WHAT FATS DIDN'T TELL US

Fats Limbaugh routinely makes two points against embryonic stem cell research: (1) it should be privately funded; (2) the fact that so little private money has been invested tells us that the research isn't very promising.

What he didn't tell us about the Missouri proposition is that its major backers are private.

Stem cell fight shatters spending records

By Matt Franck

POST-DISPATCH JEFFERSON CITY BUREAU

10/17/2006

More than 97 percent of the money, or $28 million, has come from Jim and Virginia Stowers, founders of American Century mutual funds. After surviving cancer, the two donated more than $1.5 billion to form the Stowers Institute, which seeks to find cures for disease through stem cell research.

The Stowerses have declined interviews throughout the campaign. On Monday, the couple's spokesman described their political spending as an extension of their philanthropy.

"They are cancer survivors who are able to fund research that benefits the whole of Missouri," said David Welte, a Kansas City lawyer who represents the couple.

THANX FOR THE HELP, FATS!!!

Ballot Issue Name
Constitutional Amendment No. 2 - 2006
Precincts Reporting 3732 of 3734
Stem Cell Initiative
Yes 1,077,276 51.2%
No 1,028,495 48.8%
Total Votes 2,105,771

THE NEO-CON VALUE SYSTEM

For all the talk from the radio gasbags about "liberal elites," it's the neo-cons who really believe that they are (or should be) the ruling elite. Irving Kristol, in his collection of essays "Neoconservatism: The Autobiography of an Idea," makes clear that he distrusts what he terms "the common man," primarily based on his experience with his fellow American soldiers in WW II. He goes so far as to suggest that they aren't all that far removed from the Nazis.

(I'll scan in the relevant text later)

RADIO TIDBITS

I caught a little of Tammy Bruce a couple of nights ago and she's still ranting about male homosexuals' promiscuity. It never seems to cross her mind that legalizing gay unions would help reduce casual sex.

Rusty Humphries read a letter, supposedly from a soldier in Iraq, that said America had stabbed him and his comrades in the back by voting for Democrats. I don't know if the letter is real but Rusty kept hammering on the wingnut theme that liberals betray our troops.

FREDO'S OTHER FAILURE

No, not Afghanistan but his WOT. From the London Times:

More Britons are turning to terror, says MI5 director
By Michael Evans
November 10, 2006

In a stark public warning, Dame Eliza ManninghamBuller, the Director-General of MI5, revealed that the Security Service’s caseload had risen by 80 per cent since January and now involved about 30 “Priority 1” plots.

It has identified 200 terrorist networks involving at least 1,600 people, many under the direct control of al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.

“More and more people are moving from passive sympathy towards active terrorism through being radicalised or indoctrinated by friends, families, in organised training events here and overseas,” she said. “Young teenagers are being groomed to be suicide bombers.”

"[The] threat is serious, is growing and will, I believe, be with us for a generation."

THE FUNDIES LOSE AGAIN!!!

The theofascists in America supported the GOP once again but it wasn't anywhere near enough.

Election 2006: In brief
Tucson, Arizona Published: 11.09.2006

Defying predictions of widespread disillusionment, white evangelical and born-again Christians did not desert Republican congressional candidates and they did not stay home from the polls, nationwide exit polls show.
When it came to turnout, white evangelicals and born-again Christians made up about 24 percent of those who voted, compared with 23 percent in the 2004 election. And 70 percent of those white evangelical and born-again Christians voted for Republican congressional candidates nationally, also little changed from the 72 percent who voted for Republican congressional candidates in 2004.

"It looks like the white evangelical base of the Republican Party pretty much held firm," said John Green, a senior fellow with the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

FROM A MARINE OFFICER IN IRAQ

(H/T to Crooks & Liars)

From TIME:

Biggest Outrage — Practically anything said by talking heads on TV about the war in Iraq, not that I get to watch much TV. Their thoughts are consistently both grossly simplistic and politically slanted. Biggest Offender: Bill O'Reilly.

STALINIST NEO-CONS

Glenn Greenwald blogs about this chilling statement from Grand Neo-Con Irving Kristol:

The grandfather of neoconservatism, Irving Kristol, long ago explained the "justification" for lying in an interview with Reason's Ronald Bailey (h/t Mona):

There are different kinds of truths for different kinds of people . . . There are truths appropriate for children; truths that are appropriate for students; truths that are appropriate for educated adults; and truths that are appropriate for highly educated adults, and the notion that there should be one set of truths available to everyone is a modern democratic fallacy. It doesn't work.

That's the reasoning that leads to drug-addled gasbags being taken seriously.

FATS GETS WHAT HE DESERVES

On CNN, Paul Begala gave a very accurate description of Fats Limbaugh:

BEGALA: OK, because look at the theatrics of it. There are principled reasons to oppose embryonic stem cell research. There are principled Americans who do. Bill Bennett is one of them.But Bill Bennett was not the face and the voice of the anti- embryonic-stem-cell-research debate. It became Rush Limbaugh, a drug- addled gasbag who is self-discredited.



Crooks & Liars has the video clip.

EVEN A LITTLE MORE PROUD

Arizonans overwhelmingly voted to raise the minimum wage (Proposition 202):


Total
YES 759,970
NO 395,317


Percentage
YES 65.8%
NO 34.2%

FREDO FLIP-FLOPS AGAIN

LAST WEEK:

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.

THIS WEEK:

Bush announced Rumsfeld's departure earlier Wednesday.

"The timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon," Bush said in announcing the resignation.

ELECTION ANALYSES

Last night, I was listening to NPR and I heard one of their regulars say we don't know about the remaining precincts and I immediately thought, how hard can it be to find out the voter registration dated and past voting results? Mara Liasson then made a stupid remark about how some suburbs went Democratic this time but the moderator pointed out that they had been Democratic.


Today, I listened to Shammity's 20 minute opening rant and he had not one word about the Rumsfeld resignation. Later, he claimed that there wasn't much to say about it and who could blame Rumsfeld for not wanting to testify before Democratic-controlled committees? Sounds like Hannity thinks Rumsfeld "cut and ran." Too bad our troops in Iraq can't "resign."

PROUD TO BE ARIZONAN!!!

It was close but the good voters of Arizona defeated the anti-gay "Defend Marriage" proposition. Here are the prelimnary results from the Secretary of State:

Total

553,051 YES

585,532 NO

The percentages are 48.6 for YES, 51.4 for NO.

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.