Drinking Liberally®

Whew! We all knew the guy was a hack and an idiot. He telegraphed it constantly but the press corp pretended that he was the kind of guy you wanted to have a beer with. Hahahahahaha. Great criteria for running the Greatest Democracy money used to not be able to buy.
Check it OUT! http://radiantworld.com/images/http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=5

George W. Bush: My Resumé

Arrest Record, Crimes & Misdemeanors

o Two negligent collisions, July & Aug 1962 at Houston TX. Fined. (Page 20 of linked PDF document)
o Two speeding tickets, July & Aug 1964 at Houston TX. Fined. (Page 20 of linked PDF document)
o Arrested for Disorderly Conduct, December 1966 at New Haven CT. Charges were dropped. (Page 20 & 37 of linked PDF document)
o Arrested for Disorderly Conduct in New Jersey, in 1967. I was cautioned and set free.
o At least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine when I was 30 years old, where I pled guilty, was fined and suspended from driving.

Past work experience:
o Ran for congress and lost.
o Served for a decade on the board of a company that financed several R-rated, slasher and sundry B movies .
o Bought an oil company and generated an astounding $3.1 Million debt, sold the company to another Texas oil baron, and then sold it again to my dad's Saudi friends and made over $1.5 Million from the sweetheart deal. I sold all my stock just in the nick of time, using insider information, to a wealthy Saudi friend of my father.
o Bought a small portion of the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that forcibly took land using eminent domain and tax-payer money. Most notable decision: Traded Sammy Sosa to the White Sox for Harold Baines. Most notable profiteering: Parlayed a $605K loan into a $14.9 Million profit using taxpayer money and eminent domain laws to evict homeowners , obtain land and increase the value of the shares in the Texas Rangers.
o Elected to governorship of Texas, with the help of George Bush Sr. and generous donations and support from wealthy oilmen and Christian evangelicals.

Posted by vicki at 01:17 PM | Comments (2)

The GOP speaks of freedom, Democracy and the American way ad nauseum, but in our Orwellian times they have turned these principals upside down. We've seen our right to privacy trashed, our right to protest confined to "free speech zones" and our most basic right of all--the right to vote--come under attack. We invaded Iraq unprovoked and without international support. This cannot stand. Call, write, protest and don't take these abuses lying down! Liberals need to restore our National honor. And we will! from today's Times:

In a country that spends so much time extolling the glories of democracy, it's amazing how many elected officials go out of their way to discourage voting. States are adopting rules that make it hard, and financially perilous, for nonpartisan groups to register new voters. They have adopted new rules for maintaining voter rolls that are likely to throw off many eligible voters, and they are imposing unnecessarily tough ID requirements.

Florida recently reached a new low when it actually bullied the League of Women Voters into stopping its voter registration efforts in the state. The Legislature did this by adopting a law that seems intended to scare away anyone who wants to run a voter registration drive. Since registration drives are particularly important for bringing poor people, minority groups and less educated voters into the process, the law appears to be designed to keep such people from voting.

It imposes fines of $250 for every voter registration form that a group files more than 10 days after it is collected, and $5,000 for every form that is not submitted — even if it is because of events beyond anyone's control, like a hurricane. The Florida League of Women Voters, which is suing to block the new rules, has decided it cannot afford to keep registering new voters in the state as it has done for 67 years. If a volunteer lost just 16 forms in a flood, or handed in a stack of forms a day late, the group's entire annual budget could be put at risk.

In Washington, a new law prevents people from voting if the secretary of state fails to match the information on their registration form with gov ernment databases. There are many reasons that names, Social Security numbers and other data may not match, including typing mistakes. The state is supposed to contact people whose data does not match, but the process is too tilted against voters.

Congress is considering a terrible voter ID requirement as part of the immigration reform bill. Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, introduced an amendment to require all voters to present a federally mandated photo ID. Even people who have been voting for years would need to get a new ID to vote in 2008. Millions of people without drivers' licenses, including many elderly people and city residents, might fail to do so, and be ineligible to vote. (my bold) The amendment has been blocked so far, but voting-rights advocates worry that it could reappear.

These three techniques — discouraging registration drives, purging eligible voters and imposing unreasonable ID requirements — keep showing up. Colorado recently imposed criminal penalties on volunteers who slip up in registration drives. Georgia, one of several states to adopt harsh new voter ID laws, had its law struck down by a federal court.

Posted by vicki at 09:28 AM

OK, I have always enjoyed Hawpe's sense of humor and snark. But lately he reminds me of a bitter man who can't see the forrest for the trees. Check this out and tell me if I'm wrong.

When my old Kentucky home meets the new Kentucky satellite

David Hawpe

Did you see that Kentucky is going to be the first state to put up its own satellite?

I guess it will take some kind of unbridled spurt to put the thing up there in the wild bluegrass yonder.

(Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

After its cameras are positioned over the state, imagine the uses to which it could be put.

Rick Pitino could have it programmed to start taking pictures, whenever a big-name high school recruit shows up at Tubby Smith's office in Memorial Coliseum. That wouldn't take much camera time.

Circuit Court Clerk Tony Miller could use it to keep track of the prisoners let loose prematurely from the jail.

The state Transportation Cabinet obviously needs a way to keep an eye on the unpainted Kennedy Bridge as its rusts away.

The folks over at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky office could install a feature that scans for prayer at public venues, so it will know where to send lawyers.

The Rev. Louis Coleman needs 24-hour coverage, so he'll know where to dispatch demonstrators.

And Churchill Downs needs it to know where not to look for Derby ticket scalpers.

Satellite surveillance may be the only way David Jones and the City of Parks planners can keep one step ahead of the Floyds Fork developers, who want to put as many subdivisions as possible in their path.

Jones also could use the satellite to alert him any time arena impresario Jim Host moves. Knowing whom Host visits, Jones could schedule follow-ups to explain why the waterfront arena site stinks.

Tyler Allen certainly could use the satellite. He's already come up with creative photo angles that obscure the reality of his unworkable "8664" plan; imagine what he could do with photos from outer space. Of course, he might still be too busy trying to figure out why Democratic congressional candidate Jimmy Moore's support for 8664 didn't bring out legions of voters in the primary election, in which he finished a distant third. [/end snip]

Get over yourself, already!

Posted by vicki at 01:00 PM | Comments (1)

Just try to make sense out of this hash. Where the hell is the outrage over Abu Griab, wiretapping US citizens, threatening journalists and so much more. The things conservatives weep bitter tears over is astounding. Here is just one of the columns the the CJ published by cry baby conservatives today

JOHN DAVID DYCHE
Bush's bad constitutional record

Constitutional conservatives and federalists can wholeheartedly support big parts of President Bush's agenda. Congressionally authorized military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, tax cuts and Social Security reform are good and clearly constitutional policies. In other areas, however, the administration has gone too far for fans of limited national government to stomach.

Gene Healy and Timothy Lynch, of the non-partisan Cato Institute, vent some of these frustrations in a powerful critique of Bush's constitutional record provocatively entitled "Power Surge." The 28-page broadside blasts Bush for exceeding constitutional boundaries on executive authority and federal power, while professing "fidelity to the Constitution" is a key qualification for his federal judge nominees.

For example, Bush put politics before the Constitution by signing the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 after having declared that "the President has an independent duty to judge the constitutionality of the legislation he signs," acknowledged that the measure violated the First Amendment, and promised to veto it.

The Supreme Court upheld the law in a challenge brought by Sen. Mitch McConnell and an ideologically diverse collection of plaintiffs, but that flawed legal decision cannot excuse Bush for abdicating his oath of office to uphold the Constitution.

Posted by vicki at 12:34 PM

There is a shockingly long list of Kentucky and Indiana war dead from just last year. Click on the links for individual profiles.

May they rest in peace

Posted by vicki at 11:05 AM

Hahahahahaha. Prosecuters have been trying in vain, it seems, to get Gov. Ernie to turn over various records and his Blackberry. So far, he has refused. Does he think because he's Governor he gets to decide what is legal and what isn't? If he would just obey the law and court orders, he could get this over with already. What a doofus.

By Tom Loftus
tloftus@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Gov. Ernie Fletcher's lawyers say they don't want to give his BlackBerry to a grand jury if its contents are used against him in his pending criminal case.

But Attorney General Greg Stumbo's office said yesterday it still wants the BlackBerry personal communication device, and without this condition.

"The Kentucky Supreme Court made clear the grand jury's work continues. And the grand jury needs access to the evidence to fulfill that charge," Deputy Attorney General Pierce Whites said.

Whites filed a motion in Franklin Circuit Court yesterday asking for a hearing on past requests for Fletcher's BlackBerry and other records related to the investigation into the administration's hiring practices.

Posted by vicki at 03:53 PM

Mike Bailey, our friend from DFA and head of "Cange For Louisville" shared this with me and I thought you might like to take a look.

Do you feel like politicians of both parties are under tremendous pressure to
become corrupt, and that they are always in danger of being "bought" by big
donors? Do you know that there is a way to fix this?

I am sending this note in support of Americans for Campaign Reform. Americans
for Campaign Reform calls its mission "Just $6" because Congress would have to
spend Just $6 per citizen to publicly fund each and every election for
Congress, the Senate and the White House. When you consider that "pork barrel"
projects cost every one of us more than $200 last year alone, it's no
contest.

But many Americans have no idea how broken our campaign finance system is.
Take a look at the six astounding facts listed below! Please, after you've
read them, pass these on to six people you know -- family or friends,
Democrats or Republicans. Over the next year, we all must stand together to
demand that big money be taken out of politics.

Click here!

6 Facts from Just $6

- Wealthy special interests currently provide more than 80% of all political
contributions.
- In each of the last four election cycles, more than 98% of incumbents who
ran for reelection were successful, and one in six incumbents ran unopposed.
- Federal campaigns spend an estimated 20% to 30% of the money they raise on
fundraising.
- Over the last three election cycles, incumbents raised 500% more than their
challengers.
- The considerable tax breaks, subsidies, and relaxation of regulations given
to large donors and contributing industries cost taxpayers at least $100
billion each year, far exceeding the approximately $1.8 billion that it would
cost for voluntary public funding.
- Raising the money to finance a successful campaign frequently consumes more
than 30% of a congressional candidate's time, while some presidential
candidates report spending half of their time raising campaign funds. Some US
Senators spend as much as 50% of their working hours in pursuit of funds.

These facts clearly illustrate the disparity of who gets elected, and who's
buying access to our elected officials. We, the individual voters, are
increasingly left out of the process altogether. Send these facts to your
friends and ask them to join you in taking back control of our elections by clicking here:

http://www.just6dollars.org/invite_facts

Posted by vicki at 03:05 PM | Comments (1)

How can these people sleep at night? Read the rest here.

Water-quality plan opposed
Agency proposes relaxing standards for Ohio River

By James Bruggers
jbruggers@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

For Barbara Berman, paddling in a canoe along the banks of the Ohio River is her time to "commune with nature."

That's why, she said, she doesn't want weaker pollution standards for a river that is already often "untouchable."

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission has proposed relaxing some of its pollution standards for all of the 981-mile river.

Berman, of Louisville, was among more than 80 people attending yesterday's public hearing on the plan at the Galt House. Nearly all of about 30 people who spoke at the hearing opposed the proposals.

"People see this as a giant step backward," said Tim Guilfoile, a Sierra Club representative from Edgewood.

The proposal would "align reality with achievability," countered Alan Vicory Jr., executive director of the commission, who said the controversy was the agency's largest since at least 1979.

He said the current bacteria standards are based on dry conditions, when sewer systems are not pressed beyond their capacities, and that it would be hugely expensive for river communities to comply with them.

River cities are already collectively spending billions of dollars to reduce wet-weather sewage problems, such as those of combined sewer and storm pipelines that overflow during rain.

To achieve its goal, the commission has proposed abandoning its "body contact" standards for fecal coliform and E. coli -- which are associated with human and animal waste -- whenever the river flows faster than 2 mph from May through October, the river's recreational season. A less strict standard set for treatable drinking water would remain in place.

The change would mean that during and just after rainy weather, bacteria levels could be 10 times as high as they are now before authorities could say they are out of compliance.

"It's so, so simple," Bruce Cohen, a local plumber, told three commission members who conducted the meeting. "If you folks are supposed to protect the public's interest, then we need somebody else to protect the public's interest."

Word, brother!

Posted by vicki at 02:55 PM | Comments (1)

Just how out of touch is Anne Northup with her constituents? See it with your own eyes here.

When we begged her not to impeach President Clinton, she ignored us. When we pleaded with her to reject Dick Cheney's energy policy, she rejected us. When we demanded that she walk away from the hidious Terri Shiavo bill, she joined her pal Tom DeLay and voted for it. Budget busting tax cuts for the rich? Fine by her. Ditto for the pork stuffed budgets Bu$h signed. It goes on and on. Don't take my word for it. Check out every vote she's taken since 1991. It is beyond ugly.

Posted by vicki at 09:47 AM | Comments (4)

Our Bigest fan, W, has been permantly banned from DL.

Posted by vicki at 10:29 AM | Comments (3)

Go to: www.louisville.earthsave.org

EarthSave Louisville’s

TASTE OF HEALTH:

A Healthy People, Healthy Planet Festival

Slugger Field * 401 E. Main St.

Memorial Day, Monday, May 29, 2006 from 10:00am-3:00 pm

Free admission and parking!

Over 15 restaurants!

EarthSave Louisville’s annual festival of delicious food and great fun is designed to teach visitors why, how and where to make choices that are healthy for people and for the planet. Sample tasty, healthy plant-based foods from Louisville restaurants, attend free cooking demonstrations and seminars, browse in the bookstore and play some games. Speakers include: Dr. Antonia Demas (successful program to help kids like veggies!), Ken Bergeron (anti-cancer cooking demo), Wayne Pacelle (CEO of The Humane Society of the United States), Vesanto Melina, RD (internationally known dietitian & author).

If you care about good health for people and for the Earth, or just want to have some healthy fun, don’t miss this festival. Admission and parking are FREE. For more information, call 502-569-1876 or visit www.tasteofhealth.org

Posted by Maria at 10:12 AM

The Times gives the proper smackdown to this grossly incompetent, dangerous man and, by extention his boss. The. Worst. President. Ever.

The truth about our lawless Attorney Gen. hurts. Literally.

A Sudden Taste for the Law

Published: May 24, 2006

It's hard to say which was more bizarre about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's threat to prosecute The Times for revealing President Bush's domestic spying program: his claim that a century-old espionage law could be used to muzzle the press or his assertion that the administration cares about enforcing laws the way Congress intended.

Mr. Gonzales said on Sunday that a careful reading of some statutes "would seem to indicate" that it was possible to prosecute journalists for publishing classified material. He called it "a policy judgment by Congress in passing that kind of legislation," which the executive is obliged to obey.

Mr. Gonzales seemed to be talking about a law that dates to World War I and bans, in some circumstances, the unauthorized possession and publication of information related to national defense. It has long been understood that this overly broad and little used law applies to government officials who swear to protect such secrets, and not to journalists.

But in any case, Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Bush have not shown the slightest interest in upholding constitutional principles or following legislative guidelines that they do not find ideologically or politically expedient.

Mr. Gonzales served as White House counsel and as attorney general during the period Mr. Bush concocted more than 750 statements indicating that the president would not obey laws he didn't like, or honor the recorded intent of those who passed them. Among the most outrageous was Mr. Bush's statement that he did not consider himself bound by a ban on torturing prisoners. Mr. Gonzales was part of the team that came up with the rationalization for torture, as well as for the warrantless eavesdropping on Americans' e-mail and phone calls.

Posted by vicki at 10:00 PM | Comments (2)

Colbert will prolly have a field day with the latest jack booted thugishness of Dear Leader. Bu$h has finally managed to put a chill in the lame spines of the GOP Congress. The Times gives us this:

F.B.I. Raid Divides G.O.P. Lawmakers and White House

By CARL HULSE
Published: May 24, 2006

WASHINGTON, May 23 — After years of quietly acceding to the Bush administration's assertions of executive power, the Republican-led Congress hit a limit this weekend.

Resentment boiled among senior Republicans for a second day on Tuesday after a team of warrant-bearing agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation turned up at a closed House office building on Saturday evening, demanded entry to the office of a lawmaker and spent the night going through his files.

The episode prompted cries of constitutional foul from Republicans — even though the lawmaker in question, Representative William J. Jefferson of Louisiana, is a Democrat whose involvement in a bribery case has made him an obvious partisan political target.

Speaker J. Dennis Hastert raised the issue personally with President Bush on Tuesday. The Senate Rules Committee is examining the episode.

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House majority leader, predicted that the separation-of-powers conflict would go to the Supreme Court. "I have to believe at the end of the day it is going to end up across the street," Mr. Boehner told reporters gathered in his conference room, which looks out on the Capitol plaza and the court building.

A court challenge would place all three branches of government in the fray over whether the obscure "speech and debate" clause of the Constitution, which offers some legal immunity for lawmakers in the conduct of their official duties, could be interpreted to prohibit a search by the executive branch on Congressional property.

Lawmakers and outside analysts said that while the execution of a warrant on a Congressional office might be surprising — this appears to be the first time it has happened — it fit the Bush administration's pattern of asserting broad executive authority, sometimes at the expense of the legislative and judicial branches.

Pursuing a course advocated by Vice President Dick Cheney, the administration has sought to establish primacy on domestic and foreign policy, not infrequently keeping much of Congress out of the loop unless forced to consult.

Posted by vicki at 10:33 AM | Comments (1)

What is it with these crooked and incompetent republican hacks?

Fletcher's testimony wanted
Two affidavits to remove judge differ

By Tom Loftus
tloftus@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Ernie Fletcher should be required to testify about why he wants to remove the judge assigned to hear charges that he broke state personnel laws, a prosecutor said yesterday.

In a related matter, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence said yesterday that for now, he is running with Fletcher for a second term in 2007.

"As it stands right now, I am on the ticket," he said during an interview. When asked if he expects to be on the ticket through the election, he repeated that remark.

Also yesterday, Fletcher's lawyers asked Franklin Circuit Judge William Graham to show he did not violate a Supreme Court ruling in his remarks Friday to the grand jury that indicted Fletcher. The high court ruled the jury could not indict anyone covered by Fletcher's pardon last August.

Whatever Graham told jurors "directly impacts the Governor's rights and duties in his official capacity," their request said.

Fletcher was indicted by the jury May 11 on misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, criminal conspiracy and violating a prohibition against political discrimination against state civil-service workers.

The charges allege Fletcher oversaw a scheme to reward supporters with jobs and promotions within state government's merit system at the expense of others.

Posted by vicki at 10:05 AM

Hahahahahahahaha. Pathetic Anne Northup is crying to WHAS11 TV in the "investigative report" on the HARASSMENT OF ANNE NORTHUP series. WTH? Poor St. Anne is deeply offended that her constituents are picketting her home and demanding answers. And they are rude! Hello, Anne! Listened to Anne Coulter or hate radio lately? Try to keep a straight face when you accuse libs of being "over the top." It's called righteous anger.

For crying out loud! Has it not occurred to her that she might hold a town hall meeting and explain her horrid voting record? Impeachment of President Clinton. Support for filthy Louisville air. Intervening in the Terri Shiavo matter. Privatizing SS. That's the short list. She has a lot of 'splaining to do but cowardly runs away from voters. Some stinking liberal media we have that races to her side in an election year. What a load of tripe.

Posted by vicki at 11:39 PM | Comments (5)

From www.Democratsforamerica.org There is just no end to the lies, deceptions and lawbreaking in this WH and republican Congress.

BUSH BULLDOZES FIRST AMENDMENT

President Bush may not want to see his White House staff face criminal prosecution for their national security leaks, but he is clearly itching to put behind bars the reporters who are trying to expose his spying on Americans and the growing list of other Bush abuses of power.

Even before sending Attorney General Gonzales on the Sunday talk shows to advertise his eagerness to prosecute a reporter, the word was out about Bush's KGB-style campaign of spying on the phone calls of reporters at ABC News and other media outlets.

In a breathtaking abuse of power that made Richard Nixon's attack on the media seem tame by comparison, the Bush Administration is clearly targeting reporters who have done stories critical of the White House.

As ABC News reporter Brian Ross told CNN's Howard Kurtz: "Someone told -- a senior federal official told my colleague, Rich Esposito, that 'We know who you are calling; you should get some new cell phones and quick.' That's what we know, Howard. We don't know how it is they know who we're calling. We've been trying to figure that out. But this source is so good that we take it very seriously."

Howard Kurtz: "Just on a personal level, how did you -- what was your reaction to learn that law enforcement officials, according to this source, are analyzing the numbers that you dial -- presumably in an effort to track down your other confidential sources?"

Ross: "You know, I guess as an abstract, we always thought that was likely or possible, but once I actually heard this specific information -- and this person knew a couple of specific calls -- it was truly alarming and made you think, well, my gosh -- what are we going to do about this? It means a lot more in-person visits. I'm working on a big story now with people who are confidential sources inside the Federal Air Marshal Service. They were all alarmed that they might be exposed as talking with me in violation of rules.
So it's of great concern."

Kurtz: "What other news organizations are being -- having their phone calls tracked, according to your informant?"

Ross: "We were told reporters at The New York Times and The Washington Post, and it seemed consistent with the information we know, that the CIA has made several criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, the FBI, based on stories that the Post and the Times have run about CIA secret prisons and the Jim Risen story at The New York Times about NSA wiretapping. In both cases, those agencies have confirmed that criminal investigations have begun.

And it makes me feel, in a way -- and this is, I think, the disturbing part -- as if we are drug dealers or terrorists trying to traffic in information, and should we be using bags full of quarters like old Mafia capos to avoid having our phone calls traced? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong; I don't think any other reporter is, either. We're trying to cover these stories, which are difficult, but which are very important."

Posted by vicki at 06:29 PM | Comments (2)

Bush gives thumbs down to Gore's new movie
President says he's unlikely to watch documentary on global warming

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:10 a.m. ET May 23, 2006

WASHINGTON - Is President Bush likely to see Al Gore’s documentary about global warming?

“Doubt it,” Bush said coolly Monday.

But Bush should watch it, Gore shot back. In fact, the former Democratic vice president offered to come to the White House any time, any day to show Bush either his documentary or a slide show on global warming that he’s shown more than 1,000 times around the world.

“The entire global scientific community has a consensus on the question that human beings are responsible for global warming and he has today again expressed personal doubt that that is true,” Gore said in an Associated Press interview from France where he attended the Cannes Film Festival.

Bush and Gore have had bitter disagreements about the environment and other issues. Bush defeated Gore in a disputed presidential election that was finally settled by the Supreme Court in 2000.

Gore’s documentary chronicles his efforts to bring greater attention to the dangers of climate change.

“New technologies will change how we live and how we drive our cars, which all will have the beneficial effect of improving the environment,” Bush said. “And in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the environment.”

Causes should not be ignored
Gore said the causes of global warming should not be ignored.

“Why should we set aside the global scientific consensus,” Gore said, his voice rising with emotion. “Is it because Exxon Mobil wants us to set it aside? Why should we set aside the conclusion of scientists in the United States, including the National Academy of Sciences, and around the world including the 11 most important national academies of science on the globe and substitute for their view the view of Exxon Mobil. Why?”

“I’m a grandfather and he’s a father and this should not be a political issue,” Gore said. “And he should ask the National Academy of Sciences ... whether or not human beings are contributing to global warming.”

The White House said Bush already has acknowledged the impact of human behavior on global warming.

“The president noted in 2001 the increase in temperatures over the past 100 years and that the increase in greenhouse gases was due to certain extent to human activity,” said White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino.

“Since then he has committed tens of billions of dollars to the science and technology programs that he initiated and we are well on our way to meeting the president’s goal of reducing greenhouse intensity by 18 percent by 2012,” she said.

Gore’s movie debuted at last winter’s Sundance Film Festival and opens in U.S. theaters Wednesday.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

© 2006 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12930351/

Posted by Maria at 10:01 AM | Comments (3)

Hank is the man! He sent this notice out. Wanna check it out?

All About Abbey Road On The River
http://www.abbeyroadontheriver.com/home.html
When: May 25-28, 2006
Where: The Kentucky Center and Belvedere Festival Park, 501 West Main
Street, Louisville, KY 40202
Hours: Thurs: 6 pm-10 pm Fri: Noon-Midnight Sat: Noon-Midnight
Sun: Noon-Midnight
Stages: Ten!! (7 outdoor and 3 indoor)
Schedule: View Band Performance Times
Additional Attractions: Merchandise, Films, Collectibles, Art,
& Authors
-Newest Next Door Neighbor: Muhammad Ali Center
Promoting Peace
Food & Beverage: Great festival food with adult and family beverages abound

Walk-Up Tickets Always Available!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit Kroger and Save $5.00!
The Best Beatle TrIbute In America is now Louisville's biggest bargain!
One-Day General Admission Tickets now on sale at all Louisville-area Kroger
Supermarkets.
(No Service Charges)
http://www.abbeyroadontheriver.com/home.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen,
for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in
beer."
-- Dave Barry

Posted by vicki at 08:59 AM | Comments (1)

Mark your Calendars, Liberals! We're going to Cinema Liberally. Hank sends us this:

An Inconvenient Truth
Opens Friday June 23, 2006
Louisville, KY
Baxter 8
http://climatecrisis.org/

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (PG)
If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten
years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet's
climate system into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme
weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and heat waves.
Director Davis Guggenheim offers a passionate and inspirational look at one
man's commitment to expose the myths and misconceptions that surround global
warming and inspire actions to prevent it.
After his defeat in the 2000 election, former Vice President Al Gore re-set
the course of his life to focus on an all-out effort to help save the planet
from irrevocable change. In this eye-opening and poignant portrait of Gore
and his "traveling global warming show," he is funny, engaging, open and
downright on fire about getting the truth out to ordinary citizens before
it's too late.

Baxter Avenue Theaters - Filmworks - Coming Soon
http://www.apextheaters.com/comingsoon.html

Posted by vicki at 08:49 AM

More Police state tactics. The Attorney General could make a carreer of investigating WH crimes, but instead goes after the whistleblowers.

The government has the legal authority to prosecute journalists for publishing classified information, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said yesterday.

"There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility," Mr. Gonzales said on the ABC News program "This Week."

"That's a policy judgment by the Congress in passing that kind of legislation," he continued. "We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected."

Asked whether he was open to the possibility that The New York Times should be prosecuted for its disclosures in December concerning a National Security Agency surveillance program, Mr. Gonzales said his department was trying to determine "the appropriate course of action in that particular case."

"I'm not going to talk about it specifically," he said. "We have an obligation to enforce the law and to prosecute those who engage in criminal activity."

Hey, Abu Gonzales! How about starting with your boss? You simply cannot make this s**t UP!

Posted by vicki at 08:53 AM | Comments (5)

This is interesting. Who doesn't detest corrupt politicians? What's unusual about this case is that it took an FBI sting to catch a corrupt Democrat, while republicans openly offer bribes to their members on the House and Senate floor with no investigation whatsoever. I wonder who sicked the FBI on Jefferson.

There's a Louisville connection in this sting

Posted by vicki at 08:11 AM | Comments (5)

Oy! Just a 50/50 chance to survive. Too sad for words. Read about it here if you dare.

Posted by vicki at 07:59 AM

It would seem the current crop of Republicans in Congress and the White House have made many in their wingnut base really pissed. You can never be too crazy for these folks.

They Threaaten To Cut Off Money And Votes To Big Business Republicans.

Posted by vicki at 05:41 PM | Comments (3)

Jon was crowned *Mr. America* at an awards ceremony this week by former Miss America, (wife to former Lt. Governor, Steve Henry) Heather French Henry. Then his horse, Cielo Gold won at today's Churchill Downs horse racing event. Quite an exciting week!

Our *little pony* really enjoyed all the attention and affection after his big win. What a sweetie!

Posted by vicki at 12:15 AM | Comments (2)

I found this at www.Alternet.org

It's been almost 5 years since Judy Miller and the NY Times got the scoop This further highlights the BOLD lies Bu$h, Cheney and Rice told the public about how nobody could have possibly seen the attacks comming. Despite having the warnings, Bu$h, in office for barely 6 months, decided he needed a month of vacation in August. OY!

The 9/11 Story That Got Away

By Rory O'Connor and William Scott Malone, AlterNet. Posted May 18, 2006.

In 2001, an anonymous White House source leaked top-secret NSA intelligence to reporter Judith Miller that Al Qaida was planning a major attack on the United States. But the story never made it into the paper. Tools

On Oct. 12, 2000, the guided missile destroyer USS Cole pulled into harbor for refueling in Aden, Yemen. Less than two hours later, suicide bombers Ibrahim al-Thawr and Abdullah al-Misawa approached the ship's port side in a small inflatable craft laden with explosives and blew a 40-by-40-foot gash in it, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others. The attack on the Cole, organized and carried out by Osama bin Laden's Al Qaida terrorist group, was a seminal but still murky and largely misunderstood event in America's ongoing "Long War."

Two weeks prior, military analysts associated with an experimental intelligence program known as ABLE DANGER had warned top officials of the existence of an active Al Qaida cell in Aden, Yemen. And two days before the attack, they had conveyed "actionable intelligence" of possible terrorist activity in and around the port of Aden to Gen. Pete Schoomaker, then commander in chief of the U.S. Special Operation Command (SOCOM).

The same information was also conveyed to a top intelligence officer at the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), headed by the newly appointed Gen. Tommy Franks. As CENTCOM commander, Franks oversaw all U.S. armed forces operations in a 25-country region that included Yemen, as well as the Fifth Fleet, to which the Cole was tasked. It remains unclear what action, if any, top officials at SOCOM and CENTCOM took in response to the ABLE DANGER warnings about planned Al Qaida activities in Aden harbor.

None of the officials involved has ever spoken about the pre-attack warnings, and a post-attack forensic analysis of the episode remains highly classified and off-limits within the bowels of the Pentagon. Subsequent investigations exonerated the Cole's commander, Kirk Lippold, but Lippold's career has been ruined nonetheless. He remains in legal and professional limbo, with a recommended promotion and new command held up for the past four years by political concerns and maneuvering.

Meanwhile, no disciplinary action was ever taken against any SOCOM or CENTCOM officials. Schoomaker was later promoted out of retirement to chief of staff, U.S. Army, and Franks went on to lead the combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Enter Judith Miller, the Pulitzer Prize-winning ex-New York Times reporter at the center of the ongoing perjury and obstruction of justice case involving former top White House official I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby. Miller spent 85 days in jail before finally disclosing that Libby was the anonymous source who confirmed to her that Valerie Plame was a CIA official, although Miller never wrote a story about Plame.

Now, in an exclusive interview, Miller reveals how the attack on the Cole spurred her reporting on Al Qaida and led her, in July 2001, to a still-anonymous top-level White House source, who shared top-secret NSA signals intelligence (SIGINT) concerning an even bigger impending Al Qaida attack, perhaps to be visited on the continental United States.

Ultimately, Miller never wrote that story either. But two months later -- on Sept. 11 -- Miller and her editor at the Times, Stephen Engelberg, both remembered and regretted the story they "didn't do."

Interview with Judith Miller: Here

Posted by vicki at 04:24 PM | Comments (1)

Anne Northup continues to vote against the best interests of her constituents and in favor of big polluters. She has sold us out yet again to the special intrest lobby. She deserves to be given the boot in November. There is no defending that vote.

EPA plan to loosen pollution rule fought
U.S. House opposes change in reporting

By James Bruggers
jbruggers@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

The U.S. House has voted to block a Bush administration plan that would make it harder for the members of the public to learn about industrial pollution in their communities, including Louisville and across Kentucky and Indiana.

An amendment to a federal appropriations bill, approved 231-187 late Thursday, would block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from spending any money in the next fiscal year to weaken the granddaddy of its public pollution databases -- the Toxics Release Inventory.

The EPA's plan would let companies report pollution every other year instead of annually.

The agency also wants to raise the reporting thresholds for smaller releases of certain chemicals, giving the public less information about pollution from thousands of facilities across the country.

One Louisville resident, Betty Jarboe, who lives near industries in southwestern Jefferson County, said she was pleased to learn of the House action.

"Almost anyone interested in air pollution and the environment would be in favor of more information released, not less," she said. "The right to know is central."

Among Kentucky's House members, only U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District, voted to block the EPA's plan.

Posted by vicki at 12:19 PM | Comments (1)

It is a sad day for *justice* when Fletcher's henchmen escape all criminal charges thanks to a blanket pardon. What a disgrace Fletcher has been for KY. Let's hear again how the GOP is the party of responsibility and that Fletcher is going to "clean up the mess" in State politics. Hahahahahahahahahaha.

Charges in hiring case limited

By Tom Loftus
tloftus@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A special grand jury investigating Fletcher administration hiring practices cannot indict people covered by the pardon that Gov. Ernie Fletcher issued last August, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The 4-2 decision does not affect last week's indictment of Fletcher because he excluded himself from his pardon order.

The ruling means the jury cannot indict anyone other than Fletcher for alleged violations of the state merit system law that occurred before or on the Aug. 29, 2005, date of the pardon.

And Fletcher's lawyer said the ruling means that 14 sealed indictments returned last week will never be made public because they involve people covered by the pardon. Prosecutors declined to comment on that point. The opinion does not address the matter specifically.

The court's ruling does allow the grand jury to issue a report.

The grand jury had indicted nine current or former members of the Fletcher administration by the time Fletcher issued his pardon.

When the jury continued to indict people covered by the pardon, Fletcher objected.

In the majority opinion, Justice Martin Johnstone wrote that the court loses authority to continue legal proceedings against anyone pardoned.

"The grand jury must be advised that it has no authority to issue indictments against persons named in the pardon or persons falling within the class specified in the pardon," Johnstone wrote.

In a 53-page dissent, Justice William Cooper said that criminal proceedings don't begin until after an indictment has been returned, and it is at that point that a pardon may be granted.

Cooper wrote that "dead kings of England" would cheer the majority opinion's effect of rolling back "hundreds of years of anti-corruption jurisprudence."
[emphisis added]
Cooper concluded, "And history will not forget nor fondly remember the day that the Supreme Court of Kentucky put its imprimatur on a governor's scheme to cover up alleged wrongdoing within his administration by granting a blanket pardon to all persons under investigation by a sitting grand jury."

Read the rest here

Posted by vicki at 04:50 PM

OK, this is a really corny analogy, but it does lay out what is at stake this fall. This CJ editorial falsely claims that Northup brings in "hefty" funding to our community. Spare me. CLick here for more

The table the voters set

Too few voters participated in the primary elections Tuesday that set the table for this fall's campaign, but those who did created some enticing offerings for the political buffet ahead.

The main dish -- one that seems likely to attract national attention -- is a hearty stew of potentially contentious congressional races.

The victory of political commentator John Yarmuth in the Democratic contest to challenge incumbent Republican 3rd District Rep. Anne Northup ensures a lively race in Louisville. Mr. Yarmuth will not be able to match Rep. Northup's treasury, but he will have the resources and recognition to be a strong presence.

At a time when public support for President Bush and the Republican Congress have fallen dramatically, Mr. Yarmuth will insist that the country is headed the wrong way on many fronts and that Rep. Northup is one of those who should be held accountable.

Rep. Northup, in turn, will claim that a Democratic-controlled Congress would veer sharply and undesirably to the left, and she will certainly stress her record of obtaining federal support and hefty funding for important community projects.

How local voters weigh those competing arguments may well reflect whether voters nationally choose to stay the political course or change direction.

Similar decisions must also be made in Kentucky's 2nd District, where Democratic state Rep. Michael Weaver is challenging seven-term GOP incumbent Ron Lewis, and the 4th District, where former Democratic Rep. Ken Lucas is coming out of retirement to take on his successor, Republican Rep. Geoff Davis.

Southern Indiana will figure prominently, too. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel and former Democratic Rep. Baron Hill will engage in a replay in the 9th District of their close contest two years ago.

The stakes will be high, and candidates must respond with serious-minded campaigns.

But citizens, too, have a duty -- to listen, to judge and to participate.

Posted by vicki at 11:28 AM

The Time's readers prove far more intelligent and reasonable than Dear Leader Bu$h. Be sure to look at the archives for more reality checks and a general feeling of disgust with the GOP. Here Here's today's sample:

A Deficit of Honesty and Confidence (3 Letters)


Re "Saying No to Bush's Yes Men" (column, May 17):

Thomas L. Friedman is correct: many Americans "have simply lost confidence in this administration's competence and honesty."

Even before significant questions of integrity arose, as early as 2000, many of us feared the consequences of putting someone in the presidency with so little experience and with few apparent skills. Others contended that George W. Bush was not that bad, and that regardless of his limited abilities, he would surround himself with only the best.

Six years later we find many government agencies wrecked, our treasury gutted, our country's moral stature in the world diminished, our national security threatened, more than 2,400 American service members' lives needlessly lost in Iraq and many thousands more disabled for a lifetime by that foolish war.

Indeed, he was that bad, and he did not surround himself with the best.

The lesson? Somehow, we must foster a national consciousness of the need to elect competent leaders.

John E. Colbert
Chicago, May 17, 2006

Posted by vicki at 12:04 AM | Comments (1)

Bush Turns to Big Military Contractors for Border Control

From today's Times:
By ERIC LIPTON
Published: May 18, 2006
WASHINGTON, May 17 — The quick fix may involve sending in the National Guard. But to really patch up the broken border, President Bush is preparing to turn to a familiar administration partner: the nation's giant military contractors.

Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, three of the largest, are among the companies that said they would submit bids within two weeks for a multibillion-dollar federal contract to build what the administration calls a "virtual fence" along the nation's land borders.

Using some of the same high-priced, high-tech tools these companies have already put to work in Iraq and Afghanistan — like unmanned aerial vehicles, ground surveillance satellites and motion-detection video equipment — the military contractors are zeroing in on the rivers, deserts, mountains and settled areas that separate Mexico and Canada from the United States.

It is a humbling acknowledgment that despite more than a decade of initiatives with macho-sounding names, like Operation Hold the Line in El Paso or Operation Gate Keeper in San Diego, the federal government has repeatedly failed on its own to gain control of the land borders.

Through its Secure Border Initiative, the Bush administration intends to not simply buy an amalgam of high-tech equipment to help it patrol the borders — a tactic it has also already tried, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, with extremely limited success. It is also asking the contractors to devise and build a whole new border strategy that ties together the personnel, technology and physical barriers.

"This is an unusual invitation," the deputy secretary of homeland security, Michael Jackson, told contractors this year at an industry briefing, just before the bidding period for this new contract started. "We're asking you to come back and tell us how to do our business."

The effort comes as the Senate voted Wednesday to add hundreds of miles of fencing along the border with Mexico. The measure would also prohibit illegal immigrants convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors from any chance at citizenship.

The high-tech plan being bid now has many skeptics, who say they have heard a similar refrain from the government before.

"We've been presented with expensive proposals for elaborate border technology that eventually have proven to be ineffective and wasteful," Representative Harold Rogers, Republican of Kentucky, said at a hearing on the Secure Border Initiative program last month. "How is the S.B.I. not just another three-letter acronym for failure?"

President Bush, among others, said he was convinced that the government could get it right this time.[/end snip]

Bush will get something right???? Hahahahahahah!

Posted by vicki at 06:25 PM | Comments (1)

Go to the www.Courier-Journal.com website for the whole article. I'm posting this from my phone, since Insight cable has fucked up my wireless connection for the 3rd straight day. And as many of you know, the DL website has crashed. OY! I'm hoping to post this before things break bad again.

Northup and Yarmuth poles apart on issues

By Kay Stewart
kstewart@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Weeks before he won Tuesday's Democratic primary, John Yarmuth already was carrying out his strategy for unseating U.S. Rep. Anne Northup in the 3rd District:

Tag the five-term Republican congresswoman as a rubber stamp for an increasingly unpopular Bush administration.

"Without question" Northup has "supported George Bush and his agenda and still does," Yarmuth said.

Northup's campaign, in turn, says Yarmuth is a liberal whose views are "way out of touch with much of our community," said Terry Carmack, her chief of staff.

Their stark differences on issues ranging from abortion to the Iraq war, coupled with growing dissatisfaction with Bush and Gov. Ernie Fletcher, could add up to an extreme campaign.

The outcome could hinge on Yarmuth's ability to raise enough money and take back Democrats who have repeatedly helped elect Northup, versus her success in convincing voters that she's not Bush's lackey and reminding them about the funding she's obtained for the district.

"Northup has a race," said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "Having said that, she knows how to run tight competitive races. …. Northup has a machine, and she keeps it well oiled."

Northup has repeatedly won Jefferson County even though Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2-1.

In 2002, Bush traveled twice to Louisville to campaign for Northup, when his approval rating was more than 70 percent, Yarmuth said. Even so, Northup beat Jack Conway by less than 4 percentage points.

Will a less popular Bush come back to campaign for Northup this year? Carmack said yesterday he didn't know. But he said Democrats in the past have tried to pin Northup to unpopular politicians, and "every time it's been rejected by the voters." [/end snip]

Hundreds of thousands of dollars? Somebody needs to check out the bridges to nowhere in Alaska. We're talking REAL pork there. Hahahahahaha. Northup can buy some West end voters for a handfull of dollars with the help of Rev. Crosby, but her voting record speaks for its self. We're not being well served. Hell, we're getting the shaft.

Posted by vicki at 12:17 PM | Comments (2)

Oh PLEASE oh PLEASE let the good folks win tonight!

One last bit of useful information before you vote:

Precint information: 574-6100

Where you vote: Http://www.logic.org/apps/voter/index.cfm

Courier-Journal endorsed Judges: Http://courier-journal.com

GOOD DAY, AND GOOD LUCK!

Posted by vicki at 11:05 AM

Here are some excellent resources to help you find detailed voting records of incumbents running for re-election, websites of 3rd District Candidates (listed in the order they will appear on the ballot) and a list of the experience and qualifications of the candidates running in judicial races. Other than Russ Salsman, Frank Jewell and Kristin Henderson (who have been to Drinking Liberally a number of times) I knew next to nothing about about the judicial candidates running for office. So, click away, and don't let anything prevent you from voting tomorrow! Good luck!

Kentucky Votes

Jimmy Moore

Andrew Horne

John Yarmuth

Citizens For Better judges

Posted by vicki at 11:12 AM | Comments (2)

AMERICA 2000's “LET THE RACE BEGIN” PARTY
from Brian Daly

Friday, May 19, 7-10 pm; Flanagan’s Ale House
934 Baxter Avenue
Louisville, KY

The primaries are over (on May 16th) and the race to the finish line
can now be joined in earnest….but before we do that, it is time to
celebrate our victories and come together as Democrats to adjust our
attitudes for the fall election.

Come party with us. Mingle with our strong Democratic candidates,
relax, brainstorm, and engage in informed conversation.

Donation: $15 at the door. Free food, music, winning personalities,
and great conversation. Cash bar and election stuff. Bring your
political appetite. Join the candidates, friends, and victors.

Bring your friends and join us in raising the roof for a Democratic
victory in November

Posted by vicki at 06:54 PM

Once again, a Kentucky Republican makes the front page of the NY Times in yet another display of greed and corruption. How much more humiliation can we take? If you have the stomach, you can read the rest here.

In Kentucky Hills, a Homeland Security Bonanza

Published: May 14, 2006

WASHINGTON, May 13 — The Department of Homeland Security has invested tens of millions of dollars and countless hours of labor over the last four years on a seemingly simple task: creating a tamperproof identification card for airport, rail and maritime workers.
Doug Mills/The New York Times

Yet nearly two years past a planned deadline, production of the card, known as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, has yet to begin.

Instead, the road to delivering this critical antiterrorism tool has taken detours to locations, companies and groups often linked to Representative Harold Rogers, a Kentucky Republican who is the powerful chairman of the House subcommittee that controls the Homeland Security budget.

It is a route that has benefited Mr. Rogers, creating jobs in his home district and profits for companies that are donors to his political causes. The congressman has also taken 11 trips — including six to Hawaii — on the tab of an organization that until this week was to profit from a no-bid contract Mr. Rogers helped arrange. Work has even been set aside for a tiny start-up company in Kentucky that employs John Rogers, the congressman's son.

"Something stinks in Corbin," said Jay M. Meier, senior securities analyst at MJSK Equity Research in Minneapolis, which follows the identification card industry, referring to the Kentucky community of 8,000 that has perhaps benefited the most from Mr. Rogers's interventions. "And it is the sickest example of what is wrong with our homeland security agenda that I can find."

Posted by vicki at 10:28 AM | Comments (2)

Be good to yo Mama today!

Posted by vicki at 10:24 AM

The Democratic "leadership" has been running away from a confrontation on the latest of Bu$h's illegal domestic spying programs. It seems those spineless cowards took the WaPo's ridiculously worded overnight poll showing 63% said it was OK to data mine all domestic calls in search of terrorists. What a load of tripe! Once again, no mention of warrentless searches and lack of proper Congressional oversight. Consortiumnews.com has a better take on this here.

This Time, It Really Is Orwellian

By Robert Parry
May 12, 2006

Given George W. Bush’s history of outright lying, especially on national security matters, it may seem silly to dissect his words about the new disclosure that his administration has collected phone records of some 200 million Americans.

But Bush made two parse-able points in reacting to USA Today’s story about the National Security Agency building a vast database of domestic phone calls. “We’re not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans,” Bush said, adding “the privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities.”

In his brief remarks, however, Bush didn’t define what he meant by “ordinary Americans” nor whether the data-mining might cover, say, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people, just not “millions.”

For instance, would a journalist covering national security be regarded as an “ordinary American”? What about a political opponent or an anti-war activist who has criticized administration policies in the Middle East? Such “unordinary” people might number in the tens of thousands, but perhaps not into the millions.

Also, isn’t it reasonable to suspect that the Bush administration would be tempted to tap into its huge database to, say, check on who might have been calling reporters at the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker – or now USA Today – where significant national security stories have been published?

Or during Campaign 2004, wouldn’t the White House political apparatchiks have been eager to know whether, say, Sen. John Kerry had been in touch with foreign officials who might have confided that they were worried about Bush gaining a second term?

Or what about calls to and from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald while he investigates a White House leak of the identity of Valerie Plame, the CIA officer married to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, an Iraq War critic?

What if one of these “unordinary” Americans had placed a lot of calls to an illicit lover or a psychiatrist? Wouldn’t Bush’s aggressive political operatives know just how to make the most of such information?

Paranoia?

Posted by vicki at 12:32 PM | Comments (2)

This is from the www.louisvilledemocrat.com Thanks to Dezi, via Peggy and Stan for this excellent roundup of Northup's use of office. Think Northup has sold out her constituents to Big Oil, Big Pharma and the radical right wingnut agenda? Read it and draw your own conclusion:

What will Anne Northup put on the Auction Block next?

HOW NORTHUP RESPONDS TO HIGH ENERGY PRICES

Rep. Northup voted against cracking down on the oil and gas industries price gouging.
Rep. Northup voted for the GOP energy bill that gave billions to oil, gas and nuclear industries.

Big oil and gas industries have given Rep. Northup $257,577 . Any surprise?
REP. NORTHUP PUTS BIG BUSINESS AHEAD OF AMERICAN WORKERS

Rep. Northup voted to strip overtime protection from millions of workers.
GOP "HEALTH CARE"

Big drug interests have given $84,186 to Northup over the Representative's career. They know who their friends are.
Rep. Northup voted for the GOP Medicare Prescription Drug Bill that will give billions to businesses and the health care industry , while forcing seniors to accept annual increases in premiums and deductibles and a growing gap in coverage for the prescription drugs they buy.
TIES WITH THE GOP LEADERSHIP

Northup has taken $2,000 from House Majority Leader John Boehner.
Northup received $47,000 from House Majority Leader John Boehner's "Freedom Project" PAC.
Northup received $34,499 from GOP Whip Roy Blunt's "Rely on Your Beliefs" PAC.
Northup voted with President Bush 91% of the time.
Northup voted the GOP party line 96% of the time.
TIES WITH TOM DELAY AND JACK ABRAMOFF Northup has taken:

$42,000 from Tom DeLay's ARMPAC.
$1,000 from Bob Ney , the first congressman to be implicated based on the Jack Abramoff guilty plea.
With all of these ties to the DeLay/Abramoff mess, is it any surprise that Northup has:

Voted to allow the GOP House Leader to continue to serve after an indictment, an apparent tactic to protect DeLay.
Voted with Tom DeLay 94% of the time (through 3/31/2006)
TIES TO DISGRACED FORMER CONGRESSMAN RANDY "DUKE" CONNINGHAM Northup has taken:

$1,000 from "the Dukestir."
$5,000 from "Duke's" PAC.
SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS

Rep. Northup voted to continue awarding contracts to Halliburton even if the Pentagon's own audit processes found that more than $100 million of their contractor's costs in Iraq were unreasonable. No surprise that Halliburton gave Northup $7,000.
Rep. Northup opposed expanding access to the military's TRICARE health insurance program to thousands of Reservist and National Guard members, even though 20 percent of all Reservists do not have health insurance , and 40 percent of Reservists aged 19 to 35 lack health coverage .
Rep. Northup voted against granting a bonus to grant a $1,500 bonus to every American service member serving in Iraq and Afghanistan , including National Guard and Reserve forces.
THE ENVIRONMENT

1,861 water systems in 29 states have been contaminated with MTBE, exposing as many as 45 million Americans to this potential carcinogen , but Rep. Northup voted to protect the companies responsible from lawsuits by communities that need their help to clean up these systems.
Rep. Northup voted against bipartisan reform of the Endangered Species Act.
Rep. Northup voted for a massive sell off of public lands to mining interests.
HOW DOES NORTHUP SUPPORT....

HIGHER EDUCATION?

While tuition costs are rising for ordinary Americans, Rep. Northup voted to cut Federal student aid by $12.7 billion -- the biggest such cuts in history.
STEM CELL RESEARCH?

Rep. Northup sided with social conservatives against patients with debilitating diseases and voted against expanding Federal funding of stem cell research.
SOURCES

Vote on price gouging: HR 3402, Vote #500, 9/28/2005
No

Vote on GOP energy bill: HR 6, Vote #445, 7/28/2005
Yes

Contributions from oil and gas industries: www.opensecrets.org
$257,577

Vote to strip overtime protection: HR 2660 , Vote #351, 7/10/2003
No

Contributions from drug interests: www.opensecrets.org
$84,186

Vote on GOP Medicare Prescription Drug Bill: HR 1, Vote #669, 11/22/2003
Yes

Contributions from John Boehner: www.tray.com
$2,000

"Freedom Project" PAC Contributions: www.tray.com
$47,000

"Rely on Your Beliefs" PAC Contributions: www.tray.com
$34,499

Voting percentage with Pres. Bush: calculated through: www.cq.com
91%

Voting percentage with GOP caucus: calculated through: www.cq.com
96%

Contributions from ARMPAC: www.tray.com
$42,000

Contributions from Ney: www.tray.com
$1,000

Closed door indictment rule vote: http://www.pcactionfund.org/votecount/dr.htm
YES

Voting percentage with DeLay: calculated through 3/31/2006: www.cq.com
94%

Contributions from Cunningham: www.tray.com
$1,000

Contributions from Cunningham's PAC: www.tray.com
$5,000

Vote to stop contracts to corporations that overcharge: HR 4939, Vote #60, 3/16/2006
No

Posted by vicki at 10:08 AM | Comments (3)

From coast to coast, readers of the NYT sound off on Bu$h's super secret domestic spying on innocent Americans. Here's an example, and there are plenty more where that came from:

The Surveillance Uproar, From Coast to Coast (11 Letters)

Published: May 13, 2006

To the Editor:

Re "Bush Is Pressed Over New Report on Surveillance" (front page, May 12):

I strongly suspect that the latest revelations about the National Security Agency's collection of millions of telephone records represent only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full extent of the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program.

If this activity is not illegal, it should be.

As a citizen, I call upon Congress to rein in this administration's activities. President Bush says he is doing this to protect us. I say he is systematically undermining the very freedoms he claims to protect.

John Trask
Thousand Oaks, Calif.
May 12, 2006

Posted by vicki at 09:37 AM | Comments (1)

Hahahahahahahaha. You have got to see this!

Click here to see it. He calls it, "Going Native."

Posted by vicki at 06:12 PM | Comments (5)

Picture by Carol T. From left to right, Jim Derych, Vicki, and Jimmy.

You can order both Jim's book and Markos and Jerome's book, "Crashing The Gate" at a discount at www.amazon.com

Posted by vicki at 02:16 PM | Comments (3)

Letter writers to the New York Times do not heart Bu$h. For the second day in a row, writers hit Bu$h with the chair. Click here for your daily dose of Bu$h reaming by the general public.

Posted by vicki at 10:12 AM | Comments (2)

OK, so I lied. Who could resist blogging our corrupt Republican Governor's indictmend on 3 charges of criminal conspiracy. Check your local news for more. Hahahahahahaha! Fletch the Wretch. Is Bu$hCo giving this dolt tips?

This from a portion of the Lexington Herald-Leader:

Grand jury indicts Gov. Ernie Fletcher
By Ryan Alessi
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

Gov. Ernie Fletcher
The indictments
Fletcher's motion to disqualify Attorney General Greg Stumbo
Fletcher's memo supporting the disqualification of Stumbo

FRANKFORT - The special grand jury that’s been investigating state government hiring practices today indicted Gov. Ernie Fletcher on three misdemeanor charges of conspiracy, official misconduct and political discrimination.

The jury also indicted former transportation Cabinet official Sam Beverage with perjury, which is a felony. And the jury also submitted to Franklin Circuit Judge William Graham 14 more indictments that are under seal.

Those indictments cover crimes that may have occurred before Aug. 29, 2005 when Fletcher pardoned all administration officials except himself.

On the charge of conspiracy, the indictment states Fletcher “ordered, directed and otherwise approved the development and implementation” of what became known as the governor’s personnel initiative.

That initiative, which included participation from cabinet aides across the administration, tracked the political backgrounds of new hires.

In the second indictment for official misconduct, Fletcher is accused along with other “co-conspirators” of ordering or approving “the appointment, promotion, demotion, transfer or dismissal” of rank-and-file state workers who are supposed to be judged on their qualifications, not political affiliations.

The third count charges Fletcher with violating the prohibition against political discrimination because he “willfully ordered, directed or approved” the firing of Michael Duncan, an investigator in the Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Inspector General.

Duncan, who had contributed to Fletcher’s 2003 Democratic opponent, was fired May 13, 2005. That was the same day another Transportation Cabinet whistleblower dropped off boxes of files to Attorney General Greg Stumbo, launching the investigation into the Fletcher administration’s personnel procedures.

Fletcher ultimately pardoned the 13 current or former administration officials or associates who were indicted by the grand jury. The charges were mostly misdemeanors.

Posted by vicki at 06:02 PM | Comments (1)

This is from a Media Advisory from the Horne For Congress office.

Attorney General Greg Stumbo, candidate Andrew Horne hold press conference challenging pre-election voter purge. Horne volunteer staffer not allowed to vote.

(Louisville, Ky.) -- Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo and Andrew Horne, Democratic candidate for Kentucky’s Third Congressional District, will hold a press conference today at 10 a.m. outside the Urban Government Center at 810 Barret Avenue in Louisville to discuss the Secretary of State’s purging of more than 8,100 voters from the state’s voter rolls within 90 days of the May 16 primary election, in violation of state law.

Shawn Reilly, a Horne for Congress volunteer, was wrongfully stricken from Kentucky’s voter rolls and has no timely recourse. He discovered the error when he went to exercise his right to vote in advance of the May 16 primary election.

More info later as it comes in.

Posted by Maria at 03:01 PM

Whew! Rummy and the gang of Neo-cons are even worse than I imagined. That's saying a lot. Check out this bone chilling article from today's New York Times:

Clash Foreseen Between C.I.A. and Pentagon

By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: May 10, 2006

WASHINGTON, May 9 — President Bush's selection of Gen. Michael V. Hayden to be the next director of the Central Intelligence Agency sets the stage for new wrangling with the Pentagon, which is rapidly expanding its own global spying and terrorist-tracking operations, both long considered C.I.A. roles.
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Overseeing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's drive to broaden the military's clandestine reconnaissance and man-hunting missions is Stephen A. Cambone, the Pentagon's intelligence czar and one of Mr. Rumsfeld's most trusted aides, whose low public profile masks his influence as one of the nation's most powerful intelligence officials.

Since his office was created three years ago, Mr. Cambone and his deputy, Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, a former commander of the Army's elite Delta Force, have carried out a wide-ranging restructuring of the Pentagon's sprawling intelligence bureaucracy.

The C.I.A. has the lead role in managing "human intelligence," or spying in the government. Whether by design or circumstance, though, much of the growth in the military's spy missions has come in the Special Operations Command, which reports to Mr. Rumsfeld and falls outside the orbit controlled by John D. Negroponte, the director of national intelligence.

In one of the boldest new missions, the Pentagon has sharply increased the number of clandestine teams of Defense Intelligence Agency personnel and Special Operations forces conducting secret counterterrorism missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and other foreign countries. Using a broad definition of its current authority to conduct "traditional military activities" and "prepare the battlefield," the Pentagon has dispatched teams to gather information about potential foes well before any shooting starts.

In an effort to enhance military interrogations, Mr. Cambone is also overseeing the politically sensitive task of rewriting the Army's field manual. Just last week, he and other top Pentagon officials briefed senior senators on a Pentagon proposal to have one set of interrogation techniques for enemy prisoners of war and another, presumably more coercive, set for the suspected terrorists imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, said Senate aides, who were granted anonymity because the discussions were confidential.

Posted by vicki at 08:15 AM | Comments (1)

All three serious candidates did a fine job of explaining their positions and Burrel provided some truely hilarious comic relief. See blog item below for TV broadcast dates and times. Read the full C-J article here.

Four debate energy, Iraq, health care
Democrats vying for shot at Northup

By Kay Stewart
kstewart@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Energy, health care and the Iraq war were among the topics addressed last night in a televised debate among Democratic primary candidates who want to run against Republican U.S. Rep. Anne Northup in the 3rd District.

All four Democrats — Andrew Horne, John Yarmuth, James Moore and Burrel Charles Farnsley — endorsed measures to conserve energy, from development of alternative fuel sources to improved public transportation, at the debate broadcast live from the KET studio in Lexington.

Yarmuth, 58, a political commentator and founder of the weekly newspaper LEO, and Horne, 45, a lawyer and Iraq war veteran, assailed the Bush administration on energy issues, as did Moore, 49, an engineer who owns a consulting company.

Horne referred to "pandering" to the oil companies, and Yarmuth said energy companies should stop writing the nation's energy policy.

Yarmuth, who has made health-care reform a theme of his campaign, expressed support for expanding health-care coverage that he said could be funded with higher payroll taxes.

In response to a question about how to ensure the solvency of Medicare, he said the tax could be doubled. It now is 3.2percent, with employers and employees each paying half.

Horne suggested a national summit of representatives to help find a solution to health-care needs.

Yarmuth, who asked Horne about health care during a portion of the debate when candidates asked each other a question, said that while they share the same goal, Horne doesn't have a concept on how to achieve it.

Horne asked Yarmuth how he would react to anticipated criticism from Northup about adult advertisements running in LEO if he were the nominee. Yarmuth, who is no longer an owner of LEO but retains the title of executive editor, said LEO has received numerous journalism awards, the ads are for legal establishments and they also appear in other publications.

Moore, who isn't accepting campaign contributions in the primary and has vowed never to accept donations from political action committees, said he favors the so-called 86-64 plan, which would route I-64 away from Louisville's downtown riverfront, and he expressed opposition to a downtown bridge. He also said he supports legalizing marijuana.

Posted by vicki at 09:13 AM

Great website. Thanks, Judy! Enjoy everything Colbert--clips, graphs, text, pics here:

http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/

[snip]

“…This is a battle that can’t really be won — you either got it Saturday night (or Sunday morning, or whenever your life was made a little brighter by viewing Colbert’s performance) or you didn’t. Personally, I’m enjoying watching apologists for the status quo wear themselves out explaining why Colbert wasn’t funny. It’s extending the reach of his performance by days without either side breaking character — the mighty Colbert or the clueless, self-important media elite he was satirizing. For those who think the media shamed itself by rolling over for this administration, especially in the run-up to the Iraq war, Colbert’s skit is the gift that keeps on giving. Thank you, Stephen Colbert!”

-Joan Walsh, Salon Magazine

Posted by vicki at 12:20 AM

Special Wednesday Night DL Event!

We are expecting the Markos/Jerome and Jim Derych folks and their books around 9:00 at the BBC on Shelbyville Rd. after their Metro Dem event!

Nationally recognized political bloggers and grassroots advocates speak to Louisville Democrats in May

Markos Moulitsas, a grassroots advocate known nationally known for his Daily Kos political blog, will outline the formula from his new book for future Democratic success at a gathering of party activists in May. He will share the podium with Jim Derych, also an author and blogger, who will describe his disillusionment as a one-time follower of Rush Limbaugh.

The public is invited to hear them speak to the Metro Democratic Club at 6 p.m., Wednesday, May 10, at United Auto Workers Local 862, 3000 Fern Valley Road, just east of I 65. The authors will sign their books from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Moulitsas and fellow blogger Jerome Armstrong have just published Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics in which they argue that the Democratic Party must be rebuilt from the bottom up if it hopes to win elections and advance its agenda.

Derych’s Confessions of a Forner Dittohead, originally a diary on Daily Kos, is a unique personal and political memoir that follows red-stater and social conservative on a unique journey from right to left.

"We are very excited to have Markos and Jim at our meeting," said Bruce Maples, acting-president of the club. "Markos’s book does a great job of both analyzing the Democratic mistakes of the past and laying out a path forward for the future. You would think, given his background, it would be about the use of the Internet, but it's not. Instead, it's a compelling argument for change at all levels.

“Jim’s story is one of the growing number who now see the bleak future for most Americans offered by the failed policies of right-wing Republicans. I can't wait to hear them both.”

Maples said the Metro Democratic Club, largest of its kind in Louisville, expected several hundred people at the May monthly meeting.

Crashing the Gate: www.crashingthegate.com

Confessions of a Former DittoHead: http://igpub.com/confessions.html

Please visit the MDC website at http://www.metrodem.com/

Posted by vicki at 08:23 AM

Woo Hoo!

Posted by vicki at 01:45 PM | Comments (3)

Derby favorite, Brother Derek. Cheers!

Posted by vicki at 01:17 PM | Comments (1)

Salon.com's brilliant take on the Colbert performance at the Correspondent's Dinner: Read it and see the video here

Colbert's smart bomb

The real sign of Stephen Colbert's success at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner wasn't his jokes -- which, from beginning to end, were spot-on, from Bush's handling of the war ("I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq") and his low-30s approval rating ("I ask you this, does that not also logically mean that 68 percent approve of the job he's not doing?") to sidelong whacks at John McCain, Fox News and Donald Rumsfeld, among others. And no, it wasn't the grim-looking handshake he received from the president or the icy glare he received from Laura Bush that let us know that Colbert hit his targets. The proof of his accuracy lies in how badly the Tracy Flicks of the Washington press corps reacted. After all, this wasn't the baby-soft slapstick they usually get at the correspondents' dinner. (Anyone else remember when Darrell Hammond got all gushy from meeting Bush in person in 2001? Yeesh.) Sure, C-SPAN's cameras captured a few journalists tittering at each other like naughty schoolgirls, but for the most part journalists sat on their hands –- while just moments before, they were laughing uproariously at President Bush's incredibly lame skit with a Bush impressionist. That was Colbert's real feat: Showing us the real Washington media world, where everyone worries so much about offending someone, anyone, that the least bit of frank talk turns them into obedient little church mice.

Posted by vicki at 07:55 AM

Jimmy and Vicki are protecting DL from the evil-doers!

We cannot let this *gate crasher* (BOOSH) penetrate DL! See you in a few, Liberals!

Thanks for the pic, Caroline!

Posted by vicki at 02:04 PM | Comments (1)

Remember when Congress promised to get tough on lobbyists? They figured the Rubes back home wouldn't notice they had their fingers crossed behind their backs. Notice the word "reform" is justifiably not in the headline. No wonder only 22% approve of this GOP controled congress

Lobbying Bill Passes Narrowly in House

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: May 4, 2006
WASHINGTON, May 3 — The House narrowly passed a bill on Wednesday intended to restore public trust in Congress by reshaping the relationship between lawmakers and lobbyists. But Democrats denounced the measure as a sham, and 20 Republicans voted against it.

The measure, which passed 217 to 213, is the first lobbying and ethics legislation since 1995, the year after Republicans took control of the House. Republicans have been promising to pass lobbying legislation since January. But the measure proved extremely divisive, so much so that the bill nearly died last week in a Republican feud over earmarks, the pet projects that are often slipped into bills at lobbyists' behest.

The new bill would require lobbyists to disclose more of their activities, increase financial penalties for violations and require lawmakers and their aides to attend ethics training.

It also aims to discourage earmarks by requiring House members who write spending bills to disclose them, a move lauded by fiscal conservatives who complain that earmarks waste taxpayer money and drive up the cost of legislation.

But the measure falls short of what Republican leaders promised after the scandal involving the lobbyist Jack Abramoff rocked the Capitol in January. The chief Republican architect of the bill, Representative David Dreier of California, the House Rules Committee chairman, conceded that he wished that the measure "were stronger than it is."

[...]

After Mr. Abramoff's plea, Mr. Dreier and Speaker J. Dennis Hastert endorsed the idea of barring members of Congress and their aides from accepting trips paid with private money. But the bill the House passed Wednesday would not ban the trips. Rather, it calls for the House ethics committee to draft trip rules by June 15. Before then, privately financed trips will require advance approval from two-thirds of the ethics panel.

Unlike the measure approved by the Senate, the bill does not address the "revolving door," the Capitol Hill term for lawmakers and aides who leave Congress to become lobbyists.

Posted by vicki at 07:51 AM | Comments (1)

I found this link on Atrios. Boo Man hits the nail on the head. Just try to stifle your laughter over the headline. Hahahahaha. Then scroll down on the blog and get the unmistakable truth about McCain. He, like Holy Joe Loserman stands for nothing but political self interest.

McCain is A Man Who Won't Sell His Soul.

You won't find much better demonstrations of the heroism of bland centrism than the following:

McCain is a walking embodiment of the Catch-22 of presidential politics. To get the nomination, a candidate must appeal to his party's activist wing. But even as he buffs his credentials with the base, the candidate inevitably tarnishes his image with the center. A successful campaign almost requires some fibbing -- the candidate is either less extreme than he's telling his party's base, or more extreme than he's telling the general public. The trick is not to get caught -- not to be too obvious in the tactical compromises that are necessary in the marathon race of a presidential campaign.

Part of McCain's appeal is that he seems to straddle such partisan political calculations. He's the victim of torture who opposes torture, the man caught in the "Keating Five" ethics scandal who insists on reform, the critic of Iraq policy who insists that America must win the war, the conservative who is beloved by moderates. A McCain candidacy, if he makes the formal decision next year to run, will be rooted in his image as a man of principle. But it will also be something of a balancing act -- one that the candidate himself is likely to find uncomfortable.

It's true that our winner take all elections, as well as our electoral college, make it difficult for a candidate to win if they run as an unapologetic leftist or rightist. They must behave as a principled partisan to win the nomination and then common wisdom says they must soften that image to win the general election. Naturally, this entails dishonesty. Either you lie to the base about your purity, or you lie to the general population about your centrism. But, even if it is a structural deficiency of our political system that candidates feel the need to obfuscate their true beliefs, that does not make the practice heroic. It is, and will always remain, a sickening practice that revolts the electorate and contributes to cynicism and apathy.

McCain and Lieberman are two peas in a pod. They give their party most of the votes they demand, and they support their leaders. But, they will leave the reservation at critical moments to score political points, hog publicity for themselves, and brand themselves as mavericks and bipartisan. This is then termed, centrist, and somehow radical, somehow heroic. It's ridiculous. Barry Goldwater was a maverick. Barry Goldwater was a radical. Cynthia McKinney is a maverick and a radical. Centrists are merely people whose beliefs do not mesh perfectly with either party. They may be socially liberal and fiscally conservative, or vice-versa. It used to be called Rockefeller conservatism or Cold War liberalism.

The Washington Establishment still wants to reside in a town that in dominated by Rockefeller conservatism and Global War on Terror liberalism. But, they do not. They live in a town dominated by neo-conservatives. And the neo-conservatives have not only discredited themselves but they have called into question the old consensus about the need for America to act large on the world stage, spending oodles on an Empire at the cost of social services for the people. Americans have seen Iraq and they've seen Katrina. And they are moving to the left. Anyone that can hold the line and keep a populist like Feingold from rising to the top is now a hero. McCain is a bulwark against the coming and much needed backlash. Ignatius is carrying his water. McCain, in turn, will be carrying the whole beltway's water in 2008...along with Hillary. [/End]

Double WORD!

Posted by vicki at 01:49 PM | Comments (1)

All your internets are belong to US. Jeepers H. Christmas, will the snooping and parinoia ever stop with this mis-administration? From Network Word.

Higher ed fears wiretapping law
Oral arguments to be heard this week in ACE vs. FCC petition over CALEA.
By Jim Duffy, Network World, 05/01/06

Institutions of higher education are up in arms over an FCC ruling on wiretapping they say could cost them billions of dollars in upgrades, expose their networks to more attacks, and jeopardize rights to privacy and freedom of speech.

A petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia could determine if higher-education networks - and perhaps private corporate networks - will be required to allow wiretapping by law enforcement agencies as soon as next year.

Oral arguments will be heard late this week in the petition of the American Council on Education (ACE) vs. the FCC, which was submitted in mid-March to the court. The petition is part of an ongoing appeal of the FCC's Sept. 23, 2005, ruling that extends the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) wiretapping order to broadband Internet providers and "interconnected" VoIP providers next year.

The higher-education community is concerned the FCC ruling does not distinguish between public and private networks, and could potentially extend the CALEA compliance requirement to university and enterprise networks.

"For university networks, the worst-case scenario . . . would mean potentially replacing every switch and router in our system," says Wendy Wigen, policy analyst at Educause, a nonprofit association promoting the use of IT in higher education. "Just for the hardware cost, we're looking at $400 to $500 per student, which is about a $7 billion price tag for all of the colleges in the United States."

Posted by vicki at 12:17 PM

Just ask yourself: WWJD? Is nothing sacred anymore?

Pensions in Peril Over Church Exemptions

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: May 2, 2006

Mary Petti worked for 35 years at a community hospital in Orange, N.J., earning a pension with a government guarantee. But now the hospital has closed, money is leaking out of the plan, and Ms. Petti fears the funds will be exhausted by the time she plans to retire in five years. The government guarantee has vanished as well.

Her plight illustrates a little-known aspect of pension law, which allows churches and organizations affiliated with them to escape the costly and complicated rules that apply to secular employers.

Tens of thousands of people work for organizations that have opted out of the law, as Ms. Petti's did. Most do not know that they are exposed to potential losses with little parallel in the corporate world.

For Ms. Petti and her fellow workers, their retirements were put at risk shortly before the hospital failed, when it exempted itself from federal pension law, citing an agreement it had made with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.

"I felt that my pension was safe," said Ms. Petti, 60, who worked her way up from nurse to vice president for patient care services in her years at the Hospital Center at Orange. About 950 people participate in the pension plan; together they stand to lose about $10 million, according to one actuarial estimate.

Posted by vicki at 10:24 AM

Big shock that all of our Republican Reps tow the Bu$h line about immigration. I'm surprised the CJ didn't ask candidates running for Congress their opinion. I haven't seen any legitimate polls on the protest yet, but if the online AOL, Yahoo, etc surveys. are any indication, there is strong opposition to any form of amnesty and fairly strong of support for letting immigrants work toward citizenship Get their complete answers here !

The Courier-Journal asked the congressional delegations from Kentucky and Southern Indiana questions regarding immigration reform proposals in Congress and the national rallies yesterday. They responded in statements.

Question: In a USA Today/Gallup Poll last month, 63 percent said those who are in the United States illegally should be allowed to become citizens. Do you agree?

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.: "The Senate is working to reach consensus on a bill that not only secures our borders, but provides a reasonable guest worker program that does not reward illegal activity."

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky.: The senator believes illegal immigrants must return to their home countries before they can apply for U.S. citizenship, according to spokesman Mike Reynard. And Bunning thinks those illegal immigrants should not get preference over those who have been waiting legally.

Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-1st District: "Before we can begin to address the idea of granting citizenship to illegal immigrants, we must regain control over our borders and our laws must be enforced. I do not believe that we can move forward in reforming our immigration laws until these important aspects are addressed."

Rep. Ron Lewis, R-2nd District: "No. Those currently residing in our country illegally should not be given a special path to citizenship. Our laws must be obeyed and respected by those who wish to live here. I favor a plan where illegal immigrants would return to their native country in order to apply for U.S. citizenship. Laws exist for the safety, welfare, and civility of our nation, and we should neither take them lightly nor reward those who break them."

Rep. Anne Northup, R-3rd District: "While addressing the status of illegal immigrants is important, we must first effectively and completely stop illegal immigrants from coming across the border. The bill that I voted for and the House of Representatives passed last December made closing the border its top priority. This includes a wall, electronic surveillance and holding employers accountable for hiring only legal immigrants."

Rep. Geoff Davis, R-4th District: "I favor LEGAL immigration. I believe those who are residing in our country ILLEGALLY should return to their country of origin and apply for legal citizenship. We should not reward law-breakers or provide incentives that would encourage more illegal immigration."

Rep. Hal Rogers, R-5th District: "In this age of terrorism, securing our nation's borders must be the first step of any immigration reform strategy. I strongly support efforts to create smart and secure borders that keep terrorists and illegal aliens out of America without stemming the flow of commerce or legitimate travel."

Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District: "Our nation has a proud heritage which stretches back over 200 years of welcoming legal immigrants from around world into our country; however, there is a broad consensus that our current immigration policy has failed. It has failed to secure our borders, failed those seeking a better life in the U.S. and failed American farmers and businesses. As Congress debates immigration reform, including the merits of a guest worker program, we must focus first and foremost on securing our borders from potential terrorist threats and reestablishing respect for the rule of law as it relates to immigration."

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.: "Yes, but this should not be an automatic change — it should include several requirements that these people must meet to earn their citizenship. I voted for comprehensive immigration legislation that includes both strengthening security at our borders and dealing with the millions of people already in the U.S. We need to find a way, without rewarding violating the law, to bring these people out of the shadows, by including such requirements as imposing fines, running criminal background checks, paying back taxes and learning English."

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.: "Immigration policy should be updated in a comprehensive way to provide some realistic resolution to the status of at least 11 million undocumented immigrants. This should include greater border security, some provisions for a guest worker program and a plan for citizenship that may require illegal immigrants to pay a fine, undergo extensive preparation for citizenship, and to wait in line after applications of immigrants who have sought entry and citizenship under legal procedures."

Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th District, Ind: "Securing the border has to come first — no guest worker program, path toward citizenship, or anything else will work unless we can control the border and our immigration policies." .

Posted by vicki at 09:38 AM

Proof that Dogs can read. Brought to you by Mike and Billy.