Well, the PowerPoint ® in the Pentagonclaiming that Chinese hackers can shut down the US Navy.
It’s just the standard budget time practice of the US military painting potential adversaries as 12 feet high with death ray eye beams. It’s how they get the big contracts now, so that they can get the lucrative consulting gigs after they retire.
a New Orleans prostitute will provide details of her 4 month relationship with senator David Vitter.
Once again, Larry Flynt is going to be holding the presser.
Wonder if the diaper rumors are true.
This is from Counterpunch.org, which is a highly controversial source. That being said, Mike Rogers of Blog Active and Down with Tyranny also confirm this, so there is backup.
It looks like two more conservative ‘family values’ Republican senators may be ‘outed’ soon. Mike Rogers, the same blogger who originally fingered Craig, claims that South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham is gay.
This has got to be the worst kept secret in Washington, D.C., it’s common knowledge in the Baltimore area too.
Howie Klein meanwhile claims that, ‘Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s quick expulsion from the Army—for fondling a private’s privates—is finally being discussed in Kentucky.’ He notes that McConnell, discharged after just 10 days in the Army in 1967, ‘has consistently prevented anyone from seeing his military discharge papers’ but a Freedom of Information suit may bring them to light.
To be fair, even if the reason for discharge is true, McConnell might not be gay.
If I were a draftee in 1967, and I were given the choice to go to Viet Nam, or pretending to be gay, I might very well go that route to stay out of Nam.
I make no claims to personal bravery. Had I not been exempt from the draft by reason of being 5 years old, I probably would have kissed my CO full on the lips to stay out of South East Asia.
Of course, I’m not sure that an admission of cowardice would help good the distinguished gentlemen from Kentucky.
FWIW, taking down McConnell needs to be a priority, as payback for going after Daschle*, which was unprecedented.
*Truth be told, I’m glad that Harry Reid is now in control of the Senate. On his worst day, he’s better than Daschle on his best day.
Well, here is no surprise, Bush’s hand picked stalking hours on Iraq, David Petraeus is saying that the surge has not worked out in a letter to troops in his command.
General David Petraeus, the commander of United States forces in Iraq, admitted on Friday that sending 30 000 more troops into the war zone in January had failed to yield the desired results. “It has not worked out as we had hoped,” the general said.
The acknowledgement by Petraeus that the situation in Iraq is “exceedingly complex” and that progress had been “uneven” came on the eve of his testimony to Congress on the state of the war. He offered the assessment in a letter to US forces serving in Iraq that was obtained by the Washington Post.
Not quite what he said before congress, huh.
“
This applies particularly to the Bush Dog Democrats.
Remember when I said that the next Attorney General nominee would be a big f&%$ you to congress?
Well, it does not get any more childish and petulent than Theodore Olson, who is now the front runner to get the nod.
Olson has lied under oath, repeatedly, he has no concept of the rule of law.
This means that Bob Kerrey will likely run for Senate from there, and he has a good chance of winning.
Kerrey sucks on the war, so perhaps showing him that being hawkish is a bad position would be a good idea for the residents of Nebraska though.
When McCain Attacked Guiliani’s foreign policy and anti-terrorism experience in the Republican debates, he got it.
Seeing Rudy as an expert in counter-terrism is like seeing the captain pf the Titanic as an expert on ice bergs.
Truth be told, the real source of Republican voters affection for “Hizzoner” is not his anti-terror cred. It is his reputation as someone who keeps non-white people in their place.
The Louima and Diallo affairs are something that appeals to core Republican voters.
Still believes that it is the fault of Clinton’s penis, and that people are “afraid” of Bill Clinton going back there.
While there are legitimate concerns about dynastic succession, ones that Broder ignored with Bush and ignores now, people are cool with Bill being back at 1600.
Moron.
Willis suggests that the campaigns against the Bush Dogs Dems is a waste of resources, and we should focus on places like Donna Edward’s challenge to Al Wynne.
He is completely wrong.
The “Bush Dog” Challenge is almost entirely about the war. There are other issues in the mix, but the war is the 800 pound gorilla in the room, and getting out of Iraq is a winner for Democrats, as the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Republicans want us out now.
They are pushing this position out of cowardice and stupidity, and getting them back on track serves to strengthen, not weaken the Democratic hold on their seats.
In addition, letting them be stupid and craven without consequence serves to destroy what is already pathetically weak Democratic party discipline.
In the past few weeks a number of senior Thompson campaign staffers have left. Just a few weeks before a formal announcement.
This churn has been going on for some time.
This campaign is looking to be more of a fiasco than John McCain’s.
Some of those guys are really going to regret their efforts to make our federal prisons hell holes.
Needless to say, the Washington DC Journamalist press corps will use this to claim that Edwards is too far out there*, but in reality the fact that that congress should not fund the war without a withdrawal timetable is actually pretty safe.
More than 90% of the primary voters, and more than 70% of those folks who are not Republican Dead Enders™ support this. It’s a natural vote getter.
My recommendation to any Democratic presidential candidate is to state loudly and clearly that escalation by attacking Iran is a bad thing. It would destabilize the region, provide popular support to the Iranian theocracy, and put more American lives at risk.
In fact, I would suggest that a candidate should suggest that this is a reason to initiate immediate impeachment proceedings.
It appears that Larry Craig is not definitively out1 as Idaho’s US Senator.
It appears, according to a voice mail left at the wrong number, that his intent to resign is just that, intent, and not a promise.
He’s hired a high priced lawyer, and he will be fighting to overturn his guilty plea for disorderly conduct.
While my initial reaction is, “pass the popcorn”, this can actually be rather significant.
Seeing as how this will going on at the same time that the Pentagon’s “war room” is ramping up it’s likely to suck2 all the oxygen out of the media room, and so this media offensive is likely to get little notice, and hence little traction.
The voice mail mentions that he has support of Arlen Spector, which rather surprizes me, as the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania always bent over backwards3 to support the Republican agenda when push comes to shove4.
It’s possible that Spector had a polite statement of support that was misinterpreted, or possibly he’s trying to queer the deal in order to extract some sort of payback against the Republican Senate leadership by queering5 their efforts on the Iraq war, but I am unaware of any specific bad blood between him and Mitch McConnell.
It will be interesting seeing if the Republicans actually demand an ethics investigation to get to the bottom6 of this.
1Pun not intended.
2Really, I mean it, pun not intended.
3Oh, for Pets’s sake!!!! Pun not intended.
4Oh…I just give up, I’m punning.
5Well, that was liberating.
6OK, I admit it. I have a problem. My name is Matthew Saroff, and I am a punster.
Well, it appears that contrary to his statements, Bush specifically endorsed dismantling the Iraqi army.
One wonders if the Washington press corps will be upset about this as they were about a blowjob.
Read the full article. It’s about the colmnist listening to Sandra Day O’Connor’s concerns about her son and grandson, who is uninsurable.
As I listened, a light dawned: O’Connor and the rest of us with health coverage are also uninsured. We too face terrible, albeit more remote, healthcare risks — the risk that our employer will drop our plan, that Medicare will go bust, that our plan won’t cover our needs, that premiums will eat us alive, that our doctor will stop taking our insurance, that long-term care will wipe us out, and that our uninsured friends and family members will need major financial help.
Hat tip to the Mahablog
Once again, I am wrong in a prediction. Huckabee is surging in polls.
I had kind of written him off as being too Arkansas, and too formerly fat.
My early prediction was for Brownback, who I think is rather more telegenic, but is going nowhere.
By way of lame excuse, I did not realize that Brownback was Catholic, which is a big strike against him in the Republican primary.
Additionally, I think that Huckabee’s life story has a redemption element, specifically his dropping over 100 pounds and getting in shape.
People love a redemption element, and being morbidly obese is pretty mild as a problem to recover from, compared to something like, bribes, diapers, or men’s room pickups.
Of course, the fact that I was wrong about this is one more reason why my making predictions scares me.
The Justice Deptartment is investigating Gonzales’s testimony, the question is whether this is a legitimate investigation, or simply an attempt for the the DoJ and Bush and His Evil Minions™ to create an ongoing investigation in order to stonewall congress.
My money is on the latter.
When Nixon was nominated in 1968, my father said, “Those idiot Republicans, there is no way we can lose now”.
My dad still has a few hundred sheets of McGovern stationary in the house.
I supported Howard Dean, and went to the meetups, and worked on a campaign for state house where the candidate finished 6th.
While I do have a preference on who gets the Democratic nomination, I have this feeling that my explicitly endorsing a candidate would jinx that individual.
So, for right now, I’m being held hostage to these superstitions, and I am quite well aware that this is stupid.
Good for him.
Bush opposes SCHIP because he’s afraid that it works too well, and it might therefore harm the bottom line of his insurance company donors.
GOVERNOR SPITZER LAUNCHES EFFORT TO PROTECT HEALTH CARE FOR ALL NEW YORK CHILDREN
State Considering Legal Challenge Congressman Rangel Urges Delegation to Stand UnitedGovernor Eliot Spitzer today launched an effort to reverse new federal rules that will impede New York’s groundbreaking efforts to insure every child. He announced that New York will consider fighting the matter in court. Joined by Congressman Charles B. Rangel, the Governor called on President Bush to approve a plan New York has submitted that will make health insurance available to nearly 400,000 uninsured children.
The Governor and the Congressman met with State Health Commissioner Richard Daines, M.D. to discuss a recent administrative action initiated by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that will curtail New York’s effort to insure every child in the state, result in more uninsured children across the nation, and roll back Congressional measures allowing individual states the flexibility to address their specific needs.
The new federal rules announced August 17th governing the expansion of state plans under the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) block New York’s legislatively approved expansion of children’s health insurance, as well as roll back expansions or pending plans in 17 other states and the District of Columbia.
Governor Spitzer announced that the state may fight the new federal administrative rules in court on the grounds that they contradict the provisions of the federal SCHIP law and were imposed without notice or the required comment period as required by the federal Administrative Procedures Act.
“We are calling on President Bush to abolish these troublesome roadblocks to insuring our nation’s children,” said Governor Spitzer. “The President should invest in the health of America’s children and allow states like New York, and nearly 20 others, to implement programs that will help ensure that more and more children receive the healthy beginning they deserve.”
Lieutenant Governor David Paterson said: “Our fight on behalf of New York’s children is a reflection of the values that are at the core of Governor Spitzer’s ‘Patient First’ health care agenda. Providing quality health care for our state’s children is not an issue that should be cloaked in politics, but rather a common sense policy that should be promoted and embraced.”
Congressman Rangel, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has championed legislation expanding access to health care for children, and has pledged his support for New York’s initiative and similar efforts underway in other states to expand coverage for uninsured children. He said: “Flexibility has been the cornerstone of SCHIP’s past success, allowing states to design their programs based on local needs, values, and economics. So if we allow local adjustments in federal subsidies like housing or Medicare, why wouldn’t we do so in safeguarding the health of our youngest generation? Democrats in New York are united in our efforts to expand health insurance to more than 11 million children here and around the nation. And you can be sure that we are committed to turning back anything that handicaps that effort.”
In April, New York State filed a State Plan Amendment with CMS, seeking federal approval to expand the income eligibility for its Child Health Plus program from the current maximum of 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), about $43,000 for a family of three, to 400 percent of the FPL, about $68,000 for the same family. The change would extend eligibility to an additional 60,000 uninsured children, the cost of the monthly premium would increase based on a family’s income level.
With the expansion, virtually all children in New York State would have access to affordable health insurance through a combination of Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and private commercial insurance. The initiative is a key piece of the Governor’s health reform agenda and is the first step in the Governor’s “Partnership for Coverage” initiative to expand access to health insurance for all New Yorkers through an incremental, building block approach.
State Health Commissioner Richard Daines, M.D. said: “New York’s Child Health Plus Program opens the door to a lifetime of good health. It all starts with coverage and access to childhood immunizations, early developmental screenings, and continuity of care.”
State health officials are continuing efforts to aggressively reach out and enroll all those children who are eligible under the federal requirements.