Iraq ... I think that says it all
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
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
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
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
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."
Help me Understand the Message
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
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
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
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/]
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.
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.
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