Revive The Democrats

Iraq ... I think that says it all

2006-06-26T19:21:00.000-04:00

Just like one point last week? Week before? I have had trouble deciding where to place my outrage. Iraq looks good.

Two stories on RawStory that are talking about the faulty intelligence, here and here. In another story, the military apparently is on board with 45% of Americans and 99% of Iraqis in that American troops need to start leaving as soon as possible.

Lastly, some non-spun news from Iraq.

Ned Lamont

2006-06-17T15:08:00.000-04:00

I don't want to be left out so I have to endorse Ned Lamont for Democratic Party's Candidate for Senate. I don't live in Connecticut though so I am not sure how much I matter. We all know that my senators are Babs Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes (soon to be Ben Cardin).

With that being said, even if you don't agree with my endorsement, I encourage you to do your own research. Not to simply vote the incumbent or the name you know. I say that you should know who you are going to vote for and why before you are standing in line at the polls.

Project Vote Smart is a good place to start.

Bush does not care about you ... again

2006-06-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

Looky here. The reason why you don't have any Federal assistance after your house was hit by a tornado is because you voted against your best interest. Do homosexuals still scare you? Or a government that doesn't care if you are in the street.

I hope for you that your homeowner's insurance covers everything, I can't seem to find a charity to donate to for this because I would. Comment if you got one.

Maryland Electricity

2006-06-17T11:46:00.000-04:00

I know that this isn't on everyone's mind, it is on mine. It is tough to follow but this could be the next California. They are already starting to talk about the possibility of rolling blackouts.

Here is an article that can bring you up to date.

Apparently, none of my elected officials mind playing politics with my power bill. I have elected to take my rate increase as soon as possible. This is because it is more expensive in the long run, with surcharges and interest.

It is also fairly windy here and I am thinking that a wind generator isn't so bad of an idea. This is another example of how a bad/non-existent energy policy is detrimental to the average person. I am try to look at this objectively and I realize that BGE needs to make a profit. I also know that de-regulation in theory is a good idea and this could ultimately lead to somewhere good. Right now it doesn't look like it.

Here is a link to find out if you can get competitive electricity. I did the form and checked with each of the suppliers listed about 2 months ago. Most of the links were dead, the I sent emails where available, and have heard back from precisely 1 (ONE!). That competitve supplier sent me an email to tell me that they couldn't service me.

I think now that BGE isn't keeping their electricity artifically low, more people can enter the market with "green" energy and things like that. Now that other energy companies can actually compete.

Stay tuned.

The all important Flag-burning amendment

2006-06-14T21:30:00.000-04:00

I just saw this come across at Polling Report; the Flag-burning amendment. While I won't be out on my front lawn burning a flag, I would hope that you could if you wanted.

We've been through this, stop wasting Congressional time. This poll will only get the Republicans motivated even more. I understand that you don't like it, I don't like it. But seriously, we know that this isn't going to make it and all I have to say is, "What about Iraq? You voted for that and you want to keep troops there indefinetly."

What is this

2006-06-14T15:31:00.000-04:00

Someone explain if possible:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hc109-338

It appears to me that this is a vote for acknowledging that Terrorism is bad and people involved in it is bad. Please advise via comments.

Help me Understand the Message

2006-06-14T13:04:00.000-04:00

I worry that this election like others will turn into the "we are not them", style election. It usually works for the election but not for the governing. This was the best "strategy" that the Democrats have going for them right now. But I ask myself, "how do we stay there?"

I would think that it goes back to what Ed Schultz says all the time, and that is to stay on message. The Republicans have been able to stay on message so well. Then they come up with their little catch phrases. Flip-flop, Up or Down Vote, etc.

So in that spirit, my significant other and I have come up with Power to the People. Power to choose, power to keep government out of my pocket, power to enjoy freedom. I realize that power to choose has many different ways of being interpreted. In this context, I would like to clarify that this is all choices. Not just big choices like who I am to marry or not, live or not, or what am I going to be when I go up. Choice from where I get my energy, choice of doctor I can have, or whatever.

Comment on what choices you feel the government is choosing for you.

I think that Dean and the crew should re-brand this into a movement by the Democratic party to actually being for Democracy. Right now I feel like there is no message. I went out to Democrats.org and looked for the message, this is the best I could find. Compare that with the Republican version. The Dems have far too many words, and scrolling. I feel like I need a nap. The other issue I see is that the language between the two is very similar.

Maybe this isn't the best time to bring it up, but I think that someone needs to start thinking about it sooner rather than later. At least so that there is a direction when we win.

Comments on Rove

2006-06-13T18:32:00.000-04:00

I am skeptical, as is Josh Micah Marshall, that Patrick Fitzgerald sent a letter to Rove's lawyer that said Rove is in the clear. This is about the third time I have heard about this today. I can't exactly point to where the others were.

But if I were Rove or his attorney, I would have released it. Of course, I would have thought that Fitzgerald would have said nut-uh by now. Hopefully, Fitzgerald sent it to take some of the heat off for now, and then hit him with it in August.

More on Hoyer and Net Neutrality

2006-06-13T11:05:00.000-04:00

I have calmed down a little bit, and did some research. Go to this web site and see how your Congress person voted:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=main&bill=h109-5252

Then I went out to Open Secrets and reviewed my Congress person's contributions. Hoyer has received $73,750 just in this election cycle. Or around 9% of the contributions. While that doesn't sound like a lot, it is the 4th largest contributing sector for our man Hoyer. So I think I may take notice if someone gave me that much money.

Looking at his PAC contributions, we see that Bell South and Qwest are in the list. Thinking ... There is not Qwest or Bell South in his district. There is also a limited amount of Comcast.

Then I looked at Direct Contributors and I find that there is $10,000 from the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn who we see is clearly against Net Neutrality. They are very sneaky in how they say that their against it. They imply that Net Neutrality is a form of regulation that will stifle the progress of the Internet. While it is regulation, it is a regulation to help keep the Internet as a free marketplace for ideas and information.

I wonder who Hoyer consulted about this. Or if he even bothered to listen to anyone besides the NCTA and Industry? He should also look at the fact that most of his money comes from Individuals and if they have to pay more for Internet then the will be less likely to give him money.

Net Neutrality

2006-06-12T16:31:00.000-04:00

I just found out that my Congressman, Steny Hoyer Minority Whip, voted against keeping the Internet free. I wonder if someone ever even told him the way he was voting.

I went to his fundraiser on Friday and he seemed a decent guy. He had the proverbial "have a drink with him" factor. However, I do have an issue with some of the ways that he votes.

This proves that it is not enough to have a democrat in your seat but to have a democrat that votes your way.

I wonder how much he was payed off in order to vote for this heinous bill. I will have to work on my senators next.

[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]

2006-06-09T08:24:00.000-04:00

This is my first post from my handheld. Hope it works out for me.

My old friend Arlen Specter is at it again. Yesterday it was he had a hissy fit in a public letter about Cheney snubbing him. Instead of sticking to his guns, he apparently was given a private spanking and had introduced another law that the administration will ignore.

Another event is that the Estate Tax repealed failed. I was worried that more farmers who weren't in danger of losing their farms, still wouldn't lose their farms. Whew.

I guess we'll continue to ignore real issues like health care, body armor, and the Downing Street Memo (remember!).

But at least we got the leader of one of the leaders of one of insurgent groups in Iraq. I was watching this morning that no one is allowed to use vehicles in Baghdad and other areas this morning. If anything should be remembered by the US is that these terrorists have a better memory so and attention span than we do. So when we forget about this by the end of next week, lift the vehicle ban, the insurgents will be there to remind us that we still need to leave soon.

[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]

Gay Marriage, Civil Unions, etc.

2006-06-07T18:25:00.000-04:00

I just watched the Daily Show from last night, and did some more research. I have decided that all people who are Mongolian-Americans should no longer be allowed to eat in the dining room of any restaurant. I don't want them using my toilet or water fountains either. Do you see how ridiculous it all is?

You do, and that is how stupid talking about Gay Marriage just allow it and be on with it. We are supposed to be a more tolerant society. You can't fix gay. No one wakes up in the morning and says, "I'll allow myself to be persecuted for the rest of my life, sounds like fun".

So get with it, allow it and be done so we can move on. Marriage is not under attack, our military is. Marriage is a joke in this country anyway. If it meant something, Las Vegas wouldn't have any chapels.

Overload

2006-06-06T16:18:00.000-04:00

I was going to write something good, but I can't. Begin the rant.

Gay Marriage - Why are we talking about this? I'll tell you. The same reason as before, fire up people who haven't even met a gay person and remind them that it isn't "Christian". Ask yourself why you care if you think that gay people shouldn't enter into marriage.

Immigration - Stop that. Enforce the laws we have. If you want to implement a program that helps employers verify the employees then do it. But there is no need for new unenforceable laws. No fence, extra border guards, use technology.

Iraq – Bring the troops home. England and France didn’t get involved in our civil war. We shouldn’t have gotten involved in their’s. The Iraqi factions have been fighting for years and every student of military history will tell you that this war is un-winnable.

To Arlen Specter – Stop allowing things to be voted out of the committee if they aren’t worth the Senate’s time. In fact, you should vote against it. That’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s Ok.

Lastly, here is a little something funny, maybe true. Heard it on Randi Rhodes: http://bushssecretlifein84.tripod.com/

Thanks for listening, click on the advertising, please comment, and try the veal. I’ll be here all week.

Ahh ... Yeah!

2006-05-26T14:56:00.000-04:00

Corporate Power: End of the Enron Era?

When I first caught this article, I thought someone had hijacked the American Progress Action Fund's email list and created a spoof email. I am quite pleased that they sent out an email like this, because I think most Americans will believe that the 10 - 11 guys that have been caught are now convicted, so this whole mess is behind us. Not true.

I have been a huge proponent of anti-corporatism, but I am a hypocrit after all because I am currently working for a large company (nobody is clicking on the Google ads, and apparently you aren't telling your friends about me either). There is very little that any of us can do about it. The our elected officials love their corporate backers so they don't/won't take them to task. We people can't afford to not shop at our local mega mart because going to a locally owned market costs to much. I try to stick as close as I can to the 100-mile diet, but there again it is a change because a gallon of mil costs twice a much if I try to get local milk of where I know the source.

I have been trying to trudge through David Sirota's book Hostile Takeover, but so far I have gotten very little in the way of things that we can do differently. Especially since the corporations are the ones in control of the bulk of the media. Even when someone like NBC puts on a show like The Book of Daniel (remember?), it gets yanked because some who hasn't even seen the show is offended and the advertisers are getting ready to pull out.

It was my hope that when someone like Al Gore was going to get involved with a television network I was thinking that it would have been something worth watching (Liberal version of Fox perhaps?).

Now that you have made it through that rant I get down to, tell your conservative friends that they need to get their act together and get information from sources that aren't mainstream. Rawstory.com, a good start.

Hayden Confirmed

2006-05-26T11:49:00.000-04:00

Hayden has been confirmed. My "Senators" were among those, who voted for Hayden. Sarbanes is retiring so I am not so concerned having to not vote for him again. However, I will not be voting for Mikulski this year. I will be looking more deeply into her voting records for the next couple of days to see what else she has done that I have not agreed with.

This just adds to my general disdain for Mikulski.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2006-160

Prosecutors: Cheney can't avoid testifying

2006-05-26T10:32:00.000-04:00

Prosecutors: Cheney can't avoid testifying

But he can take the fifth, until he is blue in the face. Or just lie like he has been doing.

Jean Sarah Rohe vs. McCain and his lackeys

2006-05-23T18:04:00.000-04:00

I am "on top" of this New School commencement speech thing. I guess that it shouldn't suprise me that she caused some much of a stir. But again, the right has decided to poorly handle the situation even further and caused it to be bigger than it needed to be.

My biggest complaint is that every talking head I hear is saying something similar to: it took so much courage to do that. I think that public criticism from unexpected sources is the only way that some of these policitians are going to pay attention.

I think that if Cheney and Rumsfeld were heckled a little more, instead of watching Fox News. They would be more in tune with the American people.

I think that I could care less what her message was or what his message was. I am more interested in seeing more of it, even if the polictian is doing well.

The NSA

2006-05-17T14:42:00.000-04:00

Disclaimer: I am an Information Assurance Professional. My job for the last four years has included the securing and assessment of government systems and reporting on those findings. I have used checklists and documentation by the NSA in order to fulfill my job function.

I first refer you to the NSA's web site specifically to the mission statement page. Note the prominent use of the word foreign throughout the signal intelligence statement. I won't argue that they do a suberb, albeit sometime overly-paranoid job of the information assurance mission, they are not chartered for domestic survelliance. In fact, the original intent of the NSA was to work with the CIA, FBI and DoD to provide communications intelligence against foreign governments.

I then refer you to Executive Order 12333, in which the role of the agency is redefined somewhat. The original intent is not lost however, we keep talking about foreign intelligence. The main difference is that we aren't talking about foreign governments anymore. Which isn't a big deal. It is also supposed to protect the communication security of the US Government.

But do remember that this is a component of the Department of Defense, the Executive Order states that the NSA is for all intensive purposes, a service organization. It doesn't say that it makes up what it is supposed to do and then goes and does it. It gets its cues from the Director of Central Intelligence and the Defense Department. On occasion it is allowed to play with the FBI, under the supervision of adults like Congress, the White House and the Attorney General.

They have internal directives that they developed, but apparently don't follow. Whatever the spin tells you, whoever says I don't mind that they are logging my calls, the fact remains that it was done illegally. The USSID 18 specifically calls out that the NSA is not allowed to intentionally collect communication to, from or about U.S. persons without the FISA court, Attorney General or unless it is an emergency. Of course a 3 year program is not an emergency.

To those who say we weren't listening we were just making a big flowchart the key phrase in the USSID 18 is about U.S. Persons. That's when you say it was to look for terrorism. Correct, you are looking for foreign terrorists but it was apparently to broad for the Attorney General to sign, and they knew that they wouldn't get it by the FISA court.

So I guess in the end, if the machine wants to prove that they did this correctly. The General Counsel of the NSA needs to provide some documents and some proof, not some spin.

Illegal Immigration

2006-05-16T18:39:00.000-04:00

I have been agonizing over how is the best way to talk about illegal immigration. I don't even know where to start. I was going to bore you with a lot of facts and figures on that the growth from 1980 until now. When I started that research process, I realized that nobody knows anything about anything. I'll explain.

The White House and Congress have been talking about a 10-12 million number as how many illegals there are. This was based on the 2000 census, and then adjusted by expected birth & death rates, entrances made daily, and the other factors. None of which really matter or are correct because we know that like most numbers the government comes up with, they are wrong in one way or another. The next time you meet an illegal ask them if they would/did participate in the census. The actual number is somewhere closer to 30 million. http://www.theamericanresistance.com/ref/illegal_alien_numbers.html

The 10-12 million number probably encompasses those that are coming from Mexico, or specifically a racial profile against Latinos. Why target them you say? Those are the ones that are costing us money, or so perceived by the Republicans. Those are the ones that are most likely to vote Democrat as well. They typically don't have insurance of any kind, rarely pay their emergency room bills and otherwise put a drain on public institutions (or so the machine wants you to believe. This isn't even talking about the Chinese, Indians, etc.

I am not sure what the reality is, but I can assure you that no matter what is being said about illegal immigration, there are still 30-40 million people in this country that are considered part of the working poor. So if you couple those two numbers together, you end up around 50 million. So what is happening is that the Republicans mark those that have no recourse and say they're the reason why there is a drain on the economy. So let's round them all up and tag them with some biometrics.

But none of this matters because it is just like the Gay Marriage Amendment, the Republicans needed a banner to rally behind so that the Democrats could vote against it for the attack ads coming out in August - October.

I am not sure what the answer here is, because if the Democrats say let's go further and fully fund a bunch of border security initiatives including more money for the Coast Guard, Customs, INS and Border patrol. Because then we get marked as going to far and spending too much, even though Democrats could say that we were interested in homeland security, and Republicans aren't.

What not to do

2006-05-15T12:55:00.000-04:00

Send a bunch of National Guard troops to "protect" the Mexican border.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/14/AR2006051400773.html

My Thoughts:

Hurricane season is about to start;

Tornado and Flood season isn't over;

You never know about that big one in California;

Minutemen, (send the National Guard to hang out with the Minutemen - too many Weekend Warriors in the same location);

Training, are they trained for this?

If he is adament about going through with this then, he should hand out Border Patrol applications when the troops show up.

2006-05-15T12:17:00.000-04:00

And that's why all the state Democratic parties need money from the National Dem party.

Some Local Politics

2006-05-15T12:09:00.000-04:00

This is most upsetting and it happened only a few miles away. I first read this letter to the editor in the Washington Post, by Christopher J. Reynolds:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/05/AR2006050501858.html

This week was the Republican response, authored by Tom Kelley.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/13/AR2006051300028.html

Obviously, I have a clear "blue" bias in a "red" county. However, Reynolds was correct and the Kelley has, at best, poor spin control abilities.

I don't doubt that the Republicans have the right to free speech, but the point of the Reynolds letter was to show that the Calvert County Board of Education and the Republican Party in Calvert County allowed a fundraising event on school grounds. There were plenty of other places that the Republicans could have held their event (maybe).

Could it be that the tides are turning, and nobody wanted to have their venue tarnished by Coulter? Or could it have been that the Republicans simply forgot to mention that it was a fundraising event?

Then I found this: http://www.gazette.net/stories/042806/polia%20s194454_31957.shtml

This article states that the Republicans knew about the issue of hosting the fundraiser on school grounds, at least a week before the event. Instead of reading the Reynolds letter and say that they moved the main fundraiser off school grounds; the Republican response attacked Reynolds, as whiner and that he represents a "'party of negativity'". The Kelley letter could have summarized the Gazette article by saying that the only thing that happened on school grounds was a speech, and that attendees needed to cover the costs.

But that isn't what happened, its obvious by the way that the Kelley letter didn't have any facts or figures. It immediately went on the offensive, and started with the name calling. If you have nothing to hide, then tell us where the $200 pre-event reception took place and we’ll try to believe. But when you use language like in the Kelley letter, we have to believe that something went wrong.

CC: The Washington Post, The Calvert Recorder, The Calvert Independent, Christopher J. Reynolds, Tom Kelley

Save the Internet

2006-05-12T13:42:00.000-04:00

I signed so should you. It is very scary, and very easy for the Telcos to do. No matter what they say the reason why they are doing it.

http://www.civic.moveon.org/netblog/

High Crimes and Misdemeanors

2006-05-12T07:18:00.000-04:00

When I first read about it, from the title I was a little upset. But then I got further along and found out that Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) used her power of language to distinguish that investigations should be opened but that "'You never kow where is leads to'".

That's super and I think its the right move, not that my opinion matters.

This too.

2006-05-11T12:46:00.000-04:00

I am telling everyone about this.

http://www.digitalronin.f2s.com/politicalcompass/

Sorry / Vent

2006-05-11T12:25:00.000-04:00

For anyone who has bothered to read: Sorry for not writing anything. Been busy.
For everyone else: Hello, I will try to keep writing.

My issue is that I have got too many/too few places to look for news. I'll explain. I have an RSS aggregator that I use to try and keep up. I am subscribed to so many and only a few have actual original content. So when I think that I am getting something new, I am actually getting something older.

Then there is the search for real truth. Trying to figure out the spin from the talking points ... you get the idea. It is almost to the point where the reporters are the ones that need to make news in order to get the news out, example David Gregory or to some extent Stephen Colbert (not necessarily a reporter but to some a news source). Gregory seems to be the only one who wants to get real answers to questions, and doesn't want to keep getting the "ongoing investigation" line. So I do disagree with Tom Brokaw in the link provided, but it points out the he is not afraid to ask some questions.

There is also a quality/quantity issue. Some times the post subjects I get from Blogs are something like: "READ THIS NOW!!" and then the actually post is something as trivial as "Bush is still not my president".

And that is why I haven't posted, I do not want alienate my audience with a no content post like the one above.

2005-09-28T18:17:00.000-04:00

DeLay Indicted:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3373567

But now we got Blunt:
http://majoritywhip.house.gov/ or http://www.blunt.house.gov/
who seems just as extreme as the last guy. But we'll see. He is from Missouri (same as John Ashcroft). By looking at his voting record he is "As Expected".

2005-09-02T10:25:00.000-04:00

Did Bush causes New Orleans disaster?

Hey, it works for them why not for me.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12539792.htm

2005-07-21T02:52:00.000-04:00

Posted a comment out on the Jonathon Larsen's blog. http://shows.airamericaradio.com/ms/node/749

2005-07-21T02:33:00.000-04:00

This one may slip under the radar too. According to Fahrenheit 9/11, this is Bandar Bush. So close to the family and the White House that he is considered part of the family. Don't feel bad though, he'll probably go on to be an overpaid consultant.

Saudi Ambassador to U.S. Steps Down After 22 Years

(WaPo) Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the dean of Washington's diplomatic corps and confidant of presidents both Republican and Democratic over the past 22 years, has resigned and will be replaced by the former head of Saudi Arabia's intelligence service.

According to Fahrenheit 9/11, this is Bandar Bush. So close to the family and the White House that he is considered part of the family. Don't feel bad though, he'll probably go on to be an overpaid consultant.

2005-07-21T02:26:00.000-04:00

Couple of things here for a rare late night post.

I have watched/listened to Joe Wilson be interviewed or otherwise be in front of the public. Talk about a cool cat, totally mellow and taking it all in stride, at least that's how it appears. That would be the guy I would want to have a beer with. Here is the White House trying to dismantle his family and he is cracking jokes with Al Franken, holding press conferences with Chuck Schumer and testifiying for John Conyers (you probably think I forgot about the Downing Street Memo [DSM]). All the time very candid, and very on target. Able to recall everything he's ever said. More than I can say for myself.

On to the next:

"(S)" Is For Secret: Memo Identifying Plame Clearly Marked...

A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials.

Plame -- who is referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson, in the memo -- is mentioned in the second paragraph of the three-page document, which was written on June 10, 2003, by an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), according to a source who described the memo to The Washington Post.

[via Huffington Post Raw Feed]

I just subjected myself to The Situation with Tucker Carlson and it is ahh ... not good. I won't say it was bad but I didn't gain any new information on any "situation" and simply got annoyed with Tuck, his haircut, and his bowtie. The only saving grace was Rachel Maddow, who I have not had the pleasure of listening to yet. I will be podcasting her tomorrow though.

If you are interested, Scarbourgh's lead story was Natalee in Aruba. If you are reading and Natalee fascinates you or pisses you off let me know. May be Congress will rush back and sign all law that says cute-ish, single, white women are not allowed to go missing. I'm all for it if they are talking about my girlfriend or anybody I know but I wouldn't want my business on cable news for two months. I may even set up a poll on the future web site: http://www.revivethedemocrats.org

2005-07-20T18:05:00.000-04:00

Found a cool little site that let's you play budget analyst.

Budget Simulator

Also, Karl wears it proudly.

Don't forget Iraq now ...

2005-07-20T15:42:00.000-04:00

Don't forget Iraq now...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L19558630.htm

This seems to be what everyone has been forgetting.

2005-07-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

A Copy of my letter to the Editor of the Dakota Voice:

TO: Bob Ellis, Editor, The Dakota Voice
CC: The Ed Shultz Show, The Stephanie Miller Show
RE: http://www.dakotavoice.com/200507/Opinion/Editorial/20050715_Editorial.asp

The next time that you write an Op/Ed, and profess that you know all the facts, you ought to know all the facts. About the only thing that you got correct was when you copied the sections of US Code. The rest of it appears to be pure Republican talking points put out by Mehlman and the RNC.

You have obviously missed the point of the whole "non-story" as you call it. The problem isn't that Rove broke a law or not but has yet again acted unethically. And if you had seen interviews with Wilson you would know that he contributed to both presidential campaigns in 2000 and actually voted for Bush.

As far as why Schumer took up Wilson's torch yesterday, Schumer initially urged the Justice department to investigate this leak.

Also, the District of Columbia does not have senators as it is not a state. But you didn't check on that either.

I won't argue about your opinion as everyone is entitled to their own. However, you should not misrepresent the facts by distorting the truth and taking events out of context.

2005-07-15T15:42:00.000-04:00

And now from the peanut gallery, someone to repeat the talking points. The Dakota Voice. This is why middle America is the way it is. I am going to write a letter to this guy.

2005-07-15T15:23:00.000-04:00

Have you seen this? Joe Wilson's Top Ten Worst Inaccuracies And Misstatements These aren't the actual talking points, but it is some of the most inaccurate statements yet.

And more lies from Fox News.

2005-07-15T11:15:00.000-04:00

Rove Reportedly Held Phone Talk on C.I.A. Officer Karl Rove spoke with the columnist Robert D. Novak as he was preparing an article that identified an undercover C.I.A. officer.

This from the New York Times. Here's the other thing, I think that I heard or read that Rove and the Wilsons went to the same church. Don't quote me on this, I am not sure and I can't source it to anyone.

2005-07-14T21:37:00.000-04:00

I think I will take a moment to speculate as to where this is going. Karl Rove is gone. Fitzgerald only has to prove the Rove violated the Espionage act. See this argument at Bad Attitudes.

Then two things could happen: 1) Rove goes to Prison. 2) Rove stays where he is.

My hope would be that he goes down for this and takes a few others in the White House with him. My concern would be that he still runs the show from prison. With any luck he is convicted by a jury of his peers and he gets a creative judge. This judge would not necessarily sentence Rove to prison time but to forbid him from participating in the political process ever again.

Judging by the way that Bush has stood by his man for all these other wackos, I don't think Rove will leave unless the legal system forces him. This also assuming that he doesn't get pardoned by his boss.

Far-fetched you say? This is Bush's last term and it is a solid three years to the election. Any republican can say "I didn't have anything to do with that."

So my strategy going forward is to drag this out for as long as possible and let every last republican weigh in and smear themselves. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Kit Bond obviously don't mind taking one for the team. And all these people too.

Also, if he stays we can still press Scott McClellan in every press conference. The press will also have the lattitude to start asking some of the other pressing questions while Karl is fighting his turmoil. Like fixed pre-war intelligence and the Downing Street Minutes.

2005-07-14T19:13:00.000-04:00

The Reid ammendment will deny security clearances to federal employees who reveal the identity of an undercover agent. Just wanted to clarify.

And it has not passed. 44-53

2005-07-14T18:53:00.000-04:00

I am watching C-SPAN 2 and the Frist Amendment vote is occuring. This is the amendment that will revoke a Senator's right to look at classified FBI reports or refer to an FBI agent's comments if the Senator refers to either of them on the Senate floor.

Notice that it does not talk about covert agents in general, or to other government officials than senators. Say for instance, Deputy Chiefs of Staff.

So this vote is not to be confused with the Reid ammendment which revokes security clearances of federal employees who reveal the identity of covert agents. Rove is classified as a Federal employee, and has revealed a covert agent.

And it has not passed 33-64.

More to come on the Reid ammendment.

2005-07-14T17:45:00.000-04:00

The democrats appear to be getting some traction. I just finished watching the Schumer press conference with Joe Wilson. He has some good things to say. I am hoping that some of the sound bites end up on some of the mainstream media.

Also, I am watching the action on the Senate floor. Specifically, the Reid amendment which denies security clearances to persons who reveal the identities of covert agents. Couple of things here:

Republicans are saying that it is poorly constructed and poorly presented.

Democrats are basically saying why wouldn't you vote for this bill? It is protecting Americans who put there life on the line.

I wish that they would bring up Schaivo, if the Republicans want to call this partisan politics.

2005-07-14T15:09:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a chance to go to the MoveOn protest today at the White House. I know that it is important, but just couldn't get it done. Had to work, you know how that is.

2005-07-13T21:37:00.000-04:00

So now is the Democrats feable attempt at finding out the truth. The Republicans will block it and then what.

http://www.house.gov/tierney/press/rove07132005.shtml

I think that people are getting a little hasty here. I will admit that I am excited that the mastermind is going to go down.

But the other part is that the other side is gearing up.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_69430.asp

O'Reilly weighed in with usual fashion http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162381,00.html saying something to the effect of this will all go away next week. But with Bush's poll ratings dropping and people loving a scandal, this won't go away.

Anyway, this is what the democrats have been waiting for and we shouldn't squander it. Especially since the press corps has apparently decided to show up this week and make Scott sweat a little.

2005-07-13T18:33:00.000-04:00

I don't know why Scott (Puffy McMoonface - Chummy McSharkbait) McClellan bothers to have press conferences. First we had a press that only threw softballs and now he won't talk about Karl Rove in any context.

You can see the whole thing by going to C-SPAN.

And of all places, Fox News has an article up that says the Matt Cooper had a press conference where he basically confirmed that Karl was his source. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162406,00.html

Lastly, it appears as though we are going to start asking for his resignation. My personal belief is that it is too early yet but some feel that they need to strike now. John Kerry is one of them.

I am going to try and make to the Anti-Rove protest with MoveOn tomorrow at the White House. I will see you there and report for those who can't make it. I may even attempt to do some onsight audio so that you can experience it first hand.