I grew up reading comic books wanting to be a superhero. Comics taught me that those who speak the truth are heroes, all the rest are liars.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Coleen Rowley "Rescue Hope From Tragedy"

I cry when a sad commercials comes on TV so I try to avoid sad movies. Needless to say, I won't be seeing 'United 93' any time soon. But given how historic the event is to Americans, I'm glad most reviews claim the movie is both sensitive and accurate.

Coleen Rowley, second district congressional candidate and former FBI agent who spoke out about mistakes leading up to 9/11 had this to say:

"When you know there's a sad ending, I think it's hard to get people caught up in it. They know the outcome," Rowley says. She views "United 93" as an opportunity to rescue hope from tragedy, since the actions of the passengers prevented the hijacked airplane from reaching its probable target in Washington, D.C. "People get caught up in these situations that are hopeless or they put up too many barriers,"

Rowley said. "I use Flight 93 as this great example of people who took action, even though they only had a short few minutes to appreciate the situation they were in. They were unsuccessful in saving their own lives, but they saved many other peoples' lives."

Friday, April 28, 2006

Friday's Smack Down

Where There's Smoke, There's Oil.
The money barons don't hand out money because they favor good government or grassroots community values.

Remember kids...Big Oil and Gas industries gave Minnesota Congressman John Kline $74,955. Any surprise that Exxon's 3 month profit equals $8,400,004,000.00 . There's a better way!

Friday’s Advice
The best advice I've seen for disgruntled progressives comes from Goldy

In short, you want to make the Democrats more progressive? Make yourself an indispensable part of Democratic success.

So roll up your sleeves, time to get to work! No sleeping in this Saturday even if it rains, no excuses! There's swing voters waiting to become Democrats.

Holy Sh*t!
Holy Land Theme park is now tax exempt. Somewhere around the ‘holy roller’ roller coaster and the ‘tabernacle water slide’ that goes into the ‘pool of life’, the spirit of Christ is suppose to convert Jews to jesus...wonder how long it will be before Disney starts sell g*d to become tax exempt?

The Holy Land Experience in Orlando is operated by a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian ministry called Zion's Hope, which is devoted to converting Jews to Christianity.

Poodle Politics

Not to be confused with Pretzel Logic.
Facing a surge of anti-American sentiment in his country, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf insisted yesterday that he was not George Bush’s poodle.

“When you are talking about fighting terrorism or extremism, I’m not doing that for the US or Britain. I’m doing it for Pakistan,” he said. “It’s not a question of being a poodle. I’m nobody’s poodle. I have enough strength of my own to lead.”

How dare the Preznut Idiot Son!
But then what did you expect from an oilman?
Nancy! (3 meg video file)
"If you want to be energy independent…and if you want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and therefore improve our natural security situation, you can’t do it if you're a Republican…"

And Another Thing

“Looking to George Allen and George Bush to solve the gas crisis is like asking Bonnie and Clyde to solve the crime problem,”

Harris Miller (Democratic candidate for Senate, VA).



Cry Me A River
"Boo Fricking Hoo"

"Enron was a victim of a media "witch hunt" that ultimately sent the financially strong energy giant on a path to bankruptcy, former Chairman and Chief Executive Kenneth Lay testified at his criminal trial on Tuesday." (reuters)

Lay asserts that "a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal, undermined investor confidence in the company, which he was convinced was in sound financial shape." (USA Today)


I’m Just Waiting...
waiting for the profits to trickle down…waiting now for years.
running out of resources, manpower, IP, time and patience…
still we wait…

come November,
I’m done with waiting.

More Neil

Black Rose, Neil's guitar...

NeilYoung.com
'Living With War'

raw
edgy
soulful
in your face
radioactuve
Neil...

Full of messages
R U Listening?

Basic Politics

Politics 101
Schoolhouse Rock has taught generations of Americans how a bill becomes a law,” says Rep. ” said Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee in a press release just issued by 11 U.S. Congressmen.

“As most school children can attest,” Stark says, “a bill is just a bill on Capitol Hill until it passes both the House and Senate in identical form and is signed by the President – or Congress overrides his veto. I’m sorry we’ve had to resort to this lawsuit, but I am committed to protecting our democracy.”

11 ranking Members of the United States House of Representatives will be filing a law suit in U.S. District court on Friday seeking a permanent injunction of “Deficit Reduction Act” which George W. Bush signed into law on February 8th of this year, despite its not having passed both houses of Congress.

The Onion Gives Us 'Rum and Coke' Friday!

President Bush, already facing the lowest approval ratings in history, is coming under fire from former supporters over what they call his "ineffectual and incompetent" use of prayer for national guidance and assistance.

Despite assurances from the president that he "prays every day" for the nation's interests both at home and abroad, the mounting crises of recent months---escalating gas prices, the botched Dubai port security deal, ethics scandals, and the rising death toll in Iraq---have left many unimpressed with the effectiveness of his devotion.

While newly released portions of White House prayer logs show that Bush's praying has actually gone up in recent months, critics are seeking to subpoena the documents in their entirety to determine the strength of those prayers.

Susan DiDomenico of the National Prayer Task Force said her organization is seeking "full disclosure" of any and all prayers Bush may have skipped or manipulated to seem more effective or holy.
It's Friday and -The Onion- knows it.

Friday's Listening Pleasure


Take a listen to:
Neil Young'sNeilYoung.com
LivingWithWar.blogspot.com
MySpace.com/NeilYoung

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Coming Tomorrow....



Living With War will stream on NeilYoung.com
beginning Fri, Apr. 28th.
The album will be available at digital retailers
beginning May 2nd.
CDs will be available in stores early/mid May.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

It's the oil stupid!

click to enlarge

Oil Companies Pumping Profits From Our Pockets

CNN, All told, the 19 oil and gas companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index that have reported so far have earned more than $20 billion excluding one-time charges and other items, up more than 50 percent from a year earlier, according to earnings tracker First Call.

The profit from Exxon alone would cover ALL Social Security benefit payments for three months. It would pay for an Ivy League education for about 60,000 kids. It would pay the average list price for more than 160 Boeing 737s. It would fund the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than two months.

Jesse at DFLers has ten more reasons to blame the GOP...

Getting My Hopes Up

Does Bush = Lincoln

The Land of Lincoln says NO! and then some!
My heart sez yes, Yes, YES...
Tell me it's true! Oh be still my beating heart....

BTW: Where's Bin Laden?

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Quiet As A Mouse In South Dakota

Hear anything from the 'liberal' press on this Kennedy statement?

This Saturday Will Be A Working Day

This Saturday will be working day for Democrats but expect a big paycheck come November!

Democrats.org has a post called "50 State Canvass" on Democratic volunteers working in their communities to organize and mobilize volunteers and voters. Minnesota Democrats will have no excuse to stay in bed Saturday morning...remember the prize in November!

Click the link above to sign up at a location close to you or contact Stephanie at the MN DFL if you are interested in participating; 651-293-1200 or stephanie@dfl.org.

Interesting enough, the Republicans are doing the same on the same day so don't be surprised if you run into a mentally challenged group of idiots.

Getting Bossed Around

Just last week I velled for more timely protest music...
Well 'The Boss' has answered.
Bruce is releasing The Seeger Sessions: We Shall Overcome.

There's something in the air...I can feel it.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Had Enough

People get readyThere's a train a comin'You don't need no baggage you just get on board All you need is faithTo hear the diesel comin'Don't need no ticket you just thank the Lord

There ain't no room for the hopeless sinnerWho would hurt all mankind just to save his own soulHave pity on those whose choices grow thinnerThere ain't no hiding place from the Kingdom's throne
People get ready There's a train a comin' You don't need no baggage you just get on board All you need is faith To hear the diesel comin' Don't need no ticket you just thank the Lord
From the Land of Lincolm...Greetings to the Preznut...

HJ0125 - 2 - LRB094 20306 RLC 58347 r

1 to fully investigate these charges to date; therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
4 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the General Assembly of the
5 State of Illinois has good cause to submit charges to the U. S.
6 House of Representatives under Section 603 that the President
7 of the United States has willfully violated his Oath of Office
8 to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United
9 States; and be it further

10 RESOLVED,
That George W. Bush, if found guilty of the
11 charges contained herein, should be removed from office and
12 disqualified to hold any other office in the United States.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Fried Rice
Lobbyists' Lawyers Say Rice Leaked Information. They intended to prove that senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, provided the lobbyists with some of the sensitive information. Looks like she has lots in common with Libby and Rove and Cheney Bush....and Mary McCarthy...

The firing of Mary McCarthy, a senior CIA official who apparently leaked information to Washington Post reporter Dana Priest about the CIA's secret prisons, may turn out to be an explosive story, especially if the Bush administration pursues criminal charges against her I'm wondering if they will fire....Rice or Rove or (fill in any Bu$hCo name) or have we reached the apex of John Edward's two Americas? But there is a major difference...

McCarthy’s firing last week was a political hit by Bu$hCo because she was a Kerry supporter and was a holdover from the Clinton Administration. The White House is saying there are good leaks and bad leaks. And leaking about CIA abuses is not the same as leaking to discredit a policy critic. Hmm interesting take...wonder if that will be their defense. "I'm a decider and good leaker" because something tells me Mary has no intention of taking her secret decoder rings and go home.


Does this elevator go to the basement?
President Bush’s job approval rating slipped this week and stands at a new low of 33 percent approve, down from 36 percent two weeks ago and 39 percent in mid-March. A year ago this time, 47 percent approved and two years ago 50 percent approved (April 2004).

Oops, this just in CNN has him at 32...going down.

Why 'They' won't replace Rummy
Josh Marshall on why they don't want anyone to replace Rumsfeld:
With Rumsfeld, or any other cabinet secretary, there's a related problem -- the importance of which has, I think, not been fully appreciated or aired. If Rumsfeld goes, you need to nominate someone else and get them through a senate confirmation. That means an open airing of the disaster of this administration's national security policy. Every particular; all about Iraq. Think how much they don't want that ...

You've come a long way, baby!
This is pretty ridiculous. Joe Scarborough devoted several minutes of his show to the comparative housekeeping abilities of Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.

Iraq
More of the same.

Neil Young’s blog
All your Living With War news in one one handy link. Look for a link coming (28th) to download some of the album.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

I'm The Decider Koo-Koo-Kachoo

Kids, Turn up the volume on your computer, click the link and sing along...

http://decider.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

I am the egg head, I'm the Commander, I'm the DeciderKoo-Koo-Kachoo

Baghdad city policeman sitting pretty little targets in a row See how they die when the shrapnel flies see mothers cry I'm Lying...I'm Ly-ing...I'm Lying...I'm Ly-ing

Yellow cake uranium, imaginary WMD's Declassifying facts, exposing secret agents Tax cuts for the wealthy leaving all the poor behind

CHORUS
Sitting in the White house garden talking to the LordMy thoughts would be busy busy hatching If I only had a brain

Friday, April 21, 2006

Friday's MN Roundup

Spring into the weekend and have fun!

MN DNC Delegates Clean Up!
The RNC calls it "political posturing...."
Democrats call it "citizenship."
While in New Orleans for the spring DNC meeting… Groups of Democratic delegates including Minnesota's delegates Nancy Larson, Rick Stafford, Ken Foxworth, and Jackie Stevens will clean up lawns and clean out, stabilize and demolish homes in disrepair. Some will distribute clothing and other necessities to victims and pack groceries for the needy.
Keep in mind, these Democratic delegates are the cream atop the Democratic jar. National officers and their staff. National Committeemen and Committeewomen. Elected officials from across the nation. The 'elite,' if you will. Making us proud, and helping our nation heal. Call it Reason I'm A Democrat Number…well, I've lost count. But it's a big one. Hat Tip to Upper Left
Mark Kennedy (R -MN) is So Very Special
It’s no secret that Mark Kennedy is among the top three recipients to receive special interest monies from Ideology/Single-Issue groups. So far in 2006 Kennedy has received. $247,800.00 from these PACs. Wonder what they expect in returned?

John Kline (R -MN) is Bush's Favorite Lapdog
According to the Star Tribune, Kline had the highest level of support for Bush last year at 89 percent, down from 94 percent in 2004.

HEA Denies over 200,00 Students Pell Grants
In Minnesota 2,503 students have been denied pell grants because they had prior drug convictions. These grants can decide whether some students (especially those that are poor!) will attend college.

Under a little known provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA), nearly 200,000 would-be college students have been declared ineligible to receive the federal ๏ฌnancial aid they need to attend school because they have drug convictions on their records.

It's a Gas, Gas, Gas!

  • Bush and Gas?!- As the price of gas soars, Bu$h’s approval rating tanks.
  • Gas and Global Warming- Eating meat and farting plays a role in global warming…just thought you should know.ABC News
  • Full of Nothing but Gas- "But I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense." Bu$h
  • Driving a Hard Deal- As gas prices soar, more and more working poor are turning to pawn shops to help cover the cost of driving.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Baaaing From The White House

Bush's new Policy wizard, Joel Kaplan, is better known for his ‘Brooks Brother riot’ of 2000. That is when a bunch of WA GOP operatives, posed as outraged Floridians and waved fists, chanted ‘Stop the fraud’ and pounded windows in an effort to intimidate officials in the Florida recount effort….

Is it just me or does he sounds like the perfect person to set policy for the Bu$hCo administration.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Neil Young: Living with War

Neil Young has always been a maverick politically as well as musically. Although he has recorded a few songs that drew cheers from liberals, such as "Ohio" and "Southern Man," he also drew criticism from the left for pro-Reagan comments many years ago.

Now Neil Young is weighing in with a soon-to-be-released album that urges, “Let’s impeach the president -- for lying.” featuring a rap with Bu$h’s voice set to the choir chanting “flip/flop” and the like. more here and here.

According to film director (heart of gold) Jonathan Demme at JamBase,

It is a brilliant electric assault, accompanied by a 100-voice choir, on Bush and the war in Iraq... Truly mind blowing."

From Howie Klein's blog DownWithTyranny!: "
"The album, with Young on Old Black, Rick Rosas on bass and Chad Cromwell on drums, took three days to finish."
Howie is a personal favorite of mine and former president of Reprise Records and life long committment to being a hippie. I highly recommend you visit his blog for more information. Also visit the newly minted blog: Living with War.
  • Track 1: After the Garden, and first lines of the album: Won't need no shadow man Runnin' the government
  • Track 2: Living with War has a take out with the Star Spangled Banner towards the end that is a chilling reminder that this is our country, not just Bush's and Cheney's and Rumsfeld's and the reactionaries' who are behind the immensely unpopular and tottering, incompetent regime.
  • Track 3: The Restless Consumer starts out dark and ominous but blends in Neil's always positive message of optimism.
  • Track 4 : Shock And Awe but Neil doesn't have Bu$hCo's planes and tanks and bombs. He has words and music and, ultimately, his "Shock and Awe" will be long remembered after Bu$h's shock and awe are nothing but an unfortunate footnote in history books. Neil wrote on his website, "I think it is a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan... metal folk protest?" has a lot to do with this song. There's even a shout out to Dylan in the lyrics!
  • Track 5: Let's Impeach the President was like he could read my mind! This song really lays it on the line, the one all his accumulated moral authority allows him to write. Let's impeach the president for lying and misleading our country into war, for abusing all the power that we gave him, and shipping all our money out the door.
  • Track 6: Lookin' For A Leader, which is forward looking and has the musical potential to be a single. It's a song crying out to "re-unite the red, white and blue," and to "clean up the corruption." Neil sings that "We're lookin' for a leader/With the Great Spirit on his side." He even includes an interesting couple of shout outs to Colin Powell and to Barack Obama, with whom he spent some time at Farm Aid.
  • Track 7: Roger and Out ends the album with a song about somebody's buddy who went to Iraq. It goes into a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung by a 100 piece choir.

Look I know I'm sounding like a rabid fan... but I'm also speaking as someone in need of more protest song escapes from this current administration. It won't be long before the wingnuts attack Neil for using his genuis for song. To that I say...thank g*d and may many more artisit, musicans, and poets follow in Neil's footsteps.

YouTube - Living With War - Neil Young Interview

A Different White House Spin A Comin'

They're shooting the messengers!

"All of us serve at the pleasure of the president, It's premature to talk about any future decisions that may or may not be made." -Scott McClellan, White House Spokesperson

And bringing on new spin-golies masters!

A Short Sighted Neanderthal Whore

Looks like we're at a point when the tax committee will be playing ball. I've talked with my representative already -- several times. He told me a funny story about leaning toward probably supporting it...

His reasoning: Since we (he and I, oh and those who vote for him) don't reside in Hennepin County, supporting this won't adversely affect any of 'us' monetarily! (my note: or his re-election chances!) Really it was a pretty funny story especially coming from a Democrat.

I won't out him for being a short sighted neanderthal whore of the stadium lobbyists as he may yet change his mind and vote no (siding with 2/3 of Minnesotans who don't want public funding for any stadium!)...but feel free to call through the list with your opinion.

Minnesota House of Representatives Taxes Committee:
Chair Philip Krinkie (R) 296-2907 rep.phil.krinkie@house.mn
Vice Chair: Dean Simpson (R) 296-4293 rep.dean.simpson@house.mn
Lead-DFL: Ann Lenczewski (DFL)296-4218 rep.ann.lenczewski@house.mn

Members:
Katie Sieben (DFL) 651-296-4342 rep.katie.sieben@house.mn
Dean Simpson (R) 651-296-4293 rep.dean.simpson@house.mn
Joe Atkins (DFL) 651-296-4192 rep.joe.atkins@house.mn
Peter Nelson (R) 651-296-5377 rep.peter.nelson@house.mn
Connie Bernardy (DFL) 651-296-5510 rep.connie.bernardy@house.mn
Joe Mullery (DFL) 651-296-4262 rep.joe.mullery@house.mn
Lyle Koenen (DFL) 651-296-4346 rep.lyle.koenen@house.mn
Gregory M. Davids (R) 651-296-9278 rep.greg.davids@house.mn
Jim Davnie (DFL) 651-296-0173 rep.jim.davnie@house.mn
Laura Brod (R) 651-296-4229 rep.laura.brod@house.mn
Ray Vandeveer (R) 651-296-4124 rep.ray.vandeveer@house.mn
Chris DeLaForest (R) 651-296-4231 rep.chris.delaforest@house.mn
Mike Jaros (DFL) 651-296-4246 rep.mike.jaros@house.mn
Jim Knoblach (R) 651-296-6316 rep.jim.knoblach@house.mn
John Lesch (DFL) 651-296-4224 rep.john.lesch@house.mn
Tom Rukavina (DFL) 651-296-0170 rep.tom.rukavina@house.mn
Irv Anderson (DFL) 651-296-4936 rep.irv.anderson@house.mn

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

No Happy Ending

I guess this means we're not going to ride off into the sunset.

US to retake Baghdad...sigh...

How Much Is Just Enough-ness?

When does a living wage become obscene greed at the expense of others?
  • Exxon Mobil $36 billion in profits
  • Lee R. Raymond, Chairman of Exxon Mobil:
    $140 million last year compensation package
    another $258 million in options (last year)
    millions deferred compensation from last year
    $398 million plus for golden (platuim) parachute

You Don't Get Nothing For Nothing!

Okay Steal This Paper’ is bad enough…
Any odds takers on...

When will the MN Star start charging an employee 'user fee' * for using the toilets at work? Will toilet paper be included in the cost or will employees have to make use of 'other' paper options?

"ABOUT a month ago, The Star Tribune in Minneapolis let it be known that, as a cost-cutting effort, free copies of the newspaper would no longer be broadly available around the newsroom.

Instead, the staff was offered an electronic edition of the paper — "an exact digital reproduction of the printed version," no less — that they could access online. Those who insisted on seeing the fruits of the their labors in its physical form were told that they could purchase copies for 25 cents, half the retail cost, from boxes around the office. (This change in policy was first reported by City Pages in Minneapolis.)"


*'User Fee' not to be confused with Tim Pawlenty's 'User Fee'. Really it's not a tax on sh*t..er..well okay that analogy didn't work!

Monday, April 17, 2006

By The Numbers

Seven
According to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) six congressmen and a fellow senator will go to jail.

Eight
Eight men…
Eight Soldiers, Commanders, Veterans…
Twenty-two stars…
Four Silver Stars
Six Bronze Stars
One Distinguished Flying Cross
Three Purple Hearts
Fifteen Legions of Merit
Twentyfour Air Medals
Two Combat Action Ribbons (USMC)
Three Combat Infantry Badges (USA)…
not to mention dozens of commendation and campaign medals

One voice…
RUMSFELD MUST GO!

FortySeven
47 Americans dead last month in Iraq

Friday, April 14, 2006

Friday's Forecast

It's beautiful out, I'm off to watch the tulips grow. Have a great weekend and take the time to smell the flowers.

Get a Clue!
'The End of the Line' inches closer in St. Paul but it's being played out in every town and city within the fifty United States:
Finger point at the usual suspects...NAFTA, CAFTA, no affordable healthcare, declining economy, lack of innovation, mismanagement at FORD, the alignment of the planets..but at the end of the day, the result is the same, America is bleeding away it's jobs, intellectual property, and infrastructure while politicians argue who can marry whom.

A Bad Call!
It was putting in a player from the Bu$hCo Bullpen that upset the fans.
“The booing started when Cheney walked onto the field — it was not in response to a crap pitch. It was in response to his crap Vice Presidenting.”

Bu$h's Cherry Picking:
Now He Tells US?!?!
"..he [Colin Powell] and his department's top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading adv?ce of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim."

Better Off ? How So?
"The mortality of children in Basra has increased by nearly 30 percent compared to the Saddam Hussein era," Dr Haydar Salah, a paediatrician at the Basra Children's Hospital.
"Children are dying daily, and no one is doing anything to help them."

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Welcome Back!

Risk your life in the game of Bu$h Neocon and their cause to make America safer. Well, welcome back home!

Twenty-six reservists returning to Minnesota from Iraq are forced to leave a comrade at the Los Angeles airport because the government had put his name on a list of potential terrorists.

Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown has just spent the past eight months serving his country in Iraq, only to return to the United States and find out his country had placed him on a watch list as a possible terrorist.

A ceremony was waiting Tuesday at home in the Twin Cities for Brown and 26 other Marine military police reservists returning from the war. There were eager families and bagpipes.

But Northwest Airlines wouldn't let him on the plane in Los Angeles. His name had been flagged on the federal list.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

More Tahoe Commercials

Come on...it's fun
ad
second ad
third ad
Rapture
1
2
3
4
5
Who Loves Flowers?

Campaign Websites

There has been a bit of talk about different candidate websites. Some are good, some are bad (but improving), but I want to ask a question to the netroots what makes a good website and why.

My personal favorite candidate website is this. Now, don't get all over me about who it is for, her future is something I am NOT talking about here, but her website is the best I have seen. I wish others would follow her lead on this.

Why do I like it? Mainly because of the "Action Center" this feature is a powerful tool for the netroots interact with the grassroots all to support the candidate. This entire site is designed to be used by supporters and is much more than an information and messaging tool. I could go on with some of the other features, but man whoever set this up for her knows their stuff.

Thoughts?

I Meant To Say That!

When the hated despots of nations like Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan loot
their countries' treasuries, transfer their oil wealth to personal Swiss bank
accounts and use the rest to finance (in the House of Saud's case) terrorist
extremists, American politicians praise them as trusted friends and allies. But
when a democratically elected populist president uses Venezuela's oil profits to
lift poor people out of poverty, they accuse him of pandering.
Ted Rall

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Pawlenty Stupid



"He [Governor Pawlenty] said that we tend to lose sight of the big picture in the day to day headaches of life. Society is changing rapidly and that puts pressure on the economy. We need to be forward thinking enough to anticipate changes."
‘The Savage Republican’.


If Minnesota’s Governor Pawlenty really wants to be forward thinking and anticipating changes..why have the GOP offer up a 'one time only' rebate check on property taxes…er fees. Did ‘Pawlenty-awful’ and the republican house forget to plan ahead?

No Team Work Among MN House GOP

Representative Lanning (MN R) is a taxes committee member in the MN House and he hadn't heard of the one time tax rebate, wasn't aware of it, hadn't even received a copy ?!?!

Kind of makes you wonder just who in the GOP lead MN House is making decisions. Why bother with representation if only a handful (at best) are calling the shots. We knew that the House Republican leadership has refused to reach across partisan lines to House Democrats but apparently that now extends to their own party's elected officials. Even those that serve on boards that vet tax issues! Tell me this doesn't stink of a desperation to be re-elected....

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Lanning said after receiving a copy of the news release. “I’m not real happy about reading about this in an e-mail after it had been released,” he said. A one-time rebate “doesn’t solve anything,” he said. “I have some real questions about it myself”

Friday, April 07, 2006

Friday's Follies

Limbo Lower
Bu$h's approval rating...36%
Bu$hCo (John Kline with DeLay)...30%


Too Late For An Intervention,
They've drank the koolaid and zombies sucked their brains out!
Powerline blogs Delay

“It’s too bad, I think. DeLay was an effective leader, albeit too liberal in recent years. It’s possible, of course, that he did something wrong along the way. But there is no evidence of that in the public domain…”

Best Defense of Delay:
Innocent By Virtue Of Being Republican!
"If DeLay was a crook, it will come out soon; in that event, we'll join in the chorus of denunciation. But at the moment, the evidence isn't there, and DeLay is entitled to a presumption of innocence, in view of his long service to his country and to the Republican Party."

Save Our Million/Billionaires:
$500,000: The average tax reduction for people earning more than $10 million a year. Geez thanks Bu$hCo!.

Against Immigration: Reason 1
Because we’re making money by sounding just like the guys who said our people were a blight on Germany.

Time Travel:
Last Year: Bush stressed NSA eaves dropping program is focused only on international calls.
Today: Bush has the authority to order wiretapping of solely domestic calls.

"Diebold or Die Bold -- Take Your Pick." --Michael Rectenwald 07 Apr 2006

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Violence Doesn't Have A Political Affiliation

Minnesota’s Governor Pawlenty criticized Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak for the recent rise in violent crimes. When I heard him I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry given that Governor Tim Pawlenty has cut funding for Safety and the Police in previous years by at least a third. As far back as 2003 local government officials across the state were concerned withTim’s budget proposals that lead to major cuts in public safety.

Pawlenty’s policies of managing by budget cuts squarely puts the lion’s share of blame for any lack of protection and safety in our communities on the Governor’s shoulders.

Minneapolis laid off a third of their police, battered women’s shelters were shut down, crime victim assistance grants that fund victims of battering, sexual assault, general crime, and child abuse was slashed by a third, and law enforcement along with community grants that are used to support crime prevention programs were gutted by 1.3 million. To be fair, yes some of the funding has been restored but not to the same level and many of these programs have to now rebuild both resources, contacts and experience.

It’s no wonder Pawlenty is currently trailing in the polls to announced Democratic candidates by 5-6 points, with only 40% pledging to re-elect him. Even Republicans know that violence isn’t partisan.

Bush a Traitor?

Former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby is saying that it was both Vice-President Cheney and President Bush who authorized him to out a CIA agent.

This agent was working to insure the safety and security of the United States and the Bush administration broke her cover, endangering her life and the lives of all her contacts in the field just to get political pay-back to the CIA agent's husband.

During the 04 Presidential election this was one of those stories I was trying to get more people to pay attention to, because this type of treason in the White House cannot be tolerated. If these facts pan out, both the President and Vice-President of the United States should be impeached and thrown into jail. It is just that simple.

More here

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Make Your Own Commercial!

They will eventually stop us, but before they do...
Go here, and here, and here, and check this.
SUVs do more than melt Greenland, who knew?

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

New numbers in the Horse Race

Hatch leads and Kelley tied with Pawlenty in latest Rasmussen Poll.

Hatch 45%

Pawlenty 40%
___

Kelley 42%

Pawlenty 42%

Bad news again for Pawlenty. Still polling in the low 40s is a bad sign for an incumbent. Where's Lourey? - Good question. This poll is especially good for Hatch, showing a very strong general favorability rating for him at 60%

I think that this 60% is the most interesting thing in all of this. I personally don't have very positive feelings towards the guy, not that I have to like a guy personally to be happy to vote for them, but there is a very loud group of people who just cannot stand him. I still have yet to hear why this is, or even figure out myself why I do not like him much, but that is my problem I guess. This poll does suggest that a Hatch has very positive support in the general public, and that is good for the DFL.

Hatch has got to get a new website, man it stinks.

Peas In A Pod: DeLay, Kline, Kennedy

Today ex-GOP majority leader Tom DeLay announced his pending retirement from politics amid epic size scandals of corruption, partisan politics, cronyism and numerous other criminal activities centered out of DeLay's office.

But here in Minnesota, two strong DeLay rubber stamp backers/supporters are currently seeking to stay in politcal offices. Both John Kline (R-MN) and Mark Kennedy (R-MN) have used their positions, influence and votes to further DeLay's corrupt leadership. Just how tangled up are Kline and Kennedy with DeLay's Culture of Corruption?

  • John Kline has taken more than any other Minnesota elected official $30,000 from Tom DeLay's ARMPAC. No surprise that Kline voted with Tom DeLay 96% of the time between Jan. 1 2004 and March 31 2005.
  • Mark Kennedy has taken a close second $29,500 from Tom DeLay's ARMPAC. Kennedy voted with Tom DeLay 95% of the time between Jan. 1 2004 and March 31 2005

  • John Kline and Mark Kennedy voted to weaken the ethics rules in a move that served only to protect Tom DeLay's leadership. John Kline also voted to allow Tom DeLay to continue serving as Leader even if Delay should be (and is) indicted!

  • Only when Republicans realized it was "impossible to win the communications battle" over their proposed gutted ethics rules, did Kline and Kennedy flip-flopped and voted to put the old rules back into place.

  • When Democrats offered a solution to clean up the House by strengthening ethics rules, John Kline and Mark Kennedy voted twice to make sure it never even came to an up or down vote.


Kline voted:

Kennedy voted:

Ding Dong DeLay is Done!

No surprise here, the Democrats did call it.

More Karma at work.

But the GOP still loves him, so continues the Republican Culture of Corruption

"The president thanked him for his service and all that he accomplished and wished him all the best," McClellan said. "Congressman DeLay has been a good ally whom the president has worked very closely with."


"Ally", do they really want to use that word? Oh well, too late. The slime of corruption continues throughout the GOP.

Monday, April 03, 2006

MN State Candidates

The best list of Minnesota Candidates for State House and Senate I have seen yet on a blog.

Check it out!

Republicans Need To Scrape The Sh*t Off Their Shoes

I turned on the TV this morning while making the coffee. Looks like the 'maintream media' will be aiding Bush in his delusion that all in Iraq is hunky dory and what corruptions exist is spread equally throughout the political arena But not so fast... It's time to confront the 'liberal' media bias and brand it for what it really is!

Take a look at this. It's Maeve Reston's article at the P-G describing how the Senate has approved new rules about lobbying because of Abramoff and Cunningham. Notice that not once is the word "Republican" used. The closest Reston gets is when mentioning the Republican members of Congress. But let's remember friends, that the Abramoff and Cunningham scandals are Republican scandals.

If you didn't know , Reston's piece presents Abramoff as an equal opportunity briber (which he wasn't) or that the lobbying corruption is shared in equal parts by both parties (which it isn't). In this piece it looks like the Senate has come together in a bipartisan way to clean up a bipartisan mess. Uh-uh. Not true. It was a partisan mess; A Republican partisan mess. Say after me...it was Republican all the way!

While Republicans would just as soon put newspaper over their sh*t (out of sight- out of mind), the Democrats want to get it cleaned up before it smells and stains the carpet.

Vacation is Over

Bush should get the message,
his long vacation is over.

Tactical Mistakes Were Made

Russet: Should someone resign?
Gen. Zinni: Absolutely.
Russet: Who?
Gen. Zinni: Secretary of Defense to begin with...
Video and transcript at Think Progress

Inquiring Minds Want To Know?

While it screams ‘give me some coffee’, Moses's early morning post at Yowling from the Fencepost is 110% right. Where the outrage from MDE about the lying, manipulations, cheating, illegal profiting and just plain evil of the Bu$hCo reign?

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Marko Supports Coleen Rowley

Sharon Marko(MN) throws her support behind Coleen Rowley for the congressional seat in 2...

"I leave the race for Congress, humbled by the depth of support I received, and searching for a path to unify our party in CD2 and beyond.

As Coleen Rowley noted in her email earlier today, our campaigns have been about defeating Kline. In the final analysis, that is what matters most.

In a little over a month, delegates will gather in Faribault where they will vote to endorse a congressional candidate.
Today, I offer my support for the candidacy of Coleen Rowley for United States Congress."

State Senator Sharon Marko