Statement of John Kerry Responding to Republican Distortions "I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq. It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have. "
At least he didn't tell him to "Go F*** Himself" - or shoot him in the face posted by
Wally 8:45 AM
But Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) teed off on Cheney the VP attacked him about the economy and tax cuts.
"He's such a real son of a bitch, he just enjoys a confrontation," Rangel fumed, describing himself as "warm and personable." Rangel said Cheney may need to go to "rehab" for "whatever personality deficit he may have suffered."
"When you have those sorts of problems, you're supposed to seek help," Rangel advised. "He acknowledged that he has problems with communication."
(snip)
"I would like to believe he's sick rather just mean and evil."
Problems with voting machines are already showing up posted by
Wally 8:24 AM
Pay special attention if your voting precinct uses electronic voting machines. Or request a paper or absentee ballot.
After a week of early voting, a handful of glitches with electronic voting machines have drawn the ire of voters, reassurances from elections supervisors -- and a caution against the careless casting of ballots.
(snip)
Debra A. Reed voted with her boss on Wednesday at African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale. Her vote went smoothly, but boss Gary Rudolf called her over to look at what was happening on his machine. He touched the screen for gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, a Democrat, but the review screen repeatedly registered the Republican, Charlie Crist.
A poll worker then helped Rudolf, but it took three tries to get it right, Reed said.
Why did we invade Iraq? A) WMD's? B) Saddam's Defiance? C) George's Hard-on For War? posted by
Wally 7:47 AM
We know there were no WMD's, and now we find out that Saddam totally caved and Accepted the American Ultimatum Before the US Invasion, According to Rights and Freedom International.
"Saddam was willing to yield to all American demands, announced and unannounced, to reach peaceful resolution," said Shaltout, "but the Bush administration, including Elizabeth Cheney, undersecretary of State, David Welch, the U.S. ambassador in Egypt, and Gene Cretz, his political attache, did not respond to his offers." LINK
Here's his interview on Hardball with Chris Matthews from May 5, 2004 talking about what happened to him at the hands of the US troops.
They were trying to have me confess. They were trying-I was a peacekeeper there. I was there to convince Saddam Hussein to step down, and I was in the last hours working on this peace agreement (ph).
They wanted me to confess because they found the speech I was going to say and said that I'm the speechwriter of Saddam Hussein, which I wasn't. And they want me to confess I am his right-hand man.
(snip)
They knew I'm Canadian. I'm not only Canadian. I'm a green card holder for 25 years. I live in Los Angeles for 25 years. I lived half my life in America.
So, they take the guy who's sole job was to announce Saddam's complete submission, don't let him make the announcement that would prevent the war, and torture him. Bush didn't care about WMD's. He didn't care about "spreading democracy" or liberating the Iraqi people, or al Qaeda. He wanted his frikking war and dammit he was going to get it. Would somebody give him a blowjob so we can impeach him already?
New Bob Corker Ad From Tennessee! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 3:37 PM
Our friend Bob Kincaid at the Head-On Radio Network got an advanced copy of the new Bob Corker ad that the RNC will be running in Tennessee. Apparently, the last one was too subtle.
Keep stumpin'! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 3:10 PM
You gotta love it when the President comes to your town and you can't make it because of "previous engagements."
Poll: Stumping not boosting Bush popularity
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's popularity has not been buoyed by a series of public events in recent days, a new CNN poll has found.
Bush's approval rating still hovers in the high 30s, where it has been throughout October.
The poll, conducted by Opinion Research Corp., found that 37 percent of Americans approve of how Bush is handling his job as president; 58 percent disapprove.
Those damned activist courts again - This time it's the Iraqi High Tribunal posted by
Wally 8:04 AM
Saddam's verdict might be delayed, and not issued on November 5th (just before the election) like Bush wanted.
If it's delayed, the poor Republicans won't have the photo-op propagandist November surprise headline they were hoping for. They'll just have to run on their own feeble records.
A court trying Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity could delay its verdict by a few days, the chief prosecutor said on Sunday, in a move that would shift the announcement until after U.S. midterm elections.
The U.S.-backed court had been due to deliver a verdict on Nov. 5, two days before U.S. elections in which President George W. Bush's Republicans fear they could lose control of Congress.
Of course the administration says they had no role in choosing the Nov. 5th date.
U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad denied Washington had any say over the timing of the verdict or the court's decisions, saying the American role was limited to logistics and security.
Just pure coincidence, I'm sure.
Maliki's aides say he is furious at U.S. pressure on him ahead of the elections as the American public turns increasingly away from Bush's Iraq policy.
Vote for us this time! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 7:43 AM
I think we'll win the military vote:
Soldiers Say Support the Troops by Bringing Them Home
They are not pacifists.
They don't represent a political party, and you won't see them at an anti-war rally.
.....
"An Appeal for Redress From the War in Iraq" is an Internet initiative to get active-duty military to send this message to political leaders:
As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home.
No Swiftboating allowed here posted by
Clyde 5:34 AM
Calif. Vet Slams GOP Congressional Foe
A Democratic Vietnam veteran running for Congress lashed out at his Republican opponent Friday after a series of Republican-financed attacks questioning his support for U.S. troops.
In a rare display of anger, retired Air Force Maj. Charlie Brown called Republican Rep. John Doolittle a coward who is "hiding behind the flag" and slammed him for failing to serve in Vietnam.
"While I was being shot at in Vietnam, John Doolittle was practicing his tennis game at (the University of California) Santa Cruz," Brown said during a news conference as he was surrounded by fellow veterans.
Michigan's economy is in bad shape, one reason why the governor faces a tougher than expected re-election campaign this year. But good luck finding competitive races among the state's congressional delegation, even in the eight House districts that rank among the worst in the country in terms of declining income, rising poverty and surging unemployment.
If people truly voted their pocketbook, the lawmakers who represent those districts - four Democrats and four Republicans - ought to be nervous heading into the Nov. 7 elections. But seven of those incumbents are virtually assured of another term. The other lost a Republican primary in a safe GOP district.
So why the lack of competitive House races in a politically balanced state that ranks at or near the bottom in so many economic categories?
"The Republicans did a whale of a good gerrymandering job," says John R. Chamberlin, a University of Michigan political scientist.
Brother can ya spare a dime posted by
Wally 8:14 AM
for any of these 4 key Senate campaigns?
"The control of the Senate hinges on 4 key races" according to this AP story. So if you're wondering how you can best help out, give some thought to logging on to one of these guys websites and slinging some cash their way. Better yet, if you live in one of these pivotal states, volunteer to make calls, knock doors (both are easier than you think - I've done both), stuff mailers, or spend some time in the local campaign office doing whatever they need you to do. The races in question:
With designs on the White House, Republican Sen. George Allen hoped all along his 2006 Virginia re-election campaign (against Democratic challenger Jim Webb) would draw national attention. But what he probably didn't have in mind was a stumble-marred race that is so close his party recently felt obliged to pay for $1.4 million in television ads to safeguard a seat long thought safe.
Most recent polls put Allen and Webb at a dead heat
Strategists in both parties calculated long ago that Missouri's race would be close, with state auditor Claire McCaskill challenging first-term Sen. Jim Talent. With a statewide initiative on the ballot, it's also been clear for months that the issue of embryonic stem cell research would figure prominently. Talent opposes the expansion of federally funded efforts in a field that scientists say holds promise for the treatment of many diseases.
Recent polls show Talent ahead of McCaskill by 2-3%.
Tennessee seemed an unlikely place for a pivotal race, but GOP strategists say Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., hoping to become the first black elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction, has proven to be an excellent candidate.
No Republican has been elected to the Senate from New Jersey since 1972, and appointed Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has led state Sen. Tom Kean Jr., in many public polls. But GOP strategists decided in recent days that the race was their best hope in the country for capturing a seat in Democratic hands.
Polls say Menendez holds a very slight lead. Let's not lose this seat!
How cool would it be to wake up on Nov. 8th and have both houses of Congress in Democratic control? If you can, please click on one of the above links and help out. Every little bit helps.
Ethics Report on Foley Not Expected Before Elections
The House ethics committee has all but wrapped up the investigative phase of its probe into the actions of former representative Mark Foley, informing key witnesses that they will not be summoned back for more questioning, lawyers in the case said yesterday.
But those lawyers indicated that the committee is unlikely to release its report on the Florida Republican -- or even an interim memo -- before the Nov. 7 elections.
The quick pace of the investigation had raised hopes among some Democrats that the committee could release its findings in the coming days, fulfilling a pledge from the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Howard L. Berman (Calif.), that the probe would be wrapped up in "weeks, not months."
Investigators Say Speaker's Aide Hindered Inquiry of Hill Security Contracts
Two former House committee investigators who were examining Capitol Hill security upgrades said a senior aide to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert hindered their efforts before they were abruptly ordered to stop their probe last year.
The former Appropriations Committee investigators said Ted Van Der Meid, Hastert's chief counsel, resisted from the start the inquiry, which began with concerns about mismanagement of a secret security office and later probed allegations of bid-rigging and kickbacks from contractors to a Defense Department employee.
Ronald Garant and a second Appropriations Committee investigator who asked not to be identified said Van Der Meid engaged in "screaming matches" with investigators and told at least one aide not to talk to them. Van Der Meid also prohibited investigators from visiting certain sites to check up on the effectiveness of the work, the investigators said.
Rove comes clean on reason for war in Iraq posted by
Clyde 6:27 AM
Rove: Military must be flexible in Iraq
Presidential advisor Karl Rove blasted Democrats on Friday for even suggesting the U.S. withdraw from Iraq, saying the U.S. can't leave one of the world's largest oil reserves in terrorist hands.
However, Rove also said the military must be flexible in its tactics. He did not elaborate.
"More sacrifice is going to be required," Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist, told a ballroom full of Republicans at a fundraiser for Wisconsin candidates. "We will either create a world in which our children and our grandchildren have a hope of an optimistic future or we will leave to them a world with a hateful empire centered in the Middle East."
Random Thoughts by Dookie posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 2:13 PM
It's Friday and my brain feels like jello.
Did you hear about the Republican candidate who wanted to lower gas prices? Me neither.
Push polling. I love push polling. I want to randomly call Virginian's and ask "Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for Sen. George Allen if you knew he had sex with a frog in a bathtub?"
How about Exxon posting a quarterly profit of $10.49 billion! Did you know Exxon Mobil's third quarter revenue of $99.59 billion is greater than the annual gross domestic product (GDP) of both the United Arab Emirates ($98.1 billion) and Kuwait ($52.76 billion). Lets hear it for Cheney's Energy policy: Hip hip up yours! Hip hip up yours!
I'm amazed at how many right-wingers can diagnose a health problem by watching a video. Can you imagine the outrage if we said Terri Schiavo was acting or faking it? Better yet, Jesus faked his own crucifixion. That'll ignite the base.
Is it just me or does Bush disagree with his own policy? "Yesterday in New Jersey, we had another activist court issue a ruling that raises doubts about the institution of marriage," Mr. Bush said at a luncheon at the Iowa State Fairgrounds that raised $400,000 for Mr. Lamberti. But in 2004, President Bush said he "disagreed with the Republican Party platform opposing civil unions of same-sex couples and that the matter should be left up to the states."
And finally...
Everyone who votes for re-electing Jim Talent to the Senate will come down with a bad case of the pee shivers. For life. Vote for Claire.
And finally finally...
Make sure to set your clocks back one hour this weekend. For you Bush lovin' rednecks who can't afford a clock, move your sundial 20 yards North/North-West. That way, the massive shadow caused by Clinton's penis won't affect it.
Olbermann: "Stay the Course" posted by
Wally 12:53 PM
Keith busts the White House in another barefaced lie. I swear, these guys wouldn't know how to tell the truth even if it would do them some good.
Rummy (talking to Hannity) denies that Bush is backing away from "staying the course": "the concern was that it gave opponents the chance to say "well he's not willing to make adjustments" and of course just the opposite is true"
KO: The problem arises when you can't make adjustments even about the language of making adjustments.
Then KO goes on to play W.H. Press Secretary Tony Snow saying that Bush only used the phrase "stay the course" 8 times. How many? Eight? Nice try Tony, but you've just been busted in yet another blatant lie. Google the phrase on WhiteHouse.gov and see how many you come up with. Keith finds a few more that Tony must have overlooked.
Fuggin' Kansas! posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 10:21 AM
Sometimes, well most of the time, I hate this state:
Woman Ticketed For Political Bumper Stickers
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- A Kansas woman said she was ticketed for having political bumper stickers on her car.
On Wednesday, Sara Keiser was cited in connection with campaigning illegally because she parked her car at Metcalf South Mall, which is a polling place during elections.
The law states that no one can campaign within 250 feet of a polling place.
Keiser said she wasn't at the mall to vote or to campaign. She was there to go to work.
"I work here. My office is upstairs. I'm here every single day," Keiser said.
She said someone going to the mall to vote noticed her car parked out front and called police.
"They contacted all kinds of people in Kansas government about what to do. Apparently at one point, they were thinking about towing my car," Keiser said.
The car wasn't towed, but an officer wrote her a ticket.
"The officer seemed as confused as I did and a little uncomfortable," she said. "(The ticket) stated that my car is a campaign vehicle, which obviously took me aback."
She said she prefers to park close to the front doors of the mall, but now she must park around the corner and out of sight of the polling place.
Keiser didn't receive a monetary fine, but she must report to court in November.
Testy testy! Rummy gets his panties in a bunch in press conference posted by
Wally 8:19 AM
Tells reporters to "back off" Journalists apparently no longer allowed to ask questions, just report what they're told, dammit.
During an often-combative Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld said that while benchmarks for security, political and economic progress are valuable, "it's difficult. We're looking out into the future. No one can predict the future with absolute certainty."
Benchmarks are valuable? No, benchmarks are vital to judge just how much progress is being made. You set the goal, and you try to meet it. If you make it, hooray for you. If you fail, you "fail".
"You ought to just back off, take a look at it, relax, understand that it's complicated, it's difficult," Rumsfeld said regarding deadlines.
Yeah, whatever Don. "It's hard work" right? Bullshit. It's not that difficult. It's a simple concept really. Works the same on any project or effort. But since this administration never set any goals or "benchmarks" there's nothing to judge against, so no way to assess the level of success or failure.
Just back off and stop asking questions and let Rummy and friends tell you how swimmingly things are going.
Caught in another lie posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 8:17 AM
What's this about a strong economy? What's this about Democrats raising taxes and slowing down the economy? Oh right, the Dow hit a new high so everything must be fine. Riiiiiight!
Economy weakest in 3 years
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The pace of the nation's economic growth slowed to weakest level in more than three years, as the government's key reading on the strength of the U.S. economy came in weaker than forecasts.
The gross domestic product, the broad measure of the nation's economic activity, grew at an annual 1.6 percent rate in the third quarter, according to the commerce department. That's down from the 2.6 percent growth rate in the second quarter.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a slowdown, but only to a 2.1 percent growth rate in the period. A rising trade gap and a slump in the nation's housing market has been a major drag on the U.S. economy in recent months.
Home builders have cut back on construction due to a glut of homes on the market. Two of the largest U.S. home builders, Pulte Home (Charts) and Centex (Charts) both reported sharply lower earnings and cut their forecasts this week, and Pulte announced it would cut 10 percent of its staff.
How High the Wave? Don't Just Think 1994; Think 1974, 1958, 1982
With only a couple of weeks until Election Day, we know there will be a Democratic wave on Nov. 7. And we can be fairly certain that by historical standards it will be high - possibly very high. But we still don't know how many Republicans once considered safe will be swept out of office.
The national political environment currently is worse than it was in 1994, when the Democrats lost 52 House seats, eight Senate seats and 10 governorships, and when Republicans won GOP control of the House for the first time in decades.
You heard me right: It's worse this year than it was in 1994, when voters were dissatisfied with the first two years of the Bill Clinton presidency.
.....
Similarly, the generic ballot in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll was much closer back in '94, when Republicans held a 5-point edge right before the elections. Now, there's a 15-point Democratic advantage.
This has to sting. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 1:11 PM
The Michael J. Fox Effect
A new national study revealed that voters' support for stem cell research "increased after they viewed an ad featuring Michael J. Fox in which he expresses his support for candidates who are in favor of stem cell research."
Key finding: "Republicans who indicated that they were voting for a Republican candidate decreased by 10% after viewing the ad (77% to 67%). Independents planning to vote for Democrats increased by 10%, from 39% to 49%."
Real-time responses of those who participated in the survey are also available. Very interesting.
Who were they polling - Morans? posted by
Clyde 11:29 AM
Poll: Most feel civil liberties not harmed by war on terror
Most Americans do not believe the Bush administration has gone too far in restricting civil liberties as part of the war on terror, a new CNN poll released Thursday suggests.
While 39 percent of the 1,013 poll respondents said the Bush administration has gone too far, 34 percent said they believe the administration has been about right on the restrictions, according to the Opinion Research Corp. survey. Another 25 percent said the administration has not gone far enough.
Asked whether Bush has more power than any other U.S. president, 65 percent of poll respondents said no. Thirty-three percent said yes. Of those who said yes, a quarter said that was bad for the country.
Reagan 6-12-1987 "Tear Down This Wall" G.W.Bush 10-26-2006 "Put Up That Fence" posted by
Wally 8:36 AM
Bush signs bill to build a 700-mile U.S.-Mexico fence
Like the grouchy old man down the block yelling at the kids to "stay the hell off the lawn" Bush has decided it's time to take it to the next step and put up an ugly fence. As if the kids don't know how to hop a fence.
"A fence will slow people down by a minute or two, but if you don't have the agents to stop them it does no good. We're not talking about some impenetrable barrier," T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing Border Patrol agents, said Wednesday.
In typical Republican fashion, Bush is willing to spend billions (1.2 bil just on the down payment so far) of your tax dollars for an inadequate and uneffective, but hugely visible (can you say "photo-op) "solution" - just before an election. Your Tax Dollars At Work
Bush: Hold Me Accountable for Outcome in Iraq posted by
Wally 7:48 AM
At a news conference with reporters at the White House, President Bush offered one of his most sober assessments to date about conditions in Iraq. He insisted that as long as U.S. forces don't leave prematurely, they will win -- and help to establish a stable government.
But, Mr. Bush said, Americans who are unhappy with the war can hold him accountable.
(snip)
"It's what the 2004 campaign was about," President Bush said. "If people want to -- if people are unhappy about it, look right to the president."
Supporting the troops report card posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 2:35 PM
A group representing Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans says voting records do not match words in Congress about supporting the troops. Here's their report card. Guess who's at the bottom?
Cheney finally says what we've know for years. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 9:27 AM
"People say, 'Well, that's just Cheney. He's the Darth Vader of the administration, always taking the dark view,'" Cheney said in an interview Tuesday with the "Hannity & Colmes" show on Fox News Channel.
You Know the GOP is in Trouble.... posted by
Wally 9:10 AM
...When the Military Prefers the Democrats
Disgusted with the leadership of the Iraq war, two retired generals say the GOP must go. Plus: More than 100 current military personnel join a campaign to get the U.S. out of Iraq -- now.
"The best thing that can happen right now is for one or both of our houses to go Democratic so we can have some oversight," Batiste, who led the Army's 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, told Salon. Batiste describes himself as a "lifelong Republican." But now, he said, "It is time for a change."
"The way out that I see is to hand the House and the Senate to the Democrats and get this thing turned around," Eaton explained, adding that such sentiment is growing among retired and active-duty military leaders. "Most of us see two more years of the same if the Republicans stay in power," he said. He also noted, "You could not have tortured me enough to vote for Mr. Kerry or Mr. Gore, but I'm not at all thrilled with who I did vote for."
Ouch. That has to hurt. It's not just the Generals, and not just retired military either. Even active duty soldiers are risking their careers to speak out.
More than 100 service members, including those on active duty and members of the Reserves, have now sent "appeals for redress" to members of Congress asking for the "prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq."
"For every one of those guys," McNeil claimed, "there are 2,000 or 3,000 guys who are not willing to go public like this. These men and women represent the tip of the iceberg."
When the Military starts to go Democrat, you have to ask: is it time for the GOP to panic? I hope so.
Full Story in Salon (you have to sit thru a brief ad to read the whole story)
Somebody in the High Ranks of the GOP is Lying about Foley posted by
Wally 8:13 AM
Big surprise, I know, but this time it's under oath.
Hastert testified yesterday before the House ethics committee about the pedophilia going on under his nose, among his underlings. Of course he didn't know anything about any of it until the story broke a couple months ago. Unfortunately for fat Denny, his number one aide (Reynolds) and the next in line in the House (Boehner) both told different stories.
Republican campaign chief, Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, went before the committee to reiterate his contention that he personally told Hastert last spring of suspicious e-mails that Foley had sent to a Louisiana teen. Hastert has said he has no recollection of that conversation and did not learn of the Foley matter until it exploded in late September.
(snip)
House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, testified last week that he, too, told Hastert last spring of concerns about Foley springing from what House leaders have termed "over-friendly" e-mails to the former Louisiana page.
So what did Hastert do in his own defense? He did what the Republicans always do - he blamed the Democrats.
Hastert tried Tuesday to deflect attention from GOP leaders, suggesting, as other Republicans have, that Democrats may have known about Foley's sexually explicit instant messages but did not report them to authorities. Instead, Republicans have said, Democrats shopped them to the media before an election.
Who's fault is it that the GOP is full of pedophiles? Come on, say it with me.
It's freezing in hell. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 3:48 PM
Whoa.
Cheney Says Clinton Could Win Presidency
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday he thinks Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton could win the presidency. He said Sen. Barack Obama might be viewed by voters as too inexperienced.
Cheney handicapped the Democratic field of potential candidates in an interview with conservative talk show host Sean Hannity.
"I think Hillary Clinton is a formidable candidate," Cheney said. "I think she could win. I hope she doesn't. I disagree with her on nearly all the issues, but nobody should underestimate her. She's a very serious candidate for president."
Cheney said Obama, an Illinois Democrat, was an "attractive guy. Don't know him well, met him a few times. I think at this stage, my initial take on him was he's been two years as a senator. I think people might want a little more experience than that, given the nature of the times we live in. But certainly, he's an attractive candidate. If he decides to run, he'll be a player on the Democratic side."
Just another way of screwing us. posted by
Dookie The Webmaster 11:35 AM
Electronic voting machines, voter supression, and hanging chads. But size of ballots? By the way, this is a BIG race too:
Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names
U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.
Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.
Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.
Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.
Are you worried about the voting machines yet? posted by
Wally 8:36 AM
Lou Dobbs is, along with many others. I know we've all seen this before, but the fact that it's made it off the blogosphere onto CNN shows that people are finally becoming aware of the gaping security holes in the paperless electronic voting machines. Not to mention the logical flaws in having secret software counting the votes that decide the fate of the nation.
Says Dobbs: "We're facing a crisis in this country, and election officials are not taking notice." Pay attention about 2/3 of the way through the video when they show the polls. 66% of Americans think the election will be hacked. That's 2/3 of the nation who doesn't trust the democracy we have here at home while we're spending 100's of billions to spread it in Iraq.
But Lou's not the only one worried, or that should be. They're sweating it in Colorado too, where
"a judge said the secretary of state had done an "abysmal" job of certifying the security of the state's voting system."
"The court concludes that the secretary has not established minimum security" as required by state statute "and did not adequately test" the electronic voting machines, Manzanares wrote. The secretary's office "did not carefully evaluate the county security plans and in some cases approved plans that do not substantially comply with the minimum requirements" of the law. Denver Post
But it's not just the machines that are at risk.
A non-partisan civic organization today claimed it had hacked into the voter database for the 1.35 million voters in the city of Chicago.
"If we'd wanted to, we could've wiped the entire database out," ABCnews
With the Dems so far ahead in all the polls, with all the security holes in our voting systems - which are owned by Republicans who in 2004 went so far as to "promise" the vote to Bush - if the GOP wins this election again, will there be any doubt that it was stolen? Prepare for it to happen. With all the scandals and corruption, there is no doubt that the GOP will do anything to stay in power.
No wonder Cheney says that Iraq is "doing remarkably well" posted by
Wally 8:26 AM
Halliburton's 3Q Income Rose 22 Percent, and he owns over 400,000 shares of stock.
"This was an exceptional quarter for Halliburton," said Dave Lesar, the company's chairman, president, and chief executive officer in a prepared statement.
(snip)
Halliburton's Iraq-related work contributed nearly $1.2 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2006 and $45 million of operating income, a performance that pleased analysts.
"Iraq was better than expected," said Jeff Tillery, analyst with Pickering Energy Partners Inc. "Overall, there is nothing really to question or be skeptical about. I think the results are very good."
Olbermann's special comment on GOP Fearmongering posted by
Wally 7:42 AM
Keith issued arguably his most powerful Special Comment yet tonight. This time he takes on the GOP's newest fearmongering ad which quotes Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri superimposed over pictures of explosions with the sound of a ticking bomb in the background. As if that wasn't enough, it's topped off with the cryptic message echoing LBJ's 1960 "Daisy" ad that ran just once: These are the stakes.
Watch the video and/or read the transcript at CrooksandLiars
'To fill or overpower with terror; terrify. To coerce by intimidation or fear'
By this definition, the people who put these videos together: first, the terrorists and then, the administration, whose shared goal is to scare you into panicking instead of thinking, they are the ones terrorizing you.
By this definition, the leading terrorist group in this world right now is al Qaeda, but the leading terrorist group in this country right now is the Republican Party.
Keith appears to get more and more pissed off every week. As he should. As we all should.
Bush: 'We've Never Been Stay The Course' posted by
Wally 10:46 AM
During an interview today on ABC's This Week, President Bush tried to distance himself from what has been his core strategy in Iraq for the last three years. George Stephanopoulos asked about James Baker's plan to develop a strategy for Iraq that is "between 'stay the course' and 'cut and run.'"
Bush responded, 'We've never been stay the course, George!' Watch it:
Lies Lies Lies.... Watch the video and read the full story at ThinkProgress.org
Just when you thought it was safe to go into the voting booth posted by
Wally 10:20 AM
Diebold Source Code Leaked Again
What is it going to take to get this fixed? We've spent 100's of billions to "spread democracy" in Iraq, while we watch it being dismantled here at home. Why should our VOTE of all things be subject to secret and proprietary software? This is our freaking vote, the founding principle of our nation, and we're trusting it to a private company, owned by men with a definite political agenda, who won't even let us see how the votes are counted.
Imagine if we just had paper ballots, counted by hand, and the person doing the counting was Karl Rove, and he wouldn't let anyone monitor him while he counted. When he came out after his "secret" count and announced that the GOP miraculously won again, would we all just trust him, believe him, and accept his count as accurate and valid? Or would we demand to have the count monitored? Having "secret" and "proprietary" software counting our votes is the exact same thing.
Anyway, to the story. Apparently the software isn't as secret as Diebold would like to think.
Source code to Diebold Election Systems voting machines has been leaked once again.
Last week, former Maryland state legislator Cheryl C. Kagan was anonymously given disks containing source code to Diebold's BallotStation and Global Election Management System (GEMS) tabulation software used in the 2004 elections. link to story in PC World
And it is so full of security holes and so easy to hack that even Republicans are calling for the use of absentee ballots to ensure an accurate vote count.
Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., said that the suspected leak was disturbing but not surprising news. He said the security breach "raises yet another unanswered question about the Diebold technology on which our election system depends" and urged voters to take to voter-verifiable audit trails or absentee ballots. LINK
How our national legislature has become a stable of thieves and perverts -- in five easy steps
Rolling Stone Magazine has changed a lot since I used to read it religiously as a kid. At least some of the change has been for the better, it appears. First there was Robert Kennedy's expose on corruption and incompetence with electronic voting and the theft of the last few elections. Showing that the magazine still has balls after all these years (or that it has found them again) the cover story this month is another hard-hitting commentary on the sorry state of affairs in the current Congress.
There is very little that sums up the record of the U.S. Congress in the Bush years better than a half-mad boy-addict put in charge of a federal commission on child exploitation. After all, if a hairy-necked, raincoat-clad freak like Rep. Mark Foley can get himself named co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, one can only wonder: What the hell else is going on in the corridors of Capitol Hill these days?
These past six years were more than just the most shameful, corrupt and incompetent period in the history of the American legislative branch. These were the years when the U.S. parliament became a historical punch line, a political obscenity on par with the court of Nero or Caligula -- a stable of thieves and perverts who committed cri
