Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sometimes, it is your only option.....
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/13/arkansas-democratic-party-chairman-injured-in-shooting/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
Politicians, lawyers, and judges PRESUME that the population will always "Knucle under" and follow laws, rules, and regulations.
So, they make those laws, rules, and regulations to suit themselves and/or wealthy, influential contributors, to the defeceit of all other people.
So anyone in that class of "All other people" KNOWS that following the law is not going to get them any satisfaction.
My guess: This shooter found out that the target had something to do with him losing his job.
By the story, the man was already sick of crooked politicians.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A man recently fired from a Target store barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters Wednesday and fatally shot the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase.
Police identified the suspect as 50-year-old Timothy Dale Johnson of Searcy, a town about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. They said that moments after the shooting, Johnson pointed a handgun at a worker at the nearby Arkansas Baptist headquarters. An official there said he told the worker, “I lost my job.”
Chairman Bill Gwatney died four hours after the shooting. The 48-year-old former state senator had been planning to travel to the Democratic National Convention later this month as a superdelegate. He had backed Hillary Rodham Clinton but endorsed Barack Obama after she dropped out of the race.
Clinton and her husband, former President and former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, issued a statement saying Gwatney was “not only a strong chairman of Arkansas’ Democratic Party, but … also a cherished friend and confidant.”
Conway police said a Target store 30 miles north of Little Rock had fired Johnson earlier Wednesday because he had written graffiti on a store wall. The age and address provided by Conway officers matched those provided by Little Rock police for its suspect.
Witnesses said the gunman entered the party offices shortly before noon and said he wanted to see Gwatney.
“He said he was interested in volunteering, but that was obviously a lie,” said 17-year-old party volunteer Sam Higginbotham. He said that when the suspect was refused a meeting with Gwatney, he pushed past employees to reach the chairman’s office.
Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings said the suspect and Gwatney introduced themselves to one another, at which time the suspect “pulled out a handgun and shot Gwatney several times.” Hastings didn’t say what the two discussed, but said their discussion was not a heated one.
Police said after leaving the office, the suspect pointed a gun at a worker at the Baptist headquarters seven blocks away. When asked what was wrong, the man said “I lost my job” said Dan Jordan, the group’s business manager.
After the suspect avoided spike strips and a roadblock along U.S. 167 near Sheridan, police rammed his car, spinning it, said Grant County Sheriff Lance Huey. He got out of his truck and began shooting, and state police and sheriff’s deputies fired back, striking him several times, he said.
Hastings said investigators found at least two handguns in the suspect’s truck.
There was a busy signal Wednesday night at a phone number listed under Johnson’s name. Little Rock police said they could find no criminal record for him.
According to Conway police spokeswoman Sharen Carter, Target fired Johnson before 8 a.m. Wednesday because he had written on a wall. Other store employees said Johnson’s body shook as he turned in his ID badge. A Target manager had called police because of the incident but the wall had already been cleaned.
The state Capitol was locked down for about an hour until police got word the gunman had been captured, said Arkansas State Capitol police Sgt. Charlie Brice.
Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat who served with Gwatney in the state Senate, had been on a flight to Springdale in northwestern Arkansas. He returned to Little Rock and joined an impromptu vigil at University Hospital after what he called a “shocking and senseless attack.” Gwatney had been Beebe’s finance chairman during the governor’s 2006 campaign.
“Arkansas has lost a great son, and I have lost a great friend. There is deep pain in Arkansas tonight because of the sheer number of people who knew, respected and loved Bill Gwatney,” Beebe said.
Karen Ray, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, sent her workers home early “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone at the Democratic headquarters. What a tragedy,” Ray said. “This is just a very upsetting, troubling and scary thing for our staff as well.”
Sarah Lee, a sales clerk at a flower shop across street from the party headquarters, said that around noon Gwatney’s secretary ran into the shop and asked someone to call 911.
Lee said the secretary told her the man had come into the party’s office and asked to speak with Gwatney. When the secretary said she wouldn’t allow him to meet with Gwatney, the man went into his office and shot him, Lee said.
Last November, a distraught man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walked into a Clinton campaign office in New Hampshire and demanded to speak to the candidate about access to mental health care. A hostage drama dragged on for nearly six hours until he peacefully surrendered.
The confrontation brought Clinton’s campaign to a standstill just five weeks before the New Hampshire primary. Security for her was increased as a precaution. She said she did not know the suspect.
Gwatney was a national superdelegate who had endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, according to the Web site Sourcewatch.org.
“We are deeply saddened by the news that Bill Gwatney has passed away,” Hillary and Bill Clinton said in a joint statement issued Wednesday. “His leadership and commitment to Arkansas and this country have always inspired us and those who had the opportunity to know him. Our prayers are with his family during this time.” Former President Clinton is a former Democratic governor of Arkansas.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama also expressed his condolences.
“I was shocked and saddened to hear about the tragedy in Arkansas,” Obama said in a written statement. “We’re all grateful for the quick action of law enforcement and quick thinking by Chairman Gwatneys staff, and Michelle and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers.”
Gwatney also earned a reputation for being an outspoken critic of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, coining the phrase, “Pinning Huckabee down on an issue is like nailing Jello to the wall.”
Huckabee reacted to news of the shooting Wednesday by releasing the following statement: “The senseless shooting at Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock today is a shocking and sobering reminder of just how depraved our world has become. All of our thoughts and prayers turn toward Bill Gwatney and his family today, while we await details on what happened and why.”
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
It has not bothered me...
_++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++_
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/06/28/another-home-invasion-in-phoenix-bycartel-hitmen-mexican-military/
Another home invasion in Phoenix by…Cartel hitmen? Mexican military?
By see-dubya • June 28, 2008 03:33 AM Allah didn’t think much of this story, or at least of the accusations that the guys who shot up that house (and a suspected pot dealer) in Phoenix dressed as cops in tactical gear were connected with the Mexican military. ICE now says they weren’t.
Okay, but I’ll keep my eyes open; there’s a strong tendency to downplay controversial incidents like this one. (Remember how long it took the Feds to admit that Hesham Hedayet, who shot up the El Al counter at LAX, was a terrorist?)
Whatever the story is, I’d like to get to the bottom of it, because something like it happened again Thursday. Four to ten guys in police uniforms and tactical gear busted into another house in Phoenix. And their choice of targets is interesting:
_++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++_
That's the phrase you hear a lot of. "It has n't bothered me"
A variation of "If it is not happening to me--it is not happening".
The latest Home Invasion in Phoenix was :
_++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++_
August 11, 2008
http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/s....372ab53c.html
Suspects wore body armor, carried AK-47s It happened at about 9 p.m. Sunday near 91st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.
Three men reportedly tried to bust into a home in the neighborhood.
According to Phoenix police, at least one suspect is dead after the homeowner pulled a gun and fired in self defense.
Police said that homeowner was also shot in the confrontation. His injuries reportedly were life threatening.
A neighbor said she saw a suspicious-looking car before bullets started flying, and knew something was not right.
"It came down the street here, and then it backed up and just sat there, like right in the middle the intersection," the woman said. "That really didn't sit right with me, how that felt. I went back into the house and about three minutes later I heard between 10 and 12 gunshots, and so I called CrimeStops right away."
Police are searching for two other men who were seen leaving the area in a gray or silver P.T. Cruiser with the personalized Arizona Diamondbacks license plate. The partial number on that plate is T-M-O.
According to neighbors, the suspects were wearing full body armor and were armed with AK-47 assault rifles
_+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++_
How many of you have firepoer to counter an assault like this.
You are dealing with Illiterates: How can you be sure they get the right address?
Normally an armed for intruding is called an invasion, and is countered. By our government is so dedicated to pandering to Mexico that the story gets spun--and nothin' gets dome
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Russians have nothing to worry about
===============================================================================
The Russians whave nothing to worry about. They can slaughter all the Georgians at will. No American will stop them.
For 5 years now, our Elected Officials have allowed the likes of Code Pink, MoveOn.org, NotInMyName, and druggie hippie freaks to set the agenda.
Wenow prosecute military members who actually defend themselves and shoot people. Same for our domestic protectors--Witness Ramos and Campeon.
No McCain here might as well fart upwind for all the good it will do. The Dictator members of the Anti-American United Nations have too many sweet deals with Russdia to DO anything.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/mccain-calls-for-u.n.-resolution-against-russia-2008-08-11.html
McCain calls for U.N. resolution against Russia
By Klaus Marre
Posted: 08/11/08 11:02 AM [ET]
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Monday called on the United Nations Security Council to condemn Russia’s aggression against Georgia.
“We should move ahead with the resolution despite Russian veto threats, and submit Russia to the court of world public opinion,” McCain said in Erie, Pa.
Apart from a Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire and condemning Russia’s aggression, NATO should begin “discussions on both the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to South Ossetia and the implications for NATO's future relationship with Russia, a Partnership for Peace nation,” the Arizona senator stated.
The GOP presidential candidate has seized on the conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway province of South Ossetia, hoping to highlight his foreign policy credentials and draw a contrast to Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).
McCain noted that he has met with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili “many times, including during several trips to Georgia.”
A frequent critic of Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin, the presumptive GOP nominee pulled no punches in his statement Monday on the conflict.
“Whatever tensions and hostilities might have existed between Georgians and Ossetians, they in no way justify Moscow’s path of violent aggression,” McCain said. “Russian actions, in clear violation of international law, have no place in 21st century Europe.”
Russia’s attacks are “a matter of urgent moral and strategic importance to the United States of America,” McCain argued. He described Georgia’s transformation into a democracy as “nothing short of remarkable,” adding that this makes Russia’s actions “all the more alarming.”
“Russia is using violence against Georgia, in part, to intimidate other neighbors such as Ukraine for choosing to associate with the West and adhering to Western political and economic values,” McCain said. “As such, the fate of Georgia should be of grave concern to Americans and all people who welcomed the end of a divided Europe and the independence of former Soviet republics. The international response to this crisis will determine how Russia manages its relationships with other neighbors.”
The Arizona senator said that Russia’s “pattern of attack appears aimed not at restoring any status quo ante in South Ossetia, but rather at toppling the democratically elected government of Georgia.”
“This should be unacceptable to all the democratic countries of the world, and should draw us together in universal condemnation of Russian aggression,” McCain added.
The conflict could have “severe, long-term negative consequences” for Russia’s relationships with the U.S. and Europe, he noted.
McCain also called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to begin “high-level diplomacy” and urged the U.S. to begin sending humanitarian aid to the region.
“World history is often made in remote, obscure countries,” McCain said. “It is being made in Georgia today. It is the responsibility of the leading nations of the world to ensure that history continues to be a record of humanity's progress toward respecting the values and security of free people.”
Sunday, August 10, 2008
WHERE IS "CODE PINK"
REUTERSMourning amidst the rubble: A Georgian man cries next to the body of a relative who died in Gori.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hV2N6fVKS5slf10A13Dj_uIdaZ4QD92FDLSG0
An unidentified South Ossetian woman cries at an unknown location in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia, Friday, Aug. 8, 2008. Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict. Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WHERE IS CODE PINK?
On the first day, Russians --by their own count--killed 1500 CIVILIANS.
WHERE ARE THE QUAKERS-- that are always telling US--U S Forces--that we should not be killing people in War?
WHERE IS "NOT IN MY NAME" that sent "Human Shields" to Iraq to keep the Coalition from bombing Saddam Husseins war infrastructure?
--- That's what I thought.
They are a bunch of self-hating hypocrites, bnt on destroying the United States, and ignoring the crimes against human rights by Despots.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
THEY HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You know, some people are just plain insensitive and ignorant.
Maybe these two Dorks just think that they are so secure that they can screw over everyone outside of Congress.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121815293390922431.html?mod=googlenews_wsj POTOMAC WATCH By KIMBERLEY A. STRASSEL
Republican Energy Fumble
August 8, 2008; Page A13
Politics has its puzzling moments. John McCain and most of the GOP experienced one late last week. That was when five of their own set about dismantling the best issue Republicans have in the upcoming election.
It's taken time, but Sen. McCain and his party have finally found -- in energy -- an issue that's working for them. Riding voter discontent over high gas prices, the GOP has made antidrilling Democrats this summer's headlines.
Their enthusiasm has given conservative candidates a boost in tough races. And Mr. McCain has pressured Barack Obama into an energy debate, where the Democrat has struggled to explain shifting and confused policy proposals.
Still, it was probably too much to assume every Republican would work out that their side was winning this issue. And so, last Friday, in stumbled Sens. Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Saxby Chambliss, Bob Corker and Johnny Isakson -- alongside five Senate Democrats. This "Gang of 10" announced a "sweeping" and "bipartisan" energy plan to break Washington's energy "stalemate." What they did was throw every vulnerable Democrat, and Mr. Obama, a life preserver.
That's because the plan is a Democratic giveaway. New production on offshore federal lands is left to state legislatures, and then in only four coastal states. The regulatory hurdles are huge. And the bill bars drilling within 50 miles of the coast -- putting off limits some of the most productive areas. Alaska's oil-rich Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is still a no-go.
The highlight is instead $84 billion in tax credits, subsidies and federal handouts for alternative fuels and renewables. The Gang of 10 intends to pay for all this in part by raising taxes on . . . oil companies! The Sierra Club couldn't have penned it better. And so the Republican Five has potentially given antidrilling Democrats the political cover they need to neutralize energy through November.
Sen. Obama was thrilled. He quickly praised the Gang's bipartisan spirit, and warmed up to a possible compromise. Of course, he means removing even the token drilling provisions now in the bill. But he's only too happy for the focus to remain on the Gang's efforts, and in particular on the five Republicans providing his party its fig leaf.
Equally gleeful was Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, the Senate's most vulnerable Democrat. She had been sweating the energy debate, especially after her vote against more oil-shale production -- a position her Republican opponent, John Kennedy, had used against her to great effect. Yet there she was, chummily standing with the Gang of 10 and boasting that she is working with "five Republicans" to "lower prices at the pump by increasing offshore drilling here at home."
Mr. McCain, who had been commanding the energy debate, was left to explain why he, of all people, wasn't more enthusiastic about a "bipartisan" effort on energy, especially one that includes "drilling." His camp was forced to take refuge in taxes, explaining that their boss couldn't sign up for a bill that included more. If this is what Mr. McCain's good friend Lindsey Graham considers "helping," somebody might want to ask him to stop.
And pity poor Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working overtime to stanch GOP losses this fall and head off a filibuster-proof Democratic Senate. His dogged efforts to highlight Democratic opposition to drilling has kept energy in the news and laid the groundwork for GOP candidates to use the issue to their advantage.
In the Colorado Senate race, Democrats had christened former GOP Rep. Bob Schaffer "Big Oil Bob" -- hoping to smear his oil industry career. "Big Oil Bob" has instead embraced his pro-drilling positions and is pummeling opponent Mark Udall for his antidrilling stance. In recent weeks, Mr. Schaffer has erased Mr. Udall's lead. Polls show Republican Sens. Norm Coleman (Minnesota) and John Sununu (New Hampshire) both climbing in the polls on the back of strong energy arguments. As two of the GOP's most vulnerable senators, both might well have run for cover with the Gang of 10. Instead they're fighting on the merits.
The "bipartisan" Republican senators have undercut these efforts, and boosted Ms. Landrieu. They've even put a smile on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's face. He'd been struggling to tamp down the energy debate through November, where he hopes to increase his majority and permanently shelve drilling. He's now counting on the Gang to fruitlessly continue "negotiations" straight through the Senate's short September session and solve his problem for him.
Not one of the five Republicans in the Gang is facing a tough election this year. That's the sort of security that leads to bad decisions. And theirs is the sort of thinking that could leave Republicans in a permanent minority.
Write to kim@wsj.com
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
This was what the Civil War was about
ROBERT E.LEE
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THIS IS EXACTLY WHY THE SOUTH REBELLED.
THESE DRACONIAN DICTATES SHOULD BE REVOLTED AGAINST.
AS ANDREW JACKSON SAID ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT WHEN THEY RENDERED A DECISION THAT HE WAS NOT IN AGREEMENT WITH: "LET THEM (HER) ENFORCE IT"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://hotair.com/archives/2008/08/06/should-mccain-join-the-house-oil-party/
Should McCain join the House Oil Party?
John Boehner extended an invitation to John McCain yesterday to join the House Republican caucus in their rebellion against Democratic stonewalling on a vote on drilling. McCain had offered to come off the campaign trail if Barack Obama would also agree to do so and join Congress in an open debate and an open vote to rescind the federal moratorium on drilling in the OCS and interior. The House Minority Leader tells McCain to come regardless of Obama’s participation:
In a briefing with bloggers in House Minority Leader John Boehner’s office August 5, Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz, said he would “love to have McCain come speak on the floor” as part of the protest. He said he believes inviting a senator to speak on the House floor would not violate House rules and challenged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to stop it.
“Yes, I think it is something he [McCain] could do. I mean, technically, we are trying to abide by the rules of procedure for the House,” Shadegg said. “[W]e begin with a prayer, the pledge and we are speaking from the well — with one exception, we’re not taking questions from the gallery, but we are trying to accord ourselves normal decorum from the House floor.”
It’s definitely an intriguing offer, and McCain should accept immediately. No matter where he’s campaigning at the moment, he will not get more or better press than if he arrives at Capitol Hill with the lights off. It would also force the national press to cover the revolt by House Republicans, and perhaps even produce televised coverage of the speeches in the darkened chamber.
It might also force action by Nancy Pelosi to call the House back into session. Normally, a Senator wouldn’t go into the House while the lower chamber is in session, but no such restriction exists at the moment. The only way Pelosi and the Democrats could keep McCain from exploding this to the top of the headlines would be to do exactly what the GOP wants — to call the House into session, and keep it in session.
There are no down sides to a McCain campaign visit to Capitol Hill. He’d get great press, he would underscore Democratic obstructionism on energy, he would demonstrate party unity, and he would put pressure on Obama to respond with something other than tire gauges and cuts in electricity. Any campaign events he has to postpone couldn’t have a fraction of the impact this appearance would have, both for himself and the GOP. Someone on Team McCain should be redirecting the jet now.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Put up--or shut up.
________________________________________________________________________
How very simple--but challenging--for Democrat House Members.
Sign the damn Discharge Petition--or go along with Pelosi's other sheep and risk being defeated at the polls this fall!
_________________________________________________________________________
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=905193A8-3048-5C12-001B313DA2E91E44
August 5, 2008 07:44 AM EST
California Democrat Nancy Pelosi may be trying to save the planet — but the rank and file in her party increasingly are just trying to save their political hides when it comes to gas prices as Republicans apply more and more rhetorical muscle.
But what looks like intraparty tension on the surface is part of an intentional strategy in which Pelosi takes the heat on energy policy, while behind the scenes she’s encouraging vulnerable Democrats to express their independence if it helps them politically, according to Democratic aides on and off Capitol Hill.
Pelosi’s gambit rests on one big assumption: that Democrats will own Washington after the election and will be able to craft a sweeping energy policy that is heavy on conservation and fuel alternatives while allowing for some new oil drilling. Democrats see no need to make major concessions on energy policy with a party poised to lose seats in both chambers in just three months — even if recess-averse Republicans continue to pound away on the issue.
“The reality is we will have a new president in three months, and what Bush and the Republicans are trying to do amounts to a land grab for the oil companies,” said one senior House Democratic aide involved with party strategy. “I don’t think we have to give in at all pre-election — we have many more options postelection.”
It’s a reality that Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-W.Va.) personally delivered to President Bush recently.
Rahall spent more than an hour last week talking to the president about energy. Bush spent the entire flight aboard Air Force One, and much of a subsequent limousine ride, grilling the West Virginia Democrat about legislative solutions to the high price of gasoline, Rahall said last week.
So, does the president think Congress can get anything done this year?
“No,” Rahall replied in a short interview with Politico. “He’s realistic about it.”
Asked if Congress will produce a comprehensive energy bill in September before Congress adjourns again for elections, Rahall replied, “This year? No.”
Instead, the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources believes Democrats are all about 2009.
“We’ve laid the groundwork this year,” Rahall said.
Democratic House aides say the energy agenda has been carefully gamed out in strategy sessions, and Pelosi always intended to take heat on gas prices while tacitly encouraging more vulnerable Democrats to publicly disagree with her and show their independence.
Freshman Democrats like Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania and Don Cazayoux of Louisiana have taken her up on the offer.
Altmire has said a drilling vote “will happen,” while Cazayoux, hoping to hang on to his seat in a conservative Baton Rouge-area district, on Friday sent a letter to Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) demanding a vote on more domestic oil exploration.
“There will be a vote,” said Altmire, who faces a rematch with former GOP Rep. Melissa Hart this fall in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
Indeed, Congress must vote before Sept. 30 to renew the annual moratorium; otherwise, it will lapse on its own, giving states the right to decide whether private companies can search for potential drilling sites three miles offshore. .
“My view is that if we have a vote, let’s make it a rational policy,” said Altmire, whose district includes viable coal and nuclear industries. “We can’t let Republicans hold this issue hostage because of one vote.”
Cazayoux, in his letter, says “the current debate seems to be bogged down in partisan one-upmanship.”
To some extent, House Republicans seem to be playing right along with the strategy, taking Pelosi’s name in vain dozens of times during their rebel House sessions over the past few days and making her the villain who won’t allow oil drilling votes.
“It’s grossly unfair to the Democrats who want a vote,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). “[Pelosi] needs to cut that out.”
The Senate has also gone with a run-out-the-clock strategy, with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) calling for a bipartisan energy summit but promising no major energy votes. Reid embraced the drilling and conservation proposals of the bipartisan Senate “Gang of 10” last week, but he made further commitment on the energy debate.
Reid, like Pelosi, is expecting to have a much stronger governing majority in the Senate next year, so he has little incentive to give in to Republicans on energy policy as long as he thinks it won’t hurt Democrats.
Even as they face heat from constituents during the August break, Democrats say they aren’t going to cave in to popular pressure.
“We feel pretty comfortable with where we are,” said Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.), who is close to the Democratic leadership. “This is a not a new issue. This just didn’t happen today. We’ve been working on this for months.”
Democratic insiders said that Pelosi and other party leaders were “not rattled” by the GOP floor rebellion, and at this point, it’s not clear if the Democrats will even pay a price on energy. State-level polling conducted by Democrats suggests that voters still view President Bush and the GOP as the incumbent power in Washington, and Democratic strategists believe any anti-incumbent wave would hurt Republicans more than Democrats.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, one of the leaders of the rogue GOP House session, said he realizes that Democrats are “in a four-corners stall right now,” and admits that “it gets more challenging” for Republicans if they lose more seats in Congress.
Democrats are also comforted somewhat by the fact that crude oil prices have gone down more than 10 percent from their summer highs, and if the U.S. economy enters a recession, prices may fall further due to slackening demand.
“There is no crisis on our side of the aisle,” a top House Democratic leadership aide said. “We have a plan, and we will stick to it.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement in response to an article in today’s Politico that suggests Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has secretly signaled to rank-and-file House Democratic lawmakers that they should feel free to portray themselves publicly as pro-drilling if it helps them politically:
“My message to Democratic lawmakers is this: if you’re really for increased American energy production, then prove it by putting it in writing. Sign the discharge petitions House Republicans are circulating that will force votes on energy legislation Speaker Pelosi refuses to bring to the floor. And sign onto the American Energy Act, our ‘all of the above’ plan to increase conservation, innovation, and American energy production, instead of doing the Speaker’s bidding by voting against bringing it to a vote. If you aren’t willing to put it in writing, you’re fooling no one. You’re siding with the Speaker of the Drill-Nothing Congress and radical special interests that favor higher gas prices, at the expense of energy-strapped American families.”
“This cynical strategy is disgustingly dishonest. Without any real solutions to help Americans who are struggling with record-high gas prices, it appears the Democratic leadership has hit on a new plan: deceive. Deceive the press, deceive its members, and deceive the American people. Democratic members have a ‘pass’ from their leaders to talk about drilling at home, while the liberal Democratic leadership – which is beholden to special interests that want higher gas prices – plays ‘rope-a-dope’ back in Washington, ensuring there is no vote to help the American people before November. It’s cynical, dishonest, and wrong – and it won’t work.”
Monday, August 4, 2008
Mouth noise from the Ignorants
STONE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA
NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=
HERE IS AN ARTICLE THAT SHOWS WHY AND HOW PEOPLE ARE IGNORANT AND BY THEIR IGNORANCE, DESTINED TO RETURN TO CONDITIONS THAT GENERATED THE VERY CONDITIONS THE COMPLAIN ABOUT.
FIRST, BEFORE YOU START THE "RACIST" CRAP--I AM NOT. I JUDGE PEOPLE BY THEIR CHARACTER ABD ACCOMPLISHMENTS. CHARACTER AND ACCOMPLISHMENT GET RESPECT. NO CHARCTER AND NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS GET NO REPECT.
NEXT, I HAD A VERY HONEST HISTORY TEACHER IN HIGH SCHOOL.
HE EXPLAINED IT LIKE THIS:
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THE NORTH WANTED TO PUNISH THE SOUTH (THE CONFEDERACY). THE WAR HAD NOT BEEN ABOUT SLAVERY UNTIL ALMOST AT THE END OF THE WAR WHEN LINCOLN NEEDED AN EMOTIONAL ISSUE TO SELL THE WAR AND KEEP IT GOING. IT WAS ABOUT SOUTHERNERS HAVING TO FOLLOW DICTATES FROM WASHINGTON DC.
NORTHERNERS PASSED A LAW: NO ONE WHO HAD "BORNE ARMS FOR OR GIVEN AID AND COMFORT TO THE CONFEDERATE ARMY" COULD VOTE. THE NORTHENERS (YANKEES) THEN ADVISED THOSE WHO COULD VOTE- (FORMER SLAVES)-- WHO TO VOTE FOR: OTHER SLAVES. CONTRACTS FOR GOODS AND SERVICES WERE AWARDED TO NORTHENERS, BUT HARDLY ANY OF THE CONTRACTS WERE HONORED.
SO, THE FORMER REBS CAN"T VOTE, AND THE ONLY LAW IS THE UNION ARMY. THEY ARE POWERLESS.
YOU NOW HAVE THE RISE OF THE KU KLUX KLAN. THESE MEN WENT OUTSIDE THE LAW TO EFFECT A POSITIVE RESULT TO THEIR SURVIVAL.
SO, WHO DO THEY CONFRONT TO REGAIN SOME OF THE CONTROL OVER THEIR LIVES? THE PEOPLE "IN POWER", ELECTED BY THOSE WHO COULD VOTE.
OVER TIME, THE KKK MORPHED INTO A SOCIETY THAT HAD SEGREGATION AS A GOAL.
SO, ARE THESE HATERS GOING TO TEAR DOWN STONE MOUNTAIN? (SECOND PICTURE) THERE ARE THREE REBS THERE: STONEWALL JACKSON,ROBERT E LEE, AND JEFF DAVIS.
TO PROVE MY POINT, ARLINGTON CEMETARY WAS ROBERT E LEE'S PLANTATION--ARLINGTON.
THE NORTH--WANTING TO GUARANTEE THAT LEE COULD NEVER RETURN HOME AND FARM AGAIN--SEIZED THE PROPERTY AND BEGAN BURYING UNION ARMY DEAD THERE.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/aug/02/tinker-ad-questions-cohen-on-civil-rights/?printer=1/
Tinker ad questions Cohen on civil rights
TV spot cites support of keeping Forrest statue
By Bartholomew Sullivan
Saturday, August 2, 2008
WASHINGTON -- A television ad from Nikki Tinker for Congress featuring footage of a Ku Klux Klan rally and former Shelby County commissioner Walter Bailey was set to began airing in Memphis on Friday evening.
In the ad, Bailey takes exception to U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen's July 2005 vote on the Center City Commission not to remove the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Medical Center park. Forrest was a Confederate general linked by most historians to the early years of the Ku Klux Klan.
Cohen, who said he had not seen the ad, acknowledged the commission vote on Friday, but said it was nothing more than advisory because the City Council had jurisdiction and ultimately voted to keep the statue in place.
Bailey did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Glenn Rushing, a consultant to the Tinker campaign, acknowledged the substance of the ad but said he could not speak for the candidate. Tinker did not respond to a request for comment.
Jerry Austin, Cohen's campaign manager, said the ad is "a sign of a desperate campaign" and will be seen as such, adding, "To even insinuate that Steve Cohen, who's got an exemplary record on civil rights ... it's an act that really demands an apology from the Tinker campaign."
The Democratic primary for the 9th Congressional District race is Thursday.
Cohen often goes to great lengths defending his record on black issues and civil rights, pointing to votes while in the state Senate against the Confederate license plate and the efforts he made to pass legislation declaring a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Tennessee.
In 2006, Cohen blasted mailings from the feminist pro-choice group EMILY's List on behalf of Tinker that he said completely distorted his record on sex crimes and other women's issues. Tinker disavowed knowledge of those mailers, leading Cohen to say, "If it walks like a duck, squawks like a duck and flies like a duck then it's probably at The Peabody."
Tinker has also distanced herself from various attacks on Cohen since he became congressman, including a meeting with the Baptist Ministerial Association, a group of black church pastors, in which Cohen was shouted down and some ministers expressed their belief that the 9th District should be represented by an African-American representative.
Tinker has denounced incendiary fliers distributed by a church pastor from Middle Tennessee that call Cohen, who is Jewish, anti-Christian and anti-Jesus.
Contact Washington correspondent Bartholomew Sullivan at (202) 408-2726.
Reporter Zack McMillin contributed to this story.
The lighter side
Ad appeals to 'Colbert Nation'
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen is planning to run a political advertisement this week during Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" specially tailored for Stephen Colbert's audience.
Details
"As a proud member of the Colbert Nation, I've served 19 months in Congress," he says in the ad, which is also up on his Web site, CohenForCongress.com.
He mentions appearing on Colbert's "Better Know a District" segment and says he knows "truthiness," a Colbert coinage.
Cohen said Friday that he tried a similar ad when he ran for the Shelby County Commission in 1978. For the ad, which was broadcast during an episode of "Saturday Night Live," he dressed up in a white suit and imitated Steve Martin.
In the 30-second Colbert ad, Cohen says he stood up to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney but reminds voters he still was able to get Bush to sign a cap bearing the logo of the University of Memphis Tigers.
-- Bartholomew Sullivan
soldiers begin patrolling Italy's cities
(MY COMMENT:
LOOKS LIKE WHILE BERLUSCONI WAS AWAY, THE LIBERAL PM LET CRIMINALS--AND ESPECIALLY CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS(ALIENS) HAVE THE RUN OF THE COUNTRY. SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO KICK SOME ASS]
Hundreds of armed soldiers begin patrolling Italy's cities to cut crime but critics say it will scare off tourists
Hundreds of troops have begun patrolling the streets of Italian cities as part of a law and order clampdown - but critics claim the sign of gun-toting soldiers will deter tourists.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has ordered the unorthodox use of the armed forces which will see 3,000 troops deployed around the country including Rome, Milan, Turin and Palermo.
Their tasks will include patrolling streets with police and helping to protect "sensitive" sites, ranging from Milan's Duomo cathedral to embassies and consulates
They will also guard detention centres processing illegal immigrants, blamed by the government for much of Italy's crime.
Visitors to the city will not see them outside iconic monuments like the Colosseum or Pantheon, after Rome's mayor complained that gun-toting soldiers could scare off tourists.
Some critics said the move would do little, if anything, to reduce crime, while others objected to the use of the military for policing at home.
Achille Serra, a former Rome prefect with a long background in law enforcement, called the deployment "useless and ineffective".
"I'll remind you that we're not in Beirut. And I'm wondering what a soldier will do to address a burglary or mugging," he said in a newspaper interview.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been accused of trying to "militarize" city centre by putting soldiers on the streets.
Italy's military is currently deployed overseas in places like Beirut and Afghanistan. But the armed forces have taken on domestic security roles in the past, including to address mafia violence in Sicily after the 1992 killings of anti-Mafia magistrates Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone.
The former head of the army, General Mario Buscemi, said: "In 1992, just for Sicily, there were 20,000 men. Today for all of Italy there are 3,000.
"It's clear that this time their support to the police forces will be less, basically symbolic," he told La Repubblica daily.
As part of his anti-crime initiative, Berlusconi's government pushed legislation through parliament last month aimed at stemming illegal immigration. It also declared a state of emergency that gave police and local authorities added powers to tackle immigration-related problems.
But the government's handling of immigration and minority issues - particularly regarding Roma people - has sparked criticism from the Vatican, human rights groups and some European bodies over fears it could stoke xenophobia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)