Thursday Open Thread
Chat away...
Comments (187) «
Greg, did you catch the news that the General who was flown in for the debate is/was connected to the Clinton campaign?
I'm actually disappointed by this news...instead of letting these guys go down in flames from their poor showing at the debate you know the media is going to glob on to any 'plant' rumor regarding Hillary.
Posted by Kristen on November 29, 2007 at 09:48 AM
as I said on the other thread
HAHAHAHAH good for her!! Why shouldn't they be able to ask a question as well??? HAHHA! I love it!
reposting for Bob
Campaign 2008
Sen. Biden looks to ‘slow and steady’ approach to overtake Edwards in Iowa
By Sam Youngman
November 28, 2007
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) is trailing almost all of his Democratic rivals in the crucial first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, but his campaign insists the longtime senator is building a “textbook” strategy that will propel him to third place.
The Biden campaign says it can shock the political world on Jan. 3 provided it succeeds on two fronts: soliciting support from elected officials in the state on the same level as front-running candidates Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), and focusing on rural and older caucus-goers.
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007 at 09:22 AM
The godawful GOP debate
Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 00:32 EST
"And, please God, no more debate questions about the Bible."
roflol! a funny read
~snip~
She may be too authentic for Maureen Dowd, but the bold and plain-spoken candidate's wife has made doubting Iowans into believers.
------------------
ok my question is, are we voting for the candidates mates?? I'm tired of hearing about the wives and husbands personally. INcluding the ALL IMPORTANT BILL!
But whatever. A woman usually is the strength behind the man anyway. jmo.
I'm actually disappointed by this news...instead of letting these guys go down in flames from their poor showing at the debate you know the media is going to glob on to any 'plant' rumor regarding Hillary.
Posted by Kristen on November 29, 2007
my coworker quickly brought up the "plant story" and i asked him if the guy was an american and therefore able to ask a question to presidential candidates. he didn't like that too much
Thursday November 29, 2007 07:45 EST
Integrity and slime, in old media and new
New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt did me the honor yesterday of replying to my column last week asking him to stop the brawl over Ronald Reagan and race on the paper's Op-Ed page. Hoyt declined to step in, but he did pass along news that Times editorial pages editor Andrew Rosenthal had already said, "Enough," which means we won't have another unconvincing rejoinder on the topic from David Brooks.
Thanks, Andy! Hoyt defended the Op-Ed page debate as healthy, which is fine, because so did a lot of Salon readers. I appreciated his thoughtful reply, and even more, I appreciate the Times' integrity for having taken the enormous risk of appointing a "public editor," in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal and the paper's flawed reporting on the run-up to war with Iraq.
Hoyt was a particularly good choice on that score since he was a leader of one of the only mainstream news organizations to shine on that subject, Knight Ridder.
Time magazine could certainly take a page from the New York Times. Glenn Greenwald has indefatigably documented the problems with Joe Klein's column sliming Democrats for a FISA bill whose provisions he misrepresented, as well as Klein's many efforts on his blog to explain himself, which only made him look worse. Days after Greenwald pointed out Klein's error and Klein himself acknowledged it (sort of) on the blog, Time appended a grudging semi-correction to the original column online.
Then today they had to correct their correction! They've made no public statement on their mess, refusing to comment to the many bloggers who've tried to get a response. Time's ethical blunders and arrogance on this story help explain why the blogosphere is booming and the mainstream media is in free fall.
But not all bloggers are Glenn Greenwald. The folks over at Jezebel are blogging amok lately. They ran an unsourced nasty item about Barack Obama a couple of weeks ago, and then today claimed to have a source who had seen the transcript of Rebecca Traister's conversation with Michelle Obama, and who revealed the alleged slip of the tongue the Obama camp had kept off the record. Of course, the claim was completely false.
Of course, no one called me or Traister for comment. Late in the day they appended an update: Their source had confessed he was, like, totally joking! Funny! Luckily no one (except maybe poor Mickey Kaus, who linked to Jezebel's first scurrilous Obama item) takes them seriously -- and it's looking like no one ever will. Sure, it's a relatively young blog, but it's part of Nick Denton's vast empire, and he should know better. Yuck.
-- Joan Walsh
rudy got judy
to give up the booty
out in the hamptons
which are quite snooty
new yawkers wouldn't mind
about a piece of behind
cept they had to pay
for that top shelf whine
...my creative juices are flowing...time to get the finger paints out!
Posted by gregg on November 29, 2007 at 10:32 AM
U made that up? HA! Cute Greggy!
Mornin' {{Dems}}
Just a reminder -- Dewey's birthday is on the 6th.
Glad I gave the puggie debates a miss last night. I couldn't have stood that sorry continuation of a bullshit festival. They don't make boots that tall.
I don't believe that any sane person can call themselves at once "pro-war", "pro-death-penalty" and "pro-life". Without quotes, the latter concept doesn't even belong in the same sentence as the former two. I don't even want to know what kind of weird lies one has to tell one's self to live comfortably with such philosophically irreconcilable concepts.
Then again, lying to themselves and everyone else is what the nutcase right do the very best.
I also don't want to know what kind of drugs or madness one has to indulge in, in their "pro-war" red haze, so they can live with the idea that war is a wonderful idea -- especially when it's someone else's families who are getting killed or maimed for the enrichment of a few corrupt old bastards. Worse than crazy, the right wing are 99.9999% cowards.
I see absolutely nothing to recommend anyone in the Republic field. At this point, we'd be swapping one right-wing nutjob for another one. The only discernible difference between the chimp and the Republic wannabe's is that most of the wannabe's can at least handle the English language. Other than that, they're utterly replaceable, barely-moving parts, only interested in what they can screw out of everyone else.
As much as I distrust Hillary, I still would trust her mega-light-years ahead of the best of the Republics.
I wish we picked up the McLaughlin Group here.
I always miss it on Sundays. Here's the video from last Sunday for anyone else that missed it.
Posted by HillWilliam4Edwards08 on November 29, 2007 at 10:37 AM
I feel exactly the same way about Edwards
I'll vote for him even though I don't trust him.
Dawn,
We're even, heh :-D The worst Dem we've got in front of us is still head-and-shoulders above the very, very, very, veryvery best the Republics can offer.
Jeeperscreepers, can Republics ever run anyone who isn't either a vegetable, a mental case or an admitted and unashamed crook? Looking back at the last 40 years, I can't see a single one who wasn't at least one of the three. If that's the best they can offer, the only thing I can say is, "well, scum floats."
fyi this is the way FAUX news is headlining that Anderson Cooper screw up.
Gay General at GOP Debate Is Hillary Supporter
Host acknowledges the participation of a retired Army colonel linked to Clinton in Republican debate.
(real nice huh?) :-\
I was disappointed that the real issues that are concerning the majority of Amercans were not even discussed in last nights debate. Instead it was the usual Repuke fodder God, Guns, and Gays.
When I speak with my friends and neighbors, I have never heard any of them express concern over the right to bear arms, I have never heard any worry about what a candidate believes or doesn't believe about the bible. What they are concerned about is how they will afford to pay for heating oil, how they are going to continue to pay ever rising gas cost. I hear them worrying about how to pay for their kids educations, and how they are going to keep paying for the risings costs of healthcare and insurance.
Shame on CNN for not picking the right questions. I can't believe that out of 5000 plus questions that there weren't better and more important issues.
11/29/2007
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Endorses Clinton
The Clinton Campaign today announced the endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
"Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to bring the war in Iraq to an end and reverse the potentially devastating effects of global warming," Kennedy said. "I watched proudly as Hillary won over New Yorkers across the state in her race for the Senate seat my father once held. Since then, she’s been reelected in a landslide victory and proven that she is ready to lead this nation from her first day in office. Hillary will inspire the real change America needs."
"Bobby has worked tirelessly to protect our environment and raise awareness about the dangers of global warming and pollution,” Clinton said. "I’m deeply honored to have his support and counsel."
Kennedy serves as Chief Prosecuting Attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and President of Waterkeeper Alliance. He is also a Clinical Professor and Supervising Attorney at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic and is co-host of Ring of Fire on Air America Radio. Earlier in his career he served as Assistant District Attorney in New York City.
In recognition of his environmental efforts, Time Magazine named him one of its "Heroes for the Planet" for his success leading the fight to restore the Hudson River.
Kennedy is scheduled to campaign for Clinton at stops in eastern Iowa today.
and for all of our Hispanic readers here some good news.
~snip~
FROM THE SENATE: Senator Clinton Calls for Quicker Action on Citizenship Applications
Washington, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Secretary of Homeland Security to address significant delays in the processing of citizenship applications by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Senator Clinton urged quick action to clear up the growing backlog of applications and criticized the excessive fee increases being imposed on applicants. She also asked for a timeline indicating when these problems will be resolved.
"These are applicants who have played by the rules and waited patiently for their chance to share in the American Dream. They deserve prompt and fair action on their applications," Senator Clinton said.
Posted by HillWilliam4Edwards08 on November 29, 2007 at 10:53 AM
hey hill, how'd you like the conservation text?
Posted by BillMiller08 on November 29, 2007 at 11:00 AM
shhhhh...let's not give 'em any ideas. let 'em keep rolling their little balls of shit around while we talk about what really matters to people. come november the only votes the fascist rethugs will get will be those from the 'shit for brains' ('cause that's what they've been fed) crowd.
btw...hello, everybody
Posted by BillMiller08 on November 29, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Well said, said BillMiller.
The MSM may be willing to give the Republicans cover, but the voters want these economic problems talked about. If it doesn't happen on air, they will talk that much more about it amongst themselves.
People are far more influenced by their peers than they are by the media. It's our job to keep the discussion going and encourage people to vote...make it easy for them to vote.
the repub debate turned out just as expected, see which group/groups we can single out, bash and get everyone to hate. hey if we hate the same people, we must be friends right? i forget which person said he would make a untamperable national ID card. within a couple of months of the uncounterfitable 100 dollar bill, there were already forgeries so good the secret service had a hard time telling the difference. maybe he was talking of a nationally implanted microchip?
ok I've scanned a dozen or so and now it's time to do something OTHER than politics.
BBL
Peace and Enjoy your day!
ps. Goodfoe, tell Buddy & Sissy that Atreyu , Figaro and Logan say HI lol ;-)
(and no that's not santa or a reindeer silly)
Posted by SandyH on November 29, 2007 at 11:15 AM
hey sandy, this is off topic, but given that Lott is stepping down, we have an opportunity in november to replace him with a democrat. i'd like to do anything i can to help this happen. any ideas about what i might do?
Guess-
If you'd care to take a closer look at that snopes page you referenced, you'd see that the claim is false.
insinuate you RE TARD O!
just keep making chit up - no one is listening to you PERVERT PUGS ANYWAY
NOW I'm out!!
MICHAEL DARLINK - CLEAN UP TURD-AISLE 911
my favorite trent lott quote
Lott insisted that, "Racial discrimination does not always violate public policy."
this and more at
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=208
Posted by guess on November 29, 2007 at 11:44 AM
hey dumbass...to be treated like a human you must first act like, be like, and talk like a human. you, quite obviously are not.
Pat Robertson is at it again. He has a lot of young people under his spell. They are using Highway I-35 as a religious symbol...a word from God to do "purity sieges." This is scary stuff.
Pat Robertson, 1-35, purity sieges
"What if the yellow cloud surrounding I-35 isn’t an “invasion” from Mexico but an “invasion” of God? That, apparently, is the theory of the youth-oriented church activists profiled on yesterday’s “700 Club,” who are running “purity sieges” at clinics and porn shops, where they claim to be “moving angels and demons”
Good Morning, ALL!
Just a quick refresher course lest we forget what has happened to many because Cokie the Booze Hound decided to play with his new toys.
Way to go, Chimpy! (you ass).
Posted by jimmyc451 on November 29, 2007 at 11:45 AM
that was a stupid and insinsative remark for lott to make, but technically he may actually have been correct. we all know that unfortunately, the bill of rights stops at your employers door and federal hiring regulations usually don't apply when federal dollars aren't involved.
guess,
Are you not providing information as proof positive the republicans have been attacking and Clintons?
The FBI should be informed of your knowledge of the Clinton associate hit list.
Are you an accomplice in these murders?
Awww, I guess right wing tools Bob (Chimpy's golf partner) Scheiffer and Katie (the Pug lovin' smurf) Couric will have to find something else to do that night.
Hi and HELP ME
I am having a complete meltdown trying to work with congresspedia/sourcewatch. Is anybody out there that has the slightest clue as to how I can move an article or page from sourcewatch to congresspedia?
We are having a huge problem in the 1st CD in WI with some spoilers in the primary...perennial loser and now it appears that there is yet another man who seems to be quickly becoming another perennial problem. So, I went to congresspedia and found only one of our viable candidates for the primary listed and very much need to put the other viable one up........
Any help of any kind would probably stop me from having to take serious actions with a whiskey bottle later on........and we don't want another drunken blogger wandering lost through cyberspace when I Could be working on a campaign.
rant done.........please help
that was a stupid and insinsative remark for lott
Posted by BoilerMan on November 29, 2007
it says public policy, not private industry
it says public policy, not private industry
Posted by jimmyc451 on November 29, 2007 at 12:58 PM
you are correct. it does say that. yet, it remains that racial descrimination is not illegal throughout the US and to that extent it does not always violate policy, especially if it's not included in policy. i'm not trying to defend the statement. it's just semantics.
Howdy, Kay. I have no idea how to do that. I'm surprised I can open my e-mail.
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007 at 10:55 AM
Sheesh. Are the republicans now taking the position that the only people that can ask questions during the debate are those that are independent???? Gotta love the selfservatives. They have mastered the art of squeezing more nothing out of nothing.
Splendid. Now not only are there less dollars in our pockets but less dollars in our assets too.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The biggest plunge in new home prices in 37 years was not enough to revive October sales, according to the government's latest reading on the battered housing and home building markets.
The sales pace for October was well short of economists' forecasts. The Census Bureau's latest report also sharply cut back on its earlier estimates for sales in August and September, when a meltdown in mortgage markets kept many potential buyers from getting the financing they needed.
Also depressing sales and prices was a record 191,000 completed new homes on the market that have not yet been sold.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/29/news/economy/newhome_sales/index.htm?cnn=yes
Good afternoon, Blue.
I don't think they even wanted "independents" there. They were all probably Pug plants. It's obvious by the questions chosen that it was a Pug softball fest from the git-go. ONLY wedge issue questions were asked (immigration, guns, gays, God, taxes) and not a word about the 4 things the general public think is important (Health Care, education, economy, Iraq).
Here's how Nazi-like the paranoid Pugs have gotten:
before you can vote repubbblican you must swear you're a repubbblican
I guess they figured it out and got wise that we are on to their little scam, which I have done several times. (Vote for the biggest moron in the Pug primary, and then vote against him in the General if he gets the nomination, so the Dem wins).
Hey, it's legal, and the vote theft vipers in the Pug party invented it. 2 can play at that game, so what goes around, comes around.
After reading back on some posts, it still amazes me that some people still believe everything that hits their inbox.
Oh, well. That's how we got in the mess we're in now.
bbl.
Posted by BlueinIdaho on November 29, 2007 at 01:13 PM
Hey Blue,
The fact they (faux news) made the General's Sexual Preference part of the headline (I had no idea as I'm sure most people didn't nor did they care) just proves how heinous they are in spirit.
They can't even make a decent NEWS worthy headline. Had to be something gossipy and about sex. That's really ALL they care about isn't it? Oh yea and torturing women who are RAPE worthy. PFT! :-/
I really have NO use for anyone anymore that claims to be a Republican. I pity them. I will be forever jaded where they are concerned. And I am MUCH more generous in spirit than MOST of my closest DEM friends.
Can you imagine how the middle east feels about them? (or in turn even us for allowing this to continue??)
u know if it were reversed the PUGS would have never allowed this to go so far .......... all of it, the war, habeas corpus, all the thousands of proven lies and distortions, the traitor talk, the long long long list of perverts and criminals being busted DAILY!! (if 90 percent of them were DEMS??)
I mean people have created WHOLE WEBPAGES on just the perverts alone!! sick pukes.
Oh lawdy, that old bulls**t on Clinton and the mysterious deaths while he was in office? How simple and gullible and easily led some people are.
Maybe it is time for me to do the List of all the Republican Wall of Shame, i.e. Corrupt ones, Perverted ones, adulterous ones, Criminal ones!
Maybe it is time to list all those who were appointed by Bush, who either were indicted or else left office because they would not follow corruption like sheeple.
Sighhhhhh, as they watched that group of choices last night, they are getting more and more frustrated and upset over the 'none of the above' group ! I guess we shall have to get used to it.
It's hilarious Pam
IF all those body guards listed were KILLED by the Clintons??? I mean how insane does that sound just on the surface?? LOL
Besides, if that were at all true you KNOW it would be headline news item ONE on CNN with Wolf, MSNBC with Tucker and every last faux anchor on the planet would be chiming in.
They hate the Clintons so you KNOW damn well if there were any THERE THERE it would be on their shows. Period.
Don't forget all the BushCo opponents or whistle blowers who "mysteriously" die in plane crashes. All the way back to (and before) the Nixon administration. It seems to be the 'offing' of choice for these Nazis, regardless of how many other people have to die along with their target. They're just collateral damage.
Some good news for Edwards people
(of course you all probably know this by now)
In terms of second-choices in Iowa, John Edwards tops the list of candidates. He is the second choice for 28% of likely caucus participants. Obama is the second choice for 18%, Clinton for 16%, and Richardson for 15%. Second choice preferences are especially important given the nature of the Iowa caucuses. In a particular caucus setting, if a candidate receives less than 15% of the vote, their supporters will be re-allocated to other candidates.
As Huckabee said "Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office." Then why should He endorse any politician especially Huckabee? After all, look at their political religion that corrupts “We the people” patriot religions of equality and diversity that takes all of US in, without reservations.
I wonder if he attends a segregated rich congregation as a Baptist that will allow mixed races, I heard he advocate mixed congregations. It will serve as an example to unity in America. I wonder what he thinks of diversity in public schools? What is his track record on public education?
Huckabee is a member of the "Liberal Arts" Ouachita Baptist University Board of Trustees, 1991-present. So will he resign all his religious affiliation for separation of church and state? You can say Huckabee is a Liberal supporter.
Huckabee believes in Biblical inerrancy and worked for James Robison, a television evangelist.
Mike Huckabee From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaA newspaper article reported on Huckabee's 1993 win: "Morris said the mistake Republicans always make is that they are too much of a country club set.
-------------
On May 22, 1998, the Arkansas Ethics Commission fined Huckabee US$1,000 for failing to report campaign payments made to Huckabee and his wife.
------------
On April 11, 2001, Huckabee signed the "Covenant Marriage Act", which is a marriage contract option that compels the couple to seek counseling if problems develop during the marriage, provides limited grounds for divorce or separation, and restricts lawsuits against spouses.[34][35] Huckabee said the law, "offers couples a chance to be held to a higher level of marital commitment."[36]In 2001 Huckabee proclaimed October as "Student Religious Liberty Month" and urged student districts to allow their students to pray.[
As Huckabee said "Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office." Then that must make all politicians dumb asses.
As Huckabee said "Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office." Yes, look at how they handle God's wealth. Try you own Huckabee reply.
Hunter Poll Finds Clinton Has Support of 63% of LGB Likely Voters
In the first public, political survey ever conducted by a university-based team of scholars with a nationally representative sample of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGBs) Americans, results released today show that Senator Hillary Clinton has the support of 63 percent of LGB likely voters in the Democratic primaries, followed by Senator Barack Obama with 22 percent and John Edwards with 7 percent. The Hunter College Poll also finds that during the process of “coming out,” LGBs become more liberal and more engaged in the political process than the general population.
“We found a stunning transformation in political views in the LGB community of a magnitude that is virtually unparalleled among social groupings in the U.S. population,” said political science professor Kenneth Sherrill of Hunter College, one of the study’s investigators. The Hunter College Poll was conducted with 768 respondents by Knowledge Networks, Inc. from November 15th through November 26th, 2007.
something is wrong with that bottom link but it's the same as the top link and I found THAT link through MYDD. (incase anyone wonders)
It's amazing the thing you find when you read people comments.
yea most baptists tend to look alike (HA, kiddin)
Posted by gregg on November 29, 2007 at 10:32 AM
Not bad now paint like Michelangelo.
Stop Endless War in Iraq
Hi,
Have you seen the news? President Bush is negotiating a deal with Iraq to keep our troops there indefinitely--it could include permanent bases and a massive military presence for years! Bush is trying to tie the hands of the next president.
Congress can stop him from setting up permanent bases in Iraq and block an indefinite occupation--but they need to hear a groundswell of pressure from us immediately and loudly so they act on this quickly.
I just signed a petition demanding that Congress stop the president from committing to a massive military presence in Iraq for decades. Can you join me? Click on the link below to take action.
Thanks!
anyone else having trouble with Air America today?
I am having all kind of loading problems.........
I can't handle the Ed loves Ed show anymore.
A "Surge" for Afghanistan?
By Gordon Lubold
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/112907M.shtml
sighhhhh, don't bother doo B doo,
like I said, this is one of those simple, naive, gullible, easily led , last of the 28% who cling steadfastly to Bush is a hero, Clinton was bad.
Never remembers back to how good he had it during the 90's when bill Clinton took real good care of him and his family.
You will never convince him otherwise. To do so, is to admit he was wrong and he was stupid.
Posted by DemocratKickingAss on November 29, 2007 at 02:30 PM
SIGNED w/comments! Thanks!
I don't think JIMMY CARTER ever claimed he could talk to GOD did he???
FLASHBACK: Mike Huckabee’s Phone Call From God
Last night at the CNN/YouTube debate, a questioner asked the candidates — “who would call yourselves Christian conservatives” — to answer what would Jesus do about the death penalty. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee jokingly responded, “Jesus was too smart to ever run for public office. That’s what Jesus would do.”
It was fitting that Huckabee be asked what Jesus thinks because, in the past, the former Baptist minister has asserted an ability to talk directly to God.
S C A R Y F R E A K I E F U N D I E S ! ! !
Doo B,
Did you ever see this review of that Crazy Right Wing list on Clinton ???
Origin of the 'Clinton Body Count'
According to an article by Philip Weiss in the February 23, 1997 issue of The New York Times Magazine, the earliest version of the Clinton Body Count was authored by Indianapolis attorney Linda Thompson, founder of the right-wing American Justice Federation. The list originally contained the names of 26 alleged victims, though it has grown, and shrunk, and grown again since then, with some variants boasting over 100 names.
A Few Specifics
It would be redundant to replicate the thorough research already done by others on the 47 cases listed in this version of the Body Count (see resources below), but for good measure I have investigated the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the first five "victims" on the list:
James McDougal - Friend and business partner of the Clintons, died of a heart attack -- not an apparent heart attack -- while serving time on a fraud conviction. McDougal had a pre-existing heart condition. Prison guards placed him in solitary confinement after he refused to take a urine test and failed to provide him with the medications he kept in his cell, according to a subsquent investigation. No foul play was suspected. ("Report Details McDougal's Final Hours," Houston Chronicle, 14 September 1998.)
Mary Mahoney - "One of the first interns to work at the Clinton White House," according to her family. Not one news source reporting on her murder suggests that Mahoney, a lesbian, was poised to claim "sexual harassment in the White House." She died of gunshot wounds along with two other Georgetown, DC Starbucks employees during a botched robbery attempt on July 6, 1997. Per police investigations and a written confession by the killer, Carl Cooper of Washington, DC, Mahoney was shot while struggling with the perpetrator over the keys to the safe. A witness corroborated that Cooper had been planning to rob the Starbucks for at least a month before the crime occurred. ("Starbucks Police Affidavit," Washington Post, 17 March 1999; "Solving the Starbucks Case," Washington Post Magazine Live Online, 3 March 2003.)
Vince Foster - A lifelong friend of the Clintons, White House aide Vince Foster killed himself with a handgun on July 20, 1993. He had been suffering from depression. No fewer than five official investigations were conducted into the circumstances of his death, and none found evidence of foul play. In 1997, special prosecutor Kenneth Starr's own report on the Vince Foster case was unsealed by the U.S. Court of Appeals. It began: "The available evidence points clearly to suicide as the manner of death." ("Case Closed on Vincent Foster - Again," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 15 Oct 1997.)
Ron Brown - Commerce Secretary under President Clinton, Ron Brown died in a plane crash on April 3, 1996. Conspiracy theorists have alleged that X-rays of Brown's head showed "possible bullet fragments" in the vicinity of what some described as a "gunshot wound." A re-examination conducted by Air Force pathologist Col. William T. Gormley and reviewed by a panel of other military pathologists found "no bullet, no bone fragments, no metal fragments and, even more telling, no exit wound," according to Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page. ("The Ron Brown Conspiracy Machine," Chicago Tribune, 15 January 1998.)
C. Victor Raiser II and his son, Montgomery Raiser - The prominent Democratic fundraiser and close friend of Bill Clinton died along with his son and four other people in an airplane crash on a fishing trip in Alaska in 1992. Raiser had no known connection with any Clinton scandal, nor was his death in any way "mysterious." A National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined that the pilot, who survived the crash, had stalled the plane while trying to veer away at the last minute from a dangerous, cloud-covered mountain pass. ("Air Safety Loophole May Close," Anchorage Daily News, 18 June 1995.)
Huckabee info from above article on immigration.
Huckabee has been criticized for his positions on illegal immigration. In his 2005 State of the State address, he complained that a Hispanic student was not able to get financial aid because he was an illegal alien. Huckabee said: "But when he applied for financial aid, he wasn’t eligible for the various scholarships or grants because of his status, a status that he had no decision in or control over." Huckabee supported a 2005 bill by Arkansas State Representative Joyce Elliott to make some illegal aliens eligible for scholarships and in-state college tuition. Huckabee vehemently opposed a 2005 bill sponsored by Arkansas State Senator Jim Holt which would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants, calling it "un-Christian." Huckabee argued that illegal immigrants pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits: "They pay fuel taxes. If they're using a fake Social Security number, they're paying Social Security taxes and will never receive any benefit. It would be closer to the truth to say they're subsidizing Joe McCutchen and Jim Holt more than the other way around." When a Mexican consulate opened in Little Rock in 2006, Huckabee strongly supported it. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported: "Before he left office, former Gov. Mike Huckabee gave $10,000 to Little Rock. The money was given to help the consulate. Former Mayor Jim Dailey had requested that the governor match the city’s Dec. 19 contribution of $50,000 in a letter written Dec. 20. Huckabee’s contribution came from the governor’s $500,000 emergency fund and was one of roughly 20 appropriations Huckabee made from the taxpayer fund in his final days in office." Critics of Huckabee say his support of the Mexican consulate broke federal law. In 2007, Huckabee said, "I just don't think it's realistic to say this weekend we're going to round up 12 to 20 million young people and their children and we're going to put them across the border and they're never going to come back." In a 2007 interview, Huckabee argued against job loss caused by illegal immigration saying, "You know, when people say, 'they're taking our jobs'—I used to hear that as Governor—and I started asking this question, 'can you name me any person, give me their name, who can't get a job plucking a chicken or picking a tomato or tarring a roof that would like to do that work?' ...
HAS THIS BEEN UP YET?
Leahy threatens White House with contempt
by James Oliphant
~snip~
It's a drama that still likely will never see its final act, but the confrontation between the Senate and the White House over last spring's U.S. attorney controversy is inching ever so forward.
Today, Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, declared that several current and former White House must comply with committee subpoenas to testify and that their reasons for failing to do so were insufficient.
“I have given the White House’s claims of executive privilege and immunity careful consideration,” Leahy wrote in a formal ruling on the subpoenas. “I hereby rule that those claims are not legally valid to excuse current and former White House employees from appearing, testifying and producing documents related to this investigation."
WOOHOO ABOUT TIME!!
It was fitting that Huckabee be asked what Jesus thinks because, in the past, the former Baptist minister has asserted an ability to talk directly to God.
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007
romney also asserts to speak with god directly
A book to tell your relatives you want for Christmas, and to send a copy of to those last few Republican relatives who's heads are still up their asses !
ONLY 378 Reasons Not to Vote Republican? We Hope That This Is Jack's First Edition in a Series of Why Not to Vote for the GOP.
From the Publisher, Nation Books:
"Anyone in search of a concise, scary, and darkly entertaining overview of the Grand Old Party record--or in need of talking points for debating conservatives--will find the perfect guide in The GOP-Hater's Handbook.
Summarizing, detailing, and bewailing the more significant Republican outrages past and present--and some of the more trivial ones--this book is the brainchild of Jack Huberman, the former Canadian who took up U.S. citizenship just so he could vote against Dubya in 2000.
With punchy sidebars and political cartoons, The GOP-Hater's Handbook is the perfect gift for that special GOP-hater in your life--or for any misguided Republican you hope to rescue from the outer darkness."
Jack's previous book, the "Bush-Hater's Handbook," was one of BuzzFlash's top sellers.
romney also asserts to speak with god directly
Posted by jimmyc451 on November 29, 2007 at 02:45 PM
betcha it was God who told Romney to keep his 5 strapping sons home and not send them to Iraq !
Posted by jimmyc451 on November 29, 2007 at 02:45 PM
WELL, well, that's a BIG old conflict isn't it?
Does GOD speak to Baptists or Mormons FIRST?????
(roflmao)
this is the GOOFY ignorance of MOST sheeple
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007 at 02:38 PM
Oh, I'll assert that anyone can talk directly to G'd. It's when they start claiming that they hear back directly and personally that I give 'em the ol' one-eye ;-/ .
How'd that quote go? The one that went like "if you talk to G'd, it's called prayer. If G'd talks to you, it's called insanity."
Yep. Som'p'n like that. I wrote Huckleberry off a good while back as either another moonbat or one of the slickest crooks going. Given that he's a babdiss preachah, I'll place my bet on the latter and keep my hand firmly on my wallet.
{{Bill}} LOL @ the ole ONE eye
I agree. If you are hearing voices they're probably NOT GOD!!! seek HELP! LOL
Hey {{{Bill}}}
I got a laugh out of the line up last night, when Thompson and they were saying they had to get rid of Roe v Wade. Like their own wives, kids, cousins, sisters, all have never had to make a choice because of rape or a disabled fetus or whatever. If these men would only mind their own business! I hope when Hillary gets in, maybe she will appoint judges who will call for Mandatory Ban on Republican's procreation !
Posted by HillWilliam4Edwards08 on November 29, 2007 at 02:52 PM
What absolutely drives me crazy is that no one make him answer the actual question! The question was intended to get the so-called prolifers and Kristians to realize that Christ was perhaps the most well-known victim of the death penalty. What is the purpose of these "debates" if the candidates are not forced to answer the question?
I just read that the Teddy Bear criminal received 15 days in jail and a ticket out of Sudan. This is what happens when you mix religion and government.
anybody wanting to point out how softball the questions were last night, compared to the Dem ones,
360@cnn.com
Anderson Cooper !
Watch as Dunkin Donut and Hustle-me spew the typical homophobic answer. And, then watch as Flip Flopney executes his best 180 degree full twisting double back pike and nails the landing!
http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Download/23875/1/CNN-Youtube-Kerr.wmv
For your Holiday gift giving, or if you plan to do a lot of entertaining, I have found the PERFECT gift.
(Design available on two ply rolls, and also shirts and mugs.)
At least he'll be useful for SOMETHING (for once in his pathetic life).
They also have GWB condoms, to which I have to say NO WAY!
Posted by Michigan_Dave on November 29, 2007 at 03:57 PM
Fifty lashes with a wet noodle for plagarism. How dare you copy the selfservative bible word for word!
Hi Bob! Did you see the post that I left for you yesterday?
Posted by Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on November 29, 2007 at 03:27 PM
OMG what a serious MOOD breaker!! ACK!
Posted by Michigan_Dave on November 29, 2007 at 04:09 PM
ewwwwwwwwww lol
Michigan_Dave: You have one wicked sense of humor! You're my kind of guy!
waiting for him to take a breath.
OMG ROFLOL! I do the same damn thing!!!
Doo-Bee, Thanks for that toilet paper site. I am ordering a bunch of it. Did you see they have Ann Coulter Face plastered on toilet paper too? I have to get some of that too, just for my own personal satisfaction of watching it swish down the toilet !!!
Afternoon-Michigan Dave. How's it going? Oh, I don't like Anderson either. He emailed me back in response to an email once, and we had a little go -round!
I started out watching the 7 stooges, but just couldn't make myself stay for it all. McCain and Thompson look so freaken OLD and tired out, I yawned watching them. Romney and Giuliani made asses out of themselves, "You protect illegals," NO, you HIRED illegals", "Did not" "you did too".
I am willing to bet a large sum, that after last night's performance, that a lot of minds were made up NOT to vote Republican, no matter which one of them gets it!
The entire group of Republicans they had back stage, who have not made up their minds yet, said they STILL had not made any decisions, in fact one said she was voting for John Edwards!
I will be sad to see the Republican party disappear! NOT !!!!!!!!
AH HA ! COULD THIS BE WHY LOTT RETIRED THE OTHER DAY?????????
Mississippi Attorney Indicted in Bribery Case
By Michael Kunzelman
The Associated Press
Wednesday 28 November 2007
Scruggs, whose brother-in-law is Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., earned millions from asbestos litigation and from his role in brokering a multibillion dollar settlement with tobacco companies in the mid-1990s. After Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005, the Gulf Coast native sued insurers on behalf of hundreds of policyholders whose claims were denied after the storm.
Mandatory Ban on Republican's procreation !
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 03:08 PM
HA! How did I miss this one! Whoa!! I'd vote for that in a BIG BANG nano second!
Blue,
Aw, c'mon... commute that harsh sentence on Dave. It wasn't blasphemin' to quote the Selfservative Scriptcha According to Rove.
Well, maybe it was, but it was funny as aitch :-D
Posted by Michigan_Dave on November 29, 2007 at 04:09 PM
To put a pin prick in 'em, first find a willing Republic. (ar ar ar!) That shouldn't be too difficult. They only go for two kinds of sex; both of which are illegal...
Question is Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr on Hillary's campaign? Is he a member of the LGBT Americans For Hillary Steering Committee and a co-chair on Hillary Clinton's National Military Veterans group? If he is then Hillary should be apologize for planting her agent as the Republican debate. It is the same as her team planting a question in a Democratic debate. What is wrong with her campaign team?
By the way what he said at the debate is this true about his credentials. Some said he was not a General.
Why would Hillary play into Republican hands? Her A team is acting like a B(ush) team.
I know I don't have to comment on ALL the posts (doh) but man ya'll are doing some great comedy today!!
I have to tell someone when I appreciate that they are giving me some GREAT endorphins - and I THANK YOU all!
Posted by dlesterpoet on November 29, 2007 at 04:23 PM
are you high?
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 29, 2007 at 04:06 PM
Hello Mary. Checking now...
When the military was segregated by race they said mixing the races would destroy moral and today it has been proven wrong.I think the military should allows gays in the service, they are already there serving proudly. If they are found to be gay by accident then the military needs to let them serve as long as they do not break any laws.
I think we need to see military records and see why people are being discharged in a Conservative Military. I have heard of soldiers being discharged for alcohol. Congress make a soldier while serving his country an adult! Use their ID as proof enough they are allowed a beer, especially after serving in Iraq.
Dave youre a hoot man!! Have a great day!
I'm back out too. The blanket statements of opinion as fact by dlester are a bit much for me.. and the assumptions are RIDICULOUS and NOT much for a spirit of truth or goodness. You are a secretly a pretty hostile poet but thats just MY opinion
damn and I was just feeling pretty good too until the BS started
ack l8tr
Bob: Do you have a copy of Sen. Biden's book. I just ordered one. I would love for Sen. Biden to autograph. Do you know where I could get an address to send my book?
are you high?
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007 at 04:26 PM
==========================================
Excuse me, by asking a question, am I high. Hell no, I just think someone that asked a question who is on another campaign team needs to announce it. The same if someone was asking a question for someone else in a debate.
Am I high DawnTheOriginaL, why are you on the rag? You do not have to answer that because it should have been stated should it have.
The sad fact is that the Republican Party will use this along with Hillary's planted questions to show Hillary is an unflattering light.
The sad fact is that the Republican Party will use this along with Hillary's planted questions to show Hillary is an unflattering light.
Posted by dlesterpoet on November 29, 2007 at 04:50 PM
dlester, from what I have seen on other blogs today, both left and right, it is not a big deal. Nobody SAID that a Dem candidate could not ask a question via youtube. And then CNN after choosing those few questions from 5000 they received, invited the people to come. Hillary did not PLANT this guy inside this debate. CNN did not have to choose his question, nor invite him there.
You think that when they were collecting the Dem ones, there weren't PLENTY of Repug ones sent in, including from their candidates campaigns, and from probably Rove himself trying to Get them?
It was fitting that Huckabee be asked what Jesus thinks because, in the past, the former Baptist minister has asserted an ability to talk directly to God.
S C A R Y F R E A K I E F U N D I E S ! ! !
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007 at 02:38 PM
=====================================================
I agree Huckabee is too scary to be elected President, no less a Republican Candidate.
Dang! HuffPo no longer has that cool search button to look up peoples' political donations.
I'm kind of wondering how much this right wing tool donated, and to which Pug.
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 29, 2007 at 04:43 PM
Biden for President, Inc.
P.O. Box 438
Wilmington, DE 19899
(302) 574-2008
Wilmington
1105 N. Market St.
Suite 2000
Wilmington, DE 19801-1233
Phone: 302-573-6345
Fax: 302-573-6351
Milford
24 NW Front St.
Windsor Building, Suite 101
Milford, DE 19963
Phone: (302) 424-8090
Fax: (302) 424-8094
WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE
201 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-5042
Fax: 202-224-0139
TDD: 202-224-5652
Thanks, Pam.
Patrick Sajak
T.V. PERFORMER
SONY PICTURES T.V.
Updated
Q3/2007
Fred Thompson
$2,300
2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SAJAK, LESLY MRS
SEVERNA PARK,MD 21146
SELF-EMPLOYED/PHOTOGRAPHER
7/26/2007
$2,300
Thompson, Fred
SAJAK, PATRICK L MR
SEVERNA PARK,MD 21146
SONY PICTURES T.V./T.V. PERFORMER
7/26/2007
$2,300
Thompson, Fred
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looks like his wife also donated.
Not much of a big spender, is he? I couldn't find any other donations for the past few cycles.
Maybe he spent all his money buying vowels.
Doo Bee is this what you are looking for?
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Pat_Sajak.php
Bob: Here is the post that I left for you yesterday:
Posted by BobVADemHawk-Biden2008 on November 28, 2007 at 03:14 PM
One American Death in Iraq is too many. If I hear one more re-thug -lican use the word 'only' in connection with violence levels and American Deaths in Iraq, I will scream. We have got to figure out a way to prevent the dubbya and company from starting WW III and then figure out a way to keep anyone else from starting it. This has to be out first priority in electing a new leader. That is why you and I support the person with the most SUCCESSFUL experience in that area, Sen. Joseph Biden (D. DE) - Hi Bob!
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 28, 2007 at 03:44 PM
Also Bob:
Kristen posted a link to this article about the economy:
www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/12/bush200712
Sorry - I do not have the ability to post live links but this is one of the best articles I have ever read about the economy.
Sen. Biden has worked so hard on the Foreign Relations/Military/Crime/Healthcare and other issues but I wish he would start to focus a little more specifically on the unbelieveable inequality in income levels. As he is 'working class' he would be the perfect person to discuss how the Bush Tax Policies have nearly destroyed the middle class and the economy of the country with it. Did you know that he and his wife had to mortgage their home to put their children through college? Amazing!
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 04:16 PM
NOOOOO Pam! That TP has been recalled by the CDC for causing an oozing rash and scarring on unsuspecting users bums. Apparently, the paper is coated with a fetid, toxic substance and the adams apple scratches unmercifully. Burning of any unused TP is not recommended as it also releases a gas filled odor, akin to a mushroom cloud.
The CDC recommends sending all remaing rolls to Roooody because they are certain from viewing his pinched composure that he has no use for the stuff and therefore no harm will occur. An alternative site is Bill O'Reilly where he will make use of rolls in lieu of his falafel.
Thanks, Kristen, and thanks for the Horsey, too.
Check out that list. Is he donating to multiple campaigns using different addresses? Unless there are several Pat Sajaks working for SONY Pictures, it looks like it.
What a right wing tool! George Allen, Rudy, Freddie, Michael Steele...
ok, I'm confused...why aren't all the Dem candidates on the ballot in Michigan?
Clinton faces unusual opponent in Michigan
If enough backers of the candidates who aren't on the ballot -- Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden -- mark "Uncommitted" when they vote January 15, it could take some of the luster off what's otherwise a certain Clinton victory."We will see if over the next two or three weeks the people who aren't on the ballot ... urge everyone to vote 'uncommitted.' I think that's an intriguing prospect," said Democratic activist Bob Alexander of East Lansing, Michigan. "It would get a lot of national attention."
Despite last-ditch legislative efforts to put the four missing Democrats back on the ballot, it's now clear Clinton will be up against only Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel.
Posted by BlueinIdaho on November 29, 2007 at 05:26 PM
Blue - that is too funny!
Obama's Blackness Continues to Be Questioned
Ever wondered just where this thing with the racists/bigots could be rooted from??? Look no further, it's the media. Those are the set of folks that spew out the garbage and trash of bigotry for the world to see and pit ethnic groups against each other while standing back fanning the flames. Or just purposefully blacking any reporting on issues or news that affects black folks especially that which the situation is prejudicial and biased against them. And so goes the Obama blackness issue again. Continuously keeping the question of Obama's blackness pumped and going and always, yes always stating that blacks overall prefer Hillary.
How "black" does the man have to get??? Because of the color of his skin he will always have the potential to get the same put downs, slights, disregards, degradings, mistreatments as any other black man in this country. The media would love to lump us all as one, BUT we are different!!! One black man doesn't conduct or carry himself as another. We are not a cookie cutter race as they would so love to portray us.
So what if his Mama is white!!!! As far as the world is concerned, HE is black and Obama thank God realized that long ago. He knew no matter how deep into the white world he lived and associated, he would always be BLACK and it is obvious that he didn't want a foot in both.
And blacks by proportion favor Hillary??? Is she as much in love with them as her campaign would have us believe because she still has not shown a platform that would give Black America the socioeconomic boost that it desperately needs. Do I expect it from her??? No. Do I expect it from any candidate??? No. Too risky. Candidates cannot have the world and all seeing that they want to help the masses, especially black masses.
To the media: you're bigots with all the racist tendencies tied in.
To Obama: you're a black man, as black you will get. Your "blackness" has always been there. Don't let the media use it to turn whites against you because that's their game.
All in reality
Peace to everyone \/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/27/eveningnews/main3546210.shtml
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 05:00 PM
You are right of course, it just that right after the question was asked, they ripped into it as a plant of Hillary. I just thought people who are part of the campaign need to tell people before hand. But your right it was an open debate, and the people were chosen by their questions.
PamB and DawnTheOriginaL, I am a bitter man seeing this country I love being destroy by Bush and the Royal Republicans trashing the constitution.
======================================
I'm back out too. The blanket statements of opinion as fact by dlester are a bit much for me.. and the assumptions are RIDICULOUS and NOT much for a spirit of truth or goodness. You are a secretly a pretty hostile poet but thats just MY opinion
damn and I was just feeling pretty good too until the BS started
Posted by DawnTheOriginaL on November 29, 2007 at 04:37 PM
=====================================
Thanks DawnTheOriginaL for being honest with me. My personal opinions are just that, personal they are truthful to me and I do not claim them as facts.
If what I say is ridiculous then tell me, is it ridiculous, I want freedom of expression show me I am wrong.
"Not much of a spirit of truth or goodness" that is very judgmental. Shall I take a lie detector test on truth? Can I say that my heart is full of goodness that if I had money, I would help the kids in Public schools in trying to get them get ahead by opening up their minds.
DawnTheOriginaL I am hostile but when I do make love to poetry it seems to work.
Can I touch you? (Partial)
Can I touch you in those special places?
That gets you so high, so aroused, so excited,
Carousingly caressing tender sensual needs,
As you vibrate in me that special note of love.
Can I touch you so soft you cry in happiness?
That you whimper in cooing loving satisfaction
Chilling your soul on scrumptious hot flashes
That takes you higher, higher wanting much more.
=========
Can I touch you? Can I hold you? Can I want you?
Can I marry you over, over again in a honeymoon?
Can I touch you forever in that vow of intoxication?
Can we touch each other forever in a committed relationship?
Where even as grandparents, we can create earthquakes
That make children blush, hearing “Mom, Dad! Act your age!”
I rather be in a Bill Clinton world making love than a George W Bush making one bitter.
Anyway this bitter man got kicked out the library, closing time.
Hagel: Bush administration is 'incompetent' and he would consider joining a Dem ticket
"This is one of the most arrogant, incompetent administrations I've ever seen personally or ever read about," the always blunt and frequently quotable Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said yesterday during an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
"This administration in my opinion has been as unprepared as any administration I'm aware of," Hagel added, "not only the ones that I have been somehow connected to and that's been every administration -- either I've been in Washington or worked within an administration or Congress or some way dealing with them since the first Nixon administration. I would rate this one the lowest in capacity, in capability, in policy, in consensus -- almost every area, I would give it the lowest grade. ...
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/11/hagel-bush-admi.html
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 06:03 PM
Now I suppose we'll give him a prime time slot at the convention like the GOP did with former Sen. Zell Miller (DINO-GA). Oh well, I've always heard turnabout is fair play.
Giuliani's Mistress Used N.Y. Police as Taxi Service
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Share November 29, 2007 3:18 PM
Richard Esposito Reports:
Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.
"She used the PD as her personal taxi service," said one former city official who worked for Giuliani.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/giulianis-mistr.html
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 06:03 PM
As far as I am concerned, Hagel is welcome! Glad to see and have him on our side.
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 06:10 PM
Wonder how faux news will spin this one?
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 29, 2007 at 05:23 PM
Thanks, Mary. To assuage your concern:
Every day we see more evidence this economy is not working for middle-class Americans. If we honor work, we have to reward it.” --Joe BidenJoe Biden’s Plan to Keep America Working
Protect Worker Rights to Organize: As president, Joe Biden will put a stop to George Bush’s war on labor. Joe Biden is a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, and he will always work to ensure workers have the right to join unions without interference from employers.Defend Workers in Trade Negotiations: Joe Biden believes that US trade negotiations must protect American workers by insisting on basic labor and environmental standards. That’s why he opposed CAFTA and fast track authority for President Bush. He will continue to fight for better labor and environmental standards in trade agreements and will oppose new trade agreements that don’t meet high standards.
Protect Retirement: Joe Biden believes that after a lifetime of work, the last thing people should worry about is their retirement being in jeopardy.
Joe Biden has fought against dangerous plans to privatize Social Security that would slash benefits for future retirees. He also supports making it easier for workers to save for retirement.
Joe Biden has worked to prevent another Enron by authoring new criminal penalties for corporate fraud that robs workers of investments.
Joe Biden is working to protect workers from pension bankruptcy by strengthening the government backstop and insisting that pensions are adequately funded.Create Green Collar Jobs: As president, Joe Biden will work to create the new jobs that come with a new world. Green-collar jobs will make homes and businesses more energy efficient. Joe Biden has been a leader in the senate, co-sponsoring a worker training program that could help create 3 million new jobs as the U.S. builds a new energy future.
Meet the Demand For New Health Care Workers: Americans are living longer, healthier lives. That’s creating a growing challenge to provide adequate care for all. Estimates indicate we will need to hire more than 100,000 new nurses in the next decade. We will needs thousands of health care workers and aides. Joe Biden believes we can meet that need by investing in more training and attracting people to the profession. He will expand funding for nursing students through increased funding for loan repayment and scholarship programs. Joe Biden also supports retraining laid-off workers as nurses or in other heath care fields.
Joe Biden: Standing with American Workers
Increasing the Minimum Wage: The minimum wage has been stagnant for too long in this country, no one should work a full time job and be too poor to meet their basic needs. Joe Biden supported raising the minimum wage to $7.25 from $5.15 —where it had been stuck for 10 years. As president, Joe Biden will continue to fight hard for better pay for all working Americans, beginning with the minimum wage.Focusing on Workplace Safety: Joe Biden believes that all employees should be covered by regulations that ensure a safe working environment and their personal safety on the job. He has been a supporter of OSHA regulations since his early days in the Senate and time and time again he has voted to extend OSHA regulations and have vigorously opposed efforts to restrict the application of OSHA coverage.
Defending Overtime: Joe Biden has fought attempts to undermine overtime rights and reduce provide overtime to teachers, nurses, and salespeople.
Protecting Wages for Katrina Workers: Joe Biden fought against the Bush Administration’s attack on workers and helped save Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements for the rebuilding of the gulf coast region destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Supporting Workers Whose Jobs Have Moved Overseas: Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Trade Adjustment Programs. He opposes taking resources from the trade adjustment assistance program and believes that we need to make the assistance more substantive for those who qualify. Joe Biden believes we should ensure that all workers who are displaced by technological and economic change have access to resources and opportunities.
Helping Working Families: Joe Biden understands the difficulties of balancing work and family. He supports the Family and Medical Leave Act and knows how important it was to help the 50 million Americans who have taken advantage of up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for sick family members. We can do more though, and that’s why Joe Biden is co-sponsoring the Healthy Families Act—a bill that would make it mandatory for employers of 15 or more workers to provide seven days paid leave for their own or their families’ health care, providing millions of Americans with the flexibility they need to both take care of their families and remain working.
Caring for Seniors: Joe Biden knows from caring for his own parents how important home care workforces can be in providing stable, experienced care to the growing number of senior citizens who wish to stay in their homes. Joe Biden supports expanding access to home healthcare and hospice services and co-sponsored the Community Choices Act, which would help disabled Americans get Medicaid coverage for at-home care.
http://www.joebiden.com/issues?id=0019
I believe the senior senator from Delaware has an excellent plan as stated above. It rewards people who work hard and play by the rules. This is yet another reason why I support Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) for President in 2008.
I believe the senior senator from Delaware has an excellent plan as stated above. It rewards people who work hard and play by the rules. This is yet another reason why I support Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) for President in 2008.
Bob: I agree. This is all a good start. I would like to see Sen. Biden start a dialog for all the candidates about the inequities in the current tax system. How specifically does Sen. Biden plan to 'shore up' social security - will he 'adjust the cap upward from $97,500' as many have suggested? If not, what is his plan? What are his specific plans about the difference in taxing regular income at 35% and taxing capital gains at only 15% which results in the highest 1/10 of one percent of the population paying 20% less in taxes than the average middle class family. I would love to hear 'tax plan' specifics the way he has outlined 'foreign policy' specifics. I'm not complaining! Sen. Biden has my vote - period. I just think that this could be a very WINNING issue for him considering his 'tax bracket.'
Of course, I would love to hear specifics about economics from ANY of the candidates!!
Rodney King wounded in shootingRIALTO, California (CNN) -- Rodney King, whose 1991 police beating sparked widespread rioting in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, was recovering Thursday after being slightly wounded by gunfire.
Rialto, California, Police Department Sgt. Don Lewis said King was grazed on his face, arms, back and torso. The wounds were superficial. A shotgun was believed to have been the weapon used.
Lewis said that after King was shot Wednesday night, he rode his bicycle from San Bernardino to his home in Rialto, before calling police about 11:40 p.m.
Information on possible suspects or the hospital where King was treated were not immediately available.
Amateur video captured King's beating after Los Angeles police officers stopped him for speeding March 3, 1991. Police beat King repeatedly, delivering 56 baton blows and six kicks -- causing skull fractures, and brain and kidney damage.
Since then, King has had a handful of run-ins with the law, including a guilty plea in 2004 to driving under the influence of a controlled substance and reckless driving.
Since Rodney's ass whuppin' and high dollar settlement he's been trying sooooooo hard to get along.
Maybe they should've busted a cap in his dumb ass.
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 29, 2007 at 06:39 PM
John Edwards will overhaul the tax code with new tax breaks to strengthen the middle-class pillars of saving, work, and family:
Savings: A new "Get Ahead" tax credit to match up to $500 a year in savings for families earning up to $75,000—that could be used for retirement, college education, buying a home, investing in a small business or during a financial or medical emergency, and new "Work Bonds" to offer additional targeted savings incentives for low-income families. The credit will be refundable to benefit low-income families and the size of the credit will be reduced for families with higher incomes. All families earning up to $75,000 will be eligible.
Families: Expand the Child Care Credit to pay up to 50 percent of child and dependent care expenses up to $5,000 and make it partially refundable, and allow stay-at-home parents to help pay for child care for newborn infants.
Work: Triple the Earned Income Tax Credit for single adults and cut the marriage penalty.
Reverse the "War On Work"
Nothing better reflects the problems with our tax code than the lower tax rates for capital gains. As Warren Buffett says, there is something wrong when he pays taxes at a lower rate than his secretary. As president, Edwards will:
Raise the tax rate on capital gains to 28 percent for the most fortunate taxpayers – taxing the investment income of the wealthiest Americans similarly to the wages of the middle class.
Repeal the Bush tax cuts for the highest-income households and keep the tax on very large estates (above $4 million for couples).
Declare war on offshore tax havens by cracking down on tax shelter promoters, cooperating with allies to fight tax havens, and closing the "tax gap" by improving IRS customer service, simplifying tax filing, auditing more large corporations and high-income individuals and requiring more third-party reporting.
Close unfair loopholes like the tax breaks for hedge funds and private equity fund managers and unlimited executive pensions.
Have a great nite Dems!
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 29, 2007 at 06:39 PM
A Secure Retirement: A Promise to Keep Preparing for retirement has never been more complicated. Fewer families can count on secure retirement income from defined benefit pension plans. Only 20 percent of private sector workers have pension plans – compared with 83 percent in the 1980s. Those that do have pensions worry about whether they will still be there when they retire. At the same time most families are hard pressed to find money to put aside in savings. Half of our workforce has no employer retirement plan. Families are tapped out after years of flat wage growth and rising costs of living. The personal saving rate is less than 1 percent. This not only threatens financial security of millions of families – it also jeopardizes our entire economy by increasing our need to borrow from foreign countries like China and Japan. Two-thirds of families headed by a worker between the ages of 55 and 64 have under $88,000 in personal retirement savings – scarcely enough to purchase an annuity paying $653 a month. More than half of American workers believe they will have to push back retirement. Security – independence and a decent standard of living – is rapidly becoming a thing few feel confident they will have when they retire. The American promise that no one who works hard their whole life should end up with nothing is in jeopardy.Joe Biden will keep the promise of a secure retirement by:
Safeguarding Social Security
Expanding Personal Saving
Creating Kids Savings Accounts
Protecting Pensions
Preserving Retirement Investments
1. Safeguarding Social Security
Protect Social Security, Not Privatize It. Social Security is the foundation of retirement security for millions of Americans. For a typical worker retiring at age 65, Social Security replaces 40 percent of pre-retirement income. Joe Biden opposes privatization of Social Security. Social Security does not face an immediate crisis. With no changes, Social Security can pay full benefits through 2041. After that it can pay 74 percent of benefits. Joe Biden would bring Democrats and Republicans together to agree on options for keeping Social Security solvent including raising the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax so that the most wealthy shoulder their fair share ($97,500 is the maximum for 2007). This approach worked in1983 when a bipartisan group of senior leaders from both parties put politics aside to fix Social Security.2. Expanding Personal Saving
Make It Easier to Save:
Require Employers That Don't Provide Retirement Plans To Allow Employees To Contribute To Individual Retirement Accounts. In 2006, 40 percent of workers did not have any form of pension coverage – that's around 75 million workers who have no access to an employ-provided retirement plan. Joe Biden would require employers who do not adopt a 401(k) or other retirement plan to offer employees the ability contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) by payroll deposit making it easier to save small amounts on a predictable, regular basis.Expand Automatic Enrollment in 401(k)s. Defined contribution retirement plans do not cover workers unless they sign up. Only about 1 in 4 eligible employees participate in such plans – missing out on tax advantages of saving and employer matching contributions. Automatic enrollment requires employees to opt-out of such plans – instead of requiring them to opt-in. Automatic enrollment has been shown to raise participation rates. Joe Biden would expand automatic enrollment in 401(k)s by increasing automatic enrollment by small and mid-sized employers, by expanding automatic enrollment to existing employees, and by increasing automatic contribution amounts.
Make It Easier For Workers to Take Retirement Plans With Them:
The average worker can expect to change jobs several times which can result in navigating and managing several different retirement plans and investments. Joe Biden would make rollover of 401(k)s automatic so that accounts follow individuals.
Help Low and Moderate Income Families Save:
Match Contributions To Retirement Savings By Expanding Saver's Credit. Most retirement contributions are excluded from taxable income until they are distributed. Higher income taxpayers disproportionately benefit from tax deductions that promote savings because the value of tax incentives depends on what bracket the taxpayer is in – the higher the tax rate, the more the subsidies are worth. Those in lower tax brackets who most need to save have less benefit. Joe Biden would extend the Savers' Credit to make it a 50 percent refundable credit of up to $2,000 and index it to inflation to provide incentives to low-income households. Families with incomes below $50,000 that deposited $4,000 into a retirement account would receive a $2,000 match through the refund.End Rules That Penalize Retirement Saving:
Many low-income families receive assistance through food stamp programs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. To be eligible they must meet an asset test as well as an income test. Asset tests count savings in 401(k)s or IRAs. Joe Biden would exclude retirement savings accounts from asset tests so that families with incomes low enough to qualify for assistance programs are not disqualified because of retirement savings.3. Starting Savings At Birth With $500 Kids Accounts
Invest $500 In A Kids Account For Every Child Born After December 31, 2008. Joe Biden would create individual Kids Accounts for every child endowed with an initial contribution of $500 from the government. Kids Accounts would be redeemable for education expenses, home ownership or retirement beginning at age 18. Unused funds can be automatically rolled over into Individual Retirement Accounts at age 18.Parents and Grandparents Could Contribute $1,000 A Year. Joe Biden would permit parents and grandparents to make a $1,000 after-tax contribution into Kids Accounts. Earnings in the account would be tax free.
Match Contributions For Low-Income Children. To encourage saving and investment Joe Biden would provide a dollar-for-dollar match on the first $500 contributed to the account for children in households earning below the national median income.
Kids Account Holders Would Repay Initial Deposit At Age 30. Joe Biden would require children who receive Kids Accounts to repay the government's deposit when they reach 30.
4. Protecting Pensions
Strengthen Workers Claims On Retirement Benefits. Executives should not have better pension protections during bankruptcy than workers. Joe Biden would tighten restrictions on "Key Employee Retention Plans" which are used to give executives bonuses while companies walk away from employee pensions. He would make any increases in executive pay and benefits up to two years before bankruptcy subject to special scrutiny by the court. Joe Biden would require that a company's foreign and domestic assets must be considered by the court when it considers voiding employees' contracts. Management should not be able to move assets overseas when they get into financial trouble and renege on their obligations to workers.5. Preserving Retirement Investments
Protect Shareholders Rights. Joe Biden believes that shareholders have a critical role to play in corporate accountability. He would allow shareholders to have a vote in setting executive compensation and he would protect laws requiring executives to attest to the accuracy of a company's financial statements and to the soundness of internal controls. He was proud to fight for those safeguards in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A company that cannot or will not institute and maintain the internal controls necessary to meet the high standards of financial integrity and corporate accountability should not go public in the United States.Increase Transparency and Help Workers Understand All Investment Options. Joe Biden would require retirement plan administrators to disclose fees and clearly identify the name, risk and investment objective of investment options. He would direct the Department of Labor to review compliance with these disclosure requirements and refer violations to the SEC and other enforcement agencies.
oh, dawnie. Speaking of power, that trollie (sour grape Mark Lof who obviously got kicked out), and others, think I have the magic of blocking and erasing them. IF ONLY !
Posted by PamB on November 28, 2007 at 10:25 AM
Oh dear Pammy, you only WISH you had the power to ban bloggers. Then you would REALLY be the queen here! Lording (or is that ladying???) over every message posted, carefully reviewing it word-for-word to see if it met your stringent standards.
If not... ZAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!
Nothing like free speech eh? you old withered hag!
The Arrest Record of Rodney King
Rodney King's criminal history played a large role in the high-speed chase that led to his arrest, in his controversial and violent arrest, and in the trials that followed. King explained his decision to flee--at a speed exceeding 110 mph--from CHP officers as resulting from a fear that his arrest for speeding would lead to a revocation of his parole and a return to prison: "I was scared of going back to prison and I just kind of thought the problem would just go away." Sergeant Stacey Koon, the supervising officer at King's arrest, concluded (correctly, it turned out) from King's "buffed out appearance" that he was most likely an ex-con who had been working out on prison weights--and assumed therefore that he was a dangerous character. Finally, it was King's criminal history that explained the decision of prosecutors to keep him off the witness stand. If King testified, defense attorneys would be allowed to present the jury with his record of arrests--a record that might influence their deliberations.Many of King's problems with the law stem from his serious drinking problem. According to his parole officer, Tim Fowler, King "was a basically decent guy with borderline intelligence....His problem was alcoholism." (Cannon, p40.)
King's Trouble with the Law Prior to His Beating
July 27, 1987: According to a complaint filed by his wife, King beat her while she was sleeping, then dragged her outside the house and beat her again. King was charged with battery and pleaded "no contest." He was placed on probation and ordered to obtain counseling. He never got the counseling.November 3, 1989: King, brandishing a tire iron, ordered a convenience store clerk to empty the cash register. The clerk grabbed the tire iron, causing King to fall backwards and knock over a pie rack. King swung the rack at the clerk and fled the store with $200. King was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, second-degree robbery, and intent to commit great bodily injury. In a plea agreement, King pleaded guilty to the robbery charge and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but was paroled on December 27, 1990.
The Arrest of Rodney King on March 3, 1991
March 3, 1991: After being seen speeding on the 210 freeway by CHP officers, King led them on a chase at speeds estimated at up to 110 to 115 mph. When finally stopped, King refused requests to get into the prone position and appeared to charge one of the officers. He was beaten and arrested. King was charged with felony evading. Charges were later dropped.
King's 3/3/91 Arrest Record
King's Trouble with the Law After March 3, 1991
May 11, 1991: King was pulled over for having an excessively tinted windshield. Although King was driving without a license and his car registration had expired, King was not charged.May 28, 1991: King picked up a transvestite prostitute in Hollywood who happened to be under surveillance by LAPD officers. King and the prostitute were observed in an alley engaging in sexual activity. When the prostitute spotted the officers, King sped away, nearly hitting one of them. King later explained that he thought the vice officers were robbers trying to kill him. No charges were filed.
June 26, 1992: King's second wife reported to police that King had hit her and she feared for her life. King was handcuffed and taken to a police station, but his wife then decided against pressing charges.
July 16, 1992: King was arrested at 1:40 A.M. for driving while intoxicated. No charges were filed.
August 21, 1993: King crashed into a wall near a downtown Los Angeles nightclub. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.19. King was charged with violating his parole and sent for sixty day to an alcohol treatment center. He was also convicted on the DUI charge and ordered to perform twenty days of community service.
May 21, 1995: King was arrested for DUI while on a trip to Pennsylvania. King failed field sobriety tests, but refused to submit to a blood test. He was tried and acquitted.
July 14, 1995: King got into an argument with his wife while he was driving, pulled off the freeway and ordered her out of the car. When she started to get out, King sped off, leaving her on the highway with a bruised arm. King was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (his car), reckless driving, spousal abuse, and hit-and-run. King was tried on all four charges, but found guilty only of hit-and-run driving.
March 3, 1999: King allegedly injured the sixteen-year-old girl that he had fathered out of wedlock when he was seventeen, as well as the girl's mother. King was arrested for injuring the woman, the girl, and for vandalizing property. King claimed that the incident was simply "a family misunderstanding."
September 29, 2001: King was arrested for indecent exposure and use of the hallucinogenic drug PCP.
LAPD Officers' Trial Page
Congress do parcel allotments to Iraq to known target destinations, have certified reciepts demanding concrete accounting by GAO accountants. Stop the abuse of Enron White House CEO politics, Congress stand Constitutional ground.
Good night fellow Democrats. Keep the Faith and keep the faith. The liberal revolution is now...
Bob:
This is what I am talking about:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071129/pl_nm/usa_politics_middleclass_dc
Also:
This just popped up on Yahoo
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Joe Biden is complaining that his foes keep saying he'd be a great secretary of state.
Nothing wrong with that job, he says, but he's running for president. And if he'd be better at foreign policy than his rivals, well, why in the world shouldn't he be president instead of them?
Biden, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is widely expected to be on the short list for secretary of state if one of his Democratic rivals wins the White House. Maybe if a Republican wins, too.
But he said Thursday, speaking at a forum on Iraq: "Under no administration will I accept the job of secretary of state."
A voter had asked the Delaware senator what he would do to restore U.S. credibility in the world.
"That's the president's job," he said. "I know a lot of my opponents out there say I'd be a great secretary of state. Seriously, every one of them. Do you watch any of the debates? 'Joe's right, Joe's right, Joe's right.'"
"I ask you a rhetorical question: Are you prepared to vote for anyone — at this moment in our history — as president who is not capable of being secretary of state? Who among my opponents would you consider appointing secretary of state? Seriously. Think about it.
Good evening, all.
Posted by PamB on November 29, 2007 at 06:03 PM
Pam,
Just what we need...another former Republican turned Democrat to vote against or veto Democratic bills. At this rate we'll never get a real majority. I see a GOP strategy developing here. If they can't stop us at the polls, they infiltrate.
While I appreciate Hagel's obvious frustration with his own party's incompetence, why should we put a man on our ticket who would appoint conservative judges if he got the chance?
Every day we see more evidence this economy is not working for middle-class Americans. If we honor work, we have to reward it.” --Joe Biden
Posted by BobVADemHawk-Biden2008 on November 29, 2007 at 06:54 PM
Good platform, good viewpoint on issues. Unfortunately they won't help Black America.
Why? To begin, wages for blacks are behind those for whites and it is well documented now that the black middle-class suffers miserably behind that of whites. 45% of children in black middle-class homes and income brackets are worse off than their parents.
Therefore whatever solutions designed for the work situation aren't going to work for the black working class because from the beginning they are at a handicap and the solution isn't designed for the uniqueness of problems with an ethnic group.
Does any candidate have solutions that will ease our specific problems??? No. Will they ever??? No. Problems cost money to fix and the more deeply ingrained and prevailing the expensive the fix becomes. Some we as a people can correct and repair ourselves others we cannot. More than anything our situation in this country as a race has been exasberated by the "winds of politics".
Why the focus on Black America??? Why not. If we as a people don't take out the time to work on our OWN issues/problems, no one else will.
Just think, if Old Hill gets in (which she ain't I assure you) we will have a resumption of the Hillbilly Mafia in the White House. HOT DAMN OH BOY YESSERRIEE HOT DAMN!!!
If anything, it damned sure would be entertaining. One could only imagine the cavalcade of antics inside those hallowed walls, Billy back putting his thumb-like wood to the female intern staff, Old Hill herself, slipping young nubile female staff in through the kitchen door... man-oh-mandango it would be a friggin' X-rated soap opera!
The Progressive ReviewThis list was compiled at the end of the Clinton administration. It was last partially updated in 2000
Our Clinton Scandal IndexThe Clintons, to adapt a line from Dr. Johnson, were not only corrupt, they were the cause of corruption in others. Yet seldom in America have so many come to excuse so much mendacity and malfeasance as during the Clinton years. Here are some of the facts that have been buried.
RECORDS SET
- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court* According to our best information, 40 government officials were indicted or convicted in the wake of Watergate. A reader computes that there was a total of 31 Reagan era convictions, including 14 because of Iran-Contra and 16 in the Department of Housing & Urban Development scandal. 47 individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes with 33 of these occurring during the Clinton administration itself. There were in addition 61 indictments or misdemeanor charges. 14 persons were imprisoned. A key difference between the Clinton story and earlier ones was the number of criminals with whom he was associated before entering the White House.
Using a far looser standard that included resignations, David R. Simon and D. Stanley Eitzen in Elite Deviance, say that 138 appointees of the Reagan administration either resigned under an ethical cloud or were criminally indicted. Curiously Haynes Johnson uses the same figure but with a different standard in "Sleep-Walking Through History: America in the Reagan Years: "By the end of his term, 138 administration officials had been convicted, had been indicted, or had been the subject of official investigations for official misconduct and/or criminal violations. In terms of number of officials involved, the record of his administration was the worst ever."
Equal time from Kos
Must... Control... Incandescent Rage... by Hunter Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 03:34:08 PM PST I can't do it. Maybe it's the cough medication talking. Maybe it's the season. Maybe it's the knowledge that we're about to launch into a new presidency which seems already, by many of the most important measures, to be destined for either completely out-in-the-open Republican insanity or fear-spangled Democratic timidity. But I have Outrage Overload, and I can't manage anything pithy to say about the current environment that doesn't involve just climbing the nearest church steeple and swearing at the top of my lungs.
Let's review the stories currently on the radar.(1) The Wapo publishes completely false smears against Obama -- truly, the most poorly premised and written article I have seen since half past forever. Akin to what the Swiftboat Vet stories would have been, if the Swiftboat Vets had not even been seasoned Republican operatives but just "some paranoid guy ranting incoherently from his South Carolina basement." Truly, the story reads like something plagiarized from the racist Human Events and rewritten into "Washington Post journalism" format just barely enough to make it by the apparently heavily drugged editors.
(2) Rove, trying an instance of the Great Conservative Walkback against... well, himself... claims the Democrats goaded Bush into the Iraq War. This was apparently not done on a dare, or while under the influence of drugs, though it was done under the influence of Rove-style conservative Republicanism. Whatever, I don't know: but this is the sort of insane claim for which tarring and feathering was invented. Can we please bring it back? I know, I know, I have previously written against torture. I've changed my mind. If you can't torture someone for attempting to alter the fabric of spacetime through the power of their own proclamatory farts, then this world is no longer worth living in.
(3) Oh, this is wonderful. No, really. We find out that Rudy had the fuckin' city of New York provide an official city-paid Booty Call Car And Driver Set for his secret non-wifely hump buddy. Seriously, he had the city provide his mistress a car and police driver. And, upon learning all of this, which managed to stay under the radar for years and years in spite of being trivally easy to suss out and presumably a felony to boot, we're sitting here wondering if the media is going to get off their asses and bother to give two shits, since they don't have their usual Republican faxes telling them how to push the story... since presumably, the Republican faxes right now all have to do with whether or not Barack Obama got muslim cooties from some brown-looking kid in second grade, which is far more important.
(4) Supposedly intelligent Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton says "yeah, that Colin Powell is a guy worth listening to!", under the apparent premise that the one guy singularly and most famously known for having the Most Total Lifetime Opportunities To Do The Right Thing During A Complete Clusterfuck Without Ever Goddamn Actually Doing It Even Once Even While Every Shred Of His Own Integrity Got Shoveled Into George W. Bush's Boxer Shorts in fact represents the kind of moderation and foreign policy "bipartisanship" worth the attention of Democrats.
No, this is what seriously counts as "reasonable", these days, even among prominent Democrats. You don't actually have to do the right thing. You don't have to do the right thing when given one opportunity, or two, or five, or twenty. You just have to be declared the guy who seems like the guy most likely to maybe have done the right thing, except that you didn't, and that's all it takes. That's "moderation". That's being an "intelligent voice", among the crew of the biggest ship of fools ever to set sail from the confines of their own hollow heads. That's enough to get all the Broders and, god help me, Clintons of the world saying by golly, that's what we need. After seven years of complete, disasterous clusterfuckery, the right thing to do would be to have an administration that is willing to take equal parts sensible policy and total clusterfuckery, adds them together, and we're done! Instant reasonableness!
And then we should torture half the people we normally do, and restore half the rights that should be restored, and help half the Americans that need our help, and get into half as many disastrously mismanaged trillion-dollar wars, and fix half the budget, and indict only half the criminals, and the entire Washington establishment will come to a shattering, orgasmic printed climax in honor of such reasonableness and bipartisanship. Equal parts insanity plus non-insanity equals, in Washington eyes, the only approach worthy of respect. God help you if you try anything more.
Because there's nothing you can do to be discredited, these days. And nothing Colin Powell ever did -- or pointedly prevented himself from doing -- will reflect in the slightest upon him.
(5) Joe Klein continues to walk the earth unraped by drunken bears. This is evidence enough for me to doubt the existence of God.
(6) Oh -- and some Democratic-leaning military guy asked a question about teh gays at a Republican debate, thus rending the well-constructed Fortress of Republitude asunder, and causing all the Petraeus-loving patriots of the right to suddenly wonder if maybe military folks might be traitorous opinionated bastards injecting themselves into politics after all.
Does that about cover it? No, it doesn't. It's not even half.I mean, what the Holy. Porcine. Fuck???
To hell with being polite about any of this -- apparently there's no point. To hell with trying to make the press "better", or trying to keep Republicans "honest", or pretending that Democrats are anything more than the battered spouses of their own bunglefucked advisors and consultants and hangers on and punditorial freebased stupidity pushers.
Right now I just want to run every last reporter and politician on earth through a cheese grater.
Maybe it's the damn season.
Dawn,
Joe Biden is complaining that his foes keep saying he'd be a great secretary of state.
Seriously, would he rather have people saying he would be a great American Idol or another Britney Spears?
Biden is in a position most of us only dream of being in. While he might not be the most popular kid on the block at this point, he'll always have the respect of everyone. Things could be worse.
And if the rest of the pack continues tripping all over their own miscalculations, who will be in the best position to move up to the top? I'd say he's in a better place than he realizes. Opportunity is within his reach.
And if he doesn't get the nomination, I hope he would re-consider being secretaty of state. He was born with a talent and our nation needs all the help it can get in that area right now.
It's a shame that in a republic the best person doesn't always win. Just ask Al Gore. Actually, a Gore/Biden ticket would be darn near impossible to beat.
WOO HOO!
Now that hypocrite adulterer and CLYDE SAVINGS & LOAN crook (Google Clyde and Hyde) Henry Hyde is on that fast track to HELL where he has always belonged Channel 7 (ABC7CHICAGO.COM) WLS-TV has inadvertently run the video of Andy Shaw interviewing his Hyde-ness where Henry the Despicable ADMITS that the Clinton Impeachment was "payback for Watergate".
THAT video was erased from channel 7's archives as soon as the Freepers started howling.
Well, guess what?
They ran it again TODAY. QUICK! Copy and save it before the Chimp's minions start the phone calls!!
It just aired, so it wont be on their website for an hour (abc7chicago.com) but here's a blast from the past, the TRANSCRIPT of the original airing from several years ago, which I saw LIVE on the Tee and VEE when that asshole announced his retirement:
~~~~~~~~~~
Clinton impeachment was retaliation for Nixon, says retiring congressman
By Andy Shaw
WLS-TV, ABC 7, Chicago
April 21, 2005 — Republican Congressman Henry Hyde made some surprising comments Thursday on the impeachment hearings of President Bill Clinton. He now says Republicans may have gone after Clinton to retaliate for the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Hyde is stepping down after this term.
Hyde's comments came as he talked with ABC7 political reporter Andy Shaw about his 30 year in Congress.
In an exclusive interview, Hyde delivered a big dose of candor and some reflective second guessing. He said, among other things, he might not try to impeach President Clinton if he had it to do all over again.
The 81-year-old DuPage County Republican, who mastered the art of disagreeing without being disagreeable, will be stepping down in January of 2007 after 16 terms and 32 years.
"I am leaving voluntarily, but it's because my physical strength is ebbing. Father Time and Mother Nature have been pursuing me, and I'm 81," said Rep. Henry Hyde, (R)-Illinois.
Hyde is known for his eloquence, courtesy, civility and his fierce partisanship on behalf of conservative GOP principles, including authorship of the Hyde Amendment, which outlawed federal funding of abortions, and leadership of the House judiciary committee in the impeachment of President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
When asked if he would go through with the Clinton impeachment process again, Hyde said he wasn't sure. It turned into a personal and political embarrassment for Hyde when an extra-marital affair he had in the 1960's became public amid accusations of hypocrisy. He called the affair a youthful indiscretion.
"Accusations hurled at me to intimidate me were misplaced, and I regret having to deal with them, but they didn't intimidate me," Hyde said.
The veteran DuPage County congressman acknowledged that Republicans went after Clinton in part to enact revenge against the Democrats for impeaching President Richard Nixon 25 years earlier.
Andy Shaw asked Hyde if the Clinton proceedings were payback for Nixon's impeachment.
"I can't say it wasn't, but I also thought that the Republican party should stand for something, and if we walked away from this, no matter how difficult, we could be accused of shirking our duty, our responsibility," said Hyde.
Hyde's comments reflect what Democrats have been saying for years about the Clinton impeachment. It will be interesting to see what happens when Hyde's comments hit the national media.
Hyde's style will be missed in Washington, as well as his sense of civility, even though a lot of people will not miss his rigid ideology.
Make SURE that everybody has a copy of this when they post the video AGAIN.
Poor Old Bad Luck Rodney King. His strong, handsome face now pockmarked forever by shotgun pellets. Lordy Lordy, what's we gonna do?
Maybe someone should call The Reverends Sharpton and Jackson and they can fly out to be at his bedside calling for JUSTICE JUSTICE JUSTICE!!!! Oh, wait a cotton-picking minute... I have a feeling that whoever pulled the trigger on Poor Old Bad Luck Rodney King is probably his "cousin".
SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN by Timothy RollinsWhat is it with some people? No matter what happens, they just don't seem to get it through their literally thick skulls. Look no further than America's best-known poster child for stupidity that still has a pulse, Rodney King.
Before anyone starts on a rant about King being the 'victim' of the LAPD's Brutality squad, let me set the record straight. While I think there are too many rogues hiding behind a badge, and there were some that fateful night when King was beaten live and on camera -cops aren't the issue here. The fact is that on the night in question, King was on parole from a robbery conviction and was in his car speeding on the 210 freeway when the California Highway Patrol spotted him.
According to CHP officers, King took off like a scared rabbit at speeds up to 110-115 miles per hour, as he feared a subsequent arrest would send him back to prison. While King did not deserve the scope of the beating he received, two facts remain, those being: (a), he was driving under the influence; and (b), he did resist arrest when he was finally stopped.
In addition, there are other variables that need to be kept in mind as well, such as his serious drinking problem. According to King's parole officer Tim Fowler, King (left) was "a basically decent guy with borderline intelligence.... His problem was alcoholism." Let's get something straight right now. Alcoholism was not and is not an excuse; all it did was merely give him permission to do what he did.
When the vehicle finally stopped, King failed to assume the prone position as directed by police. Sergeant Stacy Koon, the supervising officer at the scene of the arrest sized up King's "buffed-out" appearance to be suggestive of an ex-convict who had worked extensively with prison weights and as such, correctly presumed King to be dangerous. Prior to the fateful night in 1991 that was forever immortalized on tape, King's arrest record was already well documented.
In his first public display as a "real man" back in July 1987, King was arrested for beating up his wife while she was sleeping, dragged her outside and then put on a show for the neighbors and beat her up some more. Charged with battery, he pleaded "no contest", was placed on probation and ordered to get counseling. Suffice it to say, he never got the counseling.
After a convenience store robbery in November 1989, King was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, Robbery 2, and intent to commit great bodily injury. In a plea agreement, King pleaded guilty to the robbery charge and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but was paroled just over a year later.
On March 3, 1991 - the night that everyone most associates with Rodney King, he reportedly charged the officers, and that is what led the officers to forcibly restrain him in the manner they did. Charged with felony evasion, that charge was later dropped.
On May 11, 1991, King was pulled over for having an excessively tinted windshield. Despite having no driver's license and an expired registration, King was let go.
Seventeen days later - on May 28th, King picked up a transvestite hooker and was being observed by LAPD undercovers having "illegal" sexual activity. When the hookers "made" the cops, King sped away and nearly ran down the vice squad. Explaining that he feared the vice cops were out to kill him, again, no charges were filed.
June 26th 1992 - King's second wife called police saying he hit her and that she feared for her safety. Handcuffed and taken to the station, his wife later declined to press charges and he was let go.
July 16th - same year - 20 days later, King is arrested for driving while intoxicated. No charges filed.
In August of 1993, King crashed his car into a nightclub. Arrested again for driving while drunk, he blew a 0.19 into the meter, more than twice the legal limit. Busted for violating his parole, he spent 60 days in rehab and was given 20 days of community service.
May 1995 - King is arrested - AGAIN - while enroute to Pennsylvania for driving while intoxicated. Failing his field sobriety test, he refuses to take a blood test and is acquitted in trial. See a common thread here?
Less than two months later - July 1995 - Rodney King got into an argument with his wife while driving, pulled off the freeway and ordered her out of the car. When she started to get out, King sped off, leaving her on the highway with a bruised arm. King was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (the car), reckless driving, spousal abuse, and hit-and-run. King was tried on all four charges, but found guilty only of hit-and-run driving. Both this conviction and a subsequent one later on would each give him 90-day sentences in the local lock-up.
In March 1999, King allegedly injured the sixteen-year-old girl that he fathered out of wedlock when he was seventeen, as well as the girl's mother. King was arrested for injuring the woman, the girl, and for vandalizing property. King claimed that the incident was simply "a family misunderstanding." - and lastly,
In September of 2001, King gets arrested both for indecent exposure as well as for using PCP. These charges are presently awaiting disposition.
At 36, you would think that King, with nearly half his life spent in trouble with the law, would have learned a lesson or two from the mistakes and stupidity of his youth. Instead, he seems to be entering the stupidity of his middle age.
With the $3.8 million he won from the LAPD for the savage beating he suffered at their hands in 1991, you have to think that by now he has spent most if not all of that on either legal fees, booze to fuel his DWI arrests or more likely, both.
I've heard some people over the years say that King beat the rap in the first seven or eight incidents starting with the night he was beaten, and it was not until the domestic violence matters a few years back that a judge somewhere developed some backbone and sent this loser to jail where he belongs.
Perhaps a conviction for exposing himself will get him branded as the sex offender he in all likelihood is and maybe a prison sentence for this and the PCP charge will knock some sense into him. If not, I don't suspect he'll last long in prison, nor do I see the guards making any major efforts to ensure King's survival while he's in the hole.
It's obvious he hasn't learned anything with his previous run-ins with the law, and as such, he needs to be forcibly taught the importance of living by the rules before somebody even nastier and more stoned than King puts an end to the pathetic and miserable life he so well epitomizes.
Tell me, what do you think?
Posted by J on November 29, 2007 at 07:35 PM
J:
Hi!
I can see your point to a degree; however, we have to begin somewhere. Where do you think that we should start? Can you be more specific as to programs and incentives?
For example: I want the Bush tax cuts repealed. Heck - I want the Regan tax cuts repealed!
I want tax structure that places 80% of the burden on the 10% that make 80% of the income. I think that is fair.
I want "cool" labeling on any and all products that come into the U.S. from other countries. There is a law - it's just not enforced. I would like to see a new system of tarriffs on imported goods. We are the largest consumer market in the world and I believe that we should use that to strengthen the dollar internationally as well as to benefit U.S. Labor at home.
I want the Sherman Anti-trust act enforced and I want the laws that protect labor organizers enforced.
I consider these items as important to all Americans who earn less than $250,000 per year.
Do you agree that this will benefit all, regardless of color?
I will be off-line for awhile but I will be sure to scroll back, so please reply. I am very interested in your post. I have already learned alot from you and would like to learn more :)
Posted by __D_A_Cactus
Hello to you Cactus Dan,
I hope all is well with you and you are enjoying the lovely desert winter. People would pay good money (if they had any after all those G-damned taxes the lefties want us to pay) to hanging out there for a couple of weeks and you get to enjoy that "naturally".
I was talking to a guy a few years back that grew up near Hope AK., he said you know it was a hunting retreat for the mafia for years and with Bill's mom laying around the bars all the time, they felt sorry for bill and took him in as a step child.
Doesn't surprise me one iota. Old Bill is a slick sumbitch and he gotta had to learn it somewhere, who better than La Cosa Nostra? No doubt Billy still has "connected" friends from those carefree days of his misspent youth and could and can still "ask a favor" if the occasion arose. It seems with Billy Boy occasions like that arose quite often.
He said how do you think a poor boy from AK.s could afford to travel around the world.
Your friend sounds like a wise man indeed.
Posted by BoilerMan on November 29, 2007 at 11:19 AM
BoilerMan,
I'm sorry I didn't see your post till now. I've been busy of late and just stop by and post. I would have answered earlier.
I assume that you already belong to your local Democratic group and are plugged into getting out the vote and volunteering where you can. So the best thing at this point is to get behind the best Democratic candidate and ask how you can help.
I'm not familar your state's politics, but there must be more than a few good prospects for Senator as well as issues related to the debacle after Katrina that a Democrat could make inroads with. We should have a good presidential candidate and I'm hoping there will be coat tails for state races because of it.
If you know someone who would be a good Democratic Senator, encourage them to run and back them every way you can. It's a lot more fun campaigning for a candidate you like.
Just stopping by this evening to say Yo!
If any of you have been worried before about a possible Republican win, I hope you watched that sorry bunch of losers last night onCNN. When they are saying Huckabee won, you know they are in trouble
ttyl dudes
Posted by Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo
Posted by marymac_memphis
Posted by Harpo_is_an_asshat!
Posted by DPD aka DoPeyD
Goodnight Robert.
Whoever you are.
It seems that the DEM candidates that are not in the top three seem to have sell thought out platforms. As I have stated before Edwards is the only one that comes remotely close with his stands on poverty.
I will be off-line for awhile but I will be sure to scroll back, so please reply. I am very interested in your post. I have already learned alot from you and would like to learn more :)
Posted by marymac_memphis on November 29, 2007 at 08:09 PM
I've been posting for about 21/2 years now on the Open Thread and since everyone here gives very through commentaries of the political news, I just throw in a perspective from my black point of view.
Oh sometimes my posts come across harsh, but they aren't meant to. I think by now the regulars know that I'm pretty passionate, especially about social justice/socioeconomic issues.
I'm the vocal, blunt black lady from Central Florida. I notice that you are in Memphis? I've been keeping up with a Steve Cohen who was elected to the US Rep seat of Harold Ford, Jr. From all info, he truly seems to care about his constituents that he represents which is a predominently black district. Of course I am not impressed with the Ford family and feel that this man will do a much better job than Harold, Jr.
rush was a riot today. he and the bit-o-heads were ranting and foaming about how cnn ( they call it the clinton news network ) "set up" the pelican candidates to look bad. he claims he "told those people" that they would get screwed by cnn and that all the questions last night were devised in the kremlin or something. i found it hysterical. the little of the youtube show i could stomach showed me nothing but groveling, hypocrites trying to out ayn rand each other by claiming to be much more ready to cause massive pain and suffering than the other clowns. i thought the bible question and the resulting responses from these sacks of crap told us all we need to know...
Will the 2008 Elections Be Free and Fair?
t r u t h o u t | Programming Note
Fox News Attacks CNN Unfairly
by LiberalKickingAss
So.... I see the troll is still talking amongst itself these days and not much else has changed.
To J
From all info, he truly seems to care about his constituents that he represents which is a predominently black district. Of course I am not impressed with the Ford family and feel that this man will do a much better job than Harold, Jr.
Posted by J on November 29, 2007 at 10:58 PM
Steve is a good guy. Do you remember the 'have a beer with' commercials from the thugs, well, I've had a beer with Steve. :) Seriously. He's been in politics here in Memphis for a long time and has done a pretty good job of representing the interests and wishes of his constituents. I have a friend (guy named Duncan) who worked on his campaign. Regarding Harold, Jr. - I could do without most of the members of his family but he is actually a pretty decent guy from what I can tell. He's got a tough hill to climb with some of the antics of his family, though.
I want you to know that I truly value and want to hear your opinion. A couple of days ago, I was in a restaurant and overheard (which is pretty hard to do - since I have about 70% hearing loss) a white minister of one of the 'mega' churches we have here in Memphis and he said some things that made me ill. They were some of the most racist remarks I have ever heard in person. And every single remark was 'dressed up' in a religious cloak, so as to appear harmless.
If you ever, ever see anything at all that is even slightly racist come from me, please - I beg you - please let me know exactly what it is and educate me. I can't stand to think that I have anything in common with that man. If I do, I want to be 'rid of it.'
As to me, if you were to see/meet me on the street you would probably assume that I am a Republican. I'm a middle class white woman living in a small city in the south; but, looks are deceiving! I have some pretty radical views myself. Like, why are prisons crammed full of people on simple drug charges while violent criminals qualify for early release? Why isn't prostitution legal? It's not like it doesn't go on and in this day and age of aids and other sexually transmitted diseases, we need some measure of control. If legalized, we could impose health department regulations and provide some measure of protection for the prostitutes. I also think capital gains should be taxed at 50% for all gains over $500,000 in one year with a single lifetime windfall exemption. I know - most of what I am saying will never happen but I can't help but wonder if we would be a better country if it did. Well, hopefully I'll see you here on the blog in the future.
Posted by DemocratKickingAss on November 30, 2007 at 12:08 AM
DKA,
Is it just me or have the 24/7 networks run so many frivolous, hyped up stories that viewers aren't taking them seriously any longer...so the media has begun to panic?
It's like they have taken to feuds among themselves in hopes of getting attention. MSNBC and Fox personalities have been going at it for about a year now. And now Fox is going after CNN.
It's just like the sensationalism that hit the Press back in the 1920's when the popularity of a newspaper or radio program became more important than the validity of its stories.
The anchors and reporters today seem desperate to keep attention on themselves instead of the stories they are covering. They talk among themselves and sometimes seem to forget why they are on camera. Most seem bored with the dumb feature stories they are covering (I know I am) and try to make jokes or prod those whom they are interviewing into acting like idiots.
I guess it would be funny if this wasn't the main way people get their news. Facts have been replaced by rumors. And nobody particularly cares about the rumors any longer. A lot of people seem to be tuning out everything.
While the voters long for substance, all they get is this dribble; and worst yet, most of the candidates are playing into this media frenzy instead of being serious when on camera. Viewers are getting the impression that nobody cares.
I think Obama and Huckabee maybe on to something. It's better to talk to the people watching on the other side of the camera instead of to the camera or the interviewer?
We've all been overloaded with cutesy sound bites and quick jab at opponents. People would appreciate a little thoughfulness. Would that be asking too much?
None of us are really that interested in who is ahead in the race. We just want the candidates to acknowledge that the nation is in trouble and tell us how they will make our government do something about it.
You cares if the candidates believe in evolution or capital punishment? When and how are they going to get our troops out of Iraq and what are they going to do about rising energy prices and falling housing prices?
And please don't tell us that you will get right to it in your second term after you have studied all sides of the problem and consulted with God.
We can pray to the Lord on our own without any guidance from anybody. In fact, since the Bush crime family began bungling everything they touched, it's become a daily routine by even those who aren't believers.
Well, that's what's on my mind tonight. I guess I'll turn in.
Nice seeing you, Ranger. Don't be a stranger.
Good night, all.
One for the road:
U.S. sponsorship of Sunni groups worries Iraq's governmentBy Leila Fadel | McClatchy Newspapers
* Posted on Thursday, November 29, 2007
BAGHDAD — The American campaign to turn Sunni Muslims against Islamic extremists is growing so quickly that Iraq's Shiite Muslim leaders fear that it's out of control and threatens to create a potent armed force that will turn against the government one day.
The United States, which credits much of the drop in violence to the campaign, is enrolling hundreds of people daily in "concerned local citizens" groups. More than 5,000 have been sworn in in the last eight days, for a total of 77,542 as of Tuesday. As many as 10 groups were created in the past week, bringing the total number to 192, according to the American military...
...The new groups are proliferating so quickly that some American officials are taken aback. Maj. Mark Brady, who deals with tribal engagement and reconciliation in Baghdad, lauded the program but described it as "building a plane while flying in it."
In Mahmudiyah, a city of 116,000 south of Baghdad, at least 18,000 men have been enrolled in "concerned citizens."
Tensions are evident. In Baghdad's Saidiyah neighborhood, "concerned citizens" were removed from standing guard at checkpoints under orders from Maliki's office. Campbell said they'd now been assigned to mosques and schools.
In Amil, a once mixed-sect neighborhood that's been all but purged of Sunnis, Shiite leaders complained during a recent reconciliation meeting that a Sunni member of the volunteer organization had pointed a gun at one of them when he tried to enter a Sunni area at the invitation of Sunni tribal leaders.
While U.S. officials tout the drop in violence and the standing up of these groups as the start of national reconciliation, Riedel warns that it could instead set the stage for the final divide...
Didn't we do this in Africa in the 1960's and the fighting has been going on ever since? When you start arming large groups of people, they tend to band together and form an army.
I hope our troops get out of there before "the final divide" begins. It's obviously too late now to take back all of those guns if the natives don't want a political reconciliation.
This sort of reminds of how Bush got us into this mess to begin with..."building a plane while flying in it." The Republicans continue to make it up as they go along and are surprised when it doesn't work.
I've never known anybody to succeed who lives their life that way.
Posted by maryinmemphis on November 30, 2007 at 12:55 AM
You know Steve Cohen personally! That's good. He truly seems like a committed person.
As for racists remarks? Don't even sweat such a thing. You're cool. Like your knowledge of the tax code. Me personally? I think it should totally overhauled. Though we will never see that happen, thee should be some serious revision of the "gifts" to the wealthy. Also impressed with your other concerns.
Business call for plan on climate
Key is the creation of a legal framework that will encourage them to invest in environmentally-friendly technologies, the statement said.
"A sufficiently ambitious, international and comprehensive, legally-binding United Nations agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will provide business with the certainty it needs to scale up global investment in low-carbon technologies," the statement said.
Earlier this week, business lobby the CBI called for businesses to "fundamentally" change their business models to help the UK combat climate change.
New taxes and regulations are needed to reward climate-friendly firms, it said.
The UK is likely to miss its carbon reduction targets for 2020 but could meet its 2050 targets at a manageable cost, the CBI said.
The New York Times
November 30, 2007
Citing Statistics, Giuliani Misses Time and Again
By MICHAEL COOPER
In almost every appearance as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Rudolph W. Giuliani cites a fusillade of statistics and facts to make his arguments about his successes in running New York City and the merits of his views.
Discussing his crime-fighting success as mayor, Mr. Giuliani told a television interviewer that New York was “the only city in America that has reduced crime every single year since 1994.” In New Hampshire this week, he told a public forum that when he became mayor in 1994, New York “had been averaging like 1,800, 1,900 murders for almost 30 years.” When a recent Republican debate turned to the question of fiscal responsibility, he boasted that “under me, spending went down by 7 percent.”
All of these statements are incomplete, exaggerated or just plain wrong. And while, to be sure, all candidates use misleading statistics from time to time, Mr. Giuliani has made statistics a central part of his candidacy as he campaigns on his record.
For instance, another major American city claims to have reduced crime every year since 1994: Chicago. New York averaged 1,514 murders a year during the three decades before Mr. Giuliani took office; it did not record more than 1,800 homicides until 1980. And Mr. Giuliani’s own memoir states that spending grew an average of 3.7 percent for most of his tenure; an aide said Mr. Giuliani had meant to say that he had proposed a 7 percent reduction in per capita spending during his time as mayor.
Facts and figures are often the striking centerpieces of Mr. Giuliani’s arguments. He has always had a penchant for statistics — his anticrime strategy as mayor was built around a system known as Compstat that closely tracked crimes to focus law enforcement efforts. On the campaign trail he often wields data, without notes, with prosecutorial zeal to hammer home his points.
But in recent days, both Mr. Giuliani’s Republican rival Mitt Romney and Democrats have accused him of a pattern of misleading figures and have begun to use the issue to try to undercut his credibility.
An examination of many of his statements by The New York Times, other news organizations and independent groups have turned up a variety of misstatements, virtually all of which cast Mr. Giuliani or his arguments in a better light. “He’s given us a lot of work up until now,” said Brooks Jackson, the director of Annenberg Political Fact Check, which is part of Factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania that has corrected statements by candidates in both parties.
Aides to Mr. Giuliani dismiss questions about his use of statistics as nitpicking, arguing that no one can dispute the big points he makes by using the statistics: that crime dropped significantly during his tenure, say, or that he worked to restrain spending in New York.
“The mayor likes detail, and uses it frequently on the campaign trail in ways the other candidates don’t,” said Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Mr. Giuliani. “And at the end of the day, he is making points that are true.”
Mr. Giuliani is not alone in citing statistics in a questionable way. Last month, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrat of New York, said that financing for the National Institutes of Health had decreased under President Bush; it has increased. Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, said the national debt had doubled under President Bush; it has not.
But with Mr. Giuliani running so strongly on his record, statistics have taken on a central role in his campaign.
In recent days, Mr. Giuliani seems to be taking greater care to be precise.
At the Republican debate on Wednesday night, he was careful when referring to crime statistics in Massachusetts during Mr. Romney’s term as governor, which had been the subject of a debate over the weekend. And at a “Politics and Eggs” breakfast on Monday in Bedford, N.H., he took greater care to describe his record on cutting taxes.
Last weekend, speaking about his belief in supply-side economics, Mr. Giuliani said, “I lowered, argued for lowering, and got the hotel occupancy tax lowered by 33 percent. And I was collecting $200 million more from the lower tax than the city had been collecting from before I was mayor from the higher tax.”
In fact, the increase in revenues from the hotel occupancy tax was just over a quarter of what Mr. Giuliani asserted — the city’s hotel tax revenues grew by roughly $58 million during his term, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office — and a booming economy, as well as the reduction in crime Mr. Giuliani helped produce, probably played a part.
Factcheck.org has reported that the Giuliani campaign exaggerated when it boasted on its Web site that “Mayor Giuliani increased the police force from 28,000 to 40,000,” noting that most of that increase came from his merger of the Transit and Housing Police Departments with the New York Police Department, a transfer of more than 7,000 existing officers to the department.
The campaign argues that giving housing and transit police officers jurisdiction beyond the city’s public housing and subways gave the city more flexibility to fight crime. It said that it usually notes the effects of the merger when describing the size of the police force, and said it would change a post on its Web site to mention the merger when citing the increase.
And the group also found that Mr. Giuliani erred at a Republican debate when, while calling for tort reform, he said that 2.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product “is spent on all these frivolous lawsuits.” That statistic, the group reported, came from a study that pegged the cost of all civil claims at 2.2 percent of the G.D.P., without judging whether the cases had merit or not.
Even some people who support Mr. Giuliani’s proposals say he risks undercutting his own arguments when he relies on imprecise or questionable statistics.
In a recent radio advertisement by the campaign about his health care proposal, Mr. Giuliani repeated another false statement that he had been using on the campaign trail. In the advertisement Mr. Giuliani, who has had prostate cancer, asserted that his chances of surviving prostate cancer in the United States were 82 percent, while his chance of surviving in England would have been only 44 percent. His point was that the American health care system is far superior to England’s government-run system, which he refers to as “socialized medicine.”
The figure came from an article written by one of Mr. Giuliani’s health care advisers, but was soon discredited: the source of the research that was used to derive the statistic said that its data had been misused. The Office for National Statistics in Britain said that the true five-year survival rate was 74.4 percent — still lower than in the United States, but by a much smaller margin. Mr. Giuliani stood by the statistic, however, and kept using the advertisement, though it has since gone off the air.
Ramesh Ponnuru, a senior editor at National Review magazine, said Mr. Giuliani’s plan “may be the best of the Republican health care plans.”
“The trouble is that the exact statistic he used was misleading,” Mr. Ponnuru said in a recent interview, elaborating on a blog post he wrote. “It became an argument about the statistics, and he dug in and defended it when he was wrong.”
Another radio advertisement that Mr. Giuliani ran over the summer stated that as mayor he “turned a $2.3 billion deficit into a multibillion-dollar surplus.”
That was also misleading. According to independent fiscal monitors, Mr. Giuliani did have to close a $2.3 billion deficit in his first budget, and did accumulate a multibillion-dollar surplus during his tenure. But by Mr. Giuliani’s last full fiscal year in office, the city was spending more than it was taking in in revenues, and Mr. Giuliani ended up spending almost all of the surplus to balance his final budget.
Last weekend, questions about Mr. Giuliani’s use of facts moved front and center in the campaign. Mr. Giuliani charged that “violent crime and murder went up” in Massachusetts while Mr. Romney was governor. The number of reported killings did go up in those years, but the state’s overall rate of violent crime went down, according to statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Romney accused Mr. Giuliani of having “a real problem with facts,” and aides circulated a statement calling Mr. Giuliani’s crime statistics “about as accurate as his prostate cancer survival numbers for England.”
“He has now done this time and again, making up facts that just happen to be wrong, and facts are stubborn things,” Mr. Romney said.
Frank Luntz, a Republican strategist who once worked for Mr. Giuliani, said he doubted that the issue would hurt him politically.
“When he talks about New York, people see it,” Mr. Luntz said of Mr. Giuliani, “and they feel it, and if a number isn’t quite right, or is off by a small amount, nobody will care, because it rings true to them.”
left out some of that piece on climate change:
BBC:
Business call for plan on climate
Global businesses have called for a legally-binding and comprehensive international deal on climate change.
A binding agreement on emissions reductions would encourage business to invest in low-carbon technologies, a statement from 150 businesses said.
"If I have grandchildren one day, I could not bear it if they asked me: Why did you not do something when it was possible to make a difference?
"These business leaders have asked themselves that same question and have had the wisdom to recognise that we are doing this for those who come after us."
Certainty
The UN is due to hold a conference in Bali on climate change next week and this latest business communiqué signals greater corporate awareness of the potential cost of climate change and the need for business practices to change.
Key is the creation of a legal framework that will encourage them to invest in environmentally-friendly technologies, the statement said.
"A sufficiently ambitious, international and comprehensive, legally-binding United Nations agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will provide business with the certainty it needs to scale up global investment in low-carbon technologies," the statement said.
Earlier this week, business lobby the CBI called for businesses to "fundamentally" change their business models to help the UK combat climate change.
New taxes and regulations are needed to reward climate-friendly firms, it said.
The UK is likely to miss its carbon reduction targets for 2020 but could meet its 2050 targets at a manageable cost, the CBI said.
The statement - backed by Prince Charles - will be sent to environment ministers and heads of state ahead of talks in Bali on climate change.
Nokia, Tesco, Lloyds TSB and Nike are among the 150 firms that made the call.
The signatories represent companies from Europe, the US, China and Australia.
Royal support
Action now will stop the worst effects of climate change and at a fraction of the cost of inaction, the Prince of Wales - whose Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change led the statement - wrote in the Financial Times.
"What these signatory companies understand is that the effects of climate change are irreparable and permanent," he wrote.
all rudy all the time until he is gone, gone, gone from the political scene:
NY Daily News
Rudy Giuliani campaign team backtracks on tryst talk
BY DAVID SALTONSTALL and MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, November 30th 2007, 4:00 AM
Rudy Giuliani during the debate Wednesday night in Florida. O'Meara/AP
Rudy Giuliani during the debate Wednesday night in Florida.
The uproar grew Thursday over expenses for Rudy Giuliani's protection during his trysts with Judith Nathan as his campaign's initial defense - that its accounting methods were the same as previous mayors' - unraveled.
Joe Lhota, a deputy mayor in Giuliani's City Hall, told the Daily News Wednesday night that the administration's practice of allocating security expenses to small city offices that had nothing to do with mayoral protection has "gone on for years" and "predates Giuliani."
When told budget officials from the administrations of Ed Koch and David Dinkins said they did no such thing, Lhota caved Thursday, "I'm going to reverse myself on that. I'm just going to talk about the Giuliani era," Lhota said. "I should only talk about what I know about."
The embarrassing backtrack comes as Giuliani rushed to network airwaves to defend himself against allegations his administration deliberately attempted to conceal the taxpayer cost of his NYPD protection while he engaged in secret Hamptons liaisons with Nathan, his then-mistress and current wife.
In interviews on CBS, ABC and CNN, Giuliani portrayed the allegations as a political "hit job" and "dirty trick" unleashed hours before a big Republican debate. The story was first reported Wednesday on the Politico.com Web site.
"This was really done to try to focus on my personal life," Giuliani said on ABC. "It was a perfectly appropriate set of expenses," he added on CNN.
"I was covered by the police for 24 hours a day, every day that I was mayor," Giuliani said. "I was covered because there were threats to kill me. Contracts back from when I was United States attorney, all kinds of things."
Denying any effort at concealment, he said, "All the billing is open - that's how you can find it."
As questions swirled about Giuliani's bookkeeping methods, others were focused on the potentially damaging political cost of the scandal.
Fran Reiter, former deputy mayor under Giuliani who is now supporting Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, said the biggest problem for him is the renewed spotlight on his adultery.
Records obtained by Politico.com through Freedom of Information laws showed for the first time this week how the Giuliani administration scattered travel costs totaling thousands of dollars among a slew of small city agencies, such as the Loft Board, which regulates the conversion of lofts in the city.
"I don't understand when it started. I don't understand why it started," Lhota said. "But I do know one thing: It was consistently done ... in no way shape or form did it imply a coverup."
Former Mayor Ed Koch and City Controller William Thompson, along with budget officials from the Koch and Dinkins eras as well as independent budget experts, described the bookkeeping practice as shoddy and wrong.
"It's simply an effort to fool the public," said Koch, a longtime Giuliani critic and supporter of Clinton. "I haven't got the slightest idea for his motivation other than it appears he wanted to disguise it so people wouldn't know what was happening. It's asinine."
Thompson, a Democrat, said the accounting practice "does not promote open government."
"It's not the way you want to see expenditures handled," Thompson said. "It creates just a more opaque, more difficult situation to track and to follow."
Dinkins declined Thursday to comment, but Carol O'Cleireacain, who served as his budget director, said Giuliani officials scattered expenses because they "didn't want anybody to know about it."
"This was the least transparent administration in a very long time," she said. "I have no trouble saying that."
Officials at the Independent Budget Office and the Citizens Budget Commission also slammed the practice, saying it severely undermines budget transparency.
Asked to respond to budget experts' criticism about the lack of transparency, Lhota replied, "They're out of their minds and you can quote me saying that."
"It's not a coverup," he said. "If you want lack of transparency, the costs would have been borne exclusively by the NYPD - it's total lack of transparency at the NYPD."
Thursday, a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg appeared to back up Team Giuliani's assertion that all of the security money ultimately came from the NYPD.
"During the Giuliani administration, we believe that security expenses that were originally paid by the mayor's office were ultimately reimbursed by the Police Department," Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said.
here is the description of the place where the ghouliani security folks would stay while he and mz. judy were getting funky in the hamptons:
Village Latch Inn Hotel Village Latch Inn Hotel
101 Hill Street, Southampton, NY
The casually elegant Village Latch Inn Hotel sits on a five acre estate convenient to downtown Southampton, NY.
Open year-round, perfect for you, your family, or overflow guests during the busy winter, spring, and fall season. Think Relais & Chateaux, Portuguese Pousadas, the Manor House reborn. With 67 guest rooms lovingly restored, the Village Latch Inn is romantic, eclectic, sophisticated, and internationally known. Within walking distance of everything, there’s no better place to stay in the Hamptons than in our boutique hotel.
...i wonder if the security folk were blackwater staff armed to the teeth and smoking stogies...or nyc detectives in madras shorts and beach wear??
ahhh sweet music to my ears, the pelicans are about to start cannibalizing each other...you can hear them biting right down to the bone...hahahaha
Nov 30, 6:44 AM EST
Presidential Race Turns a Negative Page
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Mitt Romney is the target, abortion is the issue, and the $100,000 ad buy will change the tone of the Iowa and New Hampshire presidential primaries.
This weekend marks the first negative TV advertising in the two early-voting states as the campaign headed into the critical weeks before the first voting, with an independent group's claim that the former Massachusetts governor has flip-flopped - a sometimes crippling charge in presidential politics. Analysts say similar negative ads are likely against his chief GOP rival, Rudy Giuliani, whose positions on gun control and immigration are markedly different from those he espoused as New York mayor.
The anti-Romney ad campaign, by a Republican group that supports abortion rights, is fairly modest in scope. But it may open the door to bigger ad buys targeting other candidates and topics, several campaign veterans said.
"This will be the beginning of it," said Patrick Griffin, a Manchester-based advertising executive who handled President Bush's 2000 media effort in New Hampshire.
Given the pending ad against Romney and the confrontational tenor of Wednesday's Republican debate in Florida, Griffin said, the top campaigns must be ready to launch hard-hitting ads the instant they decide the benefits outweigh the risks. "You can be sure there are scripts written and, very likely, spots produced," he said.
And if not television, then radio. On Thursday, a Republican group that advocates for gay rights launched a 60-second anti-Romney radio ad criticizing his tax record.
Negative ads are certainly possible in the Democratic contest as well. But strategists say they are not surprised to see them first in the Republican race, where front-runners Romney and Giuliani have left a long evidentiary trail of their changed positions on key issues.
"It's a target-rich environment for negative ads," said Dante Scala, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire.
hi greg where is harpo the ashat who talks to himself in three different personality
at this hour he is usually getting a cheese wiz high colonic administered by a ditty head...
lol i just woke up to see what going in in the fun house
Faux News is running a poll: Was it a conspiracy or incompetence? (by CNN to allow a question by Brig Gen Kerr, who supports Clinton, "because of her record," ask a question.)
I don't get it... the whole thing was about guns, gays, and God. Who cares who asks the question, it needed to be asked.
I suppose all those homophobic Republicans hated to see a distinguished veteran ask a question that doesn't bash gays. I wonder if they felt like stupid bigots? I tell you, those people are anti-jesus because they are pro-hate.
If Faux News ends up running Hillary out of the race, they will be real sorry. I suppose they couldn't pass up the chance to make another station look biased. Funny how they make this play into their tricky Clinton theme. I hope the gay community runs with that youtube question the way Fox is.
big yelloew dog they do this to get the evengelical to vote for them even when the country going to hell and
Rudy was hiding his adulterous affair by tucking the spending in other departments' budgets. I hope he comes out and says, "hey! What happens in the Hamptons, stays in the Hamptons."
They "dirty push polls" against Romney, done by Romney's campaign, show he's ethically vacant, AND Rove is working for him.
Morning, Dems! Looks like Rudy is slimier than even we NY'ers thought. What makes these people think they can get away with squandering taxpayers' money on their personal lives and believe no one will ever find out - and then have the balls to run for president.
OMG! I just realized something... ROVE went to high school in Salt Lake City! What is Rove's tie to the mormon state?
i guess you could call that show the other night:
snakes on a stage
WASHINGTON - The Marines plan to buy fewer bomb-resistant vehicles than planned despite pressure from lawmakers who are determined to spend billions of dollars on the vehicles.
The Marine Corps' requirement for mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles would drop from the planned 3,700 to about 2,400, The Associated Press has learned. The Marines would not comment on the decision, but defense officials confirmed the cut. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071130/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/marines_armored_vehicles_12;_ylt=Ahv5Yzf5I8RiRtBfYdh2cSwE1vAI
In Texas, Rove was notorious for playing the victim by planting reports, and even bugs, before elections.
REMEMBER the Bush "debate practice" tape that was sent to the Gore campaign? After the election, the Feds proved it was the Bush Camp (ROVE). Oh that bias media... forgot about that one.
That Romney push poll, by the Romney camp, is a classic Rove dirty trick: play the victim, smear the opponent, and make people question OTHERS' ethics and tactics.
ROMNEY & ROVE: The Mormon dirty tricksters.
(They both have ties to Mormon state, Utah.)
Hmmmm, interesting.
It's a mystery meeting that's sure to have the Clinton camp concerned - Mayor Bloomberg will be having coffee this morning with Hillary's main opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination: Barack Obama.
Mayor Bloomberg has vowed to keep out of the presidential race, but he can't seem to stay away from it. Obama and Bloomberg will meet on a coffee date, scheduled because of their mutual interest.
Thursday night, Obama made his first trip to Harlem as a presidential candidate, and the Apollo Theater was a packed with a sold out crowd paying $50 each to see him. Before his visit to the Apollo, Obama paid his respects to one of Harlem's top powerbrokers - Reverend Al Sharpton, who says he hasn't decided who he is supporting, but the meeting sent a warning to Hillary Clinton that Harlem could be up for grabs:
"I trust him," said Harlem resident Angela Dews. "Hilary is slick. Democrats are taking us (Blacks) for granted."
At the Apollo, Obama made a veiled reference to a new Hillary Clinton biography which claims the Clintons had a "secret pact of ambition" to both win the presidency.
"I'm not running because I'm trying to fulfill some long-held plans. I'm not running because I think this is something owed to me," Obama said.
By meeting with Obama this morning, Mayor Bloomberg is doing what he said he would do while not running for president and dropping his Republican party affiliation - he is injecting himself into the national dialogue to try to influence the debate.
"I am going to speak out on those issues," Bloomberg said in June. "By not being affiliated with a party I think I'm going to have a better opportunity to do that."
Earlier this week, Bloomberg dined with Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, so today's mysterious photo-op with the Democrat Obama may be his way of showing how non-partisan he is in the presidential race.
Morning gregg, dusty, cyn and big,
It's 37 here this morning and we finally had some rain.
I didn't know that KKKarl was a mormon. That explains why he is such a jerk. He should be behind bars. I can't stand romney or hatch either.
Hey, gregg, see ya. When you have time, there's an article in Vanity Fair I think you should read regarding Spitzer. If you can't find it, I'll send it to you.
Morning Dems!
Love the articles on slimy Giuliani ! I posted one yesterday that his mistress was using the NYCPD for taxi rides, too! If he let that little bit of power, as Mayor, go to his head, IMAGINE what he will do if he ever got in the White House !
This is something we cannot let the public forget over the next year. Tuck it all in your 'saved' folder and bring it out when necessary.
Got to write a LTE this morning, in response to the piece about it in this morning's paper.
Hope you all will.
Morning, Johne. 30 and cloudy with snow coming. Glad to hear it rained!
Does anyone know if there is a site that lists all of the products from China that have been recalled?
I'm getting a little paranoid when it comes to buying Christmas gifts.
Cyn,
We are having free-for-all here filling senator domenici's seat. Congressman Thomas Udall is running. His father was Secretary of Interior under Kennedy I believe. The mayor of Albuquerque is running.
And of course congresswoman (religious freak from the Air Force Academy who loves bush) is running. She doesn't have a chance.
Johne, Udall would make a wonderful Senator. I especially like his plan to require utilities provide 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and his views on global warming and letting the hell out of Iraq. You've got a great candidate.
Off to work - Happy Friday to you all. And, don't feed the trolls. :-)
Cyn,
Udall looks like a definite yes for me. Bill Richardson has mandated renewable energy for New Mexico. Even if Global Warming is proven to be the work natural forces, we must eliminate our need for foreign oil for the sake of our economy and our security.
Morning Pam,
How did I miss your post? I am off too. The dogs need attention. We are supposed to get rain off and on most of today and tonight. Whoopee. I don't have to irrigate my trees anymore.
Good morning
This troll/trolls does everything in it's pathetic existence to bait me into a race arguement. I ain't fallin' for it though.
At least I know and I'm proud of who I am. It's so ashamed of it's lineage and it's self, it's always got a different name and only comes out in the dark.
here you go, folks.
A review of all the Lies from the Grand Old Perverts debate the other night !!
GOP YouTube Debate Flubs
Falsehoods, exaggerations and stumbles
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/gop_youtube_debate_flubs.html
There goes Christmas...
BillMiller08
Maybe you should look around for either a coal/wood/corn pellet furnace or one that burns clean natural gas.
Sounds like it's high time to upgrade.
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