"He knew all about it and didn't do a thing. He didn't think of the kids or anyone but himself."

Mark Foley is taking Cong. Tom Reynolds (R-NY) down:

"The whole thing makes me sick," says Hassett, 33, a staunch Republican in this staunchly Republican Rochester suburb, and -- until now -- a Reynolds voter. "My opinion of congressmen in general continues to go down, and now to have it happen in our own backyard is a shame. It's just horrible."

Seventy-five or so miles away in the Buffalo suburb of North Tonawanda, at the other end of New York's 26th Congressional District, Karen Eggert says pretty much the same thing about Reynolds, who has been under fire for not doing enough last spring when he learned about unusually personal e-mails from Foley that had upset a 16-year-old former page from Louisiana and his parents.

"He knew all about it and didn't do a thing," asserted Eggert, 47, a one-time Reynolds backer, as she rushed into a grocery store last week. "... He didn't think of the kids or anyone but himself."

Read More......

Just got in to San Francisco

I'm here to attend a panel discussion hosted by Michelangelo Signorile, it will be replayed on his show on Sirius Satellite Radio. The panel discussion is open to the public:

Taped in front of a live audience at the Koret Auditorium for exclusive broadcast on SIRIUS Satellite Radio

San Francisco Public Library
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 @ 5:30 pm PT
Doors open at 5:00pm; limited seating: first come, first served; admission free

CONFIRMED PANELISTS:

• Assemblyman Mark Leno, 13th District, San Francisco
• John Aravosis: Founder and Editor, AmericaBlog.com
• Shannon Price Minter, Esq: Legal Director National Center for Lesbian Rights
• Jasmyne Cannick: member, National Association of Black Journalists; board member of the National Black Justice Coalition
• Haven Herrin: Co-Director of the Soulforce Equality Ride 2006

More info here. Read More......

Key Iraqi colonel murdered

Had enough? Read More......

Chris "Abu Ghraib sex ring" Shays really, really isn't one of the good ones

I was going to do an Open Thread...but the comments are screwed up (of course, because John's been in a plane) No comments sure defeats the purpose of an OT. So, let's kick Chris Shays around.

Chris Shays showed his true colors this past week. During a debate, he downplayed the torture that took place at Abu Ghraib scandal saying to was just a "sex ring." Huh?

For a long time, insider types have said Shays wasn't really like the other Republicans because he cast an occasional good vote. Make no mistake: He's one of them. Always has been. Always will be. It's key to remember that the House is authoritarian. The ruling party has absolute power and rules absolutely. The first vote to elect the House leadership is the vote that matters. And, Shays gladly casts that vote for Republican leadership in the House.

Sure, Shays flits with some progressive positions. But, when the GOP leaders need him, he answers their call.

I'm so sick of that sanctimonious "I'm above politics" from Shays. It's not true. Let's hope that fake "good guy" mask has finally been ripped off.

The Democrat in the district -- a very tough opponent for Shays -- is Diane Farrell. She's the real thing. Read More......

We need more Clif Kelleys -- the guy is a Democratic hero

These are the kinds of stories from the field that give us all some inspiration:

Clif Kelley, a retired economist from Columbus, Ohio, is the walking, talking, fuming embodiment of what pollsters say is a defining feature of this election: the intensity of Democrats.

Mr. Kelley and a handful of fellow Democrats in Franklin County’s 21st Ward began meeting about two years ago, calling themselves Grassroots 21. Today they have a newsletter, a blog and on one recent Sunday a sprawling audience crammed into Mr. Kelley’s suburban backyard for a rally on a semi-rainy day.

Mr. Kelley reminded his friends that he vowed two years ago he would not die under a Bush administration. “You can see I’ve been holding on,” he said as the audience roared.

Mr. Kelley is 89. And angry. He says he simply “can’t wait” for Election Day.

Keep holding on, Clif. And, keep up the great work.

The Democrats do have intensity this year. You can feel it. And, the Democrats, like Clif, are fighting back -- hard. The GOP doesn't know what to do when Democrats fight back. They start whining and crying that Democrats are being rough and mean. Classic bully behavior. Now's the time to fight harder -- kick 'em while they're down. Read More......

Hastert's scandals are creating an opening for his opponent, John Laesch

The latest poll in Hastert's Congressional District has him ahead by a 52% - 42% margin. That's pretty astounding.

Denny hasn't had to run a real campaign for years. And, he's way off his game. He's scrambling to save the GOP majority in addition to his own seat. Let's make him really work. (No one really thought Tom Foley was going to lose in 1994, so don't think a Speaker can't be defeated.)

Laesch is within striking distance. Denny's not doing much to improve his credibility these days. Here's the website for Laesch and this is his ActBlue site. Remember, the more Hastert has to do to save his own butt, the less he can do to help the rest of his caucus.

Check out Laesch's latest ad using the campaign ad of Tom Reynolds against Hastert. This has got to make Denny sweat:
Thanks to AMERICAblogger Tony for keeping on top of this one. Read More......

Chokers, racists and child sex predator defenders - this way to the White House

Bring us your chokers, your racists, your creepy child sex predator defenders and the White House will support 'em all. Morals and character mean nothing to this team who are so desperate to cling on to power, they will line up and support anyone...and I mean anyone. Snow can say whatever he likes, but Bush supporting this crew is revolting on so many levels. Bush must be upset that Foley resigned because he would have enjoyed campaigning for a child sex predator to round out the bunch. Sheesh, how low can you go on the GOP campaign trail? Read More......

The Republicans just made online gambling a crime

Surprise! It was special legislation the religious right wanted, to force the rest of America to live like them. Because this was the most important issue in America today, people who gambled on the Web.

Had enough? Read More......

Curt Weldon is the latest Republican facing an FBI investigation

Culture of corruption is an understatement for the Republicans in Congress. No sooner does Bob Ney plead guilty, then we learn the Justice Department is investigating Curt Weldon:

The Justice Department is investigating whether Republican Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania traded his political influence for lucrative lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter, according to sources with direct knowledge of the inquiry.

The FBI, which opened an investigation in recent months, has formally referred the matter to the department's Public Integrity Section for additional scrutiny. At issue are Weldon's efforts between 2002 and 2004 to aid two Russian companies and two Serbian brothers with ties to strongman Slobodan Milosevic, a federal law enforcement official said.

Weldon's race is ranked 16th in Hotline House rankings -- and that was before this revelation. His opponent is Joe Sestak who will make a great member of Congress. Read More......

Gay marriage losing punch as a political issue

Uh oh, the Republican party may have to start focusing on real issues now. I always get a kick out of Republicans (and people - not to confuse the two) who say the Democrats don't stand for anything, but you can always rattle off what the Republicans stand for, namely:

1. Limited government.
2. Tax cuts.
3. Strong defense.
4. Family Values.

The only problem? They don't stand for any of those things, other than tax cuts. And at some point, you've cut taxes so far it's dangerous, and counter-productive to the other supposed goals.

Limited government? Let us all laugh together.

Tax cuts? Yeah, so much that they've turned Bill Clinton's $400 billion surplus into a massive deficit (see "limited government").

Strong defense? Uh, creating more terrorists not fewer (see the "NIE"), invading the wrong country (Iraq), and never finishing the job in the country you'd already invaded (Afghanistan), is not a strong defense.

Family Values. Two words: Mark Foley.

The GOP talks a good talk. But in the end, they've been preaching the same party platform for 30 years now, and it's getting a bit old. They don't even mean the things they're saying because they don't know what else to say. They don't stand for anything other than tired slogans.

Had enough? Read More......

I'll be in SF this week for a panel discussion, join us

I'm flying to San Francisco today to do a panel discussion Tuesday afternoon for Michelangelo Signorile's radio show. The discussion will be taped live and then broadcast on his show a bit later. It should be fun, and it's open to the public - live audience - and free, so consider coming by. Details are below.

CONVERSATIONS IN QUEER AMERICA:
Combating the War on Freedom

Taped in front of a live audience at the Koret Auditorium for exclusive broadcast on SIRIUS Satellite Radio

San Francisco Public Library
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 @ 5:30 pm PT
Doors open at 5:00pm; limited seating: first come, first served; admission free

Sponsored by the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center of The San Francisco Public Library

The event will take place Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at 5:30 pm PT at The Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Public Library. It will be taped in front of a live audience for broadcast on Signorile’s show on SIRIUS OutQ on Friday, October 20.

Three weeks before important mid-term elections, Signorile’s guests - GLBT activists on the front line of queer activism - will strategize to take America back. Where is the movement for marriage equality headed? Should gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people be more focused on the larger assault on civil liberties and the government’s military actions? What is the future of GLBT rights? This thought-provoking discussion will address these questions and many more.

CONFIRMED PANELISTS:

Assemblyman Mark Leno, 13th District, San Francisco

John Aravosis: Founder and Editor, AmericaBlog.com

Shannon Price Minter, Esq: Legal Director National Center for Lesbian Rights

Jasmyne Cannick: member, National Association of Black Journalists; board member of the National Black Justice Coalition

Haven Herrin: Co-Director of the Soulforce Equality Ride 2006

PROGRAM DETAILS
Location: San Francisco Main Library Koret Auditorium
Address: 100 Larkin St. (at Grove)
Library Sponsored Public Program
Event Time: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Program begins promptly at 5:30 p.m. Limited seating. First come, first served.

Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Change is in the air...and it's not just the weather.

All the pundits are updating and revising their predictions -- and all the changes are in the direction of the Democrats. Yesterday, The Cook Political Report stated: The election is still 25 days away and things could change, but right now a Category 5 storm is headed toward the GOP. Read More......

Blair in tailspin, British Army general gets strong back on Iraq stance

Poor little Poodle, I can almost hear him whimper "it wasn't supposed to be this way, George!" as his legacy takes yet another wallop. Who is going to believe Blair at this point, compared to the British chief of the general staff who knows Iraq a hell of a lot better than Blair.

The devastating assessment by General Sir Richard Dannatt, the chief of the general staff, infuriated ministers and caused alarm in Washington.

However there was widespread backing across the Army yesterday as soldiers of every rank praised General Dannatt for standing up to the Government.

Within hours of his comments being made public, the Army's unofficial website was packed with hundreds of blogs from troops voicing their support. The messages included: "Can Tony Blair recover from this and justify British presence in Iraq, without using the words 'I was wrong ...?'" Another said: "Dannatt gets my vote! Anyone care to disagree with him? We were lied to when it all started and we are still lied to today!"

Other serving soldiers were also quick to voice their relief at the general's intervention.

One senior officer said: "It has been decades since someone senior actually stood up for us, the soldiers and their families.

"People need to take him seriously. This is not a man who is thinking about his career. This is a man who passionately and clearly believes he should tell the truth and represent all of us."

Ouch, ouch, ouch. With the news, many UK soldiers are also chiming in, supporting the general.

After years and years, AT LAST someone at the top has had the b@lls to stand up and be counted. If he gets the sack, watch out for fireworks - Brandt

At last, someone who had integrity and genuine concern for his men and his country - Hansvonhealing

Bloody well said. B'liar, your legacy is secured, it's called Iraq - Carmbrai-Kid

Well Tony, I'm sure your book and speaking tour of America will still be safe territory for you...at least on the GOP side of America. Read More......

ATT-BellSouth coronation delayed by FCC

Don't tell me someone just might see a little issue with helping to re-create a trust that we ditched years ago! Justice rubber-stamped approval as fast as congress rubber-stamps everything from Bush but the FCC has decided to delay their vote and consider additional information. Oh dear, I hope that the FCC isn't going to do something kooky like do anything about competition, because competition in the new GOP America is bad. It only helps consumers so what good is that? Let them eat cake. Read More......

Friday Orchid Blogging

It's time we continued.



This is a Paph Elfstone x Skip Bartlett. It's one of my own flowers, a first bloom (meaning the first time the plant has bloomed since reaching maturity), so it should be better in the coming years. It's a cute one, though is a bit malformed in spots. Again, it's hard to know if that's genetic or something that will work its way out in subsequent blooms. Anyway, not a very tricky grower - just water it as is approaches dryness. It likes good light, but not too strong - I now have my plants under 48 inch fluorescent bulbs, and for Paphs at least, they work perfectly.

A few more paphs are on the way, and some other exciting flowers as well. Should be a good winter for posting some of my actual flowers. Enjoy.

PS For those in the know, I bought a few kovachii crosses (legally). God help me. Read More......

ABC News on religious right being ticked at the GOP over gays

Boo hoo. The religious right just figured out that the Republicans don't like them, or their ideas, very much. Here is the transcript of tonight's ABC broadcast about all of this. Read More......

Oil prices drop as Saudis refuse to cut production. Now why is that?

Isn't that convenient. Right before the elections the Saudis suddenly decide to help lower oil prices. Now why is that? Oh yeah, I remember:

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS, Woodward, a Washington Post editor, said that Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, had promised President Bush that the Saudis would cut oil prices before November to ensure the U.S. economy was strong on election day. Woodward is the author of the new book "Plan of Attack" on Bush's preparations for the Iraq war.

Read More......

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 10/13/06

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

Happy Friday the 13th! Or as Republicans call it, just another day to stalk kids!

It has been quite a week hasn’t it? Chris Shays cut and run from lucidity; right-wing, self-loathing, corporate-humping pseudo-Christians decided that gays are pretty much responsible for everything from acid rain to David Hasselhoff's music and now there’s an investigation into Congressman Kolbe’s tent-pitching with teenagers in the Grand Canyon.

So it has taken only two weeks for the GOP to go from the Daddy Party to the Who’s Your Daddy? Party. Nice work.

But not to be outdone on the malefactor scale, Bob Ney admitted that, “yeah what the hell, I’m a criminal” and speaking of our penal codes (calm down Foley, they’re over seventeen years old) it turns out that George Allen appears to have an arrest on his record from 1974. Inquiring minds are hunting down the details as I write this.

I mean are these really the freakin’ people who are running my country? Tell me this is a joke, like Kevin Federline’s rapping or Ann Coulter’s larynx.

Because if you gave this script to Days Of Our Lives, they would probably kick your ass right out of the building for it’s being so ridiculous as to be not worthy of soap opera.

The predictable result is that each day that goes by the Republican Party is sinking faster than Rush after his baggage is confiscated on the way back from the Dominican Republic. I mean we are Democrats, so I am not going to get overly sanguine about some of these unbelievable poll numbers.

But I am hearing that approximately sixty Republican house seats are now considered in play. Tom Reynolds would be wetting himself over this if he were not already soaked worrying about his own seat.

Yet, at least the Bush Administration has eased tension all around by handling the North Korea situation so well. Ignoring people you don’t like—that seems like a good idea. If I understand it correctly, we had to invade Iraq to stop them from sharing nuclear weapons they didn’t have with terrorists, but insulting North Korea and allowing them to get nuclear weapons they can pass on to terrorists is a good idea. Got it.

Let’s call it the Bush Doctrine. Or being a retard. I’ll leave it up to you.

I must run along now, a little earlier than usual, as a few matters loom. But I just wish to remind you before I leave that when in doubt: blame the gays. It’s surely the reason that the top-fifteen divorce states all voted for Bush while eleven of the twelve states where people divorce least voted for Kerry.

Damn gays—when will they stop undermining all of our sacred institutions?

For what I'll call a particularly "energetic" edition of my weekly recounting of Republican Sexcapades on The Young Turks, may you go here Read More......

Joe Six-Pack isn't happy with Bush

Read More......

Open thread

Rudy Giuliani, latest GOP hypocrite. Read More......

Krugman: If GOP loses the election, it will be by a landslide

NYT

a huge Democratic storm surge is heading toward a high Republican levee. It’s still possible that the surge won’t overtop the levee — that is, the Democrats could fail by a small margin to take control of Congress. But if the surge does go over the top, the flooding will almost surely reach well inland — that is, if the Democrats win, they’ll probably win big....

And here’s the thing: because there are many districts that the G.O.P. carried by only moderately large margins in recent elections, a large Democratic surge — one only a bit bigger than that needed to take the House at all — would sweep away many Republicans holding seats normally considered safe. If the actual vote is anything like what the polls now suggest, we’re talking about the Democrats holding a larger majority in the House than the Republicans have held at any point since their 1994 takeover.

So if the Democrats win, they’ll probably have a substantial majority.....

Bear in mind that the G.O.P. isn’t in trouble because of a string of bad luck. The problems that have caused Americans to turn on the party, from the disaster in Iraq to the botched response to Katrina, from the failed attempt to privatize Social Security to the sudden realization by many voters that the self-proclaimed champions of moral values are hypocrites, are deeply rooted in the whole nature of Republican governance. So even if this surge doesn’t overtop the levee, there will be another surge soon.

But the best guess is that the permanent Republican majority will end in a little over three weeks.

Read More......

Rep. Kolbe under federal investigation for camping trip with pages where his behavior "inappropriate"

From NBC News:

Federal prosecutors in Arizona have opened a preliminary investigation of a camping trip Congressman Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., took 10 years ago that included two teenage congressional pages, a Justice Department spokesman told NBC News. NBC News first reported on the camping and rafting trip on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington said that the U.S. attorney in Arizona has started a "preliminary assessment" of the trip, after an unidentified source made allegations about the congressman's behavior on the expedition.

"The U.S. attorney is looking into allegations about the congressman taking a trip with the two pages," the spokesman said.

Kolbe's office denies anything "improper" happened.

More NBC:

NBC News interviewed several people who were on the trip, and their accounts vary. One participant, who requested anonymity, said he was uncomfortable with the attention Kolbe paid to one of the former pages. He was "creeped out by it," he said, adding that there was a lot of "fawning, petting and touching" on the teenager's arms, shoulders and back by Kolbe.

Read More......

Bush suddenly started avoiding Foley in Sept. 2004, after months of using Foley to help Bush's re-election campaign. What did Bush find out?

Why did the White House suddenly decide two years ago that Foley was too hot to handle? And even more interesting, why did Foley reach out to Jeb Bush about something he needed his advice on right about the time Foley's creepy emails became known amonst Republicans on the Hill in late 2005? Did Foley and Jeb Bush talk about the sdandal a year ago? Did the White House know something two years ago? Read More......

In the shadow of North Korea, a horrific week in Iraq

(Note from John: AJ is a former US Defense Intelligence officer who covered Iraq for two years.)

North Korea dominated most of the international news this week, and probably rightfully so, but it's worth noting that the torrent of bad news coming out of Iraq continues unabated.

In the past week alone, a study was released indicating about 655,000 Iraqis (about 2.5% of the entire population) have been killed as a result of the war, the head of the UK army called for British troops to draw down from Iraq "sometime soon," and the Iraqi parliament passed a hugely divisive law by the barest of margins -- after barely attaining a quorum -- that sets the stage for a divided Iraq, a result that will ultimately cause more strife and bloodshed than keeping the country together. Senator Warner (R-VA) and former Secretary of State James Baker both indicated that the current course and strategy is not effective, and to top it all off, the U.S. military announced budget plans to account for current troop levels in Iraq, currently about 140,000, to remain there until 2010.

Violence is up, attacks are up, and deaths are up, and even the most ardent war supporters can't seem to bring themselves to claim that things are improving.

So here's some logic: We have 140,000 troops in Iraq, and that number is not able to quell the violence. There is no indication that a moderate increase in troops would engender drastic improvements, and although some people speculate that a drastic increase in troops (say, doubling the force) would improve the security situation, any legitimate expert on our armed forces will tell you our military isn't in shape to do that, regardless of any political considerations.

So. The status quo is failing -- Iraq is getting worse, not better. The U.S. military simply isn't able to significantly increase the troop level, and we've seen in the past few months that moderate increases in forces doesn't appear to effect long-term improvement. Many experts believe that our very presence in Iraq exacerbates the situation, so it stands to reason that if current troops (or slightly increased numbers) can't bring improvement, and you can't drastically augment the forces, and there's a possibility that drawing down troops may actually help the situation, that's your next logical step, yes? No? Yes?

Of course, that's just an intellectual and strategic argument. There are plenty of moral and legal arguments to be made as well, but it's all irrelevant anyway. No alternative plan is going to be adopted, and it's fairly useless to argue for troop withdrawal when President Bush has made it abundantly clear that he believes our presence is a benefit, and no matter what happens, that belief will continue. Any argument otherwise -- whether it's made by me, Sensible Liberal and Intellectual Midget Tom Friedman, clear-thinking Republicans, or anyone else -- is seen by the Bush administration as a failure of will as opposed to reality-based critical thinking.

Meanwhile, more heroic, dedicated, patriotic Americans die every day for a bad war waged by bad men. Read More......

GOP congressman pleaded guilty today to accepting bribes for votes in Abramoff scandal. Then why is he staying in office until January?

There will very likely be a lame duck session of congress following the November elections. Why in God's name should Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), an admitted criminal, be permitted to attend that session, vote during that session? The man just admitted to accepting bribes to influence his votes, and we're going to let him vote some more? That's a bit like giving Mark Foley a few more pages for his retirement.

Despite his guilty pleas, Ney did not resign his seat in Congress. His lawyer, Mark Touhey, told the judge he would do so before sentencing on Jan. 19. Under the Constitution, he'll be gone before then. His term expires when the new Congress is sworn in at noon on Jan. 3.

He is now an admitted criminal.

What is he doing staying in the Republican Congress? Being permitted to vote AGAIN?

I'll tell you why. Because the Republicans are afraid they may lose control of the congress and they'd rather leave in power a criminal, who takes bribes to influence his votes, than risk losing the seat.

So politics trumps ethics and morality and good government in the Republican party.

I'll bet the Mark Foley child sex predator cover-up is starting to make a whole lot more sense right about now. Read More......

Signorile: The media should have outed Foley

Gay writer, radio show host, and activist Michelangelo Signorile writes an interesting piece in today's LA Times. He argues that not only should the media have outed Mark Foley as a gay man years ago, but that had he been outed he might not have preyed on young boys. What do you think?

Foley's closet wasn't just about protecting his political career. He seemed to be filled with shame. According to one gay man quoted in the Washington Post last week who challenged Foley on his voting for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, Foley justified marginalizing gay marriage by saying, "I could never compare any relationship I have ever had to the nature of my mother and father's relationship."

For Foley, homosexuality meant second-class status.

That kind of self-loathing is bound to play out in harmful ways. Would Foley have made online sexual advances on teenagers if he were openly gay or if he'd been reported on, truthfully, by the media as a gay man long ago, and faced the consequences? It's quite possible the answer is no.

And the logical conclusion of Signorile's article is that those who help perpetuate the closet, and the shame, help perpetuate the abuse of children in cases like this. Thus, ironically, some of the biggest to blame would be the religious right and its leaders who help make the closet a necessity for so many gays and lesbians. Read More......

George hearts Denny

Yep, it's official. There's a lovefest going on between Bush and Hastert now. That Republican child sex predator scandal cover-up isn't getting in the way:

“Before I liberate the speaker so he doesn’t have to stand up here for that long, Speaker, I want to say this to you,” Mr. Bush said. “I am proud to be standing with the current speaker of the House who is going to be the future speaker of the House.”

“He’s not one of these Washington politicians who spews a lot of hot air — he just gets the job done,” Mr. Bush said as the room erupted. “This country is better off with Denny Hastert as the speaker.”

Better off with Hastert as speaker? That's a stretch. But, in 25 days, we won't have to worry about that anymore.

Bush probably likes being around Hastert because Denny -- as the manifestation of the GOP Congress -- has lower approval ratings than Bush. Read More......

Harris Poll: Bush 34% approval; Dems. up 47 - 35 in generic

Not bad numbers for 25 days out. The Harris Interactive Poll:

President Bush's job-approval rating fell, with 34% of Americans voting him "excellent" or "good," down from 38% in September, according to a new Harris Interactive poll.

Sixty-four percent of U.S. adults now have a negative view of Mr. Bush's job performance, compared with 61% who ranked him "only fair" or "poor" in a similar poll last month. The drop follows a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll that showed the president's job approval rating fell to 39% from 42% earlier in October.

With less than a month to go before the midterm congressional elections, 47% of registered voters said they would vote for a Democratic candidate, compared with 35% who said they would pick a Republican candidate.

Not bad at all.

Chris Bowers at MyDD has a slew of polls for specific House races and the latest Senate state-wide numbers. These look good, too. Read More......

14 more tortured bodies found around Baghdad

To the untrained eye, this might look like a country in turmoil teetering on the edge of civil war when in fact upon closer inspection the murder rate there is pretty much the same as an American city where tortured and executed bodies are discovered just about every day. Right? That's what the wingnuts say, anyway.

No need to make any changes whatsoever because the war is progressing according to the plan which was created by and supported by the greatest minds in America who are all knowing. Not that they are an arrogant lot, but Bush/Cheney/Rummy are experts so it's only natural that they don't stoop down to the level of their inferiors and explain why stay the course is the right plan. We're all just too stupid to understand the complexities of their acts of brilliance. They have a plan so just sit back and let them all do their thing. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Just start. What do we need to know? Read More......

Unacceptable

Sounds like someone is having a temper tantrum because he can't get his way on everything. When the world is so black and white place and you don't do nuance, frustration is bound to kick in.

But a survey of transcripts from Bush's public remarks over the past seven years shows the president's worsening political predicament has actually stoked, rather than diminished, his desire to proclaim what he cannot abide. Some presidential scholars and psychologists describe the trend as a signpost of Bush's rising frustration with his declining influence.

In the first nine months of this year, Bush declared more than twice as many events or outcomes "unacceptable" or "not acceptable" as he did in all of 2005, and nearly four times as many as he did in 2004. He is, in fact, at a presidential career high in denouncing events he considers intolerable. They number 37 so far this year, as opposed to five in 2003, 18 in 2002 and 14 in 2001.

Read on because this is an especially interesting read on Bush's choice of words during his national political life. Maybe the next president will go back to old fashioned ideas such as diplomacy and nuance. Read More......

David Horsey on that little problem hanging around for the GOP

OK, well at least one of their problems. Can you imagine how some of their internal discussions are going these days? Read More......

Open thread

Is it just me, or has Google News become useless? Their definition of "news sites" seems to include an ever increasing number of simply bizarre Web sites that aren't even the top in their category of site. Meaning, they've tried to include blogs, but only some blogs, and many of the ones they have you'll never have heard of, and many of the ones you have heard of are just plain bad. When I'm doing a news search, I want news site - not blogs, not left-wing conspiracy sites, or right-wing religious nutjobs. News. If they want a blog search enging, that's fine too. But the current state of affairs has taken a great news search engine and turned it into a bunch of noise. Read More......

Gott in Himmel! Zer are gayz in zee Republican pahty

Okay, we got caught. It's no use hiding any longer.

We gays are everywhere.

We control everyone.

We control everything (except, of course, international banking, Hollywood and the media - that's the Jews).

It's no use denying it any longer. The Nazis and the Klan were right. We're very very bad people, and we must be stopped before we steal your children and use their blood in our holiday meals (oh, that's right, Jews again).

The religious right is in full meltdown mode because they've suddenly discovered that there are gay people working openly in the Republican party.

Uh, this is the first time they've noticed? Rick Santorum's press secretary is openly gay. There are scores of openly gay people working in the White House. The Republican National Committee looks like a Gay Disney Tea Dance. And don't even get us started on Senator George Allen's office (think San Francisco, circa 1970, but without the mustaches). To find an openly gay Republican embraced by the highest reaches of the GOP, one need look no farther than the Vice President's campaign director (also known as his daughter).

Yes, Virginia, there are gays in the Republican party, and you've known it for years. So why all the belly-aching now?

I'll tell you why. Because while gay and lesbian Americans have been increasingly welcomed into the fabric of the American family, including the Republican party, the religious right has increasingly exposed itself as a fringe movement of hateful bigots, and nobody likes them anymore.

While the Republicans are unparalleled in their ability to gay-bait, Latino-bait, black-bait, Muslim-bait, France-bait, and woman-bait, few of them really mean it. Most Republicans don't give a damn about the religious right agenda. In fact, they hate it. I know more than a few Republicans in town, several of them downright conservative, and I can't find a one who has a good word to say about any of the religious right hate groups or their deluded, hate-filled followers. In fact, they find them kind of nutty and obnoxious.

So, it's no surprise the Republican party welcomes the religious right publicly, but then laughs at them behind their backs. And it's no surprise that the Republican party shuns gays publicly, but loves them behind closed doors. They like us. We're fun. They don't like you. You're not. And it's taken the likes of Falwell and Robertson thirty years to figure it out.

Anyway, you simply must read the latest hate-filled screed from one of the lead far-right groups. This document on its face shows better than I ever could why the Republicans can't stand these people.

(Here's a link to a German-English dictionary, in case you're having trouble understanding anything.)

...the GOP has played a trick on itself. The party brought so-called gay Republicans into positions of power in Congress only to realize that the confidential information they held about a secret gay network was political dynamite that could backfire....

A New York Times story by Mark Leibovich confirmed that gay Republicans have occupied "crucial staff positions" in Congress and "have played decisive roles in passing legislation, running campaigns and advancing careers."....

If you are getting the idea that gay Republicans may be closeted Democrats, then you are beginning to understand how the Mark Foley scandal could have been a Democratic Party dirty trick.... gay Republicans are in reality "liberal activists" who want to use the party to advance the same homosexual agenda embraced by the Democrats....

Ominously, the Foley scandal suggests that this network has inside information about the sexual behavior of members of Congress and their staffers that can be exploited in order to create scandals at a moment's notice.... It is now apparent that this power has been used to sabotage the party from within....

It is also beyond dispute that the current scandalous state of affairs will outlive the Foley scandal unless the secret network of bludgeon and blackmail is exposed....

It's early in the probe, but we may be looking at emerging evidence of a homosexual recruitment ring that operated on Capitol Hill. It's time to get beyond partisan politics and follow the evidence wherever it leads. Our media should not be intimidated by charges of "gay bashing." They must lead the way in getting to the bottom of this terrible abuse of power.

Like the guy said. It's early in the probe, but he's gonna get to the bottom of it and make sure everything is exposed. (Is it warm in here?)

Read More......

Senate report accuses Grover Norquist of defrauding taxpayers for Abramoff

The king of the anti-tax movement and some of his colleagues in the right wing were using their non-profit, tax-exempt organizations to benefit Abramoff according to a new Senate report. These hard-core conservatives really are a shifty bunch:

Five conservative nonprofit organizations, including one run by prominent Republican Grover Norquist, "perpetrated a fraud" on taxpayers by selling their clout to lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Senate investigators said in a report issued today.

The report includes previously unreleased e-mails between the now-disgraced lobbyist and officers of the nonprofit groups, showing that Abramoff routed money from his clients to the groups. In exchange the groups, among other things, produced ostensibly independent newspaper op-ed columns or press releases that favored the clients' positions.

Senator Max Baucus, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee which authored the report, said the IRS and FBI should investigate Norquist's group. The Republican chair of the Finance Committee, Charles Grassley from Iowa, "endorsed [the reports] findings of wrongdoing by the nonprofit groups."

Could Grover run his famed Wednesday morning meeting from prison, one wonders? Read More......

Head of British Army calls for Brits to withdraw from Iraq, says troops presence is exacerbating the problem

UPDATE: I fixed the link, sorry about that.

That's what Democrats have been saying for a while now. Read More......

More allegations of prisoner abuse at Gitmo, this time a Marine sergeant had made the accusations under oath

Had enough yet? Read More......

Condi recognizes gay man's "mother in law" in front of Laura Bush at official ceremony

It doesn't get more real than that. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a member of George Bush's cabinet, while standing alongside First Lady Laura Bush, recognized a gay man, his partner, and his "mother in law" - i.e., his gay partner's mom.

For all the criticism we give Condi, and it's well deserved, she gets kudos for this one. I interviewed her years ago, during the 1999 campaign for the presidency, and the lady doesn't let out a word she doesn't mean. She said "mother in law" because she meant "mother in law." And she meant to say it in front of Mrs. Bush and the cameras. She knew exactly what she was doing. The question is why Ms. Rice felt the need to make a pro-gay gesture at this point in time. With the Foley scandal in full bloom, you'd think the Bushies would want to stay away from gays like the plague.

Yes, I get it - Foley is not a "gay" scandal, BUT, the gay issue is obviously hot right now, and with the religious right seething like neo-Nazis at a synagogue, it just strikes me as odd, though welcome, that Rice decided now was the time to make a bold gesture in favor of gay marriage - and that's essentially what she did. Read More......

US Deaths "surge" in Iraq

What the hell is happening over there in Bush's quagqmire? He keeps talking progress, but it's getting worse. This is what happens when the President says "stay the course":

U.S. military casualties have surged in Iraq in recent weeks, with U.S. troops engaging in perilous urban sweeps to curb sectarian violence in Baghdad while facing unrelenting violence elsewhere.

At least 44 U.S. troops have been killed so far in October. At the current pace, the month would be the deadliest for U.S. forces since January 2005. After falling to 43 in July, the U.S. toll rose in August and September before spiking this month. The war's average monthly U.S. death toll is 64.

Read More......

New ad from the September Fund

First ad from the September Fund (a pro-Democratic 527). It was produced by the same guy who does Eliot Spitzer's ads -- those ads are just super. His name is Jimmy Siegel and he's not one of the usual DC media types -- far from it as you'll see from the ad:
Markos thinks the ads are "phenomenal." What do you think? I like it. Heard it tested very well. This ad starts running on CNN and will be up in around 12 districts over the weekend. Read More......

Media Matters debunks the right wing's falsehoods about the Foley scandal

The GOP has come up with a bunch of whoppers about their child sex predator scandal. They're undeterred by needing facts to back up their false claims. The media doesn't always catch them in their lies. But, fortunately, Media Matters does. Read More......

Recent Republican Intelligence Committee report plays politics with North Korea

In the wake of North Korea's nuclear test, it's worth looking at a recent Congressional report. Republicans on the House Committee on Intelligence are yet again neglecting their responsibility for oversight to put out a partisan screed on an issue that Republicans have alternately neglected and mismanaged. The subcommittee on intelligence policy turned its myopic eye to North Korea, releasing a report (PDF) that hypes the North Korea threat while ignoring the very reasons it has become one.

The report is a political document with the false imprimatur of the Intelligence Committee that is belied by a partisan slap right in the introduction:

I am disappointed to report that following participation in initial drafts of this report, the Minority staff earlier this month chose to no longer participate in producing this valuable [sic] report. While the decision of the Minority is regrettable, I believe the report can make a useful contribution to the ongoing debate over this critical national security issue.

Good for the Democrats on Intel for refusing to legitimize the report with their participation. For the terrorism report, Democrats expressed some important minority views, but when reality-based views are being excluded, sometimes refusing to participate is the best option. And if the political nature of the document isn't clear enough already, the first quote on the report is this:

'The United States should consider the danger that we could transfer nuclear weapons to terrorists, that we have the ability to do so.' – North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye-Gwan, April 2005

That's right, North Korea equals terrorists!! Anybody who's not still living the Cold War understands that there’s a big difference between states and non-state actors. Non-state actors, which most terrorist groups are these days, don't have a power apparatus consisting of borders, armies, or an economic system. They don’t have the institutional wealth and power of dictatorial leaders, and you tend to see them in caves rather than palaces. The state leaders, conversely, tend to really like being filthy rich and all-powerful. I mean, according to the report, Kim Jong Il is the world's leading purchaser, at as much as $720,000 per year, of "Hennessey" cognac (and yes, all you really need to know about this report is summed up by the fact that they spelled Hennessy wrong), and rich and powerful dictators generally tend not to do things that will instantaneously result in their being toppled by a pissed-off foreign power. For North Korea to hand weapons to terrorists would be suicidal, and Pakistan has already proven that the U.S. will sit idly by if nuclear technology is sold to state actors, so they’re pretty safe on that front.

Aside from crass politicization and hypocritical terror-hyping, though, it's also full of poor analysis. First of all, let's call North Korea what it is: a part of President Bush's Axis of Failure. Since he bizarrely linked North Korea, Iran, and Iraq nearly a half-decade ago, North Korea has almost certainly acquired nuclear capabilities, Iran has become more militant and more powerful, and we've turned Iraq into a terrorist-producing failed state. Axis of Failure. North Korea is the product of miserably failed policy, and saber-rattling isn’t going to help any.

The subcommittee report lists many problems we face with North Korea without once acknowledging the source of these problems: failed Bush administration policy. North Korea's actions increasingly seem like a big cry for help (via international aid and deals), and its government is probably wondering why it can't get the kind of sweet diplomatic deal we've already offered countries like Libya and Pakistan.

In the face of this test, though, we aren't left with good options. Only consistent and effective diplomacy can begin to remedy this bad situation, and it's not like this administration has proven adept in that area. North Korea has a despicable regime, and I'd be very happy to see Kim Jong Il go the way of Saddam and Milosevic, which makes it even more important that the intelligence committee do something other than partisan shilling. A little oversight would be nice, and the way she's been going since the primary challenge, I'd be very happy to see Chairman Harman start to sort this stuff out. Read More......

Karl Rove's people threatened Mark Foley to make him run again

From The New Republic:

According to the source, Foley said he was being pressured by "the White House and Rove gang," who insisted that Foley run. If he didn't, Foley was told, it might impact his lobbying career.

What did Karl know and when did he know it? Read More......

Former #2 in Bush "Faith Based Initiative" office says Karl Rove's office referred to Evangelical Christian leaders as "the nuts"

I suspect the nuts aren't going to be very happy, or surprised, to hear this.

“Tempting Faith’s” author is David Kuo, who served as special assistant to the president from 2001 to 2003. A self-described conservative Christian, Kuo’s previous experience includes work for prominent conservatives including former Education Secretary and federal drug czar Bill Bennett and former Attorney General John Ashcroft....

He says some of the nation’s most prominent evangelical leaders were known in the office of presidential political strategist Karl Rove as “the nuts.”

“National Christian leaders received hugs and smiles in person and then were dismissed behind their backs and described as ‘ridiculous,’ ‘out of control,’ and just plain ‘goofy,’” Kuo writes.

Read More......

Mark Warner not running for President

Via the Washington Post. Announcement at 11 a.m.

(Blogger.com has been acting very badly today. Sorry for any inconvenience. Note to YouTube: Google owns Blogger.com, too. Be prepared.)

Warner just released a statement. I'm still unconvinced as to why he's pulling out. He didn't think before that a presidential run, and being president, would take time away from his family? Hmmm....

I have decided not to run for President.

This past weekend, my family and I went to Connecticut to celebrate my Dad’s 81st birthday, and then we took my oldest daughter Madison to start looking at colleges.

I know these moments are never going to come again. This weekend made clear what I’d been thinking about for many weeks—that while politically this appears to be the right time for me to take the plunge—at this point, I want to have a real life.

Read More......

Hastert and Reynolds are toxic on the campaign trail

The two Republicans most responsible for maintaining their majority can't campaign for Republican House candidates. They're toxic from the Foley scandal:

Weeks before the Nov. 7 elections, the Mark Foley scandal and its aftermath have already had a visible effect on Republican prospects: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Rep. Thomas M. Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the two men leading the GOP efforts to keep power in the House, have both been largely sidelined from the public campaign.

Under normal circumstances, the House speaker and the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, currently Reynolds, would be in a full sprint in the closing weeks of an election campaign -- raising money and rallying partisans to help House members in the most competitive races. Both leaders, however, have drastically curtailed their appearances this month after coming under fire for what critics have called an inadequate response to early warnings about Foley's behavior with House pages.

This is a major distraction for the GOP campaign apparatus. The NRCC's flack actually said the scandal hasn't impacted Reynolds' ability to run the organization. Right. Reynolds is losing in his own race. The Republicans have to spend money on races they thought were safe. Their campaign infrastructure is crumbling.

The GOP doesn't want to lose power. They're like wounded animals right now. They're going to get ugly, really ugly. Read More......

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Today Kirk Fordham will testify before the House Ethics Committee. This story just keeps going...

Anything else? I heard Bush gave a press conference yesterday. I thought I watched it. But, he just seems irrelevant these days. Still dangerous, still incompetent. But irrelevant.

Get it started. Read More......

DoJ approves Big Telco mega merger - consumers can pound salt

My goodness, is everything about GOP total control in Washington about helping the biggest special interests? What the hell ever happened to that kooky idea of consumers and competition? The GOP is obsessed with creating bloated mega corporates that are coddled and protected from any and all competition. How does this Justice Department decision to approve the ATT-Bell South merger help the American consumer? It doesn't. It is just another rubber stamp to help campaign contributors.

The customary job losses that will surely be announced within hours of the final approval by the FCC and consumers can start counting the days to see how long it will take before an already terrible and uncompetitive market becomes even more expensive. As I have mentioned before, in France and other European countries, we have countless options for phone/internet/cable that are a fraction of the costs that are available in the US. (My own monthly bill for unlimited calls in France and 30 countries around the world, plus high speed internet plus about 100 TV channels is 30 euro.) France is not traditionally known as a market of competition so it is interesting to compare the directions of the two countries at the moment.

Let's see what the FCC says about this uncompetitive merger but with GOP rule, I can't imagine many, if any, changes. Read More......

Four more years of this?

That's the Bush plan, at least. At least everything is going in the right direction, with the right leadership, no?

For planning purposes, the Army is gearing up to keep current troop levels in Iraq for another four years, a new indication that conditions there are too unstable to foresee an end to the war.

Just for planning purposes, naturally. Sounds like Rummy had a child-like temper tantrum at the news conference as well. It must be tough for someone as arrogant as Rummy to see such a self created mess with nobody but himself and his inside circle to blame. Read More......

Why have gas prices dropped recently?

According to this new Washington Post-ABC News poll, the leading answer is "upcoming election/political reasons." What? The public has suspicions with the administration and the deep ties to Big Oil? It seemed like only yesterday that the public was buying into everything the administration said and today, the magic is gone. The pendulum is finally moving in the other direction. Read More......

Just how bad is Iraq?

An NBC correspondent weighs in, via DKos:

I'm more puzzled by comments that the violence isn't any worse than any American city. Really? In which American city do 60 bullet-riddled bodies turn up on a given day? In which city do the headless bodies of ordinary citizens turn up every single day? In which city would it not be news if neighborhood school children were blown up? In which neighborhood would you look the other way if gunmen came into restaurants and shot dead the customers?

Read More......

Ethics Committee hones in on Hastert and staff

Prepare for the Hastert staff circular firing squad to begin any time now. From the Wash Post:

"It would be very hard to believe if Palmer knew that kind of detail, he wouldn't have acted upon it, and it's hard to imagine [Hastert's chief of staff] Scott Palmer would have spared the speaker that knowledge," said one former Republican leadership aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of jeopardizing his lobbying contacts.

Within Hastert's operation, some staff members appear to point accusingly at Van Der Meid, who is in charge of ethics matters and is widely believed to have steered Hastert wrong before.

Van Der Meid, a former chief Republican counsel for the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, helped engineer the failed effort to change GOP ethics rules to allow an indicted lawmaker to remain in the leadership. The power play was designed to keep then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) at his post, but it backfired spectacularly, embarrassing many Republicans and leaving a blemish on Hastert's record.

I certainly hope Mr. Kolbe will be testifying as it's about time someone asked him, under oath, about his changing-by-the-day explanation of his involvement in this affair. There's more in the article - read it. Read More......

GOP Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT): Molesting kids isn't so bad as long as you don't kill 'em

I suspect a lot of parents will find this bit of logic more than a bit troubling. At some point, can the Republicans please stop making light of this horrible scandal? Read More......

Apparently Harry Reid is a bad, bad man - but unfortunately, I can't tell you why

John Solomon, ace Associated Press reporter (the guy who makes lots of mistakes and then gets $500 from AP rather than a correction), has come out with another hit piece against Harry Reid, conveniently right before the congressional elections.

But this time, it's a different kind of piece. In addition to being factually wrong - we're kind of used to that at this point from AP - this article simply makes no sense.

I have a law degree. And I'm a professional journalist, I've written for the Economist and other serious publications, and am no dummy. And try as I might, I couldn't make heads or tales of the AP story - it's just thick as hell, indecipherable, and doesn't really say anything.

In a nutshell, here's what I was able to translate from the original Latin.

Harry Reid bought some land in the late 90s, and over a several year period tripled his investment. Okay. Most everyone I know, other than me, did the same over that period. Still, AP calls this a "windfall." Apparently, the AP has been asleep the past ten years while land prices have soared. Anyway, Harry Reid transferred his land to an LLC, in which he was still a party, and when time came to sell the LLC, they gave Reid his portion of the return on the land and also gave him back the value of his initial investment (i.e., the value of the land itself when he gave it to the LLC).

You still with me?

Now, you'd think perhaps the AP caught Harry Reid not reporting his holdings to the Senate Ethics Committee? No, he did it. How about not reporting the land sale and his profits to the Ethics Committee? No, he did that too. So what did Harry Reid do wrong? He didn't tell the Ethics Committee he transferred the land to an LLC whi he was still a party in - though he did report to the committee that he still owned the land, which was true. Why does that detail matter? Got me. You'll have to read a four page AP story to try to figure that one out.

The other "I gotcha" from the AP? They didn't like the way Reid paid his property taxes.

Wow, so you would assume AP got a great juicy quote from George Bush's IRS about how bad a thing Reid really did with his taxes? Not quite. Here's how the IRS characterized the payments:

Brand said the IRS might view the handling of the land taxes as undisclosed income to Reid but it was unlikely to prompt an investigation. "If someone is paying a liability you owe, there may be some income imputed. But at that level, it's pretty small dollars," he said.

This is the same IRS that harasses liberal churches for sport. But they don't think they've got enough to go after the minority leader of the opposition political party.

John Solomon is obsessed with Harry Reid. It's kind of creepy.

Read Captain Ahab's tome here. Read More......

110 bodies found in Baghdad in last 24 hours

Good God. And as the Army told us today, we're there for another four years at least with the same number of troops, if not more. Read More......

McCain latest fundraising victim of Foley scandal

UPDATE: The Washington Post documents more fundraising victims.

Senators and congressmen are running from the Foley scandal like the plague, and it's causing havoc for GOP fundraising events. To wit, from the DCCC:

Citing Scheduling Conflicts McCain Canceled Two Fundraising Events in Reynolds’ District. Sen. John McCain “scrubbed” two of the three fundraising events he had planed to attend in embattled Congressmen Thomas Reynolds’ district. McCain cited a scheduling conflict for the cancellations; which came only a day after a Reynolds spokesmen told reporters McCain would be attending the events. The Reynolds campaign team was surprised by the abrupt change. For one of the events, a black tie dinner for the Erie County Republican party, Karl Rove will act as a stand in. [Buffalo News, 10/11/06]

Citing Scheduling Conflicts GOP Rep. Sherwood Cancels Fundraisers with Both Reynolds and Hastert. “Don Sherwood's campaign has canceled fundraising appearances by House Speaker Dennis Hastert and U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds, fellow Republicans embattled over their handling of the congressional page scandal. Sherwood spokesman Jake O'Donnell said the cancellations were related to the scandal ‘to a degree.’ But Reynolds also had a scheduling conflict, O'Donnell said, and Hastert's Oct. 18 appearance had been scheduled one day before another, unnamed ‘big event.’” [Wilkes Barre Times Leader, 10/10/06]

Hastert’s Scheduling Conflict Cited for the Cancellation of Fundraiser for GOP Rep. Sweeney. Beleaguered House Speaker Dennis Hastert has backed out of a big-bucks fund-raiser in New York City, according to Republican aides. Hastert, an Illinois Republican who is a fund-raising powerhouse for his party, had been scheduled to headline an event… for upstate Rep. John Sweeney, according to Sweeney's staff. But Hastert - who has been consumed by the scandal over ex-Rep. Mark Foley's sexually explicit e-mails to congressional pages - begged off, Sweeney's top aide told the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘The speaker had a scheduling conflict and will not attend...’ Sweeney deputy chief-of-staff Melissa Carlson told The Post. [The New York Post, 10/9/06]

Citing a Scheduling Conflict, Hastert Was Replaced As Keynote for Fundraiser for Bob Ney’s Old Seat. “Hastert was scheduled to speak at a $250-a-couple fundraiser for state Sen. Joy Padgett, who replaced Bob Ney as the Republican candidate for the district. Hastert canceled the trip, citing schedule conflicts, and Padgett's campaign substituted Ohio Sen. George V. Voinovich. The switch had nothing to do with the Foley scandal, a Padgett representative said.” [Columbus Dispatch, 10/5/06]

GOP Rep. Ron Lewis Canceled Hastert Fundraiser. Representative Ron Lewis, a seven-term Kentucky Republican, canceled a fund-raiser he had scheduled with Hastert. Lewis said he wanted to know all the facts behind the scandal before deciding whether to campaign with Hastert by his side. [Boston Globe, 10/5/06]

GOP Rep. Gerlach Canceled Fundraiser with Boehner. “In Pennsylvania, embattled Rep. Jim Gerlach, a Republican, canceled a scheduled fundraiser with House Majority Leader John Boehner until more was known about who in the leadership knew what about the Foley messages, and when.” [St. Petersburg Times, 10/5/06]

Read More......

It's really quite horrifying that Bush thinks North Korea isn't his responsibility

As you probably know, George Bush, six years into his presidency, is trying to blame Bill Clinton for the fact that North Korea has just now decided to test a nuclear weapon. Here is what Madeleine Albright had to say about that today, per ABC News:

During the Clinton administration "...there were no nuclear weapons tests by North Korea, no new plutonium production, and no new nuclear weapons developed in Pyongyang."

It's really kind of shocking what a child our president really is. It was he who declared at the start of his administration that North Korea was a part of "the Axis of Evil." So what did he do about this "evil" country? He invaded Iraq. And we've been dealing with Iraq ever since. So now North Korea, the country amongst the Axis of Evil that was farthest along towards building nukes, now appears to have them, or is very very close.

But Republicans no longer take personal responsibility, for anything. Be it the cover-up of a child sex predator, or ignoring one of the most dangerous countries on the planet. Like arrogant, spoiled brats the Republicans are no longer responsible for anything.

Perhaps it's time we held them responsible at the ballot. Read More......

NY Yankees pitcher dies in NYC plane crash, official confirms

Mayor Bloomberg basically just confirmed it on TV - he refused to deny the Yankees pitcher was on the plane. But in any case, the NYT confirms it was him. Read More......

US Army plans to keep 120,000 US troops in Iraq until 2010

Jesus. That's four more years of this mess, at least. Jesus.

And by the way, so much for Bush's promises that we might just decrease troops next year. Apparently he got that wrong too. Read More......

Bush/DeLay/Ken Lay pal launches negative ads barrage

The GOP negative ad barrage is starting courtesy of a political ally of Bush, DeLay and Ken Lay:

A previously unknown group led by a Republican political consultant in Houston is financing television advertisements against nine Democratic House candidates from North Carolina to Arizona.

The group, Americans for Honesty on Issues, is spending more than $1 million on the advertisements, which accuse Democratic candidates of carpetbagging, coddling illegal immigrants, being soft on crime and advocating cutting off money for troops in Iraq.

Talk about a misnomer. Americans for Honesty on Issues is being headed by an ally of three Americans who don't know much about honesty:

The leader of Americans for Honesty on Issues is Sue Walden, a close ally of Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader who left Congress amid questions on ethics and fund-raising. Ms. Walden has also raised money for President Bush and served as an adviser to Kenneth L. Lay, the former chief executive of Enron who died in July.

This just shows how delusional and deceptive the Republicans are this year. Seriously, think about it. An ally of Bush, DeLay and Ken Lay is heading a group called talking about honesty on issues. Read More......

MSNBC: Does the buck stop with Hastert, or just his staff?

From MSNBC's David Shuster:

"[A]s far as the Foley scandal is concerned, the winds from that story are not about to die down. Because on top of the investigation into who new about the Foley page contacts when, and who is telling the truth now, the House Speaker has now opened up the question of whether the buck really stops with him, or whether accountability will only apply to his staff."

Read More......

North Korea test dud: everybody else catches up

Just after 11:00 a.m. on Monday I went with an assessment, based on a post at ArmsControlWonk and a discussion with two non-proliferation experts I trust, that the North Korea nuclear test likely failed to meet North Korea's goals and expectations. Two hours later, after further conversations, I put up a post indicating an even stronger assessment that the test was not a full success.

Then I sweated it out, as virtually no corporate media source reported anything but a success. North Korea was claiming a huge success, the Russians put the blast at between 5 and 15 kilotons, and we got plenty of comments and emails that were highly critical of our assessment.

Fortunately, in the aftermath, it's become clear that the test did get screwed up. It was a sub-kiloton event, which is extremely small for a nuclear blast, and while nobody can yet figure out exactly why, everybody else is finally catching up. That fact that the test largely failed isn't getting quite as much press as the initial event, of course, but by now -- two days later -- it's the conventional wisdom. From the Times:

The statements came as American intelligence analysts developed their first theories of what might have gone wrong in the barren mountains of North Korea’s northeast provinces to have produced an explosion much smaller than even North Korea had apparently expected.

This, of course, does not mean that the test wasn't a big deal -- it was, and North Korea is definitely part of the nuclear club despite the screwup -- and what could have been is nearly as important as what was. But the most crucial part of the failure is that it appears to create some room for negotiation. The uncertainty surrounding the test offers an opening; North Korea's claims and actions force a harder line from many of the relevant actors, but there's a window of opportunity that didn't appear to exist immediately after the test.

With this administration, though, I think the question now isn't whether we'll manage to screw it up, but how . . . and how badly. Read More......

ABC: Foley paid visit to Page dorm in 2000 AND 2002 or 2003

ABC has been on top of this story from beginning. Read More......

CNN's Wolf Blitzer exposes GOP lies about Foley child sex predator scandal

Damn, this was on Jon Stewart last night, and I wrote about it yesterday morning, but had been sitting on the draft all day. Grrr... But at least now you can see the video of Wolf showing what good journalists do. (It's in the post below.)

The blogs have been known to be tough on Wolf sometimes, but he did a great job on Sunday doing what a real journalist should do - asking tough questions, and not simply accepting a statement as true simply because a Republican says it's so.



Huffington Post has the transcript and the video:

Blitzer: Well you don't have any evidence though, right?

Rep. McHenry: Well look at the fact points...four weeks out from a national election...

Blitzer: Yes or no: do you have any evidence? Do you have any evidence Congressman?

Rep. McHenry: Do you have any evidence that says they weren't involved?

Blitzer: I'm just asking if you're just throwing out an accusation or if you have any hard evidence.

Rep. McHenry: No, it's a question Wolf. The question remains, were they involved? And if they were not involved they need to say clearly, and it's a question, it's not an accusation.

Blitzer: Well, they are denying that they had anything to do with this.

Now that's journalism. Read More......

Jon Stewart on Foley, again

Read More......

Iraqi violent deaths estimated at 600,000 as US deaths continue to rise

An astounding report on deaths resulting from the quagmire in Iraq. Is the progress of which Bush and Condi so often speak:

In an update of a two-year-old survey that sparked wide disagreement, Johns Hopkins researchers now estimate that more than a half-million Iraqis have died as a result of the U.S.-led invasion and its bloody aftermath.

Reporting this week in the online edition of The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, the researchers estimated that 654,000 more Iraqis died of various causes after the invasion than would have died in a comparable period before.

The scientists attributed 600,000 of those deaths to acts of violence.

Gunshots emerged as the leading cause of death, accounting for 56 percent of the total. Airstrikes, car bombs and other explosions each accounted for 13 percent to 14 percent. Almost 60 percent of the deaths were among males 15 to 44.

And U.S. deaths continue unabated too:

Three U.S. Marines and two soldiers were killed in fighting in Iraq, the U.S. command said Wednesday. The Marines, assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, died Monday from enemy action in Iraq's western Anbar province, the military said in a statement. It did not provide further details.

Also Monday, a U.S. soldier was killed when his patrol was attacked by insurgents in an eastern part of Baghdad, the military said.

The second soldier, attached to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, died of wounds from an explosion during a vehicle patrol Sunday north of the city of Tikrit.

Read More......

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

John McCain was on the TODAY Show doing his part to keep stirring the pot on North Korea. It is amazing that six years in to the Bush presidency, the Republicans are still blaming Clinton. It's laughable, but they've got nothing else. Nothing. Josh Marshall has an analysis of the Clinton and Bush approaches to North Korea:

"Failure" =1994-2002 -- Era of Clinton 'Agreed Framework': No plutonium production. All existing plutonium under international inspection. No bomb.

"Success" = 2002-2006 -- Bush Policy Era: Active plutonium production. No international inspections of plutonium stocks. Nuclear warhead detonated.

Face it. They ditched an imperfect but working policy. They replaced it with nothing. Now North Korea is a nuclear state.

Facts hurt. So do nukes.

Bush's approval is in the 30s because he is a failed President. The only way to control Bush is to change control of Congress.

I need my coffee. Read More......

Bush points finger at Democrats on taxes and spending

Aaaahhhhhhhhh, did I miss something here? Bush, the man who "discovered" billions that was non existent to fight his war of ego and convenience in Iraq, is telling people that it is the Democrats who are wild spenders? After six years of running roughshod over the budget and unloading billions onto future generations, this guy has the nerve to stand up in front of a crowd and complain about the spending of anyone else. If the GOP is looking for yet another example of why Americans believe that they are out of touch with reality, here it is.

Earth to planet George: you spend like a drunken sailor and we all know it. Time to come out of your bubble or fantasy world or wherever the hell it is that you are living. Please tell me how borrowing against the future and dumping a higher burden on the middle class, while cutting taxes for the wealthiest and giving corporate welfare is good for the total population? I see how is helps the Dick Cheney's and Bush family but most Americans are failing to see how it specifically helps them. Why does George Bush hate the American middle class? Read More......

Tucker Carlson: The Republicans hate evangelicals

From the Daily Dish:

CARLSON: It goes deeper than that though. The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the evangelicals who put their party in power. Everybody in ...

MATTHEWS: How do you know that? How do you know that?

CARLSON: Because I know them. Because I grew up with them. Because I live with them. They live on my street. Because I live in Washington, and I know that everybody in our world has contempt for the evangelicals. And the evangelicals know that, and they're beginning to learn that their own leaders sort of look askance at them and don't share their values.

MATTHEWS: So this gay marriage issue and other issues related to the gay lifestyle are simply tools to get elected?

CARLSON: That's exactly right. It's pandering to the base in the most cynical way, and the base is beginning to figure it out.

No one could have ever imagined that the Republicans would hate the intolerant, doctrinaire, all-demanding and never-happy bigots in their own party. Read More......

I really wish Washington Post reporters would read the Washington Post

It's amazing what they might learn.

For example, in tomorrow's Washington Post we learn that GOP Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) issued a statement saying that he never saw emails a former Page brought to his attention (emails from Foley to the Page that creeped the Page out) back in 2000 or so, Kolbe was not aware the emails were sexually explicit, and that Kolbe did not personally talk to Foley about those emails.

Here is what tomorrow's Post article says:

Meanwhile yesterday, Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) issued a statement regarding his knowledge of one complaint about Foley's dealings with pages. Kolbe said that several years ago, a former page alerted his office to "e-mails from Rep. Foley that made him uncomfortable." Kolbe, a former member of the House Page Board, said he did not see the messages "and was not told they were sexually explicit."

Kolbe said that at his suggestion, the complaint was taken to Foley's office and to the House clerk, who oversees the page program on the speaker's behalf.

Of course, what you won't learn in tomorrow's Washington Post story about Mr. Kolbe's statement is that Kolbe just totally contradicted the statement his spokeswoman gave the Post on Monday - that would be 48 hours ago. Here is what Monday's Washington Post reported:

A Republican congressman knew of disgraced former representative Mark Foley's inappropriate Internet exchanges as far back as 2000 and personally confronted Foley about his communications.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) confirmed yesterday that a former page showed the congressman Internet messages that had made the youth feel uncomfortable with the direction Foley (R-Fla.) was taking their e-mail relationship....

A source with direct knowledge of Kolbe's involvement said the messages shared with Kolbe were sexually explicit, and he read the contents to The Washington Post under the condition that they not be reprinted. But Cline denied the source's characterization, saying only that the messages had made the former page feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she said, "corrective action" was taken. Cline said she has not yet determined whether that action went beyond Kolbe's confrontation with Foley.

So, on Monday we learned from the Washington Post that Kolbe confronted Foley about the creepy emails to the kid, and that he had personally seen the emails. We also learn that a second source read the emails to the Post and they were reportedly sexually explicit (you'll note the Post didn't deny that fact). But then tomorrow we learn that Kolbe didn't confront Foley and that Kolbe never saw the emails, and was never aware that they were sexually explicit.

Only problem is, tomorrow's Post article doesn't tell you all of that. Why not? Who knows. They just reprint Kolbe's statement when they know he's just contradicted his own spokeswoman and a second source. I.e., the Washington Post pretty much knows Kolbe is lying, but they reprint what he says anyway, with no additional information.

And reporters wonder why the blogs get so ticked at them. Why do people have to find out about these things from me when it's in your own newspaper? Read More......

Open thread

Man, another busy day. And while you're open-threading away, have a look at Arianna's latest on the Foley scandal.

Also, ThinkProgress has the video of John McCain now blaming Bill Clinton for the fact that North Korea didn't build any nuclear bombs during his entire presidency, but has now been allowed to build one six years into the Bush presidency. The buck apparently never stops here in the Bush presidency or Republican-controlled Washington, DC. Read More......

Sickening comment by Kolbe today - apparently channeling John Shimkus (R-IL)

This is Shimkus all over again. A member of the Page Board, this time Kolbe, is informed of a problem with the pages, and he seemingly doesn't go to his fellow page board members. And to top it off, Kolbe made this rather sickening comment today in his public statement on the matter:

I believed then, and believe now, that this was the appropriate way to handle this incident given the information I had and the fact that the young man was no longer a Page and not subject to the jurisdiction of the program.

Not subject to the jurisdiction of the program? That's sounds like a nice legalistic way of saying that you simply don't give a damn if a 50 year old man is preying on 16 year old children. Because you don't have jurisdiction? Are you kidding? Does Denny Hastert agree with this perverted logic?

Apparently Kolbe wasn't worried that Mr. Foley might try (or was already trying) the same shenanigans with CURRENT pages, nor was Kolbe apparently curious as to how Mr. Foley got to know the former Page he was currently harassing - was Foley using the current Page crop as a farm team of sorts? Kind of an obvious question, but one that apparently Kolbe wasn't very interested in pursuing - assuming he's telling the truth. Perhaps Foley harassment of the Page started while the kid was still a Page - wouldn't that be relevant to the overly legalistic Mr. Kolbe?

We'll never know any of these answers because Kolbe wiped his hands of the situation since the kid had left the Page program "some time ago." As if Foley's knowing the kid had nothing to do with the Page program whatsoever. This is disgusting. Read More......

ABC: Hastert today contradicted yet another member of Congress

UPDATE: And let's not forget that Kolbe contradicted his own staff today on the Foley scandal as well. We're in our second week of this scandal and these guys are still spinning tales.

From ABC:

Last month, before the Foley scandal broke, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fl., also learned about the dormitory incident, which she says she was told about from first hand sources. After learning about an inappropriate but not sexually charged e-mail Foley sent, which had been posted on ABCNews.com's "The Blotter" on Thursday Sept. 28, Brown-Waite decided to launch her own investigation. She says she alerted GOP leadership on Friday, Sept. 29, about both the dorm incident and pages who had been made to feel uncomfortable by Foley. That evening, the Foley scandal erupted with news of the lurid Instant Messages Foley had sent former pages.

But in Aurora, Illinois, today Hastert told ABC News that he didn't know of any Foley incident other than those conducted via computer.

Read More......

Kolbe was a member of the Page Board when the earlier emails were brought to his attention

We just found this on our own - it was Joe's idea - but CNN apparently has also confirmed it.

Kolbe was a member of the House Page Board when the e-mails were brought to his attention.

So we're to believe that Kolbe was a member of the Page Board, but when a former Page came to him - a Page who Kolbe sponsored (was he a constituent, a family friend?) and said that he was being harassed by another member of Congress, Kolbe told the kid, basically, you're on your own? Deal with it yourself? Go confront your abuser when you're only 16 and he's nearly 50 and a member of Congress?

If that's Kolbe's story, it's an incredible dereliction of duty. And frankly, I don't believe it. Read More......

GOP Rep. Kolbe contradicts own spokeswoman on role in Foley child sex predator scandal

TPMmuckraker points out the discrepancies:

Kolbe spokeswoman Korenna Kline told The Washington Post that the congressman had personally confronted Foley about his inappropriate exchanges. Kolbe now says he merely "recommended" that the page's complaint "be passed along to Rep. Foley's office and the Clerk who supervised the Page program." (Kolbe's full statement is after the jump.)

Kline also told the WaPo that the page had showed the offending messages to Kolbe. In his statement, Kolbe denies ever seeing the messages. (A source told the WaPo that the messages, which have not been released, were "sexually explicit.")

The congressman gave no explanation for why his version of events contradicts that of his spokeswoman. Kolbe also implies now that this really wasn't his problem, since "the young man was no longer a Page and not subject to the jurisdiction of the program.”

Read More......

Don "The Choker" Sherwood vs. Tom "The Enabler" Reynolds

I have to admit, after reading Joe's post below, I was scratching my head trying to figure out who was more afraid of being seen with whom at their upcoming fundraising event: The Choker (R-PA) or the Child Sex Predator Enabler (R-NY). Well, the votes are in: They're both claiming they were the ones who canceled on the other.

Reynolds' people are citing a scheduling conflict, but a Sherwood spokesman says criticism of Reynolds' handling of the Mark Foley scandal was a factor.

Read More......

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Kolbe was apparently close to the same Page with whom Foley had the lurid instant message chat

This is important because it suggests that Kolbe, and the page, may be more involved in this entire affair than had been previously thought.

1. The Washington Post reports yesterday that Congressman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) invited four former Pages to stay at his apartment in Washington, DC while he was out of town. On its face, not necessarily a problem, but still a bit odd.

2.The Post reports that the source for this factoid about the Pages being invited to Kolbe's place is former Page Jordan Edmund.

Kolbe once invited four former pages to make use of his Washington home while he was out of town, according to an instant message between Foley and another former page, Jordan Edmund, in January 2002. The pages planned to attend a first-year reunion of their page class. But because of a snowstorm, they did not take Kolbe up on his offer, according to one of the four pages.

3. Note that Edmund revealed this fact in an instant message chat with now-ex Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL). And that Edmund is the same Page who reportedly had the salacious instant message chat with Foley that ABC published and that prompted Foley to resign. So Edmund, presumably, knew both Foley and Kolbe pretty well, or well enough to have sex chats with Foley and be trusted with the home of Kolbe.

4. Also note that I just confirmed with the Washington Post that Edmund was in fact one of the four pages invited to stay at Kolbe's home while Kolbe was out of town (that fact was unclear in the Post article).

Okay, so here are the questions and observations:

1. There has been talk over the past few days that Edmund, a conservative Republican, was simply "joking around" with Foley in those instant message chats. I have no way of proving or disproving that allegation, but it's interesting that Edmund was apparently on good enough terms with the only other openly gay Republican member of Congress to be invited to stay at his home while the congressman was out of town. That ties Edmund to two openly gay congressman. Not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just interesting.

2. It's interesting on its face that Kolbe was close to the same Page with whom Foley had the salacious chats.

3. It's also interesting that the Page was willing to tell Foley about private discussions he and his friends were having with Kolbe. That begs the question whether the Page was equally open about telling Kolbe about the private discussions he and his friends were having with Foley, i.e., the lurid ones.

4. Why did Kolbe and Foley know the same Page, apparently quite well?

5. This suggests that, at least in one case, Kolbe and Foley may have gotten to the know the Pages at the same time, or at least shared their friendship with the Page in some way - meaning, did they all hang out together, did one congressman introduce the Page to the other? It begs the question of how involved Kolbe was with this entire affair, and at the very least whether Kolbe knew more about Foley's indiscretions with the Pages, either from talking to the Pages or to Foley.

There are a lot more questions. But in a nutshell, it's strikes me as more than a little odd that the same Page's name has now come up with regards to two different congressmen. Read More......

Rep. Kolbe (R-AZ): I told page to notify Speaker's staffer in 2000

Congressman Kolbe issued a statement today, according to CNN:

KOLBE: Sometime after leaving the Page program, an individual I had appointed contacted my office to say that he had received emails from Rep. Foley that made him uncomfortable. I was not shown the content of the messages and was not told they were sexually explicit. It was my recommendation that this complaint be passed along to Rep. Foley's office and the Clerk [of the House, Hastert's staffer] who supervised the Page program.

1. We're to believe that a recent former staffer of Kolbe's, who is a child, came to him and said he thinks he's being sexually harassed by a fellow member of Congress who Kolbe knows extremely well, and Kolbe's response is to tell the child victim to confront his adult abuser? You have got to be kidding. Kolbe should consider resigning now, before his term ends, just on that basis alone - if this allegation is even true.

2. Kolbe is confirming that Foley's behavior was known in 2000.

3. Kolbe is also confirming that notification of Foley's behavior was made - or may have been made, we need to check with the former page - to the Speaker's staff, the Clerk of the House, in 2000. We're to believe that the Clerk didn't tell anyone else? No other staffers, no other members?

4. We're to believe that Kolbe and his staff didn't tell anybody about the child's complaint, ever - which is what Kolbe is now alleging?

5. If Foley's office was contacted in 2000 about this, then someone on Foley's staff was aware of the congressman's problem back in 2000. Who was that, and what did they do as a result? Read More......

Hastert does press conference about Foley scandal in front of a graveyard

(The video is at the bottom of this post.)

First, Hastert outright lied during his press conference. It is simply amazing that GOP leaders are still trying to downplay the severity of this scandal. More on that below.

I cannot believe they chose this as the back drop. Check out the terror-ticker at the bottom of the screen. I also love how CNN posted the word "Live" at the top of the screen to help the viewers distinguish between Hastert and the dead.

Some snippets from Hastert's press conference this morning:

REPORTER: How satisfied are you as to how your staff has handled this scandal so far and whether anyone should resign in your office.

HASTERT: Well I, uh, you know, look, this, I understand my, I have, understood what my staff told me, uh and uh I think from that response they've handled it as well as uh they should. However, in 20/20 hindsight probably you can do everything a little bit better....

I didn't think anybody at any time in my office did anything wrong. I found out about these revelations last Friday, that is the first information I had about it.

The problem we have to do today is, you know, this didn't happen under our wa [Hastert catches himself mid-word, then continues] while pages were in Washington. It happened after these people left, in my understanding, left the page program, at least the ones we're dealing with now, left the program and they were contacted after they left the program.

Excuse me? We have numerous members of Congress saying you were informed personally about this matter - so, it's cute to be talking about how your staff handled this and how you only found out about this last Friday. You were informed years ago. (I'm sure you're really dedicated to finding out who really killed Nicole, aren't you OJ Hastert?)

Secondly, this didn't happen under you watch? It only happened outside Washington, so the implication is that somehow it didn't happen under your nose? That's a lie. We already know that your staff was informed numerous times, and you were informed numerous times, that Foley was getting inappropriately close to the 16 year old pages WHILE HE AND THE PAGES WERE ON THE JOB TOGETHER. That is an utter lie to suggest that the untoward behavior only happened after the pages left Washington, so thus it didn't take place under your watch. The pages were warned to stay away from Foley in 2001 UNDER YOUR WATCH. An utter outright lie.

Moving on, we also know for a fact that your staff was informed by several members of Congress and by several congressional staffers, about this matter. We even know that your staff was involved in talking to Foley about this matter. You're now trying to claim that your staff never told you for six years that a member of your leadership was a child sex predator, but that's apparently okay because you can't find anything wrong with how your staff handled this?

Here's the actual video of the Hastert graveyard press conference - it's only 3 minutes long.

Read More......

Damn Jews, I mean, gays

From a top GOP "family values" advocate:

House leaders permitted homosexuals to infiltrate and manipulate the party apparatus while they publicly postured as friends of family values and traditional marriage. The facade is now in ruins.

Other than that, Mrs. Rabinowitz, how'd you like the article? The article goes on to blast Hastert and the GOP leadership - clearly the rift with the religious right has not been healed.

On the Fox News Sunday program, conservative Republican Rep. Jack Kingston continued to insist, in a shameful display of partisan spin, that the messages to the 16-year-old were just “friendly” and that House leaders handled the matter properly. The fact remains that House leaders conducted no investigation into the Foley matter and didn’t inform the Democratic member of the House committee overseeing the pages as to what Foley was up to....

House leaders had plenty of time to react so that it would not emerge as a campaign issue so close to the November elections. They can’t blame Soros or the Democrats for their own failure... secret Republican homosexuals are working behind-the-scenes to sabotage a conservative pro-family agenda in the Congress....

Despite Kolbe’s living a lie and changing his position on legislation in response to homosexual pressure, Hastert and Vice President Dick Cheney hailed his congressional career in video tributes delivered at the 2006 convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the homosexual activist group. Kolbe is retiring from Congress.

For the sake of honest and open government, not to mention protection of the children, the secret Capitol Hill homosexual network must be exposed and dismantled. But only Republican leaders can do that. Their failure to do so suggests that the network may go higher and deeper—and have more power—than even the New York Times article indicated.

Secret Republican homosexuals? It reads better in the original German. Read More......

George Allen (R-VA) lied about stock options, said they were "worthless," actually worth $1.1 million

George Allen is really one rich and out of touch Republican. How else could one explain his determination that stock options worth $1.1. million are worthless? I bet a lot of his constituents in Virginia would think of that as A LOT OF MONEY.

But, not George Allen. He said those options, which he failed to report as required by Senate rules, were worthless. Now we know the rule story. Does this man every tell the truth about his past?

From Bloomberg:

Stock options that Senator George Allen described as worthless were worth as much as $1.1 million at one point, according to a review of Senate disclosure forms and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The records appear to contradict remarks he made to the Associated Press. ``I got paid in stock options which were worthless,'' AP quoted him as saying.

Allen served as a board member of Chantilly, Virginia-based Xybernaut Corp. from 1998 until December 2000 and was awarded options on 110,000 shares during that period. His Senate financial disclosure form for 1999, required for candidates as well as officeholders, doesn't report that he owned the options.

George Allen is worthless.

Check out Jim Webb for Senate. He's going to win. Read More......

Hastert, Reynolds cancel on Don "The Choker" Sherwood -- will Bush show on Oct. 19?

Okay, this is rich. It's the clash of Republican sex scandals. Republicans across the country are running from Speaker Hastert and NRCC Chair Tom Reynolds. But, not Don Sherwood. He wanted them. But, Hastert and Reynolds don't want to be seen with him. The toxic leaders are dissing the even more toxic Choker:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert and another Republican leader criticized for his role in the congressional page scandal will not be appearing at fundraisers on behalf of a Pennsylvania congressman who has admitted to an extramarital affair.

Democrats have accused Hastert, R-Ill., and Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., of doing too little to protect teenage male pages from Rep. Mark Foley. The Florida Republican resigned Sept. 29 after the disclosure of inappropriate electronic messages to a former congressional page.

Rep. Don Sherwood, R-Pa., had been considered to have a safe seat for re-election until a woman filed suit against him and alleged that he had choked her during an altercation at his Capitol Hill apartment. Sherwood admitted to having an affair with the woman but denied hurting her. They settled the case out of court.

President Bush is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for Sherwood on October 19th. Will the Prez appear for the Choker? Or will Bush drop him just like Hastert and Reynolds did?

UPDATE: Sherwood's opponent, Chris Carney is running a great campaign. It's still a very Republican district. Help him out if you can...either at his campaign site or his ActBlue page. At this point, everything helps. Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

So, are you scared yet? In the NY Times/CBS poll, an astounding 83% of Americans think Bush is hiding something or lying when he talks about how Iraq is going. But, the White House thinks Americans going to trust him -- and let him strike fear -- on North Korea. Not going to happen.

Four weeks til election day. Read More......

Majority of Americans think Hastert should resign

Sounds like a hostile crowd for the GOP according to the new CNN poll:

- 75% said Republicans took inappropriate steps
- 52% said they believe the GOP leadership didn't investigate the charges earlier because they were deliberately covering the scandal up
- 39% approval for Bush
- 28% approval for Congress
- 58% of likely voters to support Democrats
- 34% think most members of Congress deserve re-election

It doesn't sound as though Americans are interested in staying the course. Read More......

Army continues to use lower standards

Because cutting corners always works so well in the Don Rumsfeld Pentagon?

According to statistics obtained by The Associated Press, 3.8 percent of the first-time recruits scored below certain aptitude levels. In previous years, the Army had allowed only 2 percent of its recruits to have low aptitude scores. That limit was increased last year to 4 percent, the maximum allowed by the Defense Department.

Read More......

Open thread

Man that was a busy day for a holiday. Read More......

Wash Post: Bush plans to use North Korea and terrorism to scare people into voting Republican

It's nice to know that there is literally no crisis the Republicans won't try to exploit for partisan gain.

...the White House plans to amplify national security issues, especially the threat of terrorism, after North Korea's reported nuclear test, in hopes of shifting the debate away from casualties and controversy during the final month of the campaign. These efforts are aimed largely at prodding disaffected conservatives to vote for GOP candidates despite their unease.

The article adds that the GOP expects to lose as few as 7, and as many as 30, seats in the House. The Dems need 15 to take it back.

In a sign the political environment is getting worse for Republicans, political handicapper Charlie Cook now lists 25 GOP-held seats as a tossup -- seven more than before the Foley scandal broke Sept. 29. Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan expert on House races, has raised to nine the number of GOP seats tilting Democratic or likely to switch hands.

Read More......

NYTimes/CBS poll: Bush has 34% approval; 83% think he's "hiding something or mostly lying" about Iraq

The NY Times/CBS poll released this evening reaffirms what the other polls are showing. The Republicans are in trouble:

And with less than a month before Election Day, the Times/CBS News Poll findings suggest that the scandal involving Mr. Foley, a former congressman from Florida, is alienating Americans from Congress, and weakening a Republican Party that was already struggling to keep control of the House and Senate. By overwhelming numbers, including majorities of Republicans, Americans said that most members of Congress do not follow the same rules of behavior as average Americans, and that most members of Congress consider themselves above the law.

This poll is especially bad for Bush. His credibility on Iraq is non-existent:

The public’s view of Iraq is as dark as it’s been since the war began in 2003: two-thirds said it is going somewhat or very badly, while only 3 percent said the war was going very well. Two-thirds said they disapprove of how President Bush is handling Iraq.

Mr. Bush’s job approval has slipped to 34 percent, one of the lowest levels of his presidency, posing a complication for the White House as it seeks to send him out on the road to rally base voters. Mr. Bush’s job approval rating has even slipped with his base: 75 percent of conservative Republicans approve of the way he has handled his job, compared with 96 percent in November 2004.

Mr. Bush clearly faces constraints as he seeks to address the public concerns about Iraq that have shrouded this midterm election: 83 percent of respondents thought that Mr. Bush was either hiding something or mostly lying when he discussed how the war in Iraq was going.

83 percent. That is an amazing number. Americans do not trust their President on the major issue of the day.

And, Bush thinks the North Korea situation is going to help him. Read More......

Tom Reynolds (R-NY) chose to keep Don Sherwood (R-PA) in key GOP leadership job after Sherwood allegedly beat and tried to strangle his mistress

Seriously, what do you have to do to lose a leadership position in the Republican party?

We know that preying on children for sexual favors isn't enough.

Not only did Mark Foley remain in the House GOP leadership throughout the 5+ years he was known to be stalking kids, but Foley was permitted to remain the co-chair of the House committee dealing with the issue of missing and exploited children. A position in which he would attend media events in the proximity of scores of abused children. And then we learned yesterday that Foley was thinking of not running again this year, but rather retiring, until Congressman Tom Reynolds (R-NY) begged him to stay earlier this year.

And now the other shoe drops.

I was looking through the AMERICAblog archives for information on Republican Congressman Don "The Choker" Sherwood. You'll recall that he's the 64-year-old very-married gentleman whose 29-year-old mistress frantically called 911 two years ago saying he was trying to strangle her. She also alleged in a lawsuit, that Sherwood settled with her, that Sherwood beat her throughout their five-year affair. The police officer who arrived on the scene after her frantic 911 call took photos of the victim and said that Sherwood should have been arrested on the spot.

Well what do you think I found in our archives? An article dated 2005 from Sherwood's local paper informing us that the National Republican Congressional Committee decided to keep Sherwood in a leadership position even after they learned of Sherwood's alleged attempt to strangle his not-at-all-alleged mistress, a woman he allegedly beat for five years.

And who do you think heads the National Republican Congressional Committee - the committee that gave such a big vote of a confidence to an adulterer who recently had to settle a lawsuit over whether he tried to kill his mistress? None other than Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY). The same man intimately involved in the Mark Foley child sex predator scandal. The same man who practically begged Mark Foley to run again this year, after Foley had sexually preyed on countless underage children.

I think Mr. Reynolds has a few more questions to answer. Read More......

Wash. Post/ABC News Poll confirms that Dems. are surging, GOP is tanking

There have been a slew of new polls today all showing good news for Democrats just four weeks before the election. The latest confirmation comes from the Washington Post/ABC News poll which was released within the late this afternoon. According to Broder and Balz, Democrats have "regained a commanding position" for the upcoming election. A look at the numbers explains why:

Congressional approval has plunged to its lowest level in more than a decade (32 percent) and by a margin of 54-35 percent, Americans say they trust Democrats over Republicans to deal with the biggest problems facing the country. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed said congressional Democrats in Congress deserve to be reelected in November, but just 39 percent said Republicans deserve to be returned to office.

The poll measures broad public attitudes and cannot be translated directly into individual House districts, but it sketches an environment that is as difficult for the Republicans as they have faced since they took power in the 1994 elections. By a margin of 54-41 percent, registered voters said they planned to vote for the Democrat over the Republican in House races next month.

Bush has dropped to a 39% approval in this poll. It appears that while the combination of the continuing out of control violence in Iraq and the Foley scandal are bringing down GOP support, Iraq is by far the dominant issue. People just don't trust Bush -- and they don't have confidence in his abilities especially on Iraq. The GOP has never questioned or challenged Bush's "stay the course" strategy and now they are paying a price. Across the panoply of issues, the Republicans are in trouble -- they've even lost support on their favorite political issue -- terrorism:

The new Post-ABC News poll suggests there are few issues Republicans can use to appeal successfully to voters over the next four weeks. When asked which party they trust to handle various issues, Democrats lead on every subject, with margins ranging from 33 percentage points on health care, 19 points for ethics, 17 points for the economy, 13 points each for Iraq and immigration.

Even on terrorism, which Republicans hoped to turn into a powerful issue this fall, Democrats are trusted by six percentage points, reversing an seven-point deficit in the September poll.

Okay, again, there are four weeks til the election. Everyone has to redouble their efforts between now and then to make sure these numbers hold. Read More......

Democrats are on the move in USA Today/Gallup poll

At the time of year when polls usually start to tighten, the latest generic poll from USA Today/Gallup shows quite the opposite. Democrats are moving further ahead -- surging even. And, the Republican's leader, George Bush, is in a free fall, too:

Four weeks before congressional elections, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows Democrats hold a 23-point lead over GOP candidates. That's double the lead Republicans had a month before they seized control of Congress in 1994.

President Bush's approval rating was 37%, down from 44% in a Sept. 15-17 poll. The approval rating for Congress was 24%, down 5 points from last month.

The plummeting GOP ratings in the poll of 1,007 adults, taken Friday through Sunday, come after a series of dismal developments for the party. They include high levels of violence in Iraq; a National Intelligence Estimate that contradicted upbeat administration statements on Iraq; a new Bob Woodward book about internal White House disagreements over Iraq policy, and the Sept. 29 resignation of GOP Rep. Mark Foley hours after reports that he exchanged sexually explicit instant messages with teenage House pages.

Last month's poll showed a bounce for Bush and Republicans following the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and a party-wide focus on terrorism. "Not only is it gone, but the Democrats have momentum," Democratic strategist Anita Dunn said.

She called the Foley scandal "the absolute crystallization for people of everything they dislike about Washington and the congressional Republicans."

The GOP was counting on their 9/11 exploitation to give them a political advantage. Oh well. Bush and the GOP wanted everyone to forget about Iraq. Karl and Ken really thought they could get Iraq out of the news -- and somehow morph that quagmire in to a success in the so-called war on terror. That's not happening. And, the Republican child sex predator scandal and cover-up are adding to their woes. I think the Foley scandal crystallized the bad feelings people were having about Bush and the Republicans.

It's still four weeks til election day. But, these aren't bad numbers to have heading in to the home stretch. Read More......

Increasing evidence of an FBI cover-up regarding Foley/GOP sex scandal

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Bush N. Korea policy "a huge mistake," says former top adviser to Vice President George HW Bush

This is interesting, coming from Donald Gregg, the National Security Adviser to George Bush's father when he was vice president under Ronald Reagan.

As an aside, Donald Gregg taught a graduate class I was in at Georgetown. My favorite Donald Gregg quote from class was when he told us "Oliver North's only mistake was taking too many notes." You get the picture - not exactly a flaming liberal.

Why won't the Bush administration talk bilaterally and substantively with NK, as the Brits (and eventually the US) did with Libya? Because the Bush administration sees diplomacy as something to be engaged in with another country as a reward for that country's good behavior. They seem not to see diplomacy as a tool to be used with antagonistic countries or parties, that might bring about an improvement in the behaviour of such entities, and a resolution to the issues that trouble us. Thus we do not talk to Iran, Syria, Hizballah or North Korea. We only talk to our friends -- a huge mistake.

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Foley was ready to leave US House until Cong. Tom Reynolds (R-NY) convinced him to stay and run again

Novak's column today:

Disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley had two excellent job offers in the private sector this year when Rep. Tom Reynolds, National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, talked him into seeking a seventh term.

Although Reynolds says Foley was merely deciding whether to run again, the talk in Republican circles on Capitol Hill was that he was ready to leave Congress.

Republican Capitol Hill sources are the ones telling this to Republican writer Novak. So much for Democrats being the ones behind inflaming this scandal. Read More......

Increasingly looking like test was a dud

My friends in the non-proliferation world are pretty confident that this was a failed test. Apparently it would have been difficult for North Korea to test a one-kilo nuke, as the standard -- and what they've always done -- is 20. The test reportedly yielded a sub-kiloton explosion, along with a radiological event, which makes it very likely that North Korea attempted a 20 kilo test and it failed. North Korea is, of course, claiming a successful test, but it's very much in their strategic interest to muddy the waters if the test did fail. (I owe a great debt for this analysis to ArmsControlWonk, which has crashed -- their post from this morning is now cross-posted here.)

HOWEVER. A failed test should not be confused with a victory for the U.S. or the international community -- this event marks a critical time for international diplomacy. The world may have briefly dodged a bullet, but we must take this opportunity to engage and deal with a threat that is clearly growing, though, thankfully, perhaps not quite as much as we thought just a few hours ago.

The whole world is working on how to react to this, and many nations will still look to the U.S. for direction. The North Korean diplomatic position is significantly weakened if, in fact, the test was a failure, which would mean that North Korea does not have a workable nuclear bomb design.

We can either take this opportunity to reengergize diplomacy and realize that we're still on the wrong course with North Korea, or we can continue along the same path that got us here in the first place. We can't let them off the hook, and what we do now may make or break the future of U.S. nuclear security. President Bush, the ball is in your court. Please don't blow it. Read More......

Married moms are leaving the GOP in droves

It seems they've had enough.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll this month found that support is now evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans among married women with children in the house. Republicans won this voting group by 18 percentage points in 2002 and Bush won it by 14 percentage points in 2004....

"Married moms, like Americans in other demographic groups, are much more critical of President Bush, are angry at Washington, are concerned about Iraq and are worried about many other things," said Andrew Kohut. He is director of the Pew Research Center, an independent public opinion organization that also found married moms breaking even.

The AP-Ipsos poll showed that married moms care as much about health care and the economy as they do about terrorism. The situation in Iraq is a greater concern than taxes, Social Security and gas prices.

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