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Buzz, perspectives, insight and news from AlterNet

Ned Lamont to Run for Governor of Connecticut
Posted by Chris Bowers, Open Left on November 4, 2009 at 7:30 PM.

This just in--Ned Lamont is looking to run for Governor in Connecticut:

NED LAMONT ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE

Norwalk, CT - Ned Lamont, successful businessman, co-founder of the state policy center at Central Connecticut State University, and Democratic nominee for US Senate in 2006, announced that he will be filing papers today with the State Elections Enforcement Commission establishing an Exploratory Committee for statewide office:

"As I have continued to meet with citizens across our state over the last three years, as co-chairman of President Obama's Connecticut campaign and on behalf of health care reform, I have been constantly reminded that Connecticut is not living up to its potential and that too many of our families are being left behind," said Lamont.

"Like businesses, states thrive with strong executive leadership, and they fall behind with weak leadership. As measured by the loss of jobs, young people leaving our state, and the never-ending budget crisis, Connecticut's Chief Executive is simply not getting the job done."

There is no polling on Lamont in this campaign. Republian Governor Jodi Rell is able to run for another term, and was popular as of February. However, that could easily change in the current, anti-incumbent climate.

A couple other Democrats have announced they are running, as well.

There are not many progressive Democratic Governors.  Lamont's entry into this campaign could change that.

Boehner's Lame Excuse About Why the GOP Health Care Bill Sucks So Badly
Posted by mcjoan, Daily Kos on November 4, 2009 at 3:55 PM.

Yesterday, hours after the House Republicans healthcare "reform" plan was released and universally mocked, Rep. Boehner cried foul, insisting that this unauthorized leak was of a draft bill that wasn't finalized and hadn't been seen by members.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

MSNBC's Brewer Adopts Anti-Gay Rhetoric
Posted by Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America on November 4, 2009 at 2:53 PM.

GOP Senators on Environment Committee Hit All-Time Low, Third-Graders Have More Maturity
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on November 4, 2009 at 1:59 PM.

Keeping in step with the rest of the Party of No, this week 6 of the 7 Republicans on the Senate's Environment and Public Works committee are refusing to show up in a desperate attempt to stall action on the climate and clean energy bill.

Reminder me again why these people are paid public servants?

Their apparent gripe is that they want EPA to do more extensive modeling runs on the proposed legislation. But really, what they want is to make sure we never have a viable climate bill and most certainly not before Copenhagen.

Of course, the EPA has already done modeling on all of this -- 90 percent is the same as the House bill from last Spring. The Washington Post reported that the data was analyzed closely by EPA, the Congressional Budget Office, the Energy Information Administration and many NGOs. "Indeed, EPA Associate Administrator David McIntosh said Tuesday that the differences wouldn't even show up in the agency's computer modeling, leaving little reason to conduct a completely new analysis before committee work commences," the Washington Post reported.

So, their stunt is pure bogus and their motivation is equally sad. Noreen Nielson, Director for Energy Communications at Progressive Media writes:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Joe Lieberman In a Thong? New "Strip Joe" Game Allows You to See the Awful Truth
Posted by Adele Stan, AlterNet on November 4, 2009 at 12:45 PM.

Have you had enough of Sen. Joe Lieberman, and his on-again, off again threat to stop health-care reform legislation from coming to a vote? The folks at Agit-Prop have teamed up with CREDO to give you a way to let off some steam, even as you send a message to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to get tough with the Joester.

Called "Strip Joe," an animated online game allows you to wield a gavel with your cursor at various anatomical parts of the senator from the state of Aetna; wherever you land your gavel on the senator, he loses that piece of clothing. If you like what you see when you win, you can purchase your very own "GOP string" to add to your lingerie chest. (Made in USA!)

These are hijinks with a purpose, though. The game site allows viewers to sign on to a petition to Harry Reid that demands, "If Lieberman joins a GOP filibuster of the health care bill, strip him of his chairmanship." Lieberman chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Now, where did I leave my gavel?

Meet Some of the People Who Have Jobs Thanks to Obama's Recovery Act
Posted by Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, AlterNet on November 4, 2009 at 11:46 AM.

640,329

That figure represents the number of jobs that have been created or saved so far through the Recovery Act, according to a report released by the Obama administration on Friday.

But the true significance of this number lies in the people behind it.

People like Thalia Williams. Thalia is a single mother of a 3-year-old son, in Brooklyn, NY. "Construction is something that I wanted to do for a long time," she said. "I had no way of knowing how to get into this field because I always heard it was a man's world."

Now, thanks to an organization that is able to expand and recruit women using Recovery Act funds, Thalia has a job weatherizing homes in New York.

Watch her story here.

Thalia is just one of thousands of people who are finding jobs, hope, and opportunity in the clean-energy economy.

Their stories show the true return on investment that America’s communities are reaping from Recovery Act funding. (You can see more stories from the growing green economy on Green For All’s Green Economy Roadmap).

With just over one-quarter of the Recovery funds paid out, the jobs and opportunity created will only grow in the coming months.

In addition to creating jobs in the short term, the Recovery Act is proving to be an essential jumpstart to the clean-energy economy, seeding new programs and expanding successful models across the country.

But the Recovery Act was primarily meant to stabilize our economy in the midst of a sweeping recession, and most funding from the Act will end by 2011. To build a thriving, healthy economy for future generations, we need long-term investment and policies.

Congress now has the historic opportunity to provide that long-term stability, and build on the foundation laid by the Recovery Act through climate and clean-energy legislation.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

What Tuesday's Election Results Mean for the Bigger Political Picture: Nada
Posted by Joshua Holland, AlterNet on November 4, 2009 at 10:56 AM.

Partisans spin, and obviously political reporters have an interest in fabricating compelling "national story-lines" during dull off-year elections. So with this first supposed "test" of the Obama administration, the tea-leaf reading -- navel-gazing is probably a better metaphor -- is in high gear this morning. Is the right on the rebound? Has the GOP gotten its groove back? Was it all a referendum on the new president's policies? Oh dear, what is going on?

Below, Addie does a nice job following all the bouncing balls of yesterday's races, and I agree with her conclusion that the results signal that the Right is "organizing up a storm."

But I don't live in Jersey, Virginia or some rural NY district on the Canadian border, and I'm not interested in marrying some dude in Maine. So I find no meaning in these races, and there are plenty of good reasons why you shouldn't either (unless, of course, you're from Virginia or want to marry a person of the same sex in Maine -- in NY-23, Owens, a conservative Dem, will vote more or less like the mainline Republican Scozzafava would have had she been elected (he does support health reform, however), and New Jersey politics are so perennially screwed up that George Washington couldn't have governed the state effectively).

Let's look at some of the buzz floating around ...

The "red tide" of falling governorships is a referendum on Obama!

Nonsense. Here's the deal: University of Minnesota political scientist Eric Ostermeier went back and crunched some numbers from previous gubernatorial races in those states. He found that going back to 1989, New Jersey and Virginia have voted the same way in every election, and in every case, it was for the party that didn't control the White House. And over those past two decades, those votes have in no way correlated with various presidents' approval ratings.

Ostermeier:

Democrats swept the 1989, 2001, and 2005 elections in these two states - and were able to do so both when Republican Presidents were popular (George H.W. Bush at 57 percent approval on Election Day in 1989; George W. Bush at 84 percent in 2001) as well as unpopular (Bush at 42 percent approval in 2005).

Republicans, meanwhile, swept the 1993 and 1997 gubernatorial contests in the two states while Bill Clinton was in office - at both unpopular (in 1993, at 48 percent) and popular (in 1997, at 57 percent) periods of his presidency.

According to exit polls, 57 percent of New Jersey voters held a favorable opinion of Obama even as the electorate sent Christie to the Governor's mansion (and it was a less-than-apocalyptic 48 percent in VA). Let's also not forget that Corzine had been unpopular for a long time. Here's a report from April of 2008 -- just a few months into the Democratic presidential primaries -- headlined, "Study Says Corzine Popularity is Sinking", which found that only 38 percent of New Jersey voters approved of the job he was doing at that time.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Palin to Promote Her Book With Multiple Fox News Interviews: 'Variety Is the Spice of Life.'
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on November 4, 2009 at 9:18 AM.

On her Facebook page yesterday, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced that she was "very excited about the upcoming road trip" to promote her book, which will be released later this month. As CNN's Alexander Mooney notes, Palin “hinted she'd likely sit down with a string of friendly faces during the tour that begins in two weeks." Indeed, Palin is hoping to do interviews mainly with Fox News hosts and contributors:

We're in the process of arranging interviews with local and national media. An interview with Oprah Winfrey is already scheduled, and I'm also hoping to have the opportunity to talk with Bill O'Reilly, Barbara Walters, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Tammy Bruce, and others, including local Alaska personalities Bob & Mark and Eddie Burke. (Variety is the spice of life!)

As Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) vice presidential running mate in the 2008 election, Palin gave Fox multiple interviews while avoiding other news efforts. Apparently, she plans to follow the same strategy as she promotes her book.

What Tuesday's Elections Really Mean
Posted by Adele Stan, AlterNet on November 4, 2009 at 7:47 AM.

While the mainstream media yammer relentlessly about what last night's election results say about President Barack Obama, the real question is what they say about the power of the organized right wing of the Republican Party.

Yes, Obama campaigned vigorously for New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who lost narrowly to Republican Chris Christe, and less so for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, who lost by double digits to Republican Bob McDonnell. But those races turned on local issues more than anything on the Obama agenda.

In New Jersey, mounting property taxes -- a circumstance over which a governor has little control -- combined with high unemployment figures to put the electorate in a sour mood toward the incumbent. Add to that a major corruption scandal in North Jersey that didn't involve Corzine, but emcompassed a prominent member of his administration, added to the ill will.

Virginia's Deeds lost to McDonnell on what should have been a Democratic issue: transportation. Unemployment figures for Virginia are far below those of New Jersey, but in the home state of Thomas Jefferson, just getting to your job can be a source of misery.

But more than anything, the results of these races, taken together with the peculiar special election in the 23rd congressional district of New York State and the vote against same-sex marriage in Maine, offer one resounding warning: the right is getting its act together, organizing up a storm.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

New York Elections: Are Tea Party Activists the New GOP?
Posted by John Nichols, The Nation on November 4, 2009 at 7:15 AM.

Richard Viguerie, the legendary hard-right activist who spent much of the past decade arguing that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were too liberal, now declares that the days of even the most minimal moderation are now over in the Republican Party.

"Tea Party Activists Are the New GOP," says Viguerie.

There is little reason to argue with the man whose direct-mail campaigning funded the rise of the Republican right in the late 1970s and who grumbled loudly when Newt Gingrich, Bush, Cheney and Republican leaders tried to soften the party's roughest edges.

Viguerie isn't grumbling now.

He's celebrating. And rightly so.

Moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava, the party's nominee in Tuesday's special election for an open New York congressional seat, has suspended her campaign. And with that move, the new "new right" -- which Viguerie describes as "Tea Party activists, town hall protesters, and conservatives across the country" -- can claim a clear victory in its struggle to define the GOP as a far more extreme party than anything envisioned by Bush, Cheney or Gingrich.

Scozzafava, a state legislator, had the Republican ballot line and support from the party apparatus in Washington. But Tea Party and Town Hall activists -- and their mentors and funders such as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and the powerful Club for Growth -- threw their support behind Doug Hoffman, a more right-wing contender running on the New York Conservative Party line.

Scozzafava took a beating for her support for gay rights and abortion rights, her alliances with organized labor and her sympathy for the plight of the unemployed.

The attacks were brutal and they dried up financial support for the GOP nominee's campaign -- even though she began as a presumed frontrunner in New York's historically Republican 23rd district, where the seat went vacant after President Obama nominated moderate Republican Congressman John McHugh to serve as Secretary of the Army.

Reactionary Republicans, led by 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, threw their support to Hoffman.

With her poll numbers tanking, Scozzafava finally gave up with just three days to go before Tuesday's election.

Now that the GOP nominee is out of the running, Hoffman is well positioned to compete with Democratic newcomer Bill Owens in a race to fill a seat that has not elected a Democrat in more than a century.

Scozzafava said she would vote in Tuesday's special election for Democrat Owens, issuing a statement that read:

 

You know me, and throughout my career, I have been always been an independent voice for the people I represent. I have stood for our honest principles, and a truthful discussion of the issues, even when it cost me personally and politically.

It is in this spirit that I am writing to let you know I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same," Scozzafava added. "It's not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh's lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress.

No matter what its contours, the Hoffman-Owens result will be a footnote to the Scozzafava-Hoffman saga.

As GOP strategist Paul Erickson told The Washington Post with regard to the latter struggle: "This is entirely a battle over the definition and winning formula for Republican candidates going into the midterm elections of 2010 and beyond."

Erickson's point is well taken.

Republicans who have tried to move party back toward the political mainstream, after a three-year losing streak that has cost the GOP control of the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate and the White House, are frustrated -- and a little bit scared. As Gingrich, who backed the decision of local Republican leaders to nominate Scozzafava, explained: "I think we are going to get into a very difficult environment around the country if suddenly conservative leaders decide they are going to anoint people without regard to local primaries and local choices."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

What's Really Behind Conservative Infighting?
Posted by Booman on November 4, 2009 at 6:07 AM.

Sarah Palin, Dick Armey, and Rush Limbaugh are pushing for a purge of moderates from the Republican Party. To be sure, this is about book sales, radio ratings, and fundraising, but it is also about something else. The way to keep the GOP as the Party of No is to threaten every member of their caucuses in Washington with an energetic primary if they work with the Democrats or the Obama administration. It's not a serious way of regaining majorities in Congress. In fact, it's quite detrimental to that effort. But the Republicans don't really care about Congress. They care about the White House. They don't want Obama to succeed. They want him to fight and scrap for every vote, and cause internal strife within the Democratic caucus.

The more Obama has to trim his sails to pass legislation, the more ornery his base becomes at signs of weakness, compromise, and capitulation. If everything he accomplishes is done with no bipartisan support, it keeps the Republican base energized.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

President Elect Obama: 'Change Has Come to America' (Yes. He. Did.)
Posted by Barack Obama, AlterNet on November 4, 2008 at 10:17 PM.

President-Elect Barack Obama:



If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.



It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.



It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled ... Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.



It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.



It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Tonight's Schedule: Which States are Closing When and What's Important to Watch
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on November 4, 2008 at 2:57 PM.

We are, oddly enough, just a few minutes away from some states wrapping up voting for the day. It's probably a good time to talk a little about tonight's schedule.

At 6 p.m. eastern, the polls will close in Indiana and Kentucky.



For the past couple of election cycles, these two are called by the networks almost immediately, and are considered reliably Republican states. Tonight, Indiana may prove to be more interesting, with polls showing a close contest. Obama wouldn't necessarily need Indiana to get to 270, but if he wins the state's 11 electoral votes, it will reinforce the notion that McCain is in for a long night. (Also note, there are parts of Indiana, most notably Gary, where the polls won't close until 7 p.m. eastern.)



At 7 p.m. eastern, the polls will close in most of Florida, most of New Hampshire, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Vermont.



Obviously, there are some key electoral prizes here. If McCain loses Virginia, his paths to 270 shrink considerably. If McCain loses Florida, his chances all but disappear. Also, keep an eye on Georgia, where turnout has been amazing.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Don't Read Too Much into Exit Polls
Posted by Jason Linkins, Huffington Post on November 4, 2008 at 2:14 PM.

In a matter of hours, you are going to start hearing talk of exit polls.



But, before you get ahead of yourself, there's a question that needs to be asked: Should you trust the exit polling data? The short answer is: No. The longer answer is: Noooooooooooo. Right now, if there's one memory that remains -- stinging -- to a nation of Democratic voters it's the memory of a slate of crazy Kerry-leaning exit polls that made it look like Bush was going down to defeat at about 4:30pm on Election Day. It didn't turn out that way.



Marc Ambinder sums up the exit poll phenomena, thusly: First - "anyone who claims to have exit poll data before then is either lying or has really, really good sources." Second - "The problem with the exit polls has never really been a problem with the exit polls. They've been a problem with people incorrectly interpreting the exit polls; people who don't know what the exit polls actually are." I think that this is more or less true. Exit polls could be astoundingly accurate or terrifyingly wrong, but either way, there's one thing that everyone who pimps them has in common: none of them really have any idea what they are talking about.



Nate Silver, the proprietor of FiveThirtyEight.com, has a very good primer on exit polling up on his site that's worth a long look, but to summarize: exit polls have a much larger margin of error than regular polls, they tend to skew to the Democratic candidate, they proved to be really bad predictors this year, they actually miss a ton of voters, and, ultimately, they can never be reliably sourced. (Believe it or not, I ran across a website yesterday that purported to have exit poll data!)



So, if you must indulge in exit polling data, feel free. Accept it as another part of the election scenery, and do not put a lot of stock -- or pin too many of your hopes -- to these results. I cannot caveat this emptor enough, people.

White House Silent, Bush Doesn't Vote, on Election Day
Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress on November 4, 2008 at 1:52 PM.

The AP reports:

The quietest place in Washington today may have been the White House itself.


The president voted absentee several days ago, so there was no video of him at his precinct, no statements to reporters, no public appearance whatsoever.


Bush planned to spend his evening in the White House residence, watching TV coverage of election results and hosting a small dinner with his wife.

There was sure to be at least some celebrating -- today is the first lady’s birthday. Otherwise, it was a day when the White House purposely went dark.

Great Election Day Photos
Posted by Misty, Shakesville on November 4, 2008 at 12:11 PM.

Lincoln comes back to vote for Obama! LOL
(AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Voters wait in line to cast their vote at St. Jerome Parish in Los Angeles, November 4, 2008. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

Mattie Kate Lampley walks away from the metal storage shed where she cast her ballot for Barack Obama in the general election in Smut Eye, Ala., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008. Lampley said voting for Obama was special because voting rights were denied for so long. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Turnout High, but Some Polling Place Issues in Philadelphia
Posted by Steven Rosenfeld on November 4, 2008 at 11:00 AM.

Election Day started with heavy turnout in Philadelphia, where polling places quickly saw lines build and the biggest problems were new voters whose names were not on precinct lists and electronic voting machines that did not not work at the day's start.

The voter registration issues appeared to be more widespread, as election protection officials from the Obama campaign and the non-partisan "Committee of 70," a local watch group, noted that many people who had received voter registration cards in the mail were not listed on their precinct voter rolls.

Calls by those election protection officials to the city's Board of Election revealed that those voters' names were on the city's central voter list, which should entitle them to vote with a regular ballot. However, the BOE's instructions to precinct judges, according to these poll watchers, was that anybody who was not on precinct lists should be given a provisional ballot. Those ballots must be verified after Election Day before being counted.

The impact of this voter list snafu -- explained by one ward committeeman as a paperwork backlog by election administrators in this Democrat-controlled city -- is hard to gauge. At several polling places, the estimate was that perhaps as much as 5 percent of the voters were receiving provisional ballots.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

A Hot Hip-Hop Message for Young Voters
Posted by Jay, Ill Doctrine on November 4, 2008 at 9:36 AM.

Editor's note: Check out more of Jay's great work at www.illdoctrine.com.



Just give me one more week, and then I promise we get back to hip-hop and such. Maybe two weeks. Click here if you don't get the Leon Lett reference. Also check this West Philly Obama rap that Lindsay Campbell sent me (delivered over a Thieves in the Temple loop..!)

AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.

GO VOTE! ... Here's How to Make It Even More Fun
Posted by Justin Krebs, Open Left on November 4, 2008 at 9:13 AM.

The above note hangs on the wall of the Norristown, PA Obama office where my sister has been working.  A grandkid's plea...so here's mine:


Need it be said?  Go out there and vote.


Bring a child to watch you vote.

Bring a friend and double your vote.

Bring an umbrella, a book, a sound system -- make it a party, as Color of Change recommended to its list, to keep people engaged, keep them entertained and (most importantly) keep them in line.

High five strangers -- it's awesome.


If you're in NY, make your vote count more by voting for the Working Families Party line.


You've donated, you've blogged, you've swayed your friends.  If you have any hours today, do more than vote -- we need you in the field or on the phone, every hour you have.


Then - join friends afterward as we watch the results.


AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.

First in the Nation: Dixiville Notch, NH Goes for Obama
Posted by bmaz, Firedoglake on November 4, 2008 at 7:24 AM.

Obama Wins Dixville Notch!!!

Barack Obama -- 15

John McCain -- 6


Big upset, GOP always wins Dixville

UPDATE FROM HOWIE: Dixville Notch, New Hampshire has 75 residents and 21 registered voters. They just voted at midnight-- and the winner is... Barack Obama, a huge break with tradition for an overwhelmingly Republican bastion. The last Democrat to win there was Hubert Humphrey in 1968. Obama took 15 votes, McCain 6 and Nader 0. Jeanne Shaheen also won. And the other hamlet that votes at midnight, Hart's Location, population 42, also gave Obama a win-- 17-10.

Troopergate Report Assigned By Palin Is In
Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly on November 4, 2008 at 7:02 AM.

Three weeks ago, an independent investigation launched by the Alaskan legislature into Sarah Palin's abuse-of-power scandal wrapped up with a fairly devastating report -- Palin violated the public trust, violated state ethics laws, and lied about it. (Soon after, Palin, driven either out of ignorance or illiteracy, said the report had cleared her of "any hint of any kind of unethical activity," which is the opposite of reality.)



Palin and the McCain campaign decided it didn't like the independent investigation, and preferred a different probe, run by Alaska's personnel board, which is made up of members who answer to Palin.



And wouldn't you know it, on the night before the election, the board sided with Palin in a hastily released report.

A report released on Monday by a state board found that Gov. Sarah Palin did not apply improper pressure to try to dismiss a state trooper who was her former brother-in-law and did not violate state ethics laws in the firing of her public safety commissioner.

The report by the Alaska Personnel Board contradicts the conclusions last month of a separate inquiry into the matter overseen by a bipartisan legislative panel. The earlier inquiry found that Ms. Palin had breached a state ethics act by pressing to have the trooper, Mike Wooten, fired.

It appears that, as far as Palin's Alaska Personnel Board is concerned, this was a he-said, she-said situation. Walt Monegan described discussions he had with members of the Palin administration about the governor's ex-brother in law, while Palin and her aides said those conversations hadn't taken place. As far as the board's investigator was concerned, he believed the aides.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Proud to Be an American
Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress on November 4, 2008 at 6:58 AM.

According to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, more than "one-third of voters said the 2008 presidential election has made them 'more proud' to be an American. … Former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton may also have a hand in that sentiment. Some 40% of women over 50 years old, a core Clinton constituency in the primary, said they were more proud of their country — the highest level of any sub-group of voters, according to the poll."

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Palin's $150,000 Donation
Posted by Staff, AlterNet on November 4, 2008 at 6:46 AM.

From Burrito Justice:

Taking Your Happiness Where You Can Find It
Posted by Howie Klein, Down With Tyranny! on November 4, 2008 at 3:00 AM.

I went to the premier of Oliver Stone's movie, W and when I walked out a camera crew grabbed me and asked me what I thought. I said it was pretty good and that I enjoyed it. The interviewer wasn't happy with that. He wanted to know if I thought it would influence the election. "No," I don't think so," I said. Bush isn't running again and people sharp enough to realize that McCain would simply be another 4 year extension of his agenda have already made up their minds." That wasn't good enough for him either and he wanted to know how I would have changed the movie. Roland was starting to signal me that it was time to go and that he was hungry. "Well, if it was my movie and my world, Bush and Cheney would have been tried and the last scene would be the two of them walking up the steps to the gallows." That ended the interview... to Roland's satisfaction.

I know I'll never be completely happy but tomorrow I plan to revel in the good news as it comes in. Obama, of course, even if that means we get the baggage -- the Bidens and Emanuels and all kinds of horrible crap you can expect to hear Ken and I complaining about in the next few months-- but also the great news we expect to hear about Tim Walberg and Joe Knollenberg being defeated in Michigan, about the end of Ted Stevens' disgraceful career, about bona fide progressive leaders like Darcy Burner, Alan Grayson and Jared Polis being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where I expect them to do a lot more than take their seats and vote well, and maybe about some close calls coming through, like Jeff Merkley, Tom Perriello, Jim Himes, Joe Garcia, Martin Heinrich... maybe even some genuine miracles like Dennis Shulman, Debbie Cook, Larry Joe Doherty...

But for today, I'm looking for my bits and pieces of celebratory news elsewhere-- and I don't even mean the final poll numbers showing Obama expanding his lead over McCain, ahead in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania and even leading with a crushing margin in Fox's own silly biased polls. Sure I'm taking a great deal of pleasure seeing the ignorant assholes who inflicted 8 years of Bush on the rest of us depressed and disheartened and in no mood to even bother cheering on McCain's dying or dead campaign. I hope they don't bother voting tomorrow so all their down-ballot rubber stamp candidates lose as well. And, yeah, I'm delighted to know that when cell phone users are counted properly, Obama's polling numbers shoot up, and I'm delighted to see that McCain's negative and vicious smears-- like the scurrilous Dole attacks on Hagan we discussed this morning-- backfired and helped wreck his miserable, vile campaign.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Right-Wing Christian Cleric Caught Soliciting Underage Boys for Sex
Posted by Steven Reynolds, The All Spin Zone on November 4, 2007 at 7:13 AM.

This post, written by Steven Reynolds, originally appeared on The All Spin Zone

CSI: Sex Crimes Among Christian Conservatives, has caught themselves another perpetrator. This one is from a megachurch in Florida. His victims are underage boys.

This one is Marshal Seymour, formerly of the Lakeland, FL megachurch First Baptist Church at the Mall. (Hey, if you look at their web site you'll see why the "Mall" in the name is so, so appropriate. These folks are marketing themselves like mad, to mothers of preschoolers, bikers. . . I'm sure they'll have a ministry for child molesters soon.) Marshal is charged paying young people for sex, or maybe just paying them to keep quiet about it. According to Tampa Bay Online:

After two weeks of investigation, Lakeland police arrested a trusted church member and accused him of sex offenses involving three boys he mentored at the church.

"This is a pastor's worst nightmare," Dennis said.

Marshal Seymour, a 40-year-old student ministry volunteer at Lakeland's prominent First Baptist Church at the Mall, turned himself in Friday night after Lakeland police issued a warrant.

Seymour met his victims through the church and paid them to perform sex acts or to keep quiet about sexual encounters, Lakeland police said. The boys were 15, 16 and 17 at the time of the incidents, which occurred during the past two years, according to arrest documents.

Seymour is charged with three counts of using a child in sexual performance and one count each of unlawful sexual activity and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

And I love this part of the article. Man, it reads a bit like the Roman Catholic child sex scandals, doesn't it, with clergy and volunteers getting caught and then just going on to another church?

The Lakeland police investigation revealed that Seymour had been arrested on felony sex charges in Mobile County, Ala., in 1998. The circumstances were similar, with Seymour accused of victimizing a boy he met at church, Lakeland police said.

However, the charges were reduced to misdemeanor assault, and Seymour was sentenced to a suspended one-year sentence in 1999, police said. That's the same year he came to Lakeland and First Baptist Church at the Mall.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Retired JAGs On Waterboarding: "It Is Inhumane, It Is Torture, And It Is Illegal"
Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress on November 4, 2007 at 7:08 AM.

This post, written by Amanda Terkel, originally appeared on Think Progress

Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey has repeatedly refused to state whether or not waterboarding is illegal. In a legal dodge, Mukasey called the torture technique "hypothetical" and said that he would need the "actual facts and circumstances" to strike a "legal opinion."

But in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), four retired Judge Advocates General (JAGs) -- the judicial arm of the U.S. military -- sharply criticize Judge Mukasey's legal hedging. They unequivocally state that waterboarding is torture. From their letter:

In the course of the Senate Judiciary Committee's consideration of President Bush's nominee for the post of Attorney General, there has been much discussion, but little clarity, about the legality of "waterboarding" under United States and international law. We write because this issue above all demands clarity: Waterboarding is inhumane, it is torture, and it is illegal. [...]

This is a critically important issue - but it is not, and never has been, a complex issue, and even to suggest otherwise does a terrible disservice to this nation. [...]

In this instance, the relevant rule - the law - has long been clear: Waterboarding detainees amounts to illegal torture in all circumstances. To suggest otherwise - or even to give credence to such a suggestion - represents both an affront to the law and to the core values of our nation.

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Top Fred Thompson Donor Is a Drug Dealer
Posted by Howie Klein, Down With Tyranny! on November 4, 2007 at 6:26 AM.

This post, written by Howie Klein, originally appeared on Down With Tyranny!

So Rudy Giuliani isn't the only Republican presidential hopeful who chose a big-time drug dealer for his campaign. According to tomorrow's Washington Post, Frederick of Hollywood "has been crisscrossing the country since early this summer on a private jet lent to him by a businessman and close adviser who has a criminal record for drug dealing." Philip Martin, the alleged "businessman" was in the same "business" as the head of Giuliani's South Carolina campaign, selling cocaine.

Martin entered a plea of guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979; the court withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. He was charged in 1983 with violating his probation and with multiple counts of felony bookmaking, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from a plan to sell $30,000 worth of the drug, and was continued on probation.

This story is starting to sound very familiar-- and not just because of the cocaine. When Giuliani was confronted with Bernie Kerik's criminal past-- which court documents show he was clearly made aware of before he appointed Kerik to a string of jobs that proved very lucrative for both of them (and long before he tried getting Bush to appoint Kerik, despite his strong ties to the Mafia, to run the Dept. of Homeland Security-- he denied knowing anything (a blatant lie). Guess what Thompson says? Yep, he's reading right from the Giuliani playbook. Thompson claims he "was not aware of the multiple criminal cases" against the close friend who is known as "the head of 'Thompson's Airforce.'" The campaign says they didn't vet Martin because he was such a close personal friend of Sir Frederick's. Watch, in 2 weeks, they'll be claiming they never really knew each other.

Thompson's frequent flights aboard Martin's twin-engine Cessna 560 Citation have saved him more than $100,000, because until the law changed in September, campaign-finance rules allowed presidential candidates to reimburse private jet owners for just a fraction of the true cost.

I'll bet this doesn't get the kind of prolonged media attention the relatively innocuous Norman Hsu did for his Clinton donations even though "Martin has been more than just a key fundraiser to Thompson." Apparently there were tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of dollars in flights that have not been properly accounted for.

There have been rumors around Hollywood for years that aside from being a notorious woman-chaser, Thompson is also a big-time coke hound. That would certainly explain the closeness with Martin, who has also been in cahoots with a shady right-wing extremist Zach Wamp, now a Tennessee congressman. "Archived Florida court records provide details of the various cases against Martin, including alleged sports-betting activity, a cocaine deal he arranged with an undercover sheriff's deputy and carried out through a middleman, and the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana to an undercover detective for $3,400. Martin produced the marijuana from the trunk of his 1973 Cadillac as the two were parked behind a Tampa-area department store, according to the arrest report.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Are the Moonies and Japan headed for a new Clash of Civilizations?
Posted by Joshua Holland on November 4, 2006 at 12:48 PM.

Let's put three stories about seafood -- two new and one old but not well known -- together and see what shakes out.

I'm a huge sushi fan (all left-gatekeepers drink latté and eat sushi) so I was troubled, to say the least, to learn that every time I bite into a deliciously slimy bit of uni I am, in all likelihood, throwing money at wacky cultist and right-wing propagandist Sun Myung Moon:

In a remarkable story that has gone largely untold, Moon and his followers created an enterprise that reaped millions of dollars by dominating one of America's trendiest indulgences: sushi.

Adhering to a plan Moon spelled out more than three decades ago in a series of sermons, members of his movement managed to integrate virtually every facet of the highly competitive seafood industry. The Moon followers' seafood operation is driven by a commercial powerhouse, known as True World Group. It builds fleets of boats, runs dozens of distribution centers and, each day, supplies most of the nation's estimated 9,000 sushi restaurants.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Protecting the Vote-- AlterNet Resources Page
Posted by The Masher on November 4, 2006 at 12:47 PM.

Many dozens of groups, lawyers, video makers, activists, bloggers, and concerned people are gearing up to make sure voters rights are protected and their votes counted.

AlterNet has gathered together in one place many of the resources and ideas available to help. Whether it is locating your polling place, reporting voter suppression, shooting video, receiving emergency text messages or getting rewards for evidence of voter fraud, you will find it all here, in AlterNet's Voter Protection: Action & Resources.

Republican wants 2000-mile fence
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 2:10 PM.

"Rep. Duncan Hunter (R), the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee wants to spend 8 billion dollars to build a 2000-mile fence between the United States and Mexico," writes Peek co-blogger Lindsay Beyerstein. "Hunter says that 9/11 convinced him that his plan was necessary."

That's funny, I thought the GOP misinformation chorus convinced Americans that the hijackers were from Iraq. Similar complexion, anyone could make the mistake. You wouldn't, you know, suggest a similar fence to the North then.

Lindsay continues: "It's a brilliant GOP plan: We may not have healthcare, jobs, or rights, but at least we'll all be able to say we live in a gated community." (Majikthise)

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Kerry thinks election was stolen
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 12:25 PM.

The elephant in the room (no pun intended... I think) of all political discussions is voter fraud. Whatever is right or effective, whatever flashy new theory arrives and takes hold -- be it framing, the end of the liberal project, "the west coast strategy," what have you -- is utterly useless if the game is rigged.

Of course it's a dicey issue and must be handled with the utmost care. Care for what is -- and is NOT -- provable; what your goal is; where the electorate, media and politicians are at...

On Democracy Now! this morning while debating the results of the 2004 election, Mark Crispin Miller dropped this bomb:

"[Kerry] told me he now thinks the election was stolen. He says he doesn't believe he is the person that can be out in front because of the sour grapes question. But he said he believes it was stolen. He says he argues with his democratic colleagues on the hill. He said he had a fight with Christopher Dodd because he said there's questions about the voting machines and Dodd was angry."

Wow. Not sure quite what to make of that, but this sets the mind much more at ease:

"My aim here – let me just say one thing – my aim here is not to challenge the outcome of the election in any way that would mean let’s, like, install Kerry in the White House. That’s not constitutional, and I think when Kerry conceded, he forfeited his moral right to do that anyway. The purpose of this book is to jumpstart a crucial movement for election reform. We need electoral reform as soon as possible, because if we don't have it, if we don’t let the scandal of last year resonate and we don’t have the requisite response of reform, we are cooked, we’re finished as a democracy."

UPDATE: Robert Parry has interviewed longtime Kerry adviser and former deputy assistant secretary of state Jonathan Winer, who corroborates Miller's claim that Kerry has serious doubts about the election's outcome.

(DemocracyNow! Hat tip: Scott Thill)

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Impeachment
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 10:36 AM.

A Zogby poll of "likely voters" reveals that a majority of Americans support a consideration of impeachment "if Bush lied about the war."

Which is exceedingly difficult to prove, of course.

While among likely voters the numbers were 51% for and 46% against, among all Americans the gap widens to 53% for and 42% against. Among other things these numbers seem to indicate that unlikely voters are likely to support tougher anti-administration rhetoric.

Perhaps the most interesting numbers, as John Byrne and Miriam Rafferty point out, is that "46 percent of those who considered themselves 'born again' said they would support Congress considering impeachment."

They also note that AfterDowningStreet.org, the group that commissioned the poll, has set up a political action committee ImpeachPac, to support Democrats who support impeachment. (RawStory)

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"Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act"
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 9:35 AM.

First Harry Reid says "enougha this freakin' crap" and sends the senate into closed session (and the Republicans into paroxysms) and now Frank Lautenberg has introduced an amendment to de-Orwell the latest Republican bill.

Bursting with pride, Scott Shields writes: "Frank Lautenberg introduced an amendment to change the name of the Republicans' 'Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005' to the 'Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act.'"

Lautenberg comments on the amendment: "Let's call this bill what it is -- a moral disaster... This bill would close the door of opportunity and cut critical services to the poor, elderly, sick and hungry."

Though the amendment has little chance of passing, that's not the point. The point is, it's the Grand Unification Theory we've been yearning for: marrying the moral imperative to some good ol' fashioned grandstanding. Hale-fucking-lujah. (MyDD)

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Gannon!
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 7:31 AM.

"Jeff Gannon’s weblog is a gift from Providence," gushes The Poorman. In case you forgot, or were trapped under a heavy object for most of the Spring, Gannon was the reporter-esque character who trolled White House press briefings throwing softball questions to the administration and who was ultimately "unmasked" as a credential-less right wing hack and part-time prostitute.

Gannon's blog on Reid's bold move to demand justice from the senate (bold is the Poorman's):

"Democrats claim to want a debate about pre-war intelligence and an investigation into the alleged leaking of the identity of Joe Wilson’s wife. Any such discussion must include a no-holes-barred examination of the Central Intelligence Agency. This will reveal that not only was the agency dysfunctional as the result of eight years of politicization under the Clinton administration, a rogue element within the organization of which Valerie Plame was a part, ran an operation to undermine the Bush administration’s policy toward Iraq."

The Poorman: "No-holes-barred. You can take the man out of e-whoring, as they say, but you can’t take the e-whore out of the man. So to speak. In a related story, Mr. Gannon apparently blogs wearing nothing but a dainty pair of Freudian slippers." (ThePoorman)

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Go back to the five and dime Jimmy Carville
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 6:23 AM.

It used to be a cute little act. Democratic operative James Carville married to Republican operative Mary Matalin. His fiery mouth forestalled accusations of conflicted interest.

Not so anymore, according to Arianna Huffington who begs: "Can somebody please, please, please shut Carville up -- especially about Plamegate. His takes on the scandal are utterly compromised by his marriage to Mary Matalin."

What with Matalin's boss being Dick Cheney it's just a bit disturbing to see Carville responding to a direct question as to whether Dick should answer some of the tough questions with: "The Vice nothing"? "There are no Vices around here"? The buck doesn't stop with the Vice President?" I share Arianna's disbelief: "Are you kidding me? The Vice President's office is Ground Zero on Plamegate -- and on the Bush administration's push for war."

A priceless quote from Carville predicting a win in '04 ought to be the walking papers for his tired old schtick: "if we can't win this one, then we can't win shit! And we need to completely rethink the Democratic Party." Well, he hasn't. (HuffPost)

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Pharma team
Posted by Evan Derkacz on November 4, 2005 at 5:12 AM.

I have a stock reaction to marketing: brilliant and sick. Twisted and ingenious. It's the impulse that accounts for inflated sales of Manson or Hitler books.

"Big Pharma's trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, has finally gone all the way, commissioning a novel about mid east terrorists who plan to murder thousands of Americans by--are you ready?--poisoning drugs imported from Canada by US citizens fed up with obscene drug prices," writes Revere, noting that coincidentally, this is exactly the BS they tried to sell congress.

When caught in the act what'd they do? Deny, blame a peon, change the subject. Strictly Bush league. Higher-ups called the idea "looney tunes" and claimed that the employee on the project was a renegade acting alone. Or maybe Joe Wilson told her to do it. (Effect Measure)

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