Why I Think Republicans Will Lose The Midterms

. . and then there's the layer of hypocrisy on top of all of that , for the "values" (not) party.
Yep, I agree. As EJ Dionne
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601371.html) and Keith Olberman (Friday night) have both said, it's the predation that's the issue. Also the coverup, which turns the individual sin into a collective one.Chris Matthews correctly said, "This story has more legs than a centipede".
I 'm dismayed and flummoxed that the unspeakable travesty of the torture bill has gotten lost in the flood of publicity about Republican pedophilia. But hopefully this sordid episode will finally wake people up to the whole scope of the Republican crimes against our country.Robert Kuttner connects the dots in today's Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/10/07/same_song_different_scandal/

People seem,finally, to have had enough. Check out the protests against both santorum and Jeb Bush in Pittsburgh
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06280/728177-53.stm

"By now, Mr. Bush was cornered. He was surrounded by signs that said "Pittsburgh is a Santorum Free Zone," "Honk if you're sick of Rick," and a crowd growing increasingly louder, according to Mr. Vandenburgh. . ."

Great thread, Casey!

Boy, I hope you're right. I find myself so hesitant to even believe it's possible, because I can't help think about them rigging the election. I just read an article in the Washington Spectator called "The Elephant in the Polling Booth", by Mark Crispin Miller, who wrote 'Fooled Again: How the Right Stole the 2004 Elections and Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)'. Here's how it starts:

"To say that this election could go either way is not to say that the Republicans have any chance of winning it. As a civic entity responsive to the voters' will, the party's over, there being no American majority that backs it, or that ever would. Bush has left the GOP in much the same condition as Iraq, Afghanistan, the global climate, New Orleans, the Bill of Rights, our military, our economy and our national reputation. Thus the regime is reviled as hotly by conservatives as by liberals, nor do any moderates support it.

So slight is Bush's popularity that his own party's candidates for Congress are afraid to speak his name or to be seen with him (although their numbers, in the aggregate, are even lower than his). It seems the only citizens who still have any faith in him are those who think God wants us to burn witches and drive SUVs. For all their zeal, such theocratic types are not in the majority, not even close, and thus there's no chance that the GOP can get the necessary votes.

And so the Democrats are feeling good, and calling for a giant drive to get the vote out on Election Day. Such an effort is essential—and not just to the Democrats but to the very survival of this foundering Republic. However, such a drive will do the Democrats, and all the rest of us, more harm than good if it fails to note a certain fact about our current situation: i.e., that the Democrats are going to lose the contest in November, even though the people will (again) be voting for them. The Bush Republicans are likely to remain in power despite the fact that only a minority will vote to have them there. That, at any rate, is what will happen if we don't start working to pre-empt it now."

Read the entire article here:
http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20061001elephant_1.cfm

And I can't help wonder what will happen if they do steal the thing.

Will these soccer/security moms rise up? Will they let it stand? Will the rest of us?

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'

Come Senators, Congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside and it's ragin'
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

amen brother zimmerman amen,
Otter

Carol:

Yes.

No.

*Hell* no.

Next question?

Some polls show certain races being very close. That obviously is good news for the Repubs because it will make any Republican victory in those close races less suspect. However, I am convinced that such tight polling will allow for the Repubs to cheat and steal any of those close elections.

Here in the IL-6, Duckworth is leading the Repub by only 5% points (before the Foley/Hastert scandal), and the County Election Commission is more corrupt than one can imagine. Members of the Commission has received contributions from the companies that sell the Diebold machines, have discarded election results several years earlier than allowed by the law and have been forced to abandon election hardware that they bought from well connected friends. I have no doubts in my mind that with such a close election, they Commission will do anything to put a Republican in that seat.

Posted by: oncall at October 7, 2006 05:08 PM

Oncall, I share your fears. I cannot believe that, almost 6 years since the 2000 election, that we've not solved this. The most benign explanation I can give to this delay is that our election commissioners were not technically savvy enough to see the dangers of electronic voting (here's MY vote for broadly educated people, and why people in public life, especially, really need to know somthing about science and technology).; another factor is the crazy patchwork election system we have-- why should systems differ from one county to another? It's just nuts. But there is also the darker side to this == the partisan Secretaries of State, the Diebold corruption, etc etc etc. . so awful. In the long term, we desperately need to pass legislation like the Holt bill, and/or anything that will mandate optical scans (the obvious choice-- allows digital counting, but automatic, non-tamperable paper trail), and we even more desperately need t o purge partisan activity by election commissioners. (Of all offices that must be non-partisan, it's that one)
In the short term, we need to support all efforts (by Holt, Kerry, and others) to force districts to provide emergency paper ballots in case of computer breakdowns in the coming election), and all efforts to suppress voting by qualified voters. And we need to work to so increase support for Dem candidates that the polls are strong going into the election, so that (a) any "surprise" results will be extra-suspect and (b) the number of Dem votes are so high as to overwhelm attempts at subtle hacking.

How has our country come to this place?

mbk:

Apathy, inertia, and disinformation.

three out of the four horsemen right there,
Otter

Child molesters are bad but my pet peeve is military recruiters.

We had a gubenatorial debate last night, down here in Texas. Our State Comptroler and the favorite to upset Rick Perry was asked how many weeks of unemployment benefits are available for Texans and please name the new President of Mexico. She was clueless and drew a blank on both questions. As our State Comptroller that is really frightening that she was so out of touch about something so basic, but as a Republican its expected they wouldn't be familiar with unemeployment benefits. Chris Bell's performance was sharp and got the attention of super trial lawyer John O'Quinn who pledged hours after the debate to quickly raise 2-3 Million dollars to fund a last minute blitz for Chris Bell; along with waivering Democrats. Its late really late in our election cycle here, but you never know.

Hook Em Horns.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/05/1429248

Denver Man Sues Secret Service for Arrest After He Criticized Cheney on Iraq War

Steven Howards was arrested in a Denver mall after he approached Vice President Dick Cheney and denounced the war in Iraq. Secret Service agents accused him of assault and harassment. He's suing them now for violating his civil rights. Howards joins us to speak about his ordeal.

Transcript, mp3, etc at site
--

DiAnne there must be something in that mile high air. Denver is where that secret service imposter tried to illegally arrest a Bush critic in 2004.I love the progressive city of Denver but they have some overly aggressive Republicans who are in the distinct minority there. Still want the DNC to choose Denver for their '08 Convention. Hopefully we will know that answer soon DiAnne.

Bubba,
Yes.. there's something about Colorado. I'll be in Manitou Springs a couple of weekends from now. Manitou is pretty cool but it's next to Colorado Springs, where all the faith-based "base of Bush" orgs moved because of tax breaks - now they have over 200 of them. I agree about Denver & DNC. There is potential in that part of the west.

The Newsweek poll is informative, even if a poll is just a snapshot in time (a trend).

—on the question of which party is more trusted to fight the war on terror (44 to 37 percent) and moral values (42 percent to 36 percent), the Democrats now inspire more trust than the GOP on handling Iraq (47 to 34); the economy (53 to 31); health care (57 to 24); federal spending and the deficit (53 to 29); gas and oil prices (56 to 23); and immigration (43 to 34). The President's approval rating has fallen to 33 percent, down from 36 percent in August.

See discussion at http://www.thepremise.com:

For the past twelve months or so, the White House has gone on periodic offensives to raise the President’s approval ratings. And to the degree that they have concentrated everything on that one result, they’ve been effective, but only momentarily. As soon as the White House relaxes - or becomes distracted - the President’s numbers sink again.
(snip)
Support for this President, to the degree that it exists anywhere in the country, is incredibly soft. To the extent that there is a significant portion of the country that believes any sitting President should be supported simply as a patriotic act, this new number, and the speed at which the President attained it, is truly amazing.

George Bush’s Presidency is over.

--Let's hope that's he's right.

From Terry McCarthy at ABC (courtesy http://www.upper-left.blogspot.com):

For ordinary Iraqis, life has become ever more difficult. Many women are now afraid to leave their homes to go shopping, children are kept indoors to play, men sleep with guns next to their beds — if they can sleep at all. The physical violence is horrific, but even more widespread is the psychological damage...

"[Y]ou…cannot be a President in a wartime and not
realize that you’ve got to stay the course.”

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow

See discussion at http://www.thepremise.com:
Posted by: DiAnne at October 7, 2006 08:26 PM

Is the creator of this blog Mark from Iowa?

Posted by: mbk at October 7, 2006 02:50 PM

Fascinating. I wasn't aware that Jebbie was campaigning for anyone, anywhere. He must be the stand-in for his moron brother from whom most neoCons are distancing themselves because a majority of Americans are against Bu$hCo's illegal and unconstitutional Iraq war....

OR, Jebbie's angling for the '08 nomination and campaigning for other neoCons gets him face time (and I haven't forgotten that Jebbie is one of the founders of PNAC - just because he's more quiet than his brother doesn't mean he's any less dangerous about world domination)....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Posted by: NonnyO at October 7, 2006 09:05 PM

Whatever the deep strategic motivation, the thing that brings me joy is that the strategy is not working for either of them: either Jeb or Rick : )

I just love the image of ordinary citizens running him into the closet.....

wus.

"George Bush’s Presidency is over, Let's Hope he is right" said DiAnne

August 25, 2005 6:30 pm. History will mark that date and time as the official end of the Bush Presidency.

George Bush’s Presidency is over, Let's Hope he is right" said DiAnne

actually that date and time when the Bush Presidency will be judged by history as officially being over, will be recorded as:

Aug. 29, 9:12am National weather service gets report of levee breach.

But I think that I made my point.

Well, I'll be watching this whole thing closely, and trying to find a way to contribute. But after all, I don't belong to any organized political party. OI'm a Democrat.

Chuck in Houston

DiAnne:

Cheer me up! Somehow!

Chuck in Houston

If it keeps on raining, levee's gonna break,
If it keeps on rainig, levee's gonna break,
When the levee breaks, I got no place to stay.
Mean old levee, taught me to weep and moan,
Mean old levee, taught me to weep and moan.
Got what it takes to make me leave my happy home.
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well.
Dont it make you feel bad
When youre tryin to find your way home,
You dont know which way to go?
If youre goin down south
They go no work to do,
If you dont know about Chicago.
Crying won't help you, prayin wont do you no good.
No, cryin won't help you, praying wont do you no good,
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.
All last night, I sat on the levee and moaned.
All last night, I sat on the levee and moaned.
Thinking 'bout me baby, and my happy home.
Going, going to Chicago,
Going to Chicago.
Sorry, but I cant take you there.
Going down, going down now, going down.

Led Zepellin

Chuck in Houston

Then as it was,
Then again it will be.

Though the course may change sometimes,
Rivers always reach to sea.

Chuck in Houston

I guess that last was for Wild_Salmon, if such might lurk....

Chuck in Houston

So what am I, chopped river otter?

Harrumph.

I'll be very surprised if the Republicans loose the mid-terms. The Democrats are under-funded and disorganized, as far as I can see. Dagnabit again! Oh well, just my sour yellow-dog-Democrat-grapes, I guess. We'll get them next time and just maybe we'll get them this time.

Chuck in Houston

PS: I know thate the DCP is non-denominational in this respect; but I am not....

Otter:

You're just not from Oregon, that's all! Me and Wild_Salmon used to have a lot of river-talk that was specific to a particular watershed back in the day (pre-Nov-04). No offense meant!

Chuck in Houston

Which was the Alsea, inter alia....

Now, of course, my best river-otter experience was on the North Fork of the Nehalem....

Chuck in Houston

Posted by Casey Morris at October 7, 2006 01:05 PM

A lot of Americans who simply don't have time to keep up with the daily news, if they vote at all, will vote with the last poll results they heard; they are sheeple voters who haven't a clue about "issues" (Torture Bill being right next to that illegal and unconstitutional Iraq war, since the Torture Bill got little attention in Lamestream Media - they called it the "detainee bill" and concentrated on the torture part, not on the part that gives the Torturer-in-Chief all those extra "unitary executive" [dictatorial] powers to declare which laws he will or will not enforce, and power to "interpret" laws any whichever way he wants, and power to send even Americans to jail indefinitely on his say-so alone - not to mention all the other things that are SO illegal and unconstitutional in the Torture Bill that Lamestream Media anchors and spinmeisters never mentioned).

As long as poll numbers (however ephemeral from week-to-week) keep Dems ahead of R's, the sheeple will vote for Dems. I do NOT trust polls that show any races a 'toss-up' (and I do suspect many polls are rigged with fake numbers to make some political races seem closer than they actually are) - that is open season to rig elections, and the neoCons WILL rig elections where there are e-voting machines without paper trails, even if Dems are 20 points ahead in the polls, and even if exit polls are overwhelmingly higher in favor of Dems. Those results are going to have to be instantly challenged when that happens, or else we'll lose any chance of a majority in the House and/or Senate this fall. (If a recount of paper ballots takes days or weeks or months, I'm prepared to be VERY patient until an accurate recount is completed! I'm also prepared to see any contested e-voting machine results challenged by a re-vote with paper ballots. I can be very patient when it matters! Whether or not Dem candidates have the spine and the balls to challenge any 'close' races and demand recounts, or whether they'll let things slide like they have in every election since 2000, is the only thing up for questioning right now.)

As far as the threat to the kids or grandkids or great-grandkids or nieces or nephews of the voters of this nation... you're entirely correct. Even a HINT of a threat to anyone under 18, and all poll results go out with yesterday's garbage. Between the fresh memories of the recent school shootings (by adults or teens) and Foley's predatory IMs (and it seems he had personal contact with at least one of those teens, even if it's not clear how old the kid was when the contact happened in San Diego), and the memory of those who knew about Foley and protected him, any allegiance to political party or religious affiliation gets tossed out the window (at least in the minds of normal people with their mental faculties intact). Everyone wants "our kids" to be kept safe, and any hint of a threat (real or not) to kids puts adults up in arms, ready to shoot or hang the perverts, those who protected the perverts, or school terrorists: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and neighbors of any kids who have been threatened brings out our innate instincts to protect the young. Doesn't matter. Threaten kids in any way, and there's hell to pay. Doesn't matter if the kids are our own biological descendants or someone else's descendants; they're minors, and our instinct is to protect them. There's an innate, unspoken biological imperative here that sends all those protective hormones racing through the veins of protective adults who have any conscience, because kids are our biological future; they carry our DNA and ensure our species continues into the future as long as they are kept safe by us here and now (assuming the Torturer-in-Chief doesn't start any more stupid wars, this time 'nooculer' - which could make humans and most other life forms - except cockroaches - extinct). This is all VERY up close and personal on several levels!

School terrorists (adults or teens) make things up close and personal. Perverts like Foley, or those who protect the pervs, makes things up close and personal. These things happened here, at home, on our own soil. We pretty much know how we would feel if we were the parents of the kids who have been threatened or harmed or killed. It doesn't take much imagination to figure that out; even thinking about a threat to kids makes our own hearts race and gives us an adrenalin rush to protect "our kids." There doesn't even have to be a real threat for those reactions to happen in the minds and bodies of normal adults with a conscience (just writing about the potential possibility makes my heart race; I even get that way in stores if I hear an unseen baby or child cry clear across the store!).

BushWacko or his surrogates can try to hog the airwaves with their talk of threats from undefined 'enemies' and 'ter-raists' who are 'somewhere else in the world,' and anyone with common sense knows the Iraq war is illegal and unconstitutional, not to mention immoral and unethical and dishonorable... it will fall on deaf ears. That's all happening 'somewhere else in the world,' so it's not up close and personal like school shootings and perverts and those who protected the perverts here 'at home.'

In locations where there are not e-voting machines without paper trails, I suspect there will be a clean sweep and Democrats winning, maybe even with an overwhelming majority, even if Dems trailed in polls before the news of the Foley scandal hit. In the areas where there are e-voting machines with no paper trail, if Dems lose in 'toss-up' close races, they are going to HAVE to challenge the results and call for a re-vote on paper ballots at the very least (and voters will not complain if it costs lots of extra money either, I suspect - they just want fair elections where every vote counts).

No. This will not be a cake-walk, so I'm not deluding myself. But even though this Foley scandal will dominate much of the political news for weeks, maybe months, to come and I wish things like the Torture Bill with all of it's horrors and dangers to the republic would be talked about more than anything, I'll deal with the Foley publicity and the rest of it... if we can get a majority in the House and the Senate on Nov. 7. IF that all happens, I'll be busy writing to Dem politicians on Nov. 8 urging a repeal of the Torture Bill, the Patriot Act (and it's amendments), repealing all legislation that has taken away so many of our rights, urging an end to the Iraq war and impeachment of the administration that illegally and unconstitutionally got us into these stupid wars based on lies, demanding investigations into other ethical misconduct on the part of politicians in other scandals..., et cetera.... We need to get back to laws and rules and regulations pre-2000 'election' and then start over. And, I'll be demanding that Dem legislators keep their own private and public lives squeaky clean so there's no reason to bring them up on ethical or criminal charges...!

At this instant in time, trying to imagine a month from now on election day, possible scenarios for October Surprises, or even an early November Surprise, I kind of doubt even a new war or a 'terrorist' incident on our own soil (or yet another OBL tape) would do much to change the opinion that sexual predators, or those who protected the sexual predators for many years, need to be voted out of office. Those hypocritical 'family values' neoCon politicians do need to figure out that to win elections they can't protect the perverts and sexual predators in their midst, and the only thing that can bring that truth home to roost is to vote them out of office. It's just not nice to let those who can do harm to minors wander around free.... [Seriously; would you argue with a female who might otherwise be shy, soft-spoken, meek and mild... but turns into a raging mother bear on a rampage when it comes to anyone who comes close to maybe threatening her kids in her own territory?!? Safety and security soccer moms, indeed. Tsk, tsk, tsk....]

Chuck

Could you be loved and be loved?
Could you be loved and be loved?

Don't let them fool ya,
Or even try to school ya! Oh, no!
We've got a mind of our own,
So go to hell if what you're thinking is not right!
Love would never leave us alone,
A-yin the darkness there must come out to light.

Could you be loved and be loved?
Could you be loved, wo now! - and be loved?

(The road of life is rocky and you may stumble too,
So while you point your fingers someone else is judging you)
Love your brotherman!
(Could you be - could you be - could you be loved?
Could you be - could you be loved?
Could you be - could you be - could you be loved?
Could you be - could you be loved?)

Don't let them change ya, oh! -
Or even rearrange ya! Oh, no!
We've got a life to live.
They say: only - only -
only the fittest of the fittest shall survive -
Stay alive! Eh!

Could you be loved and be loved?
Could you be loved, wo now! - and be loved?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061008/ap_on_go_co/foley_ethics_probe

Lawmakers face scrutiny in House probe

WASHINGTON - The House's investigation of a page sex scandal has only one certainty: Former Rep. Mark Foley (news, bio, voting record) will escape punishment by his peers.

It is the Florida Republican's sexually explicit electronic messages to teenage former male pages that have ignited what has become a pre-election firestorm.

Congress only can punish current members, officers and employees. Foley resigned on Sept. 29, but is under investigation by federal and Florida authorities.

If the House ethics committee finds evidence of a Republican cover-up, many people could be in jeopardy, facing consequences that range from a mild rebuke in a committee report to a House vote of censure or expulsion.

Unlike the committee's usual practice of identifying the investigative target at the outset, this probe is wide open. Anyone who knew of Foley's salacious messages before the story broke at the end of September has reason for concern.

"At this point, what we're launching is an investigation into this whole affair, without a specific target," said California Rep. Howard Berman (news, bio, voting record), the senior Democrat on the 10-member committee divided evenly among Republicans and Democrats.

"But because Mark Foley has left the Congress, we don't have the authority to discipline him in any way. The reason what happened is relevant is because there are people now who have responsibilities, and we're gathering the facts which are related to his conduct to make judgments," Berman said.

A second committee member, Rep. Judy Biggert (news, bio, voting record), R-Ill., said House Speaker Dennis Hastert's prominence in questioning about who knew what and when about Foley's conduct toward pages and Hastert's closeness to her will not be problematic.

Hastert's leadership political committee gave Biggert $6,000 for her 2002 campaign and his re-election committee gave her $1,000. Her district also adjoins Hastert's.

"We're looking at a great number of people, not just one specific person," Biggert said. "The facts will lead to us to who, if there is someone, who perhaps did a cover-up."

{{{Click on link for more. The "ethics committee" may not be able to do anything... but voters can....}}}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061007/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/mexico_us_dangerous_border
New wall not expected to stop migrants
TIJUANA, Mexico - Rising from the Pacific surf and zig-zagging along the border for 14 miles, Tijuana's border fence has done little but push illegal migrants into the Arizona desert and feed the smuggling industry since it went up in 1994.

Today, as the U.S. prepares to build a high-tech barrier with 700 miles of extra fencing, motion detectors and remote controlled devices, smugglers are already figuring out how to beat the new security.
~~~~~
No amount of border security will stop illegal immigration; the reality is that roughly half the estimated 12 million undocumented foreigners in the United States entered on bona fide visas and stayed after they expired.

{{{Click on link for more. Gee willikers. Didn't anyone figure any of this out before voting to build that stupid wall in the first place, that this is money we can't afford to spend? I'm shocked I tell ya, shocked... NOT! I was, however, unaware that one fence already exists. I wonder how that affects the wildlife in the area? I wonder, too... if immigrants, legal or illegal, were fully informed about the Torture Bill and the new dictatorial powers of the Torturer-in-Chief, if they would be so eager to come to this country. Halliburton is, after all, building "detention facilities" with their $385 billion dollar open-ended contract to hold "an influx of illegal immigrants." If legal or illegal immigrants knew they could be detained indefinitely without any legal rights to habeas corpus, I'm not sure they would want to come to this country.}}}

Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III | Foley's Folly: Ethics and Morality vs. Legality
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100706C.shtml
"House Speaker Hastert should resign. Congressmen Alexander and Reynolds should resign as well, not for violating our laws, but for failing us ethically, morally and violating the public trust," writes Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III.

{{{Highly Recommended Reading....}}}

No Bush Left Behind
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100706F.shtml

Across the country, some teachers complain that President George W. Bush's makeover of public education promotes "teaching to the test." The President's younger brother Neil takes a different tack: He's selling to the test. The No Child Left Behind Act compels schools to prove students' mastery of certain facts by means of standardized exams. Pressure to perform has energized the $1.9 billion-a-year instructional software industry.

Now, after five years of development and backing by investors like Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and onetime junk-bond king Michael R. Milken, Neil Bush aims to roll his high-tech teacher's helpers into classrooms nationwide. He calls them "curriculum on wheels," or COWs. The $3,800 purple plug-and-play computer/projectors display lively videos and cartoons: the XYZ Affair of the late 1790s as operetta, the 1828 Tariff of Abominations as horror flick. The device plays songs that are supposed to aid the memorization of the 22 rivers of Texas or other facts that might crop up in state tests of "essential knowledge."

Bush's Ignite! Inc. has sold 1,700 COWs since 2005, mainly in Texas, where Bush lives and his brother was once governor. In August, Houston's school board authorized expenditures of up to $200,000 for COWs. The company expects 2006 revenue of $5 million. Says Bush about the impact of his name: "I'm not saying it hasn't opened any doors. It may have helped with some sales." (In September, the U.S. Education Dept.'s inspector general accused the agency of improperly favoring at least five publishers, including The McGraw-Hill Companies, which owns BusinessWeek. A company spokesman says: "Our reading programs have been successful in advancing student achievement for decades; that's why educators hold them in such high regard.")

The stars haven't always aligned for Bush, but at times financial support has. A foundation linked to the controversial Reverend Sun Myung Moon has donated $1 million for a COWs research project in Washington (D.C.)-area schools. In 2004 a Shanghai chip company agreed to give Bush stock then valued at $2 million for showing up at board meetings. (Bush says he received one-fifth of the shares.) In 1988 a Colorado savings and loan failed while he served on its board, making him a prominent symbol of the S&L scandal. Neil calls himself "the most politically damaged of the [Bush] brothers."

{{{Sounds like a Cash Cow to me.... See link for more disgusting details.}}}

Taliban Revived in Southern Afghanistan
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100706A.shtml
The kind of anonymous insurgent violence that is convulsing Iraq has migrated 1,500 miles east to plague Afghanistan five years after the US -led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime.

{{{Ya. Sure. You betcha. We're on the road to "victory" and imposing democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq. NOT.}}}

Contractors in Afghanistan Are Making Big Money for Bad Work
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100706D.shtml
The Bush Administration touts the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan as a success story. Perhaps, in comparison to the violence-plagued efforts in Iraq and the incompetence-riddled efforts on the American Gulf Coast, everything is relative.
Excerpt:

Massive open-ended contracts have been granted without competitive bidding or with limited competition to many of the same politically connected corporations which are doing similar work in Iraq: Kellogg, Brown & Root (a subsidiary of Halliburton ), DynCorp, Blackwater, The Louis Berger Group, The Rendon Group and many more. Engineers, consultants, and mercenaries make as much as $1,000 a day, while the Afghans they employ make $5 per day.

These companies are pocketing millions, and leaving behind a people increasingly frustrated and angry with the results.

Instead of reprimanding these contractors for their poor work, USAID announced a new contract totalling $1.4 billion awarded to the joint venture of The Louis Berger Group, Inc. and Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. on September 22.

More on link.

Marie Tessier | Military Justice System Fails One More Victim of Sexual Violence
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100706G.shtml
"Three years after the public and Congress demanded reform, sexual assaults remain a persistent fact of life in the military," says Marie Tessier.

News You Won't Find On CNN
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/

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{{{Besides a couple of short paragraphs about his hard drive crashing which is why his newsletter won't come out again until Monday, the above paragraph was the only thing Tom Feeley put out for an ICH newsletter today. The link gets to the home page, but I didn't check to see if any of the stories could be read beyond the home page section.}}}

I can't summarize this webcomic panel here, but I can urge you to go see it for yourselves: http://www.goats.com/archive/040611.html

left-wing pinko subversives 'r' us,
Otter

Posted by: Otter at October 8, 2006 02:09 AM

Whether reading a cartoon or attempting to 'listen' to Bu$hSpeak during things like rose garden hissy fits, it's always jarring to one's brain and logical thinking processes to read their propaganda prattle. After all these years, I still can't get used to it. It never makes any SENSE!

Speaking of nonsensical things... I thought the torture bill was going to be ready for Herr Boosh to sign by Friday. Did I miss something on any evening snooze that wasn't on at any regular time because of sports on every channel (I turned the TV off), or has he signed it and issed a signing statement to go with it behind closed doors, sans ceremony...? I would have thought elevating himself to the unitary executive dictator and exempting himself and his minions from prosecution for war crimes would have been grounds for a media event...?

Posted by: mbk at October 7, 2006 08:38 PM

Yes, that's mark from Iowa

props to mbk to picking that up. nice catch.

i really like his new blog. will be adding him to my must read list.

Fortunately for us, people have short memories.

Studds was a pedophile and we all knew it and our party never dealt with it. Now it has come back to bite us in the butt, although the short memory thing is working for us.

Clinton was one step removed from a pedophile, although I think taking advantage of a 21 year old intern when you are the most powerful man in the free world runs a close second.

I am anti death penalty, but agree that pedophiles should be shot too (yeah, OK, but I will never pull a lever for that either). They are incurable and I have worked with enough of them in a clinical setting "post therapy" to know. They all know it too as several have admitted to me.

I note that once again we are again getting off message and distracting the voters from the real issues and replacing the real issues with the fingerpointing that will ultimately prove to be a waste of time and resources.