Friday, October 27, 2006

Quote of the Day  "No doubt in my mind, with your help, Dave Lamberti will be the next United States congressman. Dave and I believe a lot of things. We believe that you ought to keep more of your own money. We believe in family values. We believe values are important. And we believe marriage is a fundamental institution of civilization."   --George W. Bush, at a campaign fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Jeff Lamberti, October 26, 2006   3:04:19 PM     comment []

	Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Next on 'Rush', drug-addled scumbag shares his recipe for Puppy Stew. . .   Limbaugh mocks Michael J. Fox political ad Conservative talk show host accuses actor of faking Parkinson's disease By David Montgomery The Washington Post Updated: 8:27 a.m. ET Oct 25, 2006 Possibly worse than making fun of someone's disability is saying that it's imaginary. That is not to mock someone's body, but to challenge a person's guts, integrity, sanity. To Rush Limbaugh on Monday, Michael J. Fox looked like a faker. The actor, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, has done a series of political ads supporting candidates who favor stem cell research, including Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who is running against Republican Michael Steele for the Senate seat being vacated by Paul Sarbanes. "He is exaggerating the effects of the disease," Limbaugh told listeners. "He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. . . . This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting." Limbaugh, whose syndicated radio program has a weekly audience of about 10 million, was reacting to Fox's appearance in another one of the spots, for Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill, running against Republican Sen. James M. Talent. But the Cardin ad is similar. It is hard to watch, unless, for some reason, you don't believe it. As he speaks, Fox's restless torso weaves and writhes in a private dance. His head bobs from side to side, almost leaving the video frame. "This is the only time I've ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has," Limbaugh said. "He can barely control himself." 'A shameless statement' Later Monday, still on the air, Limbaugh would apologize, but reaction to his statements from Parkinson's experts and Fox's supporters was swift and angry. "It's a shameless statement," John Rogers said yesterday. Rogers, Fox's political adviser, who also serves on the board of the Parkinson's Action Network, added: "It's insulting. It's appallingly sad, at best." "Anyone who knows the disease well would regard his movement as classic severe Parkinson's disease," said Elaine Richman, a neuroscientist in Baltimore who co-wrote "Parkinson's Disease and the Family." "Any other interpretation is misinformed." Fox was campaigning yesterday for Tammy Duckworth, a congressional candidate, outside Chicago, when he alluded to Limbaugh's remarks. "It's ironic, given some of the things that have been said in the last couple of days, that my pills are working really well right now," he said, according to a report on the CBS2 Web site. After his apology, Limbaugh shifted his ground and renewed his attack on Fox. "Now people are telling me they have seen Michael J. Fox in interviews and he does appear the same way in the interviews as he does in this commercial," Limbaugh said, according to a transcript on his Web site. "All right then, I stand corrected. . . . So I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong, and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act." Then Limbaugh pivoted to a different critique: "Michael J. Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited and in the process is shilling for a Democratic politician." 'Hope to millions of Americans' Limbaugh's shock at Fox's appearance is a measure of the disease's devastation, advocates say. Contrary to the charge that Fox might not take his medicine to enhance his symptoms, the medicine produces some of the uncontrolled body movements. "Stem cell research offers hope to millions of Americans with diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's," Fox says in the Cardin ad. "But George Bush and Michael Steele would put limits on the most promising stem cell research." Fox has appeared in ABC's "Boston Legal" this season. In his scenes, taped over the summer, Fox does not shake or loll his head as he does in the Cardin commercial, but does appear to be restraining himself, appearing almost rigid at times. A source with direct knowledge of Fox's illness who viewed the Cardin ad said Fox is not acting to exaggerate the effects of the disease. The source said Fox's scenes in "Boston Legal" had to be taped around his illness, as he worked to control the tremors associated with Parkinson's for limited periods of time. Staff writer Frank Ahrens contributed to this report. © 2006 The Washington Post Company 1:03:59 PM     comment []

	Monday, October 23, 2006

Pardon my drool. . . . . .but if the article below is any indication, Number One on the  Democrats' agenda will be to give the American people their country back. One can only hope that they can actually pull it off on November 7,  Diebold and Barron's be damned. . .       Minimum Wage, War Top Democrats' Plans - - - - - - - - - - - - By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Writer October 23,2006 | WASHINGTON -- Democrats say they will burst out of a 12-year exile with a bang if they win control of Congress in two weeks. They promise to quickly pass a minimum wage increase at home and to reduce the U.S. war role in Iraq. Made-for-televison hearings would focus on faulty intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq, strategic and tactical missteps once there and the sending of troops into combat with insufficient armor, the Democrats say. From the helm of the House Armed Services committee, they would press for an almost immediate troop drawdown. They also would try to switch the U.S. from a major role in Iraq to a supporting one -- counterterrorism and logistical tasks rather than patrols of the streets of Baghdad. All that is assuming the Democrats win, a matter still to be decided by voters. As in other policy matters, there's also a question whether the Democrats could agree on how to force Bush's hand. For example, they remain divided on how many troops should be brought home right away. Many dismiss any suggestion they would try to cut funding to end the war as in the Vietnam era. As for investigations the Democrats might start, targets could include the administration's handling of agency finances and Bush's habit of issuing statements attempting to limit his obligations in following some details of laws he has signed. "We haven't had any oversight hearings in six years, except for cheerleading sessions," said Rep. Pete Stark of California, who is in line to chair the House health subcommittee should Democrats become a majority. Over the years, majority Republicans have developed an all-purpose reply to Democrats' gripes: When they gain control, they can run Congress as they please. Capturing the House, the Senate -- or both -- also would allow Democrats to turn Capitol Hill into a pulpit from which to make the case for even more seats in the 2008 elections -- including the one in the Oval Office. House Democratic leader -- and speaker in waiting -- Nancy Pelosi has promised to pass within the first 100 hours of a new Congress an increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, from the current hourly pay of $5.15. The last increase was voted by Congress in 1996. Democrats also would dare Bush to cast a second veto against one of the most popular bills passed by Congress during his term, a measure that would have allowed federal funding for new embryonic stem cell research. Supported by former first lady Nancy Reagan, the bill passed both the House and Senate, leading Bush this year to cast the lone veto of his administration. The president says public money should not be spent on a process that social conservatives compare to abortion. Polls show that more than three-fourths of Americans disagree. Democrats say a new debate and a new veto would remind voters closer to the 2008 election that the legislation and a new president who supports it would put federal funding behind the search for cures. Other major policy matters facing would-be Democratic congressional committee chairmen include influencing Bush's signature domestic law, No Child Left Behind, set for its first update next year. Though they helped pass it with bipartisan support early in Bush's first term, Democrats have fumed that the education law has been mismanaged. The also accuse the president of reneging on a promise to fully fund it. In charge of one or both education committees, Democrats also would try to put their stamp on the Head Start program and restore money Republicans cut for college aid. On health policy, Democrats would try to make changes to the Medicare prescription drug benefit, requiring the government to negotiate lower prices with pharmaceutical companies. But Stark is under no illusion his party will have the votes to do that, and Bush said last week he would resist changes. "Without a change in the administration, which isn't likely, I wouldn't expect to see major legislation for the next two years," Stark conceded. Nearly every prospective Democratic committee chairman interviewed by The Associated Press in recent days pledged to step up Congress' supervisory role over the management and conduct of executive branch agencies. Democratic-led Judiciary committees would launch oversight hearings on the Justice Department's conduct of the war on terrorism, looking at everything from secret searches and wiretaps to how the FBI treats whistleblowers. Would-be Senate Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., says he also would hold hearings on abuse of terrorism detainees and on war profiteering. As chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Joseph Lieberman would push for stronger oversight on a raft of matters, including contracts awarded to private companies for Hurricane Katrina and Iraq. Democrats' environmental agenda would include investigation of the Environmental Protection Agency's regulation of polluters, pesticides and chemical exposures, and the how the Interior Department has handled oil and mineral leases. 5:43:05 PM     comment []

Quote of the Day   "Quite rightly, we criticize that in most Islamic states the role of religion in society and the secular character of the legal system are not clearly separated. But we haven't taken note as readily of the U.S. Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible that show similar tendencies."   --Gerhard Schroeder, former German Chancellor  11:35:30 AM     comment []

	Sunday, October 22, 2006

The Republican Filth Machine Kicks Into High Gear, Part II:   Aide May Have Misdialed Phone Sex Line - - - - - - - - - - - - October 21,2006 | SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Both major-party candidates for a congressional seat are decrying an ad sponsored by a national Republican committee that accuses the Democrat of billing taxpayers for a call to a phone-sex line. The ad, which began airing Friday, shows Michael Arcuri leering at the silhouette of a dancing woman who says, "Hi, sexy. You've reached the live, one-on-one fantasy line." Arcuri's campaign said an associate mistakenly dialed an 800-number sex line two years ago from Arcuri's New York City hotel room, and released records supporting the claim. The number shares the same last seven digits with the number for the state Department of Criminal Justice Services, which was dialed the minute after the first call was made. Arcuri, the district attorney in Oneida County, said the ad was "clearly libelous" and threatened to file a lawsuit. His GOP opponent, state Sen. Ray Meier, described it as "way over the line." At least seven television stations in Syracuse, Utica and Binghamton refused to run the ad, Arcuri said. The ad's sponsor, the National Republican Congressional Committee, stood by the 30-second message. Spokesman Ed Patru insisted it was "totally true" and said Meier was not consulted. The two candidates, who say they are friends, are running to fill the seat left open by the retirement of Republican Rep. Sherwood Boehlert. Political analysts have said the race is among the nation's most competitive. Arcuri said he had "never seen such an unfair commercial. I have a 12-year-old daughter. She's going to have to go to school and hear other kids talk about this." Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, called the ad "an egregiously stupid accusation." Earlier in the week, both candidates said they were disappointed by the attack ads produced and funded by their national party committees. They said campaign-finance laws prevent them from screening the commercials. One voter, Rosemarie Paladino of Utica, said she found such negative advertising so distasteful that she was tempted to avoid voting. "But then I said, 'Wait a minute. I've got to exercise my right.'" Salon provides breaking news articles from the Associated Press as a service to its readers, but does not edit the AP articles it publishes. © 2006 The Associated Press. 3:21:48 PM     comment []

After Pat’s Birthday Courtesy the Tillman Family Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin stand in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabia before their tour of duty as Army Rangers in Iraq in 2003. http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/ Posted on Oct 19, 2006 By Kevin Tillman Editor’s note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document. It is Pat’s birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after.  It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military.  He spoke about the risks with signing the papers.  How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people.  How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition.  How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we got out.  Much has happened since we handed over our voice: Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is.  Something like that. Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is. Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them.  Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few “bad apples” in the military. Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet.  It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat. Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.  Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.  Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started. Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated. Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated. Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated. Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated. Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe. Somehow torture is tolerated. Somehow lying is tolerated.  Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.  Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world. Somehow a narrative is more important than reality. Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is. Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world. Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance. Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country. Somehow this is tolerated. Somehow nobody is accountable for this. In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people.  So don’t be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity.  Most likely, they will come to know that “somehow” was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.  Luckily this country is still a democracy.  People still have a voice.  People still can take action.  It can start after Pat’s birthday.  Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman, Kevin Tillman 3:19:54 PM     comment []

	Thursday, October 19, 2006

The Republican Filth Machine Kicks Into High Gear:   AG: Voter Warning Linked to GOP Campaign - - - - - - - - - - - - October 19,2006 | SANTA ANA, Calif. -- State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Southern California Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said. "We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained," said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer. He declined to identify the specific Republican campaign Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register both reported Thursday that the investigation appeared to be focused on the campaign of Tan D. Nguyen, a Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez. The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time." In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote. Complaints about the letters this week prompted state and federal investigations, and Barankin said investigators had been questioning people in Orange County. The two newspapers reported state investigators had found the location where the letters were printed and mailed to an estimated 14,000 Democratic voters in central Orange County. The Los Angeles Times, citing an unnamed source, said authorities had interviewed Nguyen at his office. Nguyen did not return messages left by The Associated Press or either newspaper. Sanchez also did not return messages seeking comment. The owner of Huntington Beach-based Mailing Pros, Christopher West, told The Orange County Register that he didn't know any laws were being broken when the mailer was sent. He said he gave investigators the name of the person who hired him to do the mailings but declined to provide that the name to the newspaper. "I'm the one that processed it, and I don't read Spanish," West said. "Until the investigator read it to me, I didn't know the content." Scott Baugh, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, condemned the letter as "an obnoxious, grotesque piece of work." "Regardless of who did it -- Republican or Democrat -- if it's a crime, then whoever did it should be prosecuted," Baugh said. A group of six Vietnamese-American political candidates running for offices in Orange County issued a joint statement saying: "The content of this mailer is offensive to the immigrant voters, regardless of their ethnicity." The note's letterhead resembles that of an anti-illegal immigration group, California Coalition for Immigration Reform, but group leader Barbara Coe said she told investigators for the attorney general's office Wednesday that her group didn't authorize the letter and she didn't know who sent it. "The letterhead was altered and I've never head of any Sergio Ramirez," the name signed to the letter, Coe said. Numerous political leaders including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have denounced the letter and called for the investigations. © 2006 The Associated Press.   Colo. opens probe on Beauprez attack ad By STEVEN K. PAULSON, Associated Press WriterTue Oct 17, 2:42 PM ET Colorado authorities have opened a criminal investigation into whether an attack ad run by GOP Rep. Bob Beauprez (news, bio, voting record) against his opponent for governor illegally used confidential information from a federal law enforcement database. Democrat Bill Ritter's campaign has suggested the information was taken from the computerized crime records. But John Marshall, the congressman's spokesman, said Tuesday that the details came from an informant he refused to identify. He said the campaign is cooperating with investigators. The investigation marks an ugly turn for what has so far been a relatively mild campaign to succeed Republican Gov. Bill Owens, who is prevented by term limits from running again. Recent polls show the two-term congressman trailing Ritter, a former Denver district attorney. The governor has asked the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to expedite its investigation. Use of the federal criminal database for any purpose other than law enforcement is a crime punishable by fines and up to a year in prison. The TV ad in question refers to Carlos Estrada Medina, a suspected illegal immigrant who was arrested in Denver in 2001 on suspicion of heroin trafficking. The ad says Ritter chose to seek a plea bargain in the case, Medina avoided deportation, and he was later arrested in California on suspicion of sexually assaulting a minor. Reporters found that the person arrested in Colorado was identified as Walter Noel Romo and had a different birthdate than Medina, according to the Ritter campaign. When questioned about the man's identity, the Beauprez campaign said Romo and Medina were the same man because federal criminal databases indicated the two men had the same FBI numbers. Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said the campaign tried verifying that information through public records but could not — raising the possibility that the databases were illegally accessed. "We could not connect the dots using information available to the public in a way that made any sense at all," Dreyer said. "If we couldn't do it, how was the congressman able to do it?" Arrest records are the only public information in the database, CBI spokesman Lance Clem said. Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press     10:39:30 AM     comment []

	Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Quote of the Day "As the hobbits are going up Mount Doom, the Eye of Mordor is being drawn somewhere else. It's being drawn to Iraq and it's not being drawn to the U.S. You know what? I want to keep it on Iraq. I don't want the Eye to come back here to the United States."   --Sen. Rick Santorum 2:23:03 PM     comment []

	Monday, October 16, 2006

Charlie Cook's National Overview October 13, 2006 Category 5 Hurricane Heads for House GOP Let's get the disclaimer out of the way: there are 25 days between now and the November 7 election and things could well change, making what follows obsolete. That said, this is without question the worst political situation for the GOP since the Watergate disaster in 1974.  I think a 30-seat gain today for Democrats is more likely to occur than a 15-seat gain, the minimum that would tip the majority. The chances of that number going higher are also strong, unless something occurs that fundamentally changes the dynamic of this election.  This is what Republican strategists' nightmares look like. Whether one looks at national or district-level polling data, or a survey like the new Democracy Corps survey that covered the 49 most vulnerable GOP districts, the conclusion remains the same: it is very ugly for Republicans. On a conference call today, James Carville suggested that the Democratic Party should expand beyond just the top targeted races.  He believes the party should help fund previously ignored Democratic challengers in second- and third-tier districts--the next 30 to 50 Republican-held seats--to fully capitalize on this environment and help those candidates maximize their chances of winning. Carville went as far as to suggest Democrats go to the bank and borrow $5 million. If I were them, I'd make it $10 million and put $500,000 each of these 20 districts. For Republicans, it is a time to defend every seat, no matter how secure those seats appear.  If things don't change, GOP incumbents, who never even contemplated having a difficult race, may well lose this year.  And if I were a Republican, I'd start praying that something happens to take the spotlight away from Iraq and scandals, because this current issue mix is lethal. In the Senate, there were already seven GOP seats that were virtually tied, and in three or four of those cases, politically dead.  Thus, we have not seen as much movement as we've seen in the House. Readers should remember the Cook Political Report's long respected policy of not putting unindicted incumbents in a worse category than Toss Up. For more on the state of play in the Senate races, see Editor Jennifer Duffy's Senate Overview in today's update. Can things change? Sure. The North Korean nuclear (or non-nuclear, as the case may be) tests should serve as a reminder that this election, like any other, can turn on a dime.  But for Republicans, it must turn if they have any hope of salvaging this election. 11:02:19 AM     comment []

© Copyright 2006 Michael D. Zungolo. Last update: 10/27/2006; 3:04:56 PM.