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Subscribe to RSSThe Democratic National Committee is going up with an ad today called "Big Choices," touting what Democrats have done AND uses President Bush saying, "fool me once, you can't get fooled again." But it's only running on national cable and will run through next week. We'll see if they put more money behind it after this test run.
- Corporate donations after the Citizens United ruling are getting more attention. In addition to the million-dollar NewsCorp donation to the Republican Governors Association, AP reports that some institutional shareholders of Target and Best Buy are "urging the boards of both [companies] to increase their oversight of campaign contributions." Target and Best Buy have given a combined $250,000 to a fund to boost a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota. There have been protests from gay rights groups and others, including a MoveOn.org ad that was reportedly rejected by MSNBC, prompting MoveOn to criticize General Electric. (GE is the parent company of NBC Universal.)
- Alberto Gonzales has an op-ed in the Washington Post coming out against changing or repealing the 14th Amendment and calling for comprehensive immigration reform:
I do not support such an amendment. Based on principles from my tenure as a judge, I think constitutional amendments should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances that we cannot address effectively through legislation or regulation. Because most undocumented workers come here to provide for themselves and their families, a constitutional amendment will not solve our immigration crisis. People will certainly continue to cross our borders to find a better life, irrespective of the possibilities of U.S. citizenship. As the nation's former chief law enforcement officer and a citizen who believes in the rule of law, I cannot condone anyone coming into this country illegally. However, as a father who wants the best for my own children, I understand why these parents risk coming to America -- especially when there is little fear of prosecution. If we want to stop this practice, we should pass and enforce comprehensive immigration legislation rather than amend our Constitution.
It highlights a continued division between Republicans, particularly between some Hispanic Republicans and some white Republicans, on how to handle the issue of immigration.
- The New York Times profiles Bill Clinton's role as a campaigner this fall, and labels him the "Defender in Chief." Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and, of course, the president are expected to be the main Democratic surrogates this fall.
- The Times magazine also profiles Joe Sestak, the Democrat running for Senate in Pennsylvania, and goes along with him on a campaign event, calling him something between a "tireless" and "maniacal" campaigner. At one point, Sestak nearly runs over a toddler and the reporter had to get out of the way to avoid a collision with Sestak, so the congressman could shake hands. In DC, operatives who have worked for Sestak have said privately that he can be tough to work for. The Times story recounts a story in The Hill in which a Capitol Hill veteran says Sestak is “a guy to avoid unless you are desperate for a job.” It also notes a Navy Times story that says he created a “poor command climate,” something known within the Pentagon and was an issue during the Democratic primary campaign when Arlen Specter tried to use that against Sestak.
- Quote of the Day: So far it's is Rod Blagojevich on NBC's Today show. When asked if he had enough money to fund a new trial, he said: "I take solace in the Biblical story of David. I don't have a slingshot, but I have the truth on my side."
- And hasn't Blago suffered enough? He's so broke, that a storage facility where he apparently owes $100,000, auctioned off several of his belongings, including a life-size Elvis statue. It sold for $20,500.
- And finally with Roger Clemens' indictment yesterday for lying to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs, Bostonians are claiming he's a Damn Yankee: The Boston Globe reports that several Fenway dwellers yesterday held the view that when they heard about the indictment they thought it was "awesome." The Globe: "It was hard to find anyone around Fenway Park yesterday who didn’t have a similar opinion."
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Yes I have to admit Bush was a fool who rushed in... just like the TEA BAGGING.
Here's why the names of corporations that donate (to either side) need to be publicized: It helps all us consumers that do business with them decide if we wish to continue to have some of our purchase price (i.e.-profit the companies take) go to certain political parties. If we don't want, say, Target to spend our money to suport, say, Republicans- we shop eslewhere.
Again, before anyone squawks about Teleprompters or Muslims- please note my post says EITHER side...
I liked the idea that was joked about when this decree was first handed down. Each politician who receives money from those corporations should have to wear a patch on their clothes (like the Nascar drivers do) advertizing who is giving them money. I think that would be a great idea. Everyone will know who contributed to whom.
Agreed sonokursh2!
Drive-by, Dan and sonokursh2 - I think I mentioned the NASCAR thing once after seeing it in my bumper sticker catalog, so obviously I agree too - but hey, let's take it one step further. As part of my job, I have to read a lot of articles written by doctors in medical journals, and they seem to have a rule where they have to disclose any financial interests they have in whatever research they're promoting - i.e., they're a paid consultant for the drug manufacturer, etc. So how about we pass a law where every bill coming out of Congress has to display big color logos of the companies who bought and paid for it?
Nah......as Dana Carvey used to say when doing his President G.H.W.Bush imitation - "Not Gonna Happen!"
How about me make sure that "Union Label" is visible on everyone and everything too.
well, well, I agree with drive-by-will wonders never cease-and, for the record, they are called, in econ, 'dollar votes'.
I have less of a problem with open donations than I do with shadow operations like the JournoList and getting ones marching orders from one side or the other. It gives you context.
By the way, I think this whole 'Obama's religion' distraction is going to fail. Casting him as a victim, and those who oppose him as morons, won't work a second time. Many of those planning to vote republican voted FOR Obama, and they are not likely to be fooled a second time. I think maybe the media has overestimated the value, for voters, of being 'cool'.
no joe,
Blah, blah, blah, JournoList, blah, blah, blah, JournoList, blah, blah, blah, JournoList.
Please give the 'JournoList' thing a rest. It is nothing, nada, zip, zilch and a (god I love this word) nontroversy. You are the only one who is harping on it. Not even your right wing sympathizers have joined you.
My goodness, your posts are predictable, booring and just plain . . . well . . . let's just say lacking in intelligent discourse. Logic is not really your strong suit, is it? (That was a rhetorical question, nj . . . you do understand rhetorical, right?).
Looks like I hit a nerve.
I'm not the ONLY one who was appalled by the whole JournoList controversy. See, people had a problem with so called professional journalists coordinating coverage, and attacks, in order to put 'their ' man in the White House.
Take a little lookey/see at the latest Gallup numbers on trust in the media-around 25% put any faith in print or televised reportage. Think there might be a reason?
I do. Many, many people were fooled into thinking Obama was a centrist, when he is so far to the left he cannot even see the middle. Folks are angry about being lied to-and they are taking it out on the Democrats.
Maybe there should have been a little thinking on the subject of unexpected consequences, ya think?
Oh, and Matthew? I have a new favorite word, too. YOU decide if it is applicable to yourself. Obliviots.
no joe,
I love reading your posts. Obviously you are an educated man (Econ major??) and I appreciate the time you take each day to try and educate the host of liberals that frequent this site. Driving 'O' supporters like Matthew to rant and sputter is priceless!!
Keep up the good fight and I'll join you and the majority Americans in November voting these tax and spend liberals out of office.
A nerve, nj? No but I did just let out some gas, kinda smelled like your words.
Hobie81, nj only thinks she is an economist but hasn't got a clue. Her 'theories' have been disproven on this site many times and with actual economic results. She relies on disproven economic theories and polling data to determine her position on everything from which hand to use to wipe her a$$ to what to think about the weather. In fact, if polling stopped tomorrow, nj wouldn't know what to think about anything.
And, nj, nope, it does not apply to me. Here's a word that does apply to you . . . and I didn't even have to make it up: paranoid.
Give it up, nj, your opinion means nothing to me, I laugh at your paranoid ignorance that you post here every day. You provide entertainment but it is the type entertainment people get when looking at a really bad auto accident.
No Jo
By the way, I think this whole 'Obama's religion' distraction is going to fail. Casting him as a victim, and those who oppose him as morons, won't work a second time. Many of those planning to vote republican voted FOR Obama, and they are not likely to be fooled a second time. I think maybe the media has overestimated the value, for voters, of being 'cool'.
First of all No Jo, no one is voting for Obama in the Fall. Just like when Reagan lost many seats in 1982. yes people are voting against his polices just like Reagan.
Second, No Jo, the religion crap is coming from the extreme right wing of the republican party, the christen right!!!! Now i said the extreme right of the republican party. not all republican are in this crap.
last night on CNN they had billy Grahams Son on, what a work of art this guy is. he said that because Obama father was from a Kennya and kennyans are Muslims then it impossible for Obama to be a christen, he left out the part that Obama father was a atheist, so was his mother. some of the sickest discussions have been from the christen right.
Now I ask you No Jo How the He*l is the christen right casting him as a victim. you just said that all this talk was to cast him as a victim, i don't here this talk from liberals, or moderate Conservatives. its all from the christen right. its also the christen right that is trying to stop mosques from being build all over America. not just at ground Zero. the christen right is waging religious war against Muslims and any body does not agree with there war.
Next CNN had a minister on who was Bushes spiritual adviser. he could not believe what grahams son was saying, he was speechless, just like Rick (Ricks List). it was crazy. Bush's adviser is now obama's adviser.
I agree with you No Jo this is a distraction for the fall just like the Mosque, Immigration, and extending Bushes unfunded mandate(tax cuts for the rich), have you noticed that no republicans have commented about the last COMBAT troops leaving iraq, why because its good news. the president is almost finished cleaning up the biggest mess of the last administration. No they don't want to talk about that including your self. don't give me that i thanks the troops crap, girl friend, your first post yesterday, if you were so glad our boys are home should have been about them. No girl you started your talking points, in others words you said screw the troops i need to talk sh*t about the president.
also your statement about republican voting for Obama, that's not true, Obama won the election because he got young people involved in the process and older voters(republicans) stayed home. the young people who friend were being killed in iraq and afgan, i know my daughter lost 2 good friend over there and she was determined to get the people who were responsible out of office.
have a nice day.
There goes the Goddess of Gloom & Doom again weaving her web of conspiricy theories...
You over the stinging yet NoJo from the spanking you got from Mark Murray? lol
I guess summer school is out-poor little Matthew is back.
Hey, sweetie? the only thing that has been proven in the real world, once again, is that Keynes was an idiot, his theory is all wet, and those who use it are doomed to fail.
Like us.
You may think you have disproved my theories, but you haven't. you may also think that you can prove that 2 and 2 make five, but they don't.
See, you have your ivory tower, perfect world theories, and I have fact and statistics to prove that THEY DON'T WORK. That, in fact, they MAKE THINGS WORSE.
Ask the PIIGS. Heck, ask the 500,000 newly unemployed. Or in your imagination,don't they exist?
Poor no jo, all blow, thinks she knows what she is talking about. Keynesian economics is what ended the Great Depression (and don't give us any of that BS about it being WWII) so once again, you are wrong. If you were a real economist, you would know that the exact same conditions that caused the Great Depression existed leading into this recession and Keynesian economics were the right thing to do.
Now, unlike no jo, I have actually read a bit about history and economic theory/history (no, ITM, I am not saying I am a historian or economist) including Bruce Bartlett. The only conclusion that can be made is that to foolishly hold that only one economic discipline is always the right reaction to take is not correct. There are times when some aspects of Keynesian economics are appropriate and times when supply side economics are appropriate. In this case, Keynesian actions were appropriate.
Now , no jo, you claim to be an economist but one wonders where you got your degree. Was it a blue light special for $9.99? Must have been, judging from your posts that show a distinct lack of intellectual logic, rigor and discourse. Go back to school, fool.
Being the pitching fanatic that I am, I think back to all those games I went to @ Fenway just to watch Clemens pitch. He was someone I remember we all talked about when he was still in the minors, dying for the day when he made it up to the big leagues. I took my little nephew to Clemens' last game as a Red Sox player, getting tickets from scalpers. I was fortunate that the scalper gave me a huge discount just so my nephew could see Clemens pitch his last game. There was a message on the radio before we left for the game that Clemens would be across the street giving out autographs after the game, so he and I left the game in the 7th inning and were the first ones in line for the autograph. Turns out Clemens was charging I believe $500 per autograph, which in those days I didn't have. I was so ticked off at Clemens for charging that kind of money, especially as he walking out the door for the last time.
He gave us some great memories. But once he became a NYY, it was over. And then Pedro came to town, and the Pedro v. Clemens games were the highlights of my baseball life. We used to go to Yankee Stadium to see them pitch against each other. I was able to sneak down to the bullpen area in Yankee Stadium to take a photograph of the two of them warming up, back to back. They never spoke or acknowledged each other. I treasure that picture to this day. It was May 2000. Memorial Day weekend. I had the most wonderful night, sitting in the bleachers with members of my family, and all of us talking to fans from the Dominican Republic, all with their big K signs for Pedro.
I am really sorry to see Clemens in the trouble he's in to be honest. He gave us many many memorable moments. I was also sorry to see that Bobby Thomson had passed away this week.
“Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off.” Bill Veeck
I use to watch a lot of baseball as a kid and Clemens was always a favorite. I too am saddened by this trouble he is in but I must be honest I think it's a load of garbage. It may be that he lied to Congress but so what! I don't believe that this is an issue our politicians should be dealing with at this time....or maybe at any time. WHO CARES if an athlete was using drugs or steroids? It's entertainment these people aren't curing cancer. I think it's ridiculous he had to testify to Congress over a sport!
Do we ask musicians or movie stars whether they use drugs or steroids to enhance their abilities? It's entertainment!
Really America....Is this what we should be concerned about?
Dan, I agree with you about Clemens. It's really sad that they're pursuing this.
I always enjoy your baseball stories. I like baseball but do not have the in-depth knowledge and love you obviously have for it. Possibly that is because where I grew up the nearest big league teams were St Louis and Chicago--a trip outside the financial reality. My grandpa was a Cardinals and Yankees fan. Back when TV was black and white with rabbit ears, we watched the games. My stepdad was a huge Chicago Cubs fan and he watched whenever he could. When I lived in San Diego, I was lucky to be able to attend big league games and the experience was wonderful. When my folks visited, we always went to a game and what a thrill it was for my stepdad to see the Chicago Cubs play live and in person, he bought a Cubs hat. We all ate hot dogs, warm pretzels, drank a beer. He had such a great time. He talked about it everytime I came home for a visit. A simple baseball game was a joy he never forgot; it is a memory I cherish.
Jody, it is a memory you should cherish. It's such a lovely story and thank you for sharing it. I wonder since the Obama family are up here vacationing if they will take a trek to a game. The Red Sox are in the midst of an an extended homestand and it would be nice to see him and his family at Fenway. btw Jody, I remember those black and white tvs with the rabbit ears all too well. We even had a tv once that only worked correctly when we stomped our feet on the floor. lol
Should be a good ad. Choices. Do we return to voo doo economics? Do we return to baby steps when giant ones are needed to move this country into a prosperous 21st century? The time for baby steps was 30 years ago. The can has been kicked down the road for decades and now the only solution is giant steps in a different direction. Do we allow the richest 2% to take their money and run while the other 98% continue to stagnate. Fools will decide that going in reverse, back to what brought us here is the right answer.
Voters need to pause and evaluate how we arrived at where we are, what caused this near depression before casting their ballots.
The financial meltdown, "near depression", was a credit problem. FR is not Yahoo and you should understand this distinction with regard to tax policy.
The notion of taxing the 2% to remedy the ill is simply fatuous class envy and an effort to obfuscate the reality of liberal economic sophistry. Static scoring is absurd. You tax the rich, they will do a "John Kerry" and simply move the yacht.
Big Government, Big Unions, Big Spending, Big Debt and Big Economic Uncertainity do not create jobs.
It's not about taxing the 2% to remedy the ill. The 2% had a tax vacation for the last 10 years while everyone else paid the bill. This is just putting it back where it was when we had balance and surplus. Obviously the burden can't be borne by the other 98% and the 2% did not use their tax cuts to create jobs. The 2% just got spoiled by not having to pay their share. Now they whine and act like they will be ruined by a 4% increase. Hard to have a lot of sympathy for them when the rest of us are sliding down the tubes.
Heartlight3 -
During the ten year tax vacation, the 2% paid 50% of all taxes paid in the country. That's a pretty sizable share. 40% of citizens don't pay taxes at all.
The tax cuts were put in place to lessen the recession and after the tax cuts went into effect, unemployment ran between 4 and 5%. Clearly times were better and more people were working, and jobs were created - over 4 million of them.
We are sliding down the tubes now because current policy isn't working.
Yes, the top 1 or 2% make an obscene amount of money that is impossible to justify in most cases. They are also smart with good accountants. Bob's right -- the yacht will simply sail to another port.
The Bush tax cuts were across the board, everyone else didn't pay for the 2%. I don't know off-hand what the top 2% pay in taxes, but the top 1% pays 40% of all taxes. The top 5% pay 60% of all taxes. The bottom 50% pay 3% of total taxes. Who really carries the burden, Heartlight?
I have no sympathy for the rich. Like Obama and all politicians, they will be fine whatever happens. If Obama wants to kill the ability for the rich to get richer by creating jobs, innovations, etc., fine - they will just move their money around to avoid taxes and wait for some semblance of sane economic policy to return.
It probably doesn't matter anyway. Obama's policies have destroyed incentive. What is one more destruction?
Candice, Bartlett, IL
Heartlight3 -
During the ten year tax vacation, the 2% paid 50% of all taxes paid in the country. That's a pretty sizable share. 40% of citizens don't pay taxes at all.
The tax cuts were put in place to lessen the recession and after the tax cuts went into effect, unemployment ran between 4 and 5%. Clearly times were better and more people were working, and jobs were created - over 4 million of them.
We are sliding down the tubes now because current policy isn't working.
We are sliding down the tubes now......... Really??? The great recession started in 2006!!!! That is the reason why the repugs lost BIG TIME!!!
Do you remember that loss??
We are sliding down the tubes now because current policy isn't working.
We are not sliding down now!!!! You are a liar !!! The economy has been expanding for a while.
Oh well,
I hit post with my reply, saw your response Candice and knew without reading that I would like your's better. I tried to just thank you and ask for help with style and grace, but the first one went through.
Anyway, at least now I have a good example to look at side by side, (or up and down).
Thanks Candice.
Whoops! Happened again.
All yours Candice.
Alex,
I hope you know what tap-out means.
Alex. CA.
I have to check my charts but I'm pretty sure the recession started in 2007 after the Democrats took control. The Republicans lost the majority because they'd been spending money with no fiscal discipline. America was getting tired of Iraq and Afghanistan. The right was getting too far right. The country was getting tired of President Bush as well. So they were voted out. I do remember that loss. I remember thinking they totally deserved it.
The country is not recovering in the way it should be at this point in a recession. There is a fear of a double-dip. This week's new unemployment claims came in at 500,000. We are still at 9.5% unemployment. Consumers are gloomy. Businesses are stalled. Homes are still being lost. While some areas may be stabilizing, we are definitely not moving forward at an acceptable pace.
Other countries are recovery quicker than we are because they are cutting taxes and cutting spending. Quite the opposite of the policies here.
Bob,
We're only minutes apart! Spooky, ain't it? Don't hold back on my account. I am increasingly amazed how (nearly) identical we think. You add points I don't think of.
I have to run. (Going out to dinner for my birthday...:0))
So you have to take it over from here.
I'll check back later!
Happy Birthday Candice.
Happy Birthday Candice, may you enjoy many more.
Happy Birthday Candice, Best Wishes to You and Yours!!
Thanks, guys!
Fifty's the new 40, right? Yikes.
I found sponge joe to be quite a phoney again, while calling out riechwing lies about the cultural center he turns riech around and spreads lies about the HCR. You gotta love them dopes of nope.
"As the nation's former chief law enforcement officer and a citizen who believes in the rule of law,". Really!?
Too bad 'berto, you didn't have this epithany when you were the chief law enforcement officer. Your philosophy was, and probably still is......find a way around the law, at any cost.
Too little, too late!
How many times did "Berto"say, I don't remember, I can't recall, etc... to questions posed by the congress about various activities during his term as AG?
Yup, his "steel trap" legal mind was at work. I don't recall! Hard to imagine an AG who has CRS syndrone. ...and even more troubling, for his staunch support and defense of the Bush/Cheney agenda, he is I believe, employed at some college/university here in Texas.
What are Americans more concerned about?
How many times "Bert" with his "steel trap" legal mind said I don't recall a few years ago, or...
ICE arrested 481 illegal aliens from countries who "sponsor terrorism" / "countries of interest" and Holder has released them - in the US, while Holder sues a state for trying to catch these guys.
Bob, here is the full article which debunks your selectively selected emotion-invoking statistics/info. Holder himself "released them from custody" and then gave them pats on the back and a handshake? Tryin to get a job at Fox News or the Heritage Foundation? You are on your way.
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/70944
1.6 million people are winding their way through immigration court and only 32,000 beds are available within the detention system. Many people are released after being arrested (domestic criminal court or immigration court) unless there is proof they are a flight risk. Often that proof does not materialize until they are released on their own recognisance.... DUH!
a di duhs,
Your link was pretty much like my source Investors Daily, just a lot more fluff, excuses and obfuscation, which it appears you got lost in.
I don't think Americans care about Brigham's excuse about 1.6 million people winding through immigration court and only 32,000 beds are available - "we can't detain everyone". I think Americans care about detaining the 481 FROM STATE SPONSORS OF TERRORISM and "countries of interest" that were arrested, released and are now federal fugitives! They cannot check the list?
Thanks for an additional supporting source.
PS Hope this was not as "emotion-invoking the second time for you.
Speaking of Alberto Gonzales’s op-ed here is another:
Former Bush advisor Mark McKinnon: Usually Republicans are forthright in defending the Constitution. And here we are, reinforcing al Qaeda’s message that we’re at war with Muslims. So we’ve got this issue; then we’ve got the 14th Amendment issue, where Republicans are saying you’re not welcome here, when we were the architects of the 14th Amendment. So, I see a bad pattern where we’re headed as a Republican Party.
http://www.dontpressoneforenglish.com/2010/08/harry-reid-supported-repealing-the-14th-amendment/
Yea.. and wasn't it Harry Reid that was the arcitect of this bill. OH..sole sponsor to the 14th that would do away with . OH. .What.. Anchor Babies.. well. I am just Shocked.. amazing how democrats seem to want something when they think it might get them reelected..
Steve,
That was his position in 1993 – 17 years ago – WOW !!
I mean, no one ever changes their position, do they ???
Dennis.
I understand that democrats will change there minds to get votes.. you dont have to try and convince me.
Protesting the mosque is not a constitutional issue. It is simply participating in the liberties conferred by the 1st amendment. As far as I can see congress has made no law respecting the building of the mosque. There is no infringement on the exercise of religion simply from criticizing it.
No one's going to amend the constitution, either. The fourteenth amendment is not in danger. Questioning the birthright citizenship feature is just that, questioning. No harm to the constitution there. The first amendment confers the freedom to discuss the 14th.
Steve, it doesn't matter if it was 1993. The video is priceless simply because it can be added to other Harry Faux Pas to highlight what an idiot the man is.
Recently he said he "couldn't see any reason for Hispanics to be Republicans", while his son is way behind in his election race with a man named Sandoval.
Then there is "the light skinned black man who doesn't speak with a negro dialect unless he wants to". And as Senate Majority leader, he is the cream of your crop.
As others have pointed out, Alberto Gonzales "couldn't recall" some of his decisions, discussions and or actions regarding the firing of the US prosecuters. He was instramental in allowing grevious civil liberties to go unpunished. He looked the other way as his boss committed possibly impeachable offenses.
He can never make up for that in my book. However, all that being said, I have to agree with his op ed about the need for immigration reform. He suggests that comprehensive immigration reform is required, border security, fining employeers, temporary guest worker program. Changing the 14th amendment will not do anything to help this serious issue. Gonzales comes short of providing a pathway to legalization for people already here.
Alberto Gonzales: Changing the 14th amendment won't solve our immigration crisis
I've said this enough times that I'm even tired of hearing it myself, but I've worked across the hall from Joe Sestak's constituency office since he was first elected to Congress, and the people who work for him seem to be some of the hardest-working, most dedicated people I've ever met. They're here long before I get in in the morning and they're the last ones out of the building at night and on the weekends, and I never hear any of them complaining.
And let me repeat - this is his constituency office, not his campaign office.
But hey, maybe Pat Toomey can use this in another one of his lame attack ads - "Don't put Joe Sestak in the U.S. Senate - he works too hard!" I mean, seeing's as how that worked so well for Arlen Specter and all....
JoAnne:
The polls may be calling it close, but come election night the news anchors will be calling Joe the winner.
Hi, Ron -
Was just taking a break and reading the local paper and see where Michael Steele is trying to revive "Job Offer-Gate" yet again. You'd think they'd have learned the first ten times they tried it.
I'm actually more concerned about the potential loss of Sestak's Congressional seat. The Democrat, Bryan Lentz, is a really good guy, but he's facing some stiff competition from Republican Pat Meehan, a former DA. There are some interesting charges going back and forth regarding nominating petitions. Lentz has been accusing Meehan for months of having a large number of forgeries on his - enough to have kept him off the primary ballot - and while he seems to have a lot of evidence to back it up, so far there hasn't been much in the way of an investigation. But now Meehan is charging that Lentz allowed some of his own volunteers to circulate petitions for a 3rd Party candidate (the American Congress Party?) who could presumably take votes away from Meehan. Since they were volunteers, not paid staffers, I don't think it'll go anywhere, but it's an interesting tactic - divide and conquer? Stay tuned.....
Americans are aware that all these problems that Democrat leaders are struggling to fix were created by Republicans.
The Democrats inherited an economy that was falling off the cliff and thank God they have saved this country from sliding into a depression.
Republicans spent 8 years digging the hole therefore we voters must not expect the Democrats to repair the damage overnight especially with the way Republicans keep on blocking everything they are doing to fix the mess.
We voted for the Democrats to fix this mess and they are in the process of fixing it. We must give them more time to fix it; the reason why we must vote for them again in November.
We can never make a mistake of asking the same people (Republicans) who created this huge mess to come back and fix it because they will just make it worse. They created it with their poor policies.
Republicans keep on saying American people. Majority of Americans voted for this government. It is
'Republican people' who campaigned and voted against this government so never expect them to easily change their mindset. Here they are again with their lies and propaganda thinking that we the majority of voters who defeated them have forgotten why we asked them to step aside.
So true of a post.
The problem I can foresee is Dems not coming out to vote in November. Many will stay home because there is not a presidential race. Those who pay attention will vote, but so many just do not pay any attention to politics at all. I have many friends who ask me what is happening about a subject because they just do not want to listen to what is going on. This grand idea of an informed voter base is rather scary when so many do not bother to become informed. They either vote R or D; or as some have speculated...by the alphabet -> who's name is first on the ballot gets the vote. I don't think that is what the founding fathers thought of when the system was first devised.
We need to get out: Are you fired up, Ready to go?
Pat and Dan, I agree it is quite ironic that congress is pursuing this as well when it appears so many players and club owners were using and condoning this behavior. Jimmy Kimmel said it best last night. He said "It's only OK to lie if your "IN" Congress". But unfortunately this is where my agreement ends. While my son was playing high school baseball, we had found out 9 out of 11 highscool baseball players from Plano, TX had admitted to being influenced into taking steroids. Highschool? We are talking 16 to 18 years old! While some might claim they are safer, they have never said they are safe. I feel we have a duty as adults to protect our kids and to instill hard work, not short cuts as a way to get ahead and succeed in life. As a big baseball fan, I personally would like to see baseball being able to be played by all, not just hugh front end lineman types. This is America's game and it sure does'nt say much about us a nation if we are telling our kids or our fans " Succed at any cost". I think we just witnessed some of that in our financial sectors and it nearly bankrupted this country.
I agree with keeping steroids out of high school and college but beyond that it seems to be a personal choice much like alcohol or tobacco.
One must also ask who is influencing these kids to do such a thing at an early age. Teachers? Coaches? School districts that rely on the sports programs to get funding?
AmericanJoe, my brothers used to get steroids in the mail back in the 1960's. They were just kids then and no one thought that perhaps these pills should not be given to kids. So this is nothing new. Doctors were talking in the 1950's about the dangers of steroids, but they were ignored. Hypocrisy is everywhere, but especially with the owners and Bud Selig. Football seems to get a free pass for some reason. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are paying the price for everyone. The way I look at it - Either they all go down or no one does. But we know that's not possible. All Mark McGwire had to say was - I want to look forward, not back. Please. He has since owned up to his cheating. But if you out and out lie to the government, it's a no no. That's the difference I guess.
It seems most athletes can say yes, I used them - two or three times when I was injured - and they actually get away with it. All they have to do is apologize and they're off the hook. The broken records, the trophies - none of it was real. Look at baseball today. The monstrous numbers just aren't there consistently like they were when the steroids era was in full swing.
Dan ~ I'd be interested in your identifying a public school district that relies on sports programs for raising funds. That might be true in private schools, which certainly do recruit athletes, but not so much in public schools. More often, the money poured into sports programs saps the life out of other extracurricular and even some curricular programs, like music and art education.
If you want to know why these kids get hooked on steroids, don't blame schools. although there may be coaches out there who do encourage steroid use for the other reasons stated here. Instead, look first to their parents, who often live vicariously off their children's so-called achievements and sometimes push them over the edge. And then look to the rest of society, which worships athletes and pays them WAY out of all proportion to their value in society.
I wanna be like Mike. I am Tiger Woods.
wow Alberto Gonzales a hated man amongst you left wing nut jobs is backing your stance on illegal immigration and the 14th amendment why dont you liberals google Harry Reid and illegal aliens and watch his speech from the senate floor for the bill he sponsered regarding giving illegals babies citizenship who would have thought that Harry was light years aheadon the immigration debate
He may not be finding it easy to relate to other Latinos and to the right wing bigots , racists and fear mongers at the same time. They are mutually exclusive.
"Corporate donations after the Citizens United ruling are getting more attention."
Heres a suggestion for the lefty liberal whiners complaining about the SC's factually correct decision in Citizens United regarding what the Constitution says about the First Amendment right to freedom of speech which actually says:
Congress shall make no law ..... abridging the freedom of speech,
If you don't like it, exercise your rights to amend the Constitution under Article V. May I suggest the following language:
Congress shall make no law respecting... or abridging the freedom of speech, except for evil corporations and anyone else that disagees with us lefty liberal know-it-alls.
Joe: Here you all go with the constitution again. My problem with big corporations being able to buy political ads is the fact that it is causing many candidates to be bought before they even put a foot in the door of congress or the senate.
Now-a-days candidates need so much money to be able to even run for congress or the senate. This forces candidates to take money from special interest groups in return for favors. By the time these candidates are elected they are already bought and paid for and we the people have no say in the decisions that they make. They are no longer representing the people, they are representing the big corporations that bought them.
Joe ~ Let's review. Money isn't speech, and corporations aren't persons. Money is content neutral. To have anything to do with "speech" the money must be directed toward a candidate by a "person." The direction of the money by a person constitutes speech. Not the money itself. In a corporation, the money would have to be directed by persons. A corporation simply is not a person. Corporations are fictional legal creations -- created by persons -- ironically in order to avoid individual liability for the persons who are its owners. To exercise full rights as citizen, a corporation should be allowed to vote. But, since the corporation is legal fiction, the actual voting would have to be done by real persons. Who would you designate to vote for the corporation? The Board of Directors? Maybe, and then they would also claim the right to vote again as individuals. Under what theory should people have the right to vote twice?
And don't tell me that corporations are persons and money is speech because the Supreme Court says it. Unless you're also prepared to agree that Roe v. Wade, Lawrence v. Texas, and Griswold v. Connecticut were rightly decided.
The Court is only right because it's final. It's not final because it's right.
Please remember, too, when discussing the corporations that the people that work in them, invest in them, and sit on their boards ALREADY have voting rights and money-contributing rights as individual citizens. Why should they get second helpings????
Anna Molly: It's fun to watch you do a smack-down using logic. If Joe is smart, he'll stay down for the count. Ron's rule number one. Never, never argue with a lawyer.
Miss you on the vine.
Hi Ron ~ thanks for the kind words. Hope you're doing well. You'll see me on the Vine again some day soon.
Joe , the problem with this ammendment that the SC ruled 5 to 4 on is that it does'nt take into account the individual shareholder who may or may not agree with corporations stance on any given issue or ad. And yes shareholders own a share of that company and should be able to have a say or know if their company is participating in what message they are sending and to whom they are trying to elect and for what purpose. But is just as hard for a shareholder to counter their own corporate message for I'm sure it would be difficult to come up with their own ad considering the costs. I'm also sure based on your leaning and if you owned shares in that company that you would like to have a say in that message, especially if it was aimed against you conservative righties. There is also the issue I believe about slander which is I believe the corporation has the right to say, but can be held liable for. So who do we hold accountable, the board members, the ceo's, the shareholders who may or may not have known your company was going to make that accusation? Are you willing to be on the hook their big guy? Or are you going to be able to claim Incorporated Immunity? There no doubt be some ammendments coming down the line, but this time it I hope will be 9 to 0 on what works for all concerned. Not just a few. But hay, your amendment proposal sounded good to me.
If Joe were to also try reading history, he would know that the founding fathers were very much opposed to corporations having equal rights with a human being. They saw and understood that when push came to shove, the corporation would walk all over the common man's rights in pursuit of the almighty dollar. They, or at least most of them, were against political parties, as well, as they thought they would be too divisive and bring about the downfall of this country.
Those guys sure were smart!
Corporation:
1. a group of people who get a charter granting them as a body certain of the legal powers, rights, privileges and liabilities of an individual, distinct from those of the individuals making up the group: a corporation can buy, sell, and inherit property
2. a group of people, as the mayor and aldermen of an incorporated town, legally authorized to act as an individual.
3. any of the political and economic bodies forming a corporative state, each being composed of the employers and employees in a certain industry, profession etc.
Even though a corporation is not a "person", it is composed of people. A partnership is not a "person" either. A sole proprietorship is a legal entity composed of one person. People direct the corporation. I'd swear most corporations have a board of directors and in every case I've seen, they happen to be human beings.
American Joe:
All an individual has to do is give their money to one of the two political corporations (DNC or RNC) and they will buy the ads that express your particular message. When you and millions of other like minded people contribute, you can get your message out to millions of people.
Then there are all those other corporations like PAC's, 527's etc., AARP, NRA and MoveOn.org.
SARAH PALIN.
Girl you are out of control.
So your now on the side of the Dr, Laura Schlessinger. the woman who thinks it okto use racial terms to get her point across on national radio. saying the N-word 10-12 times, this same person that when you were picked as VP candidate to McCain he went off on you. she blasted you for not being there for your handicap son. she blasted you for not being there for your pregnant teen daughter. She blasted you for making rape victims pay for there rape kits as well as you stand on abortion. now you are coming out on her side.
Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, what in the world are you doing. the Dr apologized the next day, she retired not because of the media pressure but because her sponsors quit on her. you know Sarah the ones who pays the bills. the ones who make it possible to go on the radio. i know you think its free considering Fox gave the republicans a cool million. so no one has to sponsor the Sarah moment on fox.
I would love for Sarah to tell us how YOU KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO BE SCHKALED ? I can say as a black man i don't know whats that's like. in chains right, slaves were shackled, i don't remember you being a slave Sarah, was your master's last name palin, when were you freed, did you run away like most slaves or did you wait for emancipation.
It is truely criminal that Dr. Laura could use the N word multiple times. What is worse is that Sarah P. could say that somehow Dr. Laura shouldn't retreat and fight for her supposed denial of free speech.
Any righties want to defend her?
How can a quitter (Sarah Palin) tell someone else NOT to quit? Give me a freakin' break!
MPE:
Palin did not know she was quitting.
In the words of that super journalist, Keith O. "That woman is an idiot"
A headline says there is a breakthrough in MidEast peace talks. Can somone please put up a post about birth certificates, or teleprompters, or vacation days earned, or something??
I don't want to have to wade through any REAL 'stuff' today.
"Breakthrough" might be just a bit premature. If such events were "START" treaties, this would be START 30 or so.
We're always bringing attention to Think Progress because of their tremendous reporting, so I was happy to see that they gave a tip to Domenico Montanaro and his article -
“Is ‘Obama as a Muslim’ the new ‘Birther’ question for Republican candidates?” MSNBC’s Domenico Montanaro wondered.
We can never make a mistake of asking the same people (Republicans) who created this huge mess to come back and fix it because they will just make it worse. They created it with their poor policies.
There would nothing wrong with voting for a Republican that actually had a workable idea on helping to restore the economy and jobs. The problem is they don't, so it would be foolish to trust them at this time while all they have is the sam failed policies.
Republicans (nbnj, joe, joanna) love to gripe about how Obama is failing and ruining this country but won't admit he is using some of the same ideas Republican have been pushng for years. Go figure.
The Court is only right because it's final. It's not final because it's right.
Its not even final as it is subject to overturning, if we can get actual judges in there instead of these paid stooges we have.
"And hasn't Blago suffered enough?", you ask.
Hell no, I answer.
I'm with you on that one Adler!
Jeff- I believe her master's name is Murdoch.
LOL, LOL, Man she just does not know what else to do. i must ask a question about her and i'm not being Funny, who is taking care of her special needs son. as much as she is away i can't stop thinking about her son. my brother was born with special needs and my mother would not go 10 ft away from him esspecially when he was a toddler. i feel for this kid because she used him in the campaign and now that over she is away more than she is at home.
Corporate donors like running the political show and Americans unwilling to provide federal funds for these campaigns virtually assure that "big money gets its way". The 14th Amendment makeover says as much about Washington as it does about the country at large -- your elected officials can secure the border ANYTIME THEY WANT TO, without messing with the constitution -- all it takes is political will power. Blago seems more stupid than criminal, at least this is the preliminary conclusion. Lastly, for what its worth, Clemens probably "juiced", but his was the "era of juicing". Witch hunt, anyone? Ban them all from the hall? OR, to mimic the politicians, we can always DO NOTHING.