For GOP only

[EvilMonkey]

How about some fun with captions?

 

"I'm pinching your head! I'm pinching your head!"

[EvilMonkey]

How about some fun with captions?

 

Really, Hillary? He's only that big? And yours is bigger????

[southsider2k5]

I know the source isn't the greatest, but it is still interesting none the less.

 

http://www.nysun.com/article/68332

 

2,600 Pages of Clinton Records Withheld

By JOSH GERSTEIN

Staff Reporter of the Sun

December 19, 2007

 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

 

 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

 

The National Archives is withholding from the public about 2,600 pages of records at President Clinton's direction, despite a public assurance by one of his top aides last month that Mr. Clinton "has not blocked the release of a single document."

 

The 2,600 pages, stored at Mr. Clinton's library in Arkansas, were deemed to contain "confidential advice" and, therefore, "closed" under the Presidential Records Act, an Archives spokeswoman, Susan Cooper, told The New York Sun yesterday.

 

An official who oversees the presidential libraries operated by the federal government, Susan Fawcett, said in a recent interview that the records were withheld in accordance with a letter Mr. Clinton wrote in 1994 exercising his right to hold back certain types of files and another letter in 2002 about narrowing the scope of his earlier instructions. Asked by National Journal whether Mr. Clinton had "total control" over the closure of records under the confidential-advice provisions of the law, Ms. Fawcett said he did.

 

At a presidential debate in October, Mrs. Clinton was questioned about language in the 2002 letter that discussed the possibility of withholding some records about the former first lady. Mr. Clinton later called the questions "breathtakingly misleading" and complained bitterly that his wife had been sandbagged.

 

"Bill Clinton has not blocked the release of a single document," the former president's official representative on records issues, Bruce Lindsey, said in a written statement last month aimed at defusing criticism in the press and by one of Mrs. Clinton's rivals for the Democratic nomination, Senator Obama of Illinois. Spokesmen for Mrs. Clinton's campaign and Mr. Clinton's office did not respond to requests for comment.

 

Ms. Cooper said she was not aware whether any of the 2,600 pages of withheld advice records pertain to Mrs. Clinton. Asked about Mr. Lindsey's statement, Ms. Cooper said, "Not all of those pages were closed by Mr. Lindsey, in fact, the National Archives does the first set of processing. … At least some of those materials were closed by our archivists."

 

An attorney who specializes in the Presidential Records Act, Scott Nelson of Public Citizen Litigation Group, said Mr. Lindsey's statement may have meant that neither he nor Mr. Clinton had singled out any specific document for withholding, even though Mr. Clinton's "general instruction" caused certain records to be closed. "It's possible that all the statements were made in perfect good faith, but in truth, the result is that the Archives — they are withholding material and that's because of President Clinton's election in 1994," Mr. Nelson said.

 

Ms. Cooper said the 2,600 pages of advice are part of about 24,000 pages of Clinton White House records closed on national security, privacy and other grounds. The bulk of the closures likely involve records found in domestic policy and health care files that Mr. Clinton authorized for processing before the library began accepting record requests from the public in 2006.

[YASNY]

Something else that's interesting:

 

Nearly 7 in 10 Mexican Migrants Enters U.S. Illegally, Says Mexico

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

 

E-Mail Print Digg This! del.icio.us

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government reported the results of recent studies on Tuesday showing that 68 percent of Mexicans who migrate or try to migrate to the United States do so without documents and 55 percent of them hire immigrant smugglers.

 

The report, timed to coincide with the U.N. International Migrants Day, also noted that the Mexican-born population living in the United States increased from about 800,000 in 1970 to more than 11 million in 2006.

 

The majority of Mexicans now living in the United States — 6.2 million — are undocumented, according to the report, which was based on surveys of migrants and information from the government's National Population Council.

 

Almost 30 million people in the United are direct descendants of Mexico migrants, the report stated.

 

In contrast, the report said the immigrant population in Mexico is quite small and has not experienced rapid growth.

 

The number of foreign residents in Mexico grew from 340,000 people en 1990, or about 0.42 percent of the population at the time, to about 493,000 in 2000, or about 0.5 percent, the last year for which data is available.

 

More than two-thirds of the foreign residents are from the United States, and many of those are of Mexican extraction.

 

 

Here's the link

[southsider2k5]

Is anyone surprised by the study?

[EvilMonkey]

Is anyone surprised by the study?

No.

[southsider2k5]

I had to post this story, if for no other reason, than to highlight the web-address to the LA Times story. Look closely. If you want to discredit the whole liberal media idea, this is not the way to go about it.

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington...e-planting.html

 

Is Clinton now planting people in campaign forums?

An amazing coincidence today on the campaign trail in Iowa with Hillary Clinton.

 

The New York senator was in Donnellson, Iowa continuing a broad statewide tour by herself, her husband, Magic Johnson and relatives and friends who've spread out to all 99 crucial counties to tell stories about her to soften and help personalize the Democratic candidate's calculating image in what's become a very tight caucus race.

 

According to the Associated Press, at a campaign forum in the fire station, which will be a caucus site come Jan. 3, Clinton happened to be asked about her religious faith. Practicing Methodist, she responded, adding, "I'm often asked if I'm a praying person and I am a praying person. My father prayed at his bedside every night and we prayed at the table over dinner."

 

Then, the most incredible thing happened. Someone pointed out that Clinton's childhood Sunday school teacher, Rosalie Bentzinger, from her Park Ridge, Ill. days happened to be right there in the very same Iowa fire station at that same moment. What are the odds? The Sunday school teacher stood up. Clinton rushed over to hug her. It was a warm moment.

 

The 84-year-old Bentzinger gave Clinton a photograph she happened to have with her. And Clinton announced, "She has a picture of my confirmation class -- March 27, 1959."

 

Last month, some folks may recall, Clinton was forced to admit planting questions in a similar forum audience in Newton after a student revealed a Clinton campaign staffer had handed her a question on global warming to ask. Clinton denied this was a regular practice and vowed it wouldn't happen again.

 

Today, Clinton aides said they were unaware the Sunday school teacher was in the crowd. Still, the incident happened to make a warm story to help personalize the candidate.

 

--Andrew Malcolm

[southsider2k5]

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/20...t-ignored-media

 

The improving situation in Iraq is driving certain congressmen and congresswomen to rhetorical depths I don't recall ever seeing.

 

Though there have almost surely been other instances of offensive excess on the House Floor over the Iraq War, we've recently been treated to at least the following:

 

Pete Stark (D-CA), October -- "You don't have money to fund the war or children,'' Stark said. "But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement." Stark, under intense pressure from Nancy, later tearfully apologized.

David Obey (D-WI), November -- Insurgents “are running out of people to kill,” and “There are fewer targets of opportunity.” I do not believe that Obey has backed off of his remarks.

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), December -- "They (Republicans) like this war. They want this war to continue." Pelosi later "clarified," saying she meant to say "support" instead of "like."

The latest example, courtesy of Virginia Congressman Jim Moran on Wednesday, may, despite the strong competition noted, take the prize for greatest smear of our president, his administration, and/or our troops -- ever.

 

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

It all depends on what the definition of "we" is (link is to "full" YouTube video; HT Weapons of Mass Discussion, which has a 13-second clip).

 

Here is a transcript of the short clip:

 

..... good schoolgirls having to go to school wearing their veils? A repressive society, what will become a Shiite theocracy?

 

Sure, there's less violence, but that's because we've ethnically cleansed most of Baghdad.

 

 

As to who "we" is, I would suggest, in the context of the full video, that the answer is "all of the above."

 

Vets For Freedom (vetsforfreedom.org) has responded, apparently via e-mail. Here are the opening paragraphs (the full text is at Weapons of Mass Discussion; bolds are mine):

 

(Washington, DC) Vets for Freedom condemns the recent comments by Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) on the floor of the House of Representatives in which he stated that American troops “ethnically cleansed Baghdad.” The United Nations, along with the rest of the civilized world, commonly refers to ethnic cleansing as genocide.

 

“Once again, Congressman Moran demonstrates how far from reality he has fallen,” said Executive Director of Vets for Freedom and Iraq Army veteran, Pete Hegseth. “Jim Moran has a long history of putting his foot in his mouth, but this time he has gone too far. The men and women who make up our nation’s military are decent and honorable citizens who bravely serve to fight our enemies who threaten our national security. Insinuating that they are war criminals is outright despicable.”

 

 

Old Media coverage is nil. This Google News search on "Moran ethnically" (not in quotes) has one item, a blog post at Michelle Malkin's Hot Air.

 

The fact that these outrageous insults continue to spew forth from Congress, and continue to go either unreported or underreported, tells you all you need to know about where Old Media's sympathies lie.

 

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.

 

—Tom Blumer is a CPA based in Mason, Ohio and a contributing editor to NewsBusters

[southsider2k5]

http://www.mediaresearch.org/realitycheck/...fax20071204.asp

 

Good News = Less News on Iraq War

 

Back in September, when General David Petraeus reported that the surge in U.S. troops had improved the security situation in Iraq, the big three broadcast networks were openly skeptical.

 

“Insurgent attacks are down from 170 in January to 120 in August,” ABC’s Terry McCarthy noted on the September 9 World News Sunday, the day before Petraeus testified before Congress. “But that is still four attacks a day, on average. Iraq remains a very violent place....Life in central Iraq is still deadly dangerous.”

 

“Victory is not at hand, not even in sight,” CBS’s David Martin similarly contended on the next night’s Evening News. On the NBC Nightly News, reporter Jim Maceda found it “palpably quiet” in an area of Iraq once controlled by Sunni insurgents, but “this is really an exception....That civil war as, again, as you get out of the capital of Baghdad, it is truly brewing. So this is really just a partial success for this surge so far.”

 

That was three months ago. Now, all three networks have become more optimistic in their on-ground reporting from the war zone, admitting that the surge in troops and new counterinsurgency tactics have reduced the violence. But as the news from the war front improves, a Media Research Center study finds ABC, CBS and NBC are less likely to tell viewers about it.

 

 

 

MRC researchers examined all 354 Iraq war stories that aired on the big three evening newscasts from September 1 through November 30, including weekends. That figure includes 234 field reports, plus 120 short headline items read by the news anchor.

 

■ Vanishing War. Back in September, as reporters voiced skepticism of General Petraeus’ progress report, the networks aired a total of 178 Iraq stories, or just under two per network per night. (See chart.) About one-fourth of those stories (42) were filed from Iraq itself, with most of the rest originating in Washington.

 

In October, TV’s war news fell by about 40 percent, to 108 stories, with the number of reports filed from Iraq itself falling to just 20, or less than one-fifth of all Iraq stories. By November, the networks aired a mere 68 stories, with only eleven (16%) actually from the war zone itself.

 

■ Pessimistic CBS. Of the three evening newscasts, ABC’s World News was the first to take serious note of the improving situation (back on October 1), and has offered the most stories (9 field reports, 7 from Iraq) detailing the progress. “Not only is there a huge increase in Iraqi citizens groups who are coming forward to help the Americans, but overall levels of violence have gone way down,” Terry McCarthy enthused on November 22. In a Thanksgiving week interview with President Bush, anchor Charles Gibson was congratulatory: “You took a lot of doubting and rather skeptical questions about the surge. I'll give you a chance to crow. Do you want to say I told you so?”

 

On NBC, reporter Tom Aspell filed five stories about progress, generally balancing good news with bad. “Refugees coming back to Baghdad are going to see a lot of changes. There are more people in the streets, shops are open and traffic everywhere,” Aspell noted November 27. “But it is still a dangerous city.”

 

For its part, the CBS Evening News has offered only three stories documenting the recent progress, just one from their reporter in Iraq, Lara Logan, on November 21. Five weeks earlier, Logan announced on NBC’s Tonight Show that the war was going “extremely badly, from my point of view.” Reality, she claimed, was “much worse than the picture, the image we even have of Iraq.” — Rich Noyes

 

[kapkomet]

Nah, no media bias there...

[Controlled Chaos]

Clinton/Favre analogy

 

In a news conference Deanna Favre announced she will be the starting QB for the Packers this coming Sunday. Deanna asserts that she is qualified to be starting QB because she has spent the past 16 years married to Brett while he played QB for the Packers. During this period of time she became familiar with the definition of a corner blitz, and is now completely comfortable with other terminology of the Packers offense. A survey of Packers fans shows that 50% of those polled supported the move.

 

Does this sounds idiotic and unbelievable to you? Well, Hillary Clinton makes the same claims as to why she is qualified to be President and 50% of democrats polled agreed. She has never run a City, County, or State. When told Hillary Clinton has experience because she has 8 years in the white house, Dick Morris stated "so has the pastry chef."

 

[Rex Kickass]

That's a lame comparison. Clinton has been a Senator for seven years. Deanna's only played tailback for three.

[southsider2k5]

So it took Hillary 35 years to find her "voice" I wonder how long it will take for her to find her ethics?

 

http://www.nysun.com/article/69285

 

The upside is that Mrs. Clinton is raising money from the very industries she is bashing, making her sincerity open to question. The Center for Responsive Politics reports that Mrs. Clinton has raised $269,436 from the pharmaceutical industry, more than any other candidate, including Republicans, and $220,550 from the oil and gas industry, more than double what her closest Democratic rivals raised from the industry.

 

Mrs. Clinton claims she learned from her mistakes the last time around on health care reform, but it's hard to see how demonizing drug companies and health insurers during the campaign would set her up for a successful overhaul of the health-care system on her second try. Americans anxious about the economy want a president who will help our corporations prosper, not one who will depict vast risk-taking, innovative, and dynamic sectors of American business as public enemies. If this is the voice Mrs. Clinton has found, it will either be bad news for America or good news for Republicans.

[NorthSideSox72]

Sqwert was asking the other day, so, here is a good reference point for Illinois local candidates - the Trib lists all their endorsements. You don't have to agree with the endorsements of course, but the articles discuss each race's candidates.

 

Combine that with this handy tool to find your districts, and you should be all set.

 

Posted in Dem and GOP threads.

 

[Cknolls]

Rasmussen:

 

 

McCain 48% Clinton 40%

 

 

McCain 47% Obama 41%

[southsider2k5]

Rasmussen:

McCain 48% Clinton 40%

McCain 47% Obama 41%

 

Wow. That surprises me. His independant streak will help him during the general election, but I didn't think it would be THAT much.

[YASNY]

Wow. That surprises me. His independant streak will help him during the general election, but I didn't think it would be THAT much.

 

That's exactly why I said in another thread the he'd win the general if he gets the GOP nomination. His independant streak. I think most of the citizens of the good ol' US of A sick and tired of this partisan BS. You've got your left wing loons and your right wing idiots. Those are the feathers on the tips of the wings, the farthest away from heart of the American eagle.

[Texsox]

That's exactly why I said in another thread the he'd win the general if he gets the GOP nomination. His independant streak. I think most of the citizens of the good ol' US of A sick and tired of this partisan BS. You've got your left wing loons and your right wing idiots. Those are the feathers on the tips of the wings, the farthest away from heart of the American eagle.

Nicely put.

[YASNY]

Nicely put.

 

Thank you.

[NorthSideSox72]

That's exactly why I said in another thread the he'd win the general if he gets the GOP nomination. His independant streak. I think most of the citizens of the good ol' US of A sick and tired of this partisan BS. You've got your left wing loons and your right wing idiots. Those are the feathers on the tips of the wings, the farthest away from heart of the American eagle.

*applause*

 

[southsider2k5]

This is low even for Al Qaeda

 

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=pa...;show_article=1

 

Women 'tricked into suicide blasts'

 

Feb 1 10:51 AM US/Eastern

10 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Female Suicide Bombers Kill Dozens In Baghdad

 

 

 

 

Two women suicide bombers who have killed nearly 80 people in Baghdad were Down's Syndrome victims exploited by al Qaida.

 

The explosives were detonated by remote control in a co-ordinated attack after the women walked into separate crowded markets, said the chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad General Qassim al-Moussawi.

 

Other officials said the women were apparently unaware of what they were doing in what could be a new method by suspected Sunni insurgents to subvert toughened security measures.

 

More than 70 people died and scores were wounded in the deadliest day since the US "surge" of 30,000 extra troops were sent to the capital this spring.

 

In the first attack, a woman detonated explosives hidden under her traditional black Islamic robe in the central al-Ghazl market. The weekly bazaar has been bombed several times since the war started but recently had re-emerged as a popular place to shop and stroll as Baghdad security improved. At least 46 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

 

The second woman then struck a bird market in a predominantly Shiite area in south-eastern Baghdad killing up to 27 people and wounding 70.

 

The attacks shortly before the weekly Islamic call to prayer resounded across the capital were the latest in a series of violent incidents that have been chipping away at Iraqi confidence in the permanence of recent security gains.

 

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the attacked were committed by terrorists motivated by revenge and "to show that they are still able to stop the march of history and of our people toward reconciliation."

 

Police initially said the bomb at al-Ghazl market was hidden in a box of birds but realised it was a suicide attack after finding the woman's head, an officer said.

 

At least four other suicide bombings have been staged by women since November, all in the volatile Diyala province north-east of the capital.

© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2008, All Rights Reserved.

[southsider2k5]

Ebay auction of the day. Hillary Clinton's soul.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270207275041

 

The best part is that the current bid is only $15.53

[mr_genius]

Ebay auction of the day. Hillary Clinton's soul.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270207275041

 

The best part is that the current bid is only $15.53

 

[mr_genius]

Ann Coulter endorses Hillary

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuTqgqhxVMc

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Ann Coulter endorses Hillary

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuTqgqhxVMc

 

Already in the Dem thread. But I guess this one falls in both nicely.