OK, so when are we going to start stifling tyrants, starting here at home?
We can also use some "sure and steady growth" about now too.
Do we have to wait for the next election?
Why can't we start now? Especially with that stifling tyrant thing!
Impeach Bush/Cheney now!!!!

Once my family was feeling enthusiastic about our party because of Governor Dean efforts to include the people in it again...now we are feeling lost in Florida.

We see the forces at play of power for the sake of power. We see the state telling lies and spreading propaganda to get their way. When we confront them, they put us down as not too knowledgeable.

If Florida wins based on propaganda, then we will despair. The party leaders here overall seem to have no conscience about it. And they are spreading anger toward the DNC and making it personal about Howard Dean on their website.

The Florida Democrats are saying to withhold funds from the DNC, and posting things to anger the Florida populace

Sunny, get this around to everyone you know in FL.

Contact the FL Dems and tell them to knock off this horse crap, that YOU and others will cut off funds to THEM if they keep your votes from counting.

Florida Democratic Party
214 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301
850-222-3411
850-222-0916 (fax)

http://www.fladems.com/

Chair: Karen Thurman
Vice Chair: Rudolph Parker
Executive Director: Leonard Joseph

http://www.fladems.com/content/w/contact

sunny,

Somebody has to stop the madness. Another state jumped out ahead of the others today announcing a January 5th primary. I'm not working the phones on Christmas for any candidate.

Pam and Sandy...I am beginning to think this is more than meets the eye. I think it is about more than just primaries. We all realize it is about power, but why now? The question we first ask is who benefits? Then we go from there.

Who is benefitting from the mad race, which in Florida's case is based on lies?

This is not good.

U.S. weapons, given to Iraqis, move to Turkey

By David S. Cloud and Eric Schmitt
International Herald Tribune
Published: August 29, 2007

WASHINGTON: Weapons that were originally given to Iraqi security forces by the American military have been recovered over the past year by the authorities in Turkey after being used in violent crimes in that country, Pentagon officials said Wednesday...

www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/30/america/30contract.php?WT.mc_id=atomamerica

sunny,

I heard Blitzer saying tonight, that Republicans are doing the same thing, i.e. trying to move up their Primaries.

I am not sure the advantage, but they are all trying to get into this act now.

Posted by PamB on August 30, 2007 at 06:50 PM

sunny/Pam,

Maybe all of the state party organizations sense a revolt among their members...voters?

It's obvious that the rank and file Republicans aren't really thrilled with any of their candidates. Perhaps this is a way for the state officials to freeze out some candidates that they would rather not see at the head of the ballot next year?

And on our side, there seems to be a dead heat among the top three Democrats who are appealing to the same voters. So maybe the state organizations want to give a hand up to their favorite?

I don't get it.

Perhaps it is more a case of politicans feeling the overwhelming frustration of the American people and trying to placate them by resolving something...anything.

I can see why the Republicans are panicking, but we have a great line up of candidates. Why is it necessary to settle things so early? Let's let our slate of stars shine for a while before the Swiftboating starts.

Maybe it's that simple. The Republicans need to start Swiftboating big time to have any chance in November, 2008?

U.S. weapons, given to Iraqis, move to Turkey
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 06:45 PM
=====================================
Yes you are right that is not good that our weapons are being used by the Kurdish against the Turkish Government, who will in turn invade Iraq and all sides will we at War. Why is an element that is supposedly loyal to U.S. interest undermining them. If you have the Shiites siding with Iran and Kurdish attacking our ally Turkey the whole thing is going to blow up. White House micromanaging is taking us into a World War quagmire.

If the DNC spent half as much time getting things done, rather than impeaching the president, they'd have the support of 75% of americans.
Posted by lefty_winger on August 30, 2007 at 07:15 PM

DNC hasn't said one single word about Impeachment! Just because you read us here talk about it, does not mean it is the DNC.

And if you are truly a left winger, then you should be as sick up to the gills as we are with the Lying, the cheating, stealing, the corruption, the Perversion, the destruction of our Constitution, the taking of our civil liberties, our services for our elderly, children, veterans, troops, etc. And you should be screaming for their heads, too!

In the meantime, I shall make sure that every one of those 75% Americans know the TRUTH!

this will be Real interesting ! 80 years old, huh?

Sen. Warner to Say Whether He Will Seek Reelection
By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 30, 2007; 2:30 PM

Virginia Sen. John W. Warner (R), whose political plans have been the subject of intense speculation, will announce tomorrow whether he will seek a sixth term in 2008.

Warner, 80, is scheduled to reveal his decision tomorrow afternoon on the north steps of the Rotunda on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, according to a brief statement issued by his office this afternoon.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/30/AR2007083001087.html

Posted by lefty_winger on August 30, 2007 at 07:15 PM

50 votes means nothing. You need to have enough to stop a filibuster or override a veto. We don't have that many.

We are shy those five Republican Senators and one Independent Republican who keep blocking everything the House passes.

But all we need is a few more Republican Senators to implode. There seems to be a GOP party-wide death wish going on right now, so we might be a lot closer to getting that super majority.

Stay tuned.

US bars American witnesses from inquests of British soldiers

American witnesses will not be allowed to travel to the UK to attend inquests into the deaths of British soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A letter sent to all coroners in England and Wales makes it clear that US military personnel will not cooperate with their inquiries. In a document published yesterday, the Ministry of Defence makes it clear that requests from coroners for witnesses to appear will be turned down. The document says: "The US have confirmed categorically that they will not provide witnesses to attend UK inquests. While coroners may continue to ask for US witnesses to attend ... they should be aware that there will in all cases be a refusal."

But all we need is a few more Republican Senators to implode. There seems to be a GOP party-wide death wish going on right now, so we might be a lot closer to getting that super majority.
Stay tuned.
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 07:47 PM

Sandy, watching Republicans now back away from Bush and Craig and the other corruption and perversion, there is a lot of shaking in their boots going on. For those who are worried about next year election, they will be calling for Tar and Feathers for Bush soon, too.

My own state, Chris Shays, last Representative from the Red Party in this State, has been slowly doing a cute little shift, not only on the Iraq invasion, the surge, but now Bush! He would not take Bush here beside him on a Bet!

Smart, hungry, Republicans will be on our side before long.

signing out. Have a good evening, Dems!

(you too, lefty winger)

Good night, Pam.

Gee Whiz, Beaver...the Troll "Infallible" sure seems to leave A LOT out of his posts. It seems as if all this chubby schlub can do is drag up OLD shit from years ago and expect it to float on the slime of Pug sewage. For someone who claims "infallibility" he sure seems to get a LOT of shit wrong.

...ACT, which ceased operations in 2005, was formed in late 2003 and rapidly deployed an enormous organization to do the retail-level grunt work of politics...

OOPS!

GEE, When did they change the laws?

Drop Sludge as a "source".

And. BTW, Politico just went into business a few months ago, and they ALREADY have ALMOST 200 EXAMPLES OF SHODDY REPORTING ON RECORD!!!!

Just like your orgasmic glee over using Wikipedia as a source.

Pull your head out of your ass and learn to think for yourself, idiot.

GIVING to an organization and having ZERO control over what that seed money is for is a LOT different than being "Soros Supported".

The Bush Family GAVE to the NAZI PARTY and they (the Bush Family) STILL are anti-American Freedom Haters.

BITE ME, DUDE. FOR SOMEONE WHO CLAIMS INFALLIBILITY YOU SURE ARE GUILTY OF SINS OF OMISSION

And now you're going to thank me for "proving your point" because you are too stupid to know otherwise.

BTW I read ALL of the right wing sites, and therefore am well prepared to tell you where to go and what you can do with yourself once you get there.

No really....tell us how you really feel, DPD. :)

Polk judge rules against gay marriage ban

A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa's law banning gay marriage.

The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson concluded that the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and he ordered the Polk County recorder to issue marriage licenses to six gay couples.

IOWA?!?

IOWA?!?
Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 09:32 PM

whodda thunk it.... :)

CNN's Dana Bash: Sources say Craig should "pull the plug" and will "resign pretty soon"
by Joe Sudbay (DC) · 8/30/2007 07:38:00 PM ET
Discuss this post here: Comments (96) · digg it · reddit · FARK · · Link

Dana Bash, who is reporting from Idaho, just said she's hearing from sources in Idaho and DC that Craig will be quitting the Senate -- soon. One Idaho pol told her Craig should just "pull the plug." According to Bash:

...the expectation at this point is that they do think that Senator Craig will likely resign pretty soon. That is sort of the sense that people are getting.
****

Bye, bye Larry Craig.

Dept. of Justice investigating whether Gonzales lied to Congress
by Joe Sudbay (DC) · 8/30/2007 06:42:00 PM ET
Discuss this post here: Comments (85) · digg it · reddit · FARK · · Link

Gonzales may be leaving, but his legacy of lying lives on. Bush's Attorney General is being investigated by the Inspector General at the Department of Justice. They're concerned about Alberto's "truthfulness." They should be:

Justice Department investigators are examining the truthfulness of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony to Congress on the firings of federal prosecutors and domestic wiretapping.

The effort, disclosed in a letter released on Thursday, is a sign that political controversy over Gonzales' conduct will continue well beyond his resignation announced this week.

"The current attorney general is leaving, but these questions remain," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who sought the examination.

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine said in a letter released by Leahy that concerns over the truthfulness of Gonzales' testimony to the committee on July 24 and other times would be covered as part of probes already under way.

I for one am not in favor of kicking Craig out of the Senate....I really want the Democrat in his state to beat him soundly in the next election.

Nothing in Code Matches Craig Conduct - The Guardian

What do y'all mean with "IOWA??"

Gay MARRIAGE IS LEGAL IN EVERY EFFING STATE!!!!!

There are ZERO Laws banning it. PERIOD. All people have to do is DEMAND a License and if they aren't granted one they can SUE THE PERSON WHO DENIED IT!

Simple.

Show me ONE State Constitution that prohibits same sex "marriage".

Show me the Federal LAW that prohibits it.

THERE ARE NONE, so therefore IT IS ALREADY LEGAL!!!

(That's why the closeted Pubies are so Hell bent on writing discrimination INTO the Constitution.)

Posted by IrritatedDemocrat on August 30, 2007 at 09:50 PM

I'll chase whatever tail I choose to, and as far as I'm concerned it's better to spend time working towards change rather than spinning in circles chasing your own tail, but then with all the times you probably have bitten yourself in the ass I would expect you to have learned that lesson already.

Instead you are just 'irritated'

Bullshit, Troll. Idaho has elected and RE-ELECTED a State Senator who is an openly proud Lesbian, and when the SAME EFFING anti-gay law that passed in Colorado was put on the ballot IT WAS DEFEATRED!

As I have said before, but YOU chose to ignore, PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR (or Limpball's) ASS AND THINK FOR YOURSELF!

Instead you are just 'irritated'

Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 09:54 PM
****

Kristen, don't waste your time with irritated.

irritated = sally and lefty_winger = harpy

The usual two trolls that are here day and night.

I have to admit, I have been conflicted on this whole Craig thing. While I delight in seeing his hypocrisy exposed, I for one do not care to see Craig ousted from the Senate for something that he stupidly pled out on, something that should not even be a crime anyway. Why should it be illegal to solicit sex from someone of the SAME sex, but not from someone of the opposite sex. What is "lewd" about signals that you are interested in an encounter? As I said over on Rockridge Nation: Hell, in some places, a man could have his hand up under a woman's blouse fondling her breasts while sticking his tongue down her throat and grinding his crotch against her ass and they STILL wouldn't get busted.

As I have said before, but YOU chose to ignore, PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR (or Limpball's) ASS AND THINK FOR YOURSELF!

Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 09:57 PM
***

dpd, it's the same old sally nonsense. Now, sally and harpy are pretending to be Dems and are trying to misdirect bloggers and lurkers on the issues.

Chimpy and Shooter should be impeached. The investigation on Shooter should proceed. He is dirty.

O.K., troll. Point me to just ONE FUCKING STATE that FORBIDS same sex marriage. Just ONE.

Where in the Federal LAWS does it stipulate that it is banned?

It AIN'T, so therefore IT IS LEGAL!

Fuck your "opinion" and your "interpretation" of the Babble.

If you don't agree with it, don't marry another chubby schlub.

Greg, I'm not sure but if a man and a woman were caught having sex in a public restroom I believe it would be considered 'lewd' and they could be charged with disorderly conduct.

As a parent I would not want my kids walking into a restoom were two people, same sex or opposite, having sex.

We Have Four Days
by Grand Moff Texan
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 02:19:53 PM PDT

We have four days to head off a war with Iran. That's four days to compile, distill, and disseminate information that will undercut corporate media collusion with a desperate Bush administration to open a third front in Bush's wars.

We are at a disadvantage, since we are up against professionals with multi-million-dollar budgets.

We have an advantage in that their message is predictable and aimed at idiots and cowards.

* Grand Moff Texan's diary :: ::
*

First up, in case you don't believe me (and why should you?), here's why I say we have four days. First, I saw this:

BOB Baer, the former Middle East CIA operative whose first book about his life inspired the oil-and-espionage thriller Syriana, is working on a new book on Iran, but says he was told by senior intelligence officials that he had better get it published in the next couple of months because things could be about to change.

Baer, in an interview with The Weekend Australian, says his contacts in the administration suggest a strategic airstrike on Iran is a real possibility in the months ahead.

"What I'm getting is a sense that their sentiment is they are going to hit the Iranians and not just because of Israel, but due to the fact that Iran is the predominant power in the Gulf and it is hostile and its power is creeping into the Gulf at every level," Baer says.

He says his contacts have told him of his book: "You better hurry up because the thesis is going to change. I told them submission is in January but they said, 'You're probably going to be too late'."

Then, today, I saw this:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/30/133310/976

Show me ONE State Constitution that prohibits same sex "marriage".

Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 09:51 PM

The Texas Constitution
Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS
Section 32 - MARRIAGE
(a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage. (Added Nov. 8, 2005.)

Sorry

Those Florida DEMS, how about them?

No where, but in this state can a good thing get trashed though we are still stuck with tons of Jeb Bush REPS that still wield considerable power.

Will this get worked out so as not to break party rules and comply?

Hmmm.........I smell litigation and a nasty battle eventually.

DPD, in Nov. 2004 11 states passed amendments to their state constitution banning same sex marriage.

Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Dakota, Oregon and Utah

Instead you are just 'irritated'

Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 09:54 PM

Drop the "ed" and add an "ing"

An ya can chase my tail if ya like...lol!

As a parent I would not want my kids walking into a restoom were two people, same sex or opposite, having sex.

Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 10:05 PM

But no one was having sex. Sending signals to someone is not lewd behavior...well, ok, some signals can be lewd, but seriously....a foot tap and hand run along a stall bottom? What next, we arrest women for showing ankle? Or wait, let's BEAT them instead.

Irratated (this will be the last time I address you), I am very capable of free thought and if and when I need someone to speak/think for me I'll give you a call...until then hold your breath....please.

The war IS the issue now

There is no war. Show me the declaration of WAR. And if you trot out that authroization to use force, I'll show you that everything in that has been fulfilled, so therefore the war is over.

Hmmm.........I smell litigation and a nasty battle eventually.

Posted by J on August 30, 2007 at 10:08 PM
****

J, I can't explain their behavior. But the GOP is having the same problem with some of their states.

I suppose everyone wants to be first in the primaries. No one wants to feel like their vote won't matter by the time the primary reaches the state.

I get the feeling it will be worked out.

November 8, 2005. In Texas. 1 year before the election. How conveeeeenient.

Has it made it through the Courts yet?

Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 10:15 PM
****

No war just an occupation of Iraq. GOP is now hawking for a new war with Iran. Don't take this lightly. They are desparate for something to take the attention off of Iraq.

Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 10:11 PM

Greg, I don't know about you but if I was minding my own business in the restroom and someone in the next stall started to tap my foot and try to touch me under the stall, I would definitely find that disorderly.

Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 09:51 PM

And I didn't say "IOWA??" I said "IOWA?!?" :)

In response to the fact that a judge IN IOWA struck down a LAW in IOWA that banned GAY marriage. (Which woud be more than ZERO laws banning GAY marriage).

Also, the Defense of Marriage Act states that STATES, like IOWA do not have to recognize marriages from OTHER STATES, like MASSACHUSSETTS, if the law in the first STATE, like IOWA, does not permit that type of MARRIAGE, like GAYS.

Once ONE State makes it legal, it's legally binding in ALL States. The Feds HAVE NOT written discrimination into the Constitution YET. If you get married in Vegas, you are STILL married in Hawaii. If you get divorced in Reno you are still divorced in Florida.

If you want to marry your boyfriend in Kentucky THEY HAVE TO GIVE YOU A LICENSE or be SUED.

How complicated is that?

Again, for what sexual act was Craig arrested? Seriously, what "lewd" behavior did he display?

well DPD until the Supreme Court agrees to hear a case on DOMA it's unfortunately binding and with the way they have been going lately I wouldn't want this court to take that case.

Never one to mince words or deny our enemies the name of a CIA agent, here's Bob Novak's take on Alberto Gonzales:

I first met Gonzales in 2001 when, along with other conservative journalists, I went to the White House for a background briefing by presidential counsel Gonzales on the new president's judicial nominations. I was stunned by the incoherence of the briefer. When I checked with several Republican senators, I received the same verdict. Their judgment was that Gonzales was not qualified to hold a senior governmental position.

Gonzales's handling of the crisis over the firing of U.S. attorneys set new standards for incompetence. In the midst of the furor, he agreed to address the National Press Club on May 15 (insisting on breakfast instead of the usual lunch). It was by chance the 44th anniversary of this column, and I concluded that in all those years I had never seen anything like it.

Gonzales arrived in time for the speech but did not make the customary greeting to the other head-table guests. With the capital poised for something about the U.S. attorneys, he delivered an irrelevant address prepared by the Justice bureaucracy. During the question-and-answer period, however, Gonzales repeatedly blamed the problems on Paul McNulty, who had resigned that day as his deputy.

So as early as the first weeks of the presidency, the Congressional Republicans knew what they were dealing with and still granted these idiots every unconstitutional, irrational thing they asked for? That alone should be grounds to get all of these GOP incumbents thrown out on their ears by voters.

Gonzales and Harriet Miers are Bush's closest and dearest friends/confidants. Nobody of any national prominence in any field of endeavor has ever shown the slightest interest in cultivating this President's acquaintance except corrupt politicians and far right religious bigots.

Bush and his two staunch supporters have two things in common: a complete lack of intellectual curiosity and awkward social skills. I wonder how Laura has survived all these years? She must have friends outside the family circle. I imagine that she and Poppy must shake their heads and roll their eyes a lot at family gatherings.

The White House was easy pickings for Cheney. He saw the chance of a lifetime and took it. And now he will get the blame that he so rightfully deserves for bungling it. I wonder why he didn't surround himself with a few good men or women?

Cheney's close friends/confidants: Scooter Libby, Mary Matalin, and Ahmed Chalabi.

Who would have thought that Cheney was the biggest idiot of them all?

Greg, he was arrested for what the officer deemed soliciting sex, this was probably a charge Craig could have beat but he chose to plead guilty and so essentially said 'yep, I did it'

I'm not really sure about men' room stalls but I can safely say I've never bumped the foot of a woman in the stall next to me, he claimed to need a 'wide stance' it probably would have served him well to up his fiber intake.

Larry Craig Police Report And Arrest Record

Audio of Larry Craig’s Bust!

He wasn't busted for being gay, he was busted for breaking the law.

Yes, Kristen, that wuld be my take on it also....regardless of the fact that DOMA is unConstitutional, I wouldn't want it heard until such time as we have a court that will declare it such, I'd rather have it stay out.

ARGH!!!! This whole Craig thing is actually SCREWING the Democrats....because what's on everybody's lips when they talk about the Republican party? They talk about how the REpublican party is the party of family values! ARGH!!! We get screwed even when THEY screw up!

WE are the party of REAL family values, dammit! We're the ones who want to help famiies get up on their feet. We're the ones who want to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

Because, chubby schlub, I don't HAVE a "boyfriend". I do have friends, unlike you and your Bund comrades who are just ""compatriots" until the shit starts hitting the fan and you have to run out of your basement screaming to your momma to make the facts stop.

Don't you have a Harry Potter book to finish?

GregL, I don't know if this is screwing Democrats. Did you see the poll on the Today show this morning? It said that 51% of American's want Democrats against a mere 27% for Republicans. It was a surprising change to watch the GOP puppet Lauer go after DeLay listing all the Republican scandals and asking him to explain.

Arctic sovereignty
Watch the video:

http://www.cbc.ca/MRL/clips/rm-lo/mansbridge-partone060731060731.rm

I'm just saying, picking someone up shouldn't be a crime. Actual sex acts in public, yes. Continuing to pursue someone after being rejected could be harassment, but if one is not informed that one's advances are unwanted, it's hard t tell you're harassing someone.

Now, I guess a case could be made that one has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a restroom stall...depending on the stall. You should see some of the restrooms along Texas highways Some of them are kinda like saloon doors.

Anyway, my point is, maybe some things that are supposedly against the law are only that way when gays are involved? But no, that couldn't happen in the land where everyone is equal and able to marry the person they love....

Kristen,

It's a long way to the elections, and if we keep letting the MSM get away with calling the Republicans the party of family values without calling them on it and asking them what those values really are, we are going to get screwed again.

Remember, to a lot of people, we're still the party that wants to let dogs rape their mothers in the street.

We have to show people what we stand for, and make them believe it's in their best interests to support what we stand for. It's not just about the issues. It's about the values behind the issues too. If they don't think that we have the same values as them, they won't fucking vote for us. It's up to the Democrats to convince everyone that progressive values ARE the traditional American values.

Oh, and the wide stance was to keep his pants from sliding down to the floor. I understand exactly what he means, because I do it also.

Btw, I wonder in what country certain people think we live, using "far-right" to describe progressive ideas? I could swear in this country we use "left" for our side....and "Nazi" for the other side. Yup, I used the Nazi analogy. Walks, talks, smells like duck..is duck.

Greg, I believe that is the troll's way of saying we are being spoon fed issues by the right and we aren't free thinking enough to realize it.

There is definitely only one irratating tool of the right wing on the site right now.

Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 11:09 PM

I think it may be more of a privacy issue? Like people have the right to do their business in a restroom stall without being interrupted by strangers...for any reason?

Quite honestly, I've never heard of any woman, gay or hetro, acting this way in a public restroom. There's a degree of desperation to it that just doesn't speak to wanting to have a healthy interchange with another.

People of all walks of life generally meet others they might want to hook up with at work, parties, bars, churches or other socially public places.

I'd hate to think someone would try to make advances to me in any private place such as a church confessional or a medical examination room. It's just not appropriate social behavior.

Those that would attempt such a thing are bound to be looked upon as suspect. I don't buy the wide stance or picking up a piece of paper off a filthy restroom floor excuses. They don't make any sense.

Values, lefty, not issues.

Empathy, compassion, freedom, fairness, equality. Those are values. You want to tell me they aren't the values most people hold near and dear to their hearts? You telling me that most people don't want freedom and equality? Yuo saying that most Americans are not compassionate toward those less fortunate?

Progressing doesn't mean that we change our values constantly. Prgressing means we find new and improved ways to fulfill the promise of those values.

Here's one for you, since you brought up abortion.

Pro-life: Promoting life is about a lot more than the issue of abortion. It includes ending America's huge infant mortality rate through pre- and postnatal care. It means caring for individuals throughout their lives. It means affordable universal health care to improve lives and life expectancy for all Americans (including the 45 million among us who are uninsured!). It means improving the quality of water we drink, air we breathe, and food we eat. It means improving schools and parenting so every young life has a chance to flower. It means finding ways to end the violence in our society that cuts short so many lives. It means fulfilling the promise of stem cell research, rather than destroying the hopes of millions of suffering Americans for the sake of a tiny cluster of undifferentiated cells that will otherwise be discarded.

Quite honestly, I've never heard of any woman, gay or hetro, acting this way in a public restroom. There's a degree of desperation to it that just doesn't speak to wanting to have a healthy interchange with another.

Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 11:41 PM

Look, I do get the privacy issue part of it...and I'm not saying it is healthy...indeed, it could definitely be a repression thing that makes some people engage in this kind of risky behavior. However, I could very well believe that Craig was entrapped in this. It is not, sad to say, all that unusual for police officers to do this. I'm not going to do research on it right now to find examples, but I have heard of it happening before.

Since Craig is in the closet, I can also see why he wanted to just make it go away.

Aww, crap, now I'm actually starting to feel sorry for the guy. Damn, can't I even keep my liberal outrage at conservatives anymore? I really am becoming a bleeding heart!

Posted by lefty_winger on August 30, 2007 at 11:46 PM

I was speaking more of the comparisons of the (attempted) elimination of civil liberties and the marginalization of certain races, sexual orientations, etc.

I'm outta here for the night...have a good evening, progressives...and even the not so progressives.

GregL,

I think you are overthinking this whole family values thing. It may have made a difference to some after the impeachment; but since the Foley scandal, everything has changed.

The political landscape is always changing. You can't judge what voters will do by what they did the last election. So much has happened in the last six years. People have taken a lot of shocks and had their beliefs challenged. They get over it and move on.

And most people are not ruled by their perjudices entirely. More than anything, when it comes to political stuff, most people look to their pocket book.

9/11 was unusual in that it was like a Pearl Harbor moment. We were attacked. But Americans no longer buy into Iraq being part of it. To most people, the bungling in Iraq it's equivalent to the Katrina incompetence.

Nothing gets people riles up more than wasteful government that can't provide services properly. The Republicans now have that reputation...whether they are traditional or self-proclaimed family values candidates.

Hillary is on Letterman right now.

Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 11:51 PM

Yes, police do entrap people from time to time. But you don't have to plead guilty. This man had money and good lawyers. He chose his fate.

It's really wasn't about sex unless he wanted it to be about sex. Which makes you wonder how long he's felt that way.

I'd also almost feel sorry for him, too, if I hadn't seen those film clips in the last few days where he said so many cruel things about gays and lesbians.

No one would dare say those things about other minorities in this day and age without being censured. Instead, the people of Idaho made him out to be a hero. Apparently, he didn't feel like one.

There's a lesson in there someplace. I hope the people of Idaho figure it out.

Union: Mexican Trucks Begin Crossing Border Saturday

Union Asks Court To Block Mexican Trucks

August 30, 2007

The union said Wednesday it would ask a federal appeals courts to block the Bush administration's plan to begin allowing Mexican trucks to carry cargo anywhere in the United States.

Teamsters leaders said they planned to seek an emergency injunction Wednesday from the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

"What a slap in the face to American workers, opening the highways to dangerous trucks on Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest driving weekends of the year," said Teamsters President Jim Hoffa.
Joining the Teamsters in seeking the emergency stay were the Sierra Club and Public Citizen.

"Before providing unconditional access throughout the country to tens of thousands of big rigs we know little to nothing about, we must insure they meet safety and environmental standards," Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in a statement, said it was working closely with the department's inspector general "as his office completes an additional assessment of the program and we prepare a detailed response to that report."

The Bush administration said last week it would start the cross-border program once the Transportation Department's inspector general certifies safety and inspection plans...

www.nbcsandiego.com/politics/14003768/detail.html?rss=dgo&psp=news

And we all know how well the Bush administration's safety and inspection plans have worked for food and toys from China.

Put on your seat belts, folks. And don't stop by any truck stops or weight stations where the Teamsters might be picketing Mexican drivers.

Posted by IrritatedDemocrat on August 30, 2007 at 09:57 PM

whatever!

snap!

go get 'em henry...

Lawmaker seeks White House e-mail report

good morning marsh.

VPosted by SandyH on August 31, 2007 at 12:46 AM

How can Bush authorize this with out the consent of the People through their elected representatives. Bush sure has a dictators mind set...

good morning gregg and john boy.

Morning marsh, gregg and JohnBoy,

JohnBoy, bush shoved this through just like his recess appointments in the dark of night. Congress needs to stop this crap.

What's to stop "terrists" from crossing the border with a semi load of Ammonium Nitrate?

What's to stop the "terrists" from smuggling atomic weapons across the border?

What's to stop the "terrists" from smuggling "terrists" across the border?

What's to stop the smuggling of illegal aliens?

The worst problem I see is that it destroys the Teamsters Union and this is precisely what bush is trying to do.

IMPEACH CHENEY AND BUSH NOW!

The worst problem I see is that it destroys the Teamsters Union and this is precisely what bush is trying to do.

IMPEACH CHENEY AND BUSH NOW!

Posted by Johnedwrd on August 31, 2007 at 07:40 AM

You got that right!

good morning johnedwrd.

Good morning, Dems. We're getting some much needed rain here this morning.

How to profit from a war. Boy, this stuff makes me sick.

How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq.

You start off as a well-connected bureaucrat: in this case, as an Air Force civil engineer, a post from which Robbins was responsible for overseeing 70,000 servicemen and contractors, with an annual budget of $8 billion. You serve with distinction for thirty-four years, becoming such a military all-star that the Air Force frequently sends you to the Hill to testify before Congress -- until one day in the summer of 2003, when you retire to take a job as an executive for Parsons, a private construction company looking to do work in Iraq.

Now you can finally move out of your dull government housing on Bolling Air Force Base and get your wife that dream home you've been promising her all these years. The place on Park Street in Dunn Loring, Virginia, looks pretty good -- four bedrooms, fireplace, garage, 2,900 square feet, a nice starter home in a high-end neighborhood full of spooks, think-tankers and ex-apparatchiks moved on to the nest-egg phase of their faceless careers. On October 20th, 2003, you close the deal for $775,000 and start living that private-sector good life.

http://alternet.org/waroniraq/60950/

marsh, that's the article that started the whole ting last night.

What I love is that the opponents of loving relationships say now that this is why they need a constitutional amendment banning people in love from being legally recognized as spouses. This may be a silly question, but can an amendment be declared unconstitutional? You would think if a LAW prohibiting something is unconstitutional, then an amendment prohibiting the same thing would ALSO be unconstitutional, eh?

And why do conservatives hate love?

but can an amendment be declared unconstitutional?

well, i don't know. i do know that amendments can be repealed.

and i know that whenever people start to amend the constitution, they are probably fixin' to do something unconstitutional.

lefty, read the story at the link I listed above. Read it in it's entirety. Then come back and try to pick a fight.

Err, sorry John...I actually have to agree with lefty on that one...I'm thinking the terrists smuggling in WMDs might be worse...of course, then Bush could say he finally found them.

Oooh! Wouldn't that be a nice surprise for him when he checks under the podium for his lame-ass joke again? :)

But should you be able to write an amendment that is against the original intent of the constitution?

i guess what i'm trying to say is that any thoughtful interpretation of the constitution says that discrimination is wrong.

amendments have historically been, and should be, about ensuring equality and fairness (see the 15th amendment) not exclusion from the constitution's basic protections.

it is supremely ironic to me that gay and lesbian servicemen and women would be excluded from the protections offered by the constitution when they are risking their lives to protect that very document.

one mans thoughtful interpretation is another man's "legislating from the bench" is suppose.

Why does the blog double words sometimes? I only wrote "intent" once.

Stampeding Elephants

Come on over to the new Friday thread!

NEW THREAD

Why would I pick a fight??????????

Posted by lefty_winger on August 31, 2007 at 08:52 AM
****

Because your a paid GOP troll ... harpy I presume.

Like the income tax.

Posted by lefty_winger on August 31, 2007 at 08:50 AM
****

Yep, lefty_winger is definitely harpy who is an economic libertarian.

Since Americans going to Mexico must get visas and pay $20 to stay over 72 hours will Mexican truckers have to. Also they should be required to have Mexican passports to enter. Why do we have Bush laws that apply to US and non-citizens get a Republican free ride. It seems Bush uses economic ethinic cleansing for his royal family.

bush is going to hold a concert at the ranch for folks with mortgage problems that resulted from unregulated and larcenous lending schemes...it will be called dead-aid:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's proposals to help homeowners burdened with subprime mortgages they can't afford are a "Band-Aid" that will offer U.S. consumers little aid, investors and analysts said on Friday.

From the White House on Friday morning, the president discussed the need for legislation and changes in the U.S. tax code to help subprime mortgage borrowers avoid losing their homes.

However, analysts and investors said subprime borrowers who are not speculators made up such a small portion of the troubled market that any proposals would bring little change.

"This is more messaging," said Richard Steinberg, president of Steinberg Global Asset Management in Boca Raton, Florida. "It's more pomp."

For that reason, analysts said investors in such sectors as housing, retail and finance -- some of which saw a bump up in value on the news -- shouldn't expect a big boost from Bush's plans over the longer term.

Many analysts have warned that a spreading credit crisis could drag the U.S. economy into recession, while Bush administration officials have repeatedly said fundamentals remained healthy and global growth was robust...