30 2006 02:00 | Last updated: October 30 2006 02:00

War games designed to intercept ships carrying weapons of mass destruction will take place for the first time today in the Gulf opposite Iran.

The naval exercise - organised under the US's 2003 Proliferation Security Initiative - will include Bahrain, one of the regional states and host to a US naval base.

Although the US says the move is not specifically aimed at Iran, the PSI exercise comes amid heightened concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme.

The US and European states are pushing for a United Nations Security Council resolution that would restrict, through sanctions, Tehran's ability to procure material for its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.

Iran has refused to heed international calls for a halt to the most sensitive parts of its nuclear programme and has stepped up uranium enrichment research in recent days.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b783e99a-67ba-11db-8ea5-0000779e2340.html

136
TomN on October 31, 2006 at 12:20 AM

US-led forces move to defend Saudi oil terminal

By Carola Hoyos and Stephen Fidler in London and William Wallis in Cairo

Published: October 27 2006 19:27 | Last updated: October 27 2006 19:27

US-led coalition naval forces have moved into Saudi Arabia’s port of Ras Tanura to ward off a possible terror attack against the world’s biggest oil export facility.

A statement from the combined naval taskforce said: “Acting on information received, coalition naval forces operating in support of Saudi and Bahraini forces have deployed units to counter a possible maritime threat to the oil facilities at Ras Tanura.”

UK, US and Saudi officials downplayed the event, calling it routine and saying they were not responding to a specific threat. Nevertheless, captains of tankers travelling to and from the port said it was the first time in peace time they had been warned by commanders to keep watch and respond to any instructions.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/fed61f98-65ee-11db-a4fc-0000779e2340.html

137
TomN on October 31, 2006 at 12:59 AM

Fears over huge growth in Iraq's unregulated private armies


· Mercenaries 'outnumber UK soldiers three to one'
· Security companies are unaccounable, say critics

Richard Norton-Taylor
Tuesday October 31, 2006
The Guardian

A huge increase in the number of unregulated private military and security companies operating in Iraq and Afghanistan is driving concern about the lack of regulation and constraints on their activities.

There are three British private security guards to every British soldier in Iraq, the charity War on Want said yesterday. At least 181 private military and security companies are operating in the country, employing almost 21,000 British private security guards, nearly half of the total number - an estimated 48,000.

Foreign contracts by British private security firms are now worth about £1bn a year, according to the companies.

The extent of their activities, and the way governments are either indulging or ignoring them, were highlighted at a conference in London in which the companies admitted that what has become known as the largest private army in the world had a serious image problem.

******

Critics say the main problem is that they are unaccountable. Non-Iraqi employees of private security companies in Iraq were protected from prosecution under Order 17 of the Coalition Provisional Authority, issued shortly before it handed over power in 2004.

War on Want said yesterday that civilian contractors - including men named in US military reports as having carried out abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison - have repeatedly escaped prosecution. The charity pointed to a report by US army general Antonio Taguba which stated that two workers employed by private defence companies CACI International Inc and Titan Corp were "either directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu Ghraib".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1935704,00.html

138
TomN on October 31, 2006 at 01:15 AM

Here's what the Republicans want.

139
Domingo on October 31, 2006 at 01:15 AM

Marilyn Musgrave and her thugs in action.

140
Domingo on October 31, 2006 at 01:17 AM

Yea!

October 31, you may party-on, later.

Hello {{fade}},

Michael Douglas is the man. Looks like its rollin'.
Thanks again,

night

141
TomN on October 31, 2006 at 01:22 AM

Why are we still talking about the US winning in Iraq? If anybody is going to win, shouldn't it be the Iraqi people?

142
jtarchi on October 31, 2006 at 01:30 AM

Well, the US invaded Iraq. Now the US is occupying Iraq.

There is no victory in occuping a nation, especially when done by a democracy in the name of freedom.
The US can only continue the occupation by force, and make some really good friends, or declare the best victory possible and get the hell out.

-and this earlier this week:

AMY GOODMAN: Bob Parry, finally, as you look today, 20 years later, back at the Iran-Contra scandal and the difficulty in getting word out about the scandal -- the New York Times holding onto the story. Ultimately it was the Reagan administration themselves, right around Thanksgiving 20 years ago, that admitted much of what happened, which certainly took out a lot of the investigating of it, because they were admitting it themselves. Do you make parallels for what’s happening today in journalism?

ROBERT PARRY: Well, sure. I think there’s been a tendency not to be aggressive, and that was a big lesson learned in the 1980s. Many of the reporters who really pushed these stories and went after the hard news had their careers damaged, and many reporters who didn’t moved up. So you ended up with sort of a kind of a reverse Darwinianism, if you will, I mean, where the -- well, maybe not reverse, but it was the reporters that played ball got ahead, and they became the managing editors of today. So, there was a cultural change that occurred with the Washington press corps during that period, and that remains with us: this idea of not asking the hard questions, not pushing the edge of the envelope. And we saw that certainly during the run-up to the Iraq war, and we’ve seen it really continuing to today.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/26/1341249

143
TomN on October 31, 2006 at 01:51 AM

Junior invaded Iraq so he could be a "War President" and abuse his war powers here at home. He had the whole planned since at least 1999. But of course, he screwed up his war, just like the moron's screwed up everything he's ever been involved with his whole sorry life. He doesn't have much smarts, see, that's why everything he does comes out wrong.

Google

144
Domingo on October 31, 2006 at 02:23 AM

Good morning

See I'm an early bird so I'll use this chance to post on a what will probably be another sad subject.

Brown vs. Board of Education-Topeka - There's a large threat to this Supreme Court ruling that stated it was just plain wrong to segregate school children because of the color of their skin. This ruling did away with the ruling that was being used for decades with Plessy vs. Ferguson which stated that their can be "separate and equal". Now Brown is being threatened and with the current atmosphere at the highest court, things don't look encouraging.

I grew up in the era in which Brown begin to be enforced and on through later days on enactment. And I did it in Southern states both border and deep south (Virginia, South Carolina, Florida). It was an experience that will NEVER be forgotten. The everyday trials and tribulations built strength and character. One learned how to "kick ass" with their mind instead their fists.

What my parents and so many, many other black folk struggled and endured hardship for has the threat of being tossed like a papertowel in the trash. Those whose aim is the dissolve the power of Brown is to legally have what they have already designed in many cities and metropolitan areas - schools that have large percentages of minorities with low performance stats. Blacks and whites have fled from these areas in order to get their children the education they want and deserve. Meanwhile school districs and states are left to deal with these failing schools.

The dismantling of Brown will be another sad chapter that will go the way of affirmative action and many other set aside programs.

But as I told Frosty, we will survive.

http://www.naacpldf.org/landing.aspx?sub=5

145
J on October 31, 2006 at 06:51 AM

Morning, J!

US's Afghan policies going up in smoke

In Afghanistan, the US cozies up to people it professes to be against. It attacks people whose hearts and minds it hopes to win and it pays experts to report false conclusions it wants to hear. In such circumstances, the multimillion-dollar drug-eradication program can only be a failure.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HK01Df01.html

146
Cyn_NY on October 31, 2006 at 06:56 AM

From the Cook Political Report:

• THERE IS NO EBB IN THE WAVE: With the election just eight days away, there are no signs that this wave is abating. Barring a dramatic event, we are looking at the prospect of GOP losses in the House of at least 20 to 35 seats, possibly more, and at least four in the Senate, with five or six most likely.

http://www.cookpolitical.com/

147
Cyn_NY on October 31, 2006 at 07:01 AM

All Hallows Eve, everyone.

Unregulated groups put millions in election

"It's become the new way to do business in politics," said Pete Maysmith, a national director of Common Cause, a nonprofit that lobbies for more transparency in campaign finance.

148
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:02 AM

good morning neighbors. and happy scarey day. i tried to find a cheney mask but they were all being used in efigies around town.

149
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:07 AM

How do you get a candidate backing by the DCCC?

Posted by dk2 on October 30, 2006 at 07:36 PM

Raise the amount they want you to, then they might play the game, baby.

150
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:09 AM

Morning, Esme and Gregg. The money and lies being thrown at the voters are enough to make your head spin. If people only paid attention and did their homework before the election, they would see thru the repugs tactics. In a perfect world...

151
Cyn_NY on October 31, 2006 at 07:11 AM

american hero:

Actor Fox campaigns for Ohio Democrat
POSTED: 9:57 p.m. EST, October 30, 2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Michael J. Fox campaigned for Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Sherrod Brown on Monday, saying the country needs leaders who support scientific research.

The actor, who has Parkinson's disease, has been campaigning around the country for candidates who favor federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, which he supports as a possible cure.

Brown, a congressman from northeastern Ohio, is challenging Sen. Mike DeWine, who opposes federal money for such research.

The race had been tight, but recent polls showed Brown leading by 7 to 12 percentage points over DeWine. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona headlined DeWine rallies Monday in northwest Ohio.

During a speech to about 150 supporters, Fox referred to the criticism he drew from conservatives last week after appearing in a Missouri political ad that ran during the World Series. The spot showed Fox visibly shaking while he urged viewers to vote for another Democratic Senate challenger, Claire McCaskill, over Missouri's Republican incumbent, Sen. Jim Talent.

Conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh criticized his appearance in the ad, suggesting that Fox was "either off his medication or acting."

"As you may know, this past week I had a little run-in with a less-than-compassionate conservative," Fox said, appearing to sway slightly. "I guess I'm not supposed to speak with you until my symptoms go away. Or maybe I'm just supposed to go away. But I'm not going to go away."

fox visits essietown

152
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:11 AM

good morning, gentlebloggers

only a week away...getting very excited...did you see the Musgrave video at Josh Marshall?

why do we so seldom see reporters like that one anymore?

154
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:17 AM

Good Morning,

With one week left till "Liberal Emancepation" Day, make sure you sign up to help GOTV Campaignes in your area.Also, check out the Democratic Party Builder Blogs

Have a great day everyone!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

155
FreedomOfSpeechForHabeasCorpusRestored on October 31, 2006 at 07:17 AM

Know what I'm scared of? Another judge's ruling that changes how and if we count absentee ballots.

You all know I was out of the office last Friday for my Bird. Yesterday I open my door and there sits a reporter with a microphone wanting me to give a few sound bites for the local station concerning the new voter i.d. and what the judge had ruled concerning those who vote by paper (sorry, it's not absentee voting any more) in the office and showing the required i.d. That's all I need...more hysteria about how votes won't count. I declined the interview. I think she just wanted me to sing. (it's a joke here in Guernseyanna. I have always ended the serious interviews with a song. recorded, not live. I'm sure it will be used against me if/when I run for office. haha)

Our legislators need to be kicked to the curb! We have got to haul their asses out and elect those that will make common sense legislation.


Requests Hit Record For Absentee Ballots


A record 166,000 Maryland voters had requested absentee ballots as of yesterday, spurred in part by suggestions from the governor and other state officials to abandon electronic voting for the security of a paper ballot.


156
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:17 AM

Posted by Marine on October 30, 2006 at 09:43 PM

Thank you for this post. I am one who believes they co-exist.

157
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:18 AM

realclearpolitics has a bunch of new polling up this morning. most of it is zogby who was so off in 04 i don't pay attention. it shows ford down by 1, webb up by 4 but brown only up by 2 so i am not bothering to copy it but these two seem to me to be from more credible sources and are quite pleasing ( i was the guy who wasn't going to pay attention to polls, maybe in 08?:


Virginia Senate Race CNN 10/26 - 10/29 597 LV Allen (R) 46% , Webb (D) 50% Webb +4.0%

New Jersey Senate Race Quinnipiac 10/23 - 10/29 887 LV Kean (R) 44% , Menendez (D) 49% Menendez +5.0%

158
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:18 AM

oh zogby has lieberman only up by 4 over lamont.

159
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:19 AM

Oh, Fade, that's priceless! Choose between saving a soldier's life or stopping a gay marriage? We should all use that line!

160
Cyn_NY on October 31, 2006 at 07:21 AM

Fade, we've got to get the word out!

Posted by tylinCA on October 31, 2006 at 12:12 AM

Amen! Listen to Scott Ritter and Sy Hersch on Iran, thanx to Mary.

TomN--nice digging! and that is great news--Michael Douglas is da man!

161
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:25 AM

oh zogby has lieberman only up by 4 over lamont.

Posted by gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:19 AM

'sup pollster man?

162
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:26 AM

Gregg, that is great news! I would give anything to take this week off from work and travel to Pa, Conn, and help out here in NY. My boss started a 2 week trial yesterday, so no chance. I am itching to do more!

163
Cyn_NY on October 31, 2006 at 07:28 AM

essietown! thanks for the chuckle! He was in the big city...far, far away from my tiny hamlet.

I wish MJFox would do a rally with Z. Stem cell research has been a top priority to Zack Space. His 17 year old son, Nick, has juvenile diabetes. I've witnessed first hand how lovingly Zack and his wife, Mary, monitor and care for their son.

164
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:28 AM

{{{DPD}}} please report to the office for an unexcused absence. we haven't seen you since you were moving furniture and painting.

check in, please, if you're lurking. you are missed!

165
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:32 AM

Good Morning!

Polls for the Tom Hayhurst Congressional District 3 in northern Indiana are out and it's not good - he's down 12 points.

Does anyone have any information on
Research 2000, the group that did the polling?

166
Kathy_in_Indiana on October 31, 2006 at 07:33 AM

Posted by Cyn_NY on October 31, 2006 at 07:15 AM

ROTFLMAO!

167
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:35 AM

(eye)candy for bluzy

168
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:35 AM

more proof that there is a god, katherine harris and her senate campaign. as long as bush is making his georgia to texas campaign tour why not throw in florida and give the lady a hand, remind everyone what a wonderful thing she did for out country helping the asshole steal the 2000 vote in florida:

Campaign Gone South
Florida's Katherine Harris Continues Her Senate Race, Shedding Staff Along the Way

By Libby Copeland
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 31, 2006; Page C01

BARTOW, Fla.

Katherine Harris, who is trying to become a U.S. senator, says she is writing a tell-all about the many people who have wronged her. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to: the Republican leaders who didn't want her to run, the press that has covered her troubled campaign, and the many staffers who have quit her employ, whom she accuses of colluding with her opponent.

She is vague about what, precisely, makes her a victim, but she says she has it all documented.

"I've been writing it all year," she says in that kittenish voice. She often smiles and cocks her head as if she's letting you in on a secret. "It's going to be a great book."

she was high camp before there was high camp

169
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:39 AM

wowzer! i'll send another donation if you need some cash for that one--just to keep america beautiful!

{{{essie}}}

Posted by Kathy_in_Indiana on October 31, 2006 at 07:33 AM
ignore the ones that don't feel right. pay no attention to the doubters and the fearful. this is the time for positive thinking, vision and determination. i don't know about this poll, but there are PUSH POLLS out there designed to subtly plant ideas. you've got one week to be the leader who says, "polls, schmolls--the only poll that matters is Tuesday. and we're going to win!"

no team ever wins the game talking about how great the other team is at halftime, even if they're ahead.

if it's not comin' from greggster, the pollster man, it's not a reliable poll. (can't you just picture him on Seinfeld?)

170
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:41 AM

GOP at a loss? Karl Rove has an 11th-hour plan to win


"The stars were aligned. It was a coincidence," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.


171
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:42 AM

fade, just reading this book on black magic to find some ways to help my candidate...

172
gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:43 AM

Officials face Election Day stumper, with possible payoff online


Why do Americans vote on Tuesdays?

A voter-reform group is paying prospective voters to videotape themselves asking elected officials that question. The first person to post footage of a particular official on YouTube or another video-sharing Internet site cashes in.

173
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:47 AM

Posted by gregg on October 31, 2006 at 07:43 AM

all right, brudda, i'm in. you know that hundred monkeys thing? shouldn't be too difficult...

174
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:51 AM

oh yeah, be looking for me and my staff on one of those youtube thingies. We will have observers with video....ohio election officials are a hot commodity. or so they say. snicker

I'll try to look like pretty for the big night. And hope to finish early so I can make the 40 minute drive to Tusc. Co to celebrate with Z!

175
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:51 AM

Use if for good, or you will burn

176
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:54 AM

KinI, try not to fret. Stay cooler than a body on ice.
Polls are like beauty...it's all in the eyes of the beholder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another day to conquer for the good of democracy. Tonight is Halloween parade for Z.

Enjoy the day, one and all.

177
Esmeralda on October 31, 2006 at 07:58 AM

Give this woman a raise!

"It's a bunch of spin," said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Stacie Paxton. "I don't think their numbers add up." She said in the battleground state of Iowa, for example, Democrats have returned more absentee ballots than Republicans, and their rate of return is higher too.

178
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 07:58 AM

I say guvmint and religion don't mix. Here's more evidence:

The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just for kids anymore.

Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007.

Bullshit

179
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 08:02 AM

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross"

- Sinclair Lewis

Pollsterman, here's some fresh meat from Election Central, Josh Marshall's excellent coffee house. Enjoy!

180
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 08:08 AM

I used this before, but I'll do it again

The race between two larger than life figures. The republican: loved by the conservatives of his party, darling of the rural demographic, considered a dimwit, a sordid past, panders to the evangelicals. The democrat: a vietnam war veteran, highly intelligent, thoughtful, represents a new direction, savaged by his opponent during campaign.

It looks like 2004 with Allen and Webb standing in for Bush and Kerry. Only this time the outcome is going to be a satisfying one.

181
Richard on October 31, 2006 at 08:14 AM

Good morning {{{Fade}}}!

182
Kristen on October 31, 2006 at 08:35 AM

Relax: Rummy's in charge

WASHINGTON — Go ahead, people, you have your orders from Napoleon Bonaparte, I mean Donald Rumsfeld. "Back off" and "relax." Book a cruise to Chillsville. Don't worry your pretty little heads about the debacle in Iraq, because "it's complicated, it's difficult." Are mere mortals going to be able to get their minds around a problem that even Albert Einstein, I mean Donald Rumsfeld, finds complicated?

We should all thank our lucky stars that "honorable people" are willing to do all this super-advanced thinking for us. Aristotle, I mean Donald Rumsfeld, was kind enough to phrase it that way rather than spell out what he really meant, which was "people who are smarter than you."

A few news cycles have come and gone since the secretary of defense held that stunning news conference at the Pentagon last week, I realize, but it was such a telling moment — such a revealing glimpse behind the curtain — that it deserves to remain fresh in our minds, even amid the distracting cacophony of 11th-hour electioneering. There, in just two words, you have the Bush administration's approach to the war in Iraq. Indeed, you have the Republicans' theory of government:

Back off.

183
Kristen on October 31, 2006 at 08:38 AM

{{{Kristen}}}

have a glorious day! what a treat to see you on my way out. look upstream at the video of that same "back off" principle in action.

read you when i get back tonight. one week of joyful campaigning left until the countdown. i feel good!

184
fade2bluz on October 31, 2006 at 08:53 AM

It's hard for me to believe that anyone who reads this blog hasn't already made up their mind already about who they would vote for, but just in case there are a few Republicans or Independents out there that have come to this site I would like you to consider one thing.

There maybe many reasons to not vote for Republicans this year but the number one reason is, (not a suprise), Bush.

I don't believe that Bush is evil. I think he is incompetent. I know, I know, you've heard it all before. But keep this in mind. The Republican Party has always been touted as the party of "Business". Really. Let's think about that for a minute. Any sucessful corporation, would not tolerate the so called leadership that Bush has demonstrated. If you are a business man or woman, and you run your own company. Would you hire Bush? And if the answer is no, then the next question is why would you hire his supporters ?
Don't let incompetency be rewarded. Send a message that this country deserves better.

185
LaSt on October 31, 2006 at 08:54 AM


********** NEW OPEN THREAD **************

186
dk2 on October 31, 2006 at 05:54 PM


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