Monday, November 06, 2006
ON CANVASSING FOR THE DEMS
I've been doing that for about 3 weeks now and it is a LOT of walking. Yesterday, I ran into my first bonafide wingnut. After I introduced myself, he went on a nasty rant about Democrats, calling Gabby Giffords a "bitch." (I was there to talk to his wife). He made some nasty remarks as I was leaving and I told him to relax. That got him more upset and he came down his yard and faked picking up a rock to throw at me. I told him that because he wants to fight so badly, he should go to Iraq.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
THE ARMY TIMES ON RUMMY!!!!
(AP via AOL)
The Military Times Media Group, a Gannett Co. subsidiary that publishes Army Times and other military-oriented periodicals, said Friday it was calling for Bush to fire Rumsfeld.
An editorial due to be published Monday says active-duty military leaders are beginning to voice misgivings about the war's planning and execution and dimming prospects for success. It declares that "Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large."
The editorial concludes by saying that regardless of which party wins in next week's election, the time has come "to face the hard bruising truth: Donald Rumsfeld must go."
RADIO TIDBITS
I caught the last 30 minutes or so of Fats and he wasn't his usual upbeat self. I think the reality of the "blue wave" had sunk in on him. He did have a riff against what the wingnuts call "junk science" but even that merely made him seem to be a fool.
Tammy "The Shrill" Bruce tried to peddle the WorldNut Daily article about how the terrorists want the Democrats to win.
Tammy "The Shrill" Bruce tried to peddle the WorldNut Daily article about how the terrorists want the Democrats to win.
Friday, November 03, 2006
MORE GOP CORRUPTION
Rep. Duncan Hunter wants to eliminate the special Inspector General for Iraq! The IG was finding too many problems with Bush's war.
From the NYT:
Collins pushed through the Senate a measure that would allow the agency to review more than $6 billion in additional funding aimed at stabilizing Iraq -- in effect keeping the IG office in business.
From the NYT:
Collins pushed through the Senate a measure that would allow the agency to review more than $6 billion in additional funding aimed at stabilizing Iraq -- in effect keeping the IG office in business.
But that provision, added to a major defense bill, was stripped from the final legislation when it was negotiated with Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
The termination language was inserted into the bill by Congressional staff members working for Duncan Hunter, the California Republican who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and who declared on Monday that he plans to run for president in 2008.
THE WSJ ON RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE
(Via ThinkProgress)
Weighing Minimum Wage Hikes
Oregon's Boost Didn't Curb Growth,
But Did Squeeze Some Employers
By DEBORAH SOLOMON
November 3, 2006; Page A4
PORTLAND, Ore. -- If Democrats succeed in retaking one or both houses of Congress next week, a top priority will be increasing the minimum wage for the first time since 1997. That raises a persistent question: Does lifting the minimum wage destroy so many jobs that it hurts more than it helps?
In 2002, voters here raised the state's minimum wage -- and mandated automatic annual increases to keep up with inflation. Oregon's 100,000 or so minimum-wage workers are paid at least $7.50 an hour, a rate that will increase to $7.80 in January, well above the federal $5.15 minimum.
Four years later, though it is impossible to say what would have happened had the minimum not been raised, Oregon's experience suggests the most strident doomsayers were wrong. Private, nonfarm payrolls are up 8% over the past four years, nearly twice the national increase. Wages are up, too. Job growth is strong in industries employing many minimum-wage workers, such as restaurants and hotels. Oregon's estimated 5.4% unemployment rate for 2006, though higher than the national average, is down from 7.6% in 2002, when the state was emerging from a recession.
Weighing Minimum Wage Hikes
Oregon's Boost Didn't Curb Growth,
But Did Squeeze Some Employers
By DEBORAH SOLOMON
November 3, 2006; Page A4
PORTLAND, Ore. -- If Democrats succeed in retaking one or both houses of Congress next week, a top priority will be increasing the minimum wage for the first time since 1997. That raises a persistent question: Does lifting the minimum wage destroy so many jobs that it hurts more than it helps?
In 2002, voters here raised the state's minimum wage -- and mandated automatic annual increases to keep up with inflation. Oregon's 100,000 or so minimum-wage workers are paid at least $7.50 an hour, a rate that will increase to $7.80 in January, well above the federal $5.15 minimum.
Four years later, though it is impossible to say what would have happened had the minimum not been raised, Oregon's experience suggests the most strident doomsayers were wrong. Private, nonfarm payrolls are up 8% over the past four years, nearly twice the national increase. Wages are up, too. Job growth is strong in industries employing many minimum-wage workers, such as restaurants and hotels. Oregon's estimated 5.4% unemployment rate for 2006, though higher than the national average, is down from 7.6% in 2002, when the state was emerging from a recession.
NEO-CONS ABANDON PRES. FREDO
(Via Atrios)
(EXCERPTS)
According to [RICHARD] Perle, who left the Defense Policy Board in 2004, this unfolding catastrophe has a central cause: devastating dysfunction within the administration of President George W. Bush.
To David Frum, the former White House speechwriter who co-wrote Bush's 2002 State of the Union address that accused Iraq of being part of an "axis of evil,"..."the insurgency has proven it can kill anyone who cooperates, and the United States and its friends have failed to prove that it can protect them." This situation, he says, must ultimately be blamed on "failure at the center"—starting with President Bush.
Kenneth Adelman, a lifelong neocon activist and Pentagon insider who served on the Defense Policy Board until 2005..."I just presumed that what I considered to be the most competent national-security team since Truman was indeed going to be competent. They turned out to be among the most incompetent teams in the post-war era. Not only did each of them, individually, have enormous flaws, but together they were deadly, dysfunctional." "The most dispiriting and awful moment of the whole administration was the day that Bush gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to [former C.I.A. director] George Tenet, General Tommy Franks, and [Coalition Provisional Authority chief] Jerry [Paul] Bremer—three of the most incompetent people who've ever served in such key spots.
Frank Gaffney, an assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan and founder of the Center for Security Policy: "[Bush] doesn't in fact seem to be a man of principle who's steadfastly pursuing what he thinks is the right course. He talks about it, but the policy doesn't track with the rhetoric, and that's what creates the incoherence that causes us problems around the world and at home. It also creates the sense that you can take him on with impunity."
Michael Rubin, former Pentagon Office of Special Plans and Coalition Provisional Authority staffer....Bush has betrayed Iraqi reformers in a way that is "not much different from what his father did on February 15, 1991, when he called the Iraqi people to rise up, and then had second thoughts and didn't do anything once they did."
Neo Culpa
As Iraq slips further into chaos, the war's neoconservative boosters have turned sharply on the Bush administration, charging that their grand designs have been undermined by White House incompetence. In a series of exclusive interviews, Richard Perle, Kenneth Adelman, David Frum, and others play the blame game with shocking frankness. Target No. 1: the president himself.
by David Rose VF.COM November 3, 2006
(EXCERPTS)
According to [RICHARD] Perle, who left the Defense Policy Board in 2004, this unfolding catastrophe has a central cause: devastating dysfunction within the administration of President George W. Bush.
To David Frum, the former White House speechwriter who co-wrote Bush's 2002 State of the Union address that accused Iraq of being part of an "axis of evil,"..."the insurgency has proven it can kill anyone who cooperates, and the United States and its friends have failed to prove that it can protect them." This situation, he says, must ultimately be blamed on "failure at the center"—starting with President Bush.
Kenneth Adelman, a lifelong neocon activist and Pentagon insider who served on the Defense Policy Board until 2005..."I just presumed that what I considered to be the most competent national-security team since Truman was indeed going to be competent. They turned out to be among the most incompetent teams in the post-war era. Not only did each of them, individually, have enormous flaws, but together they were deadly, dysfunctional." "The most dispiriting and awful moment of the whole administration was the day that Bush gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to [former C.I.A. director] George Tenet, General Tommy Franks, and [Coalition Provisional Authority chief] Jerry [Paul] Bremer—three of the most incompetent people who've ever served in such key spots.
Frank Gaffney, an assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan and founder of the Center for Security Policy: "[Bush] doesn't in fact seem to be a man of principle who's steadfastly pursuing what he thinks is the right course. He talks about it, but the policy doesn't track with the rhetoric, and that's what creates the incoherence that causes us problems around the world and at home. It also creates the sense that you can take him on with impunity."
Michael Rubin, former Pentagon Office of Special Plans and Coalition Provisional Authority staffer....Bush has betrayed Iraqi reformers in a way that is "not much different from what his father did on February 15, 1991, when he called the Iraqi people to rise up, and then had second thoughts and didn't do anything once they did."
SOME ENCOURAGING NEWS
Pederson narrows Kyl lead, poll says
Survey of 400 shows Demo has slight Pima County lead
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.03.2006
With the election less than a week away, Democrat Jim Pederson continues to close on Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, pulling within 4.5 points, according to a poll released Thursday.
A survey of 400 likely voters from across the state, showed Pederson trailing Kyl 45.8 percent to 41.3 percent with 9 percent of voters still undecided. Libertarian Richard Mack received 3.7 percent.
The difference is within the poll's 4.9 point margin of error. The survey by Zimmerman and Associates and Marketing Intelligence was conducted Oct. 25-30.
I didn't get to see the Big Dog, but I'm sure his visit will help:
Clinton energizes Reid Park crowd
By Josh Brodesky
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.03.2006
Four years ago former President Bill Clinton visited Tucson, energizing its Democratic base and paving the way to Gov. Janet Napolitano's election.
Thursday night, Clinton made his return to the Old Pueblo in a visit that Democrats hope will prove the same for Senate candidate Jim Pederson, who is running against Republican incumbent Jon Kyl.
Clinton at times electrified and silenced the crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 at Reid Park, characterizing the Democratic Party as a force that can bring the nation back to the political center.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
FREDO SPILLS THE NUKE BEANS
(Hat-tip to lokiloki at Dkos)
From The New York Times:
From The New York Times:
U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Guide
Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein.
But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.
Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site had been suspended “pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing.”
FUN WITH BUSHBOTS
The troops aren't ignorant but the BushBots on AOL sure are. Here's a winner from just one message board:
BOTH KERRY AND BUSH WENT TO YALE! BOTH COLLEGES WERE IN MASSACHUSETTS
Matolchip
-
KERRY DID RELEASE IT...AFTER HE LOST THE ELECTION! HE DEIDNT WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT BUSH HAD A 1% BETTER GRADE POINT AVERAGE AT HARVARD!
BOTH KERRY AND BUSH WENT TO YALE! BOTH COLLEGES WERE IN MASSACHUSETTS
FREDO STICKS WITH FAILURES
From the WaPo:
So, the two men most responsible (after Fredo) for the screw-up in Iraq have been doing just great! Anyone recall what Fredo said about his former head of FEMA, Michael Brown?
Bush said he wanted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the top architect of the war, and Vice President Dick Cheney to remain with him until the end of his presidency.
"Both those men are doing fantastic jobs and I strongly support them," Bush said.
So, the two men most responsible (after Fredo) for the screw-up in Iraq have been doing just great! Anyone recall what Fredo said about his former head of FEMA, Michael Brown?
MY E-MAIL TO SENATOR KERRY
Dear Sen. Kerry,
I have been canvassing for the Democratic Party in Tucson, AZ for the last three weeks.
In a mere 5 seconds, YOU have nullified all the walking and talking I have done.
Do me a favor - STFU!!!
VERY Sincerely yours,
I have been canvassing for the Democratic Party in Tucson, AZ for the last three weeks.
In a mere 5 seconds, YOU have nullified all the walking and talking I have done.
Do me a favor - STFU!!!
VERY Sincerely yours,
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
80% AREN'T FOOLED BY FREDO
Iraq War Frames ‘06 Vote in Last Poll Before Election
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MEGAN THEE
Published: November 1, 2006
...the final New York Times/CBS News poll before the midterm election.
The poll found that just 29 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is managing the war in Iraq, matching the lowest mark of his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of Americans said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and an overwhelming 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.
Only 20 percent said they thought the United States was winning in Iraq, down from a high of 36 percent in January.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and MEGAN THEE
Published: November 1, 2006
...the final New York Times/CBS News poll before the midterm election.
The poll found that just 29 percent of Americans approve of the way President Bush is managing the war in Iraq, matching the lowest mark of his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of Americans said Mr. Bush did not have a plan to end the war, and an overwhelming 80 percent said Mr. Bush’s latest effort to rally public support for the conflict amounted to a change in language but not policy.
Only 20 percent said they thought the United States was winning in Iraq, down from a high of 36 percent in January.
BROOKS BABBLES ABOUT THE 80S
(From LexisNexis)
David Brooks, one of the resident conservative columnists at the NY Times, recently repeated a half-wit view of history:
HEADLINE: The Era of What's Next
BYLINE: By DAVID BROOKS
October 26, 2006 Thursday
Late Edition - Final
Between 1980 and 2006, conservatism was dominant. The big accomplishments were conservative accomplishments -- the defeat of communism
The defeat of communism was a bi-partisan effort, starting with Harry Truman. Wingnuts typically claim that Raygun defeated the USSR but as someone else put it so very well, Raygun had as much to do with the fall of the USSR as Nixon had to do with putting a man on the moon. In both cases, they were at the end of a very long chain of events.
David Brooks, one of the resident conservative columnists at the NY Times, recently repeated a half-wit view of history:
HEADLINE: The Era of What's Next
BYLINE: By DAVID BROOKS
October 26, 2006 Thursday
Late Edition - Final
Between 1980 and 2006, conservatism was dominant. The big accomplishments were conservative accomplishments -- the defeat of communism
The defeat of communism was a bi-partisan effort, starting with Harry Truman. Wingnuts typically claim that Raygun defeated the USSR but as someone else put it so very well, Raygun had as much to do with the fall of the USSR as Nixon had to do with putting a man on the moon. In both cases, they were at the end of a very long chain of events.
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