GOP feeds farmers ahead of critical election

Screw the poor, forget about free market and take care of that 2% of the population over everyone else. Hmmm, what's the trend here? How is it that dropping a few bucks to help a person in need in America is socialism yet lavishing corporate special interests with millions and billions is OK? Read More......

Ready for a "New Direction"?

There are just over 100 days left til Election Day. The Democrats have released their agenda and message:

The document, which carries the title "A New Direction for America," is a brief compilation of six themes Democrats have been pushing in various ways all year:

# National security

# Jobs and wages

# Energy independence

# Affordable health care

# Retirement security

# College access for all

"This 100 days is about drilling in the different direction we as Democrats will take this country," said Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The House version of the plan is here. America desperately needs a new direction. The GOP "stay the course" strategy is a disaster -- it's literally killing people. Read More......

House GOP may allow vote on min. wage -- with poison pills, of course

The question is how much the GOP will do to screw up the vote:

“American workers deserve a fair vote on a minimum wage increase, not a vote on a bill that’s larded up with harmful provisions,” said Representative George Miller of California, the senior Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Lawmakers and senior officials said the details of the proposal were still being developed. Members of the leadership said they expected that the plan would be to raise the pay scale gradually, reaching at least $7.25 an hour over about two years.

Others suggested that the legislation could also be tied to a Republican proposal to create small-business health plans, which they say could decrease the costs of health insurance for small employers.

Word from the Hill is that the GOP will definitely offer several poison pills to undermine the legislation. The Republicans spend a lot and energy screwing over the poor. Someone should suggest legislation that members of Congress make the minimum wage. Read More......

Michael Steele keeps making his "scarlet letter"/Bush bashing scandal worse

Typical Republican. He's denying and blaming everyone else. But, his own campaign approved the "off the record" quotes trashing Bush and his fellow Republicans. Via Political Wire:

Today, the Maryland Democratic Party sent Political Wire a copy of an email between Steele's communications director and Millbank giving approval for use of Steele's quotes and discussing the terms of the story. The email makes clear Steele's campaign knew about the story in advance and was even given the opportunity to approve the quotes in the story.

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What kind of loser bashes firefighters trying to save his state?

Conrad Burns. Read More......

Threats against judges at record pace

Disturbing, but not surprising, especially when the GOP makes judge bashing one of their top political priorities:

Threats and inappropriate communications have quadrupled over 10 years ago. There were 201 reported such incidents in the 1996 government spending year and 943 in the year that ended Sept. 30, the Marshals Service said.

This year alone, the Marshals Service has had 822 reports of inappropriate communications and threats, a pace that would top 1,000 for the year.

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US House report criticizes Bush administration intelligence work related to war on terror

The Bush administration has a pre-September 11 mentality.

U.S. intelligence has a poor understanding of threats against the United States, nearly five years after the September 11 attacks prompted the U.S. war on terrorism, according to a report released on Thursday.

The unclassified report on intelligence reform, issued by a House of Representatives intelligence oversight subcommittee, cited continued weakness in America's spying ability and warned that poor management had placed high-altitude espionage such as spy satellites at risk.

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George Bush's CIA or the Keystone Cops?

You decide. Read More......

Stephen Colbert strikes back

From Crooks and Liars. Read More......

Open thread

Sushi and Nasdaq went insane over their little catnip toys. I'm still trying to catch it on vid. Tomorrow's big mission: to find a fan (ventilateur, I know now, in French), since there ain't no AC in this friggin country. Read More......

$1,318 per second last quarter

Guess who? Sounds like they also need a juicy tax break, courtesy of the middle class taxpayers. Read More......

US Army kicks out Arabic linguist because he's gay

After all, how important really is stopping the next September 11 when there are more important issues like gays to worry about. The Republicans are simply obsessed with cultural issues, to the expense of national security and every other problem facing this nation. In this case, they went so far as to blatantly violate their own Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, launching an eight-month investigation - eight months, folks - in order to catch this guy simply for being gay. That is simply an absurd waste of resources during war time.

We have yet to catch Osama bin Laden. We are convinced that we will be struck again. And the Bush administration is more interested in wasting time and resources going after gays. This is what the Republican party has become.

A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, though he says he never told his superiors he was gay and his accuser was never identified.

Bleu Copas, 30, told The Associated Press he is gay, but said he was "outed" by a stream of anonymous e-mails to his superiors in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C....

An eight-month Army investigation culminated in Copas' honorable discharge on Jan. 30 -- less than four years after he enlisted, he said, out of a post-Sept. 11 sense of duty to his country.

Copas now carries the discharge papers, which mention his awards and citations, so he can document his military service for prospective employers. But the papers also give the reason for his dismissal.

Finally, read this part of the story. The Army went out of its way to find 'the gay' and kick him out. This isn't just a flagrant violation of policy, it's an incredibly screwed up, and deadly, look at what the Bush administration's, and this Pentagon's, priorities really are. Finding Osama clearly isn't one of them.

Shortly after Copas was appointed to the 82nd Airborne's highly visible All-American Chorus last May, the first e-mail came to the chorus director.

"The director brought everyone into the hallway and told us about this e-mail they had just received and blatantly asked, 'Which one of you are gay?'" Copas said.

Copas later complained to the director and his platoon sergeant, saying the questions violated "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"They said they would watch it in the future," Copas said. "And they said, even specifically then, 'Well, you are not gay are you?' And I said, 'no.'"

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Senator Harry Reid is victim of identity theft

Huh. Gosh, do you think privacy might actually be a good issue for Democrats to jump on? Oh that's right, I've been saying this for a good ten months. Silly me.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid discovered this week he was the victim of identity theft after someone used his MasterCard number to charge about $2,000 at a Wal-Mart and other stores in Monroe, North Carolina.

The Nevada Democrat said he found out someone had obtained the number after opening his bill Tuesday night.

There's a part of me that thinks the Democrats don't even deserve to take back Washington. Short of Iraq, there is NO other issue that I can think of that keeps popping into the news with weekly tragedies other than privacy. And the issue, privacy, affects so many issues that progressives care about, from contraception to abortion to gay rights to domestic spying to your tax returns and medical records. This is a perfect issue to stealthily forward a progressive agenda and overtly address the real needs of every single American. It's a no brainer. Or so you'd think. The Democratic party and its leadership are nowhere to be found on this issue.

If they can't seize on political manna from heaven when it drops in their lap twice a week for ten months, then seriously, what good are they?

Sigh. Read More......

Almost everyone hates Congress

28% approval rating for Congress. Bush is at 36. And by the GOP's definition, most Americans hate America:

More than twice as many respondents — 63 percent versus 30 percent — said the Iraq war had not been worth the American lives and dollars lost.

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"Waiting to get blown up"

US troops speak out about Iraq, and they're not happy:

"It sucks. Honestly, it just feels like we're driving around waiting to get blown up. That's the most honest answer I could give you," said Spec. Tim Ivey, 28, of San Antonio, a muscular former backup fullback for Baylor University....

Spec. Joshua Steffey, 24, of Asheville, N.C... said he wished "somebody would explain to us, 'Hey, this is what we're working for.' " With a stream of expletives, he said he could not care less "if Iraq's free" or "if they're a democracy."

Just remember. You're there because George Bush lied to the country and now is putting his ego above your well-being and the mission. He won't withdraw you, no matter how bad things get, no matter how lost the mission really is, because that would mean admitting a mistake. So, some of you will die - a lot of you will die - to save George Bush's face.

This is what you get when you vote Republican. Read More......

A Presidency of dangerous setbacks

The Washington Post has an article that deconstructs the disaster that is the Bush presidency. It's one failed policy after another. And, the U.S. and the world are more dangerous because of him:

For the president, the timing could not be much worse. In a second term marked by one setback after another, the White House was in the midst of a rebuilding effort aimed at a political comeback before November's critical midterm elections. Now the president faces the challenge of responding to events that seem to be spinning out of control again, all but sidelining his domestic agenda for the moment and complicating his effort to rally the world to stop nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea.

The crisis imperils one of Bush's signature ambitions. This is a president who eschewed Middle East peacemaking of the past as futile, embarking instead on a grand plan to remake the region into a more democratic, peaceful place. A year ago, a wave of reform seemed to take hold. Yet today radicalism is on the rise, Iran is believed to be closer to nuclear weapons and Bush is sending thousands more troops to Baghdad to quell spiraling violence.

This article is worth a read. Almost every paragraph is another compilation of Bush's incompetence. Read More......

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Let's get it started. Read More......

Shell quarterly profits only increase 40%

We really need to help them out, now more than ever. Only $7.32 billion in profit for the previous three months. Read More......

Greetings from Paris

I've arrived.

I'm at Chris in Paris' place, just got in about an hour ago. One of the best bakeries in Paris, at least for croissants, is across the street so I stopped in, luggage and all, as soon as I got off the bus from the airport. I've already downed the two in the photo, working on the third. The cats have welcomed me back like nothing's changed. Little do they know I have cat treats and catnip toys waiting for them in my bag.

Anyway, I'm about to survey the news, then grab a quick nap.

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Another Bush legacy - loss of confidence for the nation

Crushing the American spirit and dreams for the future: Mission Accomplished.

According to the poll, 65 percent say they feel less confident that life for their children's generation will be better than it was for them. In December 2001, the last time this question was asked, respondents — by a 49-42 percent margin — said they were confident life would be better for their children.

In addition, only 27 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, while 58 percent say they are less confident the Iraq war will come to a successful conclusion.

And among those who believe that the nation is headed on the wrong track, a whopping 81 percent believe it's part of a longer-term decline and that things won't get better for some time. Just 12 percent think the problems are short-term blips.

If the Democrats are unable to capitalize on this in the fall, the party might as well just pack their bags and disappear.

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Bush plan will allow India to build 50 (more) nuclear warheads per year

With India-Pakistan already in a very tense relationship, I don't see where adding more nukes is going to help settle the situation. I hate to flog a dead horse, but what the hell is Bush thinking? Does the world really need an arms race in the region or anywhere? With the recent deadly bombings in India and the continuing conflict in Kashmir, throwing more bombs into the mix can't possibly be helpful. The GOP congress is trying to add in last minute changes, which India rejected immediately, so it will be interesting to see how they vote in this election year. Read More......