More Democracy For My Home State

Shortly after The Republicans lost every statewide office in Ohio last November, the State Capital's young but reasonably promising Progressive radio station was turned into a Right-Wing station. Ratings for that station have dropped 60% and it is now in last place. The Legacy of Ken Blackwell.

Starting on Monday, Progressive radio returns to Columbus OH. this is a victory for organized lefties who fought to get all sides of the spectrum on the air in Ohio.

Now, my oldest friend needs to start listening to Stephanie Miller (much smarter than Howard Stern!)

Thanks to the efforts of Ohio Majority Radio and longtime radio executive Gary Richards, central Ohioans will once again hear progressive talk from favorites like Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, and Randi Rhodes. We'll also hear coverage of local high school football, boys and girls basketball, and other local sports.

It all starts at 6 AM this Monday, December 3rd. Tune to AM 1580 WVKO.
How can an individual listener like you help keep Progressive Talk radio on the air?
Contribute to Progress Ohio's radio ad campaign fund!

By donating to Progress Ohio's radio ad campaign fund, you will not only be helping keep Progressive Talk on the air, you'll be supporting Progress Ohio's 112 community partnerships.

It's been a long road to secure Progressive Talk radio in Columbus. After all this hard work, let's do everything we can to keep it on the air.

Now that it's back, click here to support WVKO's Progressive Programmi

Theocrat Ethics

Why should we wait? Here's some opening info on the Reverend Huckabee:

From Polico.com (11/21/07)

But his career has also been colored by 14 ethics complaints and a volley of questions about his integrity, ranging from his management of campaign cash to his use of a nonprofit organization to subsidize his income to his destruction of state computer files on his way out of the governor’s office.

Some of the ethics complaints deal with fairly penny ante stuff, and most were dismissed.

They did, however, yield five admonitions and $1,000 in fines from Arkansas' Ethics Commission and, perhaps more significantly, a pattern that strategists for two competing GOP campaigns privately predict could become fodder for attacks playing on the culture-of-corruption theme Democrats used to pound Republicans in the 2006 midterm elections.

In fact, when Huckabee entered the presidential race in January, the Democratic National Committee was quick to highlight a couple of the ethics issues that have dogged him and urged him to “come clean about his … history of ethical lapses."

... Huckabee’s campaign, in a statement to Politico, said it was “suspect” that the ethics issues are being raised as Huckabee surges in the polls and said Huckabee repeatedly addressed the issues during his time as governor.

The campaign said the state ethics commission, which Huckabee sued twice, “has been misused as a weapon against Republicans” and that Huckabee “has been unfairly attacked regarding his ethics history while governor of Arkansas.”

... The ethics commission fined Huckabee $1,000 for failing to report that he paid himself $14,000 from his 1992 U.S. Senate campaign and $43,000 from his 1994 lieutenant governor's campaign.

The latter payment — for the use of his eight-seat, twin-engine plane — was reported in a cryptic way that didn’t identify Huckabee and his wife as the owners of the plane.

... Huckabee unintentionally failed to disclose $23,500 he received from a nonprofit organization set up to handle his speaking engagements and supplement his income before he became governor.

... Allegations by a former governor’s mansion employee in 1998 became part of the basis for a lawsuit against Huckabee over his family’s use of a $60,000-a-year fund. The lawsuit also dealt with Huckabee’s assertion that $70,000 worth of furniture donated to the governor's mansion was his to keep.

... As the Huckabees prepared to leave the governor’s mansion last year for a private home in the Little Rock suburbs, Janet Huckabee’s friends set up registries on two stores' websites listing $7,000 worth of housewarming gifts, ranging from napkins to a $300 KitchenAid mixer.

... Before leaving office Jan. 9, Huckabee spent $13,000 in state funds to destroy the hard drives of nearly 100 computers in the governor’s office.

A lawyer is suing Huckabee, alleging that he misspent state money on the destruction

Q.E.D.

The first time (out of a total of oh, two) that I ever entered a 'chat room' I was called a 'conserv-o-phobe' within about 5 minutes.

I have always thought that I am simply a stupid-o-phobe and even more importantly, a fascist-o-phobe.

As you know, I have repeatedly pointed out over the last few years that The Right, particularly the 'values voter' / Capital 'C' christian right, is not about the teachings of Jesus. Nor the Constitution. They are about authoritarianism.

I have asserted that the teachings of an unemployed (an-unmarried) hippie communist from Nazareth has no bearing on what they actually believe. Nor does the Constitution.

I have said that Authoritarians use ideology simply as a frame work upon which they hang justifications for their desire to bully and control.

I have expressed my concern about the similarities between Jesus' and Elvis' fan clubs.

So?

Joe Klein attended a focus group of Republican voters as they watched the debate this week. the Focus Group was conducted by Frank Luntz, the mad genius behind coining the term "Healthy Forests Initiative" for policies by the Bush administration that favor expanded logging by the logging industry, the term, "Death tax," and "energy exploration" (oil drilling).

In the next segment--the debate between Romney and Mike Huckabee over Huckabee's college scholarships for the deserving children of illegal immigrants--I noticed something really distressing: When Huckabee said, "After all, these are children of God," the dials plummeted. And that happened time and again through the evening: Any time any candidate proposed doing anything nice for anyone poor, the dials plummeted (30s). These Republicans were hard.

But there was worse to come: When John McCain started talking about torture--specifically, about waterboarding--the dials plummeted again. Lower even than for the illegal Children of God. Down to the low 20s, which, given the natural averaging of a focus group, is about as low as you can go. Afterwards, Luntz asked the group why they seemed to be in favor of torture. "I don't have any problem pouring water on the face of a man who killed 3000 Americans on 9/11," said John Shevlin, a retired federal law enforcement officer. The group applauded, appallingly.

They also hated anything that Ron Paul said (high 30s to low 20s), especially on the war in Iraq.

They tended to like Huckabee a lot (60s to 80s anytime he opened his mouth), but afterwards most said he was too extreme, religiously, to be President. Really, they did.

OK, was I being too nice? Too understanding?

Take Your Pick

Talk about 'what your definition of 'is' is' ...

Rudy gives round-the-clock versions of what all that security expense for his affair with future wife Judith Nathan were for.

From Salon:

Explanation No. 1: No explanation whatsoever. When the Politico explained the charges it would be making to a Giuliani spokeswoman before the story appeared, the spokeswoman declined to comment at all.

Explanation No. 2: "It's not true." At the GOP presidential debate Wednesday night, Anderson Cooper asked Giuliani whether, as mayor, "you took trips to the Hamptons and expensed the costs of your police detail to obscure city offices." "First of all, it's not true," Giuliani said. Then, after saying that he needed security because he was the subject of threats, Giuliani said that the security teams "put in their records, and they handled them in the way they handled them. I had nothing to do with the handling of their records, and they were handled, as far as I know, perfectly appropriately." Giuliani hasn't explained what wasn't "true" about the story, and in fact, no one is disputing the basic allegation: that the security expenses were billed to obscure city agencies rather than to the NYPD.

Explanation No. 3: It's a "hit job." After the GOP debate, Giuliani speculated that the Politico piece might be the handiwork of one of the other presidential campaigns -- but only a Democratic campaign, of course. "I would not accuse any of my opponents of doing it," he said. "But who knows, it could be on the Democratic side." If Giuliani had any evidence that a rival campaign was behind the story, he didn't offer it.

Explanation No. 4: Everybody does it like this. Shortly after the Politico story broke, Joe Lhota, a deputy mayor under Giuliani, told the Daily News that the practice of billing obscure city offices for mayoral security has "gone on for years" and "predates Giuliani." When told Thursday that spokesmen for Giuliani's predecessors disagreed, Lhota said he needed to "reverse" himself. "I'm just going to talk about the Giuliani era," he said. "I should only talk about what I know about."

Explanation No. 5: Whatever it was, it wasn't a coverup: Having abandoned his "everybody does it" defense, Lhota told the Daily News Thursday: "I don't understand when it started. I don't understand why it started. But I do know one thing: It was consistently done ... in no way shape or form did it imply a coverup." But as the New York Times has reported, when a city auditor started asking questions about $34,000 in security-travel expenses he found in the city's Loft Board's ledgers in 2001, Giuliani's office "refused" to answer, citing "security" concerns.

Explanation No. 6: We were helping the cops. On Thursday -- the same day he told the Daily News that he didn't "understand why it started" -- Lohta told the Associated Press that the security expenses were paid out of offices tied to City Hall rather than by the NYPD itself because the NYPD took too long to reimburse the poor police officers assigned to Giuliani's detail. At the end of each year, Lohta said, the NYPD would reimburse the various city agencies that had been stuck with the tab in the meantime. But even if that's true, it doesn't explain why the costs were distributed among random city offices rather than paid out of a single budget account, which is how city comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. tells the Times it should have been done.

Barry O, Jesus Creeping up In Polls

Wait til the news people start looking inot Huckabee's finances in Arkansas ... What Would Jesus Give as a going away gift?

Anyway ...

New Polls Show Clinton Fading, Huckabee Rising

The American Research Group released new polls from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. In the Democratic presidential race:
Iowa: Obama 27%, Clinton 25%, Edwards 23%
New Hampshire: Clinton 34%, Obama 23%, Edwards 17%
South Carolina: Clinton 45%, Obama 21%, Edwards 12%

Key findings: Since the last ARG survey, Clinton has dropped 10 points among women in Iowa and she has dropped 17 points among men in New Hampshire.

In the Republican presidential race:
Iowa: Romney 28%, Huckabee 27%, Thompson 14%, Giuliani 9%, McCain 9%
New Hampshire: Romney 36%, Giuliani 22%, Huckabee 13%, McCain 11%
South Carolina: Giuliani 23%, Romney 21%, Huckabee 18%, Thompson 13%, McCain 10%

Key findings: Since the last ARG survey, Huckabee has gained 8 points in Iowa and 13 points in South Carolina.

Fox In The Hen House

From the Wall Street Journal On-line

Head of Rove Inquiry in Hot Seat Himself
Bloch Used Private Company,Geeks on Call, to Delete FilesOn His Office Computer
By JOHN R. WILKENovember 28, 2007; Page A6

WASHINGTON -- The head of the federal agency investigating Karl Rove's White House political operation is facing allegations that he improperly deleted computer files during another probe, using a private computer-help company, Geeks on Call.

Scott Bloch runs the Office of Special Counsel, an agency charged with protecting government whistleblowers and enforcing a ban on federal employees engaging in partisan political activity. Mr. Bloch's agency is looking into whether Mr. Rove and other White House officials used government agencies to help re-elect Republicans in 2006.

At the same time, Mr. Bloch has himself been under investigation since 2005. At the direction of the White House, the federal Office of Personnel Management's inspector general is looking into claims that Mr. Bloch improperly retaliated against employees and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination.

The Importance of Iowa and New Hampshire

You know that this will change when someone starts looking like a winner. If one candidate wins both IA and NH they should be poised to take SC and then march into Feb 5 with some seriously buffed electoral cred.

South Carolina Still Up for Grabs for Democrats

The new Clemson Palmetto Poll shows that the Democratic presidential race in South Carolina is even more unsettled than the Republican race (see our earlier post). Sen. Hillary Clinton leads with just 19%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 17% and John Edwards at 12%.

Clinton is down seven points from August, while Obama is up one points and Edwards is up two points.

Key takeaway: 49% of those surveyed are still undecided -- up 12 points from the August poll.

More Wal-Mart Horror

Enabling these insufferable whining wimp is a crime against humanity.

Desperados

The Eagles team up with Wal-Mart. How dare they.

Sunday, November 25, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST wall street journal

One of the most popular rock bands of all time has finally managed to offend--not for its songs, but for how it sells them. There's a lesson here in technology, new business models, and hidebound "progressives."

The first new album from the Eagles in over a decade, "Long Road Out of Eden," has already sold more than a million copies, hitting Billboard's #1 in its first week. It's the kind of blockbuster that used to pay Christmas bonuses at the big record companies, only this album wasn't produced by a big record company. The Eagles released it themselves and are selling it exclusively through Wal-Mart.

Hat tip to Mr G. Baker for reminding me of this atrocity

Hmm

Uh Oh, Theocrats have found their candidate.

From Polical Wire

Huckabee Passes Romney in Iowa

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey in Iowa caucus finds Mike Huckabee leading among Republicans with 28% support, followed by Mitt Romney with 25% support and everyone else far behind. Rudy Giuliani comes in third with just 12% and Fred Thompson is the only other candidate in double digits at 11%.

Key factor: Huckabee now gets 48% of the Evangelical Christian vote -- more than all the other candidates combined.

Analysis: "Given the margin of error, the challenges of determining the relatively small number of people who will participate in a caucus, and other factors, the race is far too close to call at this point in time. However, the fact that Romney is no longer the clear frontrunner in Iowa reflects a stunning change in the race."

And Also This

Romney, Huckabee Surge in South Carolina

The new Clemson Palmetto Poll shows Mitt Romney leading the Republican presidential race in South Carolina with 17% support, followed closely by Fred Thompson at 15%, Mike Huckabee at 13%, Sen. John McCain at 11%, and Rudy Giuliani at 9%.

Since the last poll in August, Romney has gained six points while Huckabee has gained seven points. All other candidates have seen their support drop.

Complete results are available.

9% for Fuhrer Hopeful Rudy???!!!

Bye Bye

OK, If Rudy can recover from this he's a greater Politician than St. Bill

Taxpayers Financed Giuliani's Extramarital Affair

"As New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani billed obscure city agencies for tens of thousands of dollars in security expenses amassed during the time when he was beginning an extramarital relationship with future wife Judith Nathan in the Hamptons," according to documents obtained by The Politico.

The documents "show that the mayoral costs had nothing to do with the functions of the little-known city offices that defrayed his tabs, including agencies responsible for regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for indigent defendants. At the time, the mayor’s office refused to explain the accounting to city auditors, citing 'security.'"

Why Can't They All Talk Like This?

"[Giuliani] knows so little about foreign policy he confuses terrorists cells and organizations with countries. There was no al-Qaeda in Iraq before this war. Al-Qaeda became a Bush-fulfilling prophecy. It didn't exist until Bush went to war. Even our own intelligence community says that. But these guys buy into this silliness that if you don't fight them in Baghdad you're going to fight them in Boston. Give me a break," - Joe Biden, to CBN.

Ja Wohl!

Just in case anyone thinks that GT12 engages in hyperbole when referring to the authoritarianism at the heart of the Republican party....

Remember The Nazi Party? Remember the Communist Party? They don't in Virginia. Or do they?

Polical Wire Reports:

Virginia GOP Will Make Voters Sign Oath

Voters planning to vote in Virginia's Republican presidential primary will be required to sign an oath swearing their Republican loyalty, the AP reports."The State Board of Elections on Monday approved a state Republican Party request to require all who apply for a GOP primary ballot first vow in writing that they'll vote for the party's presidential nominee next fall... Virginia doesn't require voters to register by party, and for years the state's Republicans have fretted that Democrats might meddle in their open primaries."

Caveat: "There's no practical way to enforce the oath."

Salon's take:

So you live in Virginia and want to vote in the state's Republican presidential primary? That's fine -- so long as you first sign an oath swearing that you'll vote for the GOP presidential nominee come next November.

The oath is completely unenforceable, but it can't sit well with Virginia Republicans who might entertain the idea of voting for a Democratic or third-party candidate in 2008 if the nominee the GOP picks isn't to their liking.

As the Roanoke Times opines, the oath leaves such voters with a touch choice to make: "lie," "stay home from the Feb. 12 elections and keep your options open," or "commit to an unknown Republican candidate nine months before the election."

"Honorable Virginians do not give their word lightly and will not lie, even under these obtuse circumstances," the Times says. "We hope, too, that they put candidates' ideas, character and experience ahead of party affiliation. Honest, responsible voters therefore can only skip the primary."

That, or vote with the party that doesn't require such an oath in the first place.

Fact Check

We love our FactCheck.Org emails!

This will be useful info for those of you happening upon Republicans at your Holiday parties:

The Not-Quite Truth About NYC
November 27, 2007

Giuliani twists facts about crime and liberalism in the Big Apple.

Summary

Rudy Giuliani's latest TV ad falsely claims New York City experienced "record crime ... until Rudy." In fact, the city recorded its highest rates of both violent crime and property crime years before he took office. The downward trend was well established before he was sworn in.

The ad also claims New York is "America's most liberal city," but his campaign offers no evidence showing that the city is more liberal than, say, San Francisco; Berkeley; Washington, D.C.; or Detroit, all of which rank as more liberal in a study of voting behavior in the 2004 elections. In that study, New York ranked 21st among cities with populations of more than 100,000.

Giuliani's ad also repeats some boasts we've found to be misleading in the past. It claims he cut taxes by $9 billion but counts several tax cuts that he didn't initiate or sign, and one that he lobbied against before changing course. It also boasts that he cut welfare rolls by 60 percent but fails to note that the reduction in New York was a bit less than it was for the nation as a whole.

Note: This is a summary only. The full article, along with graphics and video of the ad, may be viewed on our Web site:Desktop users

Another Reason to Avoid Walmart

As if more were necessary ... On to Target'!

"Wal-Mart is doing something good for the family here; they're refusing to recognize homosexuals as being married, and we encourage people to shop at Wal-Mart as much as possible,"

- American Family Association Chairman Don Wildmon.

Wal-Mart refuses to give the domestic partners of its gay employees health insurance. Target does. Hat tip: Brayton.

An Even Bester Reason

The awwwwfullll Babs gives her thumb up for HRC

"Barbra has used her immense talent to be an advocate for truth, justice, and fairness and I deeply appreciate her confidence in my candidacy as we work together to change the direction of our nation," - Senator Hillary Clinton.

Now, Even Bushier!

We Can Beat this guy ... Think withering compare contrast images merging The Dauphin-In Chief with The Mayor of 9/11

Always wrong, never in doubt.

“Rudy Giuliani said yesterday he ‘never had any doubt‘ that if he were President four years ago, he would have invaded Iraq. He said he is now ‘even more certain’ that it was the correct national security move.” Rudy then kicked it up yet another notch: “I actually believe that Democrats are going to agree with me on that by the time we get to the general election.”

So You Can Keep Track

The One Who wins will be the one who has the money to run basically a national campaign between New Hampshire and Feb 5.

If John Edwards were to win Iowa he still won't have the resources to beat HRC on the Super Tuesday that is Feb 5. And he's not going to win Iowa.

John, I've always been a fan but call it a day after New Hampshire.

On the Republican front the question is similar: Can Rudy actually recover from the fabulously wealthy Romney's IA and NH victories. Especially if Huckabee gets enough IA bump to gain Power Cred from the Southern Fundies to undercut Rudy's comfrotable Southern-style totalitarianism in SC....

And They're Off

With the date of the New Hampshire presidential primary set at last, the primary calendar is finally in order. The first votes will be cast 38 days from today in Iowa. The course ahead over the next three months:

Thursday, January 3: Iowa
Saturday, January 5: Wyoming Republicans
Tuesday, January 8: New Hampshire
Tuesday, January 15: Michigan
Saturday, January 19: Nevada; South Carolina Republicans
Tuesday, January 29: Florida; South Carolina Democrats
Saturday, February 2: Maine Republicans

The contest then moves on to the Tuesday, February 5, "national primary": Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Georgia; Idaho Democrats; Illinois; Minnesota; Missouri; New Jersey; New Mexico Democrats; New York; North Dakota; Oklahoma; Tennessee; Utah; and West Virginia Republicans. Then...

Saturday, February 9: Louisiana; Nebraska Democrats; Washington State
Sunday, February 10: Maine Democrats
Tuesday, February 12: District of Columbia; Maryland; Virginia
Tuesday, February 19: Hawaii Democrats; Wisconsin

I Am Somebody (Who's Relevant)

Desperate for the Politcs of old

Jackson Says Candidates Have Ignored African-Americans

Jesse Jackson, writing in the Chicago Sun Times:

"The Democratic candidates -- with the exception of John Edwards, who opened his campaign in New Orleans' Ninth Ward and has made addressing poverty central to his campaign -- have virtually ignored the plight of African Americans in this country. The catastrophic crisis that engulfs the African-American community goes without mention. No urban agenda is given priority. When thousands of African Americans marched in protest in Jena, La., not one candidate showed up."

Bye Bye

An Opportunity for GT12's great friend's on 2nd Street

CHICAGO — Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who made a farewell speech to House colleagues 11 day earlier, made his resignation official Monday with a letter to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Hastert's formal resignation, which was to take effect at 11:59 p.m. EST Monday, came the same day that Mississippi GOP Sen. Trent Lott announced he would retire by year's end after 35 years in Congress.

Hastert had announced in August he wouldn't seek another term and earlier this month confirmed he wouldn't finish his 11th term, but he hadn't said when he would resign his seat.

The Best Reason Yet

Omar's Coming!

Compare and Contrast

TV Guide bypassed the political agendas of the 2008 presidential wannabes and got to the bottom of what the vox populi pine to know: Which shows do the candidates TiVo?

Barack Obama is all business when addressing his constituents, but back home the Illinois Democrat reveals he has an affinity for animation. Obama tells TV Guide his No. 1 show is “SpongeBob SquarePants” because “SpongeBob is the show I watch with my daughters.”

But when its lights out for Obama’s brood, the junior senator reports his remote leads him to either “M*A*S*H” or “The Wire” re-runs.

As opposed To

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton admits she loathes missing an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and she likes to veg out to HGTV makeover shows, “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars.

However, the former first lady said her all-time favorite TV show is the oh-so-retro “Ed Sullivan Show.”

Democratic Opportunity

Another Chance to grab defeat from the jaws of victory? The polling methodology is highly suspect though.

New Poll Shows Clinton May Have "Electability" Issues

A new Zogby Interactive survey shows Sen. Hillary Clinton "would lose to every one of the top five Republican presidential contenders, representing a reversal of fortune for the national Democratic front–runner who had led against all prospective GOP opponents earlier this year."

Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama and John Edwards "would defeat every one of the Republicans, this latest survey shows."

Complete results are available. Note that the survey uses Zogby's controversial "interactive" methodology and is not based on traditional telephone polling.

Update: A new Gallup poll shows Clinton beating all Republicans in general election match ups.

I'm Sure Picking Out China Is A Key Diplomatic Function

Barry O Continues to punch.

From ABC Nightline TONIGHT

"I think the fact of the matter is that Sen. Clinton is claiming basically the entire eight years of the Clinton presidency as her own, except for the stuff that didn't work out, in which case she says she has nothing to do with it," Obama said, and added, referring to his relationship with his wife, Michelle, "There is no doubt that Bill Clinton had faith in her and consulted with her on issues, in the same way that I would consult with Michelle, if there were issues," Obama said. "On the other had, I don't think Michelle would claim that she is the best qualified person to be a United States Senator by virtue of me talking to her on occasion about the work I've done."

Over Reach Watch

If the last few years have taught us anything ... NO non-documentary summations of Bob Dylan are to be attempted by the film community.

First it was Twyla's disastrous attempt to re-create her (box office) success with the Billy Joel oeuvre' The Times They Are A Changin'.

And now it would appear that Todd Haynes (of GT12 fave-flicks Velvet Goldmine and Far From Heaven) has crashed badly with I'm Not Here.

The New Yorker observes:

It makes “Yellow Submarine” look like a miracle of sober narrative.

... The problem for “I’m Not There” is not one of credibility (after all, these tales are meant to be tall) but of what authority a movie retains when its component parts fly off in different directions. Dylan, to judge by the ardor of his admirers, is indeed inexhaustible, in his gifts as in his changes of tack, and one quite understands why Haynes—who co-wrote the film with Oren Moverman—should have scorned a plain bio-pic. To come at a stubborn subject from multiple angles was a smart move, but Haynes is so enthralled by the stylistic opportunities that his plan affords, as he was in the fifties-hued “Far from Heaven,” that he ends up more interested in the angles than in anything else, leaving the elusive Dylan, once again, to slip away.

... “I’m Not There” is bravely conceived, but some of the reconstructions of the folk movement could have come straight out of “A Mighty Wind,” and what exactly Haynes adds to “Don’t Look Back,” or to Martin Scorsese’s majestic “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan,” released two years ago, only Dylanologists can tell. The rest of us, far from seeing the light, may even be led to ask, heretically, what all the fuss was about. So who is this movie for?

The Personal Horror Of Iowa

I mean the Caucuses, not the State (GT12 claims several great friends in the Hawkeye State).

The Iowa Caucuses are January 3.

My 50th Birthday is January 4.

For the last month, the punditocracy's drumbeating (and chest pummelling) has almost invariably included the line "The Iowa Caucuses are 50, 40, (38 as of today) days away and ..."

Has anyone else ever had the whole of American Political Talkery countdown their days til irrelevance?

Even The Right Wing Is Listening

As Barry O's spin-victory continues:

From The Wall Street Journal On-Line:

Obama Is Right on Iran

Talking with Tehran may help us wage the wars we need to fight.

BY SHELBY STEELE Monday, November 26, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

After a recent Democratic presidential debate, Barack Obama proclaimed that were he to become president, he would talk directly even to America's worst enemies. One could imagine President Obama as a kind of superhero taking off in Air Force One for Tehran, there to be greeted on the tarmac by the villainous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Was this a serious foreign policy proposal or simply a campaign counterpunch? Hillary Clinton had already held up this idea as evidence of Mr. Obama's naiveté. Wasn't he just pushing back, displaying his commitment to "diplomacy"--now the most glamorous word in the Democratic "antiwar" lexicon?

Whatever Mr. Obama's intent, history has given his idea a rather bad reputation. Neville Chamberlain springs to mind as a man who was famously seduced into the wishful thinking that seems central to the idea of talking to one's enemies. Today few Americans--left or right--would be comfortable with direct talks between our president and a character like Mr. Ahmadinejad. Wouldn't such talk only puff up extremist leaders and make America into a supplicant?

On its face, Mr. Obama's idea seems little more than a far-left fantasy. But perhaps it looks this way because we are viewing it through too narrow a conception of warfare. We tend to think of our wars as miniature versions of World War II, a war of national survival. But since then we have fought wars in which our national survival was not immediately, or even remotely, at stake. We have fought wars in distant lands for rather abstract reasons, and there has been the feeling that these were essentially wars of choice: We could win or lose without jeopardizing our nation's survival.

Mr. Obama's idea clearly makes no sense in a context of national survival. It would have been absurd for President Roosevelt to fly to Berlin and talk to Hitler. But Mr. Obama's idea does make sense in the buildup to wars where survival is not at risk--wars that are more a matter of urgent choice than of absolute necessity.

I think of such wars as essentially wars of discipline. Their purpose is to preserve a favorable balance of power that is already in place in the world. We fight these wars not to survive but--once a menace has arisen--to discipline the world back into a balance of power that best ensures peace. We fight as enforcers rather than as rebels or as patriots fighting for survival. Wars of discipline are pre-emptive by definition. They pre-empt menace to the peaceful world order. We don't sacrifice blood and treasure for change; we sacrifice for constancy.

Conversely, in wars of survival, like World War II, we fight to achieve a favorable balance of power--one in which a peace is established that guarantees our sovereignty and survival. We fight unapologetically for dominance, and we determine to defeat our enemy by any means necessary. We do not harry ourselves much over the style of warfare--whether the locals like us, where the line between interrogation and torture might lie, whether or not we are solicitous of our captive's religious beliefs or dietary strictures. There is no feeling in society that we can afford to lose these wars. And so we never have.

Continue reading here.

Star Power

Remember how well Bruce and REM and all the Vote For Change campaign helped now President Jophn Kerry?

Ca$hing In

Lott to Resign

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) plans to resign by year's end, according to The Politico.

"The announcement took Capitol Hill by surprise because Lott, the former majority leader, seemed to be relishing his job. He had regained a post in leadership after he resigned following racially insensitive remarks at a birthday party for the late Sen. Strom Thurmond."

"Lott would be the sixth Republican senator to announce plans to step down this election cycle. His term expires in 2012; and a resignation would prompt a special election to fill the remainder of his term."

Roll Call says the "shocking move" was "precipitated by a desire to spend more time with his family and a general fatigue of Congress."

Meanwhile, sources tell NBC News Lott is backing Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) to replace him in the party leadership, but that would be determined by secret ballot within the Republican caucus.

CQ has a good backgrounder on the Mississippi Senate seats.

Neighbor News

Bad news for Bill Richardson and Governor Vilsack, good news for the Midwest

From Political Wire

Indiana Could Turn Blue

"Disillusioned with President Bush's handling of the war, the economy and immigration, nearly half of likely voters in Indiana appear poised to buck 40 years of tradition and vote for a Democratic presidential ticket -- if it includes Sen. Evan Bayh," according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR poll.

The poll "revealed a growing sense of pessimism, with nearly three-quarters saying the nation is headed in the wrong direction and 28 percent approving of George W. Bush's performance as president."

White Elitist Prep School Endangerment Watch

From Think Progress:

Save Tucker?
“Rumors have been flying recently that Tucker Carlson could soon be on the way out at MSNBC.” Tucker’s show is “in real danger of being canceled,” according to an NBC official, but the right won’t let him go down without a fight. TVNewswer reports that a few of Tucker’s die-hard fans have launched a petition drive to “save Tucker.” The group’s webpage states, “This decision by MSNBC will silence a conservative voice, part of a move by MSNBC to swing left and become ‘FOX for the Liberals,’ dropping any pretense of objectivity or balance.”

The Surge Is On

Progressive Radio in chicago doubles its power TODAY

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lily's first Turkey Dayand her first snow!

We are thankful for our loved ones and for the ever changing tapestry of life.

Cheers To All of You

“I had unknowingly passed along false information,”

I always wondered how Scott McClellan could tolerate being such a chump. It's not like he looked comfortable at lying (like Tony Snow) ...

“I had unknowingly passed along false information,” McClellan wrote.

“And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."

The 400-page hardcover, with a price of $27.95, is set for publication April 21.

Today's Wicked Smile

Evil Bastard Road Trip off to a rocky start

Embattled former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was a few minutes into his speech Monday night when the first two protesters took the stage, their heads covered and hands tied behind their backs like Abu Ghraib prisoners.

One of the young men stood silently beside Gonzales, who looked down at his notes and waited for two police officers to lead him away. Then came a young man in a military fatigue jacket, who stood directly in front of Gonzales with a sign declaring: “Habeus corpus.”

This Better Come Out In Time

McClellan Admits Mistakes

In his forthcoming memoir, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan admits to misleading the press and says President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Andrew Card, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby were all complicit.

The Mayor of 9/10

Will two weeks of media bravado finally be defeated by eight years of feckless administration?

I find that I have less and less ability to believe the general population 'won't get fooled again' but, I guess it doesn't hurt to feign hope:

Giuliani's 9/11 Image In Jeopardy

Coupled with losing the endorsement of 9/11 Commission Chair Tom Kean to Sen. John McCain yesterday, the Newsday finds that Rudy Giuliani's "image as 9/11 mayor took a double hit" yesterday as New York firefighters and families of victims of the terrorist attacks took their campaign against him to New Hampshire for the first time.

The AP reports that the New York firefighters, including two who lost sons in the terrorist attacks, held a meeting at Dartmouth College, accusing Giuliani "of politicizing the firefighters' deaths by making his post-9/11 leadership the centerpiece of his presidential campaign."

Two firefighters said Giuliani "ignored recommendations to equip firefighters with radios that would have allowed them to communicate with police and to set up a unified command center so both departments could share decision-making during big emergencies. Both men lost sons at the trade center."

Dumb

Forget about the dissing of New Orleans ... Whatever happened to the West and North? The Dems allow the majority of the debates to land in the opponent's ballpark.

The Commission on Presidential Debates has picked Oxford, Miss.; St. Louis; Nashville; and Hempstead, N.Y., as the sites of the presidential and vice-presidential debates in the general election campaign next year.

Likeable?

There really are two America's ...

AP-Yahoo Poll: If the election were about likable people, Obama and Giuliani would lead field

By NANCY BENAC
From Associated PressNovember 20, 2007 7:10 AM EST

WASHINGTON - Democrats and Republicans alike have strong opinions about who has the best chance of capturing the presidency in 2008 - Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, that is - but that is not necessarily the candidate they would rather go bowling with, take along on a family vacation or even vote for.

An in-depth survey of more than 2,000 people offers a window into the thinking of Americans as they look far beyond electability in making their choices for president - grappling with matters of personality, policy and religion in sorting through the candidates.

... Which Democrat is judged the most likable? None has a clear advantage among Democratic voters, with Clinton, Obama and Edwards running about even. Among all voters, however, Obama has the edge.

...Which Republican is the most likable? Giuliani gets the nod, both from Republican voters and among voters overall.

Hold a sheer popularity contest, pitting the most likable Democrat vs. the best-liked Republican, and it would be Obama over Giuliani, 54 percent to 46 percent.

Poll Dancing

Salon Sums up the new WaPo Poll with some modicum of sobriety:

Obama edges up in Iowa

When the Washington Post/ABC News Poll checked in on Iowa in July, Barack Obama had the support of 27 percent of would-be caucus goers while Hillary Clinton and John Edwards had 26 percent each.

A new Post-ABC poll released Monday night has Obama with the support of 30 percent of would-be caucus goers. Clinton is still at 26 percent, and Edwards' support has dropped to 22 percent.

Before going any further, we should note that the new poll has 4.5-point margin of error, so just about any conclusions that could be drawn from differences between the first poll and the second -- it's a "surge," says Team Obama; will you look at Missouri, says Team Clinton -- have to be viewed through a prism of serious skepticism.

That having been said, there are a few observations worth observing about the numbers behind the numbers here.

Gender: Clinton and Obama are running neck-and-neck among women, but Obama has a significant lead among men; he gets support from 28 percent of men while she gets just 19 percent, a number that's lower than John Edwards' and not much higher than Bill Richardson's.

Honesty: Roughly three-quarters of likely Iowa caucus goers say Obama and Edwards are willing to say what they actually think; only 50 percent hold this view about Clinton.

Experience: Likely caucus goers say that Clinton, Edwards and Richardson all have better experience for the presidency than Obama does, but Clinton's numbers on this point are dropping: Fifty percent said she had the best experience in July; just 38 percent do now.

Second choices: Under Iowa's caucus system, candidates are eliminated from contention if they don't draw the support of 15 percent of caucus-goers, thereby freeing their voters to get behind somebody else. That means second choices can matter, and Obama has a significant advantage over Clinton there. When you combine voters who favor Obama now with those who list him as their second choice, you get to 55 percent. Do the same math with Clinton, and your get only as high as 44 percent.

The rest of the pack: At the risk of being accused of ignoring anyone but the front-runners, let's just say that Iowa voters are pretty much ignoring them, too. Richardson is at 11 percent; Joe Biden is at 4 percent (up from 2 percent in July); Dennis Kucinich is holding steady at 2 percent and Chris Dodd still has one percent.

Tie Your Mothership Down

Brian May Named University Chancellor

LONDON - Brian May, rock star and astrophysicist, has been appointed chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University.

May will be installed as the university's figurehead leader early next year, it was announced Monday. The 60-year-old Queen guitarist said the appointment was "a great honor and a great new challenge."

He is an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University, which has a well-known astrophysics research institute.

"Brian May is an intensely talented individual who achieved global success with Queen," said the university's vice chancellor, Michael Brown, in a statement. "In this age of celebrity culture, it is rare to find someone who has fame, fortune and universal acclaim and yet who remains true to his core values of learning and enlightenment."

May succeeds Cherie Booth, wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Liverpool John Moores University was formed in 1992 from the former Liverpool Polytechnic.

May completed his doctorate in astrophysics earlier this year. He was awarded his qualification by Imperial College London.

He was an astrophysics student at Imperial College when he joined Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor to form Queen in 1970, but dropped his doctorate as the glam rock band became more successful.

May is the co-author of "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe," which was published last year.

FoxNews is to Bush as CNN is to Clinton?

How slanted was the debate? ....

It's a big question this week.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

My neighborhood still doesn't have a Starbucks!

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Starbucks Corp., the world's largest chain of coffee shops, fell the most in six years in New York trading after the company lowered its profit and sales forecasts following a first-ever decline in U.S. customer visits.

The stock declined $1.99, or 8.3 percent, to $22.11 at 11:51 a.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, the biggest decline since November 2001. The shares have lost 32 percent this year before today.

Starbucks raised prices by an average of 9 cents a cup in July, causing U.S. customers who face higher food, fuel and housing expenses to go to McDonald's Corp. and Dunkin' Donuts LLC for cheaper coffee. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is among the few retailers to benefit from shoppers seeking lower-cost alternatives after reducing its prices ahead of the holidays.

What To Think?

George Will, quoted in a weekly Standard Blog:

Large undertakings in domestic policy --e.g., the enactments of Social Security in 1935 and of Medicare in 1965 - often follow landslide elections. In the 15 presidential elections since the Second World War, only twice has the Democratic candidate won 50 percent of the popular vote - Lyndon Johnson emphatically in 1964 and Jimmy Carter narrowly in 1976. In 2008, Obama is more likely than Clinton to win an impressive electoral vote total that will look like a mandate. Conservatives should think: Although Republicans have much to fear in 2008, they might have less to fear from her as a candidate and, if she wins, as a president, than they would from Obama.

And Matt Contnetti the Weekly Standard blogger's response:

Recently I've come across more than a few conservative Republicans who are open to voting for Obama should the Republicans nominate a polarizing figure like Giuliani. I asked one of them why they would vote for someone whose ideological leanings would result in policies with which conservatives disagree. "Well," this person said, "You've got to remember: the idelogical stuff never gets done." I hope he's right.

Elitist Democrats

And I mean the real elites ... not a bunch of over-educated granola eaters that Karl Rove and Ton Delay want you to believe are 'high and mighty'. No the dems seem to be the party of the great American Dream...

The Wall Street Journal senses the early stages of a sea change perhaps as big as the post-Civil Rights Act emmigration of the Southern Racist from the Dems to the GOP.

Somewhere, Bill O'Reilly is weeping.

"The Democratic Party stands more for creating equal opportunity," says Jim Kelley, who buys companies for the $7 billion private-equity firm Vestar Capital Partners, which is headquartered on New York's Park Avenue.

Angela Williams, a city bus driver whose route passes Kelley's Denver office building, earns $39,000 a year, but she tells Harwood that social issues and tax cuts are her primary issues.

"I'm pro-life," she declares to Harwood. "Basically, that's why I'm Republican."

Williams, who lives in a working class neighborhood also agrees with GOP attacks on Democrats' economic policies.

"Democrats are all for social programs which raise my taxes," Williams says. "I'm not working to pay for people to sit at home watching cable all day."

Kelley has a much more nuanced approach to economic policy, and he says pocketbook issues are low on his priority list. Kelley tells Harwood the Democratic Party "speaks to me on issues of the environment, and even more to me on national security." To Kelley, the Republicans are too concerned with "so-called moral issues" like gay marriage.

...

In the 2004 election, exit surveys showed President Bush defeated John Kerry by 58% to 41% among those earning more than $100,000. In 2006, Republican House candidates edged Democrats among that group by 51% to 47%.

Now the Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll shows Americans earning more than $100,000 want Democrats to win the White House next year by 48% to 41%, and want Democrats to win control of Congress by 45% to 42%.

Campaign-finance data represents another yardstick. The top five Democratic presidential candidates raised $242 million through the first three quarters of 2007, according to Federal Election Commission figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The top five Republican candidates have raised $167 million.

The Bright Side Of Learned Helplessness

From Polital Wire:

Despite a slew of recent polls findings Americans unhappy with Congress, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds that the majority of Americans still hold a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party. 54% of respondents viewed Democrats favorably with only 37% holding an unfavorable opinion of the party. The Republicans faired far worse, receiving a favorable opinion from only 40% of Americans while being viewed negatively by half.

These numbers, should they stay consistent, could set up another bad election cycle for Republicans in 2008.

Bloodlust

That's why people support torture... and the death penalty. The ineffectiveness and inherent injustice of these 'tools' are well documented, and immaterial.

A telling and sad story from the McCain Campaign trail:

At a celebration Saturday of the 232nd birthday of the Marine Corps, in Bedford, N.H., as veterans from five wars over the last century looked on, Mr. McCain said that any candidate who joked about sleep deprivation, as Mr. Giuliani had done several days earlier, should talk to his fellow prisoner of war and supporter, Orson G. Swindle.

Mr. McCain described how Mr. Swindle was “chained to a stool for 10 days, then let off that stool for one day, and then chained to that stool again for 10 more days.”

...
But Milt Mattson, standing outside the cafe after Mr. McCain left, said he thought the United States needed to take any measure it deemed necessary. “This is a war for our life,” Mr. Mattson said. “These are people that chop heads off. I don’t care what we have to do to stop them.”

Overconfidence watch

CBS News poll from Dec. 17, 2003,

polling nationally:

Dean 23%
Clark 10%
Lieberman 10%
Gephardt 6%
Sharpton 5%
Kerry 4%
Edwards 2%
Moseley-Braun 1%

Department of 'Hitchens Is Right'

Do the last two lines sound familiar?

Gays should be hanged, says Iranian minister

Homosexuals deserve to be executed or tortured and possibly both, an Iranian leader told British MPs during a private meeting at a peace conference, The Times has learnt.

... Minutes taken by an official describe a meeting between British and Iranian MPs at the Inter-Parliamentary Union, a peace body, in May. When the Britons raised the hangings of Asqari and Marhouni, the leader of the Iranian delegation, Mr Yahyavi, a member of his parliament’s energy committee, was unflinching. He “explained that according to Islam gays and lesbianism were not permitted”, the record states. “He said that if homosexual activity is in private there is no problem, but those in overt activity should be executed [he initially said tortured but changed it to executed]. He argued that homosexuality is against human nature and that humans are here to reproduce. Homosexuals do not reproduce.”

More Progressive Power Surge

On Monday Chicago's progressive talk radio station, WCPT, moves from 850 AM to 820 AM.

The signal is the most powerful in the area.

Our new signal at 820-AM will literally double our coverage area. Instead of broadcasting at 2,500 watts from Crystal Lake Illinois, our new transmitter moves 40 miles right to the heart of Chicago, giving us twice the power for all the people! In fact, WCPT’s new 5,000 watt daytime signal will be the best signal of any major AM station in Chicago. Yes, we did say daytime because the 820-AM signal is also licensed by the FCC to sign-on at sunrise and sign-off at sunset. Although we would
love to broadcast all day and all night, the new WCPT at 820-AM will now be
heard from as far north as Milwaukee to as far south as Kankakee. It will
finally put us on a level playing field with the rest of Chicago’s talk radio
stations; just in time for the 2008 election season.

It's time for all of you locals to start following Stephanie Miller!

Where Have We Been

GT12 Central has just completed a major electrical upgrade. For several days our resources have been limited and devoted to simply fending of the newly arrived late fall chill.

But now we're back with 50 more amps to spare.

Doh!

Following Cheney's lead from the very git go:

"There are a lot of Americans (who say), 'Why didn't you go get him?'" [current President G W] Bush told the Express-News back in 1997, according to Christenson. "Well, I'm confident that losing men and women as a result of sniper fire inside of Baghdad would have turned the tide of public opinion very quickly," Bush added.

I'll Take It

Show Me The Money

I would, as president, make absolutely certain that all federal laws pertaining to married couples [pertain to] same-sex couples who have civil unions as well.

- Barack Obama to Tim Russert on Meet The Press yesterday.

Tis the Season

Halloween is over.

From Think Progress

O’Reilly’s Contrived ‘War On Christmas’ Is Back

On his Fox News show last night, Bill O’Reilly kicked off his annual conniption fit over a perceived “War on Christmas.” O’Reilly’s target last night was a decision by the Fort Collins, Colorado City Council to celebrate the holiday season with “an educational museum display, plain wreaths and garlands on city property, and trees with white lights” rather than traditional Christmas decorations such as trees with “colored lights.”

In the segment, O’Reilly called the decision by the city’s Holiday Display Task Force — which he incorrectly called the holiday diversity task force — “insane” and “an assault to diminish Christmas for secular progressive reasons.”

His right-wing guest, Denver talk radio host Dan Caplis, went even further, calling it “something out of the old Soviet Union”:

DAN CAPLIS: Yes. Well, Bill, this is horrible. I mean, this should be a wake-up call to every member of your audience. If this kind of attack on American values can happen in Fort Collins, it can happen everywhere.
You have this arrogant minority that wants to go to the point of stripping away Christmas trees and colored lights. I mean, this sounds like something out of the old Soviet Union. And people need to be very aware.

This group on the left is mobilized. They’re sophisticated. They’re determined. And if you don’t stand up and fight for your culture, they will take it away from you.

The goal of Fort Collins’ proposals is to make sure that government-funded displays are as inclusive as possible. Employees at their desks and private citizens in general can “erect whatever display or symbols they so choose.”

As the Coloradoan’s Robert Moore notes today, O’Reilly “got some basic facts…wrong” about the committee he was complaining about, like “its name and number of members.”

More importantly, O’Reilly is behind in his outrage. Last year, he launched his “First Salvo in 2006 War Over Christmas” nearly two weeks earlier on October 27, complaining to former Sen. John Danforth (R-MO) about “lawsuits all over the country by the ACLU, objecting to Christmas carols, Christmas displays.” [Fox News 10/27/06]

If 2007 is anything like previous years, “secular progressives” have plenty of vitriol from O’Reilly to look forward to:

- Describing the “War on Christmas,” O’Reilly claimed “Every company in America should be on its knees thanking Jesus for being born. Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable.” [11/29/05]

- O’Reilly compared Catholic leaders’ silence over “war” on Christmas to Church’s reaction to pedophilia scandal. [12/14/05]

- “[Y]ou’re a moron … [i]f you don’t believe” the “secular progressive movement” is behind “war” on Christmas, claimed O’Reilly on his radio show. [12/19/05]

- O’Reilly lauded Wal-Mart’s decision to use the phrase “Merry Christmas” as a victory in the “culture war battle” for those who “want to retain the Christmas tradition.”[11/13/06]

Watch out “secular progressives,” the “war on Christmas” is back and O’Reilly’s got his eye on you.

People Like Us

I'm guessing that if you are reading this you would not classify yourself as 'conservative'.

That also means you probably are knowledgeable about things outside of you neighborhood and the WWF.

Liberals and Conservatives Like Different Entertainment

Not surprisingly, a new Norman Lear Center/Zogby poll reveals that America's entertainment tastes are as polarized as our political views.

A few of the findings:

Liberals were much more likely than conservatives to listen to commentary and entertainment with which they disagreed philosophically.

Fox News wins the prize for the most politically divisive TV channel (70% of conservatives watch it daily and only 3% of liberals).

Over 82% of conservatives say they never watch MTV.

Cerebral material like documentaries and arts and educational programming all appeal more to liberals... Conservative viewers are more likely to watch action-adventure, sports, and business programming.

Conservatives are the least likely group to listen to jazz and reggae... Liberals, on the other hand, are more likely than other respondents to enjoy almost every music genre.

Must Hear Audio

An Interview with Andrew Sullivan, James Traub of the NY Times and Laura Washington of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Obama and America

We look at America's relationship with candidate Barack Obama.
Whether or not he wins, do Republicans and Democrats need Obama in the
presidential race?

Listen here