Monday, October 30, 2006

Taking out the Trash - Reminder

I'm sure there are others folks would like to mention who need to be removed, but here are some selections from the House of Reps who need to retire:

Mike Rogers -- Alabama
JD Hayworth -- Arizona
Elton Gallegly -- California
David Dreier -- California
Nancy Johnson -- Connecticut
CW Bill Young -- Florida
Clay Shaw -- Florida
Chris Chocola -- Indiana
Tom Latham -- Iowa
Jim Ryun -- Kansas
Joseph Knollenberg -- Michigan
Thaddeus McCotter -- Michigan
Gil Gutknecht-- Minnesota
Dennis Rehberg -- Montana
Jon Porter -- Nevada
Jeb Bradley -- New Hampshire
Frank LoBiondo -- New Jersey
Jim Saxton -- New Jersey
Heather Wilson -- New Mexico
John McHugh -- New York
Jim Walsh -- New York
Robin Hayes -- North Carolina
Charles Taylor -- North Carolina
Steve Chabot -- Ohio
Deborah Pryce -- Ohio
Pat Tiberi -- Ohio
Tim Murphy -- Pennsylvania
Charles Dent -- Pennsylvania
Phil English -- Pennsylvania
Melissa Hart -- Pennsylvania
Curt Weldon -- Pennsylvania
Shelley Moore-Capito -- West Virginia
Thelma Drake -- Virginia
David Reichert -- Washington
Paul Ryan -- Wisconsin

Sunday, October 29, 2006

THE Bumpersticker for midterm'06

House Majority Leader John Boehner was on TV with George Stephanapoulos today. On Iraq, he declared that, despite the obvious implosion in Iraq, "we have no choice but to win there," and that one good sign for the US was that the Iraq Prime Minister had agreed to speed up the training of Iraqi security forces. Plus, President Bush is following the advice of his commanders on the ground, so barring some tactical changes, we need to stay the course, etc. etc., ad nauseum.

Then he opined that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was "the best thing to happen to the Pentagon in 25 years."

Earlier, US Senate Candidate Michael Steele from Maryland said that the war in Iraq was absolutely worth it in order to "establish a beachhead of democracy in iraq(!?)."

All of which only underscores my fervent conviction that THE bumpersticker for midterm '06 should be: "Want to stay in Iraq forever? Vote Republican!"

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Did he really SAY that?!

This just in: President Bush campaigned in Indiana today and roused the crowd by asserting that Democrats should not be trusted with control of Congress because "they have no plan for winning in Iraq."

Iraq is imploding as we speak, ridden with Sunni-Shiite violence, American soldiers are being killed daily, Iran--a bona-fide member of the Axis of Evil--is emboldened, terrorists are flocking to the Sunni areas to train for jihad in Europe and elsewhere and the United States stands devoid of most of what moral authority it enjoyed in the world. And this scenario is somehow informed by a Republican plan for winning?!

These guys say this stuff with a straight face, with no irony. I'm stupefied. In their worst nightmare, the Dems couldn't come close to wreaking this kind of havoc. We can't fire this President, but we surely can fire his mouthpieces and handmaidens on November 7!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Apparently We're Cutting and Running from Staying the Course

Maybe this weekend's talk with his generals got into Bush's peewee brain?

Gen. Casey said that Iraqi forces should be able to take full control of security in the next 12 - 18 months (with some level of US support). Our ambassador in Iraq said Iraqi leaders have agreed to develop a TIMELINE by the end of the year for progress.

A timeline?

Hasn't the administration spent the past couple of years calling those who called for a timeline for US to get out of Iraq weak, traitors, and cut and runners?

I'm sure this is the Bush administration's attempt to grasp reality and not a last minute long shot attempt to win the November elections. Right.

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Bush's Learning Curve -- Apparently Still at the Cleaners

King George is meeting with General Casey today to talk about, oh, the weather? Ok, no. The General will hopefully mention to W what the rest of the world has known for a while now -- the Iraqi strategy ISN'T WORKING.

Who knows what Casey will tell W. But one thing's for certain. Casey could show Bush unquestioned proof in just about every format possible. And Bush's response is going to be the same. Stay the course. He can't admit his mistakes before an election. And this man can't admit his mistakes period. At some point isn't someone in his family going to point that the idea behind the infallibility of God doesn't make W infallible because he prays or is president, or whatever on earth is in his brain that makes him think he is?

Iraq is in Civil War, chaos and broken in just about every way. Saddam is out of power. Great. That is a good thing. But being unable to replace him with any semblance of stability is the height of arrogance and irresponsibility. There's nothing here that hasn't been said before - again and again - and better - by others. But we MUST keep saying it. We MUST keep reminding ourselves, friends, family and the public that although this administration has done cruel and unredeemable things in the world, we can regain some measure of self-respect by working to undo the hateful and hurtful damage they have wrought.

The midterm elections are a first step. A willingness to keep the fight going, no matter what, is another. Evil has not yet won. We're on the ropes, but we're not out.

Ohio's 12 Deserves the Best - And That's Certainly NOT Pat Tiberi

So many Republicans are running so far and fast from Bush that it's sometimes hard to tell if they were ever supporters of the President. When in doubt, check out a voting record.

Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)

Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)

Voted YES on restricting bankruptcy rules. (Jan 2004)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)

Voted YES on replacing illegal export tax breaks with $140B in new breaks. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on Bankruptcy Overhaul requiring partial debt repayment. (Mar 2001)

Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)

Voted YES on implementing CAFTA, Central America Free Trade. (Jul 2005)
Voted YES on implementing US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. (Jul 2004)
Voted YES on implementing US-Singapore free trade agreement. (Jul 2003)

Voted YES on denying non-emergency treatment for lack of Medicare co-pay. (Feb 2006)
Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)

Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on federalizing rules for driver licenses to hinder terrorists. (Feb 2005)

Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I think Ohio's 12th deserves a representative that represents his constituents, not his bosses in Washington. Cast a vote for Robert Shamansky and learn what it's like to have representation you can be proud of in DC.

Deborah Pryce is too High for Ohio to Keep Paying

Pryce needs to enjoy the retirement her economic votes have helped come early for so many Americans. If these votes don't seem to represent your voice in Congress, do something about it. Dump Pryce, who can't hide from her pro-Bush votes.

Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)

Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)

Voted YES on replacing illegal export tax breaks with $140B in new breaks. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on Bankruptcy Overhaul requiring partial debt repayment. (Mar 2001)
Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)

Voted YES on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)

Voted YES on implementing CAFTA, Central America Free Trade. (Jul 2005)
Voted YES on implementing US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. (Jul 2004)
Voted YES on implementing US-Singapore free trade agreement. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on implementing free trade agreement with Chile. (Jul 2003)

Voted YES on denying non-emergency treatment for lack of Medicare co-pay. (Feb 2006)
Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on $167B over 10 years for farm price supports. (Oct 2001)
Voted YES on zero-funding OSHA's Ergonomics Rules instead of $4.5B. (Mar 2001)

Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)

Take a look at Mary Jo Kilroy for Ohio's 15th -- someone who's not tied to Bush's coattails.

North Carolina's Robin Hayes -- Hiding from Bush Won't Work

So Hayes takes the money Bush raises, but won't let the president anywhere near his area - the 8th district, when King George visited NC.

pssst Robin, it's not going to work - we KNOW you're a Republican. And here's your voting record, that shows how well you supported the prez before he began his free fall.

Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)

Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)

Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)

Voted YES on denying non-emergency treatment for lack of Medicare co-pay. (Feb 2006) Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)

Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses. (Feb 2005)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on deploying SDI. (Mar 1999)

Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on approving removal of Saddam & valiant service of US troops. (Mar 2004)


So NC's 8th, how about taking a look at

So Long Jim Welsh of NY's 25th, Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way Out

Can you feel that fresh breeze sweeping across New York's 25th district? Yup, it's the wind of retribution and redemption, sweeping away Walsh and his big-business loving ways, and making way for new hope for the future.

And why is Walsh going to be looking for work after the election? Doesn't his pro-Bush, anti-American public voting record speak for itself?

Voted YES on giving federal aid only to schools allowing voluntary prayer. (Mar 1994)
Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)

Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)

Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Voted NO on ending preferential treatment by race in college admissions. (May 1998)
Supports anti-flag desecration amendment. (Mar 2001)

Voted YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)

Voted NO on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)

Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses. (Feb 2005)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on deploying SDI. (Mar 1999)

Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on approving removal of Saddam & valiant service of US troops. (Mar 2004)
Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)


Take a look at the Democrat in this election,

Heather Wilson - You'll Win a No Expenses Paid Trip to Retirement!

After the citizens of New Mexico vote you out of the office you have so poorly held. In the post-Foley environment out there, NM voters are probably going to take a 2nd look at Wilson who while serving as the Secretary of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, managed to "lose" a file in that department that outlined the accusations of a 16-year-old boy who accused Wilson's husband of "innapropriate contact" - well the hubby was never charged and the file "disappeared" while Wilson was in charge of the dept. Wilson at first denied doing anything, then finally admitted her role in the file's disappearance. Where to next? Of course, off to Congress where she spent 3 years on the Congressional Page Board. And now? She's on Foley's Mission & Exploited Children's caucus.

Step on up, Republican "Family Values"

But let's not just advocate her well-deserved removal from office for her hypocrisy, let's look at her voting record too.

Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)
Voted YES on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers. (Oct 2005)
Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
Voted YES on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses. (Feb 2005)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on permitting commercial airline pilots to carry guns. (Jul 2002)
Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)

Running against soon to be retired Wilson is NM's Attorney General,

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Jim Saxton - How About a Nice, Comfrotable Retirement

Since he can't seem to find the time to question why his party was working so hard to cover up Foley's sick ways, let's give Saxton some time away from his job to think things over.

Nah, it's not fair to kick him out just for that. When there are so many even better reasons -- all those votes he's made. What votes? Check them out.

Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)

Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)

Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)

Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on deploying SDI. (Mar 1999)

Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)

Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)

Jersey's 3rd district - take a look at Richard Sexton and give somebody a chance to represent you the way you want to be represented in Congress.

Jersey Deserves Better Than Frank LoBiondo

I'm sure that when LoBiondo signed the Contract with America, including their push for the glory of term limits, he had every intention of fulfilling that contract. But here we are, LoBiondo is comfortably settled in his congressional seat, and not about to give it up for those old ideals. But hey, politicians lie to us all the time, so we shouldn't be surprised.

Instead of focusing on what he says he'll do and doesn't - let's look at how he's voted.

Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
Supports anti-flag desecration amendment. (Mar 2001)
Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
Voted YES on allowing school prayer during the War on Terror. (Nov 2001)
Voted YES on denying non-emergency treatment for lack of Medicare co-pay. (Feb 2006)
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on banning physician-assisted suicide. (Oct 1999)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on permitting commercial airline pilots to carry guns. (Jul 2002)
Voted YES on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on deploying SDI. (Mar 1999)
Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on authorizing military force in Iraq. (Oct 2002)


You know what would be nice? For New Jersey's 2nd district folks to help LoBiondo keep his term limit pledge and vote him out of office - voting in

Jeb Bradley - Sorry He Took Hastert's Money Yet?

With all the Republicans skirrying away as fast & far from Hastert as they can, good to know one fella is holding is ground, or at least the $5,000 he got from Hastert's fund raising committee. He's got lots of money, so it's not that he needs it. Maybe Bradley's just willing to fly the flag for Hastert no matter what.

But enough of Hastert, Foley, pedophilia and the House. Let's look at Bradley's record. That's where the true story lies.

Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers. (Oct 2005)
Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003)
Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses. (Feb 2005)
Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
Voted YES on preventing tipping off Mexicans about Minuteman Project. (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment. (May 2004)
Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)


Thanks to Bradley, New Hampshire will have a chance to get rid of some of those annoying forest trees! And being that close to Canada seems to have made him choose interesting sides - such as reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment and not allowing Canadian drugs into the US. And thinks the Internet should be the plaything of big companies, not something everyday folk can use easily.

Let's dump Bradley and get someone into the House who is worthy of the people of the great state of New Hampshire,

Time to Retire Jon Porter of Nevada

And don't worry, he'll find other work. Sallie Mae and all his other big money friends will no doubt help him find a job in DC. His votes?
  • Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
  • Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
  • Voted YES on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
  • Voted YES on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)
  • Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
  • Voted YES on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)
  • Voted NO on $84 million in grants for Black and Hispanic colleges. (Mar 2006)
  • Voted YES on deauthorizing "critical habitat" for endangered species. (Sep 2005)
  • Voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects. (Nov 2003)
  • Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers. (Oct 2005)
  • Voted YES on prohibiting suing gunmakers & sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003)
  • Voted YES on limited prescription drug benefit for Medicare recipients. (Nov 2003)
  • Voted NO on allowing reimportation of prescription drugs. (Jul 2003)
  • Voted YES on continuing intelligence gathering without civil oversight. (Apr 2006)
  • Voted YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses. (Feb 2005)
  • Voted YES on emergency $78B for war in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Apr 2003)
  • Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)
  • Voted YES on declaring Iraq part of War on Terror with no exit date. (Jun 2006)
So let's see, Porter wants the Internet to be the property of companies with money, not people who need to use it. He thinks seniors apparently don't need cheaper medicines, and supported Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld down the line. Say goodbye Jon, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Vote for Tessa Hafen and bring some change to the House.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

More food for thought as the elections neareth...

A propos again of Anna Politkovskaia and the one-man, one-way, one-truth society which she tried so hard to change...we should not forget how much the party in power here has done to try to stifle dissent. Freedom of expression has never been universally popular here, all the required patriotic rhetoric aside, but I cannot remember in my lifetime a group of politicians so conspicuously intolerant of anyone who disputes their version of events. It began with Ari Fleischer after 9/11, warning "Americans had better watch what they say" in the aftermath of the attacks. It continued with the President and his staff during the 2002 and 04 elections, as they demonized Democrats who disagreed with any aspect of Bush policy, morphing them into Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden in TV ad blitzes. And it has only intensified in this election with the likes of House Majority Leader John Boehner. Boehner recently wondered whether Democrats were more interested in protecting the American people or in "coddling the terrorists." The "crime" committed in that instance came in a disagreement over detainee policy.
I realize that I am preaching to the choir here, but I think Americans unsure of which way they will vote should ask themselves which party would be better this time around for the cause of free speech here in the United States. After this group, I don't think we can afford to take it for granted any longer.

Last Words from Anna Politkovskaya

From today's WaPo, a previously unpublished essay for "Another Sky" by Politkovskaya.

Here is how it starts:

I am a pariah.

That is the result of my journalism throughout the years of the Second Chechen War, and of publishing books abroad about life in Russia and the Chechen War. In Moscow, I am not invited to press conferences or gatherings that Kremlin officials might attend, in case the organizers are suspected of harboring sympathies toward me. Despite this, all the top officials talk to me, at my request, when I am writing articles or conducting investigations -- but only in secret, where they can't be observed, in the open air, in squares, in secret houses that we approach by different routes, like spies.

Take a moment to read the rest. And reflect for a moment as buckarooskidoo reminds us in an earlier post, "She told the truth to power, and no one does that in Russia without paying the price."

Rest in peace Anna.

2006's Asshole Candidate Ad of the Year

Do you have a nomination for the

First annual Make it Stop! Make it Stop! Asshole Candidate Ad of the Year?

I nominated North Carolina Republican Vernon Robinson some months back, and his latest ads make me think he still takes the cake. Check out YouTube for his latest effort.

If you do, offer up your nomination. All we need is:
Name, state & party of the nominee
and
Why that ad should receive this soon to be not at all prestigious award.

Nominate your choice in the comments section of this post.

And remember, in this case, there are no winners, just a whole lot of sick, demented, losers.

Yet Another Republican Congressman's Ethical Shortcomings

It seems that the FBI is looking into $1 million worth of lobbying contracts that Rep. Curt Weldon (Republican - big surprise, of Pennsylvania) talked folks into stearing towards his daughter, who operates Solutions North America Inc. I'm not quite clear on what Solutions North America Inc does (I mean outside of getting lots of money from lobbyists).

It's going to be interesting to see how many more Republicans self destruct before the election.

Ok, One More Time, Say it With Me People

Gay men are less likely to become pedophiles than straight men - study after study shows. One study noted that 97% of pedophiles are men; and 90% of their victims are girls.

Yes, far right psychos, that means the gay man you don't want teaching your kids is less likely to be molesting little Timmy, and your bowling buddy far more likely to be molesting little Lisa.

Foley is pond scum and I won't cry for whatever happens to him. The rush from the far right psychos to say Foley's actions are because he is gay is as tired as it was predictable.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Taking a Page Out of Conservatives' Family Values Claims

Thanks to Buckarooskidoo for her great additions to the page while I was recharging my mental batteries back home.

So Bush hugs Hastert in Chicago, will that end the calls for Hastert's removal? Who knows. Hastert's looking to fire his staff members to save his skin, much be fun working in that office these days. Not only is every reporter on the planet trying to talk to you, but your boss is looking to pin the whole thing on your shoulders if you're not careful.

It's been fascinating watching the fallout from the Foley page scandal from outside of DC. There's a lot of things that happen in this city that don't make much of a dent in the "real world" - Abramoff is a big one. But the Foley story? Headline news wherever I went, small to almost non existent towns. Bush can hug Hastert all he wants, but calls for responsibility are going to continue. And no matter how they spin it, the appearance that Hastert & Co. were more interested in keeping a Congressional seat in Republican hands than protecting American children has sparked national disgust with this party of "family values."

Has Your Non-Profit Laundered Money for Abramoff?

Back in the saddle I am - and just in time to watch Abramoff-related stories hit the news. One of Abramoff's congressional buddies, Ney of Ohio, pleaded guilty (gee, there's a surprise). And what's more is a Senate report that shows five conservative non-profits working with Abramoff were less than exemplary in their behavior. Anyone surprised yet? When you see the name Grover Norquist, you just know something slimy is coming down the pike. Grover's non-profit "Americans for Tax Reform," the "Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy," "Citizens Against Government Waste," the "Natural Center for Public Policy Research," and "Toward Tradition" all seem to have been helping Abramoff by laundering funds, accepting payoffs for promoting Abramoff's clients, and being fronts for Congressional junkets arranged by Abramoff for his clients.

Oh yeah, and Sec. of Interior Gale Norton co-founded the CREA with Norquist. Ya gotta love a bunch of conservative Republicans creating anything that has the name "environmental advocacy" in it. I guess the name "Council of Republicans to Work with Corporate Giants to Rape the Earth" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Merry Minuet redux

La Popessa remains incommunicado in God's country, and events in Russia have left me mostly speechless, so I will let the Kingston Trio deliver the required comment on Dear Leader II's alleged nuke test...remember the Merry Minuet, from the late l950s? If you don't, go find the lyrics and you'll be sold on getting the song. Meanwhile, these choice lines:

" And we can be tranquil, and thank-fill, and proud
For man's been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud;
And we know for certain that some lovely day
Someone will set the spark off
And we will all be blown away!"

'nuff said!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Rest in peace, Anna Politkovskaia

This blog is titled, "Some historical perspective." So it is only fitting that we pay tribute today to someone who wrote the first draft of history, established part of the narrative on which we exchange opinions and comment here. Her name is--was--Anna Politkovskaia, and she lived in Moscow.

Politkovskaia was an inveterate truth-teller. She made her reputation on her reportage from Chechnia-- a region which sought independence from Russia in l991, largely because of l50 years of abuse and one notorious incident of ethnic cleansing, in which the entire Chechen nation was deported by Stalin on flimsy evidence of aiding and abetting the enemy. Russia, naturally, went to war to stop them, expecting a quick victory. Instead, the Chechens fought back, trapping the Russian army in a vicious quagmire. Politkovskaia consistently reported on the human toll of that war, profiling refugees, visiting hospitals to hear accounts of Russian atrocities in Chechen villages, describing the agony of Russian conscripts abused both by their superiors and Chechen warlords. In effect, she declared loudly and often that the Chechen war was a disaster.

Back in Moscow, when the Chechen war inevitably bled over the border into Russia, she was a negotiator during a notorious seizure of a Moscow theater by Chechen extremists. After a violent storming of the theater by Russian security forces, Politkovskaia became an advocate for those who lost family members or saw them injured by the gas released by the police during the siege. She was on the scene during the Beslan school catastrophe. Most recently, she chronicled Vladimir Putin's escalating campaign against civil society in Russia.

She told the truth to power, and no one does that in Russia without paying the price. Someone tried to poison her on an airplane headed for Chechnia. Unknown assailants tried to break into her car while her daughter was driving. She received death threats on a regular basis, which she ignored--she refused to back down. Finally, they--the ubiquitous they--backed HER down and shot her dead in her apartment building, just today. You can't speak the truth there and remain among the living.

As a tribute to her and her impact on the history of our era, please go to your library, or even better to your local book store, and pick up one of her books. I particularly recommend "Putin's Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy." I think you will appreciate the scope of her achievements, as well as what the community of civilized people has lost.

Well done, Anna. You were taken far too soon, but you now rest from your labors, and your works do follow you.

A sobering, if mostly silent, milestone

The New York Times reported a grim fact in its Week in Review section last week: 65 women have now been killed in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. That's sixty-five females, sixty-five individuals who were supposed to be kept out of the hot zone, for fear that men would move to protect them rather than execute the mission and/or that the American public would be traumatized. But I have never heard anyone in the media to date note these deaths, even though their number is rising ever higher. I wondered why, since there has been so much emotional energy put into keeping women OUT of combat. That led me to wonder in turn why the American public has been so sanguine, so apparently unconcerned, about the men who have died, and about the war generally.

This country has inflicted incredible pain and suffering on a people who did nothing to us, and sustained terrible losses itself. Is this due to sheer bloodlust? A misguided belief that somehow, in punishing the Iraqis, we make ourselves safer and get revenge for 9/11? Apathy born of non-participation? Or maybe the lack of a military draft, to ensure that everyone bears the burden of these conflicts? I'm inclined to believe the latter, since I remember the Vietnam war. I am fairly certain that the protesters of that era were less concerned for the ultimate fate of Vietnam or Vietnamese than for the safety of their husbands, sons and brothers--oh yes, and sisters, mothers and daughters. Several dozen women died in that conflict, too, over a much longer period of time.

Help me understand this. The Hungarians discover their government has lied to them about the state of the Hungarian economy, and they pour into the streets in indignation, demanding the heads of the offending ministers. This country invades another, inflicts terrible punishment on a benighted people and gets thousands of our own citizens killed or seriously wounded--and nary a peep from anyone. I hope someone can enlighten me, because I have only these semi-coherent thoughts on the matter.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Let's reread Churchill

Sometimes you have to wonder...I was half listening to TV this evening and heard an unnamed US diplomat say that the US "will not tolerate" a nuclear north Korea. I don't think I like the sound of that. We're fighting a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, battling Shiite death squads and Sunni insurgents, standing in the middle of a burgeoning civil war in Iraq, plotting strategy for a possible invasion/big airstrikes next door in Iran and probably exploring Pat Robertson's suggestion that Hugo Chavez meet with some accident, like being shot while trying to escape. And now we're going to take on Dear Leader and the Lunatics, too? The operations calendar is getting crowded.

The President claims he is an admirer of Winston Churchill for his flinty-eyed toughness, his patented bulldog tenacity. In his endless pursuit of armed conflict with bad guys, he must have forgotten that Churchill is also famous for his declaration that "jaw-jaw" is preferable to "war war." Churchill was a warrior, but he was also a shrewd negotiator and statesman

How about some diplomacy for a change around here, or is that as quaint as the Geneva Conventions?

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Rambling with Rice

Secretary of State Rice is overseas this week on a mission to the Middle East. While she has a dashing persona and celebrity cachet, those laudable quaalities have not yet helped her score high on the coherence scale. As she told reporters, she hopes to rally "moderate elements" in the Arab world to the ongoing crusade, er, campaign against Islamist extremists, or Islamofascists, as the President likes to say. Additionally, she wants to jump-start the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. An ambitious program, to be sure. So how is she doing?

In Saudi Arabia, she called upon the Saudis and the Egyptians, two nations she deems "moderate" in their approach to Islam, to help eradicate Islamic radicals in the region. I guess she forgot that these two nations are among the most repressive in the world, which at least partlly accounts for the fact that most of the 9/11 hijackers hail from either Saudi or Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood, a forerunner of Al-Quaeda, was born in the torture chambers of the Egyptian government a few decades ago. Saudi Arabia turns a blind eye to the authors of its own textbooks, which openly preach hatred of "Jews and infidels." How she decided these are moderate governments, and how they can "help" eradicate Islamic extremism...well, these things are a great mystery.

In Palestine, she visited the West Bank, trying to bolster the beseiged Palestinian Authority President Abbas. The only trouble is, he has virtually no power since Hamas is the democratically elected governing entity there, and the US doesn't talk to Hamas since they are on the terror blacklist. I wonder how she will get any cooperation from Palestinians in view of the fact that she insisted they have elections, then embargoed them when they made the "wrong" choice and elected Hamas. And can you talk peace if you talk over and around the elected government? If you can, I'd like to know how.

Then today, she dropped in on the Green Zone denizens in Iraq, where she lectured Iraqi legislators about the necessity for getting it together, stopping the bickering, rooting out those death squads in the police force. Didn't they know time is a wasting?

The latter encounter qualifies as "rich," as in "with irony." She helped launch the destruction of the basis for Iraqi national unity, then reads the new government the riot act for failing to Humpty Dumpty together again. The earlier legs of this odyssey are just disconnected, nonsensical, strange.

That's a good verdict, right there. Rich and strange, like the man said in the Tempest.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Some questions for the home stretch

Remember Mad magazine when you were a kid? One of my favorite sections was called "Questions we wish we'd asked." Here's a few questions you can have fun with should you encounter a member of the "stay the course in iraq," or even the "cut and run" caucus:

1. Could you please tell me, sir/madame, how more Iraqi army and security troops are going to help our efforts if those troops are overwhelmingly Shiite in ethnic composition? If the basic conflict there is Sunni-Shiite, as everyone says it is, how are Shiite police and army personnel going to "help" us in Sunni areas, like Baghdad province? How?

2. How will all those inky fingers and voting empower the "elected government of Iraq," root out Shiite death squads in the police and army and put an end to Sunni insurgent violence? What are the tools at their disposal to do this, exactly? How will "voting" and "democracy" solve these problems? Do tell!

3. If Senator Biden's "federal" Iraq is on the table for discussion, how will the Congress, the President and the world force Shiites to share oil revenues with Sunnis, or convince Sunnis to accept minority status in a Shiite state, when they enjoyed leading status in Saddam's Iraq for no rational reason? And how will you keep the Sunni neighboring states from intervening on their behalf, in order to strike a blow at their rival, Iran?

4. Do you have a strategy for dealing with a sudden declaration of Kurdish independence? In view of Turkey and Syria's violent opposition to this, can you prevent, or forstall, a regional conflict? Are not our armed forces stretched to the breaking point already?

5. Are you serious when you say that "our enemies will follow us here" if we "cut and run?" Do you really believe Sunnis and Shiites will come to these shores and attack American citizens? And if anyone did come here, wouldn't we have a better chance of beating them here, instead of in the Baghdad slums or the desert??

Inquiring minds want to know, because no one asks or addresses these issues in this admittedly crucial pre-election runup, least of all the President of the United States.






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