Paging Katherine Harris

"I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith,"

But that doesn't mean Muslims can't be President, McCain later said, retracting his earlier bigoted statement

It is important, says McCain, that belief in Christian principles is present, otherwise you're missing a key factor in your ability to lead.

After all, we live in the country where anybody can grow up to be President...

so long as you accept Jesus Christ as your personal saviour...or put on a good act that you do.

The Bush Budget

"Democrats and Liberals are spending your tax dollars like it's water and are planning to tax you to death. We need to limit spending...now give me a $193 billion for Iraq."

So it's bad to spend our tax dollars on Americans, but it's good to spend it on Iraqis and Afghans...I see.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Into The Lake

This sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel.

Ok, so I'm only swimming in COLD water from now on.

The Free Falling GOP

And it was just three years ago when they were comparing the Democrats to the Whigs.

Vagueness Get Us In Trouble Again

Perhaps, if it weren't for the ridiculously VAGUE definition of terrorism as laid out by us and the UN, Iran wouldn't have a point here.

Yes, based on our vague "terrorists attack civilians on purpose" definition, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden, Mai Lai, and Hadithya were all terrorist attacks.

Do I think we're terrorists? No, but does the definition fit, unfortunately yes.

Perhaps we need to redefine the word.

Happy 60th Birthday Levittown

Levittown, the suburban utopia on Long Island, turns 60 next month.

Levittown was the brainchild of it's namesake, William Levitt, a real-estate developer who envisioned a community where you don't have to be rich to have land for your kids to play, and schools with playgrounds, football fields and parking lots. His first experiment in this new society came in Island Trees, a rural area in central Nassau County on Long Island.

At it's beginning, it was built as the ideal suburban community for first generation Americans and World War II veterans to raise their families outside of the crowded, cramped urban communities in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Strangely enough Levittown was built without a commuter rail station along the LIRR. The closest major station is Hicksville, about five miles north. Many of Levittown's residents work in Nassau County and drive, although, as proven by the packed Hicksville station parking lot, many still commute to Manhattan.

In the years after, Levitt build more suburban communities outside major cities in the Northeast. Levittown, Pennsylvania and Willingboro (formerly Levittown), New Jersey, both outside Philadelphia were created by him. Levitt built similar communities in Matawan and Somerset, New Jersey, Bowie, Maryland (outside of Washington D.C.) and even in Puerto Rico.

During the 1970's and 1980's, it became the destination for all those who fled the inner cities during the "white flight" years.

Six decades after Levittown was created as the dream neighborhood of middle-class America, nearly all those who fit the profile of middle-class America are priced out of it. The color of Levittown's collar has faded from blue to a more exclusive whiter shade.

Many of the Levittown houses, which originally had three bedrooms, one bathroom and no basement, have evolved into "McMansions" of four, five bedrooms, three or four bathrooms, two car garages (with a Mercedes in one and a huge SUV in another) and in some cases, an in ground pool you would only find at a five star Caribbean resort. Houses rarely go for less than $500,000 and many go for over a million. Property taxes and school taxes can run over $10,000 a year in some areas.

Levittown itself tells a story of the American dream. In 1947, when it was still reachable, it was a place where any middle-class, blue collar American could go (except African-Americans originally.) As years went by, blacks were allowed in, but few actually did move in. Levittown still remains over 85% white.

By the 1980's, Levittown was becoming more and more exclusive and many lower middle class families in Queens and Brooklyn were priced out of the community. The communities surrounding Levittown; East Meadow, Massapequa, Hicksville, Westbury, Wantagh and Seaford, have all developed a reputation for being fairly exclusive and ritzy. Unfortunately, that's not how Levitt had pictured it. Many of those who grew up in Levittown and it's sister communities are leaving, coming back to the city in many cases or leaving the region altogether for lower taxes and more affordable living. Levittown today is the destination community for mainly white-collar workers. For many, the "American dream" laid out by Levitt is, in fact, unreachable.

Democrats To Introduce Legislation Condemning Limbaugh

I haven't mentioned the slanderous remarks Rush Limbaugh made against soldiers who question authority because I refuse to give this gasbag (thank you for the adjective Paul Begala) any attention on this blog.

But I will now.

Limbaugh, who referred to veterans of the Iraq war who have come home and worked to end the war as "phony soldiers" is the subject of yet another condemnation resolution being introduced in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Mark Udall (D-Colorado), who is also a Senate candidate, is introducing a resolution next week condemning Limbaugh's comments. This comes after a vote by the House last week to condemn MoveOn.org's General Betrayus ad.

I am not fan of these condemnation resolutions. I think they'r a complete waste of time and do nothing to solve problems, only create them, but I have to support this one because if the GOP thinks it could play games, we play them back. Don't forget, THEY started it.

It's time to fight back.

Rudy: 9/11 Made Me Answer The Phone

Yep, 9/11 is his reasoning for answering his cell phone when his wife called at the NRA meeting.

No seriously;

Giuliani also addressed a cell phone call he took from his wife, Judith, last week during his speech to the National Rifle Association...
"And quite honestly, since Sept. 11, most of the time when we get on a plane, we talk to each other and just reaffirm the fact that we love each other," he said.

That is, until, he finds his fourth wife and uses this White House Briefing Room to tell Judy she's moving out this afternoon.

I mean is there ANYTHING Rudy doesn't attribute 9/11 too?

A True Democrat

If Democrats would act more like Bill Clinton, perhaps they wouldn't look so weak.

After all, he WAS the last Democrat to win nationwide.

O'Reilly: I'm Being Smeared

Wait, hold on, let me cry crocodile tears for you Bill. People who live in glass mansions shouldn't throw stones

As Justin Timberlake would say;

What Goes Around, Goes Around, Comes All The Way Back Around

Easier To Get In To Get Out

"I think it's hard to project four years from now," said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in the opening moments of a campaign debate in the nation's first primary state.

"It is very difficult to know what we're going to be inheriting," added Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

"I cannot make that commitment," said former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

I think we all need to be resigned to the fact that President Bush got us into something that's not going to be very easy to get out of.

God Wrote the Constitution, Did He?

"We need to be very precise then, about what I said wearing my stars and being very conscious of it, and that is, very simply, that we should respect those who want to serve the nation but not through the law of the land, condone activity that, in my upbringing, is counter to God's law."

If you want to follow "God's law," then perhaps you should become a General in the Pope's army, but here in America, the only law that matters is the one the 13 colonies approved in 1787. Sometimes it agrees with "God's law," sometimes it doesn't. If you can't accept the times it doesn't, then perhaps you shouldn't be a part of our government.

Have a nice day :-)

Here We Go Again

He won't allow more spending for child healthcare, but, hell, he'll break the bank when it comes to Iraq.

You see, in Bush's mind, protecting oil is more important than protecting children.

Reds In The Red

Even if they can get good candidates to run in vulnerable races (and they've had a hard enough time doing that,) they don't have the money to support them.

Democrats have $22 million

AL-02: Everett Retires

Rep. Terry Everett (R-Alabama) has announced he will not run for reelection next year.

The district, that includes Montgomery, Enterprise and Dothan, has a PVI of R+13 and has been in Republican hands since 1965.

Still it's the home district of Alabama State House Speaker Seth Hammend and State Agriculture Secretary Ron Sparks, who did very well in this district in his reelection last year.

Maybe It Isn't Bush After All

The phonetic spelling of Mauritainia in Bush's US speech is moor-EH-tain-ee-a

Actually it's mawr-i-TEY-nee-uh.

Rudy: I Was For Gun Control Before I Was Against It...9/11,9/11,9/11

And what, pray, made him change his position so radically?

September 11th of course.

He references the attacks three times in two sentences.

Rudy...shut up.

Bush's UN Speech; A Translation for the Ignorant

A stunning slew of BS if you as me;

"Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma,"

Oh, I can score some points if they think I actually care.

"The people of Lebanon and Afghanistan and Iraq have asked for our help, and every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand with them,"

Well not so much the people, the puppet governments are begging for us to help so they don't have to worry about, you know, fighting themselves. The Bush Doctrine; Invade a country and then use the excuse "they asked us to do it"

"Every civilized nation also has a responsibility to stand up for the people suffering under dictatorship, In Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Iran, brutal regimes deny their people the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration" of the United Nations."

Fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to free speech are optional, of course.

"The nations in this chamber have our differences, yet there are some areas where we can all agree, When innocent people are trapped in a life of murder and fear, the declaration is not being upheld. When millions of children starve to death or perish from a mosquito bite, we're not doing our duty in the world. When whole societies are cut off from the prosperity of the global economy, we're all worse off."

So long as they have untapped oil in their countries that I could get my hands on. Otherwise, I'm sorry your life sucks, (I'm looking at you Darfur,) but I'm a little busy right now trying to change an entire culture.

"Changing these underlying conditions is what the declaration calls the work of larger freedom and it must be the work of every nation in this assembly, This great institution must work for great purposes: to free people from tyranny and violence, hunger and diseases, illiteracy and ignorance and poverty and despair."

That is, until I go back to Texas and blast this place as a bunch of Anti-American sissies because you won't except me as your unconditional lord and master like my birth rite says

"In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end. The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly and, ultimately, free and competitive elections."

And they're ready to be exploited like child prostitutes by corporate America; Hilton Hotels, American Airlines and Carnival Cruises. Ah, just think, South Florida will be white again someday.

"The American people are disappointed by the failures of the Human Rights Council, The United Nations must reform its own Human Rights Council."

We're not happy the rest of the world doesn't see it the same way I do. That's a problem, because I talk to the God and he's says I'm right.

"The ruling junta (of Myanmar) remains unyielding, yet the people's desire for
freedom is unmistakable."

And if they had any oil, we'd accuse them of building weapons of mass destruction and invade them, but we can't profit off of the country, so I'll just sit there and bitch.

What About Free Media Hillary?

I got to tell you, this makes me uncomfortable.

I sure as hell don't want George W. Bush to have this kind of control over the media. I also don't want Hillary Clinton with this kind of control either.

Now It's Convenient To Defend the Gays?

Newt Gingrich's laughable rational to why the President of Iran shouldn't have spoken at Columbia;

“I think it is an outrage for the university to lend its prestige to a dictator whose Government executes homosexuals, tortures and kills journalists, lock up students”

Yeah Newt, we shouldn't kill the gays, we should just make their lives so miserable that they wish they were dead, right?

God Before America

They call themselves patriots?

They'll turn their backs on our country in a second if they believe God wants them too.

Trump: Bush Should Go Into Hiding

Personally, I vote for exile

Winter Storm Warning Issued For Hell

President Bush said Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia "speaks volumes about really the greatness of America."

We agree on something

scary

Dear Mahmoud, Welcome To Democracy

As critical as I've been, this is one of those moments where I love America

Here is a man who is obviously not a big fan of us, nor are we of him. He comes to our largest city, is greeted with protestors, sneers and booing, something that he can easily prevent back home by intimidation, but he can't do a damn thing about it here.

Yet, still, as we make it clear that we hope he rots in hell, we still let him come to our higher institutes of learning and share his ideas with us. We don't, as he would do to his opponents back home, muzzle him. We let him speak.

The free exchange of ideas. That, my friends, is what makes America so much better than where he comes from.

Rise Of American Fascism

How come nobody is condemning this?

Carlos Arredondo, 47 year old father of two sons, arrived in the nation’s capitol on Monday, 09/10/07 to share a memorial he has made to honor for his eldest son, Alex. Carlos has visited thirty of the United States with the traveling memorial to his son Alexander. Lcpl. Alexander S. Arredondo, USMC was killed on 08/25/04. He was 20 years and 20 days old. The memorial consists of a casket, poster- size photographs of Alex when he graduated from boot camp, before his second tour in Iraq, lying in state at his wake, and a photo of Alex with his younger brother Brian.
Saturday, September 15, 2007 consisted of first a rally, a march towards the capitol and then a die-in. Carlos pulled the memorial along the march route approaching the rotunda near the capitol building. Several of the marchers requested for him to speak about the memorial where a crowd gathered around him. After finishing, several people walked with Carlos as he pulled the memorial. Several pictures of Alex dressed in his blues were attached to the display.
As Carlos passed counter protesters, one man ripped a picture of Alex from the memorial. Carlos leaped on the man to retrieve the picture. It was at that point that approximately five others all began to attack Carlos by kicking him in the head, legs, stomach and back.a female officer were engaged in breaking up the fight and were able to stop any further injuries from occurring. Hannah Jones who was walking with Carlos was also assaulted.
A bystander named Ramesh witnessed the whole encounter and also retrieved the picture of Alex for Carlos. He was quite distressed at how he watched the men follow Carlos as he pulled the memorial, purposefully yelling epiphets and eventually taking Alex’s photograph. Soon, an ambulance showed up as well as many concerned activists. The paramedics provided first aid to Carlos but he did not seek further medical attention. Carlos sustained bloody cuts on his shins. He also reported bruises all over his torso and head where he was kicked.

Yes, that's right, some "patriotic" Americans BEAT UP a defenseless father of a dead soldier because he had the gall to stand up for what he believes in. Don't worry, their supports see them as warriors, tough guys, because that's what Americans do. We pick on the defenseless, the victims, the easy targets.

What do pro-war people say about this? Well comments left on the Gathering of Eagles website show that none of them believe their people would actually beat up an anti-war protestor. For them, ignorance is bliss. It just never happened. That's how they defend themselves. They put their fingers in their ears, close their eyes and hum "God Bless The USA"

Fascism is coming, are you ready to fight it?

A Burmese Revolution?

Like I said, those who wield signs are just as brave as those who wield guns.

Democracy may very well be on the march in Myanmar, and it didn't take the American military, nor did it take any military. No Uzis, no tanks, no bunker-busters. All it took was a mass of marching monks, unarmed and tethered to peace, who were unafraid of the well-armed military junta.

The Stupidity

I think the more important question here is why does this hotel have ducks flying around it's lobby?

It's Not Just An American Thing

Prejudice and racism exists in even those peaceful countries with a clean reputation; countries like Switzerland.

Clinton Gets Another Big Endorsement

From Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana), the man I wanted to run for President.

Raise your hand if you think the former Indiana Governor is looking to be on her VP shortlist.

Raise your hand if you think he should be

*Raising Hand High*

The Protest March; Birthplace of America

    On December 16, 1773, a group of Americans, fed up with being bossed around by a government 4,000 miles away that they had no say in, decided to engage in a defiant act of protest that would shock the authoritarian-dominated world. They decided to board a ship in Boston Harbor and throw its contents, 90,000 lbs of tea, into the harbor. This act of protest, by an organized group of men against the most powerful empire the world had ever seen, helped spark the flame that led to the bonfire we now call the United States of America.

    Imagine, if you would, a similar situation occurring today. What would we think of the men and women who did such an act? Would we call them heroes? Or would we chide them as terrorists? Hippies? Jobless brain-dead morons who deserve to be shot? As a matter of fact, Benjamin Franklin, among others, reprimanded those who threw the tea into the harbor that day. Yet, today, we Americans justifiably celebrate the Boston Tea Party as a brave heroic act done by Americans who thumbed their nose at a bully bigger, stronger and much more powerful than us.

    I can't help but be amazed that the people of this nation, founded on the idea that authority must always be questioned, now rebukes those who do. I look on television and see in the blogs and in the newspapers, the sea of people protesting the Iraq war, the Jena Six case, Warrantless wiretapping, gay rights and other important issues, and I hear from many people around me; "Look at these idiots, why don't they get a job?" or "They should be shot. In Iran, they would be hanged." Guess what people, we're not Iran. The fact that Sally Field can make a comment against the war, or the fact that hundreds of people can go to rural Louisiana and fight against racism is what makes us better than Iran. I may also remind you, the same holds true for those who protest against abortion, who I rarely hear being called "losers" or "hippie nut jobs." The art of protesting is what has always made America the idol of the world. It's what we were founded on. Imagine, if you will, being a colonist in the 1770's and seeing the Boston Tea Party on the news, or seeing people protesting the British in the streets of Philadelphia, New York, Boston or Charleston. What would say about these people as we watched them on television, or read about them in the newspaper? Would we say to them what I've heard many say to those who protest today; "Go home, get a job, you look like a jerk?"

    Imagine, if you will, there was no Boston Tea Party. Imagine if a group of fed-up colonists did not throw snowballs at the oppressive British soldiers that led to the Boston Massacre. Imagine if people like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Madison and all our founding fathers didn't sign a document telling the British to pack up and go back across the Atlantic. Imagine if our forefathers in the 1770's just took it from the British instead of standing up to them. Imagine a world where the Americans did not become the first major group of people to stand up and say "nobody can tell us what to do." Would the British government and oppressive governments all over the world realize that they too could experience the wrath of an oppressed people? Would we still have absolute monarchies and totalitarian states ruling over Europe and the Americas today?

    It is because of incidents like the Boston Tea Party that free societies exist today. Yes, it is true that our military defends our freedoms as well, but dressing in fatigues and shooting at people in a warzone thousands of miles away is not the only way to defend freedom; reminding the government that we don't fear them and can strip them from power if need be, is another way. We Americans have become slaves to our government, putting trust in them that no government, liberal or conservative, free or not, deserves. We have become too used to the idea of American democracy and freedom because we're the ones who brought it into the contemporary world. Just because we pioneered it, does not mean it's permanently etched into our society. Ask anyone who lived in Germany in 1932 or Chile in 1973. I bet they didn't believe their democracies would fall.

    The art of protest is truly an American tradition. The French who stood up against the traditional monarchy and for the rights of the common man at the end of the 18^th century got it from us. The Chinese students who stood against oppression in Tiananmen Square got it from us. The Hungarians, Czechs and Polish who stood up against Soviet imperialism got it from us. What are we telling the world if we treat those who do it here like traitors? You may not agree with them, and that's fine, but they not only have the right to rise up an express their beliefs, they have a duty as Americans to make their voices heard.

    Perhaps you should try it sometime, while we still can.

We Let Coulter Speak

I'm not a big fan of censoring people, no matter how wretched they are.

I mean we let Ann Coulter speak even though she sprews crap like this;

When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors.

Frankly, I'm not a big fan of the First Amendment.

I think the government should be spying on all Arabs, engaging in torture as a televised spectator sport, dropping daisy cutters wantonly throughout the Middle East and sending liberals to Guantanamo.

So what if another hateful piece of garbage speaks at a college campus. Maybe it'll be a good lesson for him. Hey asshole, welcome to America, here we let people we hate speak, unlike your country where you cowardly have them all killed. Take notes, this is freedom jerk.

The Embarassment That Is Our President

Well South Africa now hates us.

"I heard somebody say, Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas,"

Good job!

I sincerely apologize. We are not all this stupid.

The Bravest Man In America

San Diego's Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders, who decided, against the popular opinion of his party and probably his city, that he will endorse San Diego's City Council resolution calling for the legalization of gay marriage in California.

Previously opposed to gay marriage, but supportive of civil unions, Mayor Sanders gave an emotional press conference that may very well symbolize the change in opinion of the nation as a whole. Sanders, choking back tears, said;

"I've decided to lead with my heart. . . to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice...I just cannot bring myself to tell an entire group of people in our community that they were less important, less worthy, or less deserving of the rights and responsibilities of marriage than anyone else simply because of their orientation."

Sanders' daughter, Lisa, is a lesbian and Sanders claims she and her parter is a big reason why he changed this mind on the issue;

"In the end, I could not look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships—their very lives—were any less meaningful than the marriage that I share with my wife Rana,"

I really do believe the day is coming that this will become a non-issue. The day is coming when gays will be given the same legal rights. A majority of the country still opposes it, and it may take a decade or two to change that, but all we need to do is point to places like Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa and Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal and society has not crumbled to the ground.

It's hard to accept change, especially something as massively new and different as gay marriage. Americans don't handle differences and changes very well, it takes time, but thanks to men like Jerry Sanders, who decided to follow his heart and not his political party, we're on that road.

Sanders may loose the next election because of it, but he'll loose gracefully and bravely.

Open Republican Seats

Ray LaHood- Illinois 18- R+5
Dennis Hastert- Illinois 14- R+5
Chip Pickering- Mississippi 3- R+14
Deborah Pryce- Ohio 15- R+0.3
Jerry Weller- Illinois 11- R+.05
Rick Renzi- Arizona 1- R+2
Duncan Hunter- California 52- R+9
Jim Ramstad- Minnesota 3- R+1

IL-11: Weller Retiring

The third Illinois Republican House member to announce his retirement this year.

Weller's district is very competitive and was held by a Democrat, George Sangmeister, for for six years before he won in 1994.

Bush won 53% in the district, but Obama won it in a landslide and last year, Governor Rod Blagojevich won the district narrowly despite loosing it four years earlier.

Weller won reelection last year by only 10%. The district is expected to be really competitive and Democrats would have a strong candidate in Illinois Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson.

Fascist America, A Reality?

Naomi Wolf thinks so.

I do too. Sometimes, I wonder how many days are left in this democracy.

I'll keep blogging though, from here in New York...or in exile in Italy :-)

It's Not Their Fault

I know we've been tough on the Democrats in Congress for not ending the Iraq war and not standing up to the President.

Let today's actions in the Senate be proof that the Democrats ARE in fact doing what they can to end the war and stand up to the President.

Twice today, all Democrats (excluding Lieberman of course) voted to restore habeas corpus to detainees and to require troops to be home for the same amount of time as they are deployed, both against what the Bush administration wants.

All Democrats and six Republicans...a good majority, 56.

They just don't have the votes. You want change, you need to elect more Senators who want change. 50 votes don't cut in the Senate.

Iran's President Banned From Ground Zero

I don't really care either way.

The best part of this story;

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the site should not be "used as a photo op."

That goes for you too Rudy Giuliani

IN-Gov: It's a Race

Governor Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana) holds a slight lead over former Democratic Congresswoman Jill Long Thompson in next year's Indiana Gubernatorial Race.

Daniels attracts 46% to Long Thompson's 38% with 16% undecided. Long Thompson needs to sway a whole bunch of independents to win.

I haven't ranked the Governor's races yet, because some of them (North Carolina for example) don't have candidates to speak of.

I'll rank this one Slight Lean Republican.

2007 Governors Races Rankings

There are only three, but they're good ones;

Kentucky: Incumbent Republican Ernie Fletcher looks like he's in big trouble against Democratic former Lt. Governor Steve Beshear, who has led by double digits since he won the primary back in May. Lean Democratic

Louisiana: An open seat is the best hope for the Democrats, and even thought it's open, Rep. Bobby Jindal of Metarie is way ahead, but don't count Chalmette State Rep. Walter Boasso out just yet. If it goes to a runoff, Boasso has a shot. Not a very good one though. Lean Republican

Mississippi: Haley Barbour is too popular here, he should be on the Republican VP shortlist or even the 2012 Presidential candidate shortlist should they loose next year. The only Democrat running is John Arthur Eaves, Jr, a pro-life, anti-gay marriage Democrat who has declared; “I am a Democrat because I am a Christian.” It may play well in conservative Mississippi, but conservatives down there have no issue with Barbour. Solid Republican

His Ego, Bigger Than The City He's From

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani bragged about his international celebrity Wednesday on a trans-Atlantic campaign trip in which he schmoozed with conservative idol Margaret Thatcher.
"I’m probably one of the four or five best known Americans in the world," Giuliani told a small group of reporters at a posh London hotel as onlookers gathered in the lobby to gawk at actor Dustin Hoffman who was on a separate visit.

Yes Rudy, and Mussolini is one of the best known Italians, Stalin one of the best known Russians, Castro one of the best known Cubans and Khomeni one of the best known Iranians.

Stop patting yourself on the back, you look like an ass

Webb Amendment: How The Senators Voted

YEAs ---56
Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Max Baucus (D-Montana)
Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)
Joe Biden (D-Delaware)
Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
Barbara Boxer (D-California)
Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
Maria Cantwell (D-Washington)
Ben Cardin (D-Maryland)
Thomas Carper (D-Delaware)
Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania)
Hillary Clinton (D-New York)
Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota)
Susan Collins (R-Maine)
Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)
Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut)
Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota)
Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Dianne Feinstein (D-California)
Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska)
Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota)
Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
John Kerry (D-Massachusetts)
Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota)
Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin)
Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana)
Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey)
Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas)
Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri)
Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey)
Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)
Patty Murray (D-Washington)
Bill Nelson (D-Florida)
Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska)
Barack Obama (D-Illinois)
Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas)
Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
Harry Reid (D-Nevada)
Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia)
Ken Salazar (D-Colorado)
Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)
Charles Schumer (D-New York)
Gordon Smith (R-Oregon)
Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
John Sununu (R-New Hampshire)
Jon Tester (D-Montana)
Jim Webb (D-Virginia)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island)
Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

NAYs ---44
Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee)
Wayne Allard (R-Colorado)
John Barrasso (R-Wyoming)
Richard Bennett (R-Utah)
Kit Bond (R-Missouri)
Sam Brownback (R-Kansas)
Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky)
Richard Burr (R-North Carolina)
Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia)
Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma)
Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi)
Bob Corker (R-Tennessee)
John Cornyn (R-Texas)
Larry Craig (R-Idaho)
Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina)
Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina)
Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico)
John Ensign (R-Nevada)
Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming)
Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)
Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire)
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma)
Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia)
Jon Kyl (R-Arizona)
Joe Lieberman (ID-Connecticut)
Trent Lott (R-Mississippi)
Richard Lugar (R-Indiana)
Mel Martinez (R-Florida)
John McCain (R-Arizona)
Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky)
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
Pat Roberts (R-Kansas)
Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
Richard Shelby (R-Alabama)
Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania)
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
John Thune (R-South Dakota)
David Vitter (R-Louisiana)
George Voinovich (R-Ohio)
John Warner (R-Virginia)

Bold Senators are up for reelection next year, open seat Senators aren't bold

Senate Rejects Webb Amendment

The Republicans filibustered an amendment by Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia) to require troops to have the same amount of rest time as they have deployment time. This common-sense amendment was defeated by a 56-44 cloture vote, will all the Democrats sans Lieberman voted aye and six Republicans joining them.

NE-Sen: Johanns In

Former Governor and Current Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has jumped into the race for US Senate in Nebraska.

Johanns is extremely popular in Nebraska. His only weaknesses are his connection to the Bush administration (which may or may not be a real weakness in his state,) and the fact that he's facing two other big named Republicans, Attorney General Joe Bruning and former Omaha Mayor and Congressman Hal Daub in the primary.

If Bob Kerrey jumps into this race, it will be a top tier race, perhaps the closest race next year. Still, Kerrey's not in and until I see polls, I'm keeping this at Slight Lean Republican

A Rant On OJ

Who cares?

I don't care...Enough with OJ Simpson.

I don't care what he's charged with or how long he may go to jail. Send him to jail.

There are more important issues in this world to report on and talk about that we don't need to preempt the news for a press conference by OJ's lawyer

Enough now.

Music Memory Jar: September 18, 1995

Mark Furhman pleads the fifth in the OJ Simpson trial

Cal Ripken breaks the record for most consecutive games played in the MLB

The DVD is invented

Speaking of DVD, the theme from the first movie I ever bought on DVD, "Gangsta's Paradise" from Dangerous Minds, becomes a massive hit, in the inner city and the wealthy suburbs.

Rudy: I'm MoveOn.Org's Worst Nightmare

Dude, you're EVERYONE'S worst nightmare

Corporal Punishment

I understand why the kid was tasered, although I disagree with tasering, especially for THIS case (there are more violent criminals out there to taser than this kid)

What I don't understand is why he was being arrested for asking a few questions.

The Republican Oxymoron

"As Republicans we must oppose discrimination and defend traditional marriage: one man, one woman,"

-Mitt Romney

How is that opposing discrimination, I'm confused, who is being discriminated against by allowing gays to marry.

This is why I don't vote for them.

Maryland Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban

What riles me the most is that they said this;

The court also found that the state has an interest in promoting procreation and that the General Assembly "has not acted wholly unreasonably in granting recognition to the only relationship capable of bearing children traditionally within the marital unit."

Ok, so I guess heteorsexual barren women and heterosexual impotent men can't get married either. Right?

Somebody answer me.

DC Bill Is Dead

Washington D.C. doesn't get a full voting member of Congress and Utah has to wait until 2012 for it's new seat.

I don't think this is a racist issue, as Washington D.C. didn't have voting rights even when it was a white-majority city.

Still, if it is unconstitutional, then an amendment needs to be passed. Why?

The city has been denied voting rights in Congress since 1801, making it the only major capital city in the world where citizens are denied a vote in the nation’s representative body of government.

And that's just Un-American if you ask me.

Senate Rankings: Week of September 17th

Solid Democrat:
Arkansas
Delaware
Illinois
Iowa
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
New Jersey
Rhode Island
West Virginia

Likely Democrat:
South Dakota
Virginia

Lean Democrat:
New Hampshire

Slight Lean Democrat:
Louisiana
Colorado

Tossup:
Minnesota

Slight Lean Republican:
Maine
Nebraska
Oregon

Lean Republican:

Likely Republican:
Alaska
Idaho
Kentucky
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Texas

Solid Republican:
Alabama
Georgia
Kansas
Mississippi
South Carolina
Tennessee
Wyoming
Wyoming (Barasso)

I see anywhere from a 2-7 seat gain for the Democrats.

VA-Sen: Warner, Mark Way Ahead

Survey USA confirms it;

Jim Gilmore (R) 32%
Warner (D) 60%

Tom Davis (R) 27%
Warner (D) 62%

George Allen (R) 37%
Warner (D) 56%

I've heard some argue that George Allen was way ahead of Jim Webb at this point, but Allen was an incumbent and even I didn't know who the hell Webb was.

Still, it's an open seat in a historically, albeit reformed, Red State. Funny, I thought New Hampshire was the best sure thing for the Democrats next year; Likely Democrat

MN-03: Ramstad To Retire

Throws this seat up in the air.

The Minnesota 3rd District is suburban Minneapolis, but entirely within Hennipen County. Bush won the district 51%-48% and the district has a PVI of R +.05, so it's very competitive. Amy Klobuchar won the district in a landslide in last year's Senate race. A Democrat running for President, running even two points ahead of Kerry, would likely carry this district. Even Hillary Clinton is up by double digits in Minnesota.

MN Publius has some names of potential Democrats and Republicans who may run for the seat.

Republicans only hold three seats in the Minnesota delegation, all of them in the Twin Cities' suburbs, Ramstad's, John Kline's seat in the southern part of the Metro area, and, of course crazzy Christian Michele Bachmann's seat centered around St. Cloud and Anouka.

A Strange Place To Call For War

Who would've ever guessed you'd hear this from France?

That's a scary new administration they elected there.

Gates on Greenspan

Gates responds to Greenspan's comment about the Iraq war being about oil;

"I know the same allegation was made about the Gulf War in 1991, and I just don't believe it's true."

You really think we would've given a damn about Iraq invading Kuwait if there wasn't oil there? Where the hell were we when Turkey invaded Cyprus? What about when Tutsis invaded Rwanda from Uganda and slaughtered everyone? What about in Darfur? What the hell made Kuwait so damn special that they got the full force of our military to liberate them, but we completely ignored everyone else?

You're telling me it wasn't the oil?

The Beginning Of The Mommy State

Ok, I don't like guys who wear saggy pants, I think it looks ridiculous, but this is just as ridiculous.

The government has no place enforcing a dress code, sorry. If you dont like it, dont look. What's next? Banning bikinis? thongs? halter-tops? What is this? Saudi Arabia?

Will It Cost Them Florida?

Maybe

But if you wonder why Democrats are doing better in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Nevada, here's why.

Greenspan's Truth Rant

When Alan Greenspan says the Iraq war is about oil, you know it's not some crazy person's consipracy theory.

Here's some of what the lifelong Republican said;

"The Republicans in Congress lost their way. They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose."

He also says White House staff was in charge of writing economic policy and little power was given to the Treasury Secretary and also that Congress and the White House would never lock horns, instead the White House would do whatever Congress wanted and vice-versa.

Greenspan called Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton the smartest presidents he's ever worked with.

ID-Sen: Republicans Probably Will Hang On

Survey USA has LoRocco behind almost everyone;

Jim Risch (R)- 52%
LoRocco (D)- 36%

Mike Simpson (R)- 54%
LoRocco (D)- 34%

Dirk Kempthorne (R)- 55%
LoRocco (D)- 36%

David Leroy (R)- 42%
LoRocco- (D)- 39%

David Watkins (R)- 40%
LoRocco- 41%

Lawrence Wasden (R)- 46%
LoRocco- 36%

Only because it's shaping up to be a Democratic year, do I label this as Likely Republican, but very close to Safe.

NH-Sen: Shaheen Is In

The Union Leader just broke with it;

Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen will be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2008, the New Hampshire Union Leader has learned. The Democratic former three-term chief executive is expected to issue a statement today addressing her political plans. While it's unclear exactly how the statement will be phrased, sources say Shaheen has decided to seek the seat held by Republican John E. Sununu, who defeated her in a bitter 2002 contest.

Shaheen has been kicking Sununu's butt in polling. Lean Democrat.

A Small Double Standard You Think?

John Kerry says "drop out of school and end up in Iraq" and he get attacked mercilessly (and justifiably) by every right-wing commentator in the worst possible way.

John Boehner calls the deaths of 3,700 Americans a "small price to pay" and they're suddenly eerily quiet.

I don't care if we're saving mankind from maneating jackrabbits, one dead soldier is a big price to pay for anything.

Who's Really Surprised By This?

I don't buy it

The 30,000 troops are coming home because they have to come home. It's normal troop rotation and there's no one to send in their place.

The surge is ending because it has to end. We all knew that months ago, so is anyone really buying this crap that success is imminent?

We're hearing all these stories about Iraqis who are siding with us and going after Al-Qaeda...and then what happens after the fact? Does anyone really believe they're going to be pro-Western Jeffersonian Democracy loving people? Of course not. I don't trust them, I have no reason to.

If you ask me, we'll be in Iraq at least until 2009. With a Republican elected next year, it'll be at least until 2013. We'll be there as long as we have a President who wants to keep us there...it'll never end. Iraq is to the United States what Algeria was to France and Afghanistan was to the Soviet Union, a big mistake that our pride won't let us admit is a mistake. This will drain our resources and our standing and leave us a third or fourth rate power instead of the superpower we one was. This war will put an end to our superpower status, if it hasn't already. It won't destroy it, but it'll come close.

Do you really think the Iraqis are going to take security into their own hands anytime soon when our committment is open-ended? They have the best military in the world defending them for as long as they want, do you really think they're going to hurry?

I don't buy it. It's sad what this has done to our country. It's sad we allowed this to happen. I hope that we have learned our lesson. I hope that we think twice, three times even, before we enter another unprovoked war.

I know what my opponents are going to say...that I only want America to loose. I don't respond to them. Seriously, I can't get anything in America, I wouldn't be able to get in any other westernized country. If I seriously wanted America to loose and hated it like these brain damaged right-wingers think I do, I'd move. I don't. So there.

Wanting America to win doesn't actually make us win.

Warner, Mark In

His website is up.

I'm sure new polls will be coming out soon on this race, but because of recent polling from Rasmussen has Warner so far up, I'm starting this off at Lean Democrat.

Can The Dems Get 60 Seats?

It's possible.

Handicapping the latest in the 2008 Senate Races, the possibility exists for the Democrats to even make as many as 10-11 gains. It seems hard to believe, but it's entirely possible;

Former Governors Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) look poised to enter their respective states' Senate races next year. Both hold commanding leads over any potential Republican rivals, Warner over Congressman Tom Davis or former Governor Jim Gilmore and Shaheen over Incumbent Senator John Sununu, effectively making them possible lost causes for the GOP. The open seat in Colorado provides the Democrats still with their best pickup opportunity, and the freshly open seat in Nebraska increases the headaches for the Republicans should former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey jump into the race.

Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota) are both facing very tough reelection campaigns in blue states, while Democrats have found a strong candidate in State House Speaker Jeff Merkley to run against Gordon Smith (R-Oregon).

That's seven seats already. Republicans may even see potentially competitive races in North Carolina (Elizabeth Dole) and Alaska (Ted Stevens), the latter of whom is showered in scandal. The heat may have died down over the Attorney Firing Scandal since Alberto Gonzales resigned, but Democrats don't look to let Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) forget about it.

And then there's Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), who may face a strong challenger in Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo or Lexington Congressman Ben Chandler.

That's 11 seats...in the unlikely scenario the Democrats sweep them all, that would give them an astonishing 62 seats, a majority unheard of since the 1970's, and even should they loose their two vulnerable seats in Louisiana and South Dakota, Democrats would still have 60...enough to make their majority filibuster proof.

NY-25: Jim Walsh To Support Withdrawal

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle will have it tomorrow. From the Editorial Board page;

This just in: Just received an email from our Washington reporter, Erin Kelly, who just got off the phone with Rep. Jim Walsh. She's writing a story for tomorrow's paper that reports the moderate Republican is switching gears and is now calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Not only that but Walsh, who visited Iraq during the weekend, says he will no longer support funding the war.

Walsh is the first major New York Republican to come out for withdrawal. If confirmed, he joins four other Republicans, Walter Jones (R-North Carolina), Wayne Gilchrest (R-Maryland), John J. Duncan (R-Tennessee) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Missouri), who all voted to withdraw troops by April 2008 this past Spring.

Walsh represents a district that includes Syracuse, Irondequoit and part of Rochester that was won by John Kerry in 2004. He narrowly won reelection last year against Dan Maffei, who is running again next year.

You DON'T KNOW?!?!?

He really doesn't;

Senator John Warner (R-Virginia): "Do you feel that [Iraq war] is making America safer"?
Petraeus: "I believe this is indeed the best course of action to achieve our objectives in Iraq."
Warner: "Does the [Iraq war] make America safer?"
Petraeus: "I don't know, actually. I have not sat down and sorted in my own mind."

Well by all means General, why don't you sit down and sort it out instead of blindly follow the Chimp in Chief.

VA-Sen: Warner, Mark would bury GOP

Former Governor Mark Warner isn't in yet, but should he decide to enter the open Virginia Senate race, it would quickly surpass New Hampshire as the most likely Democratic pickup according to recent polling by Rasmussen;

Warner defeats former Governor Jim Gilmore 54%-34% and trounces Congressman Tom Davis 57%-30%.

Because of Davis' weakness, even without Mark Warner in the race, I now list this as a Tossup

Is Thompson A Liberal?

Some neocons may say so after reading this.

I have to agree with him though. Bin Laden is guilty as sin and should hang, but every man and woman deserves due process, no matter how wretched a person he or she is. That's the American way.

Don't think so? Well, my only argument is this. We do that, they don't...that's what makes us better than them.

Sometimes, The Left Just Pisses Me Off

Like this is going to help the anti-war cause? I want to get out just as much as the next guy, but this isn't the way to do it,

It's September; Time For Petreaus' Report

Sources tell the AP it'll go something like this;

Like what do you expect? The guy's job is to sell the war. It's like asking the CEO of McDonalds if you should eat health food, of course he'll find some logical reason to say no. Petreaus is a General, and his job is in the hands of the President. I think he was going to break with the Commander-in-Chief, he would've done it already, to him personally, and if that's the case, he would've been out of a job, especially in this administration in which we KNOW loyalty to the President comes before sane policy.

I respect the opinions of the military commanders, but their goal is to look for the silver linings in every cloud. To judge the future of the entire war based on their words alone is stupid policy making.

How Many Times Can Giuliani say September 11th In One Sentence?

Three.

"For me every day is an anniversary of September 11, If we don't talk about September 11, you can't prepare to try to avoid another September 11."
-Giuliani campaigning in Florida

It's September 9th people...obsess, get angry, get scared, vote Republican.

NE-Sen: Hagel Out

The face of the GOP anti-war movement is not running for reelection next year. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska), who is already facing a strong primary challenge by the state's young and conservative Attorney General Jon Bruning, has decided not to stand for a third term.

Despite Nebraska's conservative leanings, an open seat is good news to Democrats, who from 1989-1997 held both Senate seats and currently still holds the other one. Democrats are banking on former Senator Bob Kerrey, who retired in 2001, or Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey. Republican candidates may include Bruning, former Congressman Hal Daub, or current Secretary of Agriculture and former Governor Mike Johanns.

Nebraska is not a state where the Republicans wante to see a competitive race. Slight Lean Republican. Only Johanns can win this for them.

The Embarassment That Is Our President

He's at the APEC Summit...or so he's just learned;

"Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit," Bush said to Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
Oops. That would be APEC, the annual meeting of leaders from 21 Pacific Rim nations, not OPEC, the cartel of 12 major oil producers.

Neither the US nor Austrailia belong to OPEC.

Simple mistake? Well, the King of simple mistakes embarassed us yet again a few lines later;The president's next goof went uncorrected _ by him anyway. Talking about Howard's visit to Iraq last year to thank his country's soldiers serving there, Bush called them "Austrian troops."That one was fixed for him. Though tapes of the speech clearly show Bush saying "Austrian," the official text released by the White House switched it to "Australian."

That must've went well with our AustraILIAN allies.

Then he went out the wrong way and almost fell off the stage, but thanks to the help of Prime Minister John Howard, he was led out the right way.

I apologize to the rest of the world, Americans are not this stupid.

Swiftboating Rudy

You better believe we are.

I'm a New Yorker, he's no hero, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Don't be fooled by this clown.

ID-Sen: Will Craig Still Be There?

With Larry Craig out and Jim Risch in, Favors Republican

With Larry Craig in, Slight Lean Republican

VA-Sen: Warner, John out

An open Virginia seat is top tier. Republican Tom Davis will make it a race, but former Governor Mark Warner would beat him. Then there's Jim Gilmore. The Democratic Presidential candidate should do better in Virginia that others in the past. I'd call this one a Tossup

Reverse Racism

It may defeat Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee)

The saddest part of this article is this quote;

"He's not black, and he can't represent me. That's the bottom line," the Rev. Robert Poindexter.

He's not black, but he IS from Memphis, really, what is more important? If a Black man got elected in a white district and someone said he couldn't represent us because he's not white, Al Sharpton would be blocking traffic so fast it would make your head spin.

Paul Gillmor (R-Ohio) 1939-2007

Republican Congressman Paul Gillmor was found dead this morning in his apartment in Washington, D.C.

CNN reports members of his staff found him dead in his apartment after he failed to show up to work on Congress' first day back from Summer recess.

Gillmor has served in Congress since 1989 representing the 5th district of Ohio, located in the northwestern portion of the state including Bowling Green, Tiffin, Fremont and Norwalk.

Gillmor is the third member of Congress to pass away this year, after Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) in February and Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-California) in April. Gillmor's seat will be filled by a special election.

Back

Back in the states.

Alot going on, blogging will resume in the morning, I'm still on Rome, Italy time and I've been up since 7am Rome time (1am New York time)