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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 9 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 59128 |
| Visitors Out: 666 |
| Total Visitors Out: 666 |
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| Happy 232nd America. |
| 2008-07-04 09:57:48 |
Hope everyone has a safe and happy Independence Day.
Some Fourth of July Links:
Bar-B-Que
The Declaration which we celebrate .
Where is the "real" Declaration?
And of course, some politics....
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| Stay Classy, Fox News. |
| 2008-07-03 10:02:16 |
The New York Times publishes a story that News">Fox News doesn't like (surprise, surprise). How do they respond? By requesting a correction? Publishing a denial? Discussing the factual problems with the article? No.
Instead, they photoshop pictures of the author and editor of the piece by yellowing teeth, adding dark eye rings, stretching the photo etc (you can play find the differences at right)....
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| Jefferson would have hated Scalia. |
| 2008-07-02 16:02:16 |
In the United States, we hold the Constitution as sacrosanct. Rightfully or not, we honor it as the longest continuously observed ruling document and as a document which can be amended only with some measure of "national agreement." A strong debate that we often see in 5-4 Supreme Court decisions is the question of whether Justices should rule by the letter of the law or by...
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| Tune into CNN |
| 2008-07-01 17:17:07 |
On the Situation Room John Roberts tears McCain's surrogate Ruduloph Guliani on inconsistencies and hypocracy. They'll probably re-air it. Tune in if you can. Worth watching....
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| No-Bid Contracts Are Fatal. |
| 2008-07-01 16:52:47 |
Thirteen Americans in Iraq have died due to electrocution. This is ridiculous. Depending on the stories 12 or 13 people have died to accidental electrocution. Who's responsible? The Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root(KBR). They were awarded a no-bid contract worth 200 million dollars, and consequently Congressmen have accused KBR of prices of importing gasoline into Iraq. Their...
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| Steven Hatfield: The Scape Goat Who Survived |
| 2008-06-28 09:32:38 |
During the Anthrax scare in 2001, the US government was at a complete loss when it came to finding out who sent the anthrax, or for that matter where the anthrax came from. So, when they came across government scientist Steven Hatfield, they decided that he was their man, without actually saying that.
New York Times:
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced Friday that it would pay $4.6...
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| Waiting for November |
| 2008-06-26 11:20:42 |
We've always known that this administration was against clean air, water, and land. But sometimes the lengths they go to are incredible. We know that they pressure scientists who research global warming. We know that they appoint people to head NASA who don't see global warming as "a major concern." And now apparently they pressure their own Environmental Protection Agency to water down its own...
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| Anybody But Bush |
| 2008-06-25 11:04:01 |
While I think I've made it pretty clear that I am not a fan of John McCain, but when I look back to our lame duck president, I'm reminded that no one could be as bad is him, particularly when it comes to foreign policy and world relations.
President Bush met with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo to discuss the Philippine's need for food aid (amid a near food crisis due to the skyrocketing...
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| McCain's Energy Problems |
| 2008-06-24 16:47:58 |
That headline is just begging for an age joke, so you make up your own.
In the past two days John McCain has unveiled two different complimentary energy plans, which frankly sound decent. The first plan is to sponsor a contest where the first company to make a more energy efficient wins $300 million dollars. The second plan is to provide a 5,000 dollar tax incentive for the purchase of cars...
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| Pawlenty. Quayle 2.0 |
| 2008-06-24 15:45:30 |
There has been much talk about Tim Pawlenty (T-Paw), the current governor of Minnesota being on the top of Republican John McCain's potential list for Vice-President. MNPublius and others knowledgeable about t-paw have long argued that this would be a bad choice. Pawlenty has a high profile within the McCain Campaign because he is chair of the National Governors Association and a national...
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| Unity, New Hampshire |
| 2008-06-23 14:12:25 |
Sometimes, you can't help but laugh/cry/groan.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaign together for the first time ever.
They will appear in the town of UNITY, Hampshire">New Hampshire. Where they each recieved 107 votes. I wonder how long the interns spent searching the nation for the most symbolically useful location. I don't think anyone will ever say that the Obama campaign doesn't understand...
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| Play Budget Hero. |
| 2008-06-23 12:20:57 |
Click on the above image to play "Budget Hero." My friend Ben first showed me this game and it's a good way to kill time. You can baisicially try to implement your own goals and see how it plays out and what you have to give up in order to get what you need....
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| The Drilling Farce |
| 2008-06-22 14:06:47 |
The second half of this week has been dominated by Republican demands that moratoriums on drilling off the shore be lifted. Specifically, John McCain said that each state should be allowed to choose whether to allow drilling. President Bush followed with a similar argument with a specific call to open ANWR (the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve).
These calls are misguided and they are simple...
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| Obama on Telecom Immunity |
| 2008-06-21 15:30:48 |
Barack Obama* agrees with me. From CBS news:
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., issued a statement in support of the House's update of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but said he would try to strip a provision granting immunity to telecommunication companies when the bill comes to a vote in the Senate next week.
Obama said there is "little doubt" that the Bush Administration, with the...
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| News and Notes 6/20 |
| 2008-06-20 16:21:43 |
News: FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillence Act) includes TeleCom immunity
As the Washington Post reports today:
The agreement extends the government's ability to eavesdrop on espionage and terrorism suspects while effectively providing a legal escape hatch for AT&T, Verizon Communications and other telecom firms. They face more than 40 lawsuits that allege they violated customers' privacy...
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| MoveOn.Org closes 527 |
| 2008-06-20 13:45:17 |
I just got an email from Eli Parisner from MoveOn.org announcing that they would close their 527, which has been dorment since 2005. The 527 allowed MoveOn.org to raise large amounts of money (over 5,000) dollars.
As TPM's Greg Sargent reports
By shuttering its 527, MoveOn is effectively killing its ability to raise money in huge chunks from labor unions, foundations, and big donors who would...
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| News and Notes |
| 2008-06-20 10:57:17 |
A New Feature:
As we head towards our hundreth post (this is number 99)I'm going to try and start posting regularly, Nic has said that he would provide matching posts, so we'll see how this goes. I'm going to try and post semi-regular "News and Notes" posts with brief news and some notes. We'll see how this goes. I'll be posting similar posts on the Carleton Democrats blog.
News: Barack Obama...
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| College Organizing |
| 2008-06-20 09:12:44 |
Politico (run by Carleton grad John Harris), publishes some ground breaking stories...some not. In this story, they explore the amazing fact that political organizing of college students is harder in the summer (when school is not in session):
So while College Democrats of America and the College Republican National Committee will focus on getting their core activists to volunteer at their...
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| Meet my Boss |
| 2008-06-19 13:31:55 |
I'm currently working for Congressman James E. Clyburn. Politico.Com just put out a great article about him. Check it out:
Clyburn herds a diverse flock...
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| Who will be the last to die? Guns in Chicago. |
| 2008-04-02 23:07:36 |
Who will be the last to die from the effects of "small government." As long as I can remember (which is not that long in terms of the political landscape) liberal politicians have been accused of "trying to take away your guns" by conservative politicians who promise to UPHOLD YOUR 2nd AMENDMENT RIGHTS (always in all caps). During the Bush administration this debate fell into the rediculous...
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| Early Fundraising Numbers from the Oklahoma Senate Race |
| 2008-04-01 16:14:30 |
Oklahoma Senate Candidate Andrew Rice raised $68,000 online in the first quarter of this year. Rice has been gaining momentum over the last few weeks, earning national headlines. Things are looking bleak for Rice's Republican opponent James Inhofe. The Southern Baptist Convention, whose members form a powerful voting block in Oklahoma, recently called for action against climate change. Inhofe is...
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| Seriously? |
| 2007-12-05 15:36:30 |
Hillary Clinton needs to get real. The New York Senator and presidential candidate fired off a press release flaming Barack Obama for also wanting to be President. Apparently, Clinton's opposition researchers are working their little hearts out because they came up with gems like these:
In kindergarten, Senator Obama wrote an essay titled 'I Want to Become President.' "Iis Darmawan, 63, Senator...
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| Secret Weapons System? |
| 2007-11-18 19:12:54 |
The Iraq War is an unmitigated disaster. If you're not already convinced, consider the following:
British forces have denied rumors they released a plague of ferocious badgers into the Iraqi city of Basra...UK military spokesman Major Mike Shearer said: "We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area."So...the forces charged with protecting Basrans from the...
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| Polling Update: The Democratic Primary |
| 2007-09-28 12:49:17 |
The Democratic picture is clearing up, and it's bad news for anyone who isn't Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. Polls from CBS News, AP, Gallup, and the Pew Research Center all show a two candidate race. When Al Gore is included in the sample, Hillary Clinton leads the pack in the mid-thirties, with Obama trailing in the low twenties and John Edwards hovering in the mid-teens. Eliminate Gore from...
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| Coming to our senses on the Global Gag Rule |
| 2007-09-08 16:40:59 |
Yesterday the Senate voted 53-41 to repeal the Global Gag Rule, one of the most destructive reproductive rights policies in history. The rule mandates that no foreign NGO receiving USAID funding may perform abortions, provide referrals to doctors who perform abortions, advocating pro-choice legislation, or even opposing anti-choice legislation. In essence, this law enables the US to restrict the...
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| Thompson joins the race |
| 2007-09-06 11:28:48 |
Fred Thompson has followed Ahnold's lead and finally announced his candidacy on the Jay Leno's show. (I wonder what Letterman thinks of no one choosing his show to announce their campaigns).
He was the target of many attacks in the latest GOP debate. The candidates most attacked Thompson's choice to go on Leno rather than attend their debate. Rush Limbaugh also whined about Thompson going on...
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| Breaking News: Gilmorr (R-OH) Dead |
| 2007-09-05 11:58:24 |
Sad news from the other side of the aisle.
From the APOhio Rep. Paul Gillmor was found dead in his apartment Wednesday, a Republican leadership aide said. The aide said the body of the 68-year-old Republican was found by staff members who went to his apartment after he failed to show up for work. There was no immediate word on the cause of his death. Gillmor's office did not respond to a...
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| Senate 2008: Two More Competitive Seats |
| 2007-09-01 16:25:46 |
With the resignation of Idaho's Larry Craig and the retirement of Virginia's John Warner, Democrats are salivating over two more potentially competitive Senate seats in 2008. At least 10 Republican-held Senate seats can now be considered competitive, versus only one Democratic-held seat.
Craig's resignation comes after reports indicated he had solicited sex in an airport bathroom...from a man....
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| Gonzo OUT! |
| 2007-08-29 14:14:44 |
Alberto Gonzales has finally done something for the American people, he resigned!
Gonzales is expected to have a press conference at 10:30 eastern time while Bush will speak at 11:50 am.
And yet, Bush will not let the American People celebrate yet. The White House has announced that Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff (Mr. Gut Check himself). He would be replaced by Bush's former...
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| Senate 2008: Johnson is Back, but for how long? |
| 2007-08-29 13:01:10 |
South Dakota Senate Tim Johnson isn't a famous statesman like Ted Kennedy or Robert C. Byrd, but he, or rather his health, is every bit as important to the Democrats and the country as his more well-known peers. Johnson is one of 49 Democrats in the Senate, where the Democrats hold a 51-49 majority (two independents caucus with the Dems). That majority was almost lost earlier this year when...
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| Health Care is Broken and No One Will Fix It |
| 2007-08-24 10:05:18 |
The White House will proudly announce a modest reduction of the federal deficit for this fiscal year, but it probably won't mention our current budgetary policy is "totally unsustainable." According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budge Office, health care costs are inflating so rapidly that Medicare and Medicaid expenses will consume the ENTIRE Federal budget by 2050. The last three CBO...
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| College Students Might Pick the Next President |
| 2007-08-23 09:59:36 |
Barack Obama is going to blow away every candidate in the field this Spring--at least among college students. The Obama camp's student organization is second to none. On Facebook the Obama application has 21,000 subscribers and a group called One Million Strong For Barack boasts 320,000 members. Users have posted well over 7,000 comments on that page, suggesting a high level of enthusiasm....
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| Senate 2008: National Update |
| 2007-08-22 20:06:33 |
News just keeps getting better for the DSCC. They're crushing the NRSC in fundraising and each week brings more bad news for Republican incumbents.
Loaded Orygun reports embattled Oregon Senator Gordon Smith has posted a measly favorability rating of just 46%, his lowest in 28 months. Smith still leads in the likely Democratic nominee Jeff Merkley in head-to-head polling, but he's only picking...
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| Tricky GOP Power Grab Threatens California |
| 2007-08-22 16:16:58 |
The electoral college is a messed up system, no doubt about it. The whole idea is a patently undemocratic ploy to limit popular influence on government. It's elitist, regressive, and wrong, and it got George W. Bush elected President. With all that in mind, you might think the shadowy Californians for Equal Representation group has a pretty nifty idea.
You'd be dead wrong.
California, along...
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| Mines, Unions, and Safety |
| 2007-08-20 11:46:17 |
For the past 15 days we have been hearing about the mining tragedy in Huntington, Utah. This mining tragedy has highlighted several issues, and has caused much discussion however what has not been emphasized (and ought to be) is the link with Unions, workplace safety and the Bush administration.
First, the Crandall Canyon Mine is a non-union mine. In fact, 2 of the 9 unions in central Utah are...
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| Rove Dripping Slime on Meet the Press |
| 2007-08-19 11:04:37 |
Karl Rove hit the major Sunday morning talk circuit this week in a farewell tour. The guy is so smarmy I can barely stand it. You've got to recognize, though, the man has serious game. Asked to respond to Hillary Clinton's allegations of mistreatment of our troops, Rove artfully dodges the question and spends the next 90 seconds bashing Hillary on health care. He's nothing if not on message....
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| Instant Message Debates |
| 2007-08-17 22:06:05 |
Back in May, Nick posted a challenge to find a better idea for presidential debates better than the current format that provides for a contrived "discussion" about the issues that the campaigns and traditional media have chosen. Matt Bai, writer and tech enthusiast, has finally responded to the challenge in a New York times article.
He proposed (in full block quote because its just that good):...
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| Hey Bill Richardson, Gay is not a Choice! |
| 2007-08-17 19:11:31 |
I used to have a lot of respect for New Mexico Governor and Presidential candidate Bill Richardson. Then he turned out to be dumb as a rock or bigoted, or both. If you haven't heard about his bungle at the Logo debate, here's a brief excerpt:
MS. ETHERIDGE: Thank you.Do you think homosexuality is a choice, or is it biological?
GOV. RICHARDSON: It's a choice. It's --
MS. ETHERIDGE: I don't...
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| Polling Update: Romney on a Roll |
| 2007-08-17 13:51:54 |
The latest goods from PollingReport show Democrats are in a holding pattern; Hillary's staying strong in the mid-30's, Obama is a strong second in the low 20's, and John Edwards still has the second tier to himself with around 10%. Obama, though, has been sharpening his axe. The Caucus points out that he's moving away from his former laid-back self in favor of a harder edge. He's got to do...
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| Yeehaw! |
| 2007-08-17 13:17:07 |
Speaking of the shameless exploitation of poor people, the Oklahoma State Penitentiary Rodeo is tomorrow in McCalester, Oklahoma. The annual tradition, dating back to 1940, includes an event called "Money the Hard Way" in which prisoners try to win $100 by grabbing it from between the horns of rampaging bull. That's about four months worth of pay.
I'm actually more amused than outraged. I'm...
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