August 31, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Read them all. You have all weekend to do it.

Posted by Michael Link at 6:23 PM | Comments (162)

On Labor Day, Americans Celebrate--But Also Struggle To Get Ahead

Americans are celebrating Labor Day this weekend, but even as we honor workers, new data from the Census Bureau shows that more and more Americans are struggling to get by.

Wages declined last year, as the number of Americans without health coverage rose to 47 million--including 600,000 more uninsured children. In honor of Labor Day, Governor Dean issued this statement:

"Americans across the country will observe Labor Day this weekend by honoring the contributions of America's working families. But under the failed leadership of President Bush and his Republican friends, wages have declined, the number of uninsured has increased, and gas and college costs have risen. Yet President Bush and his Republican allies continue to put their special interest friends ahead of American families.
"Democrats are keeping their promises to America's families. Under a Democratic Congress we have increased the minimum wage for the first time in over a decade, passed a bill to make college more affordable by cutting student loan interest rates, passed legislation to give health care to millions of low-income children and fought to protect workers' rights to bargain collectively and form unions. Instead of working with Democrats, Republicans prefer to block progress, and President Bush has threatened to veto legislation that is critical to America's working families.

"As we look towards 2008, the choice between the Republican and
Democratic presidential candidates is clear. All of the Democratic
candidates are committed to making sure the American Dream is available to everyone, while the Republican candidates want to continue President Bush's narrow special-interest agenda. Electing a Democratic president next year will ensure that America's working families come first."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 1:50 PM | Comments (30)

Best. Present. Ever.

I just wanted to take this moment to thank the White House. With Karl Rove officially leaving today for good, I couldn't ask for a better birthday present.

Too bad I'm not old enough for a special greeting.

Posted by Michael Link at 12:26 PM | Comments (6)

The Friday Five: Labor Day Weekend Edition

Every Friday we're highlighting five events happening around the country that we've found in PartyBuilder's Events system.

Here are 5 events happening around the country. If you don't see one in your neck of the woods, click here to search for one near you. Or better yet, create your own!

Help the Denver Host Committee at Taste of Colorado! (Denver, CO)

The Denver Host Committee is reaching out to our fellow Coloradans to build a base of volunteers for the 2008 Convention! The Host Committee will be doing so at a four-day festival, the Taste of Colorado!

Upper Valley Pancakes and Politics (Idaho Falls, ID)

Pancakes and Politics is an informal, no-host, meeting for Democrats from throughout the Upper Snake River Valley to meet, share ideas and speak "Democrat".

Labor Day Picnic (Wood Dale, IL)

Free picnic sponsored by the Addison Township Democrats, co-sponsored by the York and Bloomingdale Township Democrats and Operation: Turn DuPage Blue.

Nevada Dem Veterans & Military Families Counter-Rally! (Carson City, NV)

The Nevada Democratic Veterans & Military Families Caucus has asked us to join them in a counter rally. Please RSVP to info@nvdemocraticvets.com. If you would like a copy of the flier, please reply to this e-mail with the message Counter Rally Flier.

Rent-A-Politician Imitation Silent Auction (Oklahoma City, OK)

Everyone from the public is invited to this FREE event! Each participant is encouraged to bring a permanent marker to write their IMITATION bid and a message to politicians on the plastic canvas to create a community mosaic.

Posted by Michael Link at 12:19 PM | Comments (1)

Pentagon Officials Have Deep Concerns About Lack of Progress in Iraq

Top Pentagon generals are expected to tell Bush that they have deep concerns about his continued escalation in Iraq today, as yet another grim report is released about the state of Iraqi security forces.

An independent commission established by Congress to study Iraq's security forces will recommend starting over and reshaping the troubled 25,000-member police organization with a more elite force, a defense official said Friday.
...The report on Iraqi forces follows circulation of a draft report by the auditing arm of Congress that found the Iraqi government has failed to meet political and security goals. A third report--by the nation's intelligence agencies last week--found there has been some progress, but that violence remains high, the Iraqi government will become more precarious over the next six to 12 months and its security forces have not improved enough to operate without outside help.

The grim assessments of the situation in Iraq are not expected to change the "progress" report that the White House will deliver by September 15, which is widely expected to claim that the escalation is a success.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:44 AM | Comments (5)

Craig To Resign?

No word on Vitter -- the GOP is still too busy wildly applauding him.

But the news from CNN is that according to their sources, Senator Craig is "likely to resign soon, possibly as early as Friday." If the Senator was relying on his friends to come to his defense, he was certainly mistaken.

In fact, the Republican National Committee even -- it appears, at least -- leaked word that they were prepared to call on him to resign. Such an move would increase the pressure on Craig.

All of this comes after tapes were released yesterday by police with their questioning of the Senator.

Posted by Michael Link at 9:57 AM | Comments (8)

Friday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:41 AM | Comments (166)

August 30, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Time for another round of posts, straight from PartyBuilder.

Angel makes the case as to Why Liberalism Makes Good Economic Sense, explaining “With a Democratic economic policy, you can stifle tyrants, you can stifle terrorism, and you can ensure the steady and promising growth for as long as you like.”

Tim examines President Bush’s misguided foreign policy address from last week in: Apocalypse Now Redux; Or On President Bush Comparing Iraq to Vietnam.

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 5:38 PM | Comments (90)

His 15 Minutes Are Up

Fred Thompson's not exactly a smash at the Box Office:

But since the heady days of late spring, when the Fred Thompson fever seemed to infect the GOP, Thompson's pre-campaign has been more "Gigli" than "Gone With the Wind."
He's posted lackluster fundraising numbers. He's faced repeated questions about his lobbying career, his years in politics, as well as his position on abortion.

An announcement rumored for June was pushed back to July, and now early September. His political speeches have been received coolly, with few grand pronouncements or policy proposals that have lived up to his hype.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 2:27 PM | Comments (5)

Craig and the GOP

I always found this to be, well, wrong:

When Sen. David Vitter, R-La., showed up in Washington, D.C., again last week after hiding with the equivalent of a paper bag on his head, he was welcomed back to a closed Republican Senate luncheon with a loud standing ovation.

Things haven't exactly worked out the same way for Senator Craig, as you've seen. The Republican Senate Leadership pushed him out of his committee positions. And now some Republicans are demanding he step down.

I'll let you speculate as to why there's such a difference in reaction by the GOP.

Posted by Michael Link at 1:05 PM | Comments (6)

Leaked Report on Iraq Reveals Almost No Progress

A draft of a leaked report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that Iraq has failed to meet 15 of 18 benchmarks for political and military progress. From the Washington Post:

The strikingly negative GAO draft, which will be delivered to Congress in final form on Tuesday, comes as the White House prepares to deliver its own new benchmark report in the second week of September, along with congressional testimony from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker.

The White House is expected to claim that the escalation in Iraq is showing signs of progress. But according to the leaked GAO report, even though attacks on U.S. troops have decreased, the attacks on Iraqi civilians remains the same--and the capabilities of Iraqi security forces are not improving.

Perhaps most significantly...

The person who provided the draft report to The Post said it was being conveyed from a government official who feared that its pessimistic conclusions would be watered down in the final version -- as some officials have said happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq.

...which raises real questions about the credibility of the upcoming report from the White House in September.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 9:58 AM | Comments (37)

Thursday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 7:47 AM | Comments (216)

August 29, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Here's a sample of what's there:

- Anatomy Of A Media Manipulation, by D. Tree.
- National Debt Growing and Growing, by Sam Schoolsky.

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:25 PM | Comments (93)

We’re Too Busy For Health Care...Republican Candidates Skip Cancer Forum

The leading candidates in the race for the Republican presidential nomination skipped Lance Armstrong's forum on cancer last week.

The biggest names in the GOP presidential primary--Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.)--skipped the first-ever forum on cancer sponsored by Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation.
Two Republican candidates who appeared, Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, promised to rejuvenate a "war on cancer" as president, but disagreed over the need for a federal ban on smoking in public places.

The absence of the first-tier candidates left the floor to Brownback and Huckabee, who are competing for the conservative votes that are so crucial in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 2:57 PM | Comments (7)

2 Years Later

Two years after Hurricane Katrina, we remember those individuals who lost their lives.

And we won't forget the response -- because we can't let it happen again.

Posted by Michael Link at 1:43 PM | Comments (5)

Romney Didn't Raise Taxes--But Raised "Fees"

Mitt Romney likes to claim that he didn't raise taxes when he was governor of Massachusetts--but he did impose a number of "fees," including fee hikes on the blind, the mentally retarded and gun owners.

A survey of states by the National Conference of State Legislatures found Massachusetts led the nation during Romney's first year, raising fees and fines by $501 million. New York was second with $367 million. Nine other states raised fees and fines by more than $100 million.

During Romney's tenure, it became more expensive to:

...use an ice skating rink, register a boat, take the bar exam, get a duplicate driver's license, file a court case, install underground storage tanks, sell cigarettes or alcohol, comply with air quality rules and transport hazardous waste.

So is Romney misleading voters when he bills himself as the anti-tax candidate?

"It's a shell game," said Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. "He can still say he didn't raise taxes, but fees are taxes by another name. It's a trick."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:19 AM | Comments (7)

Another $50 Billion?

But not until after the rosy White House report comes out. The overall cost to date has been $330 billion.

Senator Harry Reid's response, through a spokesman: "It's long past time for giving blank checks to the administration."

Oh yeah, and one more Friedman:

"I don't see any surprises" coming out of the hearings, said an officer on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He said he expects Petraeus and Crocker to focus on tactical security gains in and around Baghdad in recent months and on shifts in tribal allegiances in favor of U.S. forces, and to argue that those improvements may open a window for greater political reconciliation in Iraq over the next six or seven months.

Posted by Michael Link at 10:16 AM | Comments (13)

Wednesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 7:38 AM | Comments (188)

August 28, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Read them all.

And then chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:01 PM | Comments (158)

Number of Uninsured Rose Last Year

Troubling statistics on the uninsured from the Los Angeles Times:

The number of Americans without health insurance rose last year from 44.8 million, or 15.3% of the population, to 47 million, or 15.8%, the Census Bureau reported today.
...Of particular concern, the number of uninsured children rose for the second year in a row, after a long period in which it had been steadily declining, thanks to the expansion of government health coverage. More than 600,000 children joined the ranks of the uninsured in 2006, a change that the Census Bureau called statistically significant.

In both the House and the Senate, Democrats have passed legislation that would provide health coverage to 3 to 5 million more children over the next five years. The Bush administration has threatened to veto both bills.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 5:57 PM | Comments (5)

General Reponsible for Walter Reed Still on Pentagon Payroll

Back in March, the Pentagon announced that Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley was resigning, effective immediately. Kiley was responsible for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center during the period when veterans returning from Iraq suffered horrific neglect at the facility.

But ThinkProgress learned that Kiley is still serving at the Pentagon from an official in the Department of the Army Public Affairs:

"He [Kiley] is no longer serving as the Army Surgeon General but is in a transition status pending his retirement... Currently Maj. Gen Kiley does not have a specific retirement date. He is no longer performing any duties related to The Surgeon General and is pending retirement."

Amanda at ThinkProgress explains why.

In order to retire as a three-star general, Kiley would have had to do at least three years of active-duty service in that grade. The higher the grade, the greater the retirement pay and benefits a general receives.
Kiley was appointed Army Surgeon General on Sept. 30, 2004. Therefore...the Army may still be holding open the door to the possibility that Kiley may serve through September and retire with the pay and benefits of a three-star general.

For shame.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 4:02 PM | Comments (4)

March on Washington, Forty-Four Years Later

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom happened forty-four years ago today, on August 28, 1963. The march was attended by approximately 250,000 people. It was the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital and widely regarded as one of the most successful.

Governor Howard Dean and DNC Black Caucus Chair Virgie Rollins issued the following statement in honor of the anniversary:

"The anniversary of the historic March on Washington serves to remind us of our commitment to freedom and equality in this country. Forty-four years ago people from various backgrounds and walks of life came together under the common belief and value that all people deserve to be treated equally. While the March on Washington is often seen as a civil rights movement it also stressed economic rights, including the right to jobs and equal pay.
"Under the Democratic Congress much has been done to further the same goals championed by the marchers. For the first time in 10 years, the Democratic Congress increased the minimum wage, giving a raise to millions of working Americans and their families. In addition, Democrats increased funding for student loans and cut the interest rates that students pay, helping to expand opportunity and make college more affordable for all young Americans.

"While Republicans continue to offer more of the same divisive rhetoric, Democrats are proud to have the strongest and most diverse presidential field yet with all candidates championing equal rights for all Americans. The Bush Republicans have fought against much of this progress but by electing a Democratic President and Congress in 2008, we can make even greater strides towards these values."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 3:29 PM | Comments (2)

Guilty

Josh Marshall:

But once [Senator Craig] pled guilty, it really wasn't a he said/he said, as his press spokesman said yesterday. Craig had said under oath that he was guilty of the charge.
One way or another, once he was arrested, the apparent facts, even if you think they aren't ones for which you should be criminally culpable, were ones that were not compatible with his continuing in public office -- given his politics and the state he represents. All he could do was plead out and hope against hope that no one ever noticed.

Posted by Michael Link at 1:36 PM | Comments (16)

Iraq Weapons Purchases Linked to Fraud and Corruption

We recently reported that the Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. Now we are learning about widespread corruption in the awarding of Iraq weapons contracts--with one case even tied to one of General Petraeus' top aides.

The investigation into contracts for matériel to Iraqi soldiers and police officers is part of an even larger series of criminal cases. As of Aug. 23, there were a total of 73 criminal investigations related to contract fraud in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, Col. Dan Baggio, an Army spokesman said Monday. Twenty civilians and military personnel have been charged in federal court as a result of the inquiries, he said. The inquiries involve contracts valued at more than $5 billion, and Colonel Baggio said the charges so far involve more than $15 million in bribes.

Just last week, an Army major, his wife and his sister were indicted on charges that they accepted up to $9.6 million in bribes for Defense Department contracts in Iraq and Kuwait.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 9:50 AM | Comments (14)

Elevating the Discourse

Here's what the Republican National Committee thinks of you, via their latest email: "The Democrats are hoping our troops fail in the War on Terror in the craven desire that it will boost their party's electoral fortunes in 2008."

It's disgusting rhetoric; it's also an attempt to blame the troops for the failures of the Bush administration.

Posted by Michael Link at 9:39 AM | Comments (14)

Tuesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:05 AM | Comments (105)

August 27, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

There's always something to read over at PartyBuilder.

Robert Donovan takes note of a new Andy Borowitz article: "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned today, effective immediately, telling reporters that he wanted to spend more time eavesdropping on his family."

In Rove And Gonzales: Resignation Should Not Equal Off The Hook, John Fracchia echoes an important point.

Put the birthday cake on hold, My Vote. Last August we had a "soft launch" of PartyBuilder, but we won't be celebrating its official birthday until September 5th.

The Democratic Party gives anybody the ability to write blog posts directly on our website over at PartyBuilder (PB). You can read what everybody has to say, or you can create your own account and start writing posts yourself.

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 5:57 PM | Comments (140)

Michael Chertoff Blamed Katrina Victims For Not Evacuating

As we reported earlier today, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff might be nominated to replace Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General.

This is what Chertoff said two years ago, after Hurricane Katrina:

"The critical thing was to get people out of there before the disaster," he said on NBC's Today program. "Some people chose not to obey that order. That was a mistake on their part."

On this blog, Jesse Berney reported on the plight of people who were unable to evacuate. And from the Associated Press:

Making matters worse, at least 100,000 people in the city lack the transportation to get out of town. Nagin said the Superdome might be used as a shelter of last resort for people who have no cars, with city bus pick-up points around New Orleans.
"I know they're saying 'Get out of town,' but I don't have any way to get out," said Hattie Johns, 74. "If you don't have no money, you can't go."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 4:59 PM | Comments (10)

The Independent Inquiry

We've been writing about this a lot today, but there's one more point that must be made. Sidney Blumenthal asks, why did Gonzales resign? I won't speculate, but certainly this couldn't have convinced him to stay on:

But four senators — Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, Dianne Feinstein of California, Charles Schumer of New York and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island — have called for an independent inquiry into the veracity of the attorney general's testimony before Congress. [...]
The four are calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor, and have done so in a formal letter to the solicitor general. In the letter, they write "it is apparent that the attorney general has provided at a minimum half-truths and misleading statements."

As we've pointed out, we're not done searching for answers.

Posted by Michael Link at 3:24 PM | Comments (1)

Honesty and Justice

More than anything else, the sense of "independence" from this White House is what has been missing from the Justice Department. A close second, however, would be "honesty."

So why are senior Bush administration officials floating the name of Michael Chertoff?

Let's take a quick look at his record on the issue:

Despite being warned of levee failure by the National Hurricane Center Director on the afternoon of August 28th, he claimed to have not been notified until two days later.

Even though he said the threat level of the hurricane wasn't clear until "day, day and a half before landfall," weather people were warning of "the nightmare scenario" four days before.

After his department claimed to have rescued 4,500 people in three days, he said it was 10,000.

He claimed that nobody could have predicted such a disaster, even though scientists and others have warned of such a situation.

Police described the situation at the Superdome as "extremely dangerous," yet Chertoff characterized the Superdome as "secure."

He says he was "extremely pleased with the response that every element of the federal government." Does this one even merit a thorough debunking?

Perhaps worst of all, he blamed the victims. "I think the death toll may go into the thousands and, unfortunately, that's going to be attributable a lot to people who did not heed the advance warnings. Some people chose not to obey that order. That was a mistake on their part." The truth, of course, at least 100,000 people in the city did not have the transportation to leave the city.

This isn't even a comprehensive list. It's just a sample of what we've come to expect from Chertoff. One would hope the person to replace Gonzales would be more trustworthy, not less.

Posted by Michael Link at 2:20 PM | Comments (3)

Not So Fast

This shouldn't be the last we hear from Alberto Gonzales. Finally, there's a moment of accountability, but that doesn't change the ongoing need for answers.

We'll have a new Attorney General. Hopefully, President Bush will nominate somebody who will understand his job is to be "the people's lawyer" -- not the president's.

And then the important work of finding out how so many things went wrong continues. From the fired US Attorneys to warrantless eavesdropping on Americans, much has gone wrong under the watch of Alberto Gonzales.

We can't ever let this happen again.

So I'm not saying goodbye to him just yet. In fact, Senator Leahy said today that he hopes this will be "a step toward getting to the truth about the level of political influence this White House wields over the Department of Justice." Congressman Conyers added: "The responsibility to uncover these facts is still on the Congress, and the Judiciary Committee in particular." And Senator Reid: "This resignation is not the end of the story. Congress must get to the bottom of this mess and follow the facts where they lead, into the White House."

Posted by Michael Link at 11:26 AM | Comments (4)

Alberto Gonzales Resigns

This morning, reports that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has resigned. From the New York Times via Think Progress:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned. A senior administration official said he would announce the decision later this morning in Washington.
Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not announced immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Sources say that Gonzales will be replaced by Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:42 AM | Comments (23)

Monday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 7:54 AM | Comments (169)

August 26, 2007

Sunday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 7:05 AM | Comments (192)

August 25, 2007

Saturday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 7:28 AM | Comments (86)

August 24, 2007

From the Archives

Posted by Michael Link at 6:21 PM | Comments (1)

PB Rescue Open Thread

Read them all. You have all weekend to do it!

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 5:56 PM | Comments (69)

Another Resignation at the Justice Department

While Alberto Gonzales continues to say that all of his errors were simply "communication" errors, other senior Justice officials are dropping like flies.

[Wan] Kim follows a flurry of senior resignations in the past few months, including former Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, his chief of staff Michael Elston, White House liaison Monica Goodling, chief of staff Kyle Sampson, Acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer, and Schlozman, who had moved to a spot in the office that oversees U.S. attorneys.

I hear Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk with the inscription, "The buck stops with the Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division."

Posted by Michael Link at 2:41 PM | Comments (1)

Clash

As AmericaBlog points out, "the battle lines are being drawn between military leaders and the Bush White House." With news today that the Joint Chiefs of Staff will request a drastically reduced number of troops in Iraq, the reasoning behind it is particularly compelling:

Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter Pace is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military.

It appears that the Joint Chiefs have proven correct when they warned against the escalation of the war. While President Bush claims that he listens to military officials, he continues to ignore this top General.

Posted by Michael Link at 11:10 AM | Comments (8)

Giuliani Hires Media Team Behind "Call Me" Ads

Rudy Giuliani's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination has hired a media team with an ugly past, from the same firm responsible for the racially-charged "Call me" ads aired against Democrat Harold Ford in his Tennessee Senate race last year.

Run by the Republican National Committee against Democrat Harold Ford, who is black, the ad showed a white woman saying she had met Ford at a Playboy-sponsored party. As the ad ended, the woman, her shoulders bared, whispered into the camera, "Harold, call me."

Ford subsequently lost the race.

The team will be led by Heath Thompson, whose Dallas-based firm Scott Howell & Company also directed Bush's controversial 2000 campaign in South Carolina.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:08 AM | Comments (6)

Friday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:34 AM | Comments (83)

August 23, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

With so much written every day at PartyBuilder, it's my pleasure to introduce you to some of what you'll find.

Jim Callahan does the Grim Foreclosure Math, across the country and specifically in Florida.

In Why "White Kids Are Happier" And Why The DNC Should Care, FreedomOfSpeech points to an "extensive survey of 1,280 people ages 13-24 by The Associated Press and MTV..."

The perfect 2008 bumper sitcker, by xKCBEx.

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:32 PM | Comments (49)

Home Foreclosures Jump 93 Percent in July

A new report shows home foreclosures jumped 93 percent in July from last year, even as average incomes for U.S. workers dropped for the fifth consecutive year. But there's more to the story:

The growth in total incomes was concentrated among those making more than $1 million. The number of such taxpayers grew by more than 26 percent, to 303,817 in 2005 from 239,685 in 2000.
These individuals, who constitute less than a quarter of 1 percent of all taxpayers, reaped almost 47 percent of the total income gains in 2005, compared with 2000.

As Tula Connell points out at the AFL-CIO blog, the nation's income growth--and the majority of tax breaks--went to those making more than $1 million. So what was the White House reaction? Spokesman Tony Fratto would only say that this

"is not a very interesting story."

For them, maybe.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 4:30 PM | Comments (10)

Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) Will Not Seek Re-Election

Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ), who is under investigation for corruption, will not seek re-election. From Roll Call:

Renzi's retirement announcement adds to a list of GOP Members planning to depart upon the conclusion of the 110th Congress, including Reps. Ray LaHood (Ill.), Deborah Pryce (Ohio) and Chip Pickering (Miss.), as well as former Speaker and Rep. Dennis Hastert (Ill.).

Federal agents raided Renzi's family business in April. Shortly afterwards, Renzi stepped down from his three committee assignments.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 4:13 PM | Comments (7)

Vote Vets To Hold Collins Accountable

She's gaining a reputation for fearing accountability, but that isn't stopping VoteVets from launching this new ad campaign:

Posted by Michael Link at 4:12 PM | Comments (4)

The Most Important Thing You'll Read Today

Jon Soltz asks the question: What if 1,000 Armored Vehicles Didn't Get to Troops and No One Cared?

Reuters: "U.S. troops in Iraq will receive at least 1,000 fewer special armored vehicles than expected this year due to the amount of time needed for shipment."

Posted by Michael Link at 2:29 PM | Comments (2)

Rudy's Real Background On Terrorism

If you like the direction George W. Bush has taken the country, you're going to love four years of Rudy Giuliani. Time Magazine explains how Giuliani's "tough talk" is all bluster and talk and no substance.

Time magazine fact checks Giuliani's exaggerations on the trail about his record as a student of terrorism.

Giuliani and his aides have said he has been "studying Islamic terrorism" for 30 years. This is an exaggeration.

Jerome Hauer Giuliani's emergency-management chief from 1996 to 2000 shoots down the notion that Giualini's been a student of Islamic terrorism saying, "If he's been studying it for 30 years, he certainly never verbalized it to me."Time magazine found that in 80 speeches from 1993 to 2001, he made only one brief mention of terrorism.

In 2006 Giuliani was kicked off the Iraq Study group for missing meetings because of paid speeches. He has very little knowledge of foreign policy.

Giuliani had an unusual opportunity to cram foreign policy when he was invited to join the Iraq Study Group by the co-chairman, former Secretary of State James Baker III, in February 2006. Giuliani accepted, becoming one of just 10 people, including former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in the congressionally mandated group. He participated in a conference call to discuss logistics but then did not attend the first two major meetings. On those days, he delivered paid speeches.

When it's come to personnel, he's had a history of flawed judgment.

One of the most damning criticisms of Giuliani, however, has been his record of flawed judgment on personnel. In 2004, Giuliani recommended that President George W. Bush nominate Bernard Kerik to run the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik was a police officer and Giuliani's driver before he was elevated to corrections commissioner and police chief. But the nomination collapsed when information about Kerik's past and possible ties to mob-related businesses began to filter out.
...

But Giuliani's most surprising security adviser so far is his old friend former FBI director Louis Freeh. Freeh's stewardship of the FBI during the eight years before the bureau's most spectacular failure makes him an unusual choice."

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 10:47 AM | Comments (2)

Pentagon Late in Delivery of Lifesaving Vehicles

The Pentagon will only send 1,500 lifesaving armored vehicles to Iraq by the end of the year, far short of the goal of 3,500. Even worse, the Pentagon's Inspector General blames the delays on questionable contracting practices that may cost American lives.

The office examined $2.2 billion worth of contracts for armored vehicles and kits to upgrade them, according to a report made available to The Washington Post yesterday. Investigators found, among other things, that the Marine Corps issued $416.7 million in sole-source contracts to Force Protection of Ladson, S.C., for armored vehicles. A sole-source contract is a deal awarded without competitive bidding, usually because the Pentagon determines the firm is the only one able to deliver a service or because it needs an item quickly. Yet the report found that Marine officials knew of other potential bidders and that some advocates of competition were overruled.
The contracts continued even though Force Protection "did not perform as a responsible contractor and repeatedly failed to meet contractual delivery schedules for getting vehicles to the theater," the report said. Under one contract issued in 2005, Force Protection failed to deliver 98 percent of 122 mine-resistant vehicles on time despite getting $6.7 million from the Marines to upgrade its production facilities.

As we've reported before, armored MRAP vehicles save lives. As of May 7, 2007, no Marines had died in the more than 300 attacks in MRAP vehicles in Anbar province.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 9:26 AM | Comments (7)

Thursday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:48 AM | Comments (134)

August 22, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Normally at this time I give you your daily dose of your posts over at PartyBuilder, but today I want to simply highlight one.

Steve Wilson

Just as a side-note, there's so much good stuff over at PartyBuilder that I don't try to claim that the ones I list daily are "the best." The hope, in fact, is that by listing just a sample of the material, more of you will read the list of posts over there (and participate) regularly. So as much as I want to highlight good posts, it's also to make sure more people find posts that I don't highlight.

I hope this sheds some light on what PB Rescue is about. You all have so much to say, and I want to make sure your voice is heard. It's imperfect, but I think it's been a valuable addition to this blog.

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:05 PM | Comments (62)

Some Electronic Voting Machines Never Certified

Julia Rosen at Calitics has the latest news on California's electronic voting machines. Now it turns out that ES&S sold voting machines to some counties before they were certified. Even worse, turns out that the company may have faked certification stickers on the back of some machines.

The law allows the state to fine the company up to $10,000 per uncertified system ($9.72m) and refund the counties all or part of the purchase price, which would amount to about $5 million. Plus, the state could ban ES&S from doing any business with the state. That could effect up to 14 more counties, including LA County.

But there's more...

the A200 machines had stickers on them...that identified them as having passed federal qualification testing, when they hadn't yet passed that testing.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen will be holding a hearing on the electronic voting machines--and the possible attempt to mislead California elections officials--on September 20.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party recently announced an unprecedented election protection project--to identify possible problems before Election Day. Read more about the project here.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 5:36 PM | Comments (3)

Romney In A Day: Dodge, Avoid, Flip, Flop, Flip-Flop Again

Yesterday Mitt Romney made his first trip to Nevada, where residents got their first taste of his flip-flopping ways.

On Yucca Mountain, which the Bush Administration has designated as a place to store spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, Romney attempted to dodge the issue:

Asked his position on Yucca Mountain, a project adamantly opposed by Nevada and most voters in the state, the former Massachusetts governor suggested that he might be sympathetic to Nevada's fight, but fell short of taking a firm stance.

Jon Ralston, columnist for Las Vegas Sun Politics, called his article "The silky smooth, almost human Mitt Romney."

• Immigration: When I asked him how his tough stance, amplified in a new radio ad, might fly here, where so many illegal immigrants work in key industries, he pivoted and said: "We’re not going to cut off our nose to spite our face. We’re not going to say we’re going to hurt our own economy. We’re going...to gradually and humanely replace illegal workers to the extent that they’re in an enterprise."
Humanely? That’s the kind of word that is used at animal shelters when talking about euthanasia and yet somehow here seems tough and sensitive.

• Health care: The man who signed a universal health care bill as governor with an admiring Teddy Kennedy looking on was having none of my suggestion that he and Hillary Clinton of 1994 were very simpatico.

...

• Gaming: This is the governor who first supported slot parlors and then, as his quest for the GOP nomination neared, became anti-gaming. Indeed, a few months ago he appointed a man named Tom Coates as a vice chairman of his National Faith and Values Steering Committee (who doesn’t need one of THOSE?). Coates is an Iowan who has said gaming has a "dark underbelly" and said he would be fine with choking off the industry in his state.

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 3:40 PM | Comments (1)

White House Front Group Buys $15 Million in Ads In Support of Escalation

A new group called "Freedom's Watch" launched today with a $15 million, five-week ad campaign in support of Bush's escalation in Iraq.

Although president Bradley A. Blakeman called the group "grassroots," it is funded by an inner-circle of high-profile, high-dollar Republicans who have long been friends and supporters of President Bush. From The Politico:

The board consists of [former senior White House aide Bradley] Blakeman; [former White House spokesman Ari] Fleischer; Mel Sembler, a Florida Republican who was Bush’s ambassador to Italy; William P. Weidner, president and chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.; and Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
The donors include Sembler; Anthony Gioia, a Buffalo businessman who was Bush’s ambassador to Malta; Kevin Moley, who was Bush’s ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva; Howard Leach, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman who was Bush’s ambassador to France; Dr. John Templeton of Pennsylvania, chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation; Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast Spectacor, the huge Philadelphia sports and entertainment firm; Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and ranked by Forbes magazine as the third-wealthiest American; and Richard Fox, who is chairman of the Jewish Policy Center and was Pennsylvania State Chairman of the Reagan/Bush campaign in 1980.

Freedom’s Watch has bought ads in 33 television markets. In many cases, the ads will air in the districts of Republican incumbents who have wavered in their support for the Bush administration's Iraq war policies.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 3:38 PM | Comments (3)

Fred Thompson: Not Much Of An Achiever While He Was In The Senate

The New York Times caucus blog does the research on Fred Thompson's Senate career and finds out that Thompson wasn't much of an achiever.

A scouring of the legislative website of the Library of Congress from 1995 to 2002, when Mr. Thompson was in the Senate, yields a total of five bills that became law for which he was the head sponsor. A sixth passed the Senate and was replaced by an identical House bill that was eventually signed by the president.
The bills include the naming of a post office and courthouse in Cookeville, Tenn., a private bill that granted permanent residency status to a young Bolivian girl getting treatment for cancer and her family and several other minor pieces of legislation. A quick comparison with Senator John McCain, his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, for the same period turns up 17 bills that became law for which Mr. McCain was the lead sponsor.

To be fair to Thompson he was an integral part of one major piece of legislation, the McCain Feingold campaign finance reform law, a law that he appears to be breaking.

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 2:17 PM | Comments (1)

John McCain Would Lose Arizona...In a Senate Race

He might want to start worrying about his day job.

A new poll finds Governor Janet Napolitano would beat Senator John McCain if the two went head-to-head in an election. In a hypothetical head-to-head race for McCain's Senate seat, those polled supported the governor 47 percent to 36 percent for McCain, with 17 percent undecided.

Maybe because he's missed over half his Senate votes so far.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 1:18 PM | Comments (4)

Fred and the FEC

With an FEC Complaint filed against Fred Thompson for, among other things, raising money for amassing campaign funds to be spent after he becomes a candidate, you would think he'd try to do a better job hiding it.

Right now he has millions in the bank. The fact that he's still fundraising, while expecting to announce "in the near future," suggests one of two things:

He plans on spending the millions he has on hand in the couple of weeks, and these new contributions are also to be spent on exploratory activities before he declares.
He's raising money for after he "officially" declares he's a candidate.

None of this is necessary for the complaint to be valid, of course, given that there are other grounds also mentioned in the complaint.

But my point is that it's not about whether some magic dollar amount constitutes a violation. Rather, it's about his current actions fundraising beyond what he'll be using for exploratory actions, given he admits knowing his announcement will be "in the near future."

Posted by Michael Link at 12:54 PM | Comments (2)

Heckuva Job?

"Richard Stickler is a very competent MSHA official."
- Sen. Orrin Hatch

Posted by Michael Link at 11:48 AM | Comments (3)

Bush: Iraq Is Just Like Vietnam

Yes, this appears to be his message in a speech later today, in which he will defend his handling of the war in preparation of the September White House report by comparing it to the Vietnam War. It's an odd message for the White House, given the history. For that Josh Marshall has the details.

But even more, it's such a reversal from everything this administration has ever said about the subject. My favorite example, in April 2004 at a press conference:

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, April is turning into the deadliest month in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad, and some people are comparing Iraq to Vietnam and talking about a quagmire. Polls show that support for your policy is declining and that fewer than half Americans now support it. What does that say to you and how do you answer the Vietnam comparison?
THE PRESIDENT: I think the analogy is false. I also happen to think that analogy sends the wrong message to our troops, and sends the wrong message to the enemy. Look, this is hard work. It's hard to advance freedom in a country that has been strangled by tyranny. And, yet, we must stay the course, because the end result is in our nation's interest.

Not only did he take issue with the analogy, but he added that those who use it aid the enemy.

In the past, he's argued against the comparison on numerous occassions, saying it's "a different situation" and there's no parallel.

His spokesman, Tony Snow, said the two are "not comparable." He continued, saying "I will let Americans tell you what their various lessons were from Vietnam. That's far too large a question for me to contemplate, let alone answer."

Yet that's exactly what President Bush is going to try to do it today. And he's going to do it in a way that completely ignores American history.

Some might even call that "revisionist."

Posted by Michael Link at 10:05 AM | Comments (52)

White House Fights to Keep Millions of Emails Secret

In the latest development in the case of the "missing" White House emails, the Justice Department now claims that records about the emails are not public information:

The Justice Department said Tuesday that records about missing White House emails are not subject to public disclosure, the latest effort by the Bush administration to expand the boundaries of government secrecy.

Approximately 5 million White House emails are "missing" from March 2003 to October 2005. The emails are thought to contain important evidence about the outing of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity and the political purge of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 9:57 AM | Comments (3)

Wednesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:53 AM | Comments (85)

August 21, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Lots of good stuff over at PartyBuilder today. Here's a sample of what you'll find...

Faith Shirley, who just friended me (I'm touched), lends a helping hand: Republicans - Link to go to your own blog. Heh.

Jim Callahan gives us a heads up that Sen. Leahy (D, VT) Threatens Contempt Charges.

Also in the news, CIA Executive Summary of 9/11 declassified today

Angel says We Are Better Than This. Lots of discussion ensues.

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:06 PM | Comments (108)

Democrats Outraise Republicans 2-to-1

Democrats are winning the first contest of the 2008 elections: the money race. From USA Today via Huffington Post:

The most vulnerable House Democrats--freshmen who won in districts that went for President Bush in 2004--raised an average of $600,000 in the first six months of this year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. That's nearly double what Republican freshmen raised. If the trend continues, it will make it difficult for the GOP to reduce Democrats' 231-202 House majority.

The article adds that the median amount raised by Democratic freshmen is $503,643, compared to $203,988 by the 13 Republican freshmen.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 5:18 PM

Schlozman Leaves Justice Department

This is an incredibly important resignation.

Some of you might remember Schlozman from the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where he was grilled for flagrantly ignoring the manual that he should have been following when he rushed indictments shortly before the election. As we've said before, this was seen as a Republican effort to remove the poor and elderly from voting rolls.

We've also noted that Schlozman "removed experienced attorneys under false pretenses and was blatant about his desire to fill the division with loyal Republicans. In some instances Schlozman intimidated employees who had not voted for President Bush."

Let's get some new people in the Civil Rights Division that will actually dedicate themselves to protecting the right to vote -- rather than block it.

Posted by Michael Link at 2:07 PM | Comments (5)

Yankees Game vs. Ground Zero

Rudy Giuliani has been widely criticized for claiming he was "at ground zero as often, if not more, than most of the workers." Not only was this an insult to those heroes, but it was flat-out false. While rescue workers were pulling 12-hour shifts, Giuliani spent only a fraction of the amount of time others did.

But now word comes that the amount of time Giuliani spent at Ground Zero in 2001 pales in comparison to time spent at Yankees Games. For some perspective, I put together this handy chart:

Posted by Michael Link at 12:10 PM | Comments (3)

Bush Administration Cuts Kids From Health Insurance Program

The Bush administration is making it more difficult for states to provide health coverage to low-income children because of tough new rules defining eligibility. From the New York Times:

Administration officials outlined the new standards in a letter sent to state health officials on Friday evening, in the middle of a month-long Congressional recess. In interviews, they said the changes were aimed at returning the Children’s Health Insurance Program to its original focus on low-income children and to make sure the program did not become a substitute for private health coverage. (Emphasis mine)

Scarecrow at Firedoglake points out:

In other words, the Administration wants to deny SCHIP health coverage to possibly millions of low-to-medium income children solely to shield the private insurance companies from competition and to protect their profits.

SCHIP is a highly successful program, but there are still several million children with no coverage at all. The Democratic Congress has been developing legislation to expand coverage to most of these kids, but Bush has threatened to veto the bills.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 11:40 AM | Comments (21)

The Rescue Effort Continues

The rescue effort to save the Crandall Canyon miners continues, and we're pulling for the safety of each of the six men. And our thoughts are also with the heroic rescue workers that died in a second cave-in at the mine.

At the same time, we need to make sure that the effort to save the lives of these workers continues while making sure we don't suffer an even greater loss of life.

Still, the questions remain. How did this happen? And how can we make sure it doesn't happen again? How is it that the recovery efforts have unfolded so tragically?

People have begun taking another look at Mine and Health Safety Administrator, Richard Stickler. It appears the twice-rejected "mine-safety czar" had trouble attaining the presidential appointment because of his weak safety record when he operated mines. Not only has he said that no new laws or regulations are needed for mine safety, but under his watch as an executive, mines he managed "incurred injury rates double the national average."

So how did he get the position? Recess appointment, of course, in order to avoid Congressional oversight.

And to learn why, we turn to Arianna Huffington, with a must-read piece that everybody should check out:

Putting foxes in charge of the henhouse has been standard operating procedure for Rove's hyper-politicized White House. The long list of industry hacks given key slots at federal agencies will forever stand as the ultimate tribute to Rove's effectiveness in turning the federal government into an arm of the Republican Party -- and a payback machine for those that funded it. [...]
In far too many cases, these cynical appointments that put the Party's interest above the public interest, have left our country less safe, our environment more polluted, our fellow citizens less healthy -- and, in the case of the Crandall Canyon Mine, three of them dead, and six others in all likelihood entombed in the mine forever.

Once again, the Bush administration ignores the Congress and politicizes a part of government that shouldn't be.

Posted by Michael Link at 10:24 AM | Comments (7)

Tuesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:09 AM | Comments (147)

August 20, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Today on PartyBuilder, Elmo asks What Kind of Democrat are You?

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:22 PM | Comments (113)

Kenya Reduces Child Deaths From Malaria

It's something as simple and inexpensive as a net. Yet look at the results:

Kenya cut child deaths from malaria by more than 40 percent over five years by handing out insecticide-treated mosquito nets, U.N. and Kenyan officials said Thursday. [...] Over the past five years, Kenya gave out 13.5 million treated nets with the percentage of children sleeping under them rising to 52 percent in 2006, from 5 percent in 2003, the health ministry said in a statement.
Health Minister Charity Ngilu said Kenya's program saved seven children for every 1,000 mosquito nets used.

The ONE Campaign blog has more.

Posted by Michael Link at 4:16 PM

GOP Desperate: Distributing Fake Pictures Of Democrats

How desperate are Republicans? In the bellwether state of Kentucky the Kentucky GOP is passing around a fake picture of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear.

GOP leaders said Thursday they will be distributing a fake photograph of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear standing beside a casino table with a drink in his hand.
...

The depiction has Beshear's head, with a sparkling front tooth, on someone else's body dressed in a white sports jacket, a white shirt with an open collar, holding a beverage while standing at what appears to be a roulette table covered with gambling chips.

Republican Ernie Fletcher, the current scandal plagued Governor of Kentucky is more than 20 points behind Steve Beshear in recent polling.

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 2:01 PM | Comments (9)

FEC Complaint Filed Against Fred Thompson

At News for the Left, there's word of an FEC complaint filed against Fred Thompson "for violation of Federal Election Law under the Commission's jurisdiction."

Specifically, it alleges that he:

Raised funds in excess of what could reasonably be expected to be used for exploratory activities (or undertook activities designed to amass campaign funds that would be spent after he becomes a candidate).

Made or authorized written or oral statements that refer to him as a candidate for a particular office.

Conducted activities over a protracted period of time.

The examples of each of these points are numerous, and the entire complaint has been posted. By not filing as a candidate, Fred Thompson has avoided revealing his contributions and expenses, as well as filing his personal finances.

Posted by Michael Link at 1:55 PM | Comments (9)

Flip-Flopping on... Language?

The Mitt Romney that Iowa gets to see:

Romney often sounds as if he has stepped out of a time machine from 1950s suburban America, golly-ing and gosh-ing his way across the nation, letting out the occasional "Holy cow!" after something really shocks him.

But is this the real Mitt Romney?

The brouhaha in blue began when Romney drove up to a traffic jam involving dozens of busloads of Olympic spectators, jumped out of his car and began directing traffic. He then weighed in on [Shaun] Knopp, who was hired by a SLOC contractor to help with security. Later, Knopp said Romney asked who the 'f---' he was and what the 'f---' he was doing. Romney added -- in Knopp's version -- 'We got the Olympics going on and we don't need this s--- going on.'

Posted by Michael Link at 11:30 AM | Comments (1)

Understatement of the Year

"Sean is not a journalist."
- Bill Shine, Fox's senior vice president of programming

UPDATE:: Not that he's always being advertised that way...

Whether interviewing influential newsmakers or dissecting the issues of the day, Hannity's top-notch skills as a journalist and talk show host are clearly evident.

Posted by Michael Link at 11:17 AM | Comments (6)

Congress Calls For Hearings Into Mine Safety

From ThinkProgress:

Yesterday, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the Chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, signaled that they will conduct hearings into the administration’s response to this recent mine tragedy: [...] At the center of this tragic recovery process is the head of MSHA, Richard Stickler. In 2006, President Bush recess-appointed Stickler, a former Murray Energy executive, whom the Senate had twice rejected because the mines he managed “incurred injury rates double the national average.” Stickler has also stated that he believes no new laws or regulations are needed for mine safety.
By law, MSHA is supposed to be in charge of managing the Utah mine tragedy. But Stickler has largely stepped aside and allowed the mine’s owner, Bob Murray, to control the disaster. It took MSHA at least two days to gain public control of the situation. On Aug. 7 press briefing, Murray used a media appearance to criticize global warming proponents, and only later “emphasized that his heart and his priorities are with the trapped miners and their families.”

Posted by Michael Link at 10:35 AM | Comments (4)

Monday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 9:23 AM | Comments (128)

August 19, 2007

Second Democratic Party Sponsored Debate On ABC News

The second DNC sponsored debate is taking place as we speak on This Week With George Stephanopoulos in Iowa. You can find out when This Week is on in your community by checking in at ABC News. (PDF)

Interested in how the Iowa Caucuses actually work? desmoinesdem, a MYDD user from Iowa explained in a four part diary at MYDD, you can read all four parts by following these link (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4).

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 9:38 AM | Comments (18)

Sunday Open Thread

The Democratic debate starts in the next couple hours. See local listings. And blog about it on PartyBuilder!

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:09 AM | Comments (303)

August 18, 2007

From the Archives

Posted by Michael Link at 11:25 AM | Comments (6)

Saturday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 7:11 AM | Comments (263)

August 17, 2007

Friday Evening Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:06 PM | Comments (97)

Majority of Americans Don't Trust White House to Report Accurately on Iraq

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans don't trust the report on the situation in Iraq that the White House will write and release in September--the so-called "Petraeus Report."

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Thursday, 53 percent of people polled said they suspect that the military assessment of the situation will try to make it sound better than it actually is. Forty-three percent said they do trust the report.

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said:

"It does seem to indicate that anyone associated with the Bush administration may be a less than credible messenger for the message that there is progress being made in Iraq."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 4:18 PM | Comments (14)

The Friday Five

Every Friday we're highlighting five events happening around the country that we've found in PartyBuilder's Events system.

Here are 5 events happening around the country. If you don't see one in your neck of the woods, click here to search for one near you. Or better yet, create your own!

Debate on This Week (Troy, NY)

ABC News in conjunction with the Iowa Democratic Party announced a debate streamed on This Week moderated by George Stephanopoulos.

SEIU Local 105 Comedy Fundraiser in Denver! (Denver, CO)

Service Employees International Union is hosting a comedy fundraiser this Friday the 17th. SEIU local 105 in Denver deserves a large Democratic turnout. Let’s give it to them – they’re going to put on a great show!

Lane County - Leaburg Summer Festival (Leaburg, OR)

Look for the DPLC booth for information about the Democratic Party and candidates. The festival will be held at the McKenzie Bible Fellowship Church, just past milepost 25.

Carson City Annual Steak Fry (Carson City, NV)

The Carson City Democratic Women and Central Committee are holding their annual Steak Fry & Picnic. The event allows attendees to mingle with local elected officials and hear from the Democratic Presidential campaigns.

Back to Blue Concert (Lake Charles, LA)

The Southwest Louisiana Young Democrats has a goal of getting 20% more young voters active for the 2007-2008 election season. Their big kick-off is a YDL Back To Blue Concert on August 18, 2007.

Posted by Michael Link at 3:55 PM | Comments (1)

Another September Deadline

I had a nice chuckle last night during this exchange on Larry King Live yesterday:

KING: Can you still win this nomination?
MCCAIN: Oh, sure. Listen, Larry, we're doing well. We're back doing the town hall meetings, doing the things I do best. The money is coming in OK. We're going to -- look, in September and October, people are going to start focusing.

I don't underestimate any candidate; I'm just surprised McCain didn't respond that 'the next six months are critical.'

Posted by Michael Link at 3:28 PM | Comments (1)

How Much Time Did Rudy Giuliani Spend At Ground Zero?

Rudy Giuliani is running for the Republican presidential nomination based on the fact that he was mayor of New York during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. But he has angered rescue and recovery workers by comparing his experience to theirs.

Most recently he claimed that he was at the site "as often, if not more" than most recovery workers, and that his long hours at the site exposed him to "every health consequence that people have suffered."

So...

...how much time did Mayor Giuliani spend at ground zero?
A complete record of Mr. Giuliani’s exposure to the site is not available for the chaotic six days after the attack, when he was a frequent visitor. But an exhaustively detailed account from his mayoral archive, revised after the events to account for last-minute changes on scheduled stops, does exist for the period of Sept. 17 to Dec. 16, 2001. It shows he was there for a total of 29 hours in those three months, often for short periods or to visit locations adjacent to the rubble. In that same period, many rescue and recovery workers put in daily 12-hour shifts.

During those months, many firefighters worked weeks of consecutive 12-hour shifts on the rubble pile, interrupted only by nights sleeping on the floor of a nearby church.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 1:57 PM | Comments (9)

FBI Director's Redacted Notes On Midnight Hospital Visit Released

Today from the Politico, the latest news about the incident in 2004, in which Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card showed up at the hospital room of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in the middle of the night to demand recertification of the Bush administration's illegal domestic spying program:

FBI Director Robert Mueller has turned over to the House Judiciary Committee his heavily redacted notes from a March 2004 incident during which top White House officials tried to get a hospitalized former Attorney General John Ashcroft to reauthorize the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping program.
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers says the Mueller document "raises far more questions than it answers," and he promised further investigation into the incident.

The notes describe Ashcroft's condition during the meeting as "feeble, barely articulate, clearly stressed." You can read them for yourself here.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:48 AM | Comments (4)

Mine Safety Czar Was Recess Appointment

Richard Stickler, the Bush administration's mine safety czar, is a former mining industry executive whose own mine safety record was so poor, senators from both parties rejected him twice as a nominee for his current job.

President George W. Bush resorted to a recess appointment in October 2006 to anoint Richard Stickler as the nation's mine safety czar after it became clear he could not receive enough support even in a GOP-controlled Senate.

And in a heartbreaking turn of events, three more miners died yesterday while trying to rescue the six trapped miners in the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah. The rescuers had been heroically digging for more than a week to reach their comrades.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 9:41 AM | Comments (7)

Friday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 8:34 AM | Comments (96)

August 16, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

There's always something interesting to read over at PartyBuilder, but today I'm highlighting just one.

As a former Florida political blogger, I've can't help but flag this post by Jim Callahan: Gossip: Orlando Party Switcher (D to R) Indicted. While I won't prejudge, let me just note that before she was elected, she told the Orlando Sentinel she wanted to be in the state House in order to land a lucrative lobbying career.

This is an open thread. Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 6:53 PM | Comments (123)

Bush Approved Use of Spy Satellites on Citizens

The Bush administration has approved a plan to spy on American citizens via satellites and aircraft sensors that can see through buildings and underground bunkers, even in bad weather.

A program approved by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security will allow broader domestic use of secret overhead imagery beginning as early as this fall, with the expectation that state and local law enforcement officials will eventually be able to tap into technology once largely restricted to foreign surveillance.

Civil liberties advocates said yesterday that the government is crossing a line by using military assets in domestic law enforcement.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 4:07 PM | Comments (17)

Rumsfeld Resigned Before Election Day 2006, But Bush Delayed Announcement

Donald Rumsfeld actually resigned the day before the November 2006 election, but Bush chose not to announce it until after Election Day. Is anyone surprised?

Donald Rumsfeld, architect of the unpopular Iraq war, resigned as defense secretary before last year's November election but his decision was not announced until after the voting, according to his resignation letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
The letter was dated November 6, the day before voters, angered by Iraq, went to the polls and swept Republicans from power in Congress. According to a stamp on the letter, President George W. Bush saw it on election day.

Bush, however, did not announce that Rumsfeld would leave until the day after the election.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 3:55 PM | Comments (8)

Leahy Requests A Real Investigation

Senator Leahy asked the Inspector General of the Justice Department to investigate not simply whether Alberto Gonzales might be guilty of criminal conduct -- which would be setting the bar absurdly low -- but whether he "engaged in any misconduct, engaged in conduct inappropriate for a cabinet officer and the nation's chief law enforcement officer, or violated any duty..."

Should the probe go forward, it could mean an end to the "so long as we say it's legal" dodge on matters of ethics and honesty in government from this administration.

TPM Muckraker calls the Justice Department Inspector General "a former prosecutor who's respected by Democrats and Republicans alike." Let's hope he can help people feel like they can trust that they're protected equally under the law, regardless of their politics, by taking a serious look at these questions.

Posted by Michael Link at 2:06 PM | Comments (1)

Rudy Giuliani on Immigration: Rhetoric vs. Reality

Rudy Giuliani talks tough in South Carolina, promising that "we can end illegal immigration. But an aide to one of his rivals leaked a video of the former mayor taking a much more pragmatic stance:

"We're never ever going to be able to totally control immigration to a country that is as large as ours," Giuliani said in a speech at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 1996. "If you were to totally control immigration into the United States...you might very well destroy the economy of the United States because you'd have to inspect everything and everyone in every way possible." While adding that it's important to get a better sense of who was coming into the country, Giuliani said "you're never totally going to control it."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 1:59 PM | Comments (4)

White House Contradicts Itself on Petraeus 'Report'

The Bush White House plans to write the September report itself--even though the report was supposed to be from General Petraeus on the results of Bush's escalation in Iraq. So the Bush White House will be writing its own report card--on the "success" of its own Iraq policies.

In response to the public outrage, an irked White House spokeswoman Dana Perino tried to claim yesterday during a press briefing that the report wasn't supposed to come from General Petraeus in the first place:

"Well, let me remind you of a couple of things. The Congress asked for these reports from the President; they asked for the President to report to the Congress."

But Bush directly contradicted the claims of his own spokeswoman during a press conference, July 12:

"I would ask members of Congress to give the general a chance to come back and to give us a full assessment of whether this is succeeding or not. And it's at that point in time that I will consult with members of Congress and make a decision about the way forward..."

During the same press conference, Bush says multiple times that he is waiting for the report "by General Petraeus" and that he is "going to wait for David [Petraeus] to come back...and give us the report on what he sees."

Read the full transcript here.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:18 AM | Comments (60)

Senate Republicans Cited 'Report' from General Petraeus As Excuse for Waiting

Yesterday we learned that the much-anticipated September report from General Petraeus, which was supposed to accurately describe the results of Bush's escalation in Iraq, will actually be written by the Bush White House.

Most Senate Republicans have said that they are waiting to see the report before making a decision on withdrawal. But most Republicans had also said that they expected the report to be written by General Petraeus--not the White House spin machine. Over at Daily Kos, BarbinMD compiled the quotes straight from the Congressional Record, when these Republicans were filibustering the Defense Authorization Bill last month:

Senate Minority Leader McConnell:
"Let me remind the Senate of what we agreed to...We voted, and put into law, that General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker would report in September on progress. The benchmarks report and the timeline we set in May was clear. It gave us, the troops, and our allies, clarity on what was expected."

Senator McCain:

"The war will be discussed in September again--we all know that--when General Petraeus is ready to report to the Senate...General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker will come to Washington in September to report on the status of their efforts and those of the Iraqis."

Senator Sessions:

"To press the point further, I strongly believe that whatever the inclinations of Senators on the conduct of the war in Iraq, to change our strategy now before we even hear from General Petraeus in September would be a colossal blunder for a host of reasons. To do so would be unthinkable...I am anxious to hear General Petraeus’s report."

Senator Coleman:

"Fifty-four days ago we sent a message to General Petraeus: Go forth with the surge, and then come back and report to us."

Senator Chambliss:

"I have never been more convinced that waiting for General Petraeus's report in September was more right than yesterday afternoon..."

Senator Craig:

"That's why when we confirmed General Petraeus unanimously in the Senate, we said to him very clearly, you go to Iraq in relation to a surge that is being implemented and you come back to us and give us your honest and fair assesement in September."

Senator Cornyn:

"But the fact is, Gen. David Petraeus...will come back and report to us in September."

Senator DeMint:

"The Democrats agreed on that funding, but they requested that we have a report from General Petraeus in the middle of September to find out what progress we were making. We all agreed to that."

Senator Bunning:

"I promised in person, in my office, to General Petraeus, that I would wait to hear his report this fall."

Next question: what will they say now that the "report" has been completely discredited?

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