header_blog.jpg

« August 2007 | Main | October 2007 »

September 30, 2007

Sunday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 07:21 AM | Comments (136)

September 29, 2007

From the Archives

Posted by Michael Link at 11:04 AM | Comments (2)

Saturday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 08:39 AM | Comments (134)

September 28, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

You'll want to check it out all weekend, but let me get you started:

  • Sharon Grosfeld, from the Women's Leadership Forum, writes that "As we enter the month of October, which has been designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we need to do everything we can to insure that legislation on the national and state levels is enacted that will lead victims of domestic violence towards independent lives, free of the abuse that has dominated their daily existence."

  • My mom told me yesterday to watch Oprah. I didn't listen. So Annie B has the details.

  • And I love seeing folks organize locally on PartyBuilder. But young people organizing locally? Even better. Good work, Shauna!

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 06:02 PM | Comments (112)

Romney Hypocrisy on Venezuela and Iran

Mitt Romney has been trying to court Republican voters by attacking the Governments of Venezuela and Iran and, in the case of Iran, urging divestment. It seems that Romney hasn't been as forthcoming about his ties to Hugo Chavez and Venezuela's oil company.

On the campaign trail, Republican Mitt Romney has been harshly critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But that hasn't stopped his campaign from taking donations from lobbyists who receive millions of dollars from a Venezuelan government-linked oil company.

Thursday night, supporters of the former Massachusetts Governor hosted 'Rallies for Romney' all over the country. The Washington, DC-event was hosted at Dutko Worldwide, a lobbying firm whose chairman, Ronald Kaufman, is a major Romney advisor. Dutko's president, Craig Pattee, is also a national finance co-chair for the campaign. Furthermore, Dutko employees have donated at least $15,400 to Romney's campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The firm is the only registered federal lobbyist for Citgo, a US-based subsidiary of the Venezuelan government-owned Petroleos de Venezuela, according to the Senate Office of Public Records. Citgo has paid Dutko more than $3 million in fees since 1998.

Romney has also been calling for divestment from Iran. Last week it was reported that Romney had more than $250,000 invested in Iran. Just another set of flip-flops from Romney?

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 05:00 PM | Comments (1)

Governor Dean Blasts Bush For Threatening to Veto Health Coverage For Kids

Governor Dean blasted President Bush today for threatening to veto legislation that would provide health care coverage for millions of low-income children. Here's his statement:

"It's despicable that President Bush is willing to deny our nation's children health care. How is it compassionate conservatism to stand against ensuring that our children have access to the doctor visits for preventative care and treatment they need? While the President is committed to spending billions of dollars on a failed strategy in Iraq with no end in sight, he is willing to deny health care to our children here at home. Equally shameful, the Republican presidential candidates agree with President Bush's veto threat. The President and the Republican candidates should recognize that the health of our children must be a national priority and join Democrats in supporting this bill."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 04:57 PM | Comments (32)

New Audio of Rush Limbaugh Viciously Smearing a Veteran

This morning we told you about Rush Limbaugh's comments calling soldiers who oppose the war in Iraq "phony soldiers." Now we've learned this isn't the first time he's smeared the troops.

Check out this clip from his radio show in 2005, in which he viciously attacked Paul Hackett, who served in the 1st Marine Division in Ramadi and Fallujah, and returned home to run for Congress in a special election against Republican Jean Schmidt.

Limbaugh calls Hackett a "staff puke," and claims that he served in Iraq only to "pad his resume."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 03:59 PM | Comments (2)

Showing Up

Really, this says it all, doesn't it?

As Stephanie mentioned yesterday, Tavis Smiley moderated a Republican debate yesterday at a historically black college for issues important to minority communities.

But four empty lecterns say it all; Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney all cited "scheduling difficulties." This, of course, after refusing other opportunities to speak to these issues at debates.

Posted by Michael Link at 02:50 PM | Comments (1)

Giuliani Says He Took Cell Phone Call From Wife Because of Sept. 11

Rudy Giuliani is now saying that he took a cell phone call from his wife in the middle of a speech last week because of--wait for it--September 11. Of course.

Giuliani also addressed a cell phone call he took from his wife, Judith, last week during his speech to the National Rifle Association...

"And quite honestly, since Sept. 11, most of the time when we get on a plane, we talk to each other and just reaffirm the fact that we love each other," he said.

This is the man whose supporters recently held a "$9.11 for Rudy" fundraiser for him. His political capitalization on that event is officially out of control.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 12:36 PM | Comments (16)

Republicans Failing in Effort to Split California's Electoral Votes

Last week we reported on a Republican-sponsored ballot initiative that would have changed the way California distributes its electoral votes--a change that Republicans believed would allow them to pick up seats in California and win the White House.

Now we learn that the ballot initiative is dead--at least for now. The Los Angeles Times reported today that:

The proposal to change the winner-take-all electoral vote allocation to one by congressional district is virtually dead with the resignation of key supporters, internal disputes and a lack of funds...The reality is hundreds of thousands of signatures must be gathered by the end of November to get the measure on the June 2008 ballot.

The initiative began in July under mysterious circumstances. The paperwork was filed by a Republican law firm in Sacramento, but the financial backers remained anonymous--leading Bob Herbert of the New York Times to say this looked like another Republican "dirty trick."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:53 AM | Comments (2)

Rush Limbaugh Owes Troops An Apology

During the September 26 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers."

Responding to a caller, a veteran who supported ending the war, Limbaugh said soldiers who want to bring our troops home were "phony soldiers." Another caller said "And what's really funny is they never talk to real soldiers. They pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and spout to the media." Limbaugh responded "The phony soldiers."

Governor Dean condemned the remarks and called on Limbaugh to apologize:

"Rush Limbaugh should immediately apologize to our brave men and women in uniform for undermining the sacrifices they make every day serving our country. Limbaugh's comments were un-American, have no place in the public discourse, and show just how far he'll go to defend President Bush's failed policy in Iraq. America's troops deserve better, and Limbaugh owes them an apology."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 09:18 AM | Comments (93)

Friday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 08:53 AM | Comments (92)

September 27, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Good news and bad news on PartyBuilder today.

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 Stephanie Taylor at 05:33 PM | Comments (127)

Cheney Predicts Iraq Mess He Created

In this recently-unearthed video of Dick Cheney in 1992, he defends the first Bush Administration's decision not to occupy Iraq. In the video Dick Cheney asks some very persistent questions about occupying Iraq.

"But let's assume for the moment that we would have been able to do it...Then the question comes [of] putting a government in place of the one you've just gotten rid of; you can't just sort of turn around and walk away--you have now accepted the responsibility for what happens in Iraq. What kind of government do you want us to create in place of the old Saddam Hussein government? Do you want a Sunni government, or a Shi'a government or maybe it ought to be a Kurdish government, or maybe one based on the Ba'ath Party or maybe some combination of all of those? How long is that government likely to survive without U.S. military forces there to keep it propped up?

We would have been in a situation once we went into Baghdad where we would have engaged in the kind of street by street house to house fighting in an urban setting that would have been dramatically different from what from what we were able to do in the gulf...

You would have been fighting in a build up urban area, large civilian population and much heavier prospects for casualties.

You would have found as well I think the disintegration of the arab coalition that signed on to support us in our efforts to eject the Iraqis from Kuwait but never signed on for the proposition that the United States would become some kind of quasi permanent occupier of a major middle eastern nation.

If you get into the business of committing U.S. forces on the ground in Iraq, to occupy the place, my guess is I'd probably still have people there today instead of having been able to bring them home...The bottom line question for me was: How many additional American lives is Saddam Hussein worth? The answer: not very damn many."

The question is whether Vice President Dick Cheney even asked himself those question in 2003.

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 03:36 PM | Comments (4)

NYC Kids Learn Valuable Lesson: Don't Take Grammar Lessons From the President

President Bush made a grammar gaffe while promoting "No Child Left Behind" at an event that included the U.S. Secretary of Education, the New York City schools chancellor, Mayor Bloomberg and First Lady Laura Bush.

President Bush stood in front of a group of New York City elementary school students and touted higher national test scores by proudly declaring: "Childrens do learn."

For the record, the First Lady, a former public-school teacher and librarian, didn't appear to flinch when the President said, "As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured."

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)

Senate Democrats Pass Hate Crimes Bill

Senate Democrats passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act today, an important amendment that expands the definition of a hate crime to include those based on disability, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. This legislation will also provide federal assistance to states, local communities and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes.

The vote was 60 to 39, with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) not voting. The "no" votes included several senators facing re-election next year, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), who recently pleaded guilty in a public bathroom sex scandal.

See the roll call here.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 01:51 PM | Comments (4)

Senate Democrats Expand Health Coverage For Kids

By a vote of 69-39, the Senate has passed legislation expanding health coverage to more children through the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a highly successful government program that makes sure poor children can receive medical care when they are sick.

"There is only one thing standing between improving the successful Children's Health Insurance Program and covering millions of uninsured children and that is a Presidential signature," said Senator Debbie Stabenow. "We need to hold the President accountable for saying no to providing coverage for over ten million uninsured American children."

Bush has threatened to veto the legislation.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 01:00 PM | Comments (18)

Mitt Will Donate To Campaign Again

Romney was for self-finance--before he was against it.

Republican Mitt Romney, who once said donating to his presidential campaign would be a nightmare, told an audience Wednesday that the millions he is pouring into the race keep him free of special interests.

The former Massachusetts governor made the pronouncement amid a five-day California swing that includes 11 fundraisers, and just before a lobbying group's fundraiser for him in Washington. Romney also said he would likely contribute more to his campaign before the fundraising quarter ends Monday, although he declined to say how much.

To date, the venture capitalist has contributed $9 million to his campaign, nearly a quarter of his overall contributions.

"I don't like the fact that money has such an impact on politics, but this to me is a reason I'm investing at least as much as everybody else--probably a little more," Romney told about 200 people in an airport hangar.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 12:26 PM | Comments (1)

Republicans Won't Debate Issues That Affect People of Color

Tonight Tavis Smiley will moderate a Republican presidential debate at Morgan State University in Baltimore, a historically black college. The debate will focus on issues important to minority communities.

But four empty lecterns will represent four candidates who refused to appear. Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney all cited "scheduling difficulties."

Their actions are coming under criticism from other Republicans who fear their party's standing is eroding further with black and Latino voters. From a recent article in the Washington Post:

"We sound like we don't want immigration; we sound like we don't want black people to vote for us," said former congressman Jack Kemp (N.Y.), who was the GOP vice presidential nominee in 1996. "What are we going to do--meet in a country club in the suburbs one day? If we're going to be competitive with people of color, we've got to ask them for their vote."

The host of tonight's debate, talk show host Tavis Smiley, had this to say:

"When you reject every black invitation and every brown invitation you receive, is that a scheduling issue or is it a pattern?" he asked. "I don't believe anybody should be elected president of the United States if they think along the way they can ignore people of color. That's just not the America we live in."

The debate will take place tonight, 9-10:30 ET, and will be broadcast on PBS and online.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:20 AM | Comments (9)

Thursday Open Thread

Late chat today...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 09:21 AM | Comments (118)

September 26, 2007

Debate Tonight!

It's on MSNBC at 9PM - 11PM ET. It will also be streamed live on msnbc.com. I'm sure there will be some discussion over at PartyBuilder, but I know many of you love to stick to this blog...

So chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 08:39 PM | Comments (34)

PB Rescue Open Thread

I'll have a special thread tonight dedicated solely to the debate (9PM ET), but for now, you can read the posts in PartyBuilder that have been tagged properly -- September 26th Debate -- right here.

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 05:58 PM | Comments (39)

The Senator Who Just Wouldn't Resign

Yes, that would apply to Vitter, as well. But this time I'm talking about Larry Craig, who has a fast-approaching deadline of September 30th. CNN has the scoop:

Sen. Larry Craig won't resign from the Senate while awaiting a judge's ruling on his effort to get a guilty plea withdrawn in a restroom sex sting, a source said Wednesday. [...] Craig had said he would resign from the Senate if he could not get the guilty plea overturned by September 30. But on Tuesday, Craig said he wouldn't resign until "legal determinations" are made.

So when will those legal determinations be made? According to the AP, the judge has said that he "probably wouldn't rule in the case until late next week."

But it isn't looking good for the Senator. Here's what his own attorney had to say: getting the plea withdrawn is "near impossible, and it should be."

Is that what he told the judge?

Posted by Michael Link at 04:30 PM | Comments (4)

Debate.. at PartyBuilder!

First, Governor Dean will appear on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews today at 7:15 PM ET, prior to the Democratic presidential debate tonight at 9PM ET.

But I also want to let you know that over at PartyBuilder, you can expect a lot of posting tonight about the debate, so you won't want to miss it. In addition, we've got a September 26th debate website all set up, and once the debate approaches we'll be posting photos as well as live-blogging.

You can submit questions for the debate from a link on this page.

UPDATE: This just in from Kombiz, who is in New Hampshire already for the debate tonight:

All of the campaigns have set up signs and lined up supporters outside the debate hall to show their strength. You can watch the Democratic Party’s flickr feed for new pictures from the debate, and this post for updates from Dartmouth.

With that I’'d like to ask a question of our readership, Is there something you'’d like to know about the debate, or how it'’s run, that I can track down?

If there's anything, let him know in the comments.

Posted by Michael Link at 03:05 PM | Comments (9)

Supreme Court To Hear Voting Rights Case

The Supreme Court will decide whether an Indiana law that requires voters to take a current photo ID to the polls places an
unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.

Democratic National Committee Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile said this in response to today's decision by the Supreme Court to hear the Indiana voter ID case:

"The Indiana voter ID law should be overturned and found unconstitutional once and for all. A strong ruling will discourage other states from trying to apply what can only be described as a modern day poll tax which disenfranchises legally eligible voters. As Democrats, we believe that we should make it easier, not harder for all Americans to exercise their fundamental right to vote."

Read the rest of her statement here.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 12:14 PM | Comments (1)

Children's Health Care Passes House

But will Bush tell millions of children that they're going to be denied coverage when they're sick and most in need? Will he veto that bipartisan compromise that passed overwhelmingly in the House?

He has threatened to pull a Mitt Romney by saying "no more free rides" to poor children, but there's a lot at stake here. The 265-159 vote last night in the House, while decisive, fell just short of a veto-proof majority.

Some votes might flip between now and then, and a veto won't end this debate. These children deserve care, and to put this in perspective, it's only at a cost of just over 2 weeks in Iraq.

The bill, which covers an estimated 10 million children (4 million additional), helps prevent the shortfalls in funding that denies coverage and guarantees dental health and mental health benefits. You can read this report about the legislation.

Does Bush think that poor sick children should have to get a job, and hope it comes with health care? Or will he understand that we need a safety net to protect the most vulnerable in our communities.

Let's be clear -- the Bush plan isn't compromise. It's a cut that would leave less children insured. Democrats and Republicans already compromised on a bill that passed with overwhelming support, yet Bush might undercut all that.

Republican leaders shouldn't want to be on the wrong side of this important moral issue. But if that's not enough for them, health care is one of the biggest issues in America right now -- and Americans overwhelmingly want this to pass.

Here's what Rep. Rangel had to say about the bill, via the Gavel:

Posted by Michael Link at 10:47 AM | Comments (11)

Bush Administration Interferes With Blackwater Probe

Last week, the State Department ordered Blackwater USA, the private security firm under investigation for killing Iraqi civilians, not to disclose information about its Iraqi operations without Bush administration approval--setting the stage for another showdown between Congress and the Bush administration.

In a letter sent to a senior Blackwater executive Thursday, a State Department contracting official ordered the company "to make no disclosure of the documents or information" about its work in Iraq without permission.

The Congressional investigation stems from a September 16 incident in which Blackwater employees opened fire and killed at least 11 Iraqi civilians. In the aftermath, the Iraqi government expelled Blackwater from the country.

Paul Bremer, the former U.S. administrator for Iraq, granted contractors immunity from prosecution in an order he signed the day before handing over sovereignty in June 2004.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:45 AM | Comments (31)

Wednesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 08:25 AM | Comments (143)

September 25, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Here are some of the posts you can enjoy at PartyBuilder.

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 05:59 PM | Comments (138)

Von Spakovsky Up for a Vote Tomorrow

The Senate Rules Committee, TPM Muckraker reminds us, will vote tomorrow on whether the recess-appointed Hans von Spakovsky will get a term at the FEC.

Former employees of the voting section mounted serious opposition to von Spakovsky's nomination, with a group writing in a letter to the committee that he'd been "the point person for undermining the Civil Rights Division's mandate to protect voting rights." Von Spakovsky, however, portrayed himself during his confirmation hearing as just a lawyer in the section who gave advice when it was asked. It was a portrayal with real problems -- as von Spakovsky himself tacitly acknowledged when he modified his testimony in later written answers to the committee.

Von Spakovsky also sought to spike accusations that he'd retaliated against wrong-thinking employees (i.e. lawyers overly-preoccupied with African-Americans' voting rights) by, among other things, adding negative comments to their performance evaluations. But two former lawyers told us that he'd done just that -- and then went so far as to stifle their appeals of the changes.

He's a controversial figure, and you can read more about him in this lengthy 3-part series.

Posted by Michael Link at 04:46 PM | Comments (1)

Did General Petraeus Report the Right Numbers?

Two weeks ago, General David Petraeus testified before Congress that sectarian violence in Iraq is decreasing. Shortly afterwards, George Bush cited this "success" when he announced a plan to keep the troop levels high in Iraq until at least next summer.

Now the Washington Post has published new evidence challenging the way that the U.S. military is analyzing and tallying each civilian death in Iraq.

On Sept. 1, the bullet-riddled bodies of four Iraqi men were found on a Baghdad street. Two days later, a single dead man, with one bullet in his head, was found on a different street. According to the U.S. military in Iraq, the solitary man was a victim of sectarian violence. The first four were not.

According to the article, a team of analysts working on computers judges whether or not civilians deaths are caused by sectarian violence based on factors like neighborhood and type of death.

The four Shiite men, for instance, were judged to be killed by "criminal" violence, not sectarian violence--since sectarian violence is identified as "a single shot to the head," not a spray of gunfire.

The Bush administration has based its claims of progress on these types of data. But the article goes on to explain just why the data may be deeply flawed. It's worth a read.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 03:52 PM | Comments (19)

Voters Deserve to Know

Would Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson stand with Bush and veto children's health care?

Voters want -- and deserve -- to know.

We've got an entire research document that gives the specifics on the Republican candidates' shoddy record on health care coverage for low income children.

Giuliani calls it "Socialized Medicine." McCain thinks it covers too many children. Romney tells poor children: "No more free rides." And Thompson was one of only 2 Senators opposing an amendment that would ensure that $16 billion of the budget would be spent over five years to provide health insurance for up to five million low-income children.

It's almost as if President Bush is running for a third term.

Posted by Michael Link at 02:55 PM | Comments (9)

Republicans Don't Have CashTo Compete in Key House Races

The Politico reports that Republican leaders are privately bracing for the possibility that they could lose even more House seats next year, thanks to retirements, scandals and debt.

Three House Republicans in very competitive districts recently announced their retirements--and several more senior GOP members have hinted they may do the same.

Put simply, Republicans lack the money to fight seriously for many of these seats. The NRCC is essentially broke, with more debt than money in the bank. "When you look at what’s going on in the House, the prospects for getting back on track are pretty dim at the moment," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.).

...The GOP’s budget is already strained without the additional races to fund. At the end of August, the National Republican Congressional Committee reported only $1.6 million cash on hand, with $4 million in debt. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, by comparison, had banked over $22 million, with only $3 million in debt.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 09:45 AM | Comments (7)

$9.11

It's almost too outrageous to believe -- a Rudy Giuliani fundraising party, called "$9.11 for Rudy," will actually be attempting to raise that amount per person.

Not very long ago, the Giuliani campaign said in response to worries he would politicize the anniversary: "To say he's politicizing it -- he never would do anything like that."

They're blaming it on kids, who they say came up with the idea.

Posted by Michael Link at 09:28 AM | Comments (10)

Tuesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 07:57 AM | Comments (187)

September 24, 2007

Monday Evening Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 07:13 PM | Comments (65)

UAW Members Strike Nationwide For Job Security

About 73,000 United Auto Workers (UAW) members at General Motors (GM) plants across the country went on strike today after an 11 a.m. deadline passed. Negotiations continued through the day as workers walked the picket lines. The number one issue is job security.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement last night:

"We’re shocked and disappointed that General Motors has failed to recognize and appreciate what our membership has contributed during the past four years. Since 2003, our members have made extraordinary efforts every time the company came to us with a problem: the corporate restructuring, the attrition plan, the Delphi bankruptcy, the 2005 health care agreement. In every case our members went the extra mile to find reasonable solutions.

Throughout this time period, it has been the dedication of UAW members that has helped GM set new standards for safety, quality and productivity in their manufacturing facilities. And in this current round of bargaining, we did everything possible to negotiate a new contract, including an unprecedented agreement to stay at the bargaining table nine days past the expiration of the previous agreement."

This is the first nationwide strike during auto contract negotiations since 1976. We'll post updates as we learn more.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 05:15 PM | Comments (2)

Transportation Secretary Lobbied to Block Approval of California Vehicle Standards

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, a Bush appointee, personally directed a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign against California's attempts to implement their own motor vehicle standards--and she did it with White House approval. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has obtained the evidence.

The lobbying effort against California clean air was apparently approved by the Chief of Staff in the White House Council on Environmental Quality and coordinated by the auto industry.

One of the political staffers involved in the effort even wrote an email saying: "we are a bit concerned...appears to sound more like lobbying...looking back, I may have said more that [sic] I should have." Next day, the Chief of Staff for the Transportation Department wrote: "The last e-mail isn't a good conversation for e-mail."

According to documents and interviews with senior officials, the goal of the lobbying effort was to urge members of Congress and state governors to oppose EPA approval of the new California motor vehicle standards, which are intended to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 04:25 PM | Comments (8)

50th Anniversary of the Integration of Little Rock Central High School

Fifty years ago today, nine students started the integration of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Dean issued the following statement in recognition of their bravery and achievement:

"It was only 50 years ago when nine brave students attempted to integrate Little Rock, Arkansas' schools. These students faced hardship and scrutiny from the community and local government but their struggles and eventual success became a turning point in our nation's history and in our struggle against the forces of racism and discrimination.

"While we have made a great deal of progress in the last 50 years, recent events have served to remind us that we still have a long way to go towards erasing the stains of racism, intolerance and injustice. As we mark this anniversary, let us rededicate ourselves to working towards a nation that honors the sacrifices of those nine students who pioneered the way."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)

Republicans Obstruct Children's Health Insurance

It looks like the entirety of the Republican strategy -- in Congress and the White House -- is to prevent as much as possible from getting done for the American people. They've blocked votes on Iraq, voting rights, human rights, and troop rest. In fact, they're literally on a path for setting a record for the most obstructionist in history.

And now they want to block a children's health care bill.

This time it's the White House that's stepping up to the plate, threatening to veto a Congressional compromise that would cover 10 million children in need. And to what end? Well, Bush's own suggested plan, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is "insufficient to continue covering the children who are already in the program."

That means, practically-speaking in terms of children covered, Bush's proposal it's a cut. This is from the same man who, back in 2004, promised to "lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for the government's health insurance programs." He said he'd expand SCHIP for millions more children within the next couple years.

But now that it's coming to his desk, he's thinking about denying millions of children health care. With one swipe of his pen, he'll be making a decision that will affect whether poor kids will be denied treatment in hospitals and doctor offices across America.

So it's not even about the hypocrisy. It's about the children that will suffer if he vetoes that bill.

Posted by Michael Link at 11:10 AM | Comments (16)

Rudy Answers His Cell Phone In the Middle of Speeches

Rudy Giuliani answered a phone call from his wife as he addressed a National Rifle Association conference in Washington last Friday.

"Hello dear. I'm talking to the members of the N.R.A. right now. Would you like to say hello?" he said, apparently speaking to his wife, Judith. "I'll give you a call as soon as I'm finished. Have a safe trip. Bye bye."

Though there was some scattered laughter, the audience was mostly quiet as Mr. Giuliani ended the call and added: "This is one of the great blessings of the modern age--to always be available."

The New York Times also noted that it's not the first time Giuliani has taken a call from his wife in the middle of a political event. Apparently it also happened in June while the former New York mayor was campaigning in Hialeah, Florida.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:39 AM | Comments (2)

Monday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 08:37 AM | Comments (83)

September 23, 2007

Sunday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 07:51 AM | Comments (208)

September 22, 2007

From the Archives

Posted by Michael Link at 11:02 AM | Comments (10)

Saturday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 08:33 AM | Comments (242)

September 21, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

It's time for another round of your posts over at PartyBuilder:

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 05:56 PM | Comments (122)

Rudy's Inspiration?

When I watched this:

I immediately was reminded of this (skip 15 seconds in):

Different situations, but it's worth noting that not only has this happened before in the middle of a speech, but it ended up not working out too well for Conrad Burns.

Posted by Michael Link at 04:25 PM | Comments (1)

CREW Requests Stevens Be Removed From Committee Assignments

We knew that "the Veco briber" gave the Feds evidence on Senator Stevens, but what we didn't know until last night was that the FBI "secretly taped telephone calls with Sen. Ted Stevens as part of a public corruption sting."

Now CREW is calling on McConnell to remove Stevens from his committee assignments:

Today, Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) asking that he remove Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) from his committee assignments and refer the criminal matters surrounding the FBI investigation into Sen. Stevens' activities to the Senate Ethics Committee.

It's a story that hasn't received the attention it deserves. The claims that this VECO contracter is making are pretty extraordinary.

Posted by Michael Link at 04:10 PM | Comments (1)

Rudy: 9/11 Changed My Position On Gun Control

Here's the quote:

I also think that there have been subsequent intervening events -- September 11 -- which cast somewhat of a different light on the Second Amendment and Second Amendment rights. It doesn't change the fundamental rights, but maybe it highlights the necessity for them more.

You can watch it for yourself right here.

Posted by Michael Link at 12:48 PM | Comments (4)

Senate Republicans Still Want Us In Iraq

The Levin/Reed amendment to the defense appropriations bill just failed to pass, 47-47. The bill declared that the Secretary of Defense "shall commence the reduction of the number of United States forces in Iraq not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act."

It also would have said he must "complete the transition of United States forces to a limited presence and missions as described in subsection by not later than nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act."

And just today, the Bush administration announced that they'll be boosting their spending request for the war. It isn't a small boost, either, with the Washington Post reporting it may be an additional $50 billion, which would bring the total for the year up to nearly $200 billion.

I'm sure Boehner would call that a "small price."

Posted by Michael Link at 11:37 AM | Comments (11)

If Romney Did Talk To Minority Audiences, He'd Change His Tone

In an interview with the Times of London published yesterday, Romney admitted to adjusting "the tone of a message to suit his audience," saying "If you're talking to an African-American audience you may put more emphasis on civil rights than if you're talking to a Republican audience in Iowa."

The irony of this being that he is not planning on addressing an African-American audience anytime soon, as he has declined to attend the PBS forum on minority issues held at Morgan State next week; rather, he will be spending the day in California where he has a planned stop in Sacramento to, introduce himself to the folks who happen to be eating at the IHOP on Advantage Lane. And when pressed on not attending the debate, rather than committing to address minority issues in the near future, his campaign responded by merely forwarding "a list of black Florida supporters to illustrate minority backing."

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 11:26 AM | Comments (1)

08ers and the NRA

Don't expect Rudy to be met with too many friendly faces at the NRA today:

Rudy Giuliani takes his presidential pitch to the National Rifle Association Friday -- a group he once likened to "extremists" -- but his past record as the Republican Party's biggest gun-control booster will make it almost impossible for him to win broad support, activists say.

In fact, a scheduling coincidence Friday shows just how hard it is for Giuliani to escape his past: He speaks to an NRA meeting here on the very same day his 2000 lawsuit against gun-makers goes before a federal appeals court in New York.

And Romney could be shooting himself in the foot by skipping NRA the forum:

But one official said Romney’s decision to send a recorded speech instead of attending in person “is a big mistake,” describing the move as “extremely disappointing,” particularly in light of Romney’s short time as an NRA member and past misstatements about how much of a hunter he is.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 10:55 AM | Comments (1)

Friday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 09:15 AM | Comments (169)

September 20, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Once again, let me invite you to read them all.

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 06:16 PM | Comments (167)

Bush: Saddam Killed Mandela

This makes my head hurt:

In a press conference this morning, President Bush tried to assert that Saddam’s brutal rule over Iraq wiped the country clean of potential democratic reformers--individuals who may have possessed leadership skills like former South African President Nelson Mandela. In doing so, Bush inartfully suggested Saddam killed Mandela.
I thought an interesting comment was made--somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, "Now, where's Mandela?" Well, Mandela’s dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.

Faiz at Think Progress points out that Nelson Mandela (who is alive) is a strong opponent of the war in Iraq. Before the war, he condemned Bush as "a president who can’t think properly."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 04:51 PM | Comments (12)

"Small Price" Republicans

And from Fox News, of all places.

Still no apology, but at least now he's being forced to respond personally.

It's time for him to drop the act. Clearly, as the video shows, he was responding to a question that specifically talked about American casualties.

Posted by Michael Link at 03:28 PM | Comments (12)

The Interns Are Running The War Room

Another key McCain aide, Robert Terra, is quitting.

A protege of McCain's former rapid response director Matt David, Terra may join his mentor over at Freedom's Watch, the pro-war advocacy group that is seeking to go toe-to-toe with the MoveOns of the world on issues related to national security.

Terra trained two interns before leaving and they will take time off from their studies to staff and run the war room.

But will the McCain campaign raise enough cash to pay the interns a stipend?

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 12:15 PM | Comments (6)

Rudy Continues To Mislead On Time Spent At Ground Zero

It's a wonder why Rudy Giuliani still tries to mislead Americans about the amount of time he spent at ground zero. Yesterday in an interview with CNN Giuliani continued to mislead and stood by his earlier claim that he was just like the rescue workers, who often worked for more than 12 hours a day in the debris, and faced equal risks.

Here's what Giuliani claimed on CNN.

“You can be there for a relatively short period of time and still get sick, and still be considered in the category of people who are at risk.”

“The reality is that I was there a good deal of time, a lot more then the Times indicates.”

“In fact I’ve even been invited to join some of the studies, some of the tests, to determine what kind of impact did it have on me.”

Here's what the New York Times said about the amount of time that Rudy Giuliani spent at ground zero.

“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.”

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 11:59 AM | Comments (2)

Giuliani: I'm Kind Of a Big Deal

Rudy Giuliani bragged to reporters in London yesterday that he is one of the most famous Americans in the world.

"I'm probably one of the four or five best-known Americans in the world," Giuliani declared to a small group of reporters at a posh London hotel.

Asked to name the four better-known Americans, Giuliani replied, "Bill Clinton...Hillary," before being whisked away by aides to another engagement.

Apparently, President Bush didn't make the top of Giuliani's list, to say nothing of Brangelina, Madonna, Oprah or others too famous to have more than one name. Aides were unable to fill in the blanks later.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:52 AM | Comments (3)

Rep. King: There Are "Too Many Mosques"

There's simply no excuse a sitting member of Congress uses this type of bigoted language:

In the interview, he was even given the opportunity to retract his statement when his disgusting remark was repeated back to him -- yet he refused.

This is the man who serves as the Homeland Security advisor to Rudy Giuliani, yet I can't find anything about it on Giuliani's website. It's worth noting that Giuliani appears to make a habit of surrounding himself with people he later regrets.

Posted by Michael Link at 10:05 AM | Comments (1)

Thursday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 07:54 AM | Comments (124)

September 19, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

Read them all, then chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 06:03 PM | Comments (109)

Webb Amendment Update

The Senate voted today on an amendment proposed by Sen. Jim Webb(D-VA) that would guarantee longer rest periods for troops between deployments.

The Republican Party lobbied hard against this amendment. The amendment was defeated, 56 to 44.

UPDATE: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sponsored a toothless "fake" amendment that states that "we understand the stress and strain that’s been inflicted on the men and women in the military"--but does nothing to provide real support to the troops. The non-binding resolution was voted on immediately afterwards and lost by a vote of 55 to 45.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 05:41 PM | Comments (7)

Giuliani's Dirty Donors Fundraise In London

Rudy Giuliani can't leave his ethical problems in the US. As he heads out to London to raise money the Village Voice has a story today about the Giuliani's administration ties to a school bus company with ties to the mob.

It seems that Giuliani also has problems with some of his hosts at his London fundraiser tonight.

But while Rudy is far away from the Big Apple, scandal has followed him across the pond. At least three of the organizers of today's event have controversial pasts.

Rockwell Schnabel, an honorary chair for today's event, paid to settle a federal ethics violation that accused him of greasing the contracting wheels for a company owned by his father-in-law. "In 1993, the Justice Department said that Schnabel, then deputy commerce secretary, had contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs to speed approval of a federal contract for Del Mar Avionics, a medical supply and defense company owned by his father-in-law." Mother Jones reports, "Schnabel admitted no wrongdoing, but paid $5,000 to settle the ethics violation."


Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 04:41 PM | Comments (1)

Senate Republicans Kill DC Voting Rights Bill

Senate Republicans defeated a voting rights bill yesterday that would have finally granted District of Columbia residents the right to vote:

A bill that would have given District of Columbia residents their first-ever member of Congress died in the Senate on Tuesday, dashing hopes of full voting rights in the nation's capital after a 206-year wait.

Senators voted 57-42, just three votes short of the 60 needed to move the measure forward. The bill would have created two new House seats: One for the city of about 600,000 people and one for Utah, which narrowly missed out on a fourth seat after the last census.

The procedural vote, against moving on with the debate, effectively killed the best chance in decades to win the District a full-fledged House member. The city has been denied voting rights in Congress since 1801, making it the only major capital city in the world where citizens are denied a vote in the nation's representative body of government.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 04:06 PM | Comments (3)

Unconstitutional? So Would McCain Ignore It?

John McCain's nonsensical claim that the Webb's amendment is unconstitutional is shot down incredibly easily by Josh Marshall.

So, yes, the rhetoric is bogus. But the next step is finding out whether a "President McCain" would ignore the law if Congress succeeds in passing it, given that he believes it's unconstitutional.

Posted by Michael Link at 03:55 PM | Comments (2)

Bush Wants To Expand Spying Powers

Today Bush said that a law that was hastily passed in August to temporarily give the government more power to spy overseas without warrants must be "made permanent and expanded."

Just last week, Bush's spymaster Mike McConnell admitted that he misled Congress when he claimed that this law helped U.S. authorities foil a major terror plot in Germany--a claim that is not true.

Even worse, it turns out that Congress was misled in the first place by the bogus threat of terrorist attacks. Raw Story reports:

Republicans and the Bush administration used a 'bogus' terror threat that raised specific fears of an attack on the Capitol to scare lawmakers into adopting a dramatic temporary expansion of the government's spy powers last month, a top intelligence committee Democrat said Wednesday.

Congress agreed to give President Bush and the nation's intelligence agencies extra authority to spy on Americans just hours before lawmakers left for a month-long recess in August. In the legislative session's final week, news emerged of an impending plot by foreign terrorists to attack the US Capitol, and Republicans pointed to the reports as justification to expand the administration's powers.

"That specific intelligence claim, it turned out, was bogus; the
intelligence agencies knew that," Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) said at a
forum on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act organized by the
Center for American Progress in Washington. However, lawmakers did not learn of the claim's unreliability until "the day" they approved the FISA expansion, she said.

Today, in another defeat for civil liberties, Senate Republicans also prevented the restoration of habeas corpus.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 01:53 PM | Comments (8)

More On Troop Readiness

After Stephanie wrote below about the pro-troop Webb amendment, which would guarantee longer rest periods for troops between deployments, news came that there's going to be an apparently toothless McCain-Warner proposal.

ThinkProgress has more:

McCain said he and Sen. John Warner (R-VA) have teamed up to put together a “sense of the Senate” amendment to express “very clearly that we all want all our troops home and we understand the stress and strain that’s been inflicted on the men and women in the military and the guard and reserves.”

Feeling their pain... but doing nothing about it.

Posted by Michael Link at 01:26 PM | Comments (2)

Two Republican Senators Up For Re-Election Vote Against Habeas Corpus

When Democrats tried to overcome a Republican filibuster this morning in order to restore habeas corpus, two Republican senators who are both up for re-election--and facing difficult campaigns--voted against civil liberties.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) both voted nay.

Duly noted.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 11:29 AM | Comments (3)

Webb Amendment Would Guarantee Rest For Troops

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has sponsored legislation that would guarantee longer rest periods for troops between deployments. The amendment would guarantee active-duty troops and units at least equal time at home as the length of their previous tour overseas. The amendment also sets a minimum 1-to-3 year ratio for National Guard and Reserve members and units.

There will be a fight to pass this amendment, and Webb's office recorded this YouTube video asking for help:

You can help by calling your Senator. Calls to retiring Sen. John Warner (R-VA) are needed in particular. Warner previously supported the amendment, but now he is wavering.

For examples of why this amendment is so crucial for our troops, read this MSNBC article (h/t Nitpicker).

UPDATE: Sen. Webb introducing his amendment now.

UPDATE II: We're hearing that a vote is expected in the Senate at 5:25pm ET.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:08 AM | Comments (13)

Criminalizing Women and Doctors

Pandering to extremists in the Republican party, Fred Thompson hinted that he's open to criminalizing women who receive and doctors who provide abortions. Vanessa from feministing has more on the issue.

Since Anna Quindlen's piece came out asking "How much time should she do?", it looks like Fred Thompson apparently has an answer for that.

The presidential candidate was asked that very question while in Iowa last week, and answered that women shouldn't be criminalized if seeking abortion under the first three months of pregnancy. That's right, just the first three months. You second and third trimesters can all rot in jail.

He also said, authorities "can do whatever they want to with abortion doctors, as far as I'm concerned," but "if it comes down to giving criminal sanctions to a 19-year-old girl and her mama, I'm against that." Such consideration!

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 09:54 AM | Comments (2)

Senate Vote on Habeas Corpus

A crucial vote will take place today at 10:30 am ET, when the Senate will hold a cloture vote on the Leahy-Specter-Dodd amendment--the legislation that would restore habeas corpus, a safeguard against illegal imprisonment that is essential to civil liberties. Democrats in the Senate need 60 votes to overcome the Republican filibuster of this important legislation.

At Firedoglake, Christy Hardin Smith has the whip count so far this morning--and the office numbers of Senators who might need an extra nudge.

UPDATE: During the first vote, the yays were 56, the nays were 43, so Democrats could not overcome the Republican filibuster. But there was an absence of a quorum, so Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid moved to reconsider. Happening now...

UPDATE II: It looks like the legislation is dead.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 09:39 AM | Comments (10)

Wednesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 07:45 AM | Comments (158)

September 18, 2007

PB Rescue Open Thread

There's something in the coffee in Crown Point, Indiana. More specifically, at Conservative Cafe: Coffee Served Right, where you can "feel safe to talk about American 'values' and watch Fox Noise on the television," according to Dr. Lee.

Not sure why I find that so entertaining.

Read the rest, then chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 05:59 PM | Comments (72)

Americans Still Want Out of Iraq

A majority of Americans still want an end to the war in Iraq, despite the heavily coordinated White House publicity campaign last week. According to a new poll from the Pew Research Center:

Fifty-four percent still favor bringing the troops home as soon as possible, a measurement that has not changed in months, according to a poll released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

...Overall, two out of three said their views on the war had not been changed by presentations last week by Bush and Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

Not only that, but the percentage of Americans who favor withdrawal has slightly increased since General Petraeus reported to Congress. From a separate CBS News survey:

Only 22 percent said they are willing to keep large numbers of U.S. troops in Iraq longer than two more years, largely unchanged from the previous survey. Nearly half, or 49 percent, said they should stay less than a year while 23 percent said they should remain for a year or two.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 04:34 PM | Comments (12)

Giuliani More of The Same On Iraq

Rudy Giuliani is a fairly divisive character when he's painted in a corner and the last week has been no exception as he's attacked other candidates instead of talking about Iraq. In the recent past Giuliani has avoided saying anything about Iraq.

The Democratic Party just sent out a document with Giuliani's record on Iraq. Some of his comments from the release are below.


Giuliani Iraq Policy: Nothing More Than Stay The Course. "Indeed, none of the three front-runners -- Mr. McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- offered much more than a stay-the-course line on Iraq and the general war on terrorism."

Giuliani Does Not Have Insight Into What Will Happen In Iraq. In an interview with MSNBC, Giuliani said, "Iraq may get better, Iraq may get worse, we maybe successful in Iraq, we may not be. I don't know the answer to that."

Giuliani Has No Plans of Having Specific Plans For Iraq. The New York Times reported, Giuliani said that the "fluid situation there [in Iraq] makes it hard to speak in specifics about the war."

Giuliani Doesn’t understand the facts on the ground in Iraq. Giuliani said, "For me, the Iraq war was about removing a pillar of Islamic terrorism, Saddam Hussein…Iraq, in the present condition that it is in, cannot offer the kind of support to Islamic terrorism that it could in the past."

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 04:18 PM | Comments (1)

Romney Gets Goose Egg At Value Voters Debate

The four leading Republican presidential candidates all dodged the "Value Voters" debate last night.

"The big losers last night were the no-show candidates Fred Thompson who placed at 4 percent, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain who each received 1 percent and Mitt Romney who was the only candidate to receive zero votes at the end of the night.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 03:38 PM | Comments (0)

Drill the Everglades? Thompson Says It's Not Off the Table

Really? The Everglades?

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson met with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist in Tallahassee this morning and said he wouldn’t rule out drilling for oil in the Everglades.

“Gosh, no one has told me there is any major reserves in the Everglades,” the former Tennessee senator said when asked about the issue. “Maybe that’s one of the things I have to learn while I’m down here.”

He continued, saying "I'm not going to start out by taking this, that or the other off the table in terms of our overall energy situation."

Jeb Bush caused controversy in the state when he wanted to lower the buffer-zone for drilling to 125 miles from the state, so we'll see how drilling in the Everglades goes over in the Sunshine state.

Posted by Michael Link at 02:19 PM | Comments (8)

Integrity

As I mentioned before, the federal Office of Special Counsel is looking into whether US Attorney Rachel Paulose (friend of Monica Goodling) mishandled classified information, threatened to fire an employee who raised concerns about it, retaliated against "disloyal" employees, and called employees racial epithets.

Now watch her talk about integrity.

Posted by Michael Link at 01:17 PM | Comments (1)

More on the Still-Hired US Attorney

Given the story below about Rachel Paulose, it's worth revisiting this bit of testimony from her friend Monica Goodling:

ELLISON:Now, the person who you did hire was Rachel Paulose. Is that right?

GOODLING:There was a panel of people involved, but yes.

ELLISON:Rachel Paulose was hired.

Now, you know that four assistant U.S. attorneys have quit because she is so inadequate in management, in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota.

You know that today, right?

GOODLING:I read press accounts that they went back to...

ELLISON:You know that's true, don't you?

GOODLING:I don't believe they resigned.I believe they went back to their positions as AUSA.

ELLISON:No, they quit their leadership positions...

(UNKNOWN):Would you let her answer the question?

ELLISON:They quit their leadership positions.Is that right?

GOODLING:Yes...

ELLISON:And they went back to (inaudible) positions.

Is that right?

GOODLING:That's what I understand from the paper.

ELLISON:So Ms. Paulose was -- and you know Ms. Paulose personally, isn't that right?

GOODLING:I met her during the interview process.

ELLISON:She described you as a friend of hers.

Would you use that term friend as well?

GOODLING:We became friends after the hiring process.

ELLISON:And you're friends today, right?

GOODLING:I haven't spoken to her in some time, but yes.

ELLISON:How much time has gone by since you spoke to her?

GOODLING:Maybe February, maybe early March.

ELLISON:So you spoke to her as early as last -- as March '07.

GOODLING:Maybe I -- maybe the first week of March.I can't recall.

[...]

ELLISON:Did Rachel Paulose's political affiliation play any role in her hiring?

GOODLING:Yes, it did.

ELLISON:And that would be that she was a Republican?

GOODLING:Yes.

You can watch Paulose talk about integrity in this old interview, as well (see the video to the right on that page).

Posted by Michael Link at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)

A US Attorney Who Wasn't Fired

Much has been written about the stellar record of many of the US Attorneys that were fired for political reasons. However, today news comes about one of the US Attorneys that remained, Rachel Paulose.

Here are those allegations, via ThinkProgress:

– Paulose mishandled classified information. Black writes that Paulose regularly received “status updates on the war on terror” from intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The “secret” reports were supposed to be locked up, but Paulose “regularly left the reports loose in her office, sometimes unattended.”

– Paulose threatened to fire an employee who raised concerns about the material. Then-First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marti spoke to Paulose about safeguarding the classified materials and “as required by regulations, filed a report with the national office that oversees U.S. attorneys.” Paulose began “threatening” to fire Marti and “bad-mouthing” him to other colleagues. He eventually resigned.

– Paulose repeatedly retaliated against employees suspected of “disloyalty.” Paulose “allegedly said that she would make the woman so miserable that she would want to quit. In some instances, Paulose allegedly ordered those in charge of performing job evaluations to downgrade the reviews of those she considered disloyal.”

– Paulose called employees racial epithets. “Paulose allegedly denigrated one employee of the office, using the terms ‘fat,’ ‘black,’ ‘lazy’ and ‘ass.’”

Paulose, it's worth noting, is a good friend of the now-disgraced Monica Goodling. For information about how Paulose got her position, check out this old post from TPM.

Posted by Michael Link at 11:56 AM | Comments (1)

Tuesday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 08:03 AM | Comments (122)

September 17, 2007

Maybe It's the Heat

Not that it was necessary to make the point that we need to fight global warming, but last month was the second-hottest August on record. This is according to the National Climatic Data Center, a government resource and "the world's largest active archive of weather data."

This news comes via Climate Progress, a project of John Podesta's Center for American Progress (CAP). And appropriately enough, CAP also put on their website today a speech by Podesta to the National Association of State Treasures on the potential economic impact:

In the United States, the potential economic impacts on regional economic development are many. Droughts and loss of soil moisture from a warming climate are predicted to cause a lowering of water tables, with potentially devastating economic impacts to agricultural communities throughout the Great Plains.

Direct impacts from global warming on regional economies will also include a serious blow to the timber industry from increased prevalence of pests like the southern pine beetle, slower growth rates for trees, and more frequent wildfires. This would mean a decrease in revenue for producers of $1 billion to $2 billion per year.

For resource-dependent states and industries, whether you are calculating expected agricultural yields or changes in hydroelectric energy production from melting snow pack, global warming has real consequences for businesses and investors.

Additionally, states face substantial policy risk from the increasing regulation of carbon, particularly where dominant industries are tied to energy generation and use. Coal producing states and those with larger shares of coal-based electricity, for example, have a strong interest in ensuring a rapid shift to technologies capable of capturing and storing carbon, to ensure a place for coal in a carbon-constrained world.

But then again, if we act now the Earth wins!

Posted by Michael Link at 03:55 PM | Comments (2)

Eight Questions Mitt Won't Answer

The original YouTube Republican debate was originally supposed to take place tonight, before Mitt Romney and the Republican field ran away, scared that they would be "hard questions" by real Americans.

Mitt Romney is poking Republican YouTube users in the eye, Mitt Romney is holding a scripted online forum where he'll avoid having to answer tough questions from real Americans. So as a service we're proposing eight questions, which smooth talking Mitt Romney has avoided answering. We don't expect that Romney's "controlled" online forum will ask any tough questions but maybe it'll remind voters and the media about some of the questions that Romney is hoping to duck.

On His Massachusetts Health Care Plan:

Why does Mitt Romney call Democratic health care proposals “socialized medicine” when he championed a similar plan in Massachusetts, calling it “a conservative victory” as recently as April 2006?

On Tax Exemptions and Health Care:

Does Mitt Romney support using tax exemptions to expand health care (as he said in Florida on August 24) or does he think tax exemptions are not an effective way to provide universal health coverage “because the people that don’t have insurance aren’t paying taxes” (as he said during nationally televised debate on August 5)?

On Iraq:

Why did Mitt Romney let John McCain bully him into saying President Bush’s strategy in Iraqis working just days after Romney finally admitted that Iraq is “a mess” and in the middle of a civil war?

On the YouTube Debate:

Is Mitt Romney ducking the CNN/YouTube debate (which was originally scheduled for today) because he’s afraid to take questions from a snowman, or because the virtual video trail of all his flip-flops on YouTube is dogging his campaign?

On John Boehner’s “Small Price” Comment:

Why won’t Romney condemn Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner’s comment that the 3,776 American soldiers who have died in Iraq and the 27,186 soldiers who have been wounded there are “a small price” to pay?

On His Fundraisers:

Why won’t Mitt Romney disclose his bundlers or return money raised for his campaign by sketchy contributors like Alan Fabian?

On Blackwater:

Does he intend to keep Cofer Black in place as his top counter-terrorism advisor after his consulting operation was expelled by the government of Iraq for shooting civilians.

On PhonyFred.com website:

How does Romney expect people to believe his campaign had nothing to do with the Phony Fred website when his South Carolina consultant Warren Tompkins and SC Campaign Manager Terry Sullivan were “working in the same office space, using the same phone number and sharing the same e-mail network as the group responsible for PhoneyFred.org”?

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 03:14 PM | Comments (2)

The Coming Rudy Flip Flop

Rudy Giuliani is going to speak before the NRA on Friday, attempting to pander to the audience. He'll also follow Mitt Romney by changing his positions dramatically on gun control from those he held when he was the Mayor of New York City.

We're assuming that he won't repeat what he's said in the past.

Posted by Kombiz Lavasany at 02:37 PM | Comments (1)

Top Giuliani Fundraiser Owed Back Taxes

George Gilmore, chair of the Republican Party in Ocean County, New Jersey, was "bundling" hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash for Rudy Giuliani--even though he owed the federal government more than $100,000 in back taxes. From Blue Jersey:

Maybe you're familiar with Gilmore, who is without question the most powerful Republican boss in the state. He's a partner in a lucrative law firm, Gilmore & Monahan, which handles millions of taxpayer dollars every year. He's a fund-raising dynamo, becoming a "Pioneer" (bundling more than $100,000) for George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004. But there's one thing a lot of people didn't know about Gilmore until recently.

He's had trouble paying his taxes.

At least that's what the Ocean County Observer says. Last week, they reported that "county tax records still show that Gilmore has a tax lien for $158,716.74 in outstanding [individual federal income] tax payments from 2005." According to the Observer, Gilmore paid his liens just a few weeks ago--the exact same time citizens and reporters began researching the story.

No word on whether Giuliani will return all the bundled contributions from this disgraced fundraiser.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 12:56 PM | Comments (1)

Dick Cheney Careful To Avoid Incrimination

Don't count on learning anything more about Dick Cheney's secrets from his archives:

Speaking on Friday at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., Cheney said that because he served as President Ford’s chief of staff, "researchers like to come and dig through my files, to see if anything interesting turns up."

"I want to wish them luck," he quipped, eliciting laughter from the crowd, "but the files are pretty thin. I learned early on that if you don’t want your memos to get you in trouble some day, just don’t write any."

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 12:33 PM | Comments (3)

Bush Nominates Mukasey For Attorney General

One thing everybody has learned since the problems that arose in the Justice Department under Alberto Gonzales is what happens when the Attorney General fails to serve as an independent figure. The politicization of the Department means that the next AG will have to work extra hard to restore confidence in the system.

Today President Bush nominated Michael Mukasey for the job, who has "received endorsements in the past from liberals, including one of the Senate's most liberal Democrats."

It will be important to find out in his Senate testimony whether his loyalty will stand with the people -- not the president. That means asking some tough questions and getting some real answers.

Posted by Michael Link at 11:26 AM | Comments (5)

Blackwater USA Kicked Out of Iraq

Blackwater USA, a private mercenary firm that operates in Iraq, first came to public attention in 2004 when four employees were ambushed and killed in Fallujah--partly due to the firm's failure to take security precautions. Now the Iraqi government has announced it is expelling Blackwater from the country for the wrongful deaths of eight civilians.

The Interior ministry said Monday that it was revoking the license of an American security firm allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of civilians during an attack on a State Department motorcade in Baghdad.

..."We have canceled the license of Blackwater and prevented them from working all over Iraqi territory. We will also refer those involved to Iraqi judicial authorities," Mr. Khalaf said. He said witness reports pointed to Blackwater involvement but said the incident was still under investigation. It wasn't immediately clear if the measure against Blackwater was intended to be temporary or permanent.

In related news, Mitt Romney has hired Blackwater's vice-chairman, Cofer Black, as one of his counterterrorism policy advisors.

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 10:37 AM | Comments (32)

Monday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 07:50 AM | Comments (182)

September 16, 2007

Sunday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 06:53 AM | Comments (170)

September 15, 2007

From the Archives

I love these videos.

Posted by Michael Link at 11:08 AM | Comments (3)

Saturday Open Thread

Chat away...

Posted by Michael Link at 07:52 AM | Comments (211)

September 14, 2007

PB Resecue Open Thread

Thank you, Mr. Scott Key (by annie b)

Chat away -- and be sure to read PartyBuilder all weekend long.

Posted by Michael Link at 06:29 PM | Comments (87)

Veco Briber Gives Feds Evidence on Stevens

Veco CEO Bill Allen, who admitted to spending more than $400,000 in bribes for various legislators, now says that's "including for work done at the Girdwood, Alaska, home of Stevens."

There was also this exchange (in court):

Wendt: “There wasn’t a lot of material … but you paid some labor bills that went into Sen. Stevens’ house?”

Allen: “Yes.”

Allen said it the labor was from Veco employees.

Expect much, much more in the coming days and weeks on this issue from TPM Muckraker.

Posted by Michael Link at 05:02 PM | Comments (0)

Republicans Are Skittish, Despite Bush's Tough Talk

Bush announced in a national television address last night that he wants to keep the current high troop levels in Iraq at least through next summer, and possibly indefinitely.

But if the speech was intended to rally the reluctant Republican base--let alone persuade the angry Democratic one--it may have missed its mark by a mile. From the Politico:

White House confidence that Bush, with help from Army Gen. David Petraeus, has regained political momentum for the war is about to be sorely tested. Not all Republicans were thrilled with the speech, and one top Republican Senate adviser said it amounted to unrealistic "happy talk."

The president now faces the prospect that his campaign to portray this year's "surge" policy as working could stall under closer scrutiny by lawmakers, including in his own party, who are either skeptical of his words or worried about how voters will perceive them, or both.

From the Washington Post:

If the prime targets of President Bush's appeal for patience last night were moderates in his own party, his speech may have fallen flat...Republican lawmakers, facing tough reelection bids in the midst of an ongoing war, reacted with grave concern to the president's call for only modest troop reductions and no dramatic change of mission in Iraq.

But it's important to note that most of the consternation is based on fear--fear of the extent to which an angry American public might punish the Republican party in 2008. From CNN via AMERICAblog:

"One key congressional aide that told me today, if the situation has not improved for Republicans come spring, then what looks like a very bad year for Republicans will become even worse." [CNN, Situation Room, 9/13/07]

Oh yeah, and Bush is unpopular--they aren't happy that this is the guy selling the war.

Some key Hill Republicans...were upset that he returned front and center on the issue at a time when the White House had so carefully ceded the selling of the surge to Petraeus and Crocker. "Why would he threaten the momentum we have?" says one frustrated Capitol Hill Republican strategist with ties to the GOP leadership. "You have an unpopular President going onto prime time television, interrupting Americans' TV programs, to remind them of why they don't like him."

So much for choreography...

Posted by Stephanie Taylor at 03:05 PM | Comments (37)

Military Families Contributing to Democrats

Who didn't pay for Rudy Giuliani's pro-war New York Times ad? Hint: a new report finds that more troops and military families are contributing to Democrats.

As the Iraq war drags on and US casualties mount, members of the military appear to be showing their discontent by donating more to Democrats, a campaign finance watchdog group said yesterday.

Service members have traditionally supported the Republican Party, but, since the war started in 2003, there has been a dramatic shift away from financial backing for GOP candidates for president and Congress, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics reported.

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 01:51 PM | Comments (10)

Fred on Florida Delegates: "Uh...I dunno"

The RNC recently voted to strip Florida of half its delegates for breaking primary rules. So what will Fred Thompson do if he receives the party nomination? Will he allow all of Florida's delegates to attend?

"Uh, well, you know, it could be. But I don't know. I haven't thought about that. All I know is I'm not going to get into intramural party politics."

Posted by Mike Gehrke at 12:59 PM |