Good morning Dem's

G'mornin goodfoe and lurkers

Good morning SalutetheDem's...how's everything in your world this am?

Please democrats I understand
that we had phase in minium wage
int two year span to reduce impact
on inflation.Please for love of God
and country fight hard for cutting rates
for all college grads. There disposable
income determines economies in future please

goodfoe, you want an olive or onion in that drink kid?

good morning gang.

looks like the very thick plot in iraq gets thicker by the day, this from a piece at msnbc:

"...Al-Maliki was quoted by Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper as criticizing Bush for complaining about the manner of Saddam’s execution and saying that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was helping “terrorists” by noting publicly that political problems could cost al-Maliki his job.

“It seems to me that Bush has given in to domestic pressure,” al-Maliki said of Bush’s criticism this week that his government had “fumbled” the hanging of Saddam, which was marred by Shiite officials making sectarian jibes, captured on video.

“Maybe he has lost control of the situation,” the prime minister added, saying Bush was normally a strong character.

Of Rice, he was quoted as saying: “I would advise Condoleezza Rice to avoid statements that may aid terrorists.”"

Gregg...one olive,..stirred, not shaken and 6 quick refills, PLEASE!!

Please make 21 GOP senators
up for re-election that their
vote on this issue could cost
them in 2008 like Iraq did. Generation
next need to get break because not
everyone will qualify for grants. Represent
middle class and taxpayers please this is a
big concern-wish more blog responses with
college affordability issue-impacts alot
people-please lets think beyond ourselves
help generation next please

coming up boss! and please stop picking all the damn cashews out of the bar mix and leaving those soggy pretzel sticks for the rest of us....

morning all,

Have you ever seen this before? 71 employees of this Republican led administration don't pay taxes!!! The corruptive rot starts at the top and works it way right down. JUST THINK what $3 Billion dollars would pay for!!!

Washington - As the 2006 tax season approaches, the federal government is still trying to recover nearly $3 billion from its own employees who failed to file income tax returns for 2005.

More than 450,000 active and retired federal employees did not voluntarily comply with federal income tax requirements for the 2005 tax year, according to documents obtained by WTOP through the Freedom of Information Act.

The total balance owed is $2,799,950,165.

The documents show that every federal agency has employees who failed to comply with federal tax laws.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011807M.shtml

Gregg...al-Miliky hasn't done what he said he was going to do in the past...he has stopped US forces from going into Sadr City to get the Madi army...he hasn't supplied the troops he has promised....he's going to drop 'ol Bushwacker in the hot, frying oil big time.....are the martuni's on the way?

and if you did not call or email your Rep or Senator about this retraction of the Energy bill, DO IT NOW, please.

"Washington - As the House prepared to impose new fees on oil and gas taken from federal waters, some Senate Democrats said Wednesday that royalty breaks for energy companies ought to be abandoned.

House Democrats are confident they can approve an energy package Thursday which includes a conservation fee on oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico, seeks to recoup royalties lost because of a government error in drilling leases in the late 1990s, and rolls back several oil industry tax breaks.

Part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's priority agenda for the first 100 hours of Democratic control of Congress, the energy proposals targeting highly profitable oil and gas companies are expected to breeze through the House.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011807N.shtml

Gregg...busted again..didn't think you noticed... a case of cashews is out in front of your place now..
Thx for the martuni's...day is starting to look better already!!!

Of COURSE Cheney rejected any peace with iran. How else to convince the American public it will ok for them to bomb the hell out them, too??

Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'

Iran gives millions of dollars to support the Hezbollah movement
Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight programme.
Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion.

Offers, including making its nuclear programme more transparent, were conditional on the US ending hostility.

But Vice-President Dick Cheney's office rejected the plan, the official said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6274147.stm

PamB...You know that I am old and senile...so, maybe I'm just confused (nothing new about that)...didn't they vote on this yesterday....maybe I better cut down on my pain meds....John Boy...

PamB 9:59 AM.....Bush and Cheney are simple minded in their purpose,,,if these two start a war with Iran, I hope after due process, upon conviction, they are sent to Iraq to have their sentence carried out....

Maliki stresses need to bolster Iraqi forces
Need for U.S. forces could drop ‘dramatically,’ Iraqi prime minister says

BAGHDAD, Jan. 17 - The Iraqi government's need for American troops would "dramatically go down" in three to six months if the United States accelerated the process of equipping and arming Iraq's security forces, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Wednesday.

The head of Iraq's Shiite Muslim-led government defended his country's independence and sovereignty and called on U.S. leaders to show faith in his ability to lead.

Maliki disputed President Bush's remarks broadcast Tuesday that the execution of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein "looked like it was kind of a revenge killing" and took exception to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Senate testimony last week that Maliki's administration was on "borrowed time."

...ok i am having some trouble understanding this. isn't this booosh's guy? isn't he supposed to support the dummie's dumb plan? maybe we should give him wmd so he could drop them on the kurd's who are on the way to baghdad to help him? this whole situation is more screwy every time you look at it.

non smoke break time!

Hamilton warns that al-Maliki may fail Bush

The co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group said Wednesday that he has serious doubts about the ability of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to reduce the level of sectarian violence and achieve national reconciliation, and warned that President Bush's new Iraq strategy is likely to fail if he isn't able to.

"The rhetoric of Maliki is fine but his performance has been disappointing," former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.) told The Hill. "So here we find ourselves in this extraordinary position. The U.S. is the superpower of the world, the sole superpower, and the success of our policy in Iraq depends on the actions of the Maliki government, a government that has been weak and that has not performed on these central benchmarks of national reconciliation."

goodfoe,

it was my understanding that today is the day it is to be voted on in the House.

Anybody wanting a chuckle, go to C-Span where the Reps are giving one minute speechs.

You can close your eyes and tell which reps are Republicans, by the whinney baby sour grape, sore loser comments. Wahh, Wahhh, those damn Democrats would not let us put any amendments on those bills just passed! We had so many amendments we wanted, like giving Corporations a lot more tax breaks in exchange for making them raise their minimum wage! Wahhhhhhhh.

so did Sen. Clinton.

Gates signals troop surge in Afghanistan

The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, said yesterday he was "strongly inclined" to send more troops to Afghanistan after a threefold increase in Taliban attacks in the past four months.
"I believe that we must do what is necessary in order to sustain the success that we have already attained in Afghanistan," Mr Gates said at a press conference in Kabul, adding he would pass on requests for more soldiers from military commanders to the joint chiefs of staff.

Work related news.

Orem likely to use paper ballots in the future

Orem voters may use paper ballots in upcoming municipal elections -- and other cities may follow suit.

Orem's municipal election is months away, but the city is acting now to find an affordable and efficient way to count votes. State officials say the cost to hold municipal elections is going to rise, and many Utah cities are expected to make similar decisions between now and June.

Orem city recorder Donna Weaver gave a presentation to the Orem City Council at a recent meeting, outlining four options for conducting future municipal elections. In the end, she recommended an established system the city could "stay with" -- paper ballots with an optical scan counter.

too f-ing bad they took the troops OUT of Afghanistan in order to send them into Iraq!

We could have been long finished the job there, had Bin Laden in prison, and the poppy crop extinguished!!

Washington 'snubbed Iran offer'

Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC's Newsnight programme.
Tehran proposed ending support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups and helping to stabilise Iraq following the US-led invasion.

Offers, including making its nuclear programme more transparent, were conditional on the US ending hostility.

For the whole article go to : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6274147.stm

My mind filled with news, not my lungs full of crap that kills and makes the tobacco CEO's rich.

Enjoy the morning, everyone.

Part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's priority agenda for the first 100 hours of Democratic control of Congress, the energy proposals targeting highly profitable oil and gas companies are expected to breeze through the House.

Nothing in the 100 hours has to do with Veterans. In her speech to the American People and the 110th Congress, Nancy Pelosi spoke about our veterans and thanking them for doing a great job. Speaker Pelosi, how about proposing increase funding for the Veterans Administration and fully funding Tramatic Brain Injury within the 100 hours?

President Bush is adding almost 22,000 more troops to Iraq and Sec of Def Gates is requesting more troops for Afghanistan. Do these people understand that more troops are now going to come home in need of the Veterans Administration, some will come home with Tramatic Brain injuries and this is not a priority. Show the American people and mostly our Veterans that the Democratic Party cares about our Troops/veterans.

"Pay as you go". Charge the American Taxpayer. Or atleast the top end.

Posted by IraqWarVeteran on January 18, 2007 at 10:45 AM

do you not understand that these bills being passed, like taking back tax cuts for Oil companies, will then pump money back into the coffers to be used for things like Veterans?

You are trying to put the cart before the horse.

Let them straighten out what the Republicans have ruined , including stopping this $250 Million PER DAY Iraqi occupation, to get money for all of the rest of the issues important to us all.

It's been fun chatting with you all this am....the big black lab mix is enjoying his share Gregg....PamB, think you are correct, although I am not going to call either Cornyn or Huthchinson...I may enail Lampson...but right now, I'm going to bail...don't feel too good...going to rest for awhile ...later...maybe tomorrow...hold down the fort, keep up the good fight and stick it to 'em!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/world/middleeast/18clinton.html?ex=1169787600&en=0548ee950ea13fb5&ei=5070&emc=eta1

In the New York Times: Hillary talks about Bush's plan for the war.
I will not vote for anyone who voted to authorize the war, and don't care what the circumstance.
If I knew it was all a fabrication, and worked on many campaigns to the United Nations to prevent authorization__I ask: "where were they at the time, in some other planet...?"
She sounds a lot, like John Kerry... I don't care what the insiders rig this time...

goodfoe, I am not bothering calling Lieberman, my Senator, either, as he was the ONLY New England Democrat who voted FOR Cheney's Energy bill!

Olivia,

You have to remember back to that time, when the Senate was being told not only the lies like WMDS, Al Qaeda, possible 9/11 link, but they were also told that Hussein had the ability to reach the Mainland US with his weapons!

These Senators also were being told they were un-patriotic, anti American, traitors, etc by the administration, AS WELL as the media who were on their side at that time.

I wrote to them and fought that invasion, but I remember only too well the turmoil and smoke and mirrors that was being created to try and fool everyone.

heading out . Having a crown put in today, plus continuing furniture shopping for new Sun room.

bbl in day.

have a good one all. goodfoe, hope you feel better. Tune in C-Span, it will make you chuckle anyways.

Let them straighten out what the Republicans have ruined , including stopping this $250 Million PER DAY Iraqi occupation, to get money for all of the rest of the issues important to us all.

PamB;

If you cared about stopping this $250 million per day war, then you should care about returning injured combat Veterans. This government can afford to increase spending on the Veterans Administration. Was Speaker Pelosi just using the Troops in her speech or does she truly care about our veterans? Actions are louder than words.

This "issue" is the most important "issue" of our time, their is a whole population of Americans that are in need of the veterans administration. Go walk through Bethesda Naval Hospital or Walter Reed Army Hospital and see how many troops have Tramatic Brain Injury. Make this the priority or come back on National Television, Speak Pelosi, and tell the American Veterans that you really didn't mean what you said.

If you cared about stopping this $250 million per day war, then you should care about returning injured combat Veterans. This government can afford to increase spending on the Veterans Administration.

don't assume I do not care about injured vets------- you will find me ranting and screaming about them for the last 3 years on here! My husband and brothers are vets! Our VA hospital in this state of CT is one of the most run down, disastrously run one in the country.

But you seem to think there is some kind of Savings account of money that the US can just pull out some cash from. Until they REVERSE what the republicans have done with our money, there is none to be had. Do you have any idea what that Energy bill gave in cuts and protections to Oil companies? So is we reverse that, we then have money.

Don't let your emotions override your common sense.

now I really have to go.

But you seem to think there is some kind of Savings account of money that the US can just pull out some cash from.

Charge the top end American Taxpayers, this is their war.

Don't let your emotions override your common sense.

Why not? Who pays the price for this war? You? No, the american servicemember, thats it!

Nancy needs to rebuke her statement about Veterans. She could care less about them. Fully fund the Veterans Administration NOW!

"Let us be the Congress that never forgets our commitment to our veterans and our first responders, always honoring them as the heroes that they are."

Come on Speaker Pelosi, actions are louder than words. Fully fund Tramatic Brain Injury and the Veterans Administration NOW!

be well goodfoe. there are martinis to drink and sunrises to see...

(AP) - FORT LEWIS, Wash.-An Army lieutenant who called the Iraq war illegal and refused to deploy cannot base his court-martial defense on the war's legality, a military judge has ruled.

Lawyers for 1st Lt. Ehren Watada planned to argue at the Feb. 5 trial that the war was illegal because it violated Army regulations that wars must be waged in accordance with the United Nations charter.

But in a ruling released Tuesday, Lt. Col. John Head said "whether the war is lawful" is a political question that could not be judged in a military court.

http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/01-17-2007/bed50008a77ea369.html

After its victory in last year’s fight over a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Virginia, the Family Foundation of Virginia announced Thursday that it will push to change the state’s divorce laws to make it more difficult for parents to end their marriage.

The Family Foundation, which opposes abortion and promotes socially conservative values, said it will lobby the General Assembly this year to amend the state’s long-standing no-fault divorce law, which essentially allows a husband or wife to terminate a marriage without cause.

The foundation is advocating “mutual consent divorce” for couples with children, which would require a husband and wife to agree to divorce before a marriage can be legally terminated, except in certain instances, such as abuse or cruelty. The proposed legislation would not affect childless couples.

http://www.republicoft.com/2007/01/17/heteros-next-on-fundies-hit-list/

See what these idiots really want is to push us back to the dark ages where women were chattel. The Republican Right. The party of the 17th century.

Mornin' {{Blue}},

You're very charitable in your description of the wackogelical wingnuts. I was thinking they're more like the 15th Century.

Si el zapato te va...

Posted by HillWilliam on January 18, 2007 at 12:12 PM

I stand corrected.

now this is how these lying sacks of shit need to be spoken to. so happy we took back the senate:

from tpmmuckraker:

Dems to AG: How Many Prosecutors Have You Pushed Out?
By Justin Rood - January 18, 2007, 11:41 AM
At an oversight hearing this morning, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) grilled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over the sudden departure of several U.S. Attorneys at the administration's request.

"How many U.S. Attorneys have been asked to resign in the past year?" Feinstein asked Gonzales.

"You're asking me to get into a public discussion" of personnel issues, Gonzales replied.

"I'm asking you to give me a number."

"I don't know the answer to that question," said Gonzales.

"You didn't know the answer when we spoke on Tuesday, but you said you would find out," Feinstein pressed.

Gonzales referred to a letter his office had sent Feinstein earlier in the week on the issue.

"I read the letter," Feinstein shot back. Gonzales denied the administration had any tricks up its sleeve and was only trying to do what was best.

"Do you deny that your office has asked U.S. Attorneys to resign in the past year?" Feinstein asked.

"I don't deny that," Gonzales said. "But that happens in every administration, during different periods for different reasons. . . Some people should view that as a sign of good management."

Questions from the panel moved on to other subjects, and perhaps Gonzales thought he was off the hook. Then Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) spoke up.

"If we take a break for lunch," Leahy asked him, "would it be possible to get the number Sen. Feinstein asked for?"

Gonzales fished around for an answer, and finally answered, "I think so." But then he said he couldn't get into a public discussion of personnel matters.

"I don't care about the people," Leahy shot back. "Just get us the numbers."

Ok, ya gotta love the balls on this administration...

The Justice Department said it had worked out an “innovative” arrangement with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that provided the “necessary speed and agility” to provide court approval to monitor international communications of people inside the United States without jeopardizing national security.

Ummm, would that "innovative" arrangment be that they wiretap suspects and get a warrant for it within 72 hours?

You realize that the American public is going to actually believe that this really is some compromise the Bush administration worked out, instead of it just being them FOLLOWING THE ALREADY ESTABLISHED LAW!

hey mombo, mombo italiano....i am really starting to like ms. pelosi:

Pelosi Turns Up Heat On Global Warming
Speaker Ignoring House Traditions To Force Legislative Action On Climate Change

(AP) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, intent on putting global warming atop the Democratic agenda, is shaking up traditional committee fiefdoms dominated by some of Congress' oldest and most powerful members.

She's moving to create a special committee to recommend legislation for cutting greenhouse gases, most likely to be chaired by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a Democratic leadership aide said Wednesday.

Markey has advocated raising mileage standards for cars, trucks and SUVs and is one of the House's biggest critics of oil companies and U.S. automakers,

Pelosi has discussed the proposal with at least two Democratic committee chairmen: fellow Californian Henry Waxman of Oversight and Government Reform, and West Virginia Rep. Nick Rahall, who heads the Natural Resources panel. Pelosi intends to announce the move this week, said the leadership aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because not all of the details have been worked out.

gotta git, gotta git, gotta git up and go...

Poll. Should Congress cut off funding for the Iraq war to block a troop increase?

Yeah, Greg. I keep thinking that Ms. Pelosi must have been a dominatrix in her past life cuz she sure demonstrates her familiarity with crackin the whip.

Posted by IraqWarVeteran on January 18, 2007 at 01:08 PM

Do you understand how important it is for the dems to fulfill their agenda promises before anything else?

Good Morning, ALL!

Here's that BOYDA name again.

...For instance, in Louisiana, both Rep. Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) “declined to take a position” on Bush’s new policy. Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS) acknowledged “deep concerns” about escalation but “decline[d] to take a definitive position.” ...

414 Members Of Congress Go On The Record About Escalation

January 18, 2007

Seattle, Washington 98103

Dear Olivia:

Thank you for your recent communication. I appreciate the
time you have taken to let me know your opinion. Since
November 7th, the volume of constituent mail I'm receiving has
increased at least tenfold. It's exciting and makes it clear that
Americans expect the new majority in Congress to work hard and
deliver. Unfortunately, it also limits my ability to supply the in-
depth responses I would like to give.

I would encourage you to continue to access my Home
page on the Internet at http://www.house.gov/mcdermott for up-
to-the minute information about issues and what I'm doing to
address them. In addition, the Library of Congress hosts a web site
at http://thomas.loc.gov that is useful to research past and present
federal legislation. It includes records of how Representatives
vote, what bills we sponsor and cosponsor and the entire text of the
Congressional Record.

Again, thank you for contacting me. As your
Representative in Congress, it is critical that I understand the views
of my constituents. I look forward to hearing from you in the
future, and hope that, as things calm down a little, I can return to
providing more detailed responses.

Sincerely,
Jim McDermott
Member of Congress

Bill, did the term "torqued off" come from the 15th c ?

Posted by IraqWarVeteran on January 18, 2007 at 01:08 PM

That legislation was killed by the Pugs last Summer, and has to be re-introduced. The reason it wasn't on the first 100 Hours aganda is because as part of the "pay / go" method the funds have to be secured first. Basically every item on the first 100 Hours list dealt with increasing revenues (and just wait for the BILLIONS that will materialize today; but first they had to pass ethics reform so the Pugs couldn't figure out a NEW way to steal the money.

Even raising minimum wage is a revenue stream (the more people make, the more income tax paid into the Treasury).

I think the V.A., media consolidation, and the Fairness Doctrine are going to be the main thrusts coming up.

Posted by DPD on January 18, 2007 at 01:19 PM

Looks like we've made a DINO discovery in Kansas...

Go over her with a fine tooth comb, dust off her bones and put her in a museum where she belongs.

go nancy, from salon:

Dems Poised to Roll Back Oil Subsidies

- - - - - - - - - - - -

By H. JOSEF HEBERT Associated Press Writer

January 18,2007 | WASHINGTON -- Newly empowered House Democrats sought to recoup billions of dollars in lost royalties from offshore drilling as they anticipated approval Thursday of a $15 billion package of fees, taxes and royalties on oil and gas companies. The money would be used to promote renewable fuels.

The House took up the energy bill as the final one of a string of high-priority issues that Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to address in the first 100 hours of Democratic control of Congress. She has characterized the energy measures as key to reducing government subsidies for the oil industry.

As the House began debate on the energy measure, Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney told a Senate hearing Thursday that the minerals bureau showed "a shockingly cavalier management approach" in dealing with the leasing error, although the problem was known within the agency as early as 2000.

It's "a jaw-dropping example of bureaucratic bungling," he told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The White House on Wednesday expressed support for some of the tax and royalty proposals but said other provisions unfairly single out the oil industry or jeopardize domestic oil and gas production.

Democratic leaders estimate the measure would generate an additional $15 billion in revenue. Almost all of that money would be funneled into a research and development fund for renewable fuels such as solar and wind power, alternative fuels including ethanol and bio-diesel, and conservation incentives...

Mandate for Change
Tell the new Congress to go big on important issues.
With a new Democratic majority in Washington, I think we need to send our representatives a clear message that we expect results. If we want them to tackle the big issues like clean energy, health care, restoring our democracy and getting out of Iraq, we've got to speak up right now, before they make their plans for the next two years.

You can bet D.C. is getting flooded with special interest lobbyists telling Congress not to rock the boat. We can't let that be the only voice in Washington!

I just signed this "Mandate for Change" petition from MoveOn, telling Congress to go big. Will you sign too?

http://pol.moveon.org/mandateforchange/petition

Thanks!

At least 19 killed in Baghdad
A series of explosions and shootings rocked Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens, police said.
Full Story:

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/01/18/baghdad-attacks.html

Check it out!! DONE, and DONE!!

First 100 Hours Over

And Look how much time is left on the 100 hour clock!

For goodfoe aka johnboy:

"I love a martini — but two at the most. Three I'm under the table; Four, I'm under the host."

YAY! Good job Dems!

Jeeze, even his "base" hates Boooosh.

Methodist ministers protest Bush library.

IMPEACH THEM ALL BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE
Today in the Senate hearings:

Gonzalez: “The Constitution does not say that every citizen has the right to habeas corpus.”

Specter: Now wait a minute, wait a minute. The Constitution says you can't take it away except in the case of invasion or rebellion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus?

Gonzales: I meant by that comment that the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.

Good afternoon fellow Democrats.

Posted by Robert_Burnsey_Koenig on January 18, 2007 at 03:48 PM

That man needs a good long strip of duct tape. Every time he opens his mouth he demonstrates his stupidity. I expect he received his degrees by mail.

Prosecutor says presidential recount rigged in Ohio county

Posted by Robert_Burnsey_Koenig on January 18, 2007 at 03:48 PM

If the Republicans had maintained control of Congress, we'd be less than six months away from concentration camps.

Mr. President, Sir, when reporter Bob Woodward asked you if you had consulted with your father before ordering our army into Iraq you said, "No, he's not the father you call on a decision like this. I talked to my heavenly Father above." My question, Mr. President: If God asked you to bombard, invade and occupy Iraq for four years, why did he send an opposite message to the Pope? Did you not know that your father, George Bush, Sr., his Secretary of State James Baker and his National Security Advisor General Scowcroft were all opposed to your invasion? Wouldn't you, our troops, the American people and the Iraqis all be much better off if you had listened to your more experienced elders including your earthly father? Instead of blaming God for the awful catastrophe you have unleashed in Iraq, wouldn't it have been less self-righteous if you had fallen back on the oft-quoted explanation of wrongdoing, "The devil made me do it?" - George McGovern

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070117/cm_thenation/20070129mcgovern

Posted by DPD on January 18, 2007 at 04:14 PM

But the director (dem) and the dep. director (repug) will maintain their positions.

Here's some other fun election news from OH.

Brunner questions Blackwell's spending

Elections suits may be settled

Speaking of Brunner & Dann, I plan on attending a reception for them as well as our new State Treasurer, Richard Cordray, next Wed. night after our opening session of Winter Conference for the OAEO. Wine & cheese shall be served. (it's going to be hosted by a previous Director from a larger county who now holds his county auditor seat...I see him smoozing up for a state run, which I do plan on asking him about)

RNC readies for Martinez fight

A member of the Republican National Committee from President Bush's home state yesterday escalated the rebellion against Mr. Bush's choice to head the committee going into the 2008 presidential elections.
Texas RNC member Denise McNamara said the attempt by Mr. Bush's supporters on the national committee to name Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida as general chairman "is like pouring gas on an already smoldering electorate," citing Mr. Martinez's role in promoting last year's "comprehensive" immigration bill in the Senate.

"Choosing an RNC chairman who supports amnesty [for illegal aliens] is tantamount to telling the conservative majority of Americans that they do not matter."

Grass-roots groups qualify as lobbyists under ethics bill

The ethics bill before the Senate not only cracks down on lawmakers, but also subjects politically active ministers and neighborhood groups to the same rules as K Street lobbyists.
Under the legislation, grass-roots organizations that attempt to "influence the general public" to contact members of Congress would have to register as lobbyists and file financial reports -- or face a $200,000 fine. The requirements could apply to a preacher who goes on TV or radio and tells listeners to call their congressman in support of a particular issue, such as a constitutional amendment against homosexual "marriage."

Senate panel agrees on tax cut for wage bill

The Senate Finance Committee approved about $8 billion in business tax breaks on Wednesday that backers said were needed to push a minimum wage increase through the narrowly divided Senate.

The bill would extend through 2010 a tax break for small businesses that allows them to immediately write off up to $112,000 in equipment expenses. It also extends through 2012 a work opportunity tax credit for businesses that hire poor or disabled workers. Other breaks for leased properties and restaurants would be extended through March, 2008.

"By acting today, we can help to create a sounder minimum wage bill," said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat. He said the bill would be added to a measure raising the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 per hour.

al-Maliki said of Bush

“Maybe he has lost control of the situation,” the prime minister added, saying Bush was normally a strong character.
Of Rice, he was quoted as saying: “I would advise Condoleezza Rice to avoid statements that may aid terrorists.”"
Posted by gregg on January 18, 2007 at 09:42 AM

So "Kinda-sleazy" Rice is helping the terrorists in Iraq? I'm not suprised. After all, she did help the terrorists attack America by covering up all advance notice that they were coming.

Ministers, scientists start climate campaign

Saying they share a moral purpose, a group of evangelicals and scientists committed themselves Wednesday to work together to convince the nation’s leaders that global warming is real.

There is not going to be any raising of the minimum wage. Boooosh will veto it.

Dinner time blog break over. (is it Spring yet? I hope Pam shares her purchases for her new sun room.)

Enjoy the evening, everyone.

Bill O'Reilly Launches Attack Against Kidnap Victim

Conservative Spokesman Bill O’Reilly Attacks Missouri Kidnapping victim Shawn Hornbeck. Just when you think this scumbag could not go any lower, he outdoes himself.

Bill O’Reilly stated on his program that Shawn’s "experience in captivity was fun"....and that "he liked it". According to O’Reilly, Shawn Hornbeck enjoyed being victimized by his captor.... A man who will go down in history as one of the worst child predators of all time.

O'Reilly was asserting that since Hornbeck did not try to get away.... he must have liked it

Dailykos

One more, then I'm gonzo for a while.

Life on the Plantation

It has long been said (ostensibly by Benjamin Franklin, but we can't be sure) that

"democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote."

Posted by Domingo on January 18, 2007 at 04:53 PM

I don't expect anything less from Falafel, I am increasingly disappointed in those people that keep him on the air, i.e. his "fans". You wallow with pigs, you're bound to get mud on you.

G'Nite, Jacq.

Speaking of O'Lieley, Colbert will be on his show tonight, and Bill-O will be on the "Colbert Report" later tonight.

Here goes Gonzales again.

...But in a letter to Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the presiding judge notes that she has “no objection” to the material being made available to Congress; it is the Attorney General who refuses to share it.

FISA court judge wants NSA order shared with Congress.

Seems like "Falafel Bill" is into more that just sexual harassment and kiddie porn.

"Killer" Falafel Bill

In 1998, after the launch of "The O’Reilly Factor," but before superstardom, he published a thriller called "Those Who Trespass," which is his most ambitious and deeply felt piece of writing. "Those Who Trespass" is a revenge fantasy, and it displays extraordinarily violent impulses. A tall, b.s.-intolerant television journalist named Shannon Michaels, the "product of two Celtic parents," is pushed out by Global News Network after an incident during the Falkland Islands War, and then by a local station, and he systematically murders the people who ruined his career. He starts with Ron Costello, the veteran correspondent who stole his Falkland story:

The assailant’s right hand, now holding the oval base of the spoon, rocketed upward, jamming the stainless stem through the roof of Ron Costello’s mouth. The soft tissue gave way quickly and the steel penetrated the correspondent’s brain stem. Ron Costello was clinically dead in four seconds.

Michaels stalks the woman who forced his resignation from the network and throws her off a balcony. He next murders a television research consultant who had advised the local station to dismiss him: he buries the guy in beach sand up to his neck and lets him slowly drown. Finally, during a break in the Radio and Television News Directors Association convention, he slits the throat of the station manager. O’Reilly describes each of these killings—the careful planning, the suffering of the victim, the act itself—in loving detail.

New Yorker

Posted by Esmeralda on January 18, 2007 at 04:49 PM

This is one of the issues that will enable us to peel away some of the support the RNC has from the religious right.

Speaker Pelosi should go to Walter Reed and visit the troops in the Tramatic Brain Injury clinic and tell them that its more important to pass legislation on corporations or ethics than to push supplementary bills that increase funding for the Veterans Administration.

Posted by IraqWarVeteran on January 18, 2007 at 01:59 PM

No....I think Bush should. He got them there. Quit listening to Limbaugh.

I hope this "War-kook" destroys his whole career.

McCain no longer rocks in Granite State

As Mitt, Hillary, Barack and a dozen others jump into the presidential stampede, something interesting is happening in New Hampshire.

For seven years, conventional wisdom has said that the state’s pivotal independent voters would line up behind maverick Sen. John McCain, as they did so famously in the 2000 GOP primary. But new polling data, to be released later this week, will suggest that might no longer be the case.

Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group finds that McCain’s popularity among New Hampshire’s independent voters has collapsed.

Demonstrating just how unpopular escalation really is, look at what's happening to McCain in New Hampshire:

"John McCain is tanking," says ARG president Dick Bennett. "That’s the big thing [we’re finding]. In New Hampshire a year ago he got 49 percent among independent voters. That number’s way down, to 29 percent now."

Boston Herald

Bennett says ARG is finding a similar trend in other states polled, including early primary battlegrounds like Iowa and Nevada. “We’re finding this everywhere,” he says.

The main reason isn’t hard to find: His hawkish stance on the Iraq war, which is tying him ever more closely to an unpopular president. “Independent support for McCain is evaporating because they view him as tied to Bush,” says Bennett.

The McCain camp yesterday said the senator, who is pushing for a bigger troop surge in Iraq than the president, will stick by his guns.

this is VERY INTERESTING:

As Mitt, Hillary, Barack and a dozen others jump into the presidential stampede, something interesting is happening in New Hampshire.

For seven years, conventional wisdom has said that the state’s pivotal independent voters would line up behind maverick Sen. John McCain, as they did so famously in the 2000 GOP primary. But new polling data, to be released later this week, will suggest that might no longer be the case.

Manchester, N.H.-based American Research Group finds that McCain’s popularity among New Hampshire’s independent voters has collapsed.

The big question for 2008: Where will all those independents end up?

Mitt Romney could have made a strong pitch to them if he weren’t instead running to the right. ARG’s poll finds some like Rudy Giuliani. Others, switching sides, are warming to Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=177706

Good afternoon

When fema makes a mistake in distributing funds, they come back on you like a pit bull with a piece of meat for repayment.

So now they want students from Dillard University in New Orleans that were given assistance, to repay what they were erroneously given.

I went through this saga with these folks. Two years, an attorney along with tons of documents, I finally got the word that there would be no "recoupment of erroneously distributed funds." By the time I finished fighting them and my home insurer simentaneously, I was ready to take on the world.

Dillard students hang tough with your stand of not paying. You should not have to pay for their hiring of incompetent folks that make mistakes and then want to jack you up for the money.

http://www.blackcollegewire.org/news/070115_fema-dillard/

Posted by J on January 18, 2007 at 05:53 PM

If unqualified people were taking money from FEMA and are now refusing to pay it back, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Fraud is fraud, period.

Hey J, didn't the Bushies give out a lot of FEMA money in Florida "before" the election, just to turn around and ask for it back "after" the election? Trying to "buy votes", but not really wanting to let the voters keep the money after they voted? Those sleazy dogs!

ooops, sorry William, I was reading the article, not the blog. JINX.

I Love it. Will serve McCain right, for his Hawk views.

by the way, anybody watching C-Span and how the Republicans are trying to give the vote on the Oil Company Tax Benefits a hard time? They are creating a circus there, trying to come up with reasons why this bill cannot be reversed.

Lots of yelling and hollaring. Right now, a vote on whether to table an objection.

Hurting your favorite candidate

Not that it's any surprise, but every time I write about a contested Democratic primary, there will always be a number of people who aren't happy that I don't worship at the altar of their favorite candidate. Anything but blind worship is considered disrespect.

But every election there's a crew that screams about biases and the like. I consider it an occupational hazard, and I know those people will always be there, but I want to make it clear that 1) those people are wrong. When I have a favorite, I'll say so. I'm not afraid to speak my mind (if you hadn't noticed). And 2) those people aren't doing their candidates any favors. Being obnoxious, whiny, and wearing tin foil hats don't reflect well on the object of their adoration.

Really, all the whining does neither you, nor your favorite guy any favors. It does the opposite -- it turns people off from your guy. I painfully saw this happen with Howard Dean. Once you become a self-styled ambassador for your guy, your behavior rubs off (for better or for worse) on the person you are promoting.

Dailykos

A panel of retired generals told a United States Senate committee today that sending 21,500 additional troops to Iraq will do little to solve the underlying political problems in the country.

Skip to next paragraph
The Reach of War
Go to Complete Coverage » “Too little and too late,” is the way Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, a former chief of the Central Command, described the effort to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The additional troops are intended to help pacify Baghdad and a restive province, but General Hoar said American leaders had failed to understand the political forces at work in the country. “The solution is political, not military,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/world/middleeast/18cnd-general.html?ex=1326776400&en=c7f1008646cbfc49&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

Posted by PamB on January 18, 2007 at 06:05 PM

As one of this blog's few hawks, I have to defend Sen. McCain in one respect. His call for more troops should've been heeded three years ago when they could've done some good. Now, it's too late. Let the civil war come to its natural conclusion and we'll help out whoever is left. Redeploy the troops where they're needed like Afghanistan and the hunt for UBL and Al-Qaeda.

ooops, sorry William, I was reading the article, not the blog. JINX.

Awww, jeez Pam, for a minute I thought you got the article from my link and was just commenting on another part of it. J/K

C-Span, Lots of yelling and hollaring.

I'll tell ya what I liked, was the hearings last week with Kinda-sleazy Rice. One Republican after another was yelling at her, "We were lied to! I no longer trust this president! And I no longer support this war!" Let McCain go down in flames then. It serves him right.

Data supplied by tobacco companies strongly suggest that in recent years manufacturers deliberately boosted nicotine levels in cigarettes to more effectively hook smokers, Harvard researchers conclude in a study being released today.

Nicotine boost was deliberate, study says

Posted by BobVADemHawk-Gore-Clark2008 on January 18, 2007 at 06:10 PM

What exactly is a "hawk"?

A panel of retired generals told a United States Senate committee today that sending 21,500 additional troops to Iraq will do little to solve the underlying political problems in the country. Posted by PamB

The Military is already calling Bush's Iraq plan, "JEL", (Just Enough to Lose).

New open thread, if you are so inclined.

Posted by DPD on January 18, 2007 at 06:16 PM

As a smoker of tobacco for twenty years, I say it is time to make these damned cigarettes illegal. People on the right will complain, "it's our lives, let us do what we want". Poppycock! Marijuana is illegal and it's far safer than tobacco from a medical standpoint. In fact, marijuana has some medicinal uses. Tobacco, to the best of my knowledge, does not. I am not advocating the legalization of marijuana mind you, though we could make enough to pay off the national debt with the tax revenue alone, just illustrating a point. Tobacco needs to be made illegal or, at bare minimum, regulated by the FDA once we get some honest and competent people back in that organization.

If unqualified people were taking money from FEMA and are now refusing to pay it back, they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Fraud is fraud, period.

Posted by BobVADemHawk-Gore-Clark2008 on January 18, 2007 at 06:00 PM

If they were unqualified then why did FEMA give them money? If the agency determined that they were entitled and gave them the money, it's a little bit wrong to hold them accountable for FEMA's mistake.

Good evening everyone!!

Mind my manners please for jumping right in to the thread, sorry. But I just put my website back up (the one that was on portland communications web server) you can click on my name ifyou desire to see it. A lot of old poems (five years old) and my design work from school. Boy how I miss those days. Just make sure your pop-up blocker is on as I cannot afford the no advertising site yet!!:( I hope the banner ad is not too flashy!!:(

Oh, well take it easy. I'll try to be back later.