For Dems only.

[sox4lifeinPA]

As I'm fairly fond of pointing out...Mitt Romney is also the only potential frontrunner for the Repub. nomination who hasn't cheated on his wife. Gingrich, McCain, Giuliani, etc.

 

 

which of course makes them front runners for the Dem nod.

 

 

 

ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

[Damen]

And we also don't live in a monarchy state: you all tend to paint GWB as something he's not, because you don't like the fact that he actually does something to protect us from people who want to kill us. But now, of course, I'll be a islamo-phobe for even pointing this out.

 

You're right. He's the decider. The very mature, intelligent, and rational decider. How could anyone suggest he acts childish? Just because he can't form a sentence, refer to anyone by their real name, do anything correctly, or eat pretzels doesn't mean those angry liberals have a right to pretend he's something he's not!

[kapkomet]

You're right. He's the decider. The very mature, intelligent, and rational decider. How could anyone suggest he acts childish? Just because he can't form a sentence, refer to anyone by their real name, do anything correctly, or eat pretzels doesn't mean those angry liberals have a right to pretend he's something he's not!

And I bet 9/11 was an inside job all at the same time from our bumbling idiot of a president.

[Balta1701]

And I bet 9/11 was an inside job all at the same time from our bumbling idiot of a president.

Iraq war...great war, or greatest war?

Edited December 8, 2006 by Balta1701

[Balta1701]

Argh!!! Incoming house intelligence chairman Silvestre Reyes...

 

We warmed up with a long discussion about intelligence issues and Iraq. And then we veered into terrorism’s major players.

 

To me, it’s like asking about Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland: Who’s on what side?

 

The dialogue went like this:

 

Al Qaeda is what, I asked, Sunni or Shia?

 

“Al Qaeda, they have both,” (Reyes said. “You’re talking about predominately?”

 

“Sure,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

 

“Predominantly — probably Shiite,” he ventured.

 

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

 

Al Qaeda is profoundly Sunni. If a Shiite showed up at an al Qaeda club house, they’d slice off his head and use it for a soccer ball.

 

That’s because the extremist Sunnis who make up a l Qaeda consider all Shiites to be heretics.

 

At least, if nothing else, he did get the questions about which side were the Sunnis and Shias in Iraq and Iran correct, which is more than we can say for the FBI or for the previous chairman, but COME ON PEOPLE!

[Damen]

And I bet 9/11 was an inside job all at the same time from our bumbling idiot of a president.

 

 

What are you betting?

[Balta1701]

Rep. William "Dollar Bill" Jefferson unfortunately won reelection yesterday in a runoff election (with something like 16% turnout).

 

This will make things quite a bit harder on Pelosi in terms of keeping her anti-corruption pledges, given that in order to do that, she'll have to make sure the caucus excludes Jefferson at almost any cost, and that will seriously anger the Congressional Black Caucus.

[YASNY]

What is it about those Louisiana Democtrats?

[Balta1701]

What is it about those Louisiana Democtrats?

The politicians or the voters who reelect them?

[YASNY]

The politicians or the voters who reelect them?

 

Yes.

[Balta1701]

I'll bet that duck blames this on the media.

 

Hoosier Edward Bruce Tinsley, creator of the conservative comic strip Mallard Fillmore, was arrested in Columbus Dec. 4 and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence -- his second alcohol-related arrest in less that four months, according to the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Department.

 

Tinsley, 48, who lives in Columbus, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 -- almost twice the level at which an Indiana driver is considered intoxicated. He posted $755 bond.

 

On Aug. 26, Tinsley was arrested for public intoxication, according to the sheriff's department.

[FlaSoxxJim]

In the "putting the pieces together" department. . .

 

Remember the odd request of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia a couple weeks ago that Cheney be his lapdog and fly on over to see him?

 

Apparently the meeting was used by Abdullah convey the message that the Saudis would provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/world/mi...amp;oref=slogin

 

This is another reason for BushCo to wait until January to announce it's new Iraq policy direction - put time between the release of the ISG report and the decision to ignore much of it, and also try to figure out how deal with a cheesed off Saudi Arabia and a potentially chaotic region-wide conflict if the Saudis throw in with the Iraqi Sunnis to counter Iran's support for Iraq’s Shiites.

 

Maybe this is also why the Saudi ambassador to the US is resigning?

[Balta1701]

On Wrist-slapping.

 

The Federal Election Commission announced today that it has reached settlements with three 527 organizations accused of violating the federal campaign finance laws during the 2004 presidential election. The League of Conservation Voters 527 and 527II, MoveOn.org Voter Fund, and Swiftboat Veterans and POWs for Truth have collectively paid almost $630,000 to settle charges that they failed to register and file disclosure reports as federal political committees, and accepted contributions in violation of federal limits and source prohibitions. The Commission approved all three conciliation agreements by a vote of 6-0.

 

“These unanimous decisions provide important guidance as to when organizations must register and report as political committees,” said Commission Chairman Michael Toner. “The findings and six-figure penalties we are announcing today send a strong message that the Commission takes these kinds of cases very seriously, and that when an organization fails to file as a political committee, it carries serious legal consequences,” he added. “The bipartisan and unanimous nature of the Commission’s action today leaves little doubt that this agency is willing to regulate election activity more aggressively than it has in the past” said Vice Chairman Robert Lenhard. “These settlements resulted from thorough investigations of all aspects of these groups’ activities, full and fair consideration of the complex legal issues, and tough, constructive negotiations,” added Lawrence H. Norton, the Commission’s General Counsel.

 

If an organization receives contributions or make expenditures in excess of $1,000, and its major purpose is involvement in campaign activity, it must register with the Commission and abide by the contribution restrictions and reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Each of these entities registered with the Internal Revenue Service as “Section 527” organizations – tax exempt groups whose function is to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to Federal, State, or local public office or office in a political organization, or the election of Presidential electors.

The Swift Vets 527 will have to pay about $300K, the largest of the fines handed out. Somehow, I bet they think it was a pretty good investment.

[NorthSideSox72]

On Wrist-slapping.

 

The Swift Vets 527 will have to pay about $300K, the largest of the fines handed out. Somehow, I bet they think it was a pretty good investment.

The fines may be wrist-slaps, but the changes put in place for defining a PAC are actually quite a good thing, I think.

[Balta1701]

So, in something of an upset, the Democrats took 1 more seat in Congress last night, TX-23, where Ciro Rodriguez beat incumbent Republican Henry Bonilla in a run-off election.

 

Lots of cool notes on this one. First, it's the 2nd "Take-back" in Texas just this year, which means that all of Tom Delay's Shenanigoats, the redistricting, the flight of the Democrats, the DHS involvement, Delay's multiple indictments, all of it, has given the Republicans a net 2 seats.

 

Secondly, this district sits right on the border with Mexico. The Republicans (who scheduled the runoff) decided to run the election on a Mexican holiday, hoping that it would drive down the turnout. Rep. Bonilla also voted for the bill to build a fence along that stretch of the border, and was a supporter of the "Make illegal immigration a felony" bill. In an actual county on the border, Bonilla lost 86-14.

 

Talk about a mayor who knows his town. In a September newspaper story about the fence issue, here's a quote by Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, 'It's kind of hard to support someone who wants to build a fence,' said Foster, who's also president of the Texas Border Coalition, a group of city and county officials. 'I'd say 95 percent of Maverick County agrees with me.' Turns out the guy was off by 9 points."

 

This seat will probably remain a Democratic held seat until Rodriguez retires or the district is redrawn, btw, given that he is the one now holding the advantage of incumbency, and the hispanic population of that district.

 

And, pending the outcome of litigation in FL-13, the Democrats currently hold 233 seats in the House, potentially 234 if there is a re-vote. During the entire time the Republicans held the House, they were never once able to get that large of a majority in that chamber.

[Balta1701]

Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), "did not break Senate rules in accepting free ringside seats at boxing matches from the Nevada Athletic Commission, the Ethics Committee has concluded."

Link

[Damen]

Link

 

But the reporter who pushed this story, leaving out key elements exonerating Reid, got promoted in a gig at the Washington Post.

[Balta1701]

But the reporter who pushed this story, leaving out key elements exonerating Reid, got promoted in a gig at the Washington Post.

He's about a year away from a Presidential medal of Freedom.

[Balta1701]

So, let's see, thus far today we've got:

 

Michael Crichton taking a critic of his (on global warming) and turning him into a pedophile in his latest book

 

The

AP running as a headline: "Senate Back to 50-50 With Johnson Out" without actually knowing whether that was true or not (they've since come up with a new headline)

 

and fresh off the ISG report that the media/press was reporting less than 10% of the violence in Iraq most days, Laura Bush blames the media for only covering the bad things in Iraq.

 

Guess it's just a normal day.

[Damen]

I would have loved to see Laura pressed on explaining some of the great things that are happening around Baghdad today. That talking point would go away if those who used were ever asked about that.

 

Potentially up to 600,000 dead. Millions flooding Syria and Jordan to escape the violence. Dozens of bullet-ridden bodies piling up daily. An entire providence conceeded to Al Queda connected Sunni insurgents. The most popular and powerful political figure in Iraq, by far, is the one fighting against US troops.

 

What's the good news that should be reported in the face of that? That we were never able to restore power to pre-war levels? That we stopped focusing on opening schools long ago because security spiraled out of control? It's a joke that even in this stage someone like her will try and say the media is making things worse out than they actually are.

[kapkomet]

I would have loved to see Laura pressed on explaining some of the great things that are happening around Baghdad today. That talking point would go away if those who used were ever asked about that.

 

Potentially up to 600,000 dead. Millions flooding Syria and Jordan to escape the violence. Dozens of bullet-ridden bodies piling up daily. An entire providence conceeded to Al Queda connected Sunni insurgents. The most popular and powerful political figure in Iraq, by far, is the one fighting against US troops.

 

What's the good news that should be reported in the face of that? That we were never able to restore power to pre-war levels? That we stopped focusing on opening schools long ago because security spiraled out of control? It's a joke that even in this stage someone like her will try and say the media is making things worse out than they actually are.

 

Oh boy. Nice, sparky. And WE AMERIKKKANS killed all those people!

 

*sigh*

 

Now, again, comes the predictible response.

[Damen]

Oh boy. Nice, sparky. And WE AMERIKKKANS killed all those people!

 

*sigh*

 

Now, again, comes the predictible response.

 

You know, when you need to assign ridiculous strawman arguments instead of dealing with my own words, that only goes to show how weak your own views are.

 

If you disagree with anything I see, feel free to point it out. But deal with what I say, not with some cartoonish version of what you'd like to think I say.

[kapkomet]

Your strawman argument is using 600,000 people killed and then saying in a round about way that it's our fault. Really? Is it? Is that what you think?

[NorthSideSox72]

Your strawman argument is using 600,000 people killed and then saying in a round about way that it's our fault. Really? Is it? Is that what you think?

Um... it is.

 

There are 600,000 people dead, because we started a war. Even if you still agree with the war, there is simply no denying this is the case.

[Damen]

Your strawman argument is using 600,000 people killed and then saying in a round about way that it's our fault. Really? Is it? Is that what you think?

 

There is a very real chance there could be 600,000 dead. I'm sure you've got valid reasons why you seem to dismiss it out of hand, please share them. I think it's our fault to the point that there wouldn't be potentially 600,000 dead had this administration not invaded a country with little thought of what to do next. If I believed "Amerikkkans killed all those people", I would have said so. But I don't, so I didn't.

 

Why you felt the need to bring it up, I've got no idea. I do know that it was in response to my question about what the good news in Iraq is at the moment. I'm going to assume you disagree with me that there is very little good news to report in Iraq, that the media is making things worse than they actually are.

 

If that's the case, good argument.