THIS IS NOT ->Delawareliberal

The Senate is scheduled next week to take up legislation by Arizona Republican Jon Kyl that would permanently repeal the estate tax on the wealthiest Americans. If enacted, Kyl's bill would plunge the government another trillion dollars into the red during the first decade (2011-2021) that it would be in effect.

Harold Meyerson wrote a very informative editorial on this in today's Washington Post.

The Estate Tax Repeal legislation is not only fiscally irresponsible, it is also immoral, as the money will have to come from somewhere, and guess who will be hit with higher taxes...

$500 billion is a lot of money to drain from public coffers just when boomers are going onto Social Security and Medicare and the number of employers providing health insurance, if present trends continue, might have dropped to a virtuous handful. To cover those and other needs, Congress will either plunge us deeper into debt or increase some other levies -- payroll taxes, say -- that will come out of the pockets of the 99 percent of Americans whom the estate tax doesn't touch.

It appears as though most Democrats are poised to block this, using the filibuster if they must. But a "moderate" Republican is trying to peel off 6 or so Democrats to provide a filibuster-proof number so it can pass. If the DLC's Tom Carper is one of the 6, he should be ejected from the party. - kos diary by adigal

Here is the news:

NEW YORK, May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- As Taking The Long Way debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums chart this week, with first week's sales of 525,829, the Dixie Chicks have become the first female group in chart history to have three albums debut at #1, breaking the record the Chicks established in 2002 when the group's last studio album, Home, debuted at #1 and made them the first female group ever to have two albums debut at #1.

How does this play in wingnutia? Let's check with the brain trust at "straw men are us" :

"NO ONE prevented the Dixie Chicks from saying what they did about the president. They were not fined or imprisoned. The fact that they are "changing their minds" about their apology is proof of the lack of censorship.

and from the comments:

"Remember during the National Endowment for the Arts debates when conservative were accused of trying to censor artists? They weren't saying that the art should be banned, just that taxpayers shouldn't be forced to pay for filth.

Can someone find me a "liberal" who claimed the Chicks were censored? Clearly they were not being censored. No matter, any straw man will do when your hero is below 30%.

...as in the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

McCain on Tuesday canceled an appearance for a Republican congressional candidate who has attacked his opponent for supporting McCain's immigration bill. McCain was scheduled to speak Wednesday at a breakfast fundraiser for Brian Bilbray, who is locked in a close runoff race with Democrat Francine Busby for the San Diego-area (CA-50) seat left vacant by disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. The event was expected to raise at least $65,000. - via the DCCC Stakeholder

The cancellation allowed the DCCC to put out this press release:

John McCain Cancels Tomorrow'’s Campaign Appearance with Brian Bilbray

(Washington, D.C.) Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee communications director Bill Burton released the following statement today on John McCain'’s decision to cancel his campaign appearance in San Diego tomorrow with Brian Bilbray:

“Senator John McCain's decision to cancel tomorrow's campaign appearance with Brian Bilbray is yet another reminder for California families that Brian Bilbray has no real plan for comprehensive immigration reform. With the Minutemen endorsing his opponent William Griffith and Francine Busby backing John McCain's plan for increased border security and a tougher, reformed legalization process, Brian Bilbray is left testing the political winds without a real immigration solution for Southern California. Brian Bilbray may play politics with border security, but for California families, immigration reform is a top priority that requires the kind of sensible, tough solutions put forward by Francine Busby and John McCain.”

Boohyah! This is looking more and more like a pick up for the Dems in a district where no Democrat should even be on the ballot.

MYDD has the skinny on why McCain is now the GOP's power broker.

Tommywonk has a link to the trailer and theaters showing it. I heard Al on NPR last night and, although I still carry a grudge against him for the shitty campaign he ran against then Gov. Bush, he is a great spokesman for the cause of correcting our environmental mistakes (and a great Democrat.)

I did some soul searching this weekend. I said, "Is Michael Castle a moderate?" I mean I keep reading that he is in the News Journal. Although his right wing voting record speaks for itself, I still have to wonder after hearing it repeated so often, is Castle a moderate? Am I way off base?

As a liberal I am prone to this type of introspection. I know it is difficult for my conservatives readers to understand, but I always allow for the possibility that I am wrong. Am I wrong about Castle?

Well, to find out I poked around on a few of Delaware's right wing blogs. I reckoned that one measure of Castle's "moderation" should be how angry he makes right wing republicans.

So, if Castle is the moderate he claims to be, the Delaware-wingnut-osphere should hate him. They should be calling for primaries against him, and basically giving him the business. They are not shy about hating.

Well, so far I have found one wingnut who hates Castle because he is too moderate. That wingnut is the Unabrewer. I found another wing-nut who likes Castle but thinks he is too moderate. That wing nut is Jeff the Baptist. If I've missed some blistering screeds please let me know.

However, based on the early returns I have to say that Michael Castle is a lying fraud when he claims to be a moderate.

UPDATE: I can't wait for the mornic dupes on the left (yes I'm talking to you Green Delaware) to glom onto this meaningless vote.

American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act

This House bill would open a strip of coastal land in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Rep. Michael Castle voted NO

Vote Passed (225-201, 7 Not Voting) This is a classic Michael "hey, look at me I'm a moderate" Castle vote.

Mark my words, President Bush’s new nominee for Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr. will not last 12 months. The big problem: he seems to live in the reality based community. You don't have to read between the lines of this Think Progress post to know that this guy is going to be a bad fit.


Treasury Secretary Nominee Says Failure To Ratify Kyoto Undermines U.S. Competitiveness

President Bush’s new nominee for Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr., not only endorses the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse emissions, but argues that the United States’ failure to enact Kyoto undermines the competitiveness of U.S. companies. Here’s a statement from the Nature Conservatory, where Paulson serves as chairman of the board:

The Kyoto Protocol is a key first step to help slow the onslaught of global warming and benefit conservation efforts…Until the United States passes its own limits on global warming emissions, innovative companies based here will lose out on opportunities to sell reduced emission credits to companies complying with the Kyoto Protocol overseas. Additionally, without enacting our own emission limits, U.S. companies will lose ground to their competitors in Europe, Canada, Japan, and other countries participating in the Protocol who are developing clean technologies.

Goldman Sachs, under Paulson’s leadership, argued that the danger from global warming is imminent and requires “urgent” action by government to reduce emissions:

[C]limate change is one of the most significant environmental challenges of the 21st century and is linked to other important issues such as economic growth and development…

Why isn't Hube all over this story? This is his bread and butter.

An unqualified minority student got to the front of the line, while a hard working non-minority got the cold shoulder.

In this case it was not a black person. Maybe that explains why Hube is not foaming at the mouth.

The applicant in question is part of an even more put upon minority. He was in the minority of people known as conservative republicans who apply to Harvard Business School without having completed an undergraduate degree. His name is Blake Gottesman.

The Carpetbagger Report has the story. In White House lingo, Gottesman is known as Bush's "body man" or, more colloquially, his "butt boy," sticking close behind the president for 14 to 18 hours a day. Now, Gottesman is escaping to Harvard Business School.

And that is where the story gets interesting: Harvard plans to welcome the 26-year-old Texas native as a graduate student in business this fall, despite the fact that Gottesman left California's Claremont McKenna College after his freshman year to join the Bush campaign.

Of course, the leader of the free world — who snagged his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1975 — helped out with a written endorsement. As an alum, the president also made a friendly call to Harvard on his aide's behalf, as did former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, Gottesman's first boss in the White House, who counts a number of Harvard officials among his home-state friends.

Gottesman briefly dated Jenna Bush when he was a high school junior in Austin and she was a freshman, and her dad was governor. When Bush decided to run for president, Gottesman put college on pause. What he thought might be a brief interlude turned into a seven-year hitch. The president's nicknames for his $95,000-a-year special assistant have evolved from "Mini-Me," to "Soldier" and "Private" and "Peanut," to the more recent "Johnny Harvard," eventually simplified to "Harvard."

The Harvard Business School application instructions state that an M.B.A. candidate must have completed a four-year undergraduate degree "or its equivalent in another country." Bush's letter for Gottesman must have been pretty good.

Everyone who has ever been in 6th grade knows that there are times when you "have" to fight. However, even in 6th grade we know that people who "want" to fight are crazy or stupid and frequntly both crazy and stupid. So on this memorial day, I think it is fitting to take a look at the crazy and stupid people behind or war with Iraq.

Dana, at Delawarewatch says of these folks:

"... war mongers are often further to the right than members of the military, especially those who have never served. The term “chickenhawk” often used to describe these war mongers is frequently dismissed out of hand because it is pejorative. In my view, the description is apt and its pejorative intent even more so. It’s far too convenient for people to unflinchingly advocate that someone else risk their life when they won’t do it; nor would they want their children to do it.

... when I taught at Wilmington College. In our class discussions military students often expressed reluctance for the USA to engage in military actions abroad. Business majors, however, were quite gun ho..."

Here is the list of our national business majors who were so eager to send the sons and daughters of America to war:

President George W. Bush - served four years of a six years Nat'l Guard commitment. The circumstances of his early separation from state-side service are still controversial.

Karl Rove, occasional Deputy Chief of Staff, escaped the draft and did not serve

Michael Castle (draft age during Viet Nam) - did not serve

VP Dick Cheney - several deferments, by marriage and timely fatherhood

Former VP Chief of Staff I. Lewis Scooter Libby - did not serve

Secretary of State and former NSA Condaleeza Rice - did not serve

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist - did not serve.

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - did not serve.

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay - did not serve

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt - did not serve

Majority Whip Mitch McConnell - did not serve

Rick Santorum, third ranking Republican in the Senate - did not serve

Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott - did not serve

Rush Limbaugh - did not serve

Sean Hannity - did not serve

Pat Buchanan - did not serve

Ann Coulter - did not serve

Ralph Reed - did not serve

Bill O'Reilly - did not serve

Michael Savage - did not serve

Bill Kristol - did not serve

Where does the time go?

Mahaffie's gone fishing. no udpates since 5/22.

Where is that dang video? Down with Absolutes is tardy.

Sebastian at First Slate is turning up on milk cartons, and nowhere else.

Ryan (yet to enlist) at JTTR thinks global warming is fake, but the tooth fairy and trickle down economics are real. I know, the poor thing.

Who is Delathought? The better question is "Why is Delathought?"

Andrew at Spivackforcongress dares Castle to say, "A Democratic Congress will investigate the President."

Dana at Delawarewatch blows the whistle on more right-wing-nutery.

Tommywonk breaks down the Eron verdict, "Eichenwald writes that Enron's leaders came to believe that reporting big profits was the same as actually making money, and ran the company accordingly." Hmmm...sounds like George Bush.

Rhodey.... Oh lord! Another diversity memo, someone pass the smelling salts. I have the vapors.



Have a good weekend. Peace Out.

The Cunning Realist has a good analysis of the recent stock market dropsy. Here is the money:

The economy is going to founder until interest rates come down, or at least stop going up.

What's troubling is that we don't determine our own interest rates at this point. Essentially, the rest of the world is telling us that if we want to borrow to pay for preemptive wars and a reckless fiscal policy, we can---but other nations won't underwrite it on favorable terms. Think about that the next time your mortgage or credit card payment increases. President Bush gets blamed for a lot, and justifiably so. But this de facto ceding of monetary power to foreigners is an inexcusable and dangerous screw-up. It didn't have to happen.

Where is my apology Mr. Castle? You chaired his election campaign here in Delaware. I want an apology.

DelawareWatch points out that Ryan Silberstein glommed onto another juicy right wing urban legend like it was the gospel. This time it was the claim that Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

What is with these guys and their gullibility? They will literaly fall for anything.

Here are some other case studies:

"Santa Claus" is a bad word in elementary school.
5 Dec 2005

Wing-nut urban legends like this always kick start rounds of republican faux weeping for the state of humanity. Their unquenchable thirst for BS probably explains why they believe in other fantasies like; "They will greet us as liberators"

The inane story of a "left-wing" prof who runs into a righteous Navy Seal.
9 Jan 2006

Q. What is funnier than a bunch of gullible wing-nuts falling for some urban legend and passing it off as a true story?
A. A bunch of gullible wing-nuts falling for some urban legend and passing it off as a true story, getting called on it.

I think this study in wingnutia, makes it clear that there is a correlation between the eagerness of these people to believe nonsense and a their ability to promote the myth that republicans can govern.

Let's look at the facts:

Believes creationism should be taught in public schools:
Phelps (yes) Bush (yes)

Believes homosexuality is a choice:
Phelps (yes) Bush (yes)

Believes the Bible is the "literal" word of God:
Phelps (yes) Bush (yes)

Believes the Earth is 10,000 years old:
Phelps (yes) Bush (yes)

Believes God is using the Iraq war to punish America for tolerating gays :
Phelps (yes) Bush (no)




That is what I call an open and shut case.

Prosecutor says issue is key to Libby's focus on CIA agent's husband

Washington -- Vice President Dick Cheney was personally angered by a former U.S. ambassador's newspaper column attacking a key rationale for the war in Iraq, and he repeatedly instructed his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, to "get all the facts out" related to the critique, according to excerpts from Libby's 2004 grand jury testimony released late Wednesday by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald.

Libby also told the grand jury that Cheney raised as an issue that the former ambassador's wife worked at the CIA and that she allegedly played a role in sending him to investigate the Iraqi government's interest in acquiring nuclear weapons materials. That issue formed the basis of former ambassador Joseph Wilson's published critique. - R. Jeffrey Smith, Washington Post.

It is hard to figure out which is worse. The fact that we have a Vice President who feels that he is so far above the law that he can use classified national security information to smear a political foe - or the fact that nobody seems to care.

...before radical right-wing republicans went into full-blown racists mode regarding the immigration debate.

Liberal oasis has the story of how Lou Dobbs, the RNC's mouthpiece at CNN, is now working with the "Council of Concerned Citizens", a known white supremacist group.

Here are my questions for so-called moderates in the republican party - Why are you letting your party get taken over by these bloodthirsty racists maniacs? Shouldn't a so-called moderate (like Michael Castle) get off his ass and do something about his out of control party leadership ?

Click here to listen. They picked out a good one.

The write up on the station's web site is also spot on.

The U-S budget remains at its largest deficit ever… and it’s growing every day. Republicans had the reputation of being more fiscally responsible than Democrats… but Democratic challenger for the U-S House Dennis Spivack told WGMD’S Ron Letterman Show they’ve ignored the habits that earned that (sic) once upon a time. Other issues Spivack touched on while in studio were illegal immigration and health care. But the conversation was dominated by Iraq… with Spivack excoriating the Bush administration’s handling of the war.

Rock on Dennis!

In Iran in the mid-1990s, the U.S. and its (former) European allies had successfully created a republican (with small "r") movement in Iran that was poised to reduce, if not completely replace, the power of the mullahs. That republican movement in Iran was crushed virtually overnight by Bush's "Axis of Evil" State of the Union address in 2004.

That reference to Iraq, Iran, and North Korea as an "Axis of Evil" is a frightening case study of how policy is made in the Bush administration. In his insiders' account of the U.S. preparations for the invasion of Iraq, Plan of Attack, Bob Woodward recounts how the term "axis of hatred" was included in the State of the Union address by Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson after asking conservative author David Frum "to come up with a sentence or two summing up the case for going after Iraq." Gerson changed "axis of hatred" to "axis of evil." Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley then suggested including Iran and North Korea by name, in order to "protect" the secrecy of then ongoing Iraq war planning. (See Plan of Attack, pages 86 to 91.)

Bush's mention of Iran as part of an axis of evil thus was a small part of a major speech that had no input from the professional diplomats at the State Department or the spymasters at the CIA. But this small part had major repercussions inside Iran, where the terms of political debate shifted in the mullahs' favor literally overnight, derailing the republican movement that had been slowly and painstakingly nurtured over nearly a decade.

This is just one country. For the full story read - How Bush Lost the World

In 1979 I was just a kid, but I think I was STILL burning with hatred for Nixon (4 years after watergate).

This Thursday I'll find out how angry my younger self was at Nixon. My mother found a little time capsule I put together back in 1979 and we are opening it Thursday night. As I sort of recall I wrote some things about life in 1979 that I thought people in the future might be interested to know, and filled a couple more pages of loose leaf notebook paper with predictions.

I buried it a foot deep in her garden 27 years ago and she found it yesterday. She says the papers inside the bottle look like they are in perfect condition. She read me part of something I wrote through the bottle. It said. "... nuclear power is in trouble."

This should be a hoot.

Back when it became clear that we were going to attack Iraq, no matter what, I wondered about why Bush wanted to rush in to war like a blind fool. That sense of "wonder" took me down many paths. The "anger path" as I thought about Bush's frat boy ego and how reality could penetrate it. The "sadness path" as I thought about all the well meaning but lied to young men who enlisted for all the right reasons only to be led by all the wrong people. And the "utter confusion path" as I watched the democratic party basically roll over and let Bush play Napoleon.

But one path I have never really been down is the "philosophical path". The line of thought that examines how our invasion of Iraq is part of a nearly inevitable cycle of rise and decline that nations go through. Well here it is by way of a "New Deal democrat kos diary.

In his iconic 1987 tome, "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers", Paul Kennedy set forth a theory of how great powers rise and fell: in essence, first comes economic power; then comes military power to protect economic interests; next economic power wanes, even as military power (expensively) continues; and finally, no longer able to support imperial overreach, the military power collapses as well.

Americans may be astonished at how precisely his description of the decline of the British Empire a century ago resonates today, almost twenty years after his exposition was published. So, we are not the first travelers down this road, others have come this way before, leaving us if we are careful to read them, signposts. To see how Kennedy's examination of the past uncannily described the future, follow me below the fold, and we will examine how, as Mark Twain famously opined, history may not repeat, but it rhymes.

The conservative movement declared war on the middle class two decades ago. If I'm trying to do anything with this blog, I'm trying to talk democrats into joining the fight. That is why I love me some, David Sirota. He is part of the review for his new book:

David Sirota's first book, "Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government -- And How We Can Take It Back" may make you want to catch the next plane to Washington and punch out the first politician you see. And find a legislator from the opposite party and clobber that one, too.

Billed as an average citizen's guide to "decoding corrupt politicians' lies, myths and half-truths," Sirota is nothing if not ecumenical. The national commentator tees off on Democratic and Republican predators with equal fury as he describes the U.S. political system as being rigged against Middle America.

Sirota is a progressive populist -- not to be confused with a conventional liberal who eschews class-based politics -- and his book is a manual for waging a class-based political counterattack against the conservative populist movement that produced Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay, Bill Bennett and George W. Bush, along with a massive transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top.

I have to link to this even though the video is not even up yet.

Down With Absolutes

Continued light posting this week. Read Tommywonk on Iraq.

The Neocons who came into power in 2001 were so sure of themselves, and so dismissive of those who experience did not confirm their faith-based foreign policy, that they have badly damaged our country's ability to execute a coherent foreign policy.

He calls them "neocons" which I feel lets rank and file republicans off the hook. This is as much "Dt's" debacle as it is Ryan's.

Mahaffie is not the only person I know with a Prius, but he is still special in my book.

This joke at DWA was funny when I first heard it in 1973 featuring Nixon, Agnew and Kissinger.

Sebastian at First Slate is still saving his energy with one post a month.

Ryan (yet to enlist) at JTTR still playing Charlie McCarthy to Volkov's Edgar Bergan.

Delathought, the RNC called. They want their strawmen back.

Andrew at Spivackforcongress "The current Republican Congress is much too indebted to the pharmaceutical and health insurance lobbies to be trusted with the future of our health care system." True dat.

Dana at Delawarewatch finds a picture of the ugliest pug in the world to make a point.

Mclefty has Mc left. No updates since April 12.

Tommywonk is the wind beneath my wings.

At Rhodey they've lost all memory of George Bush and Iraq - but dumbass teachers rush to fill the void.

Have a good weekend. Peace Out.

May 15th - at Down With Absolutes

In response to this Kilroy comment:

I honestly feel we need to shift the anger toward the empoyers and lack of intevention.

jason Says:

Or we could just stage a big photo-op down at the border with President dumbass sitting on a Humvee looking through binoculars. That should do it. "

Today's White House Official Photo:



UPDATE

TPM reports that Washington has shelled out more than $30 million to the Blackwater USA security firm since its men deployed after Katrina hit. Under contract with the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Protective Service, Blackwater's men are ostensibly protecting federal reconstruction projects for FEMA. Documents show that the government paid Blackwater $950 a day for each of its guards in the area.

What does this have to do with the border? Simple, why don't we just pay Mexcians $4.50 an hour to stand guard along the Rio Grande. It would be a heck of a lot cheaper than what these Republican insiders charge us taxpayers.

As my 401k continues to tank, I remembered this article by that lefty Paul Craig Roberts. The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration and Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page.

A Nation of Waitresses and Bartenders?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll jobs report released May 5 says the economy created 131,000 private sector jobs in April....

Most of the April job gain -- 72% --is in domestic services, with education and health services (primarily health care and
social assistance) and waitresses and bartenders accounting for 55,000 jobs or 42% of the total job gain. Financial activities added 26,000 jobs and professional and business services added 28,000. Retail trade lost 36,000 jobs.

During 2001 and 2002 the US economy lost 2,298,000 jobs. These lost jobs were not regained until early in February 2005. From February 2005 through April 2006, the economy has gained 2,584 jobs (mainly in domestic services).

The total job gain for the 64 month period from January 2001 through April 2006 is 7,000,000 jobs less than the 9,600,000 jobs necessary to stay even with population growth during that period. The unemployment rate is low because millions of discouraged workers have dropped out of the work force and are not counted as unemployed.

In 2005 the US had a current account deficit in excess of $800 billion. That means Americans consumed $800 billion more goods and services than they produced. A significant percentage of this figure is offshore production by US companies for American markets.

The US current account deficit as a percent of Gross Domestic Product is unprecedented. As more jobs and manufacturing are moved offshore, Americans become more dependent on foreign made goods. This year the deficit could reach $1 trillion.

The US pays its current account deficit by giving up ownership of its existing assets or wealth. Foreigners don't simply hold the $800 billion in cash. They use it to acquire US equities, real estate, bonds, and entire companies.

I'm sure glad those tax cuts are "stimulating" the economy. Hey I have an idea, let's make them permanent.

You be the judge.

"I am honored to welcome Sen. John McCain, probably the nation's most popular politician, to Delaware this coming weekend," Castle said in a press release. "It will be fun to show off Sussex County to him."

John McCain, the nation's most popular politician?

UPDATE: As Castle's best new buddy comes to town, let's take a quick look at the so-called "moderate" and "popular" Senator McCain.

WHAT MCCAIN STANDS FOR: THEN AND NOW

Abortion

THEN:McCain Opposed Overturning Roe: It Would Force Women To Seek Illegal Abortions. [San Francisco Chronicle, 8/20/99]

NOW: McCain Wouldn't Be Bothered By Supreme Court Ban On Abortion, Would Sign South Dakota’s Abortion Ban. [CBS News, 1/25/06; ABC News, 3/29/06; ABC News, 2/26/06; NationalJournal.com, 2/28/06]

Evil

THEN: McCain Called Falwell "Evil Influence" on GOP. [Kansas City Star, 5/28/05]

NOW: McCain Met With Falwell To Lay Groundwork for 2008 Run And Agreed To Speak At Falwell’s Liberty University. [US News and World Report, 11/14/05; Lynchburg News & Advance, 3/28/06]
http://dnc.org/a/2006/04/mccain_takes_th.php

Click here for all the “moderate” positions he’s rescinded since pandering to the right-wing. Now I'm sure Celia will be too flushed with giddy and girlish hero worship to report on this, but when McCain visits with Castle the headline should read:

One Fake Moderate Stumps for Another

ANTI-INCUMBENCY SPELLS BIG GAINS FOR DEMS IN PA!

Tommywonk has a great post on the PA primaries full of linky goodness. Here is the money:

Philly.com has a list of thirteen legislative incumbents who lost their primary elections yesterday. The list includes the top two Republicans in the state Senate, who lost because of anger over last year's midnight pay raise:

Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R., Blair) and Majority Leader David J. Brightbill (R., Lebanon) - who together have served 56 years in the Senate - were defeated in two of the most costly legislative races in history.

As John Baer writes, "They are the first Pennsylvania legislative leaders to lose a primary election since 1964." These defeats presage trouble for incumbent legislators in November.

In another sign of a shakeup in PA politics, a Democrat won a special election to the state Senate in overwhelmingly Republican Chester County: Andrew Dinniman has defeated Republican Carol Aichele to become the first Democratic state senator from Chester County in memory.

Be afraid, GOP zombies. Be very afraid.

It is clear that voters associate "greedy career politicians" and "the culture of arrogance and greed" that marks our current political climate with REPUBLICANS. If you ask me, you have George Bush to thank for destroying your party.

I am becoming more and more convinced that a large part of Conservatives anger towards Bush, is that Bush put conservatives principals to work and these principals FAILED! Conservatives who look at the world in Black and White have had no choice but to go into Panic mode because of this.

Read the whole thing, but if you are at work, here is the digest version:

THE CORE BELIEFS THAT CONSERVATIVES HELD THAT BUSH HAS PROVEN TO BE FALSE:

1) Tax cuts pay for themselves by generating more revenue

2) Democrats want to spend your money while the GOP is more fiscally responsible

3) Republicans are better at using the military and projecting US power abroad

4) Policies aimed at helping big business will stimulate the economy

5) When social conservatism fails it's because YOU weren't conservative enough

6) The GOP is more virtuous then those heathen Democrats

Michael Castle's woes continue to mount. This most recent SurveyUSA poll has Bush at 26% approval in Delaware. (TWENTY SIX PER CENT!!!)

Although Castle has been working hard to distance himself from his party's inept, corrupt leader - his voting record speaks for itself. When Bush asked Congress to jump, Castle jumped. When he asked them to roll over, Castle was obedient.

Now, he will pay at the polls for his reliable obedience to President Trainwreck.

Castle will pay because not only do 72% (SEVENTY TWO PERCENT !!!) of Delawareans think that Bush/Castle style governance sucks, they feel passionate about it. While Bush/Castle supporters are weak in that support. With a full slate of great Democratic challenegers like RICHARD KORN beating the bushes on the local level, and Howard Dean as the DNC chair already working on GOTV efforts, this all spells trouble for Castle in November.

...until I read this:

Matt Denn named "New Democrat of the Week" by national group

NEW CASTLE – Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn has been named the “New Democrat of the Week” by the national Democratic Leadership Council for his efforts to help Delaware seniors with the confusing and complex Medicare prescription drug signup process.

I guess, to be fair, Denn can't help it if the DLC likes him but...

Let us all take a moment to remember that it was the horrible, awful, "centrist" DLC that forced the Democratic Party to run away from it's core values of peace and social justice and in order to chase phantom "moderate voters" and corporate cash.

Howard Dean is just now digging us out of the hole that the DLC pushed us into. I hope Mr. Denn turns down the honor, short of that I hope he has the sense to realize that real Democrats don't want what the Democratic "Losership" Council is selling.

Update:Tom Carper is Vice-Chairman of the DLC. (I knew that I did not like something about him.) For more on how much the DLC SUCKS AND IS TRYING TO WRECK THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY click here.

"You cut taxes and the tax revenues increase." George Bush recently said this in New Mexico. No, seriously. He said that. I think he really believes it.

While most people think that deficit spending increases the deficit, republicans have faith is all kinds of crazy theories and notions.

- Nation building in Iraq will be easy and cheap.

- The earth is only 10,000 years old.

- There is no such thing as global warming.

- etc, etc.

It makes it hard to have a reasonable conversation with them, because how do you argue with blind faith? How can something as trivial as "proof" stand up to something like "faith".

Well for anyone who still has faith in the voodoo economics of deficit spending, say a "Hail Mary", rub your rabbit's foot, and read this from Tommywonk

I was putting my kids to sleep and came down just in time to witness this CNN cluster-f*ck.

Crooks and Liars has the video. If you missed it, you need to see this.

Tomorrow’s Pennsylvania primary will be a good barometer of anti-incumbency rage. Is it real? As a democrat, I sure hope so.

PA has 109 CleanSweep candidates running in the May primary. That is a huge number by any reckoning. These people were drawn to "CleanSweep" by last year's legislative pay raises. They come from every political party but they all seem to agree that "the government" is currently composed of "greedy career politicians".

That sentiment is good for Democrats. When PA "CleanSweepers" are quoted in the press they tend to bemoan the "the culture of arrogance and greed" that marks our current political climate, and as we all know one party has worked hard to create a "the culture of arrogance and greed." That is the party George Bush and Jack Abramoff.

Now, I'm sure Nancy Willing will protest that this movement is "non-partisan". She will point out (rightly) that that we have a bunch of lousy democrats that need to find other work. While that is true, the "net/net" of anti-incumbency is that republicans will lose more seats than democrats if it turns out to be real.

So listen to "Progressive Voices" at 7:30 on WVUD, 91.3 FM from the University of Delaware in Newark, DE or click on WVUD and jump on the cleansweep bandwagon.

They read emails during the show and respond if possible at provoices@gmail.com.

Brian Daniel McGinnis Sergeant 30-Mar-2003 (St. George)

Ryan Patrick Long Specialist 03-Apr-2003 (Seaford)

Russell Brian Rippetoe Captain 03-Apr-2003 (Seaford)

Jarrett B. Thompson Specialist 07-Sep-2003 (Dover)

Anthony P. Roberts Lance Corporal 06-Apr-2004 (Bear)

Joseph P. Garyantes Staff Sergeant 18-May-2004 (Rehoboth)

Richard C. Clifton Lance Corporal 03-Feb-2005 (Milford)

Stephen M. McGowan Corporal 04-Mar-2005 (Newark)

James S. "Shawn" Moudy Sergeant 1st Class 11-Dec-2005 (Newark)

Cory L. Palmer Corporal 06-May-2006 (Seaford)

Rick James Not reported yet 13-May-2006 (Seaford)

Well, I'm sure all the pretend patriots, fake libertarians, and yellow elephants are going to be watching tonight, as President Dimwit announces his lovely little war at the border.

Well don't pump up the Toby Keith soundtrack too fast. It seems, all the cool uniforms, hummers, helicopters, are just props. This is going to be a short, photo-op war from the get go.

President Bush has told Mexico’s Vicente Fox that any deployment of National Guard troops along the US-Mexico border will be “on a temporary basis.” Bush is expected to announce the deployment in a speech tonight. White House spokeswoman Maria Tamburri said Bush made the assurance when Fox called Bush to voice concern over reports of the move.

Tanburri told reporters that “[t]he president made clear that the United States considers Mexico a friend and that what is being considered is not militarization of the border, but support of border patrol capabilities on a temporary basis by National Guard personnel.”

Someone, either Fox or those in favor of militarizing the border, is likely to be disappointed by the deployment. If the White House statement accurately reflects Bush’s intentions, critics who think he’s soft on illegal immigration will be livid. If he intends the deployment to be permanent or indefinite, Fox will be livid.

I just hope it is not too temporary. I mean what will all the poor yellow elephants do if they sign up for this war and gets sent to the real war? Yikes!

I guy who I have a lot of respect for, Mike McKain writes:

Though I appreciate the sentiment behind Jason's argument (i.e. those who support the war should be willing to fight in it instead of sending others in their stead), I think this kind of personal attack (on Ryan Silberstein) is rather childish and rude; moreover, it does not advance the discourse about the issues at hand.

While the question of who is actually fighting the war is wholly valid, to attack an individual for their personal decisions about their future will win you little support or sympathy, at least with me.

Mike, your comment, you just advanced the discourse my man. But I'm not here to quibble - here is the real deal. Low life creeps like Ryan are destroying this country with their empty headed jingoism. They should have been personally attacked beginning ten years ago. I'm trying to make up for lost time.

Also, I am attacking Ryan as a coward, but only as a proxy for all the other low life yellow elephant GOP cowards who voted for Bush and cheer on this vanity war.

A Modest Proposal:

Now if Ryan decided to apologize for voting for Bush and cheering on his vanity war - I'd stop.

In fact - that is an open invitation to the Delaware-wingnut-osphere. Dt, Hube, Grex, and the rest, if you apologize for voting for Bush, and start seriously working to make this country whole again, I will forgive you.

PS: The addition of Mike McKain to the blog roll is way overdue.

Although I have a natural American distrust of political dynasties, I have to admit Beau Biden is going to make a great Attorney General.

He is a smart, experienced prosecutor who is passionate about public service. Here are some career highlights:

1994 to 1995 - Federal Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Steven J. McAuliffe, U.S. District Court, District of New Hampshire.

1995 - Counsel in the Office of Policy Development, United States Department of Justice, Washington, working closely with counsel from the FBI, the ATF, and the Criminal Division.

1995 until 2002 - Federal Prosecutor who served in both policy and prosecutorial capacities at the United States Department of Justice. Also Federal Prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney'’s Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a Federal Prosecutor, Beau investigated and prosecuted a variety of criminal cases including violent crimes, narcotics, firearms, and sophisticated financial fraud. Moreover, Beau handled all phases of the federal prosecutions, including the investigation, the grand jury, the trial, and the appeal.

2001 - Volunteered for an interim assignment to serve as a Legal Advisor for the United States Department of Justice in post-war Kosovo. During this period, Beau worked in Pristina, Kosovo, helping to establish a training program for Kosovar judges and prosecutors, as well as international judges, on criminal procedure and practice. In addition, Beau assisted in drafting law enforcement guidelines for the Kosovo Civilian Police Force.

2002 - Joined the Wilmington law firm of Monzack and Monaco where he concentrated in civil litigation.

2004 - Continued his civil litigation practice by becoming a partner in the law firm of Bifferato Gentilotti & Biden (now Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden & Balick).

Currently - Serves as a Captain in the Delaware Army National Guard, where he is in the Judge Advocate General'’s (JAG) Corps, assigned to the 261st Signal Brigade in Smyrna.


Biden's resume makes Ferris look like a slacker. As for the political dynasty thing.... This is a race where I'm willing to say that the money, connection, good looks and charm that come from being a Biden are just icing on the cake. Prediction: Biden 57% Wharton 42%

Update Via Think Progress:

CongressDaily reports that former NSA staffer Russell Tice will testify to the Senate Armed Services Committee next week that not only do employees at the agency believe the activities they are being asked to perform are unlawful, but that what has been disclosed so far is only the tip of the iceberg. Tice will tell Congress that former NSA head Gen. Michael Hayden, Bush’s nominee to be the next CIA director, oversaw more illegal activity that has yet to be disclosed:

[Tice] plans to tell Senate staffers next week that unlawful activity occurred at the agency under the supervision of Gen. Michael Hayden beyond what has been publicly reported, while hinting that it might have involved the illegal use of space-based satellites and systems to spy on U.S. citizens.

[Tice] said he plans to tell the committee staffers the NSA conducted illegal and unconstitutional surveillance of U.S. citizens while he was there with the knowledge of Hayden. … “I think the people I talk to next week are going to be shocked when I tell them what I have to tell them. It’s pretty hard to believe,” Tice said. “I hope that they’ll clean up the abuses and have some oversight into these programs, which doesn’t exist right now.” …
.......................................

Where is Mike Castle's voice as Republicans are openly demanding answers from the President about the NSA phone database scandal? Silence=Consent. Castle knows who he works for, and it is not the people of Delaware. It is George W. Bush.

Until we hear otherwise, we have to assume that Michael Castle still believes George Bush should continue to be president.


Michael Castle in happier times, before he and Bush lost their mojo.

Bob Herbert has an Op-Ed in this morning's New York Times (below) about how Democrats need to stop dithering and "thumbsucking" and start fighting. He says "There are no Trumans in sight in this Democratic Party".

I disagree. There's Dennis Spivack.

If you haven't heard him speak, turn out for one of his events. Dennis has got a passion and a "moxie" that's in short supply in our party. And, if you like what he's got to say, consider helping him beat Michael Castle. Money would be nice ...for a start.

Dennis' website is http://www.spivackforcongress.org/

Here is the Herbet Op-ed:

Enough already with the analyses ad nauseam of the strategies and tactics and philosophies that the Democratic Party should pursue to regain power in upcoming elections.

We've been listening to this armchair chatter for years: The Democrats need new ideas. They need big ideas. They need to move to the center. They need to wave the flag. They need to go to church. They need the soccer moms and the Nascar dads. They need to run from the blacks. They need to run from the gays.

I have no more patience with this perennially pathetic patient, this terminally timid Democrat who continues to lie cowering and trembling on the analyst's couch, wondering why the Demolition Derby Republicans control virtually all of the levers of power in the United States.

The Democrats are thinking too much and doing too little. This is a party in need of a moxie transplant. It's time for the patient to climb off the couch, walk outside and mix it up with the gang that has made a complete and utter mess of the country that was entrusted to it.

The polls tell us that the G.O.P. is ready to be routed. President Bush's approval ratings are at the lowest levels of his presidency. The war with Iraq is now widely — and properly — viewed as a disaster. Respondents to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll said they believed the Democrats would do a better job on nearly all of the major issues facing the country.

Now would be an excellent time for Democrats to pounce, to show genuine leadership. This is not the time for yet another round of thumb-sucking, for more mind-numbing nonsense about narratives and framing, for more abstract talk about how to define the party. The public needs to know what you plan to do about the war. What's your energy policy? How should we deal with Iran?

What the Democrats need more than anything, with midterms coming up in the fall and a presidential election two years later, are personable candidates of strong character who have at least some measure of political courage and are willing to stand up for what they truly believe. This is the stuff that leaders are made of.

In 1948, when Harry Truman had already been dismissed by the political geniuses as a certain loser, he got on a train and took his case to the American people. Truman told his sister: "It will be the greatest campaign any president ever made. Win, lose or draw, people will know where I stand and a record will be made for future action by the Democratic Party."

There are no Trumans in sight in this Democratic Party. Democratic candidates and potential candidates are still agonizing with their analysts over exactly what to say about this issue or that. (They're trying to figure out ways to talk about the war, for example, that will offend neither hawks nor doves.) What's almost funny is that the patient has been doing this for years, and keeps losing election after election.

Why not try something new and liberating, like the truth? Forget the theorizing and strategizing. Tell the truth about what's happening now. Let the electorate know how much the Iraq war is really costing — in human treasure, loss of influence around the world, increases in gasoline prices and cold, hard cash. Tell the truth about the monstrous buildup of state power by the Bush crowd, which has undermined the freedom and privacy of innocent people here at home, and angered many conservatives.

Talk straight about the unconscionable assault on working people in the United States.

I remember all the chatter about moral values after the last presidential election, and how the Democrats would have to pump their values up if they were ever to win again. I never bought it. The Democrats didn't lose the last time around because they lacked virtue. They lost because John Kerry was a lousy candidate.

If the Democrats don't know what they believe in yet — if they're still figuring that out — they don't deserve to win. Politicians are supposed to lead, and the U.S. has seldom been in more desperate need of leadership than now.

It's time to climb off the couch, Democrats, present yourselves to the public, and take a stand. If you're personable, and possessed of just a little bit of courage, you're halfway home.

Close you eyes and imagine we are at war. Imagine that Bill Clinton's White House (during wartime) carelessly left documents marked "official" that contained nearly every detail of the President's trip to Florida in the regular trash. Imagine further that these papers contained the exact arrival and departure time for Air Force One, Marine One and the documents also list every passenger on board each aircraft, from President Clinton to the military attaché with the nuclear football.

Now imagine the hue and cry that would rise from chickenshit yellow elephant Ryan Silberstein. Imagine the mockery and derision that would flow from the likes of fake-libertarian Hube, and the calls for impeachment that would emanate from super-patriots like GREX. Imagine the scorn and bile that DT would direct at Mr. Clinton.

Well you don't have to imagine. Hold onto your hat while this news starts to filter into the wingnut-osphere. Those super-patriots are going to be calling for Bush's head on a platter. ....probably.

...was his voice a little quavering in that lame NJ "editorial" about the Medicaid part d(ebacle)?

I don't know, but he does seem to be off his game. The "editorial" basically burns 11 column inches in order to give his constituents a web site address. That was not the voice of Michael Castle the masterful politician. That was more in the voice of a clueless "Barney Fife goes to Congress" Michael Castle.

So if he is off his game, what is contributing to it? Is it the fact that his support for George Bush is alienating Delaware's common sense voters? Or maybe it is that fact that GOP Watergate sex parties got his buddy Porter Goss fired?

Of course it could be because his GOP buddy, disgraced congressman Duke Cunningham is getting pressure to give up other members of the GOP corruption caucus?

Apparently, even in the slammer, Duke isn't cooperating. He's not willing to give up the really big fish, it seems.

Says Rick Gwin, regional head of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, "This is much bigger and wider than just Randy 'Duke' Cunningham. All that has just not come out yet, but it won't be much longer and then you will know just how widespread this is."

In the end, I guess I really don't care why Castle is losing it - I'm just glad Castle has lost his mojo.

There are a great many brainless RNCdrones around parroting the rovian spin that impeachment would be bad for democrats. The Rude Pundit makes a great case for why democrats should make the impeachment of George Bush central to the mid-term election campaign.

The Impeachment Campaign - Part 1: The Analogy:
Let us say, and why not, that you are a young American woman who is traveling in Europe by yourself for the summer.

Caution: Adult language and themes.

The bottom line: Impeachment is what the American people want.

If you want to throw up go read Celia Cohen's fawning, slobber covered ode to the "Gridiron Dinner". Not only is she in her insidery glory - she actually tries to apply her meager journalistic skills to giving her gentle readers a sense of the comic hijinks. Here is a taste...

Minner had this retirement stuff in perspective. She told the crowd she expected to enjoy it through nice dinners, travel to Europe and the occasional ball game -- "what the heck, I'm doing that now."

Oh, jeez. I can just hear the crickets chirping. What a debacle. But wait it gets worse. Listen to Celia get weepy and wax nostalgic WHILE leading into a hacktackular song parody by some rich guy.

In the old days, the Gridiron signature was Lynda Maloney's annual variation of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from "Evita." This year marked the debut of Christopher Maloney, introduced as "Son of Gridiron," singing in a voice as strong and sweet as his mother's:

Don't cry for me, Delmarva Power.
I'll just go take a cold shower.
All through the seasons
With no resistance
You make your profits
Off my subsistence.


If this is what you have to sit through to become an insider, count me out.

Wingnut: Iraq is nothing like vietnam.

Me: You are right, Iraq is even less popular than Vietnam. Did you read the bloomberg article that said,

"Three years into major combat in Vietnam, 28,500 U.S. service members had perished, millions of families were anxious about the military draft and antiwar protests had spread to dozens of college campuses.

Today, at the same juncture in the Iraq war, about 2,400 American soldiers have died, the U.S. military consists entirely of volunteers and public dissent is sporadic.

There's one other difference: The war in Iraq is more unpopular than was the Vietnam conflict at this stage, polls show.

More Americans -- 57 percent -- say sending troops to Iraq was a mistake than the 48 percent who called Vietnam an error in April 1968, polls by the Gallup Organization show.

Wingnut: No I had not heard that. But so what? I don't trust that leftwing outfit, "Bloomberg". It sounds jewish.

While Ryan Silberstein and the other yellow elephant college republicans yuck it up in their cartoonland where words speak louder than actions, other Delawareans are in mourning.

.

I'm serious. Where are they? I'm not talking about milquetoasts like Michael Castle, I'm talking about the guys with balls who can see what Bush is doing to the party and the country.

The Howard Bakers? Where the hell are the guys who should be outraged at all the stupidity and corruption?

See how three presidents answered the question "what was the best moment of your presidency?"

to summarize:

carter: the camp david negotiations

clinton: the resolution of the kosovo crisis

bush: that time i caught a big fish on my ranch
(UPDATE: Bush lied about the fish. Or, he caught a fish that broke the record for fresh water perch by 3 pounds.)

Michael Castle and Hube believe Bush (a man who lies about everything) should STILL be president.

Click here for the supporting research.

This post titled "A Dereliction of Duty", is spot on. The hypocrisy of Michael Castle is brought into sharp focus when you consider Castle's reaction to the crimes of George Bush and his reaction to the "crimes" of Bill Clinton.

"“I feel strongly that the president did not speak the truth."”

"“This is all so overwhelming. There have been so many bombshells, you can barely turn your back."

Is Castle commenting on the scandal landslide currently afflicting the Bush Administration? Is he finally standing up to the radical wing of his party? Well, not exactly. Those quotes are from that bygone era of blue dresses, cigars, and articles of impeachment – the first of which Mike Castle voted for, incidentally.

Meanwhile, our current administration is consolidating a dangerous amount of power into the executive branch via Bush'’s use of signing statements. These are measures added to laws after the fact that say Bush is free to interpret the law as he sees fit, meaning he can simply disobey it if he pleases. Bush has added these signing statements to over 750 laws.(snip)

Unsurprisingly, many of the same legislators who went into collective meltdown mode during the artificially generated Clinton scandals have been silent as church mice this time around.

To put it simply, Congress'’ unwillingness to perform their duties is starting to become dangerous. They have failed us,– Mike Castle included.

The bottom line is Michael Castle thinks that George Bush should STILL be the President. For that reason alone, he needs to be replaced.

Here is another smoking gun:

On April 25, 2006 fake moderate and documented liar, Michael Castle said:

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, not enough attention has been paid to soft terrorist targets like ports and rail. The safety of our ports should not be taken lightly...

Having said that you'd think that, given the opportunity, the self described maverick would vote FOR a bill strengthening our port security by requiring electronic screening of U.S. bound container - even if it meant crossing his party leadership to vote for a Democratic bill. Well - you'd be wrong.

Castle has no problem voting against port security and for the agenda of his GOP controllers.

From the 5/7/06 News Journal:

Voting 202-222, the House on May 4 defeated a Democratic bid to require electronic screening of all U.S.-bound containers at foreign ports. The underlying bill (HR 4954, above) requires electronic screening only of containers thought to pose risk. Amendment backers said 100 percent screening is essential to U.S. security, while opponents called it unworkable and said it would cripple international trade.

A yes vote backed 100 percent overseas screening. Voting no: Castle, Gilchrest, LoBiondo, Weldon, Pitts.

it is bad enough that Castle can lie about his being a moderate - but the fact that the local press just plays along and NEVER calls him on his fake-moderation is just pitiful. I'm a simple blogger and I caught Castle in this lie before I finished my morning coffee. Imagine the stuff I'd catch him lying about if this were my job.

This is a story that has to have Michael Castle pooping his pants.

As you may recall, "as many as a half a dozen members of congress... " are involved in this Watergate scandal.

AND... On August 11, 2004 Michael Castle urged U.S. Senate to confirm Porter Goss as the next CIA Director.

I worked with Porter for eight years on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and found him to be a straight shooter... Which corrupt GOP Congressman will be next?

UPDATE: You know this story is going to break in huge way when Matt Drudge tries to get infront of it with this headline: CIA CHIEF TIED TO CONTRACTOR'S POKER PARTIES; HINTS OF BRIBES AND WOMEN Notice how they are now trying to spin it to inbclude female prostitutes. This is the RNC in full damage control mode.

Q: Could a third party candidate sweep across the country in 2008 and inexorably split the Republican Party?

A: I sure hope so, and right now it sounds like a real possibility.

Swiftboat fabricator Jerry Corsi thinks so:

"[Constitution Party] Chairman James Clymer told WorldNetDaily the party was excited about the possibility of Gilchrist as its marquis candidate. "Yes, indeed, we are interested," Clymer said. "Gilchrist spoke to us last weekend in Tampa and our people asked Jim then if he would be the candidate. We think it would be wonderful if Jim Gilchrist would seriously consider being our presidential candidate."

Gilchrist told WND the only candidate he would support as the Republican Party presidential nominee in 2008 was Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. "If John McCain enters the race for president," Gilchrist said. "I will definitely run."

So what if a right-wing nut job did run, what impact would he have?

Last week Rasmussen Reports released polling that found that a third party candidate who "promised to build a barrier along the Mexican border and make enforcement of immigration law his top priority" would run a strong second behind the Democrats -- and ahead of the GOP -- in 2008.

AWESOME !!!!

h/t - MYDD

Yesterday Donald Rumsfeld got called out on his flat out lies. His lies have cost this country its credibility, over 2.5 billion dollars per month, and the lives of over 2,000 soldiers. (Not to mention the untold death and misery it has cost Iraq.) DWA has the details.

On the same day Patrick Kennedy got in a car crash.

Which do you think the "liberal" media will promote as the big story today?


Hmmmm....?

We Delawareans are sadly familiar with the chickenshit college republican Ryan Silberstein insane war mongery. Now his half-assed neocon-ery has been given a boost up to the bloggy big leagues with this DelawareDem Kos Diary.

The money quote:

If Bush went on TV tonight and said that we were going to take over Venezuela, Mexico, and Iran, purely for their oil, and promised lower gas prices, he would probably begin tomorrow morning with approval ratings in the high 70s.

Now we all know that this was so much kidding on Ryan's part - a mere "thought experiment" (while I agree that Ryan could benefit from experimenting with the concept of thinking), I have a problem with the "thought experiment" ruse.

The thing is, these neocon "thought experiments" have a bad habit of turning into "trial balloons". These "trial balloons" have a bad habit of turning into actual bombs raining down on people Bush decides are "evil doers".

And one more thing. When Bush pulls the trigger and we go into Iran don't look for Silberstien and the other war mongering Yellow elephant college republicans down at the recruiting office.

Christina School District needs a board member who stands up to the administration. In her rookie year on the Board, 'Kat' has stood up to the administration and other board members, voting to eliminate the wasteful $12 million parking garage. Unfortunately, she was outvoted 4-3 by other board members.

Christina School District needs a board member who understands finances. Kat has worked at Wilmington Trust for more than twenty years. This experience compelled her in December to request more information on the $112 million referendum proposed by the district's administration. No bank would have extended a loan with so little information provided. When the administration refused to provide the requested information, Kat voted against the referendum. Again, she was outvoted 4-3 by other board members. Fortunately, the district's voters agreed with Kat, and rejected the referendum.

Not only do we need Kat to be re-elected on the 9th, Christina needs six more people like Kat on the board. We need your vote, and your help in getting your friends to vote for Kat on the Tuesday 9th.

Ernie Lehman Guest Blogging Via The Progressive Line

If you have any questions for Katrine, you can email her at hutch60hook@comcast.net

Let her if you would like a yard sign. If you would like to contribute for her campaign, mail checks made out to Committee to Reelect Katrine Hutchison c/o Paul Baumbach, 273 E Main St, Suite E, Newark, DE 19711-7331. Anyone in the Christina School District can (and should) vote on May 9th.

For the record I don't care what Ryan Silberstein thinks about Jan Ting. What bothers me is that he is a dangerous wack job who thinks it would be a good idea for the US to invade Venezuela "purely for their oil".

In that way he is a typical Republican who lives in a cartoon land of his own imagination where wars are more pastime than tragedy. Even with the unfolding debacle that is IRAQ, he confidently asserts that an American invasion of Venzeuela (and/or Mexico and/or Iran) would magically cure a whole range of economic and social ills. This is the spawn of George Bush. A generation of conservatives who have even less regard for cause and effect than they have for the Constitution. Everything is ideology and theory for them. Practical reality will be given no quarter.

I don't think maniacs and morons like Ryan Silberstein and Glenn Reynolds are new to American politics, but what is new is the fact that they are treated as legitimate voices. There was a time in America when the unhinged and clearly uniformed members of the GOP were marginalized and shunned. Now they are the heroes.

Quit your job and stay home with the kids. You will not pocket the $134 in actual pay - but you will be providing that much value to your family.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A full-time stay-at-home mother would earn $134,121 a year if paid for all her work, an amount similar to a top U.S. ad executive, a marketing director or a judge, according to a study released on Wednesday.

Right wing fetus get a well deserved beating: Delawarewatch

Tommy turns uhhm…. old. Happy B-day! Tommywonk

Oh the humanity! Fire grilled salads: Mike’s Musings

Marking “mission accomplished day” complete with deafening silence from the right: Down With Absolutes

Asleep at the switch since April 14th: First Slate

People think elected officials suck. (Except for their elected officials) Delathought

Someone please make Dana stop. Jokers To The Right

Murtha and Nagin are bad. George Bush? Never heard of him: Confusion of Rhodey

Update: The Onion

Oh for God sakes!!!

Valerie Plame Wilson was working on Iran at the time she was outed.


Let me just say - Michael Castle thinks Bush should STILL be the President of the United States.

Let's face it. 9/11 is the best thing that ever happened to Republicans. Right now, it is the only thing Republicans have. So it is understandable that they try to obscure abject failure after abject failure by bringing up 9/11 at every opportunity.

In Delaware even New York Gov. George E. Pataki tried to put some of that phat 9/11 bling around his neck.

"Of course, Pataki also talked about Sept. 11. He happened to be in New York City that day, and his daughter called him to tell him to turn on the television. The first plane had hit, and he told her it had to be an accident, and then the second plane came and he knew it was an attack.

The state trooper accompanying Pataki said he had to get back to his command center in Albany, the state capital. "It was the only time in 12 years as governor I told him, no, you're wrong," Pataki said, and he stayed with the city." - via delawaregrapevine

Who remembers that square jawed hero, George E. Pataki springing into action on 9/11? Not me. I just remember George Bush reading to kids for 11 minutes, and Dick Cheney pissing his pants in some bunker in Idaho. Then I remember the BushCo braintrust using 9/11 as a pretext to start a war with Iraq so that President Dim wit could land on an aircraft carrier and get reelected.

Echidne of the Snakes gives her take on our new holiday.

May Day will be renamed The Mission Accomplished Day. You know, the day when military operations in Iraq ended. The Memory Hole (an Orwellian term denoting a hole in the wall through which bits of history will be sent when they no longer match the desired reality) must not be allowed to work in this case, and renaming the day that way would keep it in our memory a little longer.

The Mission was not Accomplished in Iraq. But Bush is fairly close to accomplishing a totally different mission: that of kicking off the other legs of our political system in favor of absolute presidential powers:

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.

I like the idea in some ways. It would be fun to decide not to obey those parts of any contracts I sign that I don't really want to obey. But I have no such excuse as perpetual war and being a commander-of-chief to do that.

______________________________________________________

Tom Carper and Michaell Castle slept while this was going on. I have nothing but scorn and contempt for both of them. They may perk up a bit over the next few months as they go through the empty pantomine of re-applying for thier jobs, although I doubt it.