Morning Dems.......

Hope you are all well. There really IS a sun! It is out here in CT this morning. Not expected to be out long, but sure feels good to see it.

hmmm, someone on here last night, arguing that Sotomayer did NOT act within the law when she made her decision on that New Haven fireman case??

Funny, they seem to know more than every NPR, CSPAN, other analyst I heard discussing it yesterday, who said she followed the law!! Period!

they also must have missed the Seventh Circuit Court of VERY conservative judges who made a similar judgement a few weeks later on another case, who said Sotomayer 'had it right"!

Sighhhhhh, if only people would check these things out thoroughly because they post their opinions, instead of facts!

Sotomayer will be confirmed. the repelicans have neither the votes, the will or the case for things to go otherwise. the troll and right wing nut media mouth foaming is a waste of their energy and they know it. as a troll once said....take it to the bank.

Good afternoon fellow Americans. Good morning to the other time zones.

Good afternoon, all.

And the Dead Beat goes on.....

Mark Sanford Admits Additional Liaisons, Contradicting Public Confession

Tamara Lush and Evan Berland
June 30, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Tuesday that he saw his Argentine mistress more times than previously disclosed, including what was to be a farewell meeting in New York chaperoned by a spiritual adviser soon after his wife found out about the affair...

The governor said he met Chapur in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, in 2001 after his final term in Congress and before his first term as governor. He said the two struck up an e-mail correspondence after meeting on a dance floor - a chance encounter during which he counseled her into the night about her failing marriage.

"There was some kind of connection from the very beginning," he told The Associated Press...

But the governor claims he wanted to end the affair in person and, with his wife's permission, went to New York with a "trusted spiritual adviser" serving as chaperone. The three went to church and dinner together and parted ways the same night.

And thus is how Republicans perform affairs. They hit on women on the dance floor (or tapping dancing in public restrooms) and then take along a "trusted spiritual adviser". What does the advisor do? Make sure the woman signs a non-disclosure form and take a parting photo for the wife?

What idiot gives her husband permission to visit his girlfriend and then thinks she can forbid him a similar visit after they separate? Obviously a brainwashed conservative fundie woman. She should sue the "spiritual adviser" for fraud.

What she really needs a good divorce attorney and a psychologist. I'd make Sanford and the girlfriend take the kids and insist that he publicly prove that he hasn't converted to Catholicism.

Why didn't Joe Scarborough have to go through this media circus when they found a dead intern in his office and his wife sued for a divorce the next day? We're in the middle of a slow summer news cycle. There’s got to be more to that story.

The link for the above Sanford story...for those with inquiring minds:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/mark-sanford-admits-addit_n_223140.html

President Obama does seem to have a running problem with his choice of pastors...

Obama's [Reported] New Pastor: "First we get the military, then we get the nation"

By Chris Rodda

UPDATE: The White House has denied the report that Obama has chosen the chapel at Camp David as his church. This, however, does not change the the core issue raised in this post -- the problem of military chaplains and chaplain endorsed organizations that seek to use the U.S. military as the vehicle to transform the nation and the world for Christ, or the fact that Obama appears to be doing nothing to curtail this, so I am not changing anything in this post, which was written prior to the White House's denial.

One thing we do here at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) is to do a quick check on any military chaplain whose name shows up in the news for anything other than a routine reason. So, with the news this morning that President Obama had selected the chapel at Camp David as his church, we did our usual thing of checking to see if any big red flags popped up regarding the chapel's pastor, Lt. Carey Cash. Within minutes, we found Lt. Cash quoted as saying, "First we get the military, then we get the nation," a statement that, needless to say, we considered a big, giant red flag....

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2009/6/29/142514/200

Maybe he should stick to visiting around? But please stay away from C Street, Mr. President.

June 29, 2009 Op-Ed Columnist Betraying the Planet By [Dr.]PAUL KRUGMAN

So the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill. In political terms, it was a remarkable achievement.

But 212 representatives voted no. A handful of these no votes came from representatives who considered the bill too weak, but most rejected the bill because they rejected the whole notion that we have to do something about greenhouse gases.

And as I watched the deniers make their arguments, I couldn't help thinking that I was watching a form of treason - treason against the planet.

To fully appreciate the irresponsibility and immorality of climate-change denial, you need to know about the grim turn taken by the latest climate research.

The fact is that the planet is changing faster than even pessimists expected: ice caps are shrinking, arid zones spreading, at a terrifying rate. And according to a number of recent studies, catastrophe - a rise in temperature so large as to be almost unthinkable - can no longer be considered a mere possibility. It is, instead, the most likely outcome if we continue along our present course.

Thus researchers at M.I.T., who were previously predicting a temperature rise of a little more than 4 degrees by the end of this century, are now predicting a rise of more than 9 degrees. Why? Global greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster than expected; some mitigating factors, like absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans, are turning out to be weaker than hoped; and there's growing evidence that climate change is self-reinforcing - that, for example, rising temperatures will cause some arctic tundra to defrost, releasing even more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Temperature increases on the scale predicted by the M.I.T. researchers and others would create huge disruptions in our lives and our economy. As a recent authoritative U.S. government report points out, by the end of this century New Hampshire may well have the climate of North Carolina today, Illinois may have the climate of East Texas, and across the country extreme, deadly heat waves - the kind that traditionally occur only once in a generation - may become annual or biannual events.

In other words, we're facing a clear and present danger to our way of life, perhaps even to civilization itself. How can anyone justify failing to act?

Well, sometimes even the most authoritative analyses get things wrong. And if dissenting opinion-makers and politicians based their dissent on hard work and hard thinking - if they had carefully studied the issue, consulted with experts and concluded that the overwhelming scientific consensus was misguided - they could at least claim to be acting responsibly.

But if you watched the debate on Friday, you didn't see people who've thought hard about a crucial issue, and are trying to do the right thing. What you saw, instead, were people who show no sign of being interested in the truth. They don't like the political and policy implications of climate change, so they've decided not to believe in it - and they'll grab any argument, no matter how disreputable, that feeds their denial.

Indeed, if there was a defining moment in Friday's debate, it was the declaration by Representative Paul Broun of Georgia that climate change is nothing but a "hoax" that has been "perpetrated out of the scientific community." I'd call this a crazy conspiracy theory, but doing so would actually be unfair to crazy conspiracy theorists. After all, to believe that global warming is a hoax you have to believe in a vast cabal consisting of thousands of scientists - a cabal so powerful that it has managed to create false records on everything from global temperatures to Arctic sea ice.

Yet Mr. Broun's declaration was met with applause.

Given this contempt for hard science, I'm almost reluctant to mention the deniers' dishonesty on matters economic. But in addition to rejecting climate science, the opponents of the climate bill made a point of misrepresenting the results of studies of the bill's economic impact, which all suggest that the cost will be relatively low.
Still, is it fair to call climate denial a form of treason? Isn't it politics as usual?

Yes, it is - and that's why it's unforgivable.

Do you remember the days when Bush administration officials claimed that terrorism posed an "existential threat" to America, a threat in whose face normal rules no longer applied? That was hyperbole - but the existential threat from climate change is all too real.

Yet the deniers are choosing, willfully, to ignore that threat, placing future generations of Americans in grave danger, simply because it's in their political interest to pretend that there's nothing to worry about. If that's not betrayal, I don't know what is.

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Dr. Krugman is spot on as usual. Though I would not classify him as a scientist, as his degrees are in economics, but his sentiments about the those stick their head in the sand as opposed to realizing the scince is in regarding man-made global warming pretty much match up with mine. What have we devolved to when making a buck is more important than preserving the biosphere? Actually, I can answer my own question; the Republican party.

I see one of the Republican trolls is here spreading lies again. Democrats are not banned from here. Neither are Independents who want to have an honest debate. The same would apply to Republicans. The people who are banned are those elements of the right wing extremists who come here with their usual racist, homophobic, sexist, or other undesirable rants.

You'll be able to tell who they are by their third-grade, schoolyard sounding posts. They are representative of the modern day Republican Party. This is what people like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Karl Rove, et al, have turned the GOP into. When the Republican Party wants to rejoin civilization, we'll be here, waiting. But we seriously hope they dispose of the trash before they show up.

AP source: Guard to seek volunteers for border

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jun 29, 6:55 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AP)– The Obama administration is developing plans to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to step up the military's counter-drug efforts along the Mexican border, senior administration officials said Monday.

The plan is a stopgap measure being worked out between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department, and comes despite Pentagon concerns about committing more troops to the border — a move some officials worry will be seen as militarizing the region.

Senior administration officials said the Guard program will last no longer than a year and would build on an existing counter-drug operation. They said the program, which would largely be federally funded, would draw on National Guard volunteers from the four border states. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been finalized.

Officials said the program would mainly seek out guard members for surveillance, intelligence analysis and aviation support. Guard units would also supply ground troops who could assist at border crossings and with land and air transportation.

President Barack Obama earlier this spring promised his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon, that the United States would help with the escalating drug war, which has killed as many as 11,000 people since December 2006...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090629/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_border_troops

This is good idea, Mr. President. Do not be concerned with naysayers who worry about the militarization of the region. It needs to be militarized considering all the drug violence going on down there. Our borders, all of them, need to be sealed to the point where we know exactly who is coming in and who is going out. That should be our goal. Anything less is unacceptable.

Good afternoon, DEMS!

MN SUPREME COURT HAS DECLARED AL FRANKEN AS THE WINNER!!!

Minn. rules for Franken in Senate fight

Jun 30 02:25 PM US/Eastern
By BRIAN BAKST
Associated Press Writer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.
The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters.

Coleman hasn't ruled out seeking federal court intervention.

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said the earliest Franken would be seated is next week because the Senate is out of session for the July 4th holiday.

Coleman's appeal hinged largely on whether thousands of absentee votes had been unfairly rejected by local election officials around the state.

The unanimous court wrote that "because the legislature established absentee voting as an optional method of voting, voters choosing to use that method are required to comply with the statutory provisions."

They went on to say that "because strict compliance with the statutory requirements for absentee voting is, and always has been required, there is no basis on which voters could have reasonably believed that anything less than strict compliance would suffice."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9955H200&show_article=1

Game, set, and match! Sen. Franken (D-MN) makes sixty Democratic Senators which nullifies the Republican ability to filibuster in the Senate. The GOP is exactly where it should be, in a state of irrelevancy.

CD on June 30, 2009 at 02:41 PM

Try to post like an adult with a modicum of sanity and civility and see what happens.

That Sandford story is headlines on Yahoo.com, too.

Is anyone surprised that another Pretend Family Value Repug has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar?

Try to post like an adult with a modicum of sanity and civility and see what happens.

17BobVADemocratHawk on June 30, 2009 at 02:44 PM

Hey bob, do you remember when Nick and Stan, Republicans, use to come in and we would TRULY debate the issues? Respect was shown by both sides, and they did not attack us when they could not back up their side, and they even ended up agreeing with us on some issues.

That used to be challenging and fun.

That's great that Franken got his win. Let's see if Coleman offers an apology to the state and to Franken for his Obstruction of their vote and choice!

Pam, more "breaking news" about Sanford. He has just revealed that he "crossed lines" with other women in the past (whatever that means) but there was no sex involved.

Norman Goldman just read a section of the MN Supreme Court Ruling on Ed Shulyz's radio show. Pawlenty MUST sign the certificate, regardless of whatever additional filings Coleman enters. The MN Law takes precedence.

Pawlenty is on his way to Denver and won't be in MN the rest of the week. If Pawlenty refuses to sign the Certificate the MNSC can overrule that and send a letter to Reid saying that they are certifying it under a "ministerial order" meaning that Pawlenty refusing to do his job as a
Minister of the Public Order" he has relinquished his duties and can be superseded in that capacity by the Court.

It was a unanimous 5-0 decision.

Harry Reid said the earliest that he can swear Franken in would be next week because the Senate is in recess this week.

Seat Franken now and if Normy wants to contest it, he can, but Franken will still be the sitting Senator the whole time Coleman wastes his time, money, and the Court's time.

Here is Special Ed's take on it from this morning's Michelle Martian blog:

The only sure bet is that it will take weeks to get a ruling from the court, which means this story will continue to drag out even longer.

Sorry, wingnut. As usual YOU ARE WRONG!

PamB on June 30, 2009 at 02:55 PM

Indeed I do, my friend. Bring on the debate. Leave the childish behvior for www.gop.com .

Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on June 30, 2009 at 03:08 PM

And for last kick in pants out the door for former Sen. Coleman (R-MN), the NRSC spent well over a million dollars for legal fees regarding this case. If Gov. Palin (R-AK) had to give back her clothes after losing the campaign, I wonder what Sen. coleman is going to have to part with after this?

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Nick and Stan were not Republicans, they were DNC staffers. They were able to fool some of our dumber bloggers though.

bwhahahahahahahahahahahaha.....they were able to fool ONE dumb blogger alrighty! But actually, he was merely so jealous of the comaraderie that was established between real Democrats and Real conservatives. tooo funny!

Here is the MNSC Ruling, which has already been filed by the Clerk and posted in the Law Library. It takes only as long as it takes, NOT 30 days. It was filed yesterday. It is a done deal.

Coleman v. Franken (PDF)

The part that says Pawlenty MUST certify it is on the end of Page 31 and the beginning of Page 32.

Here is the relevant Law cited:

Subd. 2. Time of issuance; certain offices.

No certificate of election shall be issued until seven days after the canvassing board has declared the result of the election. In case of a contest, an election certificate shall not be issued until a court of proper jurisdiction has finally determined the contest. This subdivision shall not apply to candidates elected to the office of state senator or representative.

Minnesota Statute 204C.40 CERTIFICATES OF ELECTION.

Give it up, Normy. Give 'em Hell, SENATOR FRANKEN!

The funniest joke Franken ever did was to wipe the floor with that Pug putz.

"There is no debate on this blog, it is not allowed"

.....by the trolls.

I appreciate Jonah and the staff finally trying to stop the constant insulting of others and the posting of unsubstantiated lies and rumors by forces that don't want a open and civil dialogue.

26
BobVADemocratHawk on June 30, 2009 at 03:28 PM

I heard Ed Shultz read the list of how much was spent on this circus. The unending recount and ancillary Lower Court hearings cost 11 MILLION and the Supreme Court case cost several million more.

The Pugs have already pulled the plug on the money fountain over a month ago. If Normy wants to waste a LOT more of HIS money this time he's welcome to do that but Franken will still be the sitting Senator as of next week.

PamB on June 30, 2009 at 03:34 PM

Pam,

I don't remember that. It must have been before my time. I know some of the moderators have shown more interest than others. Most of them are juggling so many other jobs I wonder when they have time to read what is posted.

Are you sure it wasn't Rick or Eli giving back what they got in kind?

I remember Thom and Martha. 2 married nitwits who used to post endless pages of text from Medical textbooks. I vaguely recall Nick and Stan. They kept insisting that the only way for the Dems to win anything was to move to the right and follow the Pugs blindly into the abyss.

Speaking of broke states...

California on the brink

Armageddon. Apocalypse. Disaster: These are the words being used to describe California's staggering $24 billion budget deficit. With a midnight deadline to balance the budget, state lawmakers are facing a daunting task: Find a way to bridge the gap or start issuing $3 billion in IOUs this week to cover the bills.

Almost every state is suffering from the effects of the recession, but not every state accounts for 12 percent of the national gross domestic product. According to AP, if California goes down, so goes the nation: California's annual $1.7 trillion economy is the world's eighth-largest economy and provides a significant chunk of tax revenue for the government; California alone funds many social programs for the entire nation...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts418

I guess this is Reagan's final and lasting legacy?
When I think about how California used to have such a wonderful, free university system for its young people, I makes me want to cry.

When are the rich going to pay what they should have been paying all along? Put the tax rates back to where Eisenhower had them and we can fix all the things the Reagan Revolution broke.

The wealthy don't need welfare. And they aren't going to go hungry either unless the illegal aliens they brought into the country to work like slaves in our fields and restaurant kitchens all go back home because our economy is worse than theirs.

Norm Coleman Concedes the race!!!!!

Let the party begin!!! Remember all those crazy old predictions? hahahahahahahahahaha

Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on June 30, 2009 at 04:04 PM

DPD,

I thought that was Thelma and Louise? Or "Denny" Hastert and Trent Lott? Or maybe those two actors featured in the GOP's health care informercials from the Clinton era?

The number of suicidal, mentally-challenged teabaggers who have routinely posted Heritage Foundation press releases and entire chapters from books written by Ann Coulter have actually been few...and the pathetic.

But Pam, I read somewhere that he had 30 days to do that. Somebody must have been misinformed.

HAHAHAHA!!!

Why did Norm Coleman cross the road?
To act like a whiny baby.

Why did Norman Coleman cross the road?
To get his ass kicked.

Why did Norm Coleman cross the road?
To go down in flames like the rest of his lame ass Party.

Well, at least that last race has been decided and we can now move on to bigger and better things. That sure was a long battle.

Pam,

Concede? Conservatives don't concede.

Norm and his supporters must have lost their shirts in Bush's economic meltdown in the stock market or Sanford's wife finally got smart. Whatever.

Congratulations, Senator Franken. (I love the sound of that.)

John Belushi, Candy, Radner, and all the rest must be partying big time in the SNL section of purgatory tonight. It took a comedy writer to break the back of the Cheney torture and war profiteering machine. We killed them with political satire.

The pen and standup (as in grass root organizing, canvassing, phone banking and internet fund raising) is mightier than the chicken hawks and their 19th century creationism-based science and technology. You betcha.

Well, maybe they are calling it concede, Sandy, but when one gets their ass kicked once, how many more times does it take them to move out of the way?

heehee

Bob,

Is there anything that Obama, progressives, and the Blue Dogs can pass quickly? I'd love to see our agenda rolling along without even the hint of a filibuster holding it up.

Let's undo all the deregulation, outsourcing incentives, and tax havens that screwed up our economic might....NOW.

Let's restore all the veterans benefits which were taken away by the Bushies and make improvements. Let's give tax incentives for alternative fuels not subsidies to Arab sheiks and multinational oil cartels. Let's insure that health care is affordable, available to all who are sick and suffering, and make preventative medicine our goal.

Yes, we can.

We can do a lot with 60 votes. And we will add to those numbers in 2010 in both houses of Congress if we set this nation back on the right course like we promised the electorate last fall.

Yes, we can.

Is Senator Franken in Washington yet? Swear him in on July 4th with the fireworks going off over the Potomac. The statue of Lincoln might just get up off that seat on his monument and join in on the celebration.

Free at last. Free at last. Lincoln and the country is free at last of the Reagan Revolution curse and failures.

I may even watch O'Liely for the first time today just to watch his empty head explode.

Naaaah, it'll be on C & L tomorrow.

Did Flush have a stroke yet?

DPD,

Do you think Coleman might have "crossed the line" in the past and realized this was not the best time to make any more waves?

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

Maybe Lynne Cheney or Scooter Libby can write it up as a romantic novel? I wonder if there were any bears or lesbians involved in this woman's past.

Faux News never disappoints their viewers...

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

How Fox Nation headlined Franken's win

By GottaLaff

I grabbed a screen shot:

But if anyone dared equate Boy Georgie with a chimp, that was wrong. Well, just for that:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Gf65NLuwWsU/SZ2r2UQF3AI/AAAAAAAAA74/UDeQ9Rj69m4/s400/9george-bush.jpg

Whoops. Wrong link....(although that one is a golden olde)

http://thepoliticalcarnival.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-fox-nation-headlined-frankens-win.html

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says he "crossed lines" with a handful of women other than his mistress — but never had sex with them.

The governor said he "never crossed the ultimate line" with anyone but Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentine at the center of a scandal that has derailed his once-promising political career.

...so were cigars or sleeve jobs involved??

get out the Promise for this promise keeper cause he be toast!

Did Flush have a stroke yet?

Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on June 30, 2009 at 05:04 PM

Rush was certainly crying when this story broke last week.

...He acknowledged that he had casual encounters with other women while he was married but before he met Chapur, on trips outside the country to "blow off steam" with male friends.

"What I would say is that I've never had sex with another woman. Have I done stupid? I have. You know you meet someone. You dance with them. You go to a place where you probably shouldn't have gone," Sanford said, declining to discuss details...

"If you're a married guy at the end of the day you shouldn't be dancing with somebody else. So anyway, without wandering into that field we'll just say that I let my guard down in all senses of the word without ever crossing the line that I crossed with this situation."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_re_us/us_sc_governor

Some enterprising investigative reporter (or at least a tabloid) should really start looking into those Boys Will Be Boys foreign vacations that Limbaugh and married conservatives leaders used to take during the last eight years.

I wonder if they took along a "spiritual adviser" to keep things from getting out of hand? Or did Limbaugh act as that spiritual adviser?

why do her thighs go all the way down to her sneakers? perhaps a few too many moose burgers while keepin an eye on those ruskies??

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Freedom and Democracy illumination of Civil Liberties.
So wander poet barefoot upon see shores of mind’s Free Speech.

David Lester Young 06/30/09

This Democratic blog is so big that you can almost count the people with your hands.

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gregg on June 30, 2009 at 05:46 PM

gregg,

In deference to Senator Franken, we should probably leave the political satire to the professionals. I know I be bad today. But these dumb conservative bunnies make it so easy.

Why is Sanford continuing to complicate his reconciliation with his wife with these soulful confessional interviews? Maybe he really doesn't want it to work? Maybe Maria would prefer that he try a little harder?

There used to be magazines called True Confession, etc. when I was in high school that read just like this tommy rot Sanford is spewing. He's three decades too late and way too few on details.

bbl

More importantly, what is she doing to our flag? It looks like it's all wadded up.

I'd say that's a great application photo for the next Mrs. American contest. She does have great gams for a woman her age and after having carried so many babies.

But I doubt the GOP leaders meeting in that Minneapolis pubic rest room to pick the next presidential nominee would be all that impressed.

bye.

Good evening all. Say hello to BIG AL!

I've said it before, and I want to say it again: THANK YOU.

We just received word that the Minnesota State Supreme Court has ruled on Norm Coleman's appeal. I wanted to let you know right away, the court upheld our victory in a 5-0 decision.

Paul Wellstone said that successful organizing is based on the recognition that people get organized because they, too, have a vision. He also said that politics only has to do with trying to do right by people.

Throughout this campaign we've shared a vision of a new direction for our country. We know what we want - an economy that works for everyone, universal health care, and to create new jobs through renewable energy investment. As Senator-elect, I intend to take our shared vision of progress to Washington and try to do right by every single Minnesotan.
=================================================
Big Al comes to town.

Minnesota Decision: Supreme Court Rules For Franken, Coleman Concedes (VIDEO)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that Democrat Al Franken be certified as the winner of the state's long-running Senate race.

The high court rejected a legal challenge from Republican Norm Coleman, whose options for regaining the Senate seat are dwindling.

Justices said Franken is entitled to the election certificate he needs to assume office. With Franken and the usual backing of two independents, Democrats will have a big enough majority to overcome Republican filibusters.

Coleman accepted the loss shortly after the decision was announced, saying he had few regrets.

"The Supreme Court has made its decision and I will abide by the results," Coleman told reporters outside his St. Paul home.

"In these tough times we all need to focus on the future, and the future is that we have a new United States senator," Coleman said.

Franken graciously embraced his victory at a press conference with his wife by his side.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/minnesota-decision-al-fra_n_223258.html

Big Al!
Big Al!
Big Al is going to give the GOP-STERS hell.

Mark Sanford Admits Additional Liaisons, Contradicting Public Confession

COLUMBIA, S.C. _ South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford declared his Argentine mistress his soul mate Tuesday but said he is committed to reconciling with his wife in hopes of saving his family and what is left of his political career.

Sanford, who also admitted meeting his lover more times than he had previously claimed, told The Associated Press in emotional interviews that he "crossed lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage.

But he said he never went as far as he did with Maria Belen Chapur, the woman at the center of the scandal that has derailed his once-promising political future.

Even with the latest revelations, Sanford maintains he is fit to govern and has no plans to resign. And he insisted his relationship with Chapur, whom he met at an open air dance spot in Uruguay eight years ago, was more than just sex.

"This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story," Sanford said. "A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/mark-sanford-admits-addit_n_223140.html

And the hits just keep on coming.

GOP Poised To Eat Its Own After Climate Bill's Passage

he passage of historic climate change legislation by the House of Representatives last Friday has thrust to the forefront a sharp debate within the Republican Party over how much ideological and political orthodoxy should be demanded of its members.

In the immediate aftermath of the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, otherwise known as Waxman-Markey, attention within conservative circles turned to the eight Republican lawmakers who supported the measure. The bill had passed by a margin of 219 to 212. Even the most mathematically challenged would understood that had four of those Republicans switched their votes, the legislation might have died on the House floor.

And so the GOP began the process of, what one Democratic strategist called, "eating its own." A classic western "Wanted" posted was sent around the web accusing the eight Republicans -- Reps. Mary Bono Mack (Calif.), Mike Castle (Del.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), John McHugh (N.Y.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), Leonard Lance (N.J.), Dave Reichert (Wash.), and Chris Smith (N.J.) -- of "selling out taxpayers." Rush Limbaugh, in the process of ridiculing the bill's sponsor, Rep. Henry Waxman, damned the Republican Party for facilitating the legislation's passage.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/gop-poised-to-eat-its-own_n_223164.html

Tee, Hee, Hee. So the fat slob drug boss limbaugh and michelle malcontent want to kick them out. Go ahead and we'll just increase our majority.

gregg on June 30, 2009 at 05:46 PM

Republicans were involved, Gregg. More like stone knives and bearskins would be my guess.

Oklahoma Republicans Ready To Blame The Recession On 'Debauchery'

Dave Weigel at the Washington Independent catches a bizarre resolution introduced by Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R) in Oklahoma, whose state legislature he describes as a "petri dish for wingnuttery."

The proposed "Oklahoma Citizen's Proclamation for Morality" would blame the economic crisis on moral collapse.

The resolution specifically cites President Obama's policies as well as his celebration of LGBT Pride month and his decision to end the National Prayer Day service at the White House as key causes of the current recession.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/30/oklahoma-republicans-read_n_223074.html

How pathetic! Sure I agree the recession is the degenerates Bush & Cheney fault. You can also add in Mark Sanford, John Ensign, David Vitter, Larry Craig, etc...

YoungPoet on June 30, 2009 at 06:03 PM

From what I understand, that caucus consists of one; namely you, Dave. Good luck with that. The rest of us are in the 21st century. You're more than welcome to come along.

Hi RJ

Got a big kick out of the fact that the GOP wasted over $2Million on coleman's post election games, and now they have a Democratic Senator! HeeHee, I will bet there are some MN Republicans chewing nails right now, and wishing they had not made stupid predictions about this race, too! LOL

Evening all good Dems,

Is the pervert sanfraud a promise keeper too. Last I heard, ensign of nevada was a holier than thou promise keeper too.

I wonder how many more republican perverts we can out between and 2010? I can't believe these deviates.

PamB on June 30, 2009 at 07:33 PM

Not to mention the donors who saw their hard earned money go for securing the seat for Al Franken. Can you imagine what the big money types are thinking now that a sitting Republican seantor was taken out by a comedian?

silly kern (R Okie homa) is a real nut case. I always knew the people of Oklahoma were nut cases.

Johne on June 30, 2009 at 07:34 PM

Now let's give the devils their due, Johne. They've have progressed. They've gone from bumping uglies in airport bathroom stalls and text messages about underaged boy's penis sizes to normal, red-blooded adultery between consenting adults. That's a big step for Republicans. ;-)

boy, sure is good to see the stock market and consumer confidence rising after getting rid of Bush! He made paupers out of a lot of people !

NEW YORK – Investors carried Wall Street to a remarkable second-quarter performance even though stocks' big spring rally stalled weeks ago.

The major indexes all managed to end the quarter with double-digit percentage gains. Now, whether the market regains its momentum in the July-September period or hunkers down again will depend on what companies have to say in the next few weeks — not just about their own prospects, but the economy's as well.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11 percent during the quarter, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index surged 15.2
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090630/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

Can you imagine what the big money types are thinking now that a sitting Republican seantor was taken out by a comedian?

57BobVADemocratHawk on June 30, 2009 at 07:36 PM

PLUS one who wrote a book called "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot"! The leader of their party! heehee

Source: Suspected NKorean ship changes course

By PAULINE JELINEK – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Tuesday that a North Korean ship has turned around and is headed back toward the north where it came from, after being tracked for more than a week by American Navy vessels on suspicion of carrying illegal weapons.

The move keeps the U.S. and the rest of the international community guessing: Where is the Kang Nam going? Does its cargo include materials banned by a new U.N. anti-proliferation resolution?

The ship left a North Korean port of Nampo on June 17 and is the first vessel monitored under U.N. sanctions that ban the regime from selling arms and nuclear-related material.

The Navy has been watching it — at times following it from a distance. It traveled south and southwest for more than a week; then, on Sunday, it turned around and headed back north, two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPE2T6srY36AqSumfp9KStLWUnAQD9956V482

It's either a decoy or it's loaded top to bottom with contraband. Either scenario requires an onboard inspection. Oblige them, please, Mr. President. Board that ship. Kim Jong Il is bluffing.

SandyH on June 30, 2009 at 04:59 PM

I totally agree.

Good night fellow Americans. Keep the Faith and keep the faith. Yes we can, yes we will, and yes we did!

And there is one other thing to consider. We have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. We have an eighty seat advantage in the House. The POTUS is in his sixth month of his administration. There are no more excuses. Other than the recession which Bush 43 started, it's all in our hands now. We shall rise or fall on how well our elected officials perform. We have everything we need to save the country now. Let's do it. Yes we can!

Bob, with all the sophisticated tracking satellites, etc that we have paid the defense dept for, one would think that it would not be hard to pinpoint what is in that ship. Or to click into their messaging system on it, and listen to conversations. What HAS all of our trillions of dollars to Defense gone for? Certainly not to body armor, and things to keep our boys safe in this last illegal invasion into Iraq!

Heading out. As you are fond of reminding us all, Bob,

YES WE DID !

Still smiling since November 4th, 2008, 11:00PM EST !

blog ya tomorrow!

Got a big kick out of the fact that the GOP wasted over $2Million on coleman's post election games
===================================================
Hi PamB, I think that's what ultimately decided Coleman's fate - too much money down the drain for a lost cause.

I wonder how many more republican perverts we can out between and 2010? I can't believe these deviates.
56
Johne on June 30, 2009 at 07:34 PM
==================================================
Evening JE, the GOP-STERS are doing a fine jov of outing themselves. Sanford is a gift that keeps on giving. Everytime he "apologizes" he invites the need to apologize even more. What a clown!

The major indexes all managed to end the quarter with double-digit percentage gains. Now, whether the market regains its momentum in the July-September period or hunkers down again will depend on what companies have to say in the next few weeks — not just about their own prospects, but the economy's as well.
===================================================
Watch the leading economic indicators. They have turned up two quarters now. That always indicates a recovery. The job market will lag behind and ut remains to be seen if job growth is robust. Also, the stimulus is still working it's way out. Most economists don't expect a full effect until next year.

was it here that i read a posting by a troll that guaranteed that the u.s. supreme court would rule that coleman won or there should be another election???? hahahahahahaha

I am so sick of the utter asshole republicans doing their utmost to fuck the American people out of green energy, jobs, retirement, health care extreme gas prices and soon no food and water.

Republicans should be ashamed of themselves and start acting like grownups. What pleasure do these fucking assholes get fucking the American people? I can say NO too. I can say NO to these childish bastards who call themselves call themselves Christians but are nothing but a bunch of greedy, selfish fucking pigs.

Soon I am afraid the American people are going to snap and start to mass in the streets.

Meanwhile, from my vantage point, it seems like most of the American people don't give a shit and are more worried about michael jackson dying and baseball. The MSM is doing their best to distract us from what the fascist pig republicans are doing. They all must be brought to heel.

FUCK 'EM ALL.

I can just hear the Iraqi people saying

"FREE AT LAST, YES FRIENDS, FREE AT LAST"

"WE ARE FINALLY FREE OF THOSE BASTARD, WARMONGERING AMERICANS WHO HAVE NO RELIGION WHATSOEVER AND ACT LIKE THEY OWN THE FUCKING WORLD".

NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS! REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!NO MORE REPUBLICANS!

The republican party is an enemy of the United States and the American people. Action should be taken immediately to declare that party a subversive organization and they should be barred form all public discourse of any kind.

I understand that ensign and sanford are members of the promise keepers. Does this group consist of this type of asshole? Are they proud of these lying bastards? Are they proud that they are serial adulterers? Are they proud that they a hypcrites who bow at the ankles for the likes of sarah phalus? I can only conclude that they must all be perverts, serial adulterers, pedophiles, liars, assholes, traitors and pricks. And they call themselves religious. Wave the flag some more you stupid pricks.

Michael J. Fox was just on the Letterman show. He is still suffering from Parkinson's disease and prays for a cure using stem cell research that the religious asshole hypocrite republicans don't believe in. Republicans don't believe in anything to do with science and are busy trying to dig up dinosaurs they can resurrect and ride on.

Since we got rid of that asshole chimp and cheney, at least two very important stem cell treatments have been announced. One is the use of stem cells to regenerate cornes. Soon, Michael J. Fox will be cured of his disease and lead a normal life.

All this is despite the hypocrite fucking republicans who profess to be pro-life but in reality only give a shit about themselves and their miserable fucking lives. MEMEMEMEMEMEMEME FIRST!

I suppose those two assholes ensign and sanford will go before the promise keepers and announce that they are cured of adultery after only two weeks in Las Vegas fucking whores and they will be accepted back into the group with open arms. The group, being stupid bastards, would take them back with open arms.

That should be regenerate corneas. There are some really exciting cures coming down the pike so long as the asshole republicans don't say NO!

senator al franken....gonna be fun listening to rush today as he swallows that one into his bloated gullet!

hahahahahaha

Morning all good Dems,

Isn't it great that Al Franken is finally being allowed to take his rightful seat in the US Senate. WhooHoo.

Then we have all the whackjobs calling in yesterday whining that creepman should take it to the US Supreme Court. We all know how that would work out. scabia would appoint creepman senator from Minnesota.

I know, since a corporation is a person - ruled by the US supreme court many years ago and upheld by scalia and his gang of fascists - we should appoint a prominent corporation to the Senate seat. Then the people of Minnesota would get screwed.

We could let the corporate board of directors run the US Senate. We wouldn't need the thousands of overpaid lobbyists. Wow, what a great idea.

Then we the people would have no say at all.

We need to zero in on the rest of the republican and commie democrats and out them one by one. In my estimation there are a hell of a lot more pervert pedophile adulterers in our Congress. Let's out them all before the next election.

We also need an amendment titled "No Religion in Government" which would ban all religious activities of any kind in the Congress, Supreme Court and White House. It would not even allow a prayer in the Capitol building, in the White House
or at the beginning of a supreme court session.
No hypocrite evangelicals from oklahoma, texas kansas, kentucky, tennessee, louisiana, florida, colorado, missouri, south carolina, georgia, alabama, arkansas or west virginia need apply.
They will no longer be allowed to influence legislation or legislators in Washington.

Why are most of the whackjob evangelicals from previous slave states? Inquiring minds want to know. Could it be that they are still fighting the Civil War. I notice they are starting to chant "states rights" again. frist told me in an answer to one of my obscene emails to him that the Civil War was started by them because of "states rigthts".

Fuck 'em all.

WE ARE A SECULAR COUNTRY! IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT THEN GET THE FUCK OUT! MOVE TO IRAN.

I WILL BE DAMNED IF I WILL STAND BY AND LET A BUNCH OF PISSANT EVANGELICALS TURN OUR ONCE GREAT NATION INTO A THEOCRACY!

Good morning Johne,Gregg and fellow Democrats.

Not all social conservatives are Christians. Not all fiscal conservatives are Christians. Not all social conservatives are fiscal conservatives.
Not all Christians are social conservatives. Not all Christians are fiscal conservatives.
Jesus of Nazareth was neither a fiscal conservative, nor a social conservative. He was an opponent of the economically repressive Roman empire and its Jewish collaboraters. He was an opponent of the socially conservative Jewish leadership of Judea and Galilee who were feathering their own nest rather than caring for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the ill-clothed, the imprisoned, and the aliens. He announced at the beginning of his ministry that he was bringing good news (gospel) to the POOR.
Neither the fiscal nor the social conservatives have been, or are, bringing good news to the POOR.

It appears that the trolls have passed out and spilled their drinks on their keyboard thereby shorting out their computers then sliding under their desks in a religious reverie.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!

Morning PEACEMAN,

Sorry for the morning rant but I can't take much more of these inhuman "people".

It looks like Jesus was having the same problems we are having. Maybe we should ask him what we can do to remove them from power.

I shouldn't lump all religions and all christians together. The Catholic church and probably many other established religions help the poor.

It's the evangelicals that I suspect don't care about the poor or aliens. They are hypocrites.
There used to be a guy in Modesto, California who sold certificates for $30. With this certificate one could be an instant preacher. The IRS finally shut him down.

Off to work.

Off to work.

Morning Fine Dems!

Isn't it so amusing how the Reich Wing nuts all think we 'won' some kind of victory in Iraq? That the Mission is accomplished?????

WHAT WAS the Mission again? WMD's? ooops, nope, that was crow on our face!

Was it 9/11 connection? ooops, nope, couldn't make that one stick either

Was it AlQaeda there? ooops, couldn't find a freaken one, until Bush's open invitation via his illegal invasion!

Democracy and all the sects living sweetly together? OOOPS, then there was an explosion in Kirkuk which took out 70 people yesterday!!

So Obama has wisely decided to pull our boys (what is left after 4300 dead, 35,000 without limbs), out of a situation where they ne ver should have been, and these deaths and disabilities were for absolutely NOTHING ! Who CARED about Saddam Hussein? If he did not have all that oil, you can bet Bush/Cheney wouldnb't have given a shit either!!! Remember PNAC, folks.

Franken’s Victory Bolsters Democratic Grip in Senate

After nearly eight months of waiting, almost 20,000 pages of legal briefs, and millions of dollars in election costs, Al Franken emerged Tuesday as the next United States senator from Minnesota, ending one of the most protracted election recount battles in recent memory

(Did some idiot say this wouldn't happen for months?)
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, signed Mr. Franken’s election certificate early Tuesday evening. Senate Democrats said they would like to seat Mr. Franken as quickly as next week, giving the party a crucial vote as it moves to difficult debates over topics like climate change and health care.

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102627393094&s=5274&e=001lpT55EJjMtA1OJ-AOSCJis8LjEA9ResBwtFtUBculBXoPJoRNfErmtdqYXEbqhCQ6FFVcQPlF5_ebxgU2vl4sEzHdcJnDZ_gCnd4f9mNmZnaTHBm0x8TaF5hnDc6xZLkI1vPZHiQLrbogut4tvzQfWTpY3Z6sshEeLX1pY1CDv8Nhjnl2lUHI2ygtNYMRZjBBOgaRYQy2X5Od2HErfejSw==

ahhhh, Normy coleman being so gracious about his loss now! Could it be he has his eyes on the Governorship of the State, so wants to kiss and make up? I think lots of people will remember only too well his obstruction and bull crap!

Wouldn't you be embarassed, to have a Fruitcake like this as your state Rep????

Bachmann Lies About Census’ American Community Survey, Claims It Doesn’t Ask About Citizenship »

As ThinkProgress has previously noted, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has been fearmongering about the 2010 Census and bragging that she plans to break the law by refusing to answer it. “I know for my family, the only question we will be answering is how many people are in our home. We won’t be answering any information beyond that,” said Bachmann recently.

On Sean Hannity’s radio show yesterday, Bachmann continued to attack the Census, repeatedly insisting that people should go to her website to “see the Census form for themselves.” Listing off a few questions from the American Community Survey (a long-form survey sent out to one in 40 households each year) that she considers invasive, Bachmann claimed that it doesn’t ask “are you an American citizen”:

BACHMANN: Twenty-eight pages. Sean, you know the one question they don’t ask? They ask, “are you an American citizen?” They don’t ask if you’re here on a visa or when it expires. We have no real idea how many illegal aliens are in our country. But wouldn’t you think, here they are asking every personal question about our lives, they could at least ask if we’re an American citizen? They don’t bother to ask for that. That’s why I think people need to read this census for themselves. If you go to my website, michelebachmann, you can read it.

Listen here:

In fact, the American Community Survey does ask about U.S. citizenship and it has since 1890:

Additionally, though Bachmann repeatedly directed Hannity’s listeners to her website, michelebachmnann.com, in order to view the Census questions, the questions aren’t actually available on her website. A press release on her congressional website, however, does encourage citizens to read the Census and ACS questions. Apparently Bachmann has yet to take her own advice.

Transcript: More »« Less

Think Progress

What an idiot! And that mouth that goes from one ear to the other---what's with that????

bbiab, Dems....

At five minutes and six seconds after 4 AM on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be 04:05:06 07/08/09.

This will never happen again.

Good morning, all.

Congratulations again to Senator-elect Franken. We need more strong voices in Washington.

And there is a new morning open thread.