Well, there they go again. The gay bashing yahoos in the State capitol are back to gay bashing. What happened to that great, yowling, "git the gubment off my back!" crowd? We don't need the sex police making stupid law.
-- Kentucky's eight public universities and other state agencies would be prevented from offering benefits to gay and lesbian partners of employees under a bill the Senate passed yesterday.
The vote on Senate Bill 112 was 30-5, with Democratic Sens. Ernesto Scorsone of Lexington, Denise Harper Angel of Louisville, Gerald Neal of Louisville, R.J. Palmer of Winchester and Tim Shaughnessy of Louisville voting against it.
"The only thing that drives this measure is a gay-bashing effort," said Scorsone, a homosexual.
Proponents of the bill say allowing universities to offer domestic-partner benefits violates the Kentucky Constitution, which was amended in 2004 to ban same-sex marriage.
Hahahahahahaha. This is TOO funny. Theineman got a whiff of the dirty tricks he was facing from Ditch Mitch and Northup and promptly quit the GOP in disgust
Developer Chris Thieneman said this morning that he is dropping out of the 3rd District Congressional race, is becoming a Democrat and is endorsing Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth's reelection.
It capped a tumultuous week for Thieneman, in which he first abandoned a plan to run for the Louisville Metro Council, filed for another office, took on his own party's leaders and then walked away from it all.
The move comes as Thieneman said on WHAS Radio this morning that he has been pressured by people associated with U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and former U.S. Rep. Anne Northup to abandon his bid.
Both Northup and McConnell have denied that they tried to influence Thieneman.
As proof of that coercion, Thieneman played a voice-mail message on the radio from Larry Cox, McConnell's top aide in Kentucky, in which Cox urged him to call him.
Ditch Mitch is making quite the name for himself (and not in a good way) at The NY Times Seems Mitch loves his dirty money so much he will go to any length to protect it and the Loyal Bu$hies. Have a look:
In packaging political influence by superlarge chunks, money bundlers are at least as crucial to understanding where candidates stand as their campaign vows. Fortunately for voters, a new election law mandates the disclosure of the names of lobbyists and other bundlers working the high-roller realm of donations of $15,000 or more. Unfortunately for the same voters, this vital law cannot yet be implemented.
A partisan standoff blocks the Senate from filling four existing vacancies on the Federal Election Commission. The six-member panel is powerless to form a quorum and write the regulations needed to shed sunlight on bundling. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, is refusing to allow individual up-or-down majority votes on nominees for the commission. Mr. McConnell threatens a filibuster unless they are voted on as a single package — an obstructionist tactic to protect a highly unqualified Republican nominee, Hans von Spakovsky, from rejection in a fair vote.
Mr. von Spakovsky is a notorious partisan who previously served the Bush administration as an aggressive party hack at the Justice Department. There, he defended G.O.P. stratagems to boost Republican redistricting and mandate photo ID’s in Georgia — a device to crimp the power of minorities and the poor who might favor Democrats at the ballot.
Remember Ditch Mitch wailing away about an "up or down vote" when Bu$h was trying to shove through his horrible Supreme Court justices? Never mind. He doesn't stand on principal for anything. It's all about power and money with him.
We REALLY need to quit letting politicians enrich themselves by influence peddling. It's wrecking democracy world wide. Former politicians often go on to a rich life of personal wealth at direct risk to the democratic process. Political whoredom is disgusting and craven. Get a load of the latest Deal WithThe Devil
Late on Sept. 6, 2005, a private plane carrying the Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra touched down in Almaty, a ruggedly picturesque city in southeast Kazakhstan. Several hundred miles to the west a fortune awaited: highly coveted deposits of uranium that could fuel nuclear reactors around the world. And Mr. Giustra was in hot pursuit of an exclusive deal to tap them.
Unlike more established competitors, Mr. Giustra was a newcomer to uranium mining in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic. But what his fledgling company lacked in experience, it made up for in connections. Accompanying Mr. Giustra on his luxuriously appointed MD-87 jet that day was a former president of the United States, Bill Clinton.
Upon landing on the first stop of a three-country philanthropic tour, the two men were whisked off to share a sumptuous midnight banquet with Kazakhstan’s president, Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, whose 19-year stranglehold on the country has all but quashed political dissent.
[. . .]As Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign has intensified, Mr. Clinton has begun severing financial ties with Ronald W. Burkle, the supermarket magnate, and Vinod Gupta, the chairman of InfoUSA, to avoid any conflicts of interest. Those two men have harnessed the former president’s clout to expand their businesses while making the Clintons rich through partnership and consulting arrangements.
President Bush has long touted clean coal technology as a potential solution to global warming. In 2006, he insisted that the United States is “spending quite a bit of money here at the federal level to come up with clean-coal technologies.” During Monday’s State of the Union address, Bush said, “Let us fund new technologies that can generate coal power while capturing carbon emissions.”
Yet just 24 hours after his SOTU declaration, Bush’s Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman indicated the White House was pulling the plug on the ambitious FutureGen project, a clean coal plant that was touted as “the cleanest fossil fuel fired power plant in the world.”
In a meeting with lawmakers from Illinois — where FutureGen was set to be installed — Bodman “all but drove a stake in” the $1.5 billion project:
[Rep. Timothy] Johnson [R-IL] said Bodman told the group that he planned to disband FutureGen and go “in another direction.” At one point, Johnson and Bodman snapped at each other. At another, U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago Democrat, told Bodman that “the first action taken by the president after the State of the Union was a series of broken promises.”
“In 25 years on Capitol Hill, I have never witnessed such a cruel deception,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, hinting at the administration’s political considerations for the project’s demise. “When the city of Mattoon, Illinois, was chosen over possible locations in Texas, the secretary of energy set out to kill FutureGen.”
Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Robert Sussman notes that companies and governments around the world have committed to supporting FutureGen. “It would be a blow to future international public-private partnerships if the Bush administration were to allow these commitments to languish,” said Sussman.
Only a complete fool would believe a word out of that clowning (Bu$h) hack's mouth. Snap out of it, Republicans!
Our old friend Jim has some good stuff on The Hillbilly Report on the dirty trickery of Ditch Mitch. Page One has some good stuff about the workings (dirty) of Northup's staff on her behalf as well. He'res a snip from the Hillbilly Report with video:
I don't know Chris Thieneman from Adam, but I feel for the guy because he's encountering the wrath of Anne Northup and Senator Mitch McConnell. I realize, Chris Thienaman is a Republican, but he is standing up to power and I respect that.
It's just more proof that Senator Mitch McConnell is the boss here in Kentucky and if you get in his way, you're gonna pay. If you're Heather Ryan, a Democrat, asking Senator Mitch McConnell a question he's uncomfortable with, or a dedicated Republican not doing what Senator Mitch McConnell wants, the results are the same, you're gonna pay.
Heather Ryan is a Democrat and Chris Thieneman is a Republican, and I have this to say to both of them, you're gonna find out who your real friends are.
When it comes to politics Chris Thieneman and I may not agree on anything, but I believe we can agree on this, we don't always go along to get along and we know what goes around comes around.
This is a free country and those that want to kiss Senator Mitch McConnell's ass are free to do so and those that want to kick his ass are just as free.
I don't know about you, but I'm not in a ass kissing mood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You might as well have set a doll on the podium and pulled the talking string in it's back. George W. Bush' speech tonight was full of his usual "truthiness" and a few "laugh out loud" statements like, America must reduce it's "dependence on OIL" and "we need to earn their (Americans) trust by spending their tax dollars wisely" and " . . . we will help ensure that decisions about your medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor's office — not in the halls of Congress." Notice that Bush didn't mention the Insurance companies deciding your medical care, sometimes in contradiction to your doctor's advice. And does anyone really believe Bush cares about curbing green house emissions or protecting Human "beans", also known as embryonic stem cells? Two words - Irrelevant Fraud. That's done. Good riddance. No more State of the Unions for you, Mr. Bush. Now, back to Obama!
You think that the best way to protect people from illegal drugs is to put them in prison.
You think "compassionate conservatism" is when you feel sorry for the homeless guy sleeping in the gutter as you step over him on your way to a $1000 a plate fundraiser for Tom Delay.
You are opposed to increasing the minimum wage and in favor of repealing taxes on inherited wealth.
You are opposed to Affirmative Action in college admissions and attended a private university as a "legacy."
You really believe that cutting taxes increases government revenues.
You believe in "Liberty and Justice for All" (rich, white, straight men)
You rant and rave about Liberals but have never actually met any.
You actually think that Fox News does not "spin."
You are rotating so fast that you think Fox News is standing still and the rest of the world is spinning.
You dodged the draft during Viet Nam (with Daddy's help) and now you question the courage and patriotism of men who came back with medals (and scars) and understand wars are bad.
You think that a president lying about getting a blowjob is far more serious than a president lying about the reasons for starting a war.
You think it is treasonous for a newspaper to report that the government is lying, using torture, invading someone's privacy or breaking the law but think it's okay for them to expose the identity of a covert CIA agent for partisan purposes.
I guess the NYT was trying to appease their extreme right-wing pro-catastrophe readers by hiring William Kristol. Still, as I write this, he believes the Iraq War is a success and the Democrats in Congress (and the majority of Americans, for that matter) and the whole world are all WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. He, on the other hand and a handful of Neo Con war mongers and war profiteers had it right all along. This is not only stupid beyond belief, but borders on psychotic. Here's a great piece from The Smirking Chimp by David Michael Green on the fantasy world into which Kristol has slithered.
What A Great Frickin' War!
What a ding-dong I am!
For months - nay, years! - I've been ranting about how screwed up the war in Iraq has been, and how disastrous have been its consequences.
What a fool I've been! In reality, it's actually turned out pretty great.
That's what I learned when I read William Kristol's recent New York Times piece, "The Democrats' Fairy Tale." In a stroke of thoughtfulness, generosity and uncanny prescience, the Times was kind enough recently to hire Kristol to write a regular column for their op-ed page. I guess that's because Ariel Sharon was unavailable and David Duke was on vacation. Read more here.
For those of you who didn't catch this last weekend in the New York Times, here's a short interview with Maya Soetoro-ng, the interesting half-sister of Barack Obama. It's worth the three minute read.
Appearances by Congressman John Yarmuth, ear X-tacy owner John Timmons and a presentation from Stacy Mitchell, author of Big Box Swindle are highlights of this Sunday afternoon event at Rainbow Blossom that also includes a panel discussion and an audience Q&A.
If you go tell Yarmuth thanks for donating his salary for me.
Why Buy Local?
Sunday January 27, 2008
3:00PM
Rainbow Blossom
3738 Lexington Rd.
Louisville, KY 40207
(502) 896-0189
- Is the midwinter weather wearing you down? Are you sinking in debt after the holidays? Angry with yourself for already breaking your New Year's resolutions? Wish you could crawl back under the covers and not have to face another day of rain, sleet, snow and paperwork? Probably. After all, it's Jan. 24, the “most depressing day of the year,” according to a U.K. psychologist.
Dr. Cliff Arnall's calculations show that misery peaks Monday.
Arnall, who specializes in seasonal disorders at the University of Cardiff, Wales, created a formula that takes into account numerous feelings to devise peoples' lowest point.
Is this the reason I'm schlupping around in my robe and slippers all day? Hahahahahaha!
King: the indispensable man
You want to know who deserves credit for the victories of the civil rights movement? Mother Pollard.
She's been largely forgotten over the last two weeks as the leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination bicker over who did what in the 13-year epoch that crumbled the walls of American apartheid. Should the lion's share of the recognition go to the president who staked his legacy on enacting laws that made real the promises of democracy? Should it go to the civil rights leader whose courage and eloquence roused the sleeping conscience of the nation?
If you've just got to choose, give it to Mother Pollard. She was one of the elders of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery Ala., during the bus boycott of 1955-56. When her pastor, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., suggested she go back to the buses because she was too old to keep walking, she told him, "I'm gonna walk just as long as everybody else walks. I'm gonna walk till it's over."
King marveled. "But aren't your feet tired?" he asked.
"My feet is tired," she replied. "But my soul is rested."
The recent flare-up between Senators Obama and Clinton over Martin Luther King, Jr., LBJ, and civil rights tells us less about race than it does about a different understanding of leadership and how to make enduring political change.
Clinton has for months tried to frame Obama as someone who “hopes for change” while she can “make change”. Despite all the noisy charges and countercharges these past few days, that was her point about Dr. King’s “dream” of change—that it couldn’t become “real” without a President able to “make change.”
But she misunderstands the history. The civil rights revolution represented a major mobilization of the public, starting with the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, (itself encouraged by Brown v. Board of Education the year before)--and was then built by the courage, sacrifice and “good organizing” of thousands of leaders, many of whom were young people.
We can all agree that CHANGE starts with booting Bu$h/Cheney out of office. Forever. And BTW, I love what John Edwards has to say about most everything.
Here is the result of the CNN entrance poll vote. Clinton takes a huge lead over Obama among women and Hispanics--particularly among women 60 and over. Obama leads overwhelmingly among African-Americans, folks under 50 and does better with men.
Overall, Clinton won by 51% to Obama's 45% Obama won 13 delegates to Clinton's 12%. So far. Looks like 2 Americas to me.
Ducan Hunter OUT. Hahahahaha. Will Dead Fred take the hint?
So, Bu$h is throwing money (tax dollars) and incentives at Jordan and Azerbaijan to help market Blackwater's "services." Impossible, you say?
The focus of Blackwater’s current business lies in a contract relationship with the United States, but perhaps sensing the limited potential of that market, Blackwater has developed a very substantial international clientele. I recently examined their relationships with two governments—Azerbaijan and Jordan. What struck me most about these relationships was how they were secured and developed. In both cases, local government officials described to me extensive marketing efforts on Blackwater’s behalf by seniormost officials of the Bush Administration, who pressured and cajoled the local officials to use Blackwater and offered substantial incentives in the process.
Blackwater’s relationship with the Bush Administration is curiously symbiotic. The Administration is a heavy consumer of Blackwater’s services. It actually involves itself in marketing Blackwater to others, as if Blackwater were a for-profit extension of the Administration. Maybe it is.
The article also makes it clear that the Bu$h admin and State and Justice departments are aiding the Blackwater cover up of its war crimes.
Gen. Tommy Franks carried out Bu$h's Iraq invasion like a good little soldier, Cheneyd it all up and is now making money off a money grubbing "charity. " My head hurts.
In a House Oversight Committee hearing today, it was revealed that retired Army Gen. Tommy Franks “was paid $100,000 to endorse a veterans charity that watchdog groups say is ripping off donors and wounded veterans by using only a small portion of the money raised for veterans services.” The charities were graded “F” by the American Institute of Philanthropy because so little of the money is used for actual charity projects or services.
“I would never use Ronald Reagan as an example of change...
"He was openly -- openly -- intolerant of unions and the right to organize. He openly fought against the union and the organized labor movement in this country. He openly did extraordinary damage to the middle class and working people, created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day. The destruction of the environment, you know, eliminating regulation of companies that were polluting and doing extraordinary damage to the environment...
"I can promise you this: This president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example for change."
Despite what the talking heads on my TV tell me, Reagan was not a great and noble man. Iran contra? Blowing off the HIV/AIDS terror? Nope, he was very bad for America.
Big Labor is growing new political muscles.
Even as the number of unionized workers falls nationwide, labor unions are showing increased power in this topsy-turvy election season. By deploying new strategies to use their money, unions have regained their position as the single-strongest force in elections, outside of the presidential candidates and the national parties. That's a boost for Democrats, since labor is a pillar of the party.
Many thought campaign-finance reforms enacted in 2002 would diminish the clout of labor along with that of business. The law was meant to stem the influence of big money in politics by barring individuals, corporations, unions and other interest groups from making large donations to the parties.
But unlike companies, unions have adapted by shifting their spending to an often-overlooked part of campaigns: getting out the vote, or what pros call the "ground game." Unions have continued to ramp up their political spending and targeted it to get out the vote for candidates that labor leaders endorse.
WTF is up with South Carolina? Don't get me wrong--one of my favorite DL chapters is in SC--it's the dirty, ugly racism that is allowed to fester in that state that upsets me and should upset us all. Get a load of this:
In South Carolina, Pro-Confederate Flag Group Airs Ads Praising Huckabee's Flag Stance -- And Hitting McCain
"Mike Huckabee's stand is a breath of fresh air," say the ads, which are paid for by the Americans for the Preservation of American Culture. "Gov. Huckabee understands that all the average guy with a Confederate Flag on his pickup truck is saying is: He's proud to be a Southerner." STOP IT!!!!!! Huckleberry Hound Dog Huckabee is an alleged "Man of the cloth." I could not be more depressed.
PageOneKentucky examines the ad and folks like DLer Hatold Trainer who find U of L Doctors shilling for Ditch Mitch distasteful.
The good works being done in fighting cancer at the Brown Cancer Center are certainly worth noting. The University of Louisville’s Dr. Donald Miller, I know from personal experience, is a marvelous doctor who is doing amazing work in his chosen field.
So it’s too bad he’s become embroiled in a mini-controversy after appearing in a commercial for Sen. Mitch McConnell. We questioned the appearance of Miller and his colleague, Dr. Larry Cook, in the :30 spot, which is getting plenty of airplay, thanks to McConnell’s massive war chest.
Be sure to read the comments section. a strong case is made about how unethical it is.
File this doozy under the "you just cannot make this s**t UP" category. From Think Progress
Topping Congress’s agenda as it returns this week is a plan to “jump-start the economy and try to shorten the slowdown that many economists say has already begun to take hold.”
Today, Rep. Eric Cantor (VA), the chief deputy Republican whip in the House, unveiled his proposal to stimulate the economy. His legislation — the so-called Middle Class Job Protection Act — does nothing for the middle class. Instead, it reduces the corporate tax rate by 28 percent.
At a press conference today unveiling the stimulus proposal, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) justified the conservative plan to give tax breaks to corporations — instead of working Americans — by arguing that people actually like working long hours: I am so proud to be from the state of Minnesota. We’re the workingest state in the country, and the reason why we are, we have more people that are working longer hours, we have people that are working two jobs.
Bachmann’s version of the American Dream is apparently working two full-time jobs and struggling to get by.
Much thanks to DL Louisville Librarian and researcher, Hank! This is is what his labor uncovered:
Representative Reginald Meeks (D)
House District 42
Jefferson County (part)
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislator/H042.htm
January 11, 2008
I'd like to give you a preview of specific legislation I am working on so far during the 2008 Regular Session Legislature:
HB80 -An Act relating to the provision of services by county interlocal agreements, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency. This will provide incentives for counties to provide better services by combining operations, sharing costs, thereby saving local taxpayer dollars, and decreasing the number and size of agencies.
Latest Action : Jan 8-introduced in House; to Local Government (H)
HB89 - An Act to establish the International Business Relations Committee as a permanent committee of the Legislative Research Commission
Latest Action : Jan 8-introduced in House; to Economic Development (H)
HB152 - An Act to provide that personnel and resources of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources may be
Latest Action : Jan 9-to Natural Resources & Environment (H)
HB271 - An Act relating to vehicle emissions. This creates a new section of KRS Chapter 224 to adopt the higher greenhouse gas motor vehicle emissions standards established in Californiaand increasingly used throughout the nation.
Latest Action : Jan 10-introduced in House
HB272 -An Act related to high-cost home loans. This amends KRS 360.100 pertaining to high-cost home loans to delete the provision requiring a borrower to pay a prepayment penalty for paying all or part of the principal prior to maturity.
Latest Action : Jan 10-introduced in House
HR12 -A Resoultion to condemn the removal of Indian Head Rock to the city of Portsmouth, Ohio, and urge the city of Portsmouth to return the rock to its original location.
Latest Action : Jan 8-introduced in House; to House Floor
PLEASE STAY INFORMED of legislative action on bills of interest to you this session by logging onto the Legislative Research Commission website at www.lrc.ky.gov or by calling the LRC toll-free Bill Status Line at 866-840-2835
--State Representative Reginald Meeks, 42nd House District;
courtesy of Frank Leidermann, Associate Editor
This takes the cake. Hillary Clinton supporters in the Nevada teachers union filed a lawsuit to prevent union members working on "the strip" the right to vote there on MLK weekend. By a unanimous vote last March, the unions agreed to allow members to caucus in special precincts on the "strip." In an amazing change of heart, the teachers union now opposes giving casino employees the right to vote near where they work and filed a lawsuit to stop them. Yesterday, Bill Clinton sided with the disenfranchisement plot. Hillary? *Crickets* From TPM
The Nevada state teachers union's lawsuit against the special caucus sites for Las Vegas Strip workers has had a (predictable) effect: It's really riled up the Culinary Workers Union, and has become another weapon they can use to get their members to go out and caucus for Barack Obama.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that the Culinary has been distributing fliers to members, quoting news reports that the lawsuit is "a hardball effort by Clinton allies to block votes" by the union's members, and in contrast quotes Obama's denunciation of the suit.
Notably, the fliers also take Hillary to task for not taking a public position on the matter. "Our Right to Vote?" one flier asks rhetorically. "'I Just Don’t Know,' says Hillary Clinton."
What is wrong with these people? This sounds like something Rove would dream up.
War supporters and republican pundits would be wise not to make another "Mission Accomplished" mistake. Wingnut neo-con Bill Kristol used his column in the Times this morning to brag about how wonderfully the "surge" has worked. He also made the dubious claim that the Democratic candidates were wrong, wrong, wrong for not supporting the surge that resulted in the Iraqi government meeting an important "benchmark." But did they?
According to a translated copy received by The New York Times, a whole new rung of former party members could be allowed back into government. Where the old de-Baathification law barred members of the top four of the party’s seven levels, the new measure would bar three, theoretically allowing as many as 30,000 people back in. And a vast majority of the ones still excluded, who held top national- and regional-level jobs, would become eligible for pensions if they had not been implicated in crime or corruption.
But interpretations of the measure’s actual effects varied widely among Iraqi officials. In general, Shiite politicians hailed it as an olive branch to Sunni Arabs. But some Sunnis say it is at best an incremental improvement over the old system, and at worst even harsher.
“This law includes some good articles, and it’s better than the last de-Baathification law because it gives pensions to third-level Baathists,” said Khalaf Aulian, a Sunni politician who opposed the legislation. “But I don’t like the law as a whole, because it will remain as a sword on the neck of the people.
“Maybe in the future they will use it to prevent anyone they like from keeping their job,” he said.
The most extreme interpretations of the measure’s effects actually came from Shiite officials. Some of them hailed it because it would ban members of even the lowest party levels from the most important ministries: justice, interior, defense, finance and foreign.
That would seem to preclude the government from keeping its promise to offer military and police jobs to the thousands of Sunni Arabs who have joined the Awakening groups.
Mr. Aulian, among other Sunni Arab politicians who opposed the measure, pointed out that the greatest risk could be that it would unravel successful efforts to draw more Sunnis away from the insurgency, perhaps toppling the country back into open sectarian conflict.
Kristol might want to start reading his own paper before popping off prematurely.
This picture was splashed on the fron page of the NYTimes this morning and it was the first article I read. today It is a gut wrenching reminder that the "casualties of war" don't end in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Times uncovered 121 cases of veterans committing murder or being charged with that crime across the nation. They believe that number is a small fraction of the total, as the cases they uncovered came from readily available news sources. Here is one sad example:
Mr. Sepi did not like to venture outside too late. But, plagued by nightmares about an Iraqi civilian killed by his unit, he often needed alcohol to fall asleep. And so it was that night, when, seized by a gut feeling of lurking danger, he slid a trench coat over his slight frame — and tucked an assault rifle inside it.
“Matthew knew he shouldn’t be taking his AK-47 to the 7-Eleven,” Detective Laura Andersen said, “but he was scared to death in that neighborhood, he was military trained and, in his mind, he needed the weapon to protect himself.”
Head bowed, Mr. Sepi scurried down an alley, ignoring shouts about trespassing on gang turf. A battle-weary grenadier who was still legally under-age, he paid a stranger to buy him two tall cans of beer, his self-prescribed treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
As Mr. Sepi started home, two gang members, both large and both armed, stepped out of the darkness. Mr. Sepi said in an interview that he spied the butt of a gun, heard a boom, saw a flash and “just snapped.”
In the end, one gang member lay dead, bleeding onto the pavement. The other was wounded. And Mr. Sepi fled, “breaking contact” with the enemy, as he later described it. With his rifle raised, he crept home, loaded 180 rounds of ammunition into his car and drove until police lights flashed behind him.
“Who did I take fire from?” he asked urgently. Wearing his Army camouflage pants, the diminutive young man said he had been ambushed and then instinctively “engaged the targets.” He shook. He also cried.
“I felt very bad for him,” Detective Andersen said.
Nonetheless, Mr. Sepi was booked, and a local newspaper soon reported: “Iraq veteran arrested in killing.”
These veterans and this country are in for a world of hurt to come.
Woo Hoo! Chris Dodd fought telecom immunity in the new FISA law Bu$h was pushing to protect telecoms from being held accountable for going along with his illegal wiretapping program. And now we all win. From Open Left
Well done, Senator Dodd. This shows, once again, that it does not take many validating voices or actions in order for our campaigns to make a difference in the national discourse, or on Capitol Hill. Dodd took up our call to filibuster retroactive telecom immunity, and now the FISA bill is dead because of it. We saw much the same thing with Bill Richardson and residual forces. Once we worked together with a high-profile Democrat, we were able to change the debate on Iraq in the Democratic primary. Maxine Waters did much of the same thing on the Ned Lamont campaign back in 2006, and Russ Feingold did the same on a timetable for Iraq in 2005. Just one or two high-profile, validating voices can allow a blogosphere charged campaign enough credibility to be taken seriously on a national level.
It is satisfying to read the Wall Street Journal crying over this. It is empowering to see one of our campaigns succeed. It is satisfying to answer all of those emails I received back in August about how the progressive blogosphere supposedly dropped the ball on FISA, and was instead hob-nobbing with high-profile Democrats at Yearly Kos. With clear campaign goals, a couple of validating voices, and excellent staff working as liaisons between the blogosphere and the validating voices, we can really make a difference in American politics.
It is indeed satisfying any time a member of Congress listens to us anymore. I'd forgotten what that felt like. Thank you, Senator Dodd! And thanks to all who urged him on and signed countless petitions.
Ditch Mitch has a new, Orwellian ad ready, and it's a whopper. Ditch Mitch wants us to believe he's "Mr. Green!" Hahahahahahahahahaha.
McConnell’s environmental stewardship, according to the ad, consists of securing a $38 million earmark for city parks in Louisville and the creation of the Jefferson Memorial Forest, which features a Mitch McConnell Loop Trail.
McConnell may know how to bring home the pork for his constituents, but that hardly qualifies him as an “environmental champion.” McConnell had a zero percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters during the 109th Congress, and has earned only a 7% lifetime rating.
A look at some of his actions that have earned him such a dismal rating:
– McConnell helped to pass the 2005 Energy Policy Act, a bill the League of Conservation Voters called “the most anti-environmental piece of legislation signed into law in recent memory.”
– McConnell led the fight to block the renewable fuels standard and the green tax package from the 2007 energy bill, calling them “millstones.”
– McConnell has repeatedly voted to allow drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
– McConnell has repeatedly voted against Senate bills recognizing global warming, including a “sense of the Senate” amendment expressing “the need…to address global climate change through comprehensive and cost-effective national measures and through the negotiation of fair and binding international commitments.”
– McConnell helped notorious global warming denier Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) try to block Al Gore’s “Live Earth” concert in Washington, DC, by raising an objection to the resolution allowing the concert to take place on the capitol’s West Front.
He's the "Godfather of Green" all right. Green backs from his corporate nieces and nephews in the pollution spewing sector.
Come out to Drinking Liberally Thursday night (Jan. 17 ) at the BBC and meet your Rep! Here's his bio:
Born March 21, 1954. Protestant. Dir of External Programs-UofL College of Arts & Sciences; Instructor, UofL and McKendree College. Wabash College, BA. Univ of Iowa College of Law, JD. UofL, PhD (pending). NCSL. NBCSL. KY Assoc of Blacks in Higher Ed. KY Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, Founding Member. Ctr for Policy Alternatives Fellow. Ctr for Policy Alternatives Advisory Bd. Leadership KY. Charter Class Member. KY Long-Range Policy Research Bd. Sunshine Srs, Honorary Member. Hon Order of KY Colonels. Natl Assoc of Black Scuba Divers. KY Assoc of Black Scuba Divers, Founding Member. KY Native Am Heritage Comm. KY Native American Arts & Cultural Ctr, Bd. Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission. KY Polar Bear Club. KY Sportsmens Caucus. Whos Who Among Emerging Leaders In Am. Outstanding Young Men of Am. Whos Who Among Black Americans. Whos Who in the South. YMCA Adult Achiever Award. Ebony Magazine, Fifty Young Future Leaders. Louisville Magazine, People to Watch.
Hahahahahahaha! Oh, snap! PageOne has us rolling in the aisles over this one.
As David Adams reports, Rep. Charlie Hoffman (D-Waste of Time) is pushing worthless legislation that would prohibit online communication that causes “annoyance or alarm” and serves no legitimate purpose.
Like David says, telling the peeps on that scary internets about Charlie Hoffman and his booger eating ways could land a blogger in jail for up to 90 days. A second offense carries up to a year in jail as punishment.
Yeah, that’s the ticket. Let’s stifle free speech because a few booger eaters in Frankfort can’t handle criticism. We’re not suggesting that people go crazy by publishing defaming and false material, but come on. What century is this?
Charlie Hoffman. Time and money waster. Another Democrat deserving of a primary opponent.
Anyone who saw the clip of an angry Bill Clinton in New Hampshire berating Obama for supposedly flip-flopping on the Iraq war (Obama has done no such thing) had to cringe. I thought it was the ugliest moment so far. Also quite nasty was HRC's comment about MLK inspiring the civil rights movement, but crediting president Johnson.for being the victor for the final result. Give me a break indeed!
A series of comments from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband and her supporters are spurring a racial backlash and adding a divisive edge to the presidential primary as the candidates head south to heavily African-American South Carolina.
The comments, which ranged from the New York senator appearing to diminish the role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement — an aide later said she misspoke — to Bill Clinton dismissing Sen. Barack Obama’s image in the media as a “fairy tale” — generated outrage on black radio, black blogs and cable television. And now they've drawn the attention of prominent African-American politicians.
“A cross-section of voters are alarmed at the tenor of some of these statements,” said Obama spokeswoman Candice Tolliver, who said that Clinton would have to decide whether she owed anyone an apology.
[. . .]
A Harlem-based consultant to the Clinton campaign, Bill Lynch, called the former president’s comments “a mistake” and said his own phone had been ringing with friends around the country voicing their concern.
“I’ve been concerned about some of those comments — and that there might be a backlash,” he said.
Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, a prominent Obama supporter, echoed those sentiments.
"It’s very unfortunate that the president would make a statement like that," he said of Bill Clinton's criticism of Obama's experience, adding that the African-American community had "saved his presidency" after the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
"They owe the African-American community — not the reverse," he said. "Maybe Hillary and Bill should get behind Sen. Barack Obama."
The Politico is incorrect that Bill was dissing the campaign image of Barack Obama as a "fairytale." He was dissing Obama's imaginary Iraq war votes. Sheesh. Aren't they supposed to be "reporting" here?
JANUARY 11, 2008, is the six-year anniversary of the first arrival of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.
On January 11, we are calling on everyone opposed to torture and indefinite detention to WEAR ORANGE to symbolize their sadness and disgust with the national shame that is Guantánamo Bay.
Ckick the link above to the ACLU's website for more.
I'm passing on this information from DLer Harold Trainer because I feel it's important to remind these folks that they are the beneficiaries of taxpayer money, not Ditch Mitch's personal funds. They should be ashamed.
There is currently a political ad for Sen McConnell featuring two public organization Doctors who praise McConnell for getting our tax dollars and giving them to support health and life activities here in Louisville and Kentucky. They spoke supporting McConnell using their public titles. I have called the following Doctors and their officers to express my concern that the 200 million McConnell got for Louisville were tax dollars and they were pretty much of a quid pro quo for his support of Bush and the war.
Dr. Donald Miller, James Grahm Brown Cancer Center 562-4389, ask for Dr. Miller's office.
Dr. Larry Cook, Uof L Executive VP for Health Affairs Uof L information 852-5555 Ask for Dr. Cooks office number or call 852-5184
Dr. Ramsey President of UofL 852-5417
A call would let these people and the president know how you felt.
The polls in the Iowa primary were quite accurate that Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama would be big winners and that Hillary could come in third. The polls in New Hampshire were also quite accurate on the Republican side. So what happened to the expected "BIG WIN" for Barack Obama? Enter Chris Matthews! Watch this video:
And Matthews also has a history of focusing on politicians' appearances, and in glowing terms. In 2003, discussing President Bush and his "Mission Accomplished" speech from the deck of an aircraft carrier, Matthews said, "He's like Eisenhower. He looks great in a military uniform. He looks great in that cowboy costume he wears when he goes west. I remember him standing at that fence with Colin Powell. Was the best picture in the 2000 campaign." In May of last year, wondering aloud about Fred Thompson's sex appeal, Matthews asked, "Can you smell the English leather on this guy, the Aqua Velva, the sort of mature man's shaving cream, or whatever, you know, after he shaved? Do you smell that sort of -- a little bit of cigar smoke? You know, whatever." And in February 2007, Matthews said of Mitt Romney, "[H]e's got a great chin, I've noticed."
Chris Matthews has a history of such "man crushes" that is truly creepy. But when it comes to either of the Clintons, he turns into a sputtering, slobbering fool. Oy. Also worthy of note: The very serious Fred Thompson was roundly thumped by Dennis Kucinich by a HUGE margin. Dennis Kucinich: 3,845 Fred Thompson: 2,808 Take THAT, pundits!
Heh. Poor Ditch Mitch! Andrew Horne (Dem candidate running for his seat) is actually challenging him on his love of dirty money! I have the vapors! I picked this off of the Courier-Journal and Page One.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell announced yesterday that he has raised nearly $11 million for his re-election effort this year.
McConnell, the Senate minority leader, long ago smashed the record for a Senate race in Kentucky and continued to add to it during the fourth quarter of 2007, raising $1.7 million during the last three months.
According to a campaign press release, McConnell still has $7.3 million on hand despite large television buys for ads he began airing immediately after the Nov. 6 election.
Andrew Horne, the biggest-name Democrat to announce his candidacy for McConnell's seat, said yesterday he wasn't concerned about the money.
"If it were all about money, Steve Forbes would be president and Bruce Lunsford would be governor," Horne said in an interview. "This election won't just concern money. It'll concern a misconceived war that McConnell allowed (President) Bush to get us into."
Shortly after McConnell's campaign sent out a release announcing the senator's donations, the Public Campaign Action Fund, which favors campaign finance reforms that McConnell opposes, sent out its own press release critical of McConnell.
"No one in Kentucky ought to see McConnell's fundraising as anything but his mastery of a corrupt political system that places the interests of donors ahead of all Kentuckians," the group said.
The MoveOn group that holed up in Louisville long past the summer campaign to dog Bu$h's "surge" in Iraq and his disaster in the desert of Iraq is moving on. One of my favorite peeps from that campaign, Laura, graced us with her presence again last week at DL Have a look at what vet Brian has to say at Blugrassroots here A snip:
This morning at 12:01 A.M., the most memorable anti-war campaign in Kentucky’s history came to the end of its extended run in the Commonwealth. The Iraq Summer Campaign, borne out of the national outrage surrounding the pResident’s decision to “surge” 30,000 additional U.S. troops into the maw of the religious civil war in Iraq, began as a national effort of 40 teams around the U.S. Each team targeted a single GOP legislator whose rhetoric and votes were promoting and prolonging the war in Iraq. The strategy combined grass-roots activism with 21st century netroots to create a formidable, vocal and aggressive anti-war juggernaut.
The Kentucky Iraq Summer Campaign had the task of targeting the white whale of all GOP law-makers, Senate B-team Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Malebolge). Mitch is the self-proclaimed “biggest supporter of pResident Bush’s war on Iraq”. He is unapologetic about his tactics of obstructionism and deception which continue the destruction of our military from the ground up. And he refuses, absolutely refuses, to meet with any constituents who disagree with him on the war. This made for an exciting summer of bird-dogging, stakeouts, canvassing and rallies which pursued and harassed the Senator from the hot tent of Fancy Farm to the hotbed of Kentucky conservatism in NKY.
Thanks for stopping by Louisville and giving Veterans and Peace lovers a voice. Oh, Snap! Did I forget to mention that I lifted this from PageOne? Well, I did. Bookmark the site for your morning dose of KY politics. Great site.
Give me a break. Party hopping Mike Bloomberg is threatening a third party run if the presidential candidates refuse to embrace bi-partisanship and promise to appoint both Dems and Republicans to their cabinets. Who the hell does he think he is??? Not only is he an egomaniac, he's got the whole concept wrong. It is G.W Bu$h and the GOP obstructionists in Congress (lead by Ditch Mitch) who are totally thwarting the will of the people. The Dems have compromised themselves into knots trying to get important legislation passed only to see Bu$h veto it or Ditch Mitch filibuster it to death. The GOP is solely responsible for creating this mess.
“The change message is playing out on both sides, along with conciliation and unity,” said Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster who has worked for Bloomberg but is unaffiliated in the current presidential race.
“Bloomberg's messages are driving the process on both sides of the aisle. That is the dominant theme of campaign 2008.”
Boren and many of the other former Democratic and Republican senators here tried to keep the forum focused on bipartisanship and common-sense solutions to the country’s problems.
Sorry gang! The current WH and republicans in Congress aren't interested. Haven't the last 7 years made that crystal clear?
What kind of ninnies does Rudy take us for? It might work for lilly-livered GOP but the public at large will see right through his disgusting tactics. What a thug.
George McGovern makes a perfectly reasonable case for impeaching Bu$h and Cheney in the Washington Post
[. . .]Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly "high crimes and misdemeanors," to use the constitutional standard.
From the beginning, the Bush-Cheney team's assumption of power was the product of questionable elections that probably should have been officially challenged -- perhaps even by a congressional investigation.
In a more fundamental sense, American democracy has been derailed throughout the Bush-Cheney regime. The dominant commitment of the administration has been a murderous, illegal, nonsensical war against Iraq. That irresponsible venture has killed almost 4,000 Americans, left many times that number mentally or physically crippled, claimed the lives of an estimated 600,000 Iraqis (according to a careful October 2006 study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and laid waste their country. The financial cost to the United States is now $250 million a day and is expected to exceed a total of $1 trillion, most of which we have borrowed from the Chinese and others as our national debt has now climbed above $9 trillion -- by far the highest in our national history.
All of this has been done without the declaration of war from Congress that the Constitution clearly requires, in defiance of the U.N. Charter and in violation of international law. This reckless disregard for life and property, as well as constitutional law, has been accompanied by the abuse of prisoners, including systematic torture, in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
It's rather obvious that impeachment was made an option to halt these very types of high crimes
US Rep. John Yarmuth has donated his entire, after taxes salary to many worthy charities in the Louisville area. Is he the best, or what??? As this '> article in the C-J points out, no other members of congress--wealthy or not--are known to have donated their salary to charity. Can you imagine a filthy rich Anne Northup (whom he defeated) doing the same when she had the opportunity? I think not. Please send our DL friend Yarmuth a big kiss here and thank him for his kindness. Phone: 502.891.8914 or fax him at: 502.8910347 And tell him DL Louisville supports his charity!
-- Days before filing for re-election, Rep. John Yarmuth is giving away money. His own.
In fact, everything the government paid the 3rd District Democrat for last year's work is going to go to 38 Louisville-area community groups, he said yesterday. That comes to a bit more than $120,000 in after-tax income.
"It's something I promised to do during the (2006) campaign," Yarmuth said in an interview. "And I truly value the notion of public service. I'm in the fortunate enough position that I don't need the salary."
He said he wanted to give back to the Louisville area and send a message that "I consider it a great honor to (serve in the House) and not reap any financial benefit."
Thanks Hank, for passing this along but I had already flagged it. You the man, just the same for caring about this.
Andrew Horne is challenging Ditch Mitch in the Senate race this year and Bruce Lunsford is considering another go at a political career in Kentucky. Now, who would I rather have a beer with you ask?? Despite repeated invitations to the DL (NOT!), Ditch Mitch is still a no-show. On top of this slight, Ditch Mitch has spent his entire career coddling and favoring the super rich at the expense of the poor and middle class. Then he votes for and supports an immoral illegal war waged on a country for it's coveted oil reserves. Guess who pays for it with their money and lives - the working poor and middle class. It's a win-win for the Repugs in charge. Sorry Ditch Mitch, I'll have to pass on the brewskie. What about Bruce Lunsford? Well, he's not exactly a Liberal or even a Democrat. He supported Fletcher afterall in the 2003 Gubernatorial election and gave more money to Anne Northup than John Yarmuth in 2006. And that's all I have to say about that. Andrew Horne? Now there's somebody we should all share a pint with. He served in the Marines in both Gulf wars and recently retired as a Lt. Colonel. He's not a politician. He's a good American, with the best interests of Kentuckians at heart. A toast to you Mr. Horne! For more info on Andrew's campaign, click here: http://www.AndrewHorne.org
OMG. Is this guy a loon, or what. Thanks to June for passing this howler along
Two nights before the crucial first-in-the-nation caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee appealed to God to grant his supporters guidance as the former Arkansas governor struggled to maintain his tenuous lead.
"We cannot do it," he said referring to Thursday night's Republican caucus, "by arming ourselves and taking anyone out. We will go to the caucuses having knelt on our knees and having asked God for his wisdom."
Huckabee made his appeal Tuesday night to a brimming ballroom of supporters in the conservative suburbs of the state capital against a backdrop of country western music and accompanied on stage by actor and self-described "corporate leader" Chuck Norris.
A nation long afflicted with “Bush fatigue” anxiously takes its first step tonight towards ending the Bush presidency. Not surprisingly, President Bush does not plan to stay up to watch the Iowa caucus results. From today’s Progress Report:
In Jan. 2007, Newsweek conducted a poll asking Americans if “they wish the Bush presidency [were] simply over.” Fifty-eight percent of respondents said they did, including 59 percent of independents and 21 percent of Republicans. Today in Iowa, the final chapter of President Bush’s two terms in office will begin to unfold as an estimated 200,000 to 240,000 voters participate in the first nominating battle of the 2008 election. With Bush’s approval rating hovering around 33 percent — and with roughly 67 percent of Americans believing that the country is on the “wrong track” — a common thread running through the campaigns of the candidates from both parties is the need for a break from the policies and passions of the Bush years.
Passions? For what? Power? Certainly not actually running the government.
Hahahahahahaha! The only thing bigger than his ego is his Big Fat Mouth.
Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh returned to the airwaves after his holiday break. Rather than endorsing a candidate for president — something his followers have long speculated about — Limbaugh promoted himself for the top job, saying that his “experience” criticizing the Clinton administration through the 1990s made him the most qualified candidate:
Could it be that none of Republican clowns running are fit for the job?
