Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sad News
We know Senator Kennedy is a fighter and are praying for his health.
Posted by
Michael Link at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)
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Afternoon Open Thread
- 118
- Headline: "FAA Whistleblower Intimidation Probed."
- Republicans failing to reach out and recruit minority candidates.
Chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)
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The New and Improved House Republicans
Same as the old House Republicans, minus yet another retirement.
But they're also coming up with their "re-branding" effort's manifesto that embraces almost everything they've done to cause their headaches over the last year (no change on children's health, the war, etc). Mainly, we get proposals like this one:
A draft of the conservative agenda calls for the endorsement of a constitutional amendment to prohibit federal spending from growing faster than the economy except in times of war or national emergency.
The exception, given the rest of their party's platform, could mean that it'll take effect in about 100 years.
The article also notes that Representative Boehner "said Sunday that he intended to remain in his position." His position, of course, is the minority leader.
Posted by
Michael Link at 11:27 AM | Comments (3)
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Not Just a Fraction
Via ThinkProgress, VoteVets Action Fund is coming out with new ad pressuring Senator McCain and President Bush to sign onto Senator Webb's 21st Century GI Bill.
Posted by
Michael Link at 10:48 AM | Comments (1)
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Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 08:37 AM | Comments (49)
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Monday, May 19, 2008
Evening Open Thread
- According to USA Today, "the number of Republicans leaving Congress will cost the GOP millions of dollars in party-building funds for the fall congressional elections..."
- Survey of business economists: growth expected to return (slowly).
- "Reassigned?"
Chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 05:49 PM | Comments (81)
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MSNBC on McCainpedia
Check it out by clicking here. Contribute here.
Posted by
Michael Link at 02:27 PM | Comments (4)
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Afternoon Open Thread
- They think this is just a "perception problem?"
- A sentence of eight years for laundering bribe money to Duke Cunningham.
- "14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic."
Chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 02:05 PM | Comments (55)
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Webb's 21st Century GI Bill
Senator Webb was on Meet the Press yesterday discussing, among other things, his bill to expand educational benefits for veterans as they return from Iraq (and elsewhere). He made a point that I simply hadn't realized:
No president in history has vetoed a benefits bill for those who served. … The Republican party is on the block here, to clearly demonstrate that they value military service or suffer the consequences of losing the support of people who’ve served. … The president has a choice here to show how much he values military service.
So not only would Bush be the first to veto a benefits bill for the troops, but he'd be doing so at a time of war. And, by the way, John McCain should sign on, as well.
They've more than earned it. Give them the change they deserve.
Posted by
Michael Link at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)
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McCain National Finance Co-Chair Bites the Dust
In the McCain camp, the staffers are dropping like flies. At this pace, John McCain might run out of staff before November.
John McCain's national finance co-chairman has stepped down, the latest casualty of a presidential campaign eager to cauterize damage caused by its ties to lobbyists.Former Texas Rep. Thomas G. Loeffler, one of McCain's key fundraisers, resigned in the wake of a new McCain policy on conflicts of interest that required campaign volunteers to disclose their lobbying connections.
Thomas Loeffler, a lobbyist for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and longtime friend of John McCain, joins four others, including Doug Goodyear (McCain's hand-picked RNC convention coordinator who lobbied with the DCI Group on behalf of the repressive military junta in Burma) and Doug Davenport (a regional campaign manager who oversaw the DCI Group's lobbying contract with the Burmese junta in 2002).
The departures from after John McCain sent campaign manager (and lobbyist who worked for a pro-Putin party in the Ukraine last year) Rick Davis to fix the problem.
"Sen. McCain asking his lobbyist pal Rick Davis to 'clean the lobbyists' out of his campaign is like a farmer asking a fox to guard the henhouse," said DNC spokesman Damien LaVera. [link added]
The series of resignations from key staffers from the campaign is an incredible black eye for McCain. Their response?
Everybody must comply with the policy," campaign communications director Jill Hazelbaker said. "The campaign will not comment further on individual staff members."
You heard that right -- Mr. Transparency's campaign is now operating on radio silence on the issue lest we know about all the others that had conflicts of interest, or unsavory former clients.
Posted by
Matt Ortega
at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
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Introducing McCainpedia
Today we're launching McCainpedia, the latest online tools designed to provide greater access to information and resources. McCainpedia is an electronic encyclopedia that provides the opportunity for anyone, anywhere to review the raw facts and research of John McCain's record and then use it or share it in any way they choose.
By visiting http://www.mccainpedia.org, you're a mouse-click away from our research on John McCain. You can easily find and share information on a specific issue or use the data to create flyers, blog posts, or YouTube videos. McCainpedia follows FlipperTV, a unique online video tool launched in November of 2007 that allows users to watch, download, and use video taken by Democratic trackers of John McCain from the campaign trail. We've now incorporated FlipperTV directly into McCainpedia.
As Governor Dean pointed out in a statement, "McCainpedia provides the kind of transparency that John McCain would rather avoid and empowers millions of people to review McCain's inconsistencies and make up their own minds about Senator McCain." John McCain has been anything but public during the course of this campaign, so giving people direct access to his record allows for voters to make up their own minds and activists to have what they need to take action.
McCainpedia will be growing in the days, weeks, and months ahead, so be sure to bookmark it and keep coming back. You can also make a contribution to keep this project and others like it going, and help elect a Democrat to the White House.
Posted by
Michael Link at 09:26 AM | Comments (4)
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Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 06:33 AM | Comments (61)
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Sunday, May 18, 2008
Sunday Afternoon Open Thread
Chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 10:56 AM | Comments (95)
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Saturday, May 17, 2008
Brown v. Board of Education
Fifty-four years ago today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down one of the most historic decisions in the unanimous 9-0 ruling on Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
The decision overturned the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that established "separate but equal," ruling that it was unconstitutional.
Today, we celebrate this glorious decision and reaffirm our commitment to the betterment of our schools and the advancement of equality for all.
Read the full decision here.
Posted by
Matt Ortega
at 12:00 AM | Comments (6)
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Friday, May 16, 2008
Evening Open Thread
This one should actually work... chat away...
Posted by
Michael Link at 08:16 PM | Comments (87)
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