Who will Ron Paul support?

That is, if Ron Paul, the closest thing to a real conservative - being a right tilted libertarian - in the GOP, weren't in the running?

Last month, during a Republican debate, Ron Paul was asked whether he promised to support the GOP nominee next year, no matter who emerges from the primary process. “Not right now I don’t,” Paul said, “not unless they’re willing to end the war and bring our troops home.”

Apparently, in the ensuing weeks, “not right now” has become “no.”

Paul called his Republican presidential rivals, including frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, “neo-conservatives” whom he couldn’t support in the general election should his own bid fail.

“They think we’re supposed to spread our goodness through force,” Paul said. For example, none will pledge not to wage war on Iran, he said. “How could I support something like that?”

Apparently, he can’t. But it means that of the top seven candidates in the Republican field, Paul is the only one who isn’t prepared to support the party’s eventual nominee. It’s not the kind of thing that will go over well within the party, but then again, Paul’s interest in the Republican Party appears nominal — it’s a venue for him to advance his ideas and agenda, not necessarily an opportunity for him to lead the party.

We know it isn't any republican candidate that is in the running right now. We can take a guess on whom he would support based on past statements:

The conservative Senator Chuck Hagel would be one choice, if he were running (obviously), and Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

There is a reason that both, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich, enjoy a large base of support from activists on the left and right, and are both derided consistently by the corporate owned media. It is because of their commitments to saying what they stand for and believe, their constant fights against the illegal occupation of Iraq, and actually voting by the standards of their public statements.

But Paul and Kucinich are both labeled wackos and fringe candidates by the media standards.

Go figure?

This kind of populist type backlash from grassroots in the left and right sure as hell isn't because people think that the media darlings and self-fulfilling-prophesied "top tier candidates" are competent, honest, have integrity, or are even relatively sane judging by their patchwork of flip-flops, twisting of truths, and circle-jerk logic demonstrated by their votes and statements and resulting in continued failures for Democracy, and for America.

Breasts, Legs or Laughs?

A little family Thanksgiving humor for you:

An elderly man in Phoenix calls his son in New York and says, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough."

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams.

"We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the old man says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her," and he hangs up.

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this."

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at the old man, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.

"Okay," he says, "They're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own fares."

Some end of year fun!

This Holiday Muckorama Contest seems like a really fun way to beat the Muck out of the wingnuts some more:





Maybe some of Connecticut's own video Bloggers would have some extra fun putting together their own video offerings for this?

The one problem with this contest: All these criminals should be getting mugshots, not free mugs. TPM should be sending the free mugs to readers like myself! lol

Time to Label a Traitor...

... exactly what he is. A TRAITOR:

Karl Rove approached Time magazine for a job. Time, however, rejected Rove as “essentially like an unindicted coconspirator in a whole host of felonies”:

Time’s editors apparently felt the cost/benefit analysis wouldn’t be in their favor if they embraced the man who has done more than anyone to keep the spirit of Joe McCarthy alive and well in American politics. … “They think Karl is essentially like an unindicted coconspirator in a whole string of felonies.”

These lying sacks of treason from the unindicted Libby files deserve no better reference than that. Here is the traitor Rove plotting and scheming with one of his other traitorous GOP buddies:


Via Steve Benen at TPM:

If you're just joining us, Novak reported yesterday that Hillary Clinton's "agents" are gossiping in Democratic circles that the Clinton campaign has "scandalous information" about Obama, which they reportedly will not share.

Of course, as a matter of journalism and professional standards, Novak's piece was a textbook case of media irresponsibility. His column shouldn't have even run -- Clinton supporters (who he will not name) are allegedly spreading rumors about rumors (which he cannot identify) addressing an Obama scandal (which may or may not exist). Joe Klein suggested that Novak may have "simply abandoned all pretense of being a journalist."

What's most striking, however, is the full-scale war between the Clinton and Obama camps in the wake of the piece. Mark Halperin has a timeline of events, which is both lengthy and painful.

A few observations. First, Novak's column smeared both Clinton and Obama, and the two campaigns proceeded to make it worse by spending the entire day bickering over what was, as a practical matter, a dumb column devoid of any substance.

Hook. Line. And. Sinker. Candidates, campaigns, Blogs, commenters, and supporters everywhere bit and swallowed the traitors' typically GOP ploy.

Never forget what you are up against.

What is wrong with this picture?

I try and stay out of the direct line of fire of diaries specifically bashing candidates on the left, except when someone asks a direct question of myself concerning it, but there is something seriously wrong with this picture, and it mirrors failures past:

At some point maybe the Democrats and the commentators will remember that the thing that matters is not whether Mrs. Clinton’s eyebrows are straight but that the Republicans she and the others are running against are carbon copies of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney. The Republicans are running on Bush’s policies only — in fact, on the need to expand them and make them worse.

So who are Democrats criticizing? They savage one another. What a dumb game, politics.

No matter what candidate you are talking about on the Democratic side, there is a serious problem with their savaging of each other instead of respectful debates on the actual issues. It is the same problem in many of the Blogging communities. These candidates and their supporters would be well advised to use their time to present their positions clearly on each of the many issues that are so important to this nation, and contrasting their positions with the failures of the Republican side.

The problem for many of them is that they do not present their positions clearly, leaving the primary voters with little to go on except for "cash cow support" and perceived oneupmanship. And, in the case of online debates at Blogging communities, the readers perceptions of the savaging of diaries and comments from various Blogging supporters of different candidates cannot be much better.

I am not pointing a finger at any candidate, Blogger or supporter specifically. It seems like it is coming from every camp. Heck, some of my comments could be perceived in the same manner.

I may not be a member of the Democratic party, but for those of you that are... You might want to reconsider your tactics so that when it comes time to "get inline" with whatever candidate your party puts forward you won't have already exposed and reinforced all of the weakest points of every single one of your own candidates for the few GOP supporters remaining in the "echo chamber" to latch onto.

Of course, efforts like this would have to be started at the top of the campaign level for it to be truly effective.

Strong, clear positions from the Democratic candidates forcefully directed at the real likelihood of the continuation or, as Denis Horgan points out, the further EXPANSION of bush failures by any of the new republican faces on a "Stay the course!" policy of failure.

Without this kind of campaign, the Democratic party only risks its chances of delivering a knock-out-punch message in the '08 elections to the Republican party to wake the fuck up from their lunatic policies if they hope to ever be considered as "serious" politicians with even a vague grasp of reality again.

This is your chance at showing the real differences between the Republican party and the Democratic party. OR, it can be your chance to mirror past failures of both parties.

As it stands, very few of the Democratic party "leaders" have given me any reason to hope for anything better. Nor have they lead their followers down a much better path.

Real News, Noam Chomsky, Iran

Eight minutes long... Get your coffee now so you can pay attention:

The Real News

Minor Update: For an eye opening comparison of bush failures to Chomsky successes follow this link...

Should I bother to finish college?

I found this little readability test over at the latest republican defector's Blog, Balloon Juice, where John Cole proudly declared they "is stoopid"...

Surprisingly, my Blog is not as dumb as I look:



Equally surprising is the number of Blogs that I regularly read which only scored at a high school level or lower. Presidential Politics and NB Politicus both rated as "Genius," but I hope they won't let that go to their heads. 1percentmoreconcious scored at the same level that my Blog did, while Think Progress and Glen Greenwald scored at the "undergrad" level, and Talking Points Memo, My Left Nutmeg and Connecticut Local Politics were among many of the Blogs I regularly read with high school level reading scores. Michelle Malkin and Red State had high school ratings, but Instapundit and Free Republic rated "Junior High"...

In a way, I think that scoring lower on this test is a good thing. If your score is lower it means that it is easier for more your readers to clearly understand exactly what you are trying to explain to them. IOW, 10 cent words only add more confusion to your position.

The two things I walk away from this post with are:

1. Now I know why most Republicans don't like my Blog. They can't understand it.
   
   
2. I definitely will finish college (eventually) because I am not wasting a freakin' penny of the Montgomery GI Bill money that the Army owes me.

A third thing might be that I don't really trust tests like this anymore than a stupid and biased IQ test that labels me a genius...

NOLA Screwed Again

Everything bush touches turns to shit...

The Army Corps of Engineers released flood risk maps on a block-by-block basis on June 20, but didn't include some technical data, preventing independent assessments of the accuracy of the maps.

The maps showed that the improvements made to the city canals' drainage systems would reduce flooding during a major storm by about 5.5 feet in Lakeview and nearby neighborhoods. The maps were based on a storm that has the likelihood of occurring at least once in 100 years.

But in a report released Nov. 7, Corps scientists estimated that the actual benefit the system would provide would be just 6 inches.

The discrepancy was tucked into the voluminous report's appendices, and neither the Corps nor the scientists hired to conduct the study brought the changes to the public's attention when the report was released. It wasn't until New Orleans television station WWL-TV asked an engineer involved in the assessment about the discrepancy that it became known.

And the White House spin on this?

Donald Powell, the head of the recovery for the White House, issued a statement late Friday expressing concerns, but still showing support for the process.

"I was informed this evening of the error in the risk maps detected through the internal IPET review process. Our team immediately contacted Dr. Link to express my strong concerns and my expectations on how the public will be better informed in the future," said the statement. "While the news is disappointing, it is an indication that the ongoing review process of the draft materials is working as intended. This event should not diminish the important work the Corps has done and will continue to do to provide the strongest hurricane protection in the history of the New Orleans area."

Yep! They get caught by the media burying an important statistic... And tell you that the "ongoing review process of the draft materials is working as intended." Where do they get these asshats? Is there even one person associated with the White House that can do anything with some semblance of competence?