Woman, 44, gives birth to her 18th child in Canada

Is there something wrong with this? Read More......

AP's Ron "Keep up the fight" Fournier was "considered for 'senior advisory role'" in McCain campaign

You all know Ron Fournier.

He's sitting with Liz Sidoti in the infamous "donuts" video.

He's the reporter who told Karl Rove to "keep up the fight" during the 2004 campaign.

He's the Washington bureau chief for the Associated Press.

And, in October of 2006, he interviewed for a position working with John McCain's presidential campaign.

I agree with Jed's take:

I guess he ultimately decided he could do more good from the AP than inside the campaign.

Just read Fournier's stuff like he's in a senior advisory role to the McCain campaign. Then, it will makes sense. Read More......

Housing continues to plummet

Oy. Or rather, in my case, "yeah!" I'm still hunting for that first home, so the prices can't drop quickly, and low, enough. Some of us saved our money and didn't try to get rich quick. Read More......

China censoring internet for Olympic media

Who would have guessed besides everyone? Did the IOC really believe China when they promised the world?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will investigate apparent censorship of the Internet service provided for media covering the Beijing Olympics, press chief Kevan Gosper said on Tuesday.

China, which has promised media the same freedom to report on the Games as they enjoyed at previous Olympics, loosened its regulations governing foreign media in January last year.

Despite these new regulations, which are scheduled to expire in October, foreign media in China have complained of continuing harassment by officials and Human Rights Watch released a report earlier this month saying China was not living up to its pledges.

Attempts to use the Internet network at the Main Press Centre to access the website of Amnesty International, which released a report on Monday slamming China for failing to honor its Olympic human rights pledges, proved fruitless on Tuesday.

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The Ted Stevens indictment causing GOP Turmoil in Alaska. Perfect time to help Begich

It's not every day that a top official in Bush Justice Department does a press conference to announce corruption charges against a long-serving Republican U.S. Senator.

So, now that Ted Stevens has been indicted -- on seven counts, we know he has to give up his leadership post on the Senate Commerce Committee. But, if he's convicted, will Anchorage change the name of the airport that Stevens had named for himself? And, for the record, Ted claims he's innocent (and he's saddened and disturbed by the whole thing. Okay?)

Before any airport re-naming decisions are required, politicos from D.C. to Alaska are trying to determine the implications of the indictment. Stevens has two challengers in the GOP primary scheduled for August 26th:

"Ted's prospects for winning the primary, they obviously just went up in smoke," said Anchorage pollster Marc Hellenthal. "It kind of opens up the Republican primary."

Hellenthal said developer David Cuddy would be the odds-on favorite for the Republican nomination but has run a lackluster campaign so far. He said the wild card is Alaska political newcomer Vic Vickers, owner of a Florida-based maritime company, who plans to spend $750,000 of his own money on winning the primary.

"If a guy is going to spend $750,000, you can't ignore him, and it's not like Dave (Cuddy) is a household name," Hellenthal said.

Vickers only moved to Alaska full time in January but has been coming to the state almost every year for the past 38 years. Vickers isn't well-known in Alaska politics but plans to start running TV ads Wednesday.

So, this has everything: there is an indicted incumbent. There is GOP turmoil. There's a contested GOP primary. There is a Republican Governor with her own on-going corruption scandal. There is a millionaire throwing money at the GOP primary.

And, then, there's Mark Begich. The Democratic mayor of Anchorage is poised to be the next Senator from Alaska. On this day, when the political landscape in Alaska shifted, show him some love over at ActBlue. Seriously, every contribution is helpful and will make a difference.

Turning Alaska blue...who thought it possible? Read More......

FactCheck.org: McCain ad is "false"

McCain isn't just confused. He's desperate, and now a liar too. Read More......

Washington Post calls being gay a "lifestyle choice"

And it's not just the headline, it's in the article itself. They're talking about being gay (unless they're going to claim that they meant opposing abortion is a "lifestyle choice," and if so, they're entering Alice in Wonderland territory). That's the kind of mistake newspapers made ten years ago, maybe 15. No one today says "lifestyle choice" for anything other than eating more bran in your diet. This isn't just a mistake, it's bizarre. Come on, people, it's bad enough that a reporter would use an outdated, and rather offensive, phrase like this to describe being gay, but that an editor wouldn't catch it? Again, come on. This is sloppy journalism and offensive. Read More......

Make sure you ask McCain why he opposed the GI Bill - he didn't even vote for it

McCain likes to talk about how he's was a tortured vet, so that means he's good on veteran's issues. No, it means he was a tortured vet. In order to see how good McCain actually is on veterans' issues, you need to look at his actual voting record on those issues. Just last month, McCain opposed the new GI Bill for our vets because he thought it was too generous. Too generous? What's too generous for our troops who are willing to die for our freedom? Well you'd have to ask John McCain, because he's the one who said it. In the end, the bill became law anyway, in spite of John McCain's and George Bush's objections. But McCain, the guy who never misses a chance to say how HE'S the one who supports the troops the most, didn't even bother showing up for the vote on the GI Bill. He was busy going to fundraisers in Los Angeles at the time (hope he wasn't in Hollywood). Much more important. Never forget that fact - when our troops needed John McCain, he didn't even bother showing up. I'd say that maybe he was at the gym playing basketball instead, but, I'm gonna go with water aerobics. Read More......

Anti-gays to sue over changed wording of California marriage repeal amendment

Apparently a little truth goes way too far for the anti-gay bigots of the religious right. They don't want voters in California to know that their ballot measure would repeal thousands of marriages of gay couples, so they're ticked that the state attorney general's office changed the wording of the description of the measure in order to explain exactly what the measure does - it doesn't define marriage as between a man and a woman, it repeals the marriages of gay couples. As Joe has noted before, the fundies are afraid to tell voters the truth because they know people don't support their extreme, intolerant views. So they sugar coat their initiatives, hoping to fool the voters with talk of traditional marriage and family values. Why can't they just tell the voters up front what the impact of the proposed legislation is and let the voters decide what they want to do? Because if they did, they'd lose. America isn't nearly as hateful as the homophobes running the religious right. Read More......

More on the Ted Stevens indictment

First, help Democrat Mark Begich win this Senate seat. Fortuitous timing that we posted his video and ActBlue page almost at the same time the indictment was announced.

Markos and his colleagues are sorting through what this means on the Republican side -- both politically and legally -- in upcoming election.

Also, looks like Stevens will lose his coveted leadership perch on the Senate Commerce Committee:

NBC's Ken Strickland adds that, per Senate GOP caucus rules, if a member is indicted, he or she can no longer serve as chairman or ranking member of a committee until the case is resolved. Upon conviction, the chair/ranking member would automatically be replaced.

The Anchorage Daily News reports on the details of the news conference announcing the indictments:

With the felony indictment, Stevens, an icon in Alaska politics, becomes by far the most powerful politician charged in a broad investigation into corruption of Alaska public officials that began more than four years ago that has so far led to convictions of three state legislators and charges against two others.

At a news conference in Washington this morning, Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal division, said Stevens would be allowed to turn himself in. Stevens' attorney, Brendan Sullivan of Washington, was notified of the indictment this morning, Friedrich said.

The seven-count indictment charges Stevens with making false statements by failing to disclose things of value he received from Veco Corp., an Alaska-based oil services company, and from its chairman, Bill Allen, over an eight-year period. The indictment charges that those included substantial improvements to Stevens' home in Girdwood; automobile exchanges in which he received new vehicles worth far more than the old ones; and household goods.

At the same time, according to the indictment, Stevens received solicitations for official actions from Allen and other Veco employees, and used his office on behalf of Veco.

The federal Ethics in Government Act requires all senators to file financial disclosures statements detailing their transactions during the previous calendar year, including the disclosure of gifts above a specified value and all liabilities greater than $10,000.

At the news conference, Friedrich said the case involved false disclosures, not bribery, and no specific actions by Stevens in return for the gifts were alleged. But the indictments also says that Veco had requests for Stevens, and that Stevens and his staff responded.

The ADN also links back to its article from a year ago about the FBI raid on Stevens' home.

And, here's a pdf version of the indictment. Read More......

"Prominent evangelical leaders" to McCain: Don't pick Mitt. We don't trust him.

In the paper of record for right wingers and theocrats, the Moonie Times, McCain is given a very clear admonition about the dangers of picking Mitt Romney to be his Vice President:

Prominent evangelical leaders are warning Sen. John McCain against picking former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as his running mate, saying their troops will abandon the Republican ticket on Election Day if that happens.

They say Mr. Romney lacks trust on issues such as outlawing abortion and opposing same-sex marriage and because he is a Mormon. Opposition is particularly powerful among those who supported former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Republican presidential primaries earlier this year.

"McCain and Romney would be like oil and water," said evangelical novelist Tim LaHaye, who supported Mr. Huckabee. "We aren't against Mormonism, but Romney is not a thoroughgoing evangelical and his flip-flopping on issues is understandable in a liberal state like Massachusetts, but our people won't understand that."

The Rev. Rob McCoy, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Thousand Oaks, Calif., who speaks at evangelical events across the country, told The Washington Times, "I will vote for McCain unless he does one thing. You know what that is? If he puts Romney on the ticket as veep.

"It will alienate the entire evangelical community - 62 million self-professing evangelicals in this country, half of them registered to vote, are going to be deeply saddened," Mr. McCoy added.

Read More......

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens indicted

AP:

Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, has been indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

Stevens, 84, has been dogged by a federal investigation into whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.

From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said Stevens concealed "his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation." The indictment released Tuesday said the items included: home improvements to his vacation home in Alaska, including a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical wiring; as well as car exchanges, a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools.

As Joe noted in the post below, give to Mark Begich who is running against Stevens. Read More......

Let's Help Mark Begich become Alaska's new Senator

UPDATE: So, I set up this post and went out to lunch -- and look what happened. Stevens was indicted. Wow.
_____________

Mark Begich is running against Ted Stevens for Senate in Alaska. I caught up with Mark when he was in DC and he did a quick video to introduce himself:



We can help Begich win. AMERICAblog has set up an ActBlue page to raise money for his campaign. We can buy a full day of t.v. for approximately $10,000. And, get this: Stevens's campaign manager has been complaining that Begich is raising money through ActBlue, which he called "liberal Lower 48 Internet campaign known as ActBlue." Matt Browner-Hamlin from the Begich campaign had to explain ActBlue and the internet to Stevens' campaign manager.

That fits a pattern. Stevens is currently the ranking Republican on the Senate Commmerce, Science and Transportation Committee. He chaired that committee when the GOP controlled the Senate. Technology policy is under the commmittee's jurisdiction. Ted "The Tubes" Stevens shouldn't have anything to do with tech policy.

If Alaska is competitive -- and it is -- anything is possible in 2008. Recent polls have shown Begich with a lead over Stevens. And, there is that pending federal investigation of Stevens. Last year, his house was raided by the FBI and the IRS.

Help Mark Begich defeat Ted Stevens. The campaign has a filing deadline on August 6th. We can help drive up Begich's numbers through the very ActBlue, which the campaign of Ted Stevens has vilified. Send the money through the tubes to Begich's campaign. Read More......

"What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?"

Lisa: "Mr. Burns: your campaign seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. Why are you so popular?"

The title of this post is an actual interview question that Monica Goodling asked job candidates at the Justice Department. Come on, you know you want to answer. Go for it in the comments. Read More......

Rachel Maddow: "There's a difference between being a veteran and supporting a veteran as a politician."

Olbermann and Maddow eviscerate McCain over his lack of support of vets and the troops. Olbermann details all the pro-troops legislation that McCain either opposed or refused to even show up for a vote. You really need to watch this, then send it to your friends. These are actual votes that McCain opposed, actual legislation that would have helped the troops, and he was against it. McCain likes to talk about how he's all about the troops, but he doesn't like to talk about the specifics of his record. Well the specifics are here (h/t Jed).

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McCain endorses "timetable" for Iraq - again - right after he said he never did

He's baaaack. Only a day or so after declaring that he NEVER said the word "timetable" (he did), McCain is now again saying that a 16-month withdrawal timetable from Iraq is fine with him, if the commanders on the ground approve it. I'm actually kind of enjoying this. Read More......

McCain appears to call Petraeus chairman of the joint chiefs - but he isn't

Another seeming gaffe from John McCain on, yet again, his signature issue. It's all just getting a bit creepy at this point.

MCCAIN: I believe that, when he said that we had to leave Iraq, and we had to be out by last March, and we had to have a date certain, that was in contravention to -- and still is -- the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus.

When he never asked to sit down for a briefing with General Petraeus, our commander on the ground, when he waited 900 days to go back again, where young American lives are on the line, I think that's a fundamental lack of understanding. And I think the American people will make the appropriate choice.

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McCain doesn't have a damned clue about the economy

His comments yesterday were so far off the mark and once again prove how little he understands what is happening. Did excessive spending by Republicans cause problem? Well, duh. Of course they did. Was spending the key issue? Hardly, but don't tell that to the guy who worships Gramm-O-Nomics. Good grief, how far removed from planet earth is this guy? Meanwhile, Obama is talking to some heavy hitters who know a few things about the economy. He's said this before but now more than ever they deserve to be repeated.

"It was not an accident or a normal part of the business cycle that led us to this situation," Obama said. "There were some irresponsible decisions that were made on Wall Street and in Washington."

Obama said the economy needs both short- and long-term fixes, including another round of "stimulus" measures from Congress to revive the economy and a longer-term focus on renewable energy to curb high gas prices and on universal health care to trim costs. He said he would move "rapidly and vigorously" to respond.

"We are also going to have to provide some short-term relief," Obama said. "People are hurting right now. We need to respond rapidly and vigorously to problems, and to anticipate the problems that may be on the horizon."

Present at the meeting were AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, former treasury secretary Paul ONeill, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, the former head of Wall street investment firm Goldman Sachs. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett joined via speaker phone.

Republican John McCain said the culprit for the deficit was the administration's wasteful spending.

"There is no more striking reminder of the need to reverse the profligate spending that has characterized this administration's fiscal policy," McCain said in a statement issued Monday.

And? AND? I almost thought McCain was going to continue and talk about the credit crunch that his old pal Phil Gramm orchestrated in Congress, but no, that would make too much sense. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Fourteen weeks -- 98 days - til Election day on November 4th. One month til John McCain turns 72 on August 29th. Could be just days til we get V.P. choices.

This is bar exam week - the week that the legal profession shows it is so, so honorable by making lawyers pass a test. Good luck to everyone enduring that process including my pals Jon, Lauren and Nick.

Thread the news. Read More......

Human rights in China decline prior to Olympics

If the pollution doesn't get you, the police probably will. Glad to see world leaders tripping over themselves to stand side by side with this government. Western democracy really does stand apart from the rest with it's fine model for others to follow. It's almost hard to believe that some see hypocrisy from leaders such as Bush who can't stop talking about his love of democracy yet cozies up with political leaders who deny free speech and arrest those who speak out, but maybe it's all a matter of basic jealousy for George.

The human rights situation in China has deteriorated in the run-up to its hosting of the Olympic Games this year, Amnesty International says.

It documents the use of "re-education through labour", the suppression of rights activists and journalists, and the use of arbitrary imprisonment.

A spokesman urged world leaders due to attend the Games, opening in 10 days, to speak out against the violations.

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White House supports toxins in baby toys

Incredible. As they always do, Bush and the Republicans stand side by side with the chemical industry and, of course Big Oil, who continue to claim that toxins in baby toys is fine. Do they ever stop propping up these corporations, ever? Now that McCain is receiving so much lobbyist money from Big Oil, we know he's not going to change these policies.

Congressional negotiators agreed Monday to a ban on a family of toxins found in children's products, handing a major victory to parents and health experts who have been clamoring for the government to remove harmful chemicals from toys.

The ban, which would take effect in six months, would have significant implications for U.S. consumers, whose homes are filled with hundreds of plastic products designed for children that may be causing dangerous health effects.

The rare action by Congress reflects a growing body of scientific research showing that children ingest the toxins by acts as simple as chewing on a rubber duck. Used for decades in plastic production, the chemicals are now thought to act as hormones and cause reproductive problems, especially in boys.

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Van highjacked in UK with 3000 blank passports

No, it's doesn't sound very suspicious at all, does it?

The Foreign Office today admitted a serious breach of security took place after blank passports destined for British embassies were stolen.

A spokeswoman said 24 parcels containing blank passports and vignettes - the blank stickers for visa stamps - were taken from a van en-route from a factory in Oldham to RAF Northolt near London.

It was reported 3,000 documents were stolen, but the spokeswoman was unable to confirm this number.

She said the incident was being investigated by Greater Manchester Police, adding the Home Office and Identity and Passport Service (IPS) had taken "preventative action" to guard against forgeries.

The Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The van was hijacked en route from the production site."

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It could happen to you

MoveOn's new ad:

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