The Truth... Ain't It a Bitch?

Understocked? Funny!

Norm Coleman Needs to Concede

OK, Norm, you've had your fun. Your delusional multi-month belief that you will somehow defeat Al Franken in over! You've had your day in court. And the votes you wanted to be counted have been counted. And y'know what? Al Franken won more of those votes than you did! Are you happy now that you've wasted all that time and money giving your opponent more votes?

It is time for this to come to an end. Yes, Norm, you can still go to the Minnesota Surpreme Court... and I guess, even to the US Supreme Court. But you lost. And every time you win a court battle you lose more votes. Give it up... and learn to say this: Senator Al Franken!

Caroline Kennedy? There's Gotta Be Someone More Qualified

Caroline Kennedy has voiced her desire to be named to succeed Hillary Clinton as the junior Senator from New York after Hillary is confirmed as Obama's Secretary of State. I don't see it happening... Yes, I know that there may be sentiment for Teddy Kennedy to turn his Senate desk over to someone in the family... he sits in his brother's (JFK's) desk in the back of the Senate.

But that is no way to choose a replacement Senator. Kennedy's only "qualification" is having the last name of Kennedy. I guess she could learn on the job, but I hope Governor Patterson appoints someone more suited to hit the ground running (maybe AG Andrew Cuomo?)

Will Stevens' Senate Seat Go Dem?

Now that Republican Senator Ted Stevens, convicted liar and thief, has had his day in court - and lost - it will be interesting to see if those chowderheads in Alaska vote him out of office. They should - which means one more Senator on the Democratic side.

At this rate, the Democrats could gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate (that'd be 60). And that may be scary, but it means the Dems won't have any more excuses and the Dems will get the blame/credit for the next few years.

And the Dems stand to gain in the House of Representatives, too. Of course, my district will likely go back to being Republican. Nick Lampson has done a very good job the past two years (especially during the aftermath of the recent hurricane) but the district is so hopelessly gerrymandered to skew Republican that not even Jesus Christ could win if he ran as a Democrat.

Three Cheers for Americans United

Last Wednesday, September 24th, Americans United sent out a press release that read as follows: Houses of worship that flagrantly violate federal tax law by taking part in a Religious Right-led effort to politicize America’s pulpits this Sunday will be promptly reported to the Internal Revenue Service, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Religious Right legal group based in Arizona, is urging pastors to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit on Sept. 28, even though IRS regulations forbid tax-exempt groups from intervening in political campaigns. Reportedly, about 30 churches will participate.

“Taking part in this reckless stunt is a one-way ticket to loss of tax exemption,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “We’ll be watching, and pastors who violate the law can expect their churches to be reported to the IRS the first thing Monday morning.”

Since 1996, Americans United has sponsored Project Fair Play, an effort designed to educate religious leaders about the requirements of federal tax law. AU has filed complaints to the IRS about 85 houses of worship and religious non-profits. One church lost its tax exemption, some have been audited and others have received IRS warnings.

Lynn noted that tax exemption is a privilege and it comes with certain limitations.

“Houses of worship exist to enrich people's spiritual lives, not act like political machines that issue marching orders to voters,” Lynn said. “They are tax-exempt because their work is religious and charitable, not political.”

Earlier this month, prominent Washington tax attorneys and former IRS officials Marcus Owens, Mort Caplin and Cono Namorato told the IRS that the ADF’s scheme is a “mass violation of federal tax law” and clearly violates the ethics rules governing practice before the IRS. They called for an IRS investigation and appropriate penalties for the ADF.

Meanwhile, Americans United is circulating a letter to churches advising religious leaders on the rules governing tax-exempt entities and politics. Churches should not participate in the ADF’s “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” scheme if they want to hold on to their tax exemption.

Many clergy have opposed the ADF’s plan for this Sunday.

Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami released a statement indicating that none of his Catholic churches or priests will participate in the initiative.

The Rev. Eric Williams of North Congregational United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, urged clergy all over America to give sermons in support of church-state separation and against partisan politics in houses of worship.

Americans United’s Web site, http://www.projectfairplay.org/, educates pastors, laypeople and others about the requirements of federal tax law. It also serves as a place to report tax law violations to Americans United.

Added Lynn, “Pastors who are thinking of joining the ADF’s gambit still have time to change their minds and I urge them to do so.”

A Modest Drilling Proposal

I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief as I watched and listened to a crowd of idiots at the Republican convention last evening chant "Drill Baby, Drill" over and over. Expanding drilling is a red herring. It will not deliver enough oil to make a dent in our reliance on foreign suppliers. In some cases, it would endanger eco-systems, wild life, and other environmental factors. Furthermore, the oil would be gathered (eventually, some time in the distant future) by large international oil conglomerates with no promise that the oil would ever be used by Americans.

But, hey, I'm willing to compromise. After all, I'm not a mindless Republican automaton. So, here is what the Democrats in control of Congress at the moment should do. Author a bill that expands drilling in more areas (except ANWR), with the stipulation that ALL oil gathered MUST be used for US domestic purposes only.

I wonder, d'ya think the Reps would vote for that?

Palin's Teen Daughter: Pregnant, Single, Not Married

In yet another surprising development in the Republican presidential campaign, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin confirmed in a statement Monday that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is five months pregnant.

This is interesting for several reasons:

First, Palin is a conservative Christian who denounces such actions, yet could not instill the same "values" in her own child.

Second, it really boggles the imagination to "believe" that the McCain team thoroughly vetted this woman. I mean, c'mon. Pregnant unmarried daughter, under investigation for abuse of office, only 20 months of "experience" as governor.

Third, if they did vet her, and then decided that she was the most qualified person to be picked for Veep, then that speaks volumes about McCain's ability to make the tough decisions... it says he can't.

Diebold Still Causing Problems

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has filed a lawsuit against an electronic-voting machine vendor, saying the vendor should pay damages for dropped votes in the state's March primary election.

E-voting machines from Premier Election Solutions, formerly called Diebold Election Systems, dropped hundreds of votes in 11 Ohio counties during the primary election, as the machine's memory cards uploaded to vote-counting servers, Brunner's office said. Officials in Brunner's office later discovered the dropped votes in other counties after voting officials in Butler County discovered about 150 dropped votes, said Jeff Ortega, Brunner's assistant director of communications.

The votes were recovered and included in the final counts but could have easily been overlooked, Ortega said.

A Premier spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for the company's comments on the lawsuit.

No Privacy Online

Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd's 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America's small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill's managers without debate this week, would require the nation's payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.

Well, that really sucks. Here's another huge bite being taken out of our privacy. I might just go on-line and buy dildos, tapioca pudding, and diapers... that'll make 'em wonder what I'm up to and why the hell they're tracking me...

...or they'll show up to put my ass in an institution somewhere.

Offshore Drilling?

Now here is a diversionary discussion if ever there was one. Ooooh, gas is over $4 a gallon, let's raise a stupid proposal that makes it look like I've got ideas to solve the problem. So we get the talking point proposal lifting the offshore drilling moratorium (imposed, by the way, by Bush the elder).

So McCain thinks that drilling off of our coast will help to alleviate our gas problem? How incredibly ridiculous. Of course, this is another of McCain's flip-flops (don't Republicans hate flip flopping?), but it is also a crazy idea. Why? For many reasons:

1. We should not, as a nation, damage our coastlines, which oil drilling right off the coast could do. And it will also damage the beauty of our coasts, which support billions of travel and leisure business.
2. Selling leases for more offshore drilling will not "be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis" as McCain states. It takes many years to explore, contruct and open oil rigs. Nothing short-term about this at all.
3. The oil companies are already sitting on ver 4,000 undeveloped leases in the western Gulf of Mexico. And the government already leases 44 million acres offshore, of which only 10.5 million—or one quarter—are producing oil or gas.

The gas/oil industry already has access to the vast majority of the estimated Outer Continental Shelf natural gas resources, including 4 times the amount of natural gas estimated to occur in moratoria areas by the Minerals Management Service. And of the huge resources they have access to, they have developed only a fraction of it.

For once, President Bush got something right. In February he acknowledged the country is ‘addicted to oil.’ But you don't cure addiction by increasing the supply of what you are addicted to! You take measures to ween the addicted off of the 'stuff.' For example, better gas mileage standards... stricter enforcement of speed limits... funding sources of alternative energy...


So why is this an issue? Why is the right wing trumpeting this as a talking point? Well, I believe it is because they want to use it as an excuse. The Democrats will oppose it, Congress will not allow it, and if/when gas prices continue to rise, the Repuglicans will say something like "Oh, we had the solution, but the tree hugging Dems wouldn't adopt it. Blame them, blame them..."

Sad... Just sad...

Scotty Beams Us In

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan charges in an explosive new book that President George W. Bush and top aides shaded the truth to make the case for the Iraq war, which he declared unnecessary.

This is news? Haven't we all heard this before? Although I guess not from an insider... and controversy sells books, like McClellan's recently published What Happened -- Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception.

President Bush’s much-criticized flyover of the hurricane-damaged area was Karl Rove’s fault, not McClellan’s, the former press secretary says. Rove kept insisting on it, despite McClellan’s suggestion that it was a bad plan, he writes.

Does that surprise anyone? Well, maybe that it wasn't Cheney's idea...

I guess, to me at least, the bottom line here is that Scotty was part of the crew who fucked things up. He can write about it not being his fault. He can claim that he thought the war was unnecessary. But he was right there spouting the administration's talking points, day-in and day-out. This book won't change that...

The Republican Backdoor Power Grab

I received the following information from Democracy for America and decided to pass it along in the blog today:

Republicans can't win elections based on their failed philosophies, so, they've latched onto a new plan: make it as hard and expensive as possible for people to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote.

Since the Supreme Court decided two weeks ago to uphold a draconian law in Indiana that requires citizens show a government issued photo ID to vote, Republican legislatures across the country have started moving fast to pass their own version of this horrible law.
And just like the poll taxes and literacy tests of the past, Republicans hide their real purpose under the banner of preventing possible voter fraud. But these laws are really about stopping senior citizen, low income, and newly registered Americans from voting. Why? Because they typically vote for Democrats.

We must stand together and protect every American's right to vote.

SIGN THE PETITION NOW

Tennessee Bible Learnin'

Tennessee Senate Bill 4104 proposes the creation of "non-sectarian" high school Bible instruction courses under the guise of teaching history and literature.

On the surface, this seems like it should not really be a problem, but I think it is (surprise, surprise, right?)... First, the good things about this:

1. The course would be an elective. If it were mandatory, it would be illegal IMHO.
2. The course would be mandated to "(b)e taught in an objective and nondevotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students as to either the truth or falsity of the biblical materials or texts from other religious or cultural traditions.
3. It is directed to not include teaching of religious doctrine or sectarian interpretation of
   the Bible or of texts from other religious or cultural traditions.
4. The course is mandated to not disparage or encourage a commitment to a set of religious beliefs.

Sounds good, right? Biblical references and quotes are all around us and it would do everyone a bit of good to have a frame of reference for where these "things" come from.

But the bible as history? Hmmm... problem there. Especially if "miracles" are taught as history.

And where is the oversight? I do not think that these tenets would be followed and I see no way of adequatley policing them.

Furthermore, why just the bible? How about an elective course on the Koran? Of course, Tennessee doesn't care about the Koran because this bill is just a way to sneak religious study into the schools.

Here's an elective course I'd recommend for high schoolers: Comparative Religion. Read, compare and contrast the "holy" books of the world's biggest religions: christianity/judaism, islam, hindu, and maybe buddhism. Learn about talking donkeys and flying horses. Read the whole she-bang for each and let the students actively discuss the things in these books. That'd be fun... but again, I'd worry about oversight.

Let's Hear it for Norway

After years of political debate, the Norwegian parliament has agreed changes to the country’s constitution that weakens the relationship between church and state. Paragraph 2 of the Constitution names the Lutheran Church as the state religion, but this will now be changed to read: "The basic values of our nation shall be our Christian and humanistic heritage." However, in another paragraph of the amended constitution, the Norwegian Lutheran Church will be named as a "folk church". It will also continue to state that the King confesses to the Evangelical Lutheran faith.

In addition, the compromise grants the Church the right to appoint bishops and deans, although they will still be state employees. (In the current selection process, the Church submits candidates to the government, which makes the final decision.)

The compromise also includes provisions for the Church of Norway to carry out a "democratic reform" to give church members more influence in church matters. The constitutional changes require a two-thirds majority in Parliament and are expected to pass in 2012.

Well, it is not the secular government that the USA has etched into our Consitution, but at least they are making some steps in the right direction.

Obama is Frustrated... Rightly So.

Barack Obama said he is frustrated by questions about his religious beliefs and patriotism, particularly because his presidential rivals are not questioned in the same way.

“It frustrates me that people would even have a question about something like that because they don’t ask the same questions of some of the other candidates and that concerns me,” Obama said here Monday night.

I can understand his frustration. But until religion becomes a non-issue in political campaigns in the USA (OK, that'll never happen), this type of bullshit will continue to happen.

In an age where journalism is dead and the truth is irrelevant, any old lie will do, as long as it is entertaining and stirs the masses. Did you see The Daily Show yesterday evening (4/21)? They actually had a clip from MSNCB (I think) where pundits watched Obama briefly scratch his face with his middle finger and they actually debated whether he was flipping Hillary off? Is this what "news" has come to?

I'm afraid it is.

For the record, Obama is not a Muslim, wearing a flag pin says absolutely NOTHING about your patriotism, and I need a fresh cup of coffee...

Is Al Gore The Answer?

I just ran across this very interesting opinion piece (by Joe Klein) and thought I'd share it with everyone here:

Unlike Barack Obama, Bill Clinton does not believe in "the fierce urgency of now." The former President has an exquisitely languid sense of how political time unfurls. He understands that those moments the political community, especially the media, considers urgent usually aren't. He has seen his own election and re-election - and completing his second term - pronounced "impossible" and lived to tell the tale. He remembers that in spring 1992 he had pretty much won the Democratic nomination but was considered a dead man walking, running third behind Bush the Elder and Ross Perot. He knows that April is the silly season in presidential politics, the moment when candidates involved in a bruising primary battle seem weakest and bloodied, as both Hillary Clinton and Obama do now. It's the moment when pundits demand action - "Drop out, Hillary!" - and propound foolish theories. And so I'm rather embarrassed to admit that I'm slouching toward, well, a theory: if this race continues to slide downhill, the answer to the Democratic Party's dilemma may turn out to be Al Gore.

This April promises to be crueler than most. The two campaigns have started attacking each other with chainsaws, while the Republican John McCain is moving ahead in some national polls. At this point, Clinton can only win the nomination ugly: by superdelegates abandoning Obama and turning to her, in droves - not impossible, but not very likely either. Even if Clinton did overtake Obama, it would be very difficult for her to win the presidency: African Americans would never forgive her for "stealing" the nomination. They would simply stay home in November, as would the Obamista youth. (Although the former President is probably thinking: Yeah, but John McCain is a flagrantly flawed candidate too - I'd accept even a corrupted nomination and take my chances.)

Which is not to say that Clinton's candidacy is entirely without purpose now that she is pursuing a Republican-style race gambit, questioning Obama's 20-year relationship with the Rev. Jeremiah "God damn America" Wright. Democrats will soon learn how damaging that relationship might be in a general election. They'll also see if Obama has the gumption to bounce back, work hard - not just arena rallies for college kids but roundtables for the grizzled and unemployed in American Legion halls - and change the minds that have turned against him. The main reason superdelegates have not yet rallied round Obama is that the party is collectively holding its breath, waiting to see how he performs in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana.

He will probably do well enough to secure the nomination. But what if he tanks? What if he can't buy a white working-class vote? What if he loses all three states badly and continues to lose after that? I'd guess that the Democratic Party would still give him the nomination rather than turn to Clinton. But no one would be very happy - and a year that should have been an easy Democratic victory, given the state of the economy and the unpopularity of the incumbent, might slip away.

Which brings us back to Al Gore. Pish-tosh, you say, and you're probably right. But let's play a little. Let's say the elders of the Democratic Party decide, when the primaries end, that neither Obama nor Clinton is viable. Let's also assume - and this may be a real stretch - that such elders are strong and smart enough to act. All they'd have to do would be to convince a significant fraction of their superdelegate friends, maybe fewer than 100, to announce that they were taking a pass on the first ballot at the Denver convention, which would deny the 2,025 votes necessary to Obama or Clinton. What if they then approached Gore and asked him to be the nominee, for the good of the party - and suggested that he take Obama as his running mate? Of course, Obama would have to be a party to the deal and bring his 1,900 or so delegates along.

I played out that scenario with about a dozen prominent Democrats recently, from various sectors of the party, including both Obama and Clinton partisans. Most said it was extremely unlikely ... and a pretty interesting idea. A prominent fund raiser told me, "Gore-Obama is the ticket a lot of people wanted in the first place." A congressional Democrat told me, "This could be our way out of a mess." Others suggested Gore was painfully aware of his limitations as a candidate. "I don't know that he'd be interested, even if you handed it to him," said a Gore friend. Chances are, no one will hand it to him. The Democratic Party would have to be monumentally desperate come June. And yet ... is this scenario any more preposterous than the one that gave John McCain the Republican nomination? Yes, it's silly season. But this has been an exceptionally "silly" year.

View this article on Time.com

Obama, Wright, Hypocrisy, and Racism

With all the political foo-fa-rah going on about Barack Obama's ex-paster, Jaramiah Wright, I wanted to weigh in with my opinion. This is nothing but racism, racism, racism. When white people (even pastors) say stupid shit it does not become such a whirlwind. Fer fuck's sake, McCain has cozied up to Jerry Falwell after calling him an agent of intolerance back in 2000. Since McCain denounced him in 2000, Falwell has said that Jews can't go to heaven unless they accept Christ, that the Prophet Mohammed was a terrorist and that gays and feminists bore responsibility for 9/11. Is that any crazier than what Wright has said? No, but Wright is scarier because he is black.

What about the stupid-ass song that was sung at one of the Republican debates? The Church of God Choir, from Springfield, Ohio, reworded God Bless America as Why Would God Bless America.



The lyrics are:

Why should God bless America?
She’s forgotten he exists
And has turned her back
On everything that made her what she is

Why should God stand beside her
Through the night with the light from his hand?
God have mercy on America
Forgive her sin and heal our land

The courts ruled prayer out of our schools
In June of ‘62
Told the children “you are your own God now
So you can make the rules”

O say can you see what that choice
Has cost us to this day
America, one nation under God,
has gone astray

Why should God bless America?
Shes’s forgotten he exists
And has turned her back on everything
That made her what she is

And on and on and on. This is a very similar sentiment to Wright's "god damn America" rant, albeit less incendiarily delivered.

Finally, Obama's speech on this matter (March 18, 2008) should have put this matter to rest. He condemns Wright's statements. Watch it for yourself:



But the hypocrisy and racism roll on. And to many Obama will be guilty by association no matter what he says. I'd hate for something so stupid to be his undoing... but I wouldn't be surprised.

Is That Oversight I Smell?

Yahoo News reports: House Democrats demanded documents Thursday about a multibillion-dollar overseas contracting loophole to track down how — and why — the Bush administration slipped it into plans to protect taxpayer money.

Isn't it about time to track down where all of the missing money is that was sent to the war effort, but then looted by war profiteers? But I understand why the president wouldn't want to pursue war profiteering, I mean, after all, some the biggest war profiteers are his family members! Why aren't more people outraged that billions of dollars are unaccounted for, and there are widespread allegations of waste, fraud and war profiteering.

If you read that first Yahoo News story a little further, it notes that: The United States has spent more than $102 billion over the last five years to help rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. In that time, the Justice Department has uncovered at least $14 million in contract bribes in those two nations alone.

I hate that we are spending so much on this war in the first place, but the least we could do is try to ensure that we are competently spending what has been allocated!

Ten Commandments Weekend?

Joe Lieberman and Sam Brownback are up to some crazy shenanigans in the US Senate. They have introduced S. Res. 483 which wants to officially recognize the first weekend of May 2008 as "Ten Commandments Weekend." After a plethora of ridiculous "whereas..." clauses, it reads:

Resolved, That the Senate—

1. recognizes the first weekend of May 2008 as ‘‘Ten Commandments Weekend’’;
2. celebrates the Ten Commandments as a significant aspect of the national life of the United States; and
3. encourages citizens of the United States to reflect on the integral role that the Ten Commandments have played in the life of the Nation.

First of all, I find many of the 1o commandments repugnant and I want nothing to do with recognizing, celebrating, or encouraging reflection on them.

Secondly, most blowhard right-wing xians blather on and on about these commandments without realizing that the biblical penalty for violating them is death.

Thirdly, if we have to have a weekend celebrating a religious list, how about Sermon on the Mount weekend; or just Beatitudes weekend? But for some reason the commandment zealots (and, indeed, a lot of xians) don't embrace that particular part of the bible so much. I wonder why? OK, I know why Lieberman doesn't, he's Jewish; but what about Brownback?

Fourth, and most importantly, don't you think the US Senate should have better and more important things to tend to?