Neo-Weener Supports Joltin Joe for VP

If there were ever a point in time that the Liberul Media were to wake up and stop referring to the revoltin' joltin' Joe as some kind of Democrat, never mind an Independent of any kind, you would have to think that this neocon weener's (William "the bloody" Kristol) editorial would be the memorial to lay that GOP talking point to rest:

In a new Weekly Standard editorial, William Kristol, one of the most prominent and influential voices in the conservative movement, suggests that Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-CT) recent speech attacking war critics may be cause for the eventual Republican Presidential nominee to “offer him the vice presidency.” Peter Wehner, a former assistant to President Bush, endorses the “Joe for VP” meme at the Corner.

Joe Lieberman's consistent lies and propaganda in all things concerning illegal invasions and warmongering belie the fact that Joe is just another textbook definition of the insane neoconservative republicans. And Mr. Batshitcrazy over at the Weekly neoCON Standard proves this point.

Darien Veteran Group Fails the Charity Test

So says the Blotter:

Failing to Serve America's
Heroes on the Home Front

In the last two years, generous Americans answering appeals to help wounded and paralyzed veterans have given more than $464 million to charities that have been given an F in a new report card from a leading charity watchdog group.

Those failing charities include the National Veterans Services Fund, of Darien, Connecticut, which took in more than $6 million in contributions last year supposedly to help veterans' families.

It got a report grade of F from the American Institute of Philanthropy, which says the charity gave out only two percent of its money for charity.

I would like to hear the National Veterans Services Fund explanations for this... Same for the other 13 veterans groups that got an F. (h/t Buzzflash)

Meanwhile, in other veterans groups news, some veterans are labeled as not veteranny enough to march in veterans parades:

Iraq veteran Jason Lemieux might not be marching in the 11th annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.

The Marine, who served three tours of duty in Iraq and is now against the war, was hoping to march as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a national organization that calls for immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq.

The group's application, however, was rejected last month because of its political views, parade coordinators said.

"I wanted to march like the rest of the Iraq veterans," said Lemieux, a 24-year-old Anaheim resident. "I served my country. I'm a veteran of a foreign war. I think I deserve that respect."

Iraq Veterans, along with the groups Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out, applied to march together in the parade this year under the entry "Military Patriots."

While parade organizers claim "We're not allowed to take a political stance" that is exactly what they have just done. They should be ashamed.

Date Rape Toy Recall

Good lord! Who would of thought a ^^ title like that ^^ would ever have to be written?

Millions of Chinese-made toys have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful date rape drug when ingested. Two children in the United States and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

With only seven weeks until Christmas, the recall is yet another blow to the toy industry - already bruised by a slew of recalls this past summer.

In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys. They are called Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year at an industry function earlier this year.

I can only hope that the children that have ingested these things will be ok.

The two U.S. children who swallowed Aqua Dot beads went into nonresponsive comas, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said Wednesday afternoon.

In Australia, the toys were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when officials learned that a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old toddler also was being treated.

Meanwhile, there is another long list of Chinese made toys that are also being recalled for their lead content and choking hazards.

I haven't seen any reports of these toys being pulled from Connecticut's store shelves, but just because it isn't being reported on doesn't mean it isn't happening. Toys "R" Us Inc. had issued a "stop sale" order on Tuesday for "the entire Spin Master Aqua Dots product line in its North American stores and on its Web site after it learned of the news."

It is highly likely that you better check your toy boxes again fellow Nutmeggers.

Buzz it if you want to?

Phone Conversations Overheard on a Blog

Brendan over at the Booman Tribune made a few phone calls to Congress after watching the spectacle of the IMPEACHMENT VOTE unfold on the floor of the house:

"Hello, Pete Sessions office", said a young man on the other end of the phone.

"Hi, my name's Brendan Skwire," I began. "And first of all, I have to tell you that I am about the most left-wing Democrat you could ever meet. If it was up to me, it would be abortion on demand, healthcare for everyone, and out of Iraq yesterday. Pete Sessions and I agree on absolutely nothing, and if we had a few beers together, we'd probably come to blows. So I just wanted to get that out there. I loathe the Republican Party and everything it stands for. No offense, just giving you an idea of where I'm coming from."

"And none taken," the guy said graciously. "So. What's up?"

"Well, as much as I despise the GOP, there is one thing I hate more: the liars and hacks that make up the Democratic Party leadership. I mean, my GOD: they have broken just about every single promise they made to people like me who voted for them in 2006. They took impeachment off the table, they keep sending you guys blank checks for war in Iraq, they let you get away with blocking all sorts of bills... I mean, just look at the Senate! They're about to confirm Mukasey as Attorney General, a guy who won't enforce Congressional subpoenas and believes George Bush is above the law. Later this week, they're probably going to legalize wiretapping our phones. It's absolutely disgraceful what the Democratic leadership has done. They're just as bad as you guys!

"And so while I never EVER thought I would say this, please pass a message to Pete Sessions for me: tell him I extend my heartiest congratulations for making Steny Hoyer, a douchebag of the highest order, look even more like the idiot fool he is. And on the House floor! Fantastic!! Tell Mr. Sessions I applaud his participation in this hilarious prank, which exposed my party's leadership for the clowns and cowards they are.

"Again, I don't support any of your boss's policies, but credit where credit is due. That was a job well done. Well-played, sir! I haven't laughed that hard in months!"

"Will do sir," the guy said chuckling. "I'm sure Congressman Sessions will be delighted to hear your message!"

The calls he made to the Democratic Congress critters were equally hilarious...

Blog Talk Radio Tonight

If you are around TONIGHT (Wednesday, November 7), please join us again for another edition of Don't Hijack My Thread! at 8PM Eastern/5PM Pacific.

This week's topics are as follows:

• What's up with our "best friend" Pakistan?
• Getting behind the decreasing violence in Iraq
• Big Dog making lame excuses for Hillary's recent missteps
• Election Day 2007 recap
• Rep. Kucinich and his "Cheney impeachment" bill
• The "Ron Paul" factor - is he for real or just a "fad"?

The link to tonight's show is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/epradio/2007/11/08/Dont-Hijack-My-Thread

The link to past shows for podcast or streaming is here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/epradio and you can check out Blog Talk Radio's progressive radio lineup at Heading Left (www.headingleft.com).

Info about calling in can be found here: http://political-nexus.blogspot.com/2007/04/want-to-call-into-dont-hijack-my-thread.html

Tell us something we didn't already

know...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is the president of Peru, Chavez “mocked” Cheney, saying the comment shows the United States is governed by a “bunch of ignorant fools”:

“The vice president of the United States was talking about us, but he made a mistake,” Chavez said, laughing. “Since those who govern the United States are a bunch of ignorant fools…he thinks I’m president of Peru.”

“They don’t know where Venezuela is, nor do they know where Peru is,” Chavez told the crowd.

Though, it did take a large chunk of America quite a while to figure this out.

Missing New Milford Teen Found in NJ

An update on Megan Roberts, a teen who went missing in New Milford, Connecticut, a few weeks ago and via the website set up by her family:

She went to Boston, Providence and Atlantic City. They were found because a police officer came up to them and she ran away. She was arrested for evading a police officer.

Megan was in bad shape when we found her.

snip

Thanks again to everyone who was so helpful. Please continue to keep Megan in your prayers so that she will regain control of her mind.

I am glad she was finally found and hope that she will be ok. Good luck to your family. I am certain that the other Connecticut Blogs that tried to help by writing on this, or hosting diaries on it, will feel the same relief that I do at the news that she was found.

Lou Rell Has Cancer

According to the Danbury NewsTimes Governor Jodi Rell's husband has cancer:

Lou Rell, husband of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, will undergo surgery Tuesday for removal of a small cancerous growht on his esophagus. He is expected to be hospitalized for a week to 10 days.

I wish him the best and good luck in his recovery because he will very likely have a battle on his hands. According to the American Cancer Society:

The American Cancer Society estimates during 2007, 13,940 deaths from esophageal cancer will occur. Because esophageal cancer is usually diagnosed at a late stage, most people with esophageal cancer eventually die of this disease. However, survival rates have been improving. During the early 1960s, only 4% of all white patients and 1% of all African-American patients survived at least 5 years after diagnosis. Now, 17% of white patients and 12% of African-American patients survive at least 5 years after diagnosis. These figures refer to patients with all stages of disease, so survival rates in earlier stage disease will be higher.

These survival rates are called relative survival rates. The 5-year survival rate refers to the percent of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. This includes people who die of other causes. Five-year relative survival rates assume that some people will die of other causes and compares the observed survival with that expected for people without the cancer. That means that relative survival only talks about deaths from the cancer in question. This is a more accurate way to describe the prognosis for patients with a particular type and stage of cancer. Five-year rates are used to produce a standard way to discuss prognosis, or outlook for survival.

Wilkes Ship Has Come In

And much like the "Duke Stir" it is a sinking ship:

A U.S. District Court jury has found Brent Wilkes, who was charged with bribing disgraced former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, guilty on all 13 counts in his corruption trial. TPM’s Paul Kiel notes that today’s verdict is from just the first of the two corruption trials Wilkes faces. The second involves former CIA executive director Dusty Foggo.

This guy is a real piece of work and deserves scrutiny for more than just bribing Randy "Duke" Cunningham:

Republican Cronies Were Scanning OR Reading?

Josh Marshall over at TPM digs this up:

If you're a Cunningham case afficionado, you know that in early 2002 Mitchell Wade was still acting as a cut out for his corruption mentor Brent Wilkes -- who's now awaiting trial in the Cunningham case. And around the same time Wilkes was greasing palms in DC trying to get into the Anthrax mail screening racket himself.

He got some help from Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) who got money from Wilkes. We pick up that part of the story from the San Diego Union-Tribune from March 19th, 2006 ...

Julie Doolittle was working at Buckham's offices in 2002 when Buckham introduced Brent Wilkes to her husband. Federal contracts for his flagship company, ADCS Inc., were drying up, partly because the Pentagon had been telling Congress it had little need for the company's document-scanning technology. So Wilkes was trying to get funding for two new businesses.

One was tied to the 2002 anthrax scare, when tainted letters were sent to Capitol Hill. Wilkes' idea was to have all Capitol Hill mail rerouted to a site in the Midwest, where ADCS employees wearing protective suits would scan it into computers and then e-mail it back to Washington.

He called his proposed solution MailSafe – similar to the names of several anti-anthrax companies launched at that time – and began vying for federal contracts, even though the company had little to its name other than a rudimentary Web site.

The House Administration Committee, on which Doolittle sat, oversees the congressional mail system. Doolittle told his colleagues about MailSafe and introduced them to Wilkes, but the project never got off the ground.

Note the reference to the House Administration Committee. That was the committee then chaired by another Abramoff buddy -- the now-imprisoned Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH). And Ney, as he'd earlier done for Abramoff associate Adam Kidan, actually read into the House record an encomium to Wilkes.

So it all comes back to the same question. Why did a company like Wade's, which had no track record whatsoever and had only been approved to receive federal government contracts two months earlier, get a contract from the White House to screen the mail of the President of the United States?

Are you sure it was only the Presidents mail they were screening?

Note the Tribune story:

Wilkes' idea was to have all Capitol Hill mail rerouted to a site in the Midwest, where ADCS employees wearing protective suits would scan it into computers and then e-mail it back to Washington.

All Capitol Hill mail? Wouldn't that mean that these Republican cronies were also "scanning" sensitive mail from the Democratic party side of the aisle (and to and from God knows who else inside the Hill?) as well?

To me, this seems to give these Republican cronies the ability to spy on people's mail if they were unethical enough to abuse this contract for their corrupted GOP's advantage... Does anyone think these guys weren't reading what they were scanning? "Oooh, here's a hot one! Send it to Karl..." It's not like the GOP has ever been known to be ethical when given the opportunity.

I still want to know what these corrupt and immoral republicans were doing with all of that access to Capitol Hill mail.

DFA Dem Presidential Candidate Poll

Via Democracy For America:

Total Votes: 135268 as of Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:37:45 -0500

Candidate	Votes	%
Dennis Kucinich	41941	31.01%
Al Gore (write in)	36590	27.05%
Barack Obama	19586	14.48%
John Edwards	18090	13.37%
Bill Richardson	6010	4.44%
Hillary Clinton	5355	3.96%
Other	2951	2.18%
Christopher Dodd	2370	1.75%
Joe Biden	1307	0.97%
Mike Gravel	1068	0.79%

VOTING IS STILL OPEN!! Polls close at midnight on November 5th, 2007. Cast your vote now at http://www.DemocracyforAmerica.com/PulsePoll

Vote Now - Time Is Almost Up

The final DFA Presidential Pulse Poll ends tonight at midnight Eastern Standard Time. That means you only have a few hours left to vote and make sure your voice is heard.

Today is a big day. With over 130,000 votes cast, the poll is already the largest presidential poll of progressive activists this year. Yet this isn't even close to over. Traditionally, tens of thousands of votes come in on the last day.

That means the winner is still very much up for grabs.

It is pretty obvious that my Blog (Drinking Liberally in New Milford) likes Dennis Kucinich because he is really the only liberal on that list, and a moderate liberal like myself, but you might be surprised that my second choice as a candidate would be Christopher Dodd because of the many strong stances he has taken on pet issues of mine. As a Senator, I have very little to quibble about concerning his votes. As a presidential candidate he has been responsive to the people's (and the Bloggers') serious concerns about the path this country has followed under the disastrous policies of the criminal bush administration.

I am not a Democratic party member, nor a huge supporter of that party overall either (much to the chagrin of some progressive Bloggers... heh), because there is no way in hell that they can afford to keep throwing conservative candidates on to their ballot (the ones that play the triangulation-faux-centrist games) and ever hope to fix what is wrong with this country. But that is only the Democratic party problem side of it.

Fixing it really starts by kicking every single GOP candidate out of office. The corrupt ones. The ones that hate the Constitution. The ones that trample on the Bill of Rights. The ones that have desecrated the principles of this country with torture, illegal invasions, lies and illegally spied on Americans. The ones that have been the embodiment of hatred, racism and done everything they can to divide this country in any way they can.

We, all of We the People, need to unite against these GOP atrocities.

I have said my little piece on this subject... But now it is your tun to go there, vote, and try to make a difference, because even little polls like this make a difference in shaping America's perception (sadly, this is true) of what the heart beat of America is drumming on about.

MySpace Taking on Google AdSesne

MySpace is launching it's own add network:

MySpace is launching a SelfServe for its network, which will usher in a self-service advertising platform for marketers. Showcased at the ad:tech conference tomorrow, it’s specifically designed for small businesses, politicians, and others, who would like to take advantage of MySpace’s social network for advertising. Somewhat similar to Google AdSense, there will be targeted ads that will display across its network.

Google AdSense is the monster on the internet add scene, though I am pretty sure that most Bloggers make more money with their Blogads network accounts. At least, they do when they can get some paying adds AND only for the Bloggers that do this for money...

Some of us have different priorities:

Get this Action Banner for your own web page

State Dept. Thanks Heavens for Dictators

It's not as if these Wackos of Mass Distractions at every level of the failing bush government could get any more stupid and incompetent:

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s decision to suspend the constitution, seize emergency power, and round up leading opposition figures is bringing quiet joy to the State Department. “Thank heavens for small favors,” an aide to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, referring to Musharraf’s actions. Compared to Pakistan, “Iraq looks pretty good.”

I am sure that these guys are not thanking heavens for this distraction from the republican warmongers' failures in Iraq:

Year	US Deaths	US Wounded
2003	486	2,411
2004	849	8,003
2005	846	5,948
2006	822	6,398
2007	846	5,411
Total	3849	28171

You can bet these guys aren't praying for distractions from the GOP's failures:

"U.S. soldiers comfort each other at their base after a roadside bomb exploded as a U.S. convoy was driving by in Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003. Three soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division were wounded." (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

The US Dollar Limbo

How low can it go?

The rocket-propelled Canadian dollar flew past $1.07 (U.S.) yesterday, fuelled by strong economic data that have many forecasters wondering whether the economy is decoupling from its troubled southern neighbour.

Canada churned out five times more jobs than expected last month, a stellar showing that sparked a number of forecasts that the loonie is on its way to $1.10, as the greenback continues to dive.

snip

"We had thought that if the U.S. economy slowed down, the global economy would probably slow down, and that doesn't seem to be panning out as much as people thought," said David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

"If the currency is, to an extent, decoupling from the U.S., then it makes sense to come out with a Canadian dollar forecast which pays less relevance to the U.S. economy."

HOLY BEAVER SHIT! We aren't even relevant to Canadians anymore? Those seem like some pretty harsh words from what little I know about this stuff.

I am no economist, but when Canada - a country with lots of oil that is now talking like the ineluctably superior trading partner of ours in the world, not to mention the fact that they are our largest trading partner in the world - deems us irrelevant economically, we really must be screwed.

The Canadian economy is doing well, but it isn't really that their dollar went up against ours because they are doing so fantasticly compared to everyone else as it is because the American dollar is dropping like a rock everywhere else:

Dollar at fresh low against euro

The euro's value settled at $1.4525, while the dollar also plunged to a new record low against the UK pound, settling at $2.0890.

If you are feeling pretty darn poor right about now, get used to the feeling as long as we continue on this stupid republican path to economic disaster.

Now... I want you to think about this:

Oil is nearly at $100 per barrel, but judging from the tanking dollar some of the price rise must be due to our dollars present lowliness. How long before the world decides that we shouldn't be relevant to the price of Oil anymore because they don't want to price it based on the extremely unstable US dollar?

Like I said: I am no economist... But de-linking oil from our dollar would have to pretty much spell doom for our economy. No?

As a side note... We can't even get our drugs cheaper in Canada anymore because of the roughly 30% increase in costs for American buyers:

Drug-busting loonie?

The loonie's muscle just may have done what U.S. government and law enforcement officials could not.

The strong dollar has "virtually stopped all exports to the United States of cannabis," said Marc Emery, the leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party of Canada.

Five years ago, one pound of Canadian marijuana would cost $1,600 (U.S.). Now it's $2,550 (U.S.) a pound when sold in the United States, he said.

They stemmed the flow of illegal drugs into the country! But they had to bankrupt the nation to do it. I am pretty certain that the price increases will affect all of those people that were crossing the border to buy their cheaper prescription medicines in Canada as well.

We are so fucked...

Larry Craig WATCH and READ edition

Watch this Little Britain video to the end, which is only about a minute long:



Read this little blurb from the WaPo:

Staffers on Capitol Hill are howling over an e-mail sent from Sen. Larry Craig's office Friday about a watch found -- guess where -- in the men's room!

The e-mail, which is being forwarded pretty much all over the place on Capitol Hill, is from Pat Olsen, the embattled Idaho Republican's administrative director.

The e-mail announced that a watch was found in the men's room on the fifth floor of the Hart Senate Office Building, where Craig's office is located. On its face, the message suggests that a male staffer (possibly even Sen. Craig, the notorious men's room foot tapper) found the watch.

Cleaning the coffee of of the screen that I made the mistake of taking a sip of before reading that...

Revisiting the arrest of the protesters in NYC

Just some video for you to think about...

"Think our government wouldn't suppress our right to peacefully protest? Think again!"

"If you just can't bring yourself to believe that our government authorities would even think of suppressing the legitimate protests of peaceful demonstrators - look at the record of court cases recently coming out of New York."

Japan Ends Afghan Naval Mission

The BBC is reporting that the Afghanistan coalition just shrank a little:

Japan has ordered the withdrawal of its two ships supporting US-led operations in Afghanistan.

The move follows the government's failure to agree a deal with the opposition to extend the mission beyond the end of its mandate on 1 November.

This may have be a little more devastating to both the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq than the lone Icelandic "soldier"'s loss was to the coalition of the willing in Iraq. Which is partially the intent of Japan's move:

The ships involved - a destroyer and a refueller, with 340 troops - are to head for Japan later on Thursday. They last refuelled a ship on Monday.

Japan's mission has been dogged by allegations that Japan supplied far more fuel to US forces than officially recorded - encouraging speculation that Tokyo might have helped supply the US war in Iraq, not just its operations in Afghanistan.

The citizens of Japan don't want to be viewed as supporting the mission in Iraq, for all of the obvious reasons. As per usual, the official American reaction to this is more about their problem with the perception of this news - "spin this" - than the real support problems this may pose:

The US ambassador to Japan, Thomas Schieffer, said a permanent withdrawal would send a very bad message to the international community and terrorists.

"Bad Message! Naughty liberal media message!" Not to mention how Joe and Suzy Sixpack may react to this news. I wonder how the American Media spin cycle will run with this story, if they don't run from it? I can see the headlines now:

"Japan Pulls Out as Victory is on the March!"

March of the year 2057, that is.

It might take as long as half a century before U.S. troops can leave the volatile Middle East, according to retired Army Gen. John Abizaid.

"Over time, we will have to shift the burden of the military fight from our forces directly to regional forces, and we will have to play an indirect role, but we shouldn't assume for even a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the American military might be able to come home, relax and take it easy, because the strategic situation in the region doesn't seem to show that as being possible," Abizaid said Wednesday at Carnegie Mellon University.

Got that? 50 years in Iraq... A Half a century of Americans getting killed there.

Hand Up VS Handout

Hand up VS Handout? This is a mantra that many Americans can understand.

Via Tparty at MLN:

In cased you missed it, Chris Shays was named the Eschaton Wanker of the Day™ on Monday for his asinine comments blaming predatory lending victims for their own predicament in the subprime crisis that is hitting towns in his district to the tune of a 500% increase in foreclosures from last year.

Jim Himes, who has actually dedicated the last few years of his professional life to helping increase affordable housing opportunities for low-income families, took issue with Shays' comments in a press release today:

"As an affordable housing professional, I know that many first-time homeowners, guilty of nothing but reaching for the American dream, found themselves besieged by unregulated mortgage brokers selling highly complex mortgages with low initial rates and other bells and whistles that made them seem irresistible. These brokers rarely bothered to make the disclosures that would have raised concerns and caution among their customers. Some brokers were openly deceptive and predatory.

"That's why I was astounded by Chris Shays' statement early this week regarding the looming housing foreclosure crisis. He told the Connecticut Post, 'I can't imagine helping people who should not have gotten a loan in the first place.'

"Maybe Chris Shays can't imagine it, but all Americans have an interest in assisting those whose best shot at the American dream was ruined by deception. And we have a common interest in avoiding the contagious decay that can plague foreclosure-prone neighborhoods.

"There is much we can do, working with banks, municipalities, and community organizations, to encourage stressed homeowners to talk to their lenders, encourage loan restructuring, and provide temporary relief. In addition, Congress must act now to address this crisis by enacting legislation to stop predatory lending practices, require more clear disclosures on loans, and increase funding for community-based housing advocates to educate consumers about the mortgage market. Doing nothing makes no sense.

"Chris Shays' statement shows that he is far more interested in protecting the financial industry which amply funds his campaigns than he is in stabilizing threatened communities and supporting hardworking homeowners who thought they had a shot at the middle class. As a matter of ethics and plain good business sense, Chris Shays is far, far from home."

Himes' background in this area - and his diligence on the issue - will serve him and his constituents very well come January 2009.

All the politicians say they want to give people a hand up, not a hand out.

But when it comes time to offer that hand up to people that fell into the trap of the "ownership society" Republicans touted, Republicans pushed for, they balk and run away from their responsibilities to hide their heads in the sand.

"...if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of our country. The more ownership there is in America, the more vitality there is in America, and the more people have a vital stake in the future of this country."
(The Worst President in the History of America, george bush)

Expanding Homeownership. The President believes that homeownership is the cornerstone of America's vibrant communities and benefits individual families by building stability and long-term financial security. In June 2002, President Bush issued America's Homeownership Challenge to the real estate and mortgage finance industries to encourage them to join the effort to close the gap that exists between the homeownership rates of minorities and non-minorities. The President also announced the goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million families before the end of the decade. Under his leadership, the overall U.S. homeownership rate in the second quarter of 2004 was at an all time high of 69.2 percent. Minority homeownership set a new record of 51 percent in the second quarter, up 0.2 percentage point from the first quarter and up 2.1 percentage points from a year ago. President Bush's initiative to dismantle the barriers to homeownership includes:

• American Dream Downpayment Initiative, which provides down payment assistance to approximately 40,000 low-income families;
• Affordable Housing. The President has proposed the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, which would increase the supply of affordable homes;
• Helping Families Help Themselves. The President has proposed increasing support for the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunities Program; and
• Simplifying Homebuying and Increasing Education. The President and HUD want to empower homebuyers by simplifying the home buying process so consumers can better understand and benefit from cost savings. The President also wants to expand financial education efforts so that families can understand what they need to do to become homeowners.

Now that the effects of the GOP's ownership society have taken hold and millions of Americans are about to lose their homes, Republicans cut and run. Fixing their costly mistake ain't their problem. They would call that a handout and blame the victims of their republican ideology.

Unfortunately for the average American, when a Republican talks about a "Hand up" what they really mean is single-fingered-salute followed by a generous amount of babbling:

On the Republican side, I am not sure there is any candidate that will ever rise to the top. The election is not a shoo-in for the democrats. Even so the Republicans have one candidate that could out-worsen G. W. Bush. Giulani's rhetoric is beyond comprehention. His speeches only succeed in making Bush's orations sound fresh.

Guiliani's concepts on foreign policy are founded deep in nothing. His platitudes are often well used and tend to bore me:

We are at the dawn of a new era in global affairs, when old ideas have to be rethought and new ideas have to be devised to meet new challenges ...

The United States must not rest until the al Qaeda network is destroyed and its leaders, from Osama bin Laden on down, are killed or captured ...

We must seek common ground without turning a blind eye to our differences with [China and Russia] ...

It is clear that we need to do a better job of explaining America's message and mission to the rest of the world, not by imposing our ideas on others but by appealing to their enlightened self-interest ...

America will win the war of ideas ...

We must learn from our past if we want to win the peace as well as the war ...

It is better to give people a hand up than a handout.

Most of his sayings on international affairs are fresh from a Henry Kissinger "op-ed".

Reading Giuliani and imagining that he might somehow become president chills me with a profound sense of dispair. Fortunately, there is comic relief. At one of many points where he attempts to display his erudition and expertise, he notes the "cultural exchanges" that allegedly brought about the end of the Soviet empire. The example he cites is pianist Van Cliburn's concerts in Moscow, which "hastened change."

Van Cliburn played Moscow in 1958. The Soviet Union fell in 1989. If change were any hastier, the Berlin Wall would still be intact.

As a side note: 1958 to 1989? These idiot republicans are, only now, rejoicing in the glorious efforts of their republican talking-point General Petraeus,if you need an idea on how quickly their dear-leader-wannabes expect things to change in Iraq... I say their typical expectations would be rosy-colored-glasses optimistic, something no republican would ever be accused of, but you can do the math on the dead American soldiers and Iraqi civilians in that time if you are that optimistic too. Just to give you an idea that is closer to reality:

It might take as long as half a century before U.S. troops can leave the volatile Middle East, according to retired Army Gen. John Abizaid.

"Over time, we will have to shift the burden of the military fight from our forces directly to regional forces, and we will have to play an indirect role, but we shouldn't assume for even a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the American military might be able to come home, relax and take it easy, because the strategic situation in the region doesn't seem to show that as being possible," Abizaid said Wednesday at Carnegie Mellon University.

Got that? 50 years in Iraq... A Half a century of Americans getting killed there. It is long past time to stop giving huge fistfuls of $$$ in handouts to Military Complex, and start giving a hand up to the American soldiers by bringing them home.

Richard Curtis Looking for Pages?

Via Big Head DC:

Radar reports:

State Rep. Richard Curtis is looking for legislative pages between the ages of 14 and 16 to help around the office. In addition to permission from your parents and school, you are strongly encouraged to not read this spectacular new police report (ed. note - PDF via Slog lotsa info there - CM1) involving Rep. Curtis, a boy band-looking gay dude known as “Stallion” (”Pony Boy” was taken), and an extortion scheme centering on some cringe-inducing, graphically described man-love between the old dude and his young pet.

Pay no attention to rumors about Curtis wearing red stockings and black sequined lingerie top while getting a hairy-lipped hummer from some guy in the movie stall of a Seattle-area sex shop. Just take comfort in Curtis’s claims that “I have not had sex with a guy.”

Radar Online even managed to grab a screenshot of the job posting while (I presume?) simultaneously being shocked and laughing their asses off. You just can't make shit like this up.

Doesn't matter much anymore, except for the completely tattered reputation of the GOP, because he is resigning:

Rep. Richard Curtis, 48, said he was resigning immediately to spare his wife and children more public embarrassment. In a written statement, Curtis said, "Events that have recently come to light have hurt a lot of people. I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused."

I guess the GOP figured if he liked Stallion so much they better put him out to pasture... Either that or his wife pulled a bitter-Vitter-Bobbitt maneuver and gelded Dick on the spot:

In 2000, Vitter was included in a Newhouse News Service story about the strain of congressional careers on families.

His wife, Wendy, was asked by the Newhouse reporter: If her husband were as unfaithful as Livingston or former President Bill Clinton, would she be as forgiving as Hillary Rodham Clinton?

“I’m a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary,” Wendy Vitter told Newhouse News. “If he does something like that, I’m walking away with one thing, and it’s not alimony, trust me.”

“I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage,” she added. “Don’t put fear down.

TPM Muckraker

We will be watching to see if Curtis has a peculiar gate when he runs from the press in the future.

The Richard Curtis(R) Gay Prostitute Scandal Hits TV

A video link update on the story via DownWithTyranny! who asks:

I'm wondering if they'll play this tape at the Republican Convention. On his way home Rep. Curtis totaled his car. Did he try committing suicide? Curtis has given up on the standard GOP "I'm not gay routine."

DownWitheTyranny! also provides a David Vitter update, and lots more on the Curtis story.

Previously brewed in New Milford:

Rep. Richard Curtis(R) "I have not had sex with a guy"

Well... That is what he was saying on Monday. It is amazing how a couple of days can change everything:

State Rep. Richard Curtis, R-La Center, admitted to having sex with a man he met at an adult video store in Spokane last week, according to a police report released Tuesday afternoon.

The police report offers a damning and far different version of events from the brief account Curtis gave to The Columbian Monday, one that seems likely to threaten Curtis’ political future.

The report is filled with graphic details of an encounter that began at a porn store on a Spokane Valley strip and concluded miles away in Curtis’ room at the city’s poshest hotel.

The police report contains an account of how Curtis allegedly donned women’s clothing, red stockings and a black sequined lingerie top before engaging in a sex act at the store. He continued to wear them throughout the night under his clothing.

ok...Mark Foley, David Vitter, Jim Kolbe, Glenn Murphy Jr, Larry Craig, etc.

Continuing to carry the republican family values banner in fine form they just keep digging deeper and deeper on sex scandals, hypocritical voting records, prostitution and gay/bisexual trysts outside of their "traditional republican marriages".

As I noted when Bob Allen and Larry Craig got caught in their respective bathrooms:

At least neither of these Republicans pulled a full GOP and tried pick up kids like Foley...Or, at least, nothing has been proven in Larry Craig's case, but I certainly do have to say: This has got to be the worst year for political sex scandals in the history of the GOP... And that is saying a lot.

I guess we just haven't really said enough yet. And at least this one avoided being the fourth Republican bathroom scandal, but I cannot say that a porn shop pick-up is that much better. Just a lot more sanitary.

Just a reminder of who the third republican is that was flushed from a bathroom scandal:

WHOOOSH:

In what is becoming an all-too-embarrassing pattern, yet another conservative, Republican politician has been detained by police officers for "lewd behavior" in public restrooms. The Times Picayune reports 53-year-old Joey DiFatta—a councilman in St. Bernard Parish near New Orleans and recent candidate for the state senate—"has been stopped twice since 1996 for suspicion of engaging in lewd behavior in public restrooms."

DiFatta is the THIRD closeted, anti-gay Republican politician in as many months implicated in lewd behavior in public toilets. The other two are Idaho's Larry Craig and Florida's Bob Allen.

The newest revelations come one day after the father of two and grandfather of three withdrew from the 1st Senate District campaign due to "chest pains." The conservative Republican maintains there is no linkage between his decision to withdraw and the the Times-Picayune's revelations.

From the The Times Picayune report, as summarized from police files:

Kenner police issued a misdemeanor summons to DiFatta in September 1996 in connection with a peeping Tom incident in a men's bathroom at the former Mervyn's department store at The Esplanade mall, according to a Kenner Police Department incident report obtained by The Times-Picayune.

The report states that DiFatta watched a man use the bathroom while peering through a hole in a bathroom stall. The man held DiFatta until police arrived, at which time he was issued the misdemeanor summons and ordered to appear in court.

DiFatta said the man eventually withdrew his complaint, and the case was dismissed. A spokeswoman for the Kenner Police Department said the record was expunged.

Tapping foot in stall

In the second incident, Jefferson Parish deputies working an undercover detail in a men's bathroom at Dillard's at Lakeside Shopping Center in March 2000 stopped DiFatta after he indicated a desire to engage in sex with an undercover deputy in an adjoining bathroom stall, according to an interoffice memorandum written by Sgt. Keith Conley, one of the deputies involved in the investigation.

The report said DiFatta slid his foot into the deputy's stall and tapped the deputy's foot. In the report, Conley noted that such activity is common among men to indicate a willingness to participate in sex.

The deputy inside the stall, Detective Wayne Couvillion, responded by tapping his foot, and DiFatta reached under the partition and began to rub the deputy's leg, the report states.

The detective asked DiFatta, "What do you want?" according to the report, and he replied, "I want to play with you."

Difatta denies doing anything wrong. Likely, he will deny being a closeted-self-loathing-anti-gay Republican, as well.

I am thinking that I may have to add a "Republican Bathroom Sex" tag to my posts to keep track of all of their odd Republican Family Values behaviour.

Helping Blogs Help the Candidates

Many of the old school candidates in politics have been quick to kick the Blogosphere whenever given the chance. Todays' more savvy candidates are embracing the activism of the Blogosphere, and some are actually picking up their keyboards and becoming a part of the new media themselves.

But then there are other candidates that are taking it in a different direction and are helping the Blogs to help themselves.

I was flipping through the Danbury NewsTimes today and came across a particularly eye-catching quarter page add just below the weather forecast (Page B4, October 31st) for a Danbury candidate. I thought I would share it with you all:

I enlarged that little part at the bottom so you wouldn't have to squint to read it. Anyways, it seems that all of ctbloggers hard work for local Democratic party candidates is paying off in a way that can help him help all of the candidates that he vigorously supports even more in the long run. This little bit of a tack-on add for HatCityBLOG will likely help him reach even more local readers in the long run. Readers that have a tendency to come back again and again after they finally find his place. Readers that ctblogger has generously sent your way, and my way, time and time again over the last couple of years.

The recognition that ctblogger has received over the last couple of years is well deserved and he has been noted by some of the biggest and the best Bloggers for his ambitious efforts to kickstart the local Blogging philosophy:

Now I know how Sally felt.

I'm a big fan of Steve Gilliard's popular national blog The News Blog, so it came to a pleasant surprise that he picked little ol' me as one of his favorite state/local bloggers for 2006.

Juan Melli and CT Blogger-They do the dirty work of local and state politics, which will never lead to glory or riches, but is needed because if you think federal government has problems.....these guys are heroes to me

"blush"

Seriously, thanks to Steve for the recognition. To be placed along side award winners You Tube , Stephen Colbert, Keith Olbermann, Matt Stoller, Howard Dean, Sasha Baron Cohen, Morgan Spurlock, Amanda Marcotte, and Ned Lamont is quite a honor.

I really have to give props to all the other Connecticut bloggers as we all worked our tails off trying to stay one step ahead of the mainstream media (PPM baby) as well as keeping people informed on what's happening in the nutmeg state. I wonder what would have happened if I didn't ask Connecticut Bob to help me set the white balance on my camcorder and shoved my digital camera into Spazeboy's hand back during the memorable Lamont event at Naples in New Haven...

Hopefully, political campaigns will take notice of the great reporting we did on the Connecticut races and understand the importance of blogs.

They have noticed. And so have we.

Small gestures like this one from Cotter will only help all of the left Blogosphere in Connecticut and the nation. Kudos to Cotter for recognizing the value of supporting his allies, and kudos to ctblogger for all he has done and will continue to do for Connecticut's thriving and ever growing left presence in and out of the Blogosphere. We can only hope that more candidates will recognize the advantages of helping this new People Powered Media - As ctblogger would say "PPM Baby" - to help themselves.

For more information on Brian Cotter's campaign, here is a snippet to get you pointed in the right direction:

In an attempt to inform the public about the various candidates running for office this year, HatCityBLOG is kicking off a new feature entitled "CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT." Using a combination of text, audio and video, the HatCityBLOG crew are going give readers a different look at the candidates.

For my first interview, I sat down with the Brian Cotter, candidate for Treasurer and talked about his background, why he's running for office, his "Welcome Back Cotter" theme of bringing back fiscal integrity to Danbury, and why he feels he's the best qualified for the job.

You can catch the rest of the interview here, where you will find a lot more information on many of Danbury's other local candidates.

Rep. Richard Curtis(R) "I have not had sex with a guy,"

Well... That is what he was saying on Monday. It is amazing how a couple of days can change everything:

State Rep. Richard Curtis, R-La Center, admitted to having sex with a man he met at an adult video store in Spokane last week, according to a police report released Tuesday afternoon.

The police report offers a damning and far different version of events from the brief account Curtis gave to The Columbian Monday, one that seems likely to threaten Curtis’ political future.

The report is filled with graphic details of an encounter that began at a porn store on a Spokane Valley strip and concluded miles away in Curtis’ room at the city’s poshest hotel.

The police report contains an account of how Curtis allegedly donned women’s clothing, red stockings and a black sequined lingerie top before engaging in a sex act at the store. He continued to wear them throughout the night under his clothing.

ok...Mark Foley, David Vitter, Jim Kolbe, Glenn Murphy Jr, Larry Craig, etc.

Continuing to carry the republican family values banner in fine form they just keep digging deeper and deeper on sex scandals, hypocritical voting records, prostitution and gay/bisexual trysts outside of their "traditional republican marriages".

As I noted when Bob Allen and Larry Craig got caught in their respective bathrooms:

At least neither of these Republicans pulled a full GOP and tried pick up kids like Foley...Or, at least, nothing has been proven in Larry Craig's case, but I certainly do have to say: This has got to be the worst year for political sex scandals in the history of the GOP... And that is saying a lot.

I guess we just haven't really said enough yet. And at least this one avoided being the fourth Republican bathroom scandal, but I cannot say that a porn shop pick-up is that much better. Just a lot more sanitary.

Cheney Flagged For Hanging With Racists

As we all watched New Orleans drown, was there ever any doubt about bush and cheney's views on race:

Although Cheney did not shoot anyone on this hunting excursion, the New York Daily News reports that the trip still managed to stir up problems for the Vice President:

Nobody got shot, but Vice President Cheney still fired up controversy Monday when he went hunting at a private club that hangs the Confederate flag.

A Daily News photographer captured the 3-by-5 foot Dixie flag affixed to a door in the garage of the Clove Valley Gun and Rod Club in upstate Union Vale, N.Y.

“It’s appalling for the VP to be at a private club displaying the flag of lynching, hate and murder,” said Rev. Al Sharpton. “It’s the epitome of an insult.”

Cheney spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said, “No one in our office was aware there was such a flag. The vice president did not see a flag, nor did anyone on his staff traveling with him in New York.” The Daily News photographer who took the picture, Howard Simmons, said “the flag was plainly viewable in the strong sunlight streaming toward the garage”, but he also “said it is conceivable the garage door could have been closed when the vice president and his guests were there.”

Sorry, but I am not buying that cheney would not have a clue about the kind of people he chooses to hang around with. Especially after NOLA, Jena, and immigration issues have exposed the hidden agendas of the average GOP supporter.

Previously brewed here:

This is by no means a "Heads up!" I really mean "Duck and cover!" Like your life depends on it.



A word of warning to everyone in the area:

The Poughkeepsie Journal in New York reports that “Vice President Dick Cheney is coming to Dutchess County again to go hunting.” On Monday, Cheney is “expected to leave Poughkeepsie and head to the Clove Valley Rod & Gun Club.” No word on whether the Vice President will be drinking beforehand this time.

Dutchess County, NY, is next door to a good part of Litchfield County in Connecticut. And with the weapons that warmongering neoconservative idiot has in his arsenal we can never be too careful! There is nothing more dangerous than a hunter with a beer hat on his head and a deadly can opener in his hands...

An Offer That Scares the Hell Out of Washington D.C.

Via Lukery at the Booman Tribune and Let Sibel Edmonds Speak:

Former FBI translator and whistleblower Sibel Edmonds has promised to tell us everything she knows about treason at the highest level of the US government - with one proviso:

"Here's my promise to the American Public: If anyone of the major networks --- ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX --- promise to air the entire segment, without editing, I promise to tell them everything that I know."

Edmonds, "the most gagged person in the history of the United States of America," has been trying to expose criminal activity, treason, at the highest levels of the US Government - Congress, Pentagon and State Dept - since she became aware of the crimes in 2001 and 2002.

Edmonds has exhausted every conceivable channel in the courts, Congress, and elsewhere, and is now willing to risk criminal charges to ensure that the American people learn how their government really 'works.'

BradBlog has the exclusive.

I am willing to bet, no matter how credible Sibel Edmonds charges have been decreed by those that have heard her testimony in Congress, there will be no takers on this blockbuster of a story because the CORPORATE OWNED MEDIA are just shills for the CORPORATE OWNED GOVERNMENT... Welcome to "Corporate America" run-amok under the guise of the conservative agenda of privatizing everything as a solution to problems that didn't really exist in the first place.

You have all seen this truth

The DesMoines Register tackles a truth that most of the media will never admit:

Kathleen Ferguson of Des Moines says nothing has changed four years later. She found one of those surveys on the Web site of WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities. She answered the 11 multiple-choice questions and decided how important each issue was to her.

The topics were Iraq, immigration, tax cuts, stem cell research, health care, abortion, Social Security, a line-item veto, ethanol, same-sex marriage and the death penalty.

Ferguson clicked "select a candidate," and up popped Kucinich.

She had family members take the test. Kucinich came in first or second.

She wondered what was going on. A lot of Democrats like what he has to say on the issues. Yet only a small percentage like him as their candidate.

"We're not all that liberal," Ferguson said. "Several of us are former Republicans. It's astonishing to see what we want was labeled too far-out liberal."

A lawyer she knows took the test, and another friend. Kucinich, Kucinich.

The last time I took one of those tests Connecticut Rep. Rosa Delauro popped up as the closest candidate to me on the issues. Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader were tied in a close second... And I am not all that liberal in my politics, considering I hold a strong belief in fiscal responsibility when it comes to spending. None of those matches surprised me at all. I am familiar with where most of the candidates stand on the issues that are important to myself.

PTSD Reform in the Military May be Too Late

The Hartford Courant reports on reforms to how the military will attempt to screen and treat soldiers that may be suffering from PTSD:

Military Backs Reforms
Most Of Task Force's Recommendations Adopted By Defense Department

The military will expand psychological screening for both new recruits and active-duty service members, and will make safeguarding mental health part of the core training for leaders, Defense Secretary Robert Gates' office told Congress in a report released Tuesday.

The report adopts nearly all of the recommendations sent to Gates in June by a Pentagon task force of mental health professionals, who called on the Defense Department to correct "fundamental weaknesses" in its approach to mental health or risk tragic social consequences. Those recommendations include improving access to care by hiring more mental health clinicians, "embedding" counselors in military units and primary-care clinics, and improving coordination between the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

But Gates' office cautioned that many of the reforms would take until May 2008 - or longer - to put into place, fueling concerns among some soldiers' and veterans' advocates that mental health problems and suicides among troops in Iraq will continue to climb.

But the Military is too late for many of the soldiers that are already suffering from PTSD:

Iraq Veteran Faces Charges

MANCHESTER - Fresh off two, back-to-back tours in Iraq, a troubled Marine reservist faced a judge Wednesday on charges of pointing a loaded shotgun at his girlfriend and throwing a knife at her.

With "USMC" tattooed on his neck, Riaan Roberts, 25, of Chestnut Street, stood expressionless before the judge during his arraignment in Superior Court in Manchester.

The charges against him, which include first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree unlawful restraint and third-degree assault, stem from a bizarre incident with his girlfriend early Tuesday. According to police, Roberts insulted the woman, threw a knife at her and pointed a loaded shotgun at her in their Manchester apartment where officers found three guns - two shotguns and a rifle - four knives and boxes of ammunition.

snip

During the arraignment, prosecutor Anthony Spinella said he has sympathy for Roberts, but that Roberts was too unstable to be released from custody as a bail commissioner had recommended.

snip

McKinney later told police that Roberts has issues with civilian society and experiences flashbacks from Iraq. He recently told her he doesn't trust himself. She said he needs professional help for mental health issues but refuses to see anyone.

Read more...

For more information on PTSD:

Blaming the Veteran
The Politics of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) became part of the American vocabulary after the Vietnam War as its affects on veterans became widely publicized. Now, a new generation of American veterans are again victims of PTSD. This series explores the impact of politics on the funding, diagnosis and treatment of veterans suffering from PTSD. It examines the propaganda used to justify a reduction in benefits to veterans with PTSD and the effort to redirect blame for the ravages of war to the soldiers themselves.

Part I: Stacking the Deck - With trillion dollar estimates for the Iraq war, the Administration looks to cut costs, eyeing treatment for the returning PTSD wounded veterans.

Part II: Ration & Redefine - Redefining PTSD and substance abuse as moral/spiritual failings opens the door to cheaper unregulated, unlicensed faith-based "treatments."

Part III: Malign & Slime - Propaganda is used to stigmatize veterans seeking help, reduce benefits to veterans with PTSD and to blame the soldiers for their own illness.

PTSD Resources

Also: See tessa's diary on "Veterans Committing Suicide"

And in comment from snorwich at the MLN x-post of this diary:  "I just read a story in the Denver Post about a severely wounded vet who just killed somebody over a bag of dope. I will try to retieve the story; it was perfect for this diary." Tragically, snorwich may be correct.