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Check out Vic's MPR moment!
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/10/31/victoria/

Vic look's great, and I know exactly where that picture was taken. Not only that, her comments speak for thousands of deeply caring individuals who look at government as being of the people and by the people. Well done.

Death Of An Unpopular Poet
By Jimmy Buffett
1973

I once knew a poet
Who lived before his time
He and his dog Spooner
Would listen while he'd rhyme
Words to make ya happy
Words to make you cry
Then one day the poet suddenly did die

But he left behind a closet
Filled with verse and rhyme
And through some strange transaction
One was printed in the Times
And everybody's searchin'
For the king of undergound
Well they found him down in Florida
With a tombstone for a crown

Everybody knows a line
From his book that cost four ninety-nine
I wonder if he knows he's doin'
Quite this fine

'Cause his books are all best sellers
And his poems were turned to song
Had his brother on a talk show
Though they never got along
And now he's called immortal
Yes he's even taught in school
They say he used his talents
A most proficient tool

But he left all of his royalties
To Spooner his ol' hound
Growin' old on steak and bacon
In a doghouse ten feet 'round
And everybody wonders
Did he really lose his mind
No he was just a poet who lived before his time
He was just a poet who lived before his time

White House accused of stalling hunger report
USDA denies figures being delayed until after election

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15528296/from/RS.5/

Not too many months ago some here and on the progressive side were second guessing the selection of Howard Dean as chairman of the DNC, and his subsequent 50 state strategy to revive the Democratic Party. Right now we are either tied or ahead in conservative states like Montana, Idaho, Tennesse and Virginia. Granted these are conservative Democrats running in these states, but his his vision and undertstanding of conservative culture and the types of candidates that appeal in these states may pay some valuable dividends next week.

Comcast has a big AP headline saying Kerry's comments mirror things he said in '72 - basically that the military ends up with alot of underprivileged. Well it's true and it's always been true. The draft was more of an equalizer but the elite always found a way out (such as Bush, Cheney & other chickenhawks). Yalies like Kerry who went were unusual. Sure there are educated people in the military, smart people. In my experience, many were in college, in ROTC, so they could be officers. Some got into the Air Force - supposed to be a better career opportunity, maybe safer, more lucrative.

My friend who was oldest of ten joined the Marines at age 17 and came back deaf and racist.
My friend who came back and went to school on GI bill went to get it out of the way - the the Navy - still had to be off coast of Vietnam and work on the killing machine (what he calls the Others were told they were going to Germany & ended up in Vietnam. Others were told they'd be trained for communication & be in non-combat & ended up in combat, even wounded. My father came off the farm, signed up for the reserves because he was hungry, had been working full-time at seventeen, fifteen hours a day for peanuts. He had to go into WW2 supposedly for 2 years, ended up for four - has bad post-traumatic stress, shock treatments, didn't recognize his own family, couldn't hold down a job, got Parkinson's and died. He did go to school after getting out, on the GI bill - another reason he joined.

Kerry is right either time, either interpretation. Prove to me young people from poor families aren't the predominant cannon fodder. Where are they keeping the bodies? Why are the coffins hidden at Dover? Why isn't the VA well funded? Why are there so many vets on the streets, homeless & drug-addicted? Why did as many commit suicide after Vietnam as were killed there. Why is the military lowering its age requirement, accepting non-citizens, non high school grads & those w/ADHD and other previously exempt inflictions? Why are people being kept in longer than they were initially told or being sent in again after being told they could come home? Why are people expected to defend their country without asking any questions? Why are they expected to blindly follow those in authority and believe that we are looking for WMDs or that terrorists lurk, when there is no proof?
Someone just tell me.

Don't mention the war

During the 2004 presidential race, George W Bush had a problem. If voters viewed the election as a match-up between Bush and the Iraq war, things looked bad for the Republicans. The war wasn't going well; Bush had hyped the threat from Iraq; there were no signs of final victory, the public was justifiably unenthused by the ongoing military action.

But the Republicans won that election because the face-off was not Bush versus his unpopular war but Bush versus Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee. It was far easier for the Bush campaign and its allies to pummel Kerry than to defend the no-end-in-sight war. And now the Bush White House - facing what may be a political tidal wave that washes Republicans out of control of at least one house of Congress - has reprised that act, with the media providing much-needed assistance.

As the final week of the campaign began, the Bush White House and Republican spinners were not focusing on Iraq, gay marriage or illegal immigrants. They were zeroing in on a muffed joke that Kerry had made during a campaign rally on Monday. (snip)

What was absurd about this chapter was that Kerry's comment drew more media attention than a New York Times story that disclosed an October 18 classified briefing of the US Central Command reporting that Iraq was edging toward "chaos".

A week after that briefing, Bush had declared publicly that the United States was "winning" in Iraq. This revelation - and the contradiction between Bush's rosy statement and Central Command's pessimistic view - should have been driving the news. (snip)

And when Vice President Dick Cheney appeared at a Wednesday campaign rally for Senator Conrad Burns - an endangered Montana Republican linked to convicted Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff - he did not feel compelled to address the Times story. (snip)

For two days, the Kerry matter dominated cable news coverage of the elections. On Thursday, it was the lead story in The Washington Post. That edition of the Post had nothing on the front page about what was happening with the actual war in Iraq.

Republicans have little to say about Bush's policy in Iraq, for there is little to the policy. Bush's attempt last week to assuage public concern by announcing there will be "benchmarks" in Iraq fell flat, for the White House could not define the benchmarks and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki immediately dismissed the notion of creating hard-and-fast markers. Days later, Maliki even assailed US military efforts to set up security checkpoints in a Shiite stronghold in Baghdad. So when it comes to Iraq, Republican candidates are left mainly with rhetoric, certainly not results.

Meanwhile, Republicans are buckling under the weight of serial scandals - beyond the congressional page affair. (snip)

Generalizing about congressional elections is a risky enterprise. But it is hard to avoid the conclusion that with the war in Iraq and these less weighty episodes, the wheels have popped off the Republican bandwagon. It may be that Karl Rove and other Republican strategists are able to beat back the tide-just barely. But it's unlikely that the GOP attacks on Kerry will make the difference. If anything, this assault only filled up time for a few days and allowed Republicans to feel like they were back in the good ol' days of 2004. But nostalgia, they should keep in mind, is usually a short-lived phenomenon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk - comment is free blo

I was numb for 3 days and now I'm hopping mad, probably the maddest I've been since I was a teenager and watching people a few years older than me get blown away, which they used to show on television. I once saw a cameraman get his camera shot out & the screen went black. I once saw tactical police beating up DNC delegates. Now the tv shows nothing so I have sat out the last few wars.

I caught a news blurb by accident this morning on KSTP (ABC affiliate) that made me hopping mad. So I fired off a letter to whoever has the morning snooze, and then because I'd reference the Reality Check segment on WCCO (CBS affiliate), I sent a copy to that fellow, too.

In case it's not crystal clear, Hubbard Broadcasting in the Twin Cities owns KSTP....

To Whom It May Concern:
This morning's KSTP 'news' featured a blurb about one of the negative attack ads against Mike Hatch put out by a group based in WA DC, and made mention of the fact that the owner of Hubbard Broadcasting was one of the principal donors to the group that financed the smear ad against Hatch.

The ad alluded to was deconstructed as misleading and false on WCCO's Reality Check, BTW.

It begs the question: WHAT "liberal media?!?"

Okay, I admit I caught the news blurb by accident while channel surfing since I long ago gave up watching KSTP 'news.'

I've long been aware of the extreme right-wing slant to KSTP's 'news' (in addition to the over-promotion of sports which only makes me turn my TV off or change channels, not to mention the national and local nonsense inserting religion into politics when the First Amendment mandates a separation of church and state; religion should NEVER be mentioned in connection with politics, and certainly not on the 'news' unless it's to mention a church having its tax-exempt status taken away for preaching politics from the pulpit; shame on you, and shame on ABC on a national level for promoting religion in politics), but it's cold comfort to know Mr. Hubbard, who owns KSTP, actually contributes to a right-wingnuttia organization that smears and swiftboats candidates who are not Republicans. There are serious ethical issues involved with the implied endorsement of one political candidate over another by the owners of your TV station.

What Mr. Hubbard has done is endorse Pawlenty without running an ad to say so. Pawlenty is the one who signed the bill that taxes Hennepin County residents without their express consent and approval for the Twins stadium that the billionaire owner is planning on building in Hennepin County (they were denied the ability to vote on the issue of additional taxes imposed on them by a Republican governor who pledged no new taxes); it was an egregious error on the part of the Minnesota state legislators to give state tax dollars to a billionaire sports team owner as corporate welfare. Anyone besides me remember their American history from grade school? 'Taxation without representation' was one of the prime reasons for the Revolutionary War. I feel sorry for the residents of Hennepin County, in other words, since they have had a tax imposed on them without voting for it, and I'm making sure I never spend money in Hennepin County again because I totally oppose the idea of sports teams getting state or county tax dollars for their sandboxes, especially in view of the fact so many sports figures have criminal records. If jocks and team owners want an outdoor stadium so badly, they can take a pay cut to build their private playgrounds, since they are the only ones who would reap any profits.

As far as the kerfluffle over the botched Kerry joke... get over it already! It's a total non-issue! Drop it! Even before you in right-wingnuttia media made a false 'issue' out of the botched joke (per the White House propaganda machine), I understood exactly what Kerry was talking about. It was a direct slam against Bush's known low IQ, his bad grades in college, and especially implied Bush's rank stupidity and LIES regarding Iraq. No one who has paid attention to politics since 2000 mistook the slam against Bush as anything other than a slam against Bush, and certainly no one except Bush twisted it to mean a slam against the military. The troops who have an IQ above a rock must know the only reason they are in Iraq is to preserve, protect, and defend the interests of oil corporations and Bush and Cheney's corporate cronies like Halliburton (big oil corporations profit from laws written into the Iraqi constitution dictated by the Bush administration). Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11, and we certainly don't need to stay in Iraq to be caught in the crossfire of their civil war! US military personnel are not in Iraq or Afghanistan to kill innocent people on your behalf or mine, since the invasion and occupation was both unconstitutional and a war crime to begin with (ergo, 'victory' is impossible - and we still don't know what 'job' they're supposed to 'finish' anyway), nor are US military personnel in Iraq to protect any of our lost freedoms since the Military Commissions Act of 2006 officially made the United States of America into a dictatorship. It was the US military under Bush's "leadership" that invaded and occupied Iraq, remember, not the other way around; there's nothing for our military personnel to 'defend' on our behalf.

IF you want to cover any genuine "issues" you really need to read, understand, and deconstruct the wording of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (aka the 'torture bill' to bloggers, and the 'detainee bill' to 'news' writers). In case you didn't realize it, as of Oct. 17, 2006, when the MCA was signed, the US of A is no longer the republic given to us by the Founding Fathers. Bush has absolute dictatorial power. The MCA is unconstitutional and illegal on several levels, and the Rubber Stamp Congress Critters (both Republican and Democrat) who passed that piece of toilet paper legislation need to be voted out of office - or have their sanity, intelligence, and ethics questioned, along with their knowledge about history, the US Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, and US law. The MCA is a genuine "issue" that's been ignored by all mainstream media outlets, and it needs to be repealed simply because it's unconstitutional and illegal, followed by the repeal of the so-called Patriot Act and it's amendments, and the other crappy legislation that has encroached on our Constitutional rights and invaded our privacy.

The other "issue" that needs deconstructing is the phrase "war on terror." The synonymous phrase would be "war on fear." How illogical is that? There can't be a "war" unless another country with a standing army is involved, and the international gang of criminals does not represent any country, nor are the criminals an organized army. (Every time I hear the silly phrase 'war on terror' I think of phrases like 'war on poverty' from years ago.) The criminals who commit terrorist acts are nothing more than an international gang of thugs, and they need to be tracked down by international law enforcement agencies (assuming the criminals don't blow themselves up with bombs strapped to their bodies). Iraq did not have international gang members at the time Bush unconstitutionally ordered the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Diverting the US military from Afghanistan to illegally invade and occupy Iraq was over-kill (all puns intended), a dramatic, lying, over-reaction to criminal acts on the part of hijackers; 9/11 was NOT an "attack" or an act of war on the part of another country - each hijacking was a criminal act that resulted in massive death and destruction! Just the invasion of Iraq alone was a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. It couldn't have happened without the cooperative bandwagon patriotism so cheerfully, fervently, and repetitiously broadcast by mainstream media when Bush first proposed the idea (and many of us knew he was lying at the time; why didn't you in media figure that out?). You do realize that American mainstream media is culpable for covering up and excusing Bush's war crimes when they failed to call him out on his lies and demand direct answers to direct questions, don't you? Most rational people who have critical thinking skills fully engaged realize that, statistically, we have more to fear from distracted drivers talking on cell phones or drunk drivers than from any international criminals....

If anyone in modern media ever needs a true icon to emulate, look no further than to Keith Olberman....
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/11/01/olbermanns-special-comment-there-is-no-line-this-president-has-not-crossed-nor-will-not-cross-to-keep-one-political-party-in-power/
That's only Olberman's latest; listen to his past commentaries on other links on that web site, especially what he had to say about the MCA, and take some lessons from Olberman. He's the most admired media person in America today, and if you don't know that already, you haven't been paying attention!

Hiss and boo to the owner of Hubbard Broadcasting for endorsing Pawlenty, and for indirectly endorsing other Republican candidates, without a specific editorial ad to say so...!

Sincerely,

Posted by: Bubba at November 2, 2006 02:27 PM

Good point, Bubba. I wasn't a Dean fan during the primaries, but I do think he's been doing a good job at the DNC. And the situation in the gubernatorial election in Idaho-- IDAHO-- is nothing short of miraculous.

I'm spitting mad.

I had Faux news on without realizing it (for background noise)and I saw the following ad:

Words of terrorists being typed that said "....and then we'll blow up...." then the spokesman said:

"If you elect the Democrats we won't be able to listen any more. Vote like your life depends on it, because it does."

Then they had a shill on that said the housing market is doing well, that lots of people are buying second houses.

Then they announced that tonight they will have a program featuring the Swift Boater's reaction to Kerry's latest remarks.

It's like they are creating an entirely fictional world.

Talk about wag the dog........

What the ad is really saying is,

"Vote like you're an idiot, because we think you are."

Prayed for by The Republican National Committee

Truth Shall Prevail
If Fox were a bigger market segment, my husband and I would have left the country long ago. They cannot be worse than anything anywhere in Europe in the 1930s.

Earlier, I went at it with the ADA from Red River Parish and even now he has just been caught straight LYING to our faces about murder.

He started lying and I totally lost it.

LYING. Again. I have no idea what to do about it or even how to DEAL with it at this point. He is either a liar or he is RETARDED. I can prove he is a liar.

I do not understand how they can do this to my family, even now, they just.. I am so upset I'm shaking.

My family sat through lucas and now browne
and we just can not take much more of this. How can they just keep lying to us and getting away with it?

I can not believe what is going on down here. I have never even heard of anything like this, murder,murder everywhere.

We do not know how to make this stop.

Any suggestions?

http://thepremise.com/archives/11/02/2006/550
Good one today.

& from TPM Cafe:

Note to White House - any reprise of Swift Boating means talking about Iraq - not a good idea for the Republicans

Bush & Cheney are desperate to beat Conrad Burns.
They want to scare western Democrats as much as they can.

November 2, 2006
Key Evangelical Quits Amid Gay Sex Claim
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 6:41 p.m. ET

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- The leader of the influential National Association of Evangelicals, a vocal opponent of the drive for same-sex marriage, resigned Thursday after being accused of paying for sex with a man.

The Rev. Ted Haggard also stepped aside as head of his 14,000-member New Life Church while a church panel investigates, saying he could ''not continue to minister under the cloud created by the accusations.''

The investigation came after a 49-year-old man told a Denver radio station that Haggard paid him to have sex.

Haggard, a married father of five, denied the allegations in an interview with KUSA-TV late Wednesday: ''Never had a gay relationship with anybody, and I'm steady with my wife, I'm faithful to my wife.''

In a written statement, Haggard said: ''I am voluntarily stepping aside from leadership so that the overseer process can be allowed to proceed with integrity. I hope to be able to discuss this matter in more detail at a later date. In the interim, I will seek both spiritual advice and guidance.''

Mike Jones, 49, told The Associated Press that Haggard paid him to have sex nearly every month for three years. His allegations were first aired on KHOW-AM in Denver.

Jones said that he had advertised himself as an escort on the Internet and that a man who called himself Art contacted him. Jones said he later saw the man on television identified as Haggard.

He said that he last had sex with Haggard in August and that he did not warn him before making his allegations this week.

Jones said he has voice mail messages from Haggard, as well as an envelope he said Haggard used to mail him cash, though he declined to make any of it available to the AP.

''There's some stuff on there (the voice mails) that's pretty damning,'' he said.

Richard Cizik, vice president for government affairs for the evangelicals association, expressed shock.

''Is this something I can imagine of Ted Haggard? No,'' he said.

Carolyn Haggard, spokeswoman for the New Life Church, said a four-member church panel will investigate the allegations. She did not identify the board members.

''This is really routine when any sort of situation like this arises, so we're prepared,'' she said. ''The church is going to continue to serve and be welcoming to our community. That's a priority.''

------

Associated Press writer Dan Elliott in Denver contributed to this report.

Posted by: Cyrano at November 2, 2006 07:14 PM

:-) You beat me to it! :-)

Hmmmm.... Wonder if this is the scandal of the next 48 hrs. to take everyone's mind off of the botched illegal war in Iraq...?

Hmmm, maybe there's something to this End Times stuff after all.

Paul Newman just endorsed Ned Lamont. Time for Joe to pack his bags & go home.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/connecticut_senate

I personally would do anything Paul Newman told me to do, including jump off a cliff. But Paul would never ask that (of a Democrat), so I know I'm safe.

Monkey, the end of the world is not worth waiting for.

Then they announced that tonight they will have a program featuring the Swift Boater's reaction to Kerry's latest remarks.

It's like they are creating an entirely fictional world.

Talk about wag the dog........

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at November 2, 2006 04:54 PM

Swiftboaters talking about swiftboating... it's a fantasy movie and a tear jerker all rolled up into one.

Pathetic. Simply pathetic.

haha
I was just in Colorado Springs - I can just imagine the brouhaha. I think it's funny. Don't these closet cases realize that if they would be relax and be gay, it is not really necessary for them to queer bash or join conservative religious movements. They are creating their own problems!

Someone just sent me a news story about a bus driver being fired for flipping off Dave Reichert, conservative Senatorial contender and Bush rubberstamper. If it happened across the river where he's running, it's a portent. If it happened on my side, it's normal.

Have you had enough of Dennis Hastert?

That's the question that the media montage in this video on YouTube asks and answers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHBm0S0BjQ4

It's one of several hard-hitting spots produced by a stone-solid 16-year-old peace activist from Alabama named Ava Lowery.

You can catch more of Lowery's remarkable media work, and participate in the ongoing discussions of how to wage peace in our time via the forums and the blog, on her website at http://www.peacetakescourage.com -- and trust me, you'll be glad you did.

because 'peacemaking' is not a passive verb,
Otter

This story just broke a few minutes ago about the Republican write in candidate to replace Tom Delay in the Texas 22nd District.

kaching, she is now toast in this conservative district, being mutiple choice.

"HOUSTON — Republican candidate Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who is running for Congress as an anti-abortion candidate, described herself as favoring abortion rights five years ago while seeking Planned Parenthood's endorsement for her run for Houston City Council.

Sekula-Gibbs, the GOP's write-in candidate to replace former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, answered "Yes" in 2001 when asked if she supported "a woman's right to choose abortion" and "public funding for family planning services to reduce unintended pregnancies."

Sekula-Gibbs's Democratic opponent for Congress, Nick Lampson, released the questionnaire today.

Sekula-Gibbs said her position has changed."

11-2-06 Houston Chronicle

I was watching Keith Obermann tonight and he asked one of his guests (Craig Crawford) why the Democrats haven't made more of an issue about Rep. Boehner's comments about the Generals in Iraq and Bush's tasteless video about not finding WMD. Crawford's reply - the Dems don't go for the jugular like the Republicans. It is going to take some time, but more and more Americans are going to get wise to the Republican bully tactics. The other point that Crawford forgot to mention is that there have been Dems who have cried foul and the media has been totally negligent about covering their responses.

Heh!

---------------

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A Republican congressman accused of abusing his ex-mistress agreed to pay her about $500,000 in a settlement last year that contained a powerful incentive for her to keep quiet until after Election Day, a person familiar with the terms of the deal told The Associated Press.

Rep. Don Sherwood is locked in a tight re-election race against a Democratic opponent who has seized on the four-term congressman's relationship with the woman. While Sherwood acknowledged the woman was his mistress, he denied abusing her and said that he had settled her $5.5 million lawsuit on confidential terms.

The settlement, reached in November 2005, called for Cynthia Ore to be paid in installments, according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is confidential. She has received less than half the money so far, and will not get the rest until after the Nov. 7 election, the person said Thursday.

A confidentiality clause requires Ore to forfeit some of the money if she talks publicly about the case, according to this person and two other people familiar with elements of the case.

[snip]

Sherwood, a 65-year-old married father of three who is considered a family-values conservative, had one of the safest seats in Congress until Ore sued him in June 2005, alleging he physically abused her throughout their five-year affair.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, the congressman and successful car dealer said: "I can neither confirm nor deny because this was a private settlement. If I'd like to talk to you about it, I can't."

[snip]

According to a police report, Ore called 911 on her cell phone from the bathroom of Sherwood's Capitol Hill apartment in 2004 and reported that Sherwood had choked her while giving her a back rub. Sherwood admitted having an affair with the woman, but vehemently denied ever hurting her, and criminal charges were never filed. But Ore, now 30, sued for damages.

[snip]

Even before Ore settled, the congressman tried to keep a tight lid on the case. His lawyer asked a judge to prohibit disclosure of materials from the case, warning that Sherwood's opponents might try to use the information to harm him politically.

The lawyer, Bobby Burchfield, was especially adamant that any videotaped deposition of Sherwood not be released, saying the footage could be used against him in negative political ads.

[snip]

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20061103/D8L5A7180.html

--------------

hoist by their own petards *again*,
Otter

I LOVED listening to Victoria! What a great Minnesota voice!

Check out Colbert on the Kerry gaffe--excellent perspective. Here's a link to a quick-loading vid: http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/2006/11/us.html

OC,Perhaps when we get slammed enough we'll be mad as hell and give it back! Dems need lessons on how to deal with bullies and we have so much to learn. I could never figure out why dems didn't take Bush to task on WMD'S at that press dinner as that was a slam to the troops.
An ad could be so simple make of Bush's malproisms like just,have a group standing around scratching heads saying:"did you guys get what he just said." The hold him to account ie NCLB. Andy Card was on HB saying:"this president has a passion for higher education and that why we had the NCLB act passed. I also believe this president might join the peace corps after he's done." Peace Corps,when the world is raging mad at us and him?? Now there's one to run with,yet dems sit idly by and let them get away with this crap.

November 3, 2006
Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office
By JAMES GLANZ

Investigations led by a Republican lawyer named Stuart W. Bowen Jr. in Iraq have sent American occupation officials to jail on bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor construction work by well-connected companies like Halliburton and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi security forces.

And tucked away in a huge military authorization bill that President Bush signed two weeks ago is what some of Mr. Bowen’s supporters believe is his reward for repeatedly embarrassing the administration: a pink slip.

The order comes in the form of an obscure provision that terminates his federal oversight agency, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, on Oct. 1, 2007. The clause was inserted by the Republican side of the House Armed Services Committee over the objections of Democratic counterparts during a closed-door conference, and it has generated surprise and some outrage among lawmakers who say they had no idea it was in the final legislation.

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/middleeast/03reconstruct.html

oncall: Ed Schultz and Al Frankin have in fact been playing that clip on Air America since tuesday, just not on the networks although Obermann did run the clip as did John Stewart.Interesting though that the networks while running the Kerry story didn't bite. Guess the DNC was not as vocal(intimidating) as Mehlman with the networks.

"Bush's tasteless video about not finding WMD"

As to the Boehner stupid comment it seems like that story would be best to be run in his Congressional race.

The message needs to be Iraq, Iraq, Iraq for the next 4 days. That and stem cell research seem to be all my Virginia Undecided voters wanted to talk about tonight, which bodes well for Webb.

51 Things Rick Santorum DOESN"T Want You To Know:

1. Rick was the only member of the entire U.S. Congress to go to Florida and intrude at Terri Schiavo's deathbed. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/30/05)

2. Rick voted against a minimum wage increase 13 times. (Vote 344, 7/31/95; Vote 519, 10/27/95; Vote 54, 3/27/96; Vote 183, 7/9/96; Vote 184, 7/9/96; Vote 278, 9/22/98; Vote 77, 3/25/99; Vote 94, 4/28/99; Vote 239, 7/30/99; Vote 356, 11/9/99; Vote 76, 4/7/00; Vote 26, 3/7/05; Vote 179, 6/21/06)

3. Rick has voted with President Bush 98% of the time. (Congressional Quarterly, Pres. Vote Support Analysis)

4. "Making people struggle a little bit is not necessarily the worst thing" was Rick's defense of his careless vote against increased child care funding. (Congressional Quarterly, 9/12/03)

5. Rick wants to allow states to outlaw all forms of birth control, even for married couples. (Newsweek, 12/27/04)

6. Rick on birth control: "I'm not a believer in birth control... I don't think it works. I think it's harmful to women." (Newsweek, 12/27/04; CN8, 7/28/05)

7. Santorum has repeatedly voted against increasing funding for Pell Grants that provide needed financial aid to lower-income students. (Vote 220, 5/25/95; Vote 68, 3/17/05; Vote 51, 3/11/04; Vote 331, 9/9/03; Vote 339, 9/10/03)

8. "Yes, I am something of a salesman for homeschooling and cyber-schooling" is Rick's description of his public education plan. (It Takes a Family; Patriot News, 7/31/05)

9. Pennsylvanians have paid $55,000 in local tax money to cyber-school Rick's children at their estate in Virginia. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/14/04)

10. Rick's thoughts on college education for women: "The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong." (It Takes A Family, p.138)

11. Rick's disrespect for two-paycheck families: "In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really take an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don't need to." (It Takes a Family, p.94)

12. Rick has repeatedly voted against the Family and Medical Leave Act, which allows Americans to take time off from their jobs and take care of their sick children or other family members. (Vote 393, 11/13/91; Vote 22, 2/3/93; Vote 443, 9/30/92)

13. Rick opposes the right to privacy: "The right to privacy doesn't exist, in my opinion, in the U.S. Constitution." (Associated Press, 4/22/03)

14. Fly Rod & Reel magazine has named Rick one of their "dirty dozen" senators for his votes against clean water, and he has supported Bush's lowering of standards for arsenic in water. (CNN, 4/25/01)

15. "Yes, there will be species that go extinct, but other species will come along and take their place" was Rick's response to his vote to end all enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/1/95; Vote 106, 3/16/95)

16. Rick founded a small "charity" organization, which is subsidizing his campaign staff and campaign activity with tax-exempt dollars. (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/21/06)

17. His reelection campaign is staffed in large part by his taxpayer-funded Senate and conference office employees. (Roll Call, 7/25/06)

18. Rick has accepted 15 corporate flights, allowing companies like Wal-Mart to funnel support to him since they can't legally make cash donations. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/3/06; Santorum FEC Reports, 04-06)

19. Since Rick has been in leadership, our national debt has ballooned to $8 trillion. (US Department of the Treasury, 7/14/06)

20. Big oil companies, due to Rick's support, will receive billions in tax breaks over the next five years, while the price of gas has doubled since he entered the Senate. Remember that when you fill up your tank. (Vote 213, 7/29/05; Vote 332, 11/17/05)

21. Santorum also raised more drug company money than any member of Congress - $298,327 this cycle alone. It's enough to give you a headache. (Campaign Finance Reports)

22. Rick voted against an amendment to negotiate better prescription drug prices under Medicare. (Vote 60, 3/17/05)

23. Rick has been dubbed the "King of the K Street Project" due to his intimate connections with special interest lobbyists. (Washington Post, 8/2/02)

24. Rick has pocketed more lobbyist, special-interest money than any other politician in the country. (Center for Responsive Politics)

25. Another piece of Rick's shady financial history: this year, he bought two apartments at $1 a piece and then sold one a few months later for over $100,000. (Centre County Property Records; The Times-Tribune, 6/15/06)

26. Rick helped pass CAFTA, a bill that will ship hundreds of thousands of American jobs overseas. Since 2001, Pennsylvania has lost 181,000 manufacturing jobs. (Vote 170, 6/30/05)

27. Santorum talks tough on immigration but has opposed tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants. (Vote #96, 4/30/96; Vote #40, 5/23/06)

28. Rick Santorum has voted against increased funding for first responders, port security, and other vital measures. The 9/11 Commission gave Bush and Congress five Fs and 12 Ds for their slow progress. (S Con Res 95, 3/11/04; HR 3338, 12/6/01; HR 4567, 9/9/04; HJ Res 2, 1/16/03)

29. Rick voted seven times against hiring more border patrol agents. (Vote #3, 1/16/03; Vote #119, 4/3/03; Vote #291, 7/22/03; Vote #169, 9/9/04; Vote #182, 9/14/04; Vote #64, 3/17/05; Vote #95, 4/26/06)

30. Rick doesn't think seniors should be allowed to buy cheaper medicine from Canada. He even voted to have border patrol agents confiscate prescription medicine bought in Canada for individual use. (The Hill, 7/12/06)

31. Rick has voted 14 times to cut Medicare. (Vote 69, 4/17/91; Vote 39, 3/4/92; Vote 609, 11/22/93; Vote 232, 5/25/95; Vote 296, 6/29/95; Vote 556, 10/28/95; Vote 156, 5/23/96; Vote 159, 6/13/96; Vote 92, 5/23/97; Vote 96, 6/5/97; Vote 130, 6/25/97; Vote 209, 7/31/97; Vote
303, 11/3/05; Vote 10, 2/2/06)

32. In 1990, Rick won his first election by attacking his opponent for living in Virginia. Today, Rick and his family live in a home valued at almost $1,000,000 in Leesburg, Virginia, even while he insists a two-bedroom home in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, is his primary residence. (American Prospect, 3/1/06)

33. Santorum has opposed billions in federal funding for Veterans Affairs and has voted down mandatory funding for veterans' health care. (Vote #90, 4/12/05; Vote #89, 4/12/05; Vote #145, 6/23/04)

34. Despite talking big on health care, 714,000 Pennsylvanians have lost their health insurance since Rick became a Senate leader. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

35. Arguing about his $37,000 pay raise, Santorum said, "if the people of Pennsylvania saw my record on the pay raise, they would stand up and applaud, not complain that I voted for three pay increases..." (Pennsylvania Press Club, 8/28/06)

36, 37, 38. Three times Rick has voted to raise his own pay, after he said in 1990, "Whatever the salary is when I walk into office... that's what I'll take... I won't take one additional penny..." (Vote 360, 12/7/01; Vote 242, 11/13/02; Vote 406, 10/23/03; AP, 11/7/90)

39. Rick Santorum led efforts last spring to eliminate overtime pay protections. (Vote 27, 3/7/05)

40. Rick talks tough on lawsuit reform and supports a $250,000 cap on malpractice suits, yet he testified on behalf of his wife when she sued her chiropractor for $500,000. (AP, 12/15/99; ABC Primetime Live, 11/11/05)

41. After Hurricane Katrina, Rick called for penalties on many of the suffering victims who could not afford to evacuate. (WTAE-TV, 9/4/05)

42. Rick Santorum authored a bill to dismantle the National Weather Service. (Palm Beach Post, 4/21/05)

43. Rick is considered the #1 proponent of Bush's Social Security privatization scheme. "It's a very small amount of money skimmed off the top" was how Rick explained the plan to privatize your Social Security tax money. (National Journal Congress Daily, 2/22/05; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/20/05)

44. Rick's plan for Social Security would also raise the retirement age to at least 70, and he even said, "I'd go even farther if I could." (La Salle University, 10/18/94)

45. Rick has raised over $1,000,000 in donations from oil, gas, chemical, and mining industries. In fact, Rick has raised more money from gas companies than anyone in Washington other than Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. (Center for Responsive Politics;
www.opensecrets.org/industries )

46. Rick appears to subsidize his lifestyle with campaign contributions. He pays for fancy hardware, ice cream, and groceries, plus has 66 charges to a Starbucks four miles from his Virginia estate. (Philadelphia Daily News, 2/21/06)

47. Rick on our local schools: "It's amazing that so many kids turn out to be fairly normal, considering the weird socialization they get in public schools." He has gone on to consistently oppose funding important initiatives like reducing class size. (It Takes a Family, p.386; Vote #148, 6/27/00; Vote #103, 5/15/01; Vote #379, 10/14/03)

48. Rick Santorum once told a group of young people to "not be afraid to be intolerant." (The Culture of Life World Youth Day, 7/22/02)

49. Rick was once an advocate for teaching "intelligent design" theory as an alternative to teaching evolution in schools. He has flip-flopped on the issue for this election. Maybe his position "evolved." (Scranton Times-Tribune, 12/23/05)

50. Rick Santorum is still fixated on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He ran to the media over chemicals no more toxic than "household pesticides" while the military, CIA, and White House acknowledged they were no longer useable. (Washington Post, 6/22/06; CNN, 6/29/2006)

51. Despite the world making North Korea a top priority, Rick discounted the threat and said Kim Jong Il "doesn't want to die. He wants to watch NBA basketball." Are you serious? This is how Rick makes threat assessments? (The Patriot-News, 7/11/06)

why do yellow dog democrats want to lick santorum in '06? because they can,
Otter

Posted by: Cyrano at November 2, 2006 07:14 PM

My Republican uncle sent me this:

BE SURE TO READ ALL THE LINKS.....ISN'T COLO SPRINGS WHERE ALL THE "FOCUS ON THE FAMILY" PEOPLE ARE?.....MAYBE HE WILL SHED TEARS LIKE JIMMY SWAGGART AFTER HE WAS CAUGHT WITH A HOOKER

http://www.tedhaggard.com/

-- Also, so many people were honking at me today - in traffic, etc. I couldn't figure it out and then I realized it was in support of the Kerry stuff I still have on my car along with "Not My President" "Don't Blame Me I Voted For Kerry" "Bush Cheated" etc. Then when I was gassing up, a guy came up and said, "I like your car."

52. Santorum brought his stillborn infant home from the hospital to show his children and has a picture of it by his desk. I actually read this in one of the national newsmagazines.

53. Santorum is a yucky substance you wouldn't want on you and it is named after him following a contest that was held by a weekly magazine a couple of years ago.

52. Santorum - which you may find touching or repulsive

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61804-2005Apr17.html

53. Santorum - wherein you will find definition of "Santorum"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Love

The eyes of the world are on these US election, while we wonder whether to wake up with dread or hope. Karen, poetry on the White House lawn would be the best thing to have happened there in years! Take a look at this article from a Melbourne newspaper quoting a survey taken in Britain.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/brits-vote-bush-scarier-than-kim-jongil/2006/11/03/1162340031864.html

Thanks for the link, woz! It's always good to see stuff from outside the default Americocentric media bubble that we-the-sheeple try to insulate themselves from discomfort in.

la la la la la fingers in our ears we can't hear you,
Otter

And speaking of fingers in our frickin' ears... it certainly is reassuring to know that the right people are in charge of the world's nuclear secrets, and that Repolitburu apparatchiks are the ones keeping us safe from terrorists and global holocaust because as we all know the Rethuglicans would never, ever manipulate critical security issues for craven political gain:

---------------

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer

By William J. Broad, NY Times, November 3, 2006
http://tinyurl.com/y7kavb

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”

Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. One diplomat said the agency’s technical experts “were shocked” at the public disclosures.

Early this morning, a spokesman for Gregory L. Schulte, the American ambassador, denied that anyone from the agency had approached Mr. Schulte about the Web site.

The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs.

“For the U.S. to toss a match into this flammable area is very irresponsible,” said A. Bryan Siebert, a former director of classification at the federal Department of Energy, which runs the nation’s nuclear arms program. “There’s a lot of things about nuclear weapons that are secret and should remain so.”

The government had received earlier warnings about the contents of the Web site. Last spring, after the site began posting old Iraqi documents about chemical weapons, United Nations arms-control officials in New York won the withdrawal of a report that gave information on how to make tabun and sarin, nerve agents that kill by causing respiratory failure.

The campaign for the online archive was mounted by conservative publications and politicians, who said that the nation’s spy agencies had failed adequately to analyze the 48,000 boxes of documents seized since the March 2003 invasion. With the public increasingly skeptical about the rationale and conduct of the war, the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence committees argued that wide analysis and translation of the documents — most of them in Arabic — would reinvigorate the search for clues that Mr. Hussein had resumed his unconventional arms programs in the years before the invasion. American search teams never found such evidence.

The director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, had resisted setting up the Web site, which some intelligence officials felt implicitly raised questions about the competence and judgment of government analysts. But President Bush approved the site’s creation after Congressional Republicans proposed legislation to force the documents’ release.

In his statement last night, Mr. Negroponte’s spokesman, Chad Kolton, said, “While strict criteria had already been established to govern posted documents, the material currently on the Web site, as well as the procedures used to post new documents, will be carefully reviewed before the site becomes available again.”

A spokesman for the National Security Council, Gordon D. Johndroe, said, “We’re confident the D.N.I. is taking the appropriate steps to maintain the balance between public information and national security.”

[snip]

-------------------

oh thank you elephants we feel so much safer now than we did six years ago,
Otter

Posted by: DiAnne at November 3, 2006 12:19 AM

Wow! A new pick-up line! *wink*

I am not into conspiracy theories, but it really smells that the unemployment number just this morning and the Friday before an important election, while revisions are normal economic policy, were suddenly revised downward for the month of September, the unemployment rate was revised downward to 4.4% saying there were an additional unaccounted 100,000 nonfarm related jobs created in September, 4 days before an election. All other economic indicators were down dramatically: retail sales number, constuction numbers, and housing numbers plumeted this past month. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever especially with slowing housing and manufacturing numbers that suddenly and dramatically we are now creating more new jobs.
I suspect by next Friday there will be another revision upward and a comment by the Commerce Dept, oops we made a mistake. It is shameless and dangerous economic ploicy to manipulate interest rates, if the commerce department is truly massaging unemployment numbers for political purposes.

Posted by: Bubba at November 3, 2006 08:51 AM

Just like those gas prices, Bubba. Important numbers are going down. But you know what? Only the base can be fooled by this crap now. I truly believe that. Those who are looking for excuses to vote republican at this point are really part of the base anyway. Those who are still undecided & have a lick of sense see through this.

as a follow up to your comment only the base can be fooled, is an important editorial this morning by Thomas L. Friedman, entitled
TUESADAY,WE HAVE A CHANCE TO PROVE WE'RE NOT THAT STUPID. What a great message and here are a few cogent excerpts from that editorial:

" George Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield think you are stupid. Yes they do."

"They think they can take a mangled quip about President Bush and Iraq by John Kerry-a man who is not even running for office but who unlike Bush and Cheney, never ran away from combat service--and get you to vote against all Democrats in this election"
"Every time you here Bush or Cheney lash out against Kerry, I hope you will say to yourself, 'They must think I am stupid' because they surely do."
They think they can get you to overlook all of the Bush team's REAL and DEADLY insults to the U.S. military during the past 6 years by hyping and exaggerating Kerry's mangled gibe at the president".

Don't want to violate Mr. Friedman's copyright protections by quoting his column verbatim today, but it is a fantastic read because it lays out in detail all of the real missteps by this administraion in Iraq like sending in too few troops, insufficient body armour and requiring troops to buy their own retrofits to their jeeps and armor.

but I love the message he sends: On Tuesday we can prove Mr. President we are not that stupid!

I heard that whistle when I heard you speak
Felt that rumble underneath my feet
I knew I bought myself a first class seat
On the Blue Train

all aboooooard,
Otter

Take the straight and narrow path
and if you start to slide,
give a little whistle!
Give a little whistle!
And always let your conscience be your guide

(Takes one to nose one)

Dick Cheney Totally Hates You
That shirt? Those shoes? Your kids? Hates 'em, and everything else about you, too. Can you feel it?
By Mark Morford

That shirt you're wearing right now? Chances are, Dick Cheney hates it. That car you drive? Thinks it's for whiny un-American pansies. The fact that you've probably eaten tofu and wear designer shoes and have actually had sex while standing up? Pervert heathen traitor to the real America, Dick thinks. He hates that.

Some days, Dick has trouble counting all the ways in which he hates you, the world, life. Some days, he hates the fact that there are not enough hours in the day for him to count the ways in which he hates you and all you probably stand for. This makes him sad. Which he also hates.

It is a question often asked these days: Whence comes all this dark, dank feeling in America? Why does all seem tainted and soiled and lost lo these past years? When did simply being an American turn so dour and gray, like someone poured gasoline into a big glass of Sunny Delight? Here, I firmly believe, is a great portion of your answer.

It has become a national pastime, of sorts, listing all the things and all the events and all types of people -- liberals journalists prisoners suspects foreigners Democrats moderates animals environmentalists trees pacifists 'Nam vets women clean air -- Dick Cheney hates every single day. Even Republicans are a little taken aback by the length of the list. ...

(click here to read the rest)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/11/03/notes110306.DTL&nl=fix

Spreading Your Light
How You Affect Others Daily

As the pace and fullness of modern life serve to isolate us from one another, the contact we do share becomes vastly more significant. We unconsciously absorb each other's energy, adopting the temperament of those with whom we share close quarters, and find ourselves changed after the briefest encounters. Everything we do or say has the potential to affect not only the individuals we live, work, and play with but also those we've just met. Though we may never know the impact we have had or the scope of our influence, accepting and understanding that our attitudes and choices will affect others can help us remember to conduct ourselves with grace at all times. When we seek always to be friendly, helpful, and responsive, we effortlessly create an atmosphere around ourselves that is both uplifting and inspiring.

Most people rarely give thought to the effect they have had or will have on others. When we take a few moments to contemplate how our individual modes of being affect the people we spend time with each day, we come one step closer to seeing ourselves through the eyes of others. By asking ourselves whether those we encounter walk away feeling appreciated, respected, and liked, we can heighten our awareness of the effect we ultimately have. Something as simple as a smile given freely can temporarily brighten a person's entire world. Our value-driven conduct may inspire others to consider whether their own lives are reflective of their values. A word of advice can help others see life in an entirely new fashion. And small gestures of kindness can even prove to those embittered by the world that goodness still exists. By simply being ourselves, we influence other's lives in both subtle and life-altering ways.

To ensure that the effect we have is positive, we must strive to stay true to ourselves while realizing that it is the demeanor we project and not the quality of our wondrous inner landscapes that people see. Thus, as we interact with others, how we behave can be as important as who we are. If we project our passion for life, our warmth, and our tolerance in our facial features, voice, and choice of words, every person who enters our circle of influence will leave our presence feeling at peace with themselves and with us. You never know whose life you are affecting, big or small. Try to remember this as you go out into the world each day.

http://www.dailyom.com/articles/2006/5338.html

Be YOU when YOU GOTV this weekend.

Pastor: Haggard admits to 'some' allegations
Evangelical leader earlier denied man's claim that he paid for sex, drugs

NBC News and news services
Updated: 20 minutes ago

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Rev. Ted Haggard, who stepped down as head of the 30 million-member National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday after allegations that include having gay sex, has confessed to some of the allegations, a fellow pastor said in an e-mail to church members.

"It is important for you to know that he confessed to the overseers that some of the accusations against him are true,” Ross Parsley, the acting senior pastor at New Life Church stated. Haggard on Thursday also stepped aside as leader of the 14,000-member New Life Church, based in Colorado Springs.

“He has willingly and humbly submitted to the authority of the board of overseers, and will remain on administrative leave during the course of the investigation,” the e-mail stated. A copy was obtained by KMGH-TV in Denver.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15536263/

I think Rove wanted to make it so Kerry couldn't travel as easily for fundraising because Bush himself is limited to rural areas in states that he won.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/3/85945/595

Thomas Friedman: Bush Thinks You're Stupid

George Bush, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld think you're stupid.
Yes, they do.

They think they can take a mangled quip about President Bush and Iraq by John Kerry -- a man who is not even running for office but
who, unlike Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney, never ran away from combatservice -- and get you to vote against all Democrats in this election.

Every time you hear Mr. Bush or Mr. Cheney lash out against Mr.Kerry, I hope you will say to yourself, "They must think I'm stupid."
Because they surely do.

Anyone that wanted to genuinely understand what Kerry meant knew whathe meant but the Bushies aren't interested in understand, they're only
interested in capitalizing on it. Winning is paramount. The truthdoesn't even matter.

READ THE REST AT THE LINK - it's really good

Bubba
Sorry about the redundancy - I'm where I didn't have time to read all the way up the column. :(

Kayakbiker did post this article to the Vets for Peace site.

Ahoy, All Haggard Voters: Do you get it... yet?

Hypocrisy and deceit are on the ballot (again) this Tuesday.

They smile in your face,
All the time they wanna take your place,
The Backstabbers.

British Believe Bush Is More Dangerous Than Kim Jong-il
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/110306Z.shtml
America is now seen as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies, according to an international survey of public opinion published today that reveals just how far the country's reputation has fallen among former supporters since the invasion of Iraq.

Female Dark Horses Surge to Election's Finish Line
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/110206WA.shtml
Overlooked by political oddsmakers for most of the 2006 election cycle, a number of obscure female congressional candidates are surging in their final sprints to the November 7 finish line and improving the odds that women will make significant gains in the House of Representatives on Election Day.

Rassmussen now shows Dems ready to take control of the Senate on Tuesday, moving ahead in Montana and Virginia, and still showing Ford in the running in conflict with Zogby's poll:

"On the final Friday of Election 2006, Democrats take the lead for the first time in the race for control of the U.S. Senate. Today, Rasmussen Reports is switching two states (New Jersey and Montana from “Toss-Up” to “Leans Democrat”). We now rate 49 Senate seats as Democrat or Leans Democrat, 48 seats as Republican or Leans Republican and three as Toss-Ups."

Montana Dems apparently not fazed by Bush's appearance in Billings yesterday, with Burns unable to shake his ties to Abramoff.

Cry

The president lies
And freedom fries

The cell phones ring
The singers cannot sing
The athletes dope
The people buy fear not hope

The government spies
And freedom fries

The earth singes
The truth unhinges
The TV sells drugs
The plastic people mug

A soldier dies
And freedom fries

Dear Premier Boosh:

We'll have a blue congress without you
We'll be so blue we're voting against you
Decorations of red on a white and blue tree
Won't be the same fear when you're not here to flee

And when the blue voters come calling
And the blue ballots start falling
You'll be fading away with your plans gone astray
And we'll have a blue, blue congress

vote smart vote true vote blue,
Otter