Break is over! Back to work!

Obama Inches Toward 2008 Run, Says Public `Hungry' For Change

By Heidi Przybyla

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Barack Obama inched closer to a presidential run with his first visit to New Hampshire, home of the inaugural primary election in the campaign for the White House.

Obama, who went to the Granite State yesterday to headline a Democratic Party victory celebration, told reporters that ``people are very hungry'' for leadership that moves beyond the ``small and petty slash-and-burn politics that we've seen over the past several years.''

Speaking later to a sold-out crowd at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, the Illinois Democrat outlined an agenda that includes universal health care, a new energy strategy that takes advantage of alternative sources of fuel, fiscal responsibility and a national security policy that is ``tough and smart.''

Buzz around an Obama run has intensified since he said in October that he is considering seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. He plans to make a decision in early- to mid-January.Full Text

Okay, okay, I know, argh! The dust has barely settled from the mid-terms! Well, this is the political climate we live in. Until, there is full public and no private funding for these elections these people have to declare really early so that they can start funding their campaigns.

Now, should Obama run? I have no idea. I do know that if he is going to run, he needs to do it in 2008. By 2012 he will either not be a Senator anymore or will be a "Senator". Huh, what? You ask. It is rare that anyone has a large majority in the Senate and most Senators tend to be more pragmatic than their House counterparts. So, the longer one is in the Senate the risk is greater that you can be painted a "flip flopper." John Kerry on line 1. Unfortunately, most Americans don't understand the difference hence he either runs now or most likely forfeits any chance at a nomination down the road.

Ok You Idiots

It's all over. As soon as you sober up from your victory celebrations, get to work and start earning your office.

And get off of my TV!

Campaign Finance vs. Social Welfare

Money spent on ugly ads could help so many
Sunday, November 05, 2006
JOE BLUNDO

Dear campaign contributors: If you really want to improve society, I have an idea: Don’t send money to politicians so they can make idiotic TV ads. Instead, buy food, medical insurance or an education for the people whom politicians like to bluster about helping.

Next election, you’ll eliminate the middleman and clean up the airwaves at the same time.

Here’s the math:

I took a quick survey of media executives to come up with $30 million — a conservative estimate of how much will be spent on televised political ads in the Columbus market by Tuesday.

The total immediately brings to mind three words: What a waste. So then I tried to think of agencies and people who could put all those millions to better use.

It’s a long, long list.

But here’s an idea of what $30 million could buy:

• More than 15 million meals for the hungry.

The estimate is based on a meal consisting of 1.28 pounds of food at $1.50 a pound (wholesale), said Evelyn Behm, associate director of the Mid-Ohio FoodBank, which supplies food to pantries in 20 central and eastern Ohio counties.More

Food for thought as you probably turned the channel on about 20 political ads that you have seen 30 times this past weekend.

Remember to vote on November 7th.

A little light reading

First from Donklephant: Shaking up the '08 elections
Next: The Centrist Coalition - Ah! Kindered Spirits!
Third: A look at Independent Voters - from The Moderate Voice
Finally: A Republican Votes for Hillary - I just discovered this blog, ChargingRhino, today.

Update on the big news: Michael and I are still cajolling a certain individual who has since become hestitant to test the waters. To that person, DOOOO IT!

Big News Here Soon!

Stay tuned for a major announcement with regard to the Michigan Governor's race.

America's Political Parties Need to Look in the Mirror

...Both parties, however, need an infusion of progressive thought. Democrats and Republicans, more concered about winning than change, have litte desire to inform themselves of the valid thoughts that each other possess.

Since neither party owns "the" truth, both risk being permanently lost in their own delusions of grandeur. Those who allow themselves to be engaged in the public conversation need the contrarian's perspective lest they fall into the trap of believing that only their thought is normative. Such arrogance blinds us to our own imperfections, and no good can be realized from it... Full text

As far as this blog is concerned, Mr. Williams is preaching to the choir. However, most Americans are running full speed ahead into the wall that he speaks of in his article.

Oh and that contrarian thing, I have been all over that for years. Just ask my wife.

Legislating Sin

"If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," Harris said.Full Text

I think I can safely - my co-bloggers are welcome to disagree - that this site now officially endorses Bill Nelson for Florida's up for election Senate seat.

To Representative Katherine Harris, keep talking. I'm sure your opponent and detractors want you to. They don't even have to dig to find stuff on you. You are supplying material.

Katherine Harris Faking GOP Endorsements

In the U.S. Senate primary, Rep. Katherine Harris has been touting key political endorsements from fellow Republican lawmakers. The problem is, some of them never endorsed her.

Several members of the U.S. House called the Harris campaign to complain Wednesday after the St. Petersburg Times notified them of the endorsements listed on Harris' Web site. Minutes later, their names were removed.

Everytime I read a story about her I feel less and less certain about the forthright nature of a certain recount 6 years ago.

Lieberman set on independent bid

Sean Smith, Lieberman's campaign manager, said Lieberman was prepared to go forward with an independent run no matter what the primary outcome.

"This is bigger than the party now," Smith said.more

This blog is always happy to see and hear independently minded politicians. We as individuals or as a group don't always agree with them but we respect them. However, Senator Lieberman's current stance smacks of a child who is taking his ball and going home.

Mr. Senator, you lost. You stated your position about the war in Iraq and other issues and the people of your state didn't like it. In the last days of your primary contest when faced with defeat you suddenly tried to distance yourself from an unpopular President whom you had been sidling up to for the last 2+ years. And now that you have indeed lost, you expect the people of Connecticut to believe that you would have run as an independent even if you had won the primary. That is simply ludicrous. There is no way a life long politician such as yourself would bypass millions of dollars from the DNC and the Connecticut Democrats in an election year.

This isn't bigger than the party now, Senator Lieberman. You just think you are.

Let's take a time out

for a Geo Political update.

The current state of affairs in Lebanon is fairly well documented. It seems as though the time table for an Israeli invasion of Lebanon is in days; possibly hours. Syria and Iran will be watching/have to be watched very closely for their response to this. Also, it will be interesting because the actual Lebanese forces, which for the most part have been uninvolved to this point, are sure to at the very least defend their country from a foreign army.

Now there is this news from Somalia. It seems that Ethiopia has sent troops into that country to supposedly bolster the allied government. The Ethiopian government denies the troops prescence in Somalia. Meanwhile, Somalia Islamic leaders are calling for a "holy war"(I leave the contradiction discussion for later.) against Ethiopia.

Let's go to the map. As you will see by looking at the map you have nice cauldron of activity within a 1500 mile radius, with Beirut as the center, or in a radius that would cover New York City and Los Angeles with Lincoln, NE being the epicenter. Fun!

So, what the heck does all of this mean? It means the next 72 hours will see some of the most hustling diplomacy the world has ever seen. Hopefully. You have an area of the world that is absolutely critical to the world's economy(Bought gas lately?) which could quickly become embroiled in an all out shooting war that would probably start with Lebanon and Israel and could quickly involve Iran, Syria, Somolia, Ethiopia and Saudia Arabia. And who knows maybe Pakistan and India will decide have at each other, just so as not to feel left out.

I know this isn't exactly "happy Friday" fair but I felt it is worth mentioning. I will save any "How did we get here?" and "Why is it getting worse?" for the comments sections. That is if we get any.

Schools aren't teaching the US Constitution?

According to this editorial and the facts contained in it, many high schools aren't teaching US History and/or a Government/Civics class. I took both in high school and don't regret it. Yes, I took world history too and I view them all to be important. Like this writer, I don't understand how we can continue to be strong as a nation if we don't learn what it is we are trying to protect and what the laws actually mean.

The most appalling statistic to me was this on the First Amendment: 36% believed that before publishing, newspapers must first get government approval. What?

What you don't know can hurt you By Nat Hentoff

One day years ago, interviewing the usually cheerful Justice William Brennan in his Supreme Court chambers, I found him troubled. "Liberty," he said, "is a fragile thing. The Framers knew that. How can we bring the words of the Bill of Rights off the page into the lives of students?"

Were he still here, that paladin of individual liberties would have been even more troubled reading the words of retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor on this page: "Public schools have pretty much stopped teaching government, civics and American history. ... I truly don't know how long we can survive as a strong nation if our younger citizens don't understand the nature of our government. ... That is something you have to learn. It just isn't handed down in the genetic pool."

Add Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who is trying to get his American History Achievement Act - to test the degree of knowledge in schools - through Congress. He points out that half the states don't require a course in U.S. government.Full text

Texas Says "Kinky" Can Be On Ballot

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Writer and musician Kinky Friedman, who once sang "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore," may include the name by which he is best known on the ballot to choose Texas' next governor in November, the state's top election official said on Monday.

Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams said Friedman's nickname was not a slogan and thus did not violate state law. His name will appear on election ballots as Richard "Kinky" Friedman.

But Williams, a Republican, said Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is also running as an independent against incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry, cannot include "Grandma" as a nickname on the ballot.

File under: Follow up and "3rd Party" Politics

White House kept "major program secret

By Alan Elsner 35 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration was running several intelligence programs, including one major activity, that it kept secret from Congress until whistle-blowers told the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, the committee's chairman said on Sunday.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on Fox News Sunday he had written a four-page to
President George W. Bush in May warning him that the failure to disclose the intelligence activities to Congress may be a violation of the law.

In doing so, he confirmed a story that first ran in Sunday editions of the New York Times.

"I take it very, very seriously otherwise I would not have written the letter to the president," Hoekstra said...

Believe me when I tell you that when a Republican Congressman from the West side of Michigan is making statements like that it is a huge deal.

The Most Important Issue?

From salon.com

When the saints come marching in

Sorry, Sen. Inhofe, but the gentleman from Louisiana just passed you in the pandering lane.

The Republicans' constitutional amendment banning gay marriage got just 49 votes this morning, far short of the two-thirds majority it needed -- and was never going to get -- for passage. Along the way to the vote, Republican Sen. David Vitter defended the GOP's efforts on the election-year measure by saying: "I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one."

We don't mean to speak for anybody else, but we're wondering if any of Vitter's displaced constituents in New Orleans -- or, say, the 57 Louisiana families who have lost loved ones in Iraq -- might see America's priorities just a little differently.

As senators voted on the ban this morning, Kansas Republican Sam Brownback vowed that "people are going to be responsible for this vote." Where men like Vitter are concerned, we can only hope that he's right.

-- Tim Grieve Link

Really, Mr. Senator?  Wow!

A Waste of My Money?

The national debt is increasing so quickly the clock in Times Square will run out of digits soon. We are fighting two wars and have numerous other government failures and ethical issues to address in Congress. So why is the Senate going to consider an amendment to the Constitution to stop people who love each other from getting married? Oh, that's right, it's an election year.

Senate to Tackle Gay Marriage Ban

Update: Just in case you want to see how many times the United State Constitution has been amended to stop the citizenry from doing something: here.

Congressman Caught on Tape, Documents Say

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 43 minutes ago

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Allegedly scamming a Virginia businesswoman could prove to be a major mistake for a Democratic congressman from New Orleans.

The FBI revealed Sunday that Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), under investigation for bribery, was videotaped accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations with the lawmaker also were recorded. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer, according to a court document released Sunday.

At one meeting captured on audiotape, Jefferson chuckles about writing in code to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting his children a cut of a communications company's deal for work in Africa.

As Jefferson and the informant passed notes about what percentage the lawmaker's family might receive, the congressman "began laughing and said, 'All these damn notes we're writing to each other as if we're talking, as if the FBI is watching,'" he told the businesswoman, who was wearing an FBI recording device.

Jefferson has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.Full Text

Being a coniving, corrupt politician knows no party boundaries.

Score one for democracy!

Follow up from March 6, 2006

Musician Kinky Friedman Moved One Step Closer To Texas Governor's Mansion Yesterday...
MUSICIAN and mystery writer Kinky Friedman brought his long-shot bid to become governor of Texas a little closer to reality yesterday when he turned in 169,574 signatures to get on the November ballot - more than 31/2 times the number needed. Friedman, clad in his trademark black cowboy hat and Western clothes, stood on the steps of the Texas secretary of state's office and quipped, "Thank God for bars and dance halls. Every signature counts, whether it came from a country club or homeless shelter."Source

Net Neutrality

Congress is currently considering a bill that would allow companies to prioritize and restrict traffic on the internet.  Further they would be allowed to charge you more money to have your email and internet uploads go faster ie charge you a toll to have it sent just as fast as it is now over and above what you already pay. 

Tell Congress to protect Internet Neutrality by visiting Savetheinternet.com. 

Letter to Senators Voinovich and DeWine

Mr. Senator,

I encourage you to vote against any energy bill that would open the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge up to drilling. Furthermore, the concept of a $100 rebate, that would be taxed as income later, smacks of an election year stunt and is fiscally irresponsible. Both of these provisions should be removed from or not included in legislation.

Rather than further enabling oil companies who based on current profit reports certainly don't need our help. The Senate's time would be better spent in ascertaining why the oil companies profits gains are outpacing the rise in oil prices and in encouraging real investment in technologies such as the conversion of water to hydrogen for use in combustion engines.

Thank you,

You can write your Senators by clicking the link on the left.

It's the last train to nowhere and it's leaving...

My apologies to The Monkees or whoever wrote "The Last Train to Clarksville". But it appears someone is trying to top The Bridge to Nowhere. By about $100 billion, with a "B".

Flap over pet projects roils GOP
By Gail Russell Chaddock, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON - Remember Alaska's "bridge to nowhere"? It's about to be topped by what critics call Mississippi's "railroad to nowhere," which is quickly becoming the poster child for excessive spending by the Republican-controlled Congress.

The project, which was added to a $106.5 billion emergency defense spending bill in the Senate, would relocate a Gulf Coast rail line inland, to higher ground. Never mind that the hurricane-battered line was just repaired at a cost of at least $250 million. Or that at $700 million, the project championed by Mississippi's two US senators is being called the largest "earmark" ever.

The controversy points to a deepening split in the GOP over whether to rein in spending in the face of wartime commitments and record deficits - and whether failing to do so threatens their majority in this fall's midterm elections.

Its sponsors say the motive is evacuation and safety. "Along the Coast, we too often seen motorists and pedestrians killed on the rails that have run parallel to our shores for more than a century," wrote Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record) (R) of Mississippi in the Sun Herald newspaper Monday. Mississippi's senior senator, Thad Cochran, chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, which drafted the bill.

But critics say it's also a bid to open land for developers to turn Mississippi's struggling Gulf Coast into Las Vegas South - and that emergency federal spending shouldn't pay for it, especially when Washington is on track to spend $371 billion into the red.Full Text

Congress

Congress is in recess for Easter. So there isn't much activity right now.

The Iran situation is heating up and reports of nuclear weapons, I refuse to call them tactical as the delivery might be precise but the fallout would still be widespread, are alarming but I would doubt that it is option #1. I do think that recent news articles about retired military personnel speaking out have more to do with proposed Iran plans than past actions in Iraq.

Primaries are sort of happening around the country. I say sort of because a lot of candidates are dropping out prior to the primary. Nothing like giving the people in political parties a choice. *sniff sniff* Yes, that is sarcasm.

Other than rhetoric, the politicians are on vacation. So, take a deep breath, relax and go have some fun. The fireworks show should start back up next week.

Senator McCain Courting Conservatives

Of course, I am not sure which conservatives these are. They look more like the religious type.

I will leave you to read the article on Forbes.com. Essentially, Senator McCain is starting early in Iowa(It is only 2006 right?). Part of his strategy involves mending fences with religious conservatives. These groups appear to be upset with the Senator because he doesn't sling enough poo at the Democrats, doesn't want to squash the rights of the minority party, wants to have more limits on campaign funding and is actually willing to work side by side with *GASP* Senator Ted Kennedy.

Maybe the Senator is actually trying to do his job. You know create legislation that is good for the whole country? Not just the ones that elected him. With regard to not abolishing the filibuster for judicial nominees, perhaps, the Senator et al realized that they might not always be the majority party...

Stay tuned.

Be Careful Senator McCain

McCain Softens Language on Jerry Falwell
WASHINGTON - Potential presidential candidate John McCain says he longer considers evangelist Jerry Falwell to be one of the "agents of intolerance" that he criticized during a previous White House run.

The Republican senator from Arizona will be the commencement speaker in May at Liberty University, the Lynchburg, Va., institution that Falwell founded in 1971.

"We agreed to disagree on certain issues, and we agreed to move forward," McCain said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

In 2000, as he sought the Republican nomination that eventually went to George W. Bush, McCain said: "Neither party should be defined by pandering to the outer reaches of American politics and the agents of intolerance, whether they be Louis Farrakhan or Al Sharpton on the left or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell on the right."

On Sunday, McCain said that Christian conservatives have a major role to play in the Republican Party, but added, "I don't have to agree with everything they stand for."Source

I would say that agreeing to deliver a commencement speech at Falwell's college would qualify as pandering, Senator.

John Dean Blasts Warrantless Eavesdropping

Partial text:

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Nixon White House counselor John Dean asserted Friday that President Bush's domestic spying exceeds the wrongdoing that toppled his former boss from power, and Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting record) snapped that Democrats were trying to "score political points" with a motion to censure Bush.

"Had the Senate or House, or both, censured or somehow warned Richard Nixon, the tragedy of Watergate might have been prevented," Dean told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Hopefully the Senate will not sit by while even more serious abuses unfold before it."

Testifying to a Senate committee on Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russell Feingold's resolution to censure Bush, Dean said the president "needs to be told he cannot simply ignore a law with no consequences."...

"To me, this is not really and should not be a partisan question," Dean told the panel. "I think it's a question of institutional pride of this body, of the Congress of the United States."

It's good to see that a voice of experience understands what is going on here. If the Senate doesn't want to censure the President fine. However, I think it is necessary that Congress ensure that the balance of power remains.

Consumer Group challenges constitutionality of bill

As previously mentioned on this blog the President signed a bill that the House and Senate passed different versions of. It seems there is now a second lawsuit regarding the bill.

Consumer Group Challenges Deficit Law

Sorry, no text. It's late and your mouse works so go ahead and click the link.

It's official! The Dems don't have all the nuts...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Republican Senate candidate Stephen Laffey once told a newspaper columnist that God wanted him to run for mayor of Cranston.

He spent $2,000 to soundproof his mayoral office because of fears people were eavesdropping.

And when journalists noticed he had digitally erased a former friend from photographs on his campaign Web site, he suggested aliens were to blame.(Full text)

1,889 days and no vetoes: Bush gaining on Jefferson

By Richard Benedetto, USA TODAY Thu Mar 23, 7:02 AM ET

President Bush Thursday becomes the longest-sitting president since Thomas Jefferson not to exercise his veto, surpassing James Monroe.

Monroe was in office 1,888 days before he vetoed his first bill on May 4, 1822, a measure to impose a toll on the first federal highway. Jefferson never exercised his veto during two terms in 1801-09.

Thursday is Bush's 1,889th day in office, and no veto is in sight. As of Wednesday, Congress had sent him 1,091 bills. He signed them all.

Bush came close to a veto last month when Congress threatened to block a deal to turn over operations at ports in six states to a company owned by the Arab emirate of Dubai. He threatened a veto, but he avoided a showdown when the Dubai company decided to sell that part of its business to American interests.

"After that, we're not likely to hear a veto threat from him that much again," says G. Calvin Mackenzie, government professor at Maine's Colby College.

Some analysts say Bush's failure to use his veto shows an unwillingness to confront fellow Republicans who control Congress. "He doesn't want to fight battles unnecessarily and create a distance between himself and his party," says Mark Rozell, a George Mason University political scientist who has studied presidential vetoes.

Others say Bush's avoidance of the veto is a sign of strength. "Bush and his party are so close on most issues that there's no need to veto," Mackenzie says.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., scoffs at that: "This is a rubber-stamp Congress. Why would he veto anything?"

Still others say it is a matter of Bush's management style. "He's a CEO kind of guy. He gives his orders, delegates the negotiating to others and is willing to live with the outcome," says Robert McClure, a political scientist at Syracuse University's Maxwell School.

Bush has used veto threats to shape bills more to his liking. For example, the House wanted $370 billion for last year's highway bill; the Senate, $318 billion. Bush drew the line at $256 billion, then compromised at $286.4 billion, more than he wanted but far below the House and Senate levels.

Bush said Tuesday that the veto threat has helped him reduce the rate of domestic spending: "One reason why I haven't vetoed any appropriation bills is because they met the benchmarks we've set."

Come on George let's set a record!

BTW, are you allowed to pat yourself on the back for meeting benchmarks when you have a single discretionary spending project, which is quickly bordering on long term, that is now in the neighborhood of $280 billion?

We the Morons

Click the title above and be treated to a witty and insightful rant by Marty Kaplan about the Democratic party's bungling. Though the real crux is how people are more informed than ever and want to take a stand however, moderate Republican's(*taps fingers on desk waiting for Adam to respond*) feel as though their party abandoned them and Democrats who feel as though now is the time to strike scream into the wind as people like Harry Reid and Joe Lieberman sit on their hands.

US Government urges Congress to raise debt limit

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government appealed to Congress to raise the national debt limit by the end of this week or face a potential shutdown of federal operations for lack of cash.

"It's really the week this must be done because the Congress will be out of session at the end of this week," Treasury spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters.

Treasury Secretary
John Snow has issued increasingly urgent warnings to Congress that the statutory debt limit of 8.184 trillion dollars is fast-approaching, and that the government will then lose its borrowing power.

Last week, Snow said new issues of federal debt instruments would only raise enough cash to keep government operations financed until mid-March.

"I must advise you that the Treasury has now taken all prudent and legal actions to avoid reaching the statutory debt limit," Snow wrote in a letter to senior Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

"I therefore strongly urge Congress to pass a debt limit increase immediately."(full text by clicking title)

So, what happens if the debt limit isn't raised? All non-essential federal government operations will have to shut down. So, no Social Security, no HUD, you get the picture.

Just how out of control is this? The U.S. Federal Debt was around $5.5 trillion in 1997 and remained virtually unchanged through September of 2001.(Source) Then we went on an unprecedented spending spree while at the same time cutting taxes. For a little more perspective the Federal debt increased $3.1 trillion from 1980 - 1992. It has increased more than that in the last 5 years, going from $5.6 trillion to $8.8+ trillion.

Yes, there is some evidence here that it has to do with the party in control of the White House but it goes deeper than that. We as citizens have to call on our leaders to have a plan. Currently the plan is cut taxes and hope that the economy goes through the roof to pay the bills. Sounds nice. However, you can't spend money like a drunken sailor in the process. (No offense meant to our fine men and women in the U.S. Navy.) You have a chance to speak in November.

George Clooney: I am a Liberal. There, I said it.

From The Huffington Post.com
I am a liberal. And I make no apologies for it. Hell, I'm proud of it.

Too many people run away from the label. They whisper it like you'd whisper "I'm a Nazi." Like it's dirty word. But turn away from saying "I'm a liberal" and it's like you're turning away from saying that blacks should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus, that women should be able to vote and get paid the same as a man, that McCarthy was wrong, that Vietnam was a mistake.

And that Saddam Hussein had no ties to al-Qaeda and had nothing to do with 9/11.

This is an incredibly polarized time (wonder how that happened?). But I find that, more and more, people are trying to find things we can agree on. And, for me, one of the things we absolutely need to agree on is the idea that we're all allowed to question authority. We have to agree that it's not unpatriotic to hold our leaders accountable and to speak out.

That's one of the things that drew me to making a film about Murrow. When you hear Murrow say, "We mustn't confuse dissent with disloyalty" and "We can't defend freedom at home by deserting it at home," it's like he's commenting on today's headlines.

The fear of been criticized can be paralyzing. Just look at the way so many Democrats caved in the run up to the war. In 2003, a lot of us were saying, where is the link between Saddam and bin Laden? What does Iraq have to do with 9/11? We knew it was bullshit. Which is why it drives me crazy to hear all these Democrats saying, "We were misled." It makes me want to shout, "Fuck you, you weren't misled. You were afraid of being called unpatriotic."

Bottom line: it's not merely our right to question our government, it's our duty. Whatever the consequences. We can't demand freedom of speech then turn around and say, But please don't say bad things about us. You gotta be a grown up and take your hits.

I am a liberal. Fire away.

House to see if Bush can find his pen

Bush Faces GOP Effort to Stop Ports Deal By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - His presidency already at a low point,President Bush now faces a GOP move in Congress to stop a plan he steadfastly supports: a Dubai-owned company's entry into U.S. port operations.

House Republicans have united around legislation that would block DP World from taking over significant management of terminals at six U.S. ports, ignoring a veto threat from the president.

"We are going to send a very clear signal that we want to have American interests secured by leaders in America," said Rep. Jerry Lewis (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif.

His House Appropriations Committee planned to attach the legislation Wednesday to a $91 billion measure for states recovering from Hurricane Katrina and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Offering few specifics, Lewis said only that his legislation would not single out any one country or company but would effectively prevent DP World from operating U.S. port terminals.Full text

Brilliant! I am sure that some folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue just had a coniption. It is about time that Congress, especially the Republicans, started acting like they have a spine and not a rubber stamp committee.

For the record, I am opposed to any foreign government having control of US ports etc. I am not saying Nissan shouldn't own land in Tennessee to make trucks. I am saying Japan shouldn't own the Nashville airport. There is a huge difference. Think of it this way: Imagine the backlash in Dubai if it were announced that the United States government would now be solely in charge of their airports.

Save Yourself for Kinky!

Kinky Friedman, author/musician/frequent Don Imus guest, is running for Governor of Texas as an Independent. God bless him.

Is Texas ready for Governor Kinky?

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent Mon Mar 6

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The line of well-dressed young executives stretches down a hallway, past a table of Kinky Friedman talking action figures and straight up to the candidate for Texas governor in the black cowboy hat.

"I'll sign anything," country singer and mystery novelist Kinky Friedman assures the crowd arriving for a downtown luncheon speech as they snap up Kinky T-shirts, bumper stickers and posters sold to finance his independent -- and decidedly nontraditional -- bid for governor.

With a blizzard of one-liners, a campaign slogan of "Why the Hell Not?" and an eclectic blend of policy ideas from all sides of the ideological divide, the former frontman for the band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys says he wants to "change the world one governor at a time."

Friedman hopes to tap voter frustration with Republican Gov. Rick Perry, Texas Democrats and politics in general to become the latest celebrity governor, following wrestler Jesse Ventura in Minnesota and actor
Arnold Schwarzenegger in California....

"I just want Texas to be number one in something other than executions, toll roads and property taxes," Friedman says. But if he loses he promises to ditch Texas and head to Hawaii.

"If I lose this race I will retire in a petulant snit," he said. "I'm not going to go out gracefully, I promise you."Full Text

Amen to that!

At 75, Gorbachev Laments U.S. 'Arrogance'

Just a little perspective. And a catch up with one of the 20th Century's most important politicians.

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
MOSCOW - Mikhail Gorbachev's magnetic brown eyes shine as brightly as ever, and he speaks with the same passion about the collapse of the Soviet Union as he prepares to mark his 75th birthday on Thursday.

The man who ended the Cold War and launched democratic reforms that broke the repressive Soviet regime continues to enjoy the limelight, globe-trotting on behalf of his political foundation and environmental group and taking part in charity projects.

At a meeting with foreign reporters this week, Gorbachev blamed the United States for losing a chance to build a safer and more stable world following the Soviet demise.

"Ending the Cold War was given as a gift" to the United States, but it only strengthened its arrogance and unilateralism, he said. "The winner's complex is worse than an inferiority complex, because it's harder to cure."

While praised worldwide, Gorbachev has been reviled at home, where a majority of Russians hold him responsible for the Soviet breakup and subsequent economic chaos that impoverished millions.

He won a mere 1 percent of the vote in the 1996 presidential election; he hasn't run since.

Many still accuse him of caving in to the West. Anatoly Utkin, a senior researcher with the U.S. and Canada Institute, chastised Gorbachev for drastically cutting Soviet nuclear arsenals and agreeing to Germany's reunification without getting anything in return.

"Gorbachev didn't know the West. And the West didn't trust the nobility of his motives and coldly used him," Utkin said in a column in the weekly Argumenty i Fakty.

Gorbachev's record as a man who gave freedom to his land also was tarnished by some darker pages.

One was his handling of the 1986 reactor explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, which the Soviet leadership announced to the world only after scientists in Sweden detected a radioactive fallout.

Gorbachev insisted the Kremlin just didn't know the scope of the disaster, but many claim the Soviet leadership deliberately downplayed its gravity.

He is also blamed for a Soviet troop crackdown on demonstrators in Lithuania in 1991 that killed 14 and injured nearly 1,000.

Gorbachev said the troops were sent against the protesters in Vilnius on a secret KGB order of which he was unaware - a claim his foes shrugged off as improbable.

Gorbachev still bristles when he talks about the betrayal by his communist lieutenants who launched the August 1991 coup that briefly ousted him. The coup collapsed within days, encouraging the Soviet republics to declare independence and shattering Gorbachev's hopes of keeping them together in a looser federation.

Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who celebrated his 75th birthday in February, recently accused Gorbachev of having advance knowledge of the coup and waiting it out to see who would win.

"Yeltsin is a liar," Gorbachev snapped, rejecting the allegation as "sheer nonsense."

Looking back at the turmoil that preceded his resignation, Gorbachev says he has never regretted his refusal to turn to military force to prevent the Soviet collapse. He said that sometimes his "hands were itching" to use force, but he realized that could have led to a civil war and even a global nuclear conflict.

Gorbachev said this week that while he could have ended Yeltsin's political career easily by dispatching him as ambassador to a distant country, he didn't do so because such a move would compromise his principles.

Yeltsin humiliated Gorbachev by giving him just a few hours to clear out of the presidential office after he signed the Soviet Union out of existence on Dec. 25, 1991. He never invited him to the Kremlin afterward.

Gorbachev's relations with the Kremlin have seen a marked improvement under Vladimir Putin, whom he has praised repeatedly for ending the political chaos and economic decline of Yeltsin's era.

Despite his age, Gorbachev seems as lively and energetic as before, giving the impression of genuinely enjoying life. "I like good dishes from all over the world. I have tasted them all and I still can't name a favorite," he said.

He rarely touches a fiction book, but reads a lot of history, philosophy and political science.

"I also watch a lot of movies, mostly on TV. I have gotten sick of (American) blockbusters and love Russian movies," he said.

Bush threatens veto

President Bush has threatened to veto any bill that blocks the deal with Dubai Ports World to take control of operations of six sea ports on the East Coast.

Who else thinks Congress ought to do it just to see if he can actually find his pen?

After all, it has been 5 years and he hasn't yet.

Party On!

Who's spending big now? The 'party of small government' Tue Feb 21, 7:19 AM ET

Say you're in a financial hole. You're spending more money than you're taking in - $4,000 this year alone. After much effort, you figure out ways to save $400 in the next five years. Would you then turn around, spend double that amount and put yourself deeper in debt?

Probably not - unless, that is, you were a member of Congress running for re-election this year and you get to spend other people's money. Add eight zeros to the numbers in the example above, and you'll get an idea of the shell game going on in Washington.

The federal budget deficit will be in the range of $400 billion this year. That means roughly $1 in every $6 spent by the government will be borrowed money. So a few weeks ago, with great self-congratulatory fanfare, Congress passed and the president signed what was billed as a $40 billion, five-year deficit reduction. Now Congress is weighing tax-cut packages that would wipe out those projected savings almost twice over.

The House of Representatives already has passed a five-year, $70 billion package of goodies that focuses on extending reduced rates for those taxpayers who have dividend and capital-gain income. The Senate pushed through a similarly unaffordable plan. President Bush is seeking to make permanent all of his 2001 tax cuts, some of which are set to expire.

In truth, Uncle Sam doesn't have the money to do any of this...Full text

Following the logic of the example at the beginning of this article you would then be $19,600 in debt after five years assuming that your income neither increases nor decreases.

Regardless, of your opinions about where government money should be spent and how much the point of this is that you either spend borrowed money like a drunken sailor or you don't. You can't claim to be the party of small government and fiscal conservancy and spend money like this.

I think it is time we bring back some good old fashioned gridlock to Washington. Bill Clinton gets a lot of credit for running a balanced budget during his tenure. But some of that credit goes to the fact that he had a Republican Congress for the last 6 years. Everyone was forced to make choices. We don't need a Constitutionally questionable line item veto to balance the budget. We need Congress and the President to actually not be so in love with one another that everything is rubbered stamped and damn the cost.

People think that gridlock in Washington is bad. They are wrong. Red tape is bad. But gridlock is not red tape. Gridlock means the next President might not have to raise taxes.

Sen. Mike DeWine, said what?

I found this over at Think Progress.

The White House stated today that it is backing a legislative proposal by Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine to exclude Bush’s NSA wiretapping program from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. ThinkProgress has previously reported why the proposal is a bad idea. Tonight, on Fox News, DeWine himself explained his motivations behind the proposal:

"You know, there’s been some controversy about whether or not this program is legal or is not legal. I think we need to get beyond that. And the vast majority of American people believe these calls need to be listened to. But we don’t want to have any kind of debate about whether it’s constitutional or not constitutional. So I think we need to put that beyond us." Full post

Further reading.

Excuse me Senator but this is exactly the kind of thing we should be having a National debate about. That means Congress, the President, the Supreme Court and the American people. And to think, I would have had an opportunity to support a candidate who had a chance of defeating DeWine in Ohio - until this week.

How come we got treated to semen stains on Monica's dress for 3 months but we can't have a debate about the constitutionality of a government spy agency violating its charter by order of the President who was possibly abusing powers that possibly shouldn't have been granted to him in the first place? Oh, right. Semen is better television.

House GOP Won't Revisit Flawed Budget Bill

WASHINGTON - A clerk's mistake could mean a budget bill
President Bush signed isn't technically law, but congressional Republicans said again Wednesday they have no plans to try to fix the problem.

Even though Alabama attorney Jim Zeigler has filed a lawsuit charging the $39 billion deficit-cutting legislation Bush signed is unconstitutional because the House and Senate failed to pass identical versions, House GOP leaders insist there's no problem.

"I believe that it's law," said House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

Not so, says Zeigler, a Republican activist.

"An eighth-grader in civics class knows that a bill cannot become law unless the identical bill passes the House and Senate and is signed by the president," Zeigler said.

Okay as usual these days the guys in Congress are having a little bit of trouble reading the Constitution. Just because you meant to pass the same bill doesn't mean you did.

If the Supreme Court even has to hear this one as it should not get out of the Federal Court in Mobile, AL(read the article) everyone should be beyond upset. You know, because Congress is actually considering violating the Constitution. Maybe when they figure this out they can go back and fix their other violation. The one that granted President Bush wartime powers but Congress never declared war.

May the people who did this

be eviscerated in print and talk radio.

Paul Hackett is ending his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Ohio.

Apparently, behind the scenes players in his own party, the Democrats, hounded him to drop out. May those that did this rot. It would have been nice if they would have actually let the primary process start.

I am thoroughly disgusted.

More opinion: Paul Rieckhoff, Gary Hart

Cheney 'Authorized' Libby to Leak Classified Information - National Journal

Hey, yeah, I'm still alive, and yes, I actually post to blogs once in a blue moon.

All kidding aside, this sounds like it's pretty damning. Is Dick Cheney the new Spiro Agnew?

National Journal - Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, testified to a federal grand jury that he had been 'authorized' by Cheney and other White House 'superiors' in the summer of 2003 to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to go to war with Iraq, according to attorneys familiar with the matter, and to court records.

Libby specifically claimed that in one instance he had been authorized to divulge portions of a then-still highly classified National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein's purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons, according to correspondence recently filed in federal court by special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald.

Beyond what was stated in the court paper, say people with firsthand knowledge of the matter, Libby also indicated what he will offer as a broad defense during his upcoming criminal trial: that Vice President Cheney and other senior Bush administration officials had earlier encouraged and authorized him to share classified information with journalists to build public support for going to war. Later, after the war began in 2003, Cheney authorized Libby to release additional classified information, including details of the NIE, to defend the administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case for war.

Heeeerrre's Tommy!

Yes, folks he is back! Although he has a court date pending with regard to corruption charges for his PAC in Texas and he still could get in some more hot water depending on what Jack Abramoff says when he spills the beans(pun intended), the House Republicans have given Tom DeLay a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. In addition, he scored a seat on the House Justice sub-committee. Yes, the committee that helps oversee the Justice Department. The one that is investigating Jack Abramoff.

DeLay Lands Coveted Appropriations Spot
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Indicted Rep. Tom DeLay, forced to step down as the No. 2 Republican in the House, scored a soft landing Wednesday as GOP leaders rewarded him with a coveted seat on the Appropriations Committee.

DeLay, R-Texas, also claimed a seat on the subcommittee overseeing the Justice Department, which is currently investigating an influence-peddling scandal involving disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his dealings with lawmakers. The subcommittee also has responsibility over NASA — a top priority for DeLay, since the Johnson Space Center is located in his Houston-area district.Full tex

In an odd twist, DeLay is taking the spot of fellow Republican Randy Cunningham of California. Mr. Cunningham resigned from his seat because he is currently awaiting sentencing for bribery and tax evasion.

The Primaries are coming! The Primaries are coming!

Sorry, not trying to scare you.  Those primaries are still 2 years away.  Which means people will start throwing their hats in next year.  In the meantime...

There are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives up for election in 2006.  Is your district one of them?

Don't know which district you live in?  Well, you can try here or looking on your voter registration card may help.

Maybe among these we can find 5 or 6 that are worthy of endorsement.

If you find someone that is worthy of us taking a look at please email us.

Senators Question Gonzales on NSA Wiretaps

By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Senators raised doubts about the legal rationale for the Bush administration's eavesdropping program Monday, forcing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to provide a lengthy defense of the operations he called a vital "early warning system" for terrorists.

A handful of Republicans joined Democrats in raising questions about whether
President Bush went too far in ordering the National Security Agency's monitoring operations. The senators were particularly troubled by the administration's argument that a September 2001 congressional resolution approving use of military force covered the surveillance of some domestic communications.

"The president does not have a blank check,(emphasis mine)" said Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who wants the administration to ask the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review the program.

"You think you're right, but there are a lot of people who think you're wrong," Specter told Gonzales. "What do you have to lose if you're right?"

Well, Senator if you think the administrative branch of government might be abusing its powers, do something about it. For starters you can renig the "war time" like powers Congress illegally gave him in the first place.

I am calling upon Congress to stop playing around in committee and take back some of their Constitutional resposponsibility. However, this is an election year. No way, it happens.

Um, It's Unconstitutional Too

This isn't really a post-mortem on the SOTU from last night. This is more a point of order from last night's speech. Which I didn't watch. I know how irresponsible of me. But I can hardly listen to the President for 5 minutes let alone listen to him butcher the English language for nearly 2 hours.

Then there's the spending issue.

The president said, "I am pleased that members of Congress are working on earmark reform," a comment which caused Sen. John McCain to clap and bounce his head like Goofy on crack. "And we can tackle this problem together, if you pass the line-item veto.

No, Mr. President. We can tackle this problem if you would just use the veto power you ALREADY possess. You have yet to veto a single spending bill, including that earmark-loaded Porkapalooza highway bill last summer. You didn't need a line-item veto to erase the Bridge to Nowhere. All you needed was a Bic pen. You could have borrowed mine.More from Human Events

First I will tackle the quote. Mr. President, The United States Supreme Court already declared the line item veto to be unconsitutional. Bill Clinton had use of the line item veto from 1997 - 98 until the Justices got a chance to rule. The majority, 6 - 3, opinion stated: "there is no provision in the Constitution that authorizes the president to enact, to amend or to repeal statutes". In other words, if Congress passes a law or bill you, Mr. President, have to sign all of it or veto it.

Which leads us to the second point in the article snippet above, from a self-proclaimed Conservative publication by the way, President George W. Bush has never vetoed a single spending bill in 5 years. Mr. President I appreciate the fact that you don't, or at last say you don't, want bills loaded up with pork for special interests - like bridges to islands in Alaska that have 50 people living on them - so do your job. Veto the bill. Make Congress rewrite it without the pork.

I know lots of people who wish they could only pay taxes or have their federal income taxes used for certain things - mine would go to arts, education, roads and job training - however that is not the way the laws are written. We pay taxes. Congress decides how to spend them.

So, Mr. President here is The Constitution of The United States of America which you have sworn to uphold. Read it. Love it. Careful though, there might be some stuff in there about wiretapping that you might not like.

Analysis: GOP Re-Embraces Maverick McCain

Republicans also turned to McCain, the occasional party maverick with the gold-plated reformer's resume and a demonstrated appeal to independent voters. GOP leaders covet that appeal as they look ahead to fall elections that will test their grip on power.

"Obviously, when you're looking at the issue of congressional reform, the first person you turn to in the United States Senate is John McCain, and we've done so," said Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa.
...
Not that many years ago, Republicans were furious at the Arizona senator for his ceaseless, and ultimately successful, efforts to pass legislation designed to reduce the impact of big money on politics.

The high command in the House was doubly angry, fuming that the McCain briefly used the office of the Democratic leader as a base of operations to secure the votes of GOP rebels needed for final passage. The legislation had been at the core of McCain's unexpectedly strong campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, when he drew heavy support from independent voters and swamped candidate George W. Bush in the leadoff New Hampshire primary.

We here are always glad when someone like Senator McCain is given the limelight. He is a good and faithful servant of his constituency and the American people. I for one wouldn't be a bit mad at him if he told these people who turned their backs on him in spades to take a flying f*ck at a rolling doughnut. However, John McCain is also loyal to his party. Even though they essentially cast him out and called him crazy in 2000.

His integrity is why we like him. But wouldn't it be nice if just once he really hit back?

Here's hoping they really listen to him and this isn't some cheap stunt for the mid-term election cycle.

Ralph Reed's Ties to Abramoff May Slow His Run at GA Lt. Gov

From the article:

"We believe that Ralph wants to be president. The only place to stop him is right now," says former state senator Greg Hecht, the leading Democrat in the race.

Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

One would think that the social moderates/fiscal conservatives of the Republican Party would never let that happen but they don't really control the party right now.

The very stench of corruption surrounding anyone can hurt in politics. As it should. However, in Ralph Reed's case I can only hope it is true.

EDIT: a further quote that gives insight to the Repubican Party as it stands right now

It's unclear whether Reed's link to Abramoff will turn off Christian voters. Sadie Fields of the Georgia Christian Coalition, says Reed will get a warm welcome when he and Cagle appear before the group Saturday.

"He has apologized for any disappointment anyone might have felt over Abramoff," she says. "It's time to move on."

She probably sent Jimmy Swaggart a check after his "I have sinned" speech too.

Under The Radar

I just found this today. It is an article from the New York Times that says that just hours after signing the defense bill and with it the torture ban into law the White House issued a Presidential statement which said, "...the administration would interpret the amendment "in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the president to supervise the unitary executive branch and as commander in chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on judicial power." In other words, I may have signed it but I didn't mean it and I will take that sh@t under advisement.

Obviously, Senator McCain and others who vociferously supported the bill and the torture ban in particular are not happy.

Is this a case, yet again, of the President trying to make the Executive Branch have undue power and is it legal? John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, asks that question.