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Thursday, April 27, 2006

4 get jail in election day tire slashing

Judge says probation doesn't atone for crime

By MEG JONES
mjones@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 26, 2006

Tossing aside a plea agreement that called for probation, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael B. Brennan sentenced four Democratic Party workers to jail Wednesday for slashing tires on 25 vans rented by Republicans to take voters to polls for the 2004 presidential election.

Calling the vandalism more than harmless hijinks, Brennan admonished the men, including the sons of two prominent Milwaukee politicians, for disenfranchising voters. The judge said he had received letters from county residents upset over the crime.

View artilce online--  http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=418855

Thursday, April 20, 2006

The Playboy Legacy

Matthew Scully, writing for the Wall Street Journal (3/31/06) about the occasion of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s 80th birthday,
 said this: “. . . you won’t find too many women these days who think that the world is better because of Playboy or the smug, selfish ethic it has always purveyed.  For good reason has the Playboy Foundation long been a benefactor to NARAL Pro-Choice American and Planned Parenthood:  The Playboy Philosophy has always been for the ladies, too, all right—just so long as they remember what they’re good for, don’t get too sentimental and feel grateful when the playboy in their own life offers to pay for the abortion.”

The Dog That Isn't Barking

 
by Hugh Hewitt

A half dozen retired generals have been very vocal in their criticisms of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld this past week. The current and former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have rebutted the criticisms, and retired Chair of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers has gone on television to deplore what is in his view an erosion of the long-standing traditions of the military when it comes to politics.

The generals critical of Rumsfeld are, of course, within their First Amendment rights to speak, but it is important that the media take note of the dog that isn't barking in this instance, specifically the thousands of the estimated 4,700 retired generals and admirals that are not stepping forward to blast away at Rumsfeld. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal published a piece by generals representative of this vast majority who support Rumsfeld.

The only vote that matters on whether Rumsfeld stays or goes is the president's, of course, and he is standing right behind his controversial but victory-oriented and transformation-bringing secretary of defense.

Hugh Hewitt is the host of the Hugh Hewitt Show.

Absentee voter madhouse

I am hearing from all boards of elections I've been in touch with that absentee voting is higher than in the past.
 
A couple of things that may be causing this is that for the first time anyone can vote absentee on demand, that is without a BS story, such as "I'll be out of town" or whatever.
 
Another theory is that several voters may be worried about new electronic voting machines and may be voting absentee to avoid the problems.
 
...Or it could just be a high turnout election, with (gasp!) contested primaries.
 
 
So you may want to join the rush and get your voting done now.  Attached are links for absentee ballot requests for Cuyahoga and Summit counties AND the Ohio Secretary of State's office (for anywhere else in Ohio).
 
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Ohio Secretary of State absentee request form (Good for anywhere in Ohio, you must mail to your local board of elections)-
 
Cuyahoga County absentee ballot-
 
Summit County absentee ballot-

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Democratic Party Rift

view online--
Posted by Yellow Dog Sammy on Ohio 2006 blog,

11th Dist. Caucus Meeting: Democratic Party, Heal Thyself

Last night I attended a meeting of the 11th District Caucus, the political organization of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, at The Civic in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. I had a number of reasons for going, but a major one was to assess what a politically-connected friend had told me. He said that the simmering feud between statewide party leaders (ODP Chairman Chris Redfern and front-running gubernatorial candidate Rep. Ted Strickland in particular) and African-American political leaders (especially Tubbs Jones) is getting worse instead of better, and that at this point Tubbs Jones is inclined to "sit this one out," i.e., to withhold her considerable support from Strickland's campaign. So, is it that bad?

Yes, maybe worse. There is a grievous wound in the Ohio Democratic party, it has been allowed to fester far too long, and some very strong medicine must be applied immediately or the outcome may be a catastrophe in November. Indeed, it may already be too late to heal the wound, but the attempt must be made this instant......
Tubbs Jones proceeded to announce endorsements by her organization....And for Governor? Tubbs Jones announced that there will be no endorsement in the gubernatorial race.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Black Activists Say Allegations Regarding Rep. Cynthia McKinney Deserve Investig

For Release: April 6, 2006
Contact: David Almasi at 202/543-4110 x11
or Project21@nationalcenter.org


Project 21 members have the following comments on the current grand jury investigation of U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) for her alleged assault on a U.S. Capitol police officer:

"McKinney should be arrested and prosecuted for assault, just like any other American," said Project 21 member Deroy Murdock.  "That's called equal justice under law.  She should look into it."

Murdock added: "Rather than explain herself and apologize for hitting this officer, which would make this whole thing go away, Representative McKinney decided to go ballistic and turn this into a matter of alleged sexism and racism.  Are the Capitol Police now supposed to look the other way when women, blacks or those who are both black and female walk into the U.S. Capitol without stopping to be checked or identified?  Is this the policy Representative McKinney really considers wise during wartime and while Washington is appropriately concerned about terrorist attacks?"

"This is not a matter of gender or race.  This is a matter of security and law," said Project 21 member Gregory Parker.  "No elected official or their ego is above the law.  Simply identifying herself would have saved all of us the headache of this grand jury, investigation and the race and gender allegations that do little to help race relations.  It also could have saved the taxpayers' money."

On March 29, Representative McKinney reportedly struck a police officer in a U.S. Capitol office building.  The officer sought to stop her after she quickly bypassed the building's security area.  Members of Congress are exempt from normal security procedures, but Representative McKinney was not wearing the pin that identifies her as a member of Congress at the time.  She also recently changed her hairstyle.

According to reports, the officer asked Representative McKinney to stop three times before reaching out to detain her.  At that point, she reportedly struck the officer in the chest.  Representative McKinney issued an apology on April 6, but only after she and her attorney alleged she was the victim of racial profiling and "inappropriate touching" by the officer.

For more information, contact David Almasi at (202) 543-4110 x11 or Project21@nationalcenter.org, or visit Project 21's website at http://www.project21.org/P21Index.html. New Visions Commentaries can be found at http://nationalcenter.org/P21NewVisions.html.

-30-

Pig Book Exposes Record $29 Billion in Pork Government Spending!

For Immediate Release
Contact: Tom Finnigan/Jessica Shoemaker

(202) 467-5309 / 467-5318
April 5, 2006

 

CAGW’s 2006 Pig Book Exposes Record
$29 Billion in Pork!

Washington, D.C. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released the 2006 Congressional Pig Book at a press conference today.  The Pig Book is CAGW’s annual compilation of all the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. 

The 2006 Pig Book identifies 9,963 pork projects in the 11 appropriations bills for fiscal 2006, a 29 percent decrease over last year’s total of 13,997.  However, the total cost of these earmarks is a record $29 billion, or 6.2 percent more than last year’s total of $27.3 billion.  The cost of pork has increased by 29 percent since fiscal 2003.  CAGW has identified $241 billion of pork since 1991.

“Pork-barrel spending illustrates and contributes to the meltdown of spending restraint in Washington,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Instead of averting an impending fiscal crisis, members of Congress are grabbing the spoils to support their own re-election.”

The Pig Book features a complete database of projects, profiles the most egregious examples, breaks down pork per capita by state, and presents the annual Oinker Awards.  Highlights include:  

* $1 million for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative;

* $550,000 for the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington;

* $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, North Carolina;

* $500,000 for the Arctic Winter Games in Alaska;

* $250,000 for the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa; and

* $100,000 for the Richard Steele Boxing Club in Henderson, Nevada;

“The lobbying scandals show the extent to which earmarks are abused,” Schatz said.  “The Pig Book presents almost 10,000 more reasons for serious earmark reform.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

###

This Reign of McCain Has Really Been a Pain

 Muth's Truths
by Chuck Muth, www.chuckmuth.com
April 9, 2006

By all accounts, there are a herd of additional shoes yet to drop in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.  The question is whether or not this public scrutiny will be limited to just the low-lying fruit, or if some serious investigations will take place - including an investigation of one of the chief investigators: St. John McCain, Arizona Republican.

When stories of Jack Abramoff taking various Indian tribes to the cleaners first hit the press, McCain - Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and author of the un-American, anti-free speech McCain-Feingold campaign censorship law - decided this would be an excellent opportunity to settle some old scores, help out some old pals, and do what Sen. McCain does best...get media attention for Sen. McCain.

But here's what's wrong with Sen. McCain using his position as chief of the Indian Affairs committee to pursue an "investigation" of the Indian lobbyist matter:  First, this taxpayer-funded fishing expedition has dragged on for over two years now.  Heck, the Paula Jones investigation AND the impeachment of Bill Clinton combined took less time.  Secondly, McCain - or more specifically, his all-but-officially-declared presidential campaign - appears to have profited from this crusade more than truth, justice and the American way.

Before McCain's investigatory machine sprung into action, Jack Abramoff and another GOP lobbyist named Scott Reed were the two top lobbying dogs for Indian tribes.  Yet McCain has used his committee to subject Abramoff's dealings to a veritable proctological exam while all but ignoring Reed.  What's up with that?

Well, you see, Jack Abramoff had strong connections in conservative circles, and McCain has no love for conservative grassroots activists.  Suffice it to say that movement conservatives, especially Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), had a LOT to do with derailing McCain's "Straight Talk Express" in the 2000 presidential primary.  And McCain hasn't forgotten.

As for Reed, there's no love lost there with conservatives either.  A philosophical liberal, Reed is perhaps best known for "titanic'ing" the disastrous 1996 Bob Dole presidential campaign.  He subsequently transformed into a fat-cat lobbyist and "useful idiot" for Big Labor.  Nevertheless, Reed still has deep ties into the GOP's moderate establishment wing dating back to his days with the Republican National Committee.  He'd be an asset to anyone running for president in 2008.  Like...well, John McCain.

Now, as McCain's pursuit of Abramoff and grassroots conservatives progressed, including subpoenas for emails and donor records from ATR, Norquist responded by, according to Ryan Lizza of The New Republic, charging "that McCain's entire investigation was actually an elaborate plot to help McCain's favored influence-peddlers score Abramoff's ex-clients."  This was a clear reference to Reed.  But not without cause.

As the Washington insider newspaper The Hill reported in March 2004, McCain wrote at least one letter on Senate letterhead praising Reed to one of Abramoff's clients, the Saginaw Chippewa.  Five days later, Abramoff was fired and the Saginaw Chippewa tribe retained Reed.  In addition, columnist Bob Novak reported last December that on the eve of the investigation's hearings, Reed handed some $200,000 in bundled contributions to McCain.

Does this smell, or what?

For his part, again according to Lizza, Reed confronted Norquist on the street in front of ATR's building and told the anti-tax conservative to, well, uh...do that sex thing to himself which Dick Cheney once suggested to Pat Leahy - if you get my drift and I think you do.  Like I said...no love lost.

The thing is, this McCain "investigation" looks like a real scandal in and of itself.  If there are/were actual crimes involved, that's what the Justice Department is for, not the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.  Instead, McCain appears to be using his committee and his position to (a) grandstand for his 2008 presidential campaign, (b) pay back conservatives who opposed him in 2000, and (c) scratch the back of a well-heeled lobbyist who is scratching right back.

This is not what congressional hearings are supposed to be about.  This smacks of abuse of senatorial power.  But will anyone in the fawning mainstream press, with whom McCain has had a long-standing love affair, take this "maverick" to task for his McCarthy-like behavior?  Don't hold you breath waiting.  The media won't do anything to jeopardize a potential John McCain vs. Hillary Clinton race in 2008.  Between now and then, St. John could almost get away with murder.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Blacks to GOP?

From the Ashbrook Center's No Left Turns Blog
 
 

From this morning’s Washington Post: "An internal document prepared by a top Democratic strategist warns that a majority of African American voters in Maryland are open to supporting Republican Senate candidate Michael S. Steele and advises the party not to wait to "’knock Steele down.’" The report says that as much as 44% of likely black voters could abandon the Dems. Now, if you are a Democratic operative, you tell me why this is only true in Maryland? Why not Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Michigan, for example?
by Peter Schramm