When Was Hurricane Corrina Mrs. Bush?

Sure this could be a minor slip up, if the First Lady only screwed up the name of Hurricane Katrina once. Yet she managed to say "Hurricane Corrina" twice in ten seconds. This sounds more like a major disconnect and apathetic attitude more than anything else.

YearlyKos 07': The Day After

So YearlyKos 2007 in Chicago is now over. Everyone has gone home, the lights at McCormick Place are turned down and the place is being cleaned up. I am sitting here back in Manhattan after dealing with flying into Newark this afternoon (we circled the airport for half an hour due to air traffic and waited for the bags for forty-five minutes), enjoying the somewhat cool and muggy air.

The four days went by so quickly, in part because there was so much going on.

Thursday was a day of panels and workshops. I made some amazing contacts and great friends that I had mostly only known by their orange names on DailyKos (mine is proudprogressiveca btw, the ca is because I was living in CA when I signed up). I learned so much and heard many great things, but before I knew it, the time had come to sit down to an appetizer-style dinner and listen to Sam Seder, comic relief, a taped message from Senator Durbin and then finally an incredible speech from Howard Dean. By the end I heard myself chanting "Howard, Howard, Howard" like I had started doing four years ago. In a way it saddened me to think about those good ole' Deaniac days, but also grateful to see how far we have come since his campaign ended.

Friday was another great day that was full of running around from room to room, seemingly miles apart (probably only a quarter to a half mile, but who's counting). Hearing Wesley Clark deliver a powerful message to the ballroom audience was inspiring. Having the honor to see Eric Massa, Cenk Uyugr and John Dean in one room was fantastic. Then it was off to hear George Lakoff and Jeffrey Feldman talk about how to frame the issues. Later on I got to talk to Bob Geiger on how I can get more than five hits a day on this little blog. He gave us the message that if he can do it, so can all of us.

I missed the netroots candidate party that night due to a meeting and by the time I could head up there, I would have missed it due to the very long walk. So Friday night gave me a chance to relax with my non-DailyKos friend and get away from the McCormick behemoth.

Saturday turned out to be the longest day for me. I got there at seven in the morning and left at eleven at night. There was only one panel I attended, the second one I was going to was Tim Tagaris' campaign blogger thing but it was mysteriously canceled. No big deal though, because the best was yet to come.

This was when I got my macbook photo with Governor Richardson, followed by the Presidential forum with everyone attending minus Joe Biden. I was sitting four tables back dead center, so the view was great. But the fireworks on stage were fantastic to see. The breakout session with Edwards was also incredible. I ran up there as fast as I could and snagged a front row seat. Unfortunately he didn't call on me for the Q & A session, but there were plenty of good questions thrown out there.

Then things cooled down a bit, with the Teamsters BBQ by the lake. It really does amaze me that the body of water that looks like a sea is actually a lake. I'm used to the ocean and it looks quite similar minus the big waves. Then the night wrapped up with the keynote. Markos did his thing up there following a couple of comics and then it was over for the night. Sunday's brunch was a great wrap-up to the convention and we all said our goodbyes...but it sold me on coming back next year, even with the new "Netroots Nation" name.

More Trouble For Bruno

Senator Joe may be feeling glum after all the heat that Spitzer is taking from the helicopter investigation craziness, but there are more storm clouds ahead for him in the legal department. See, it is illegal to receive more than $5,000 in a year from any particular company, but that didn't stop Bruno from diving into the troughs of his corporate buddies after the giving was supposed to be over.

From Rochester Turning:

On January 9, 2006, Hedley Park Place of Troy donated $1,000 to Bruno. For all of 2006, Hedley donated $6,750.

On January 16, 2006, Caremark RX, INC. donated $1,000 to Bruno. All told, Caremark donated $9,950 in 2006.

On two separate occasions in 2006, Kasselman Electronics donated a total of $2,000 to Bruno. For all of calendar year 2006, Kasselman donated $8,500.

On September 25, 2005, Golub Realties, INC. donated $5,000 to Bruno, despite having already donated $3,050 earlier in 2005. Bruno’s donation brought Golub to a total of $8,050 in contributions in 2005.

We all know how republicans in the NYS Senate operate. Accordingly, they will no doubt attempt to deflect attention by intimating some democrats also took contributions over the legal limit. Unfortunately, that argument neglects two critical points that I hope will preempt any such distractions. First and most notably, is the common denominator to ALL of the heretofore mentioned donors is Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. Second, Bruno’s admitted disdain for substantive campaign finance reform opens him up to strict scrutiny of his actions.

Uh oh Senator, you might want to stop throwing stones at the Governor while you are living in that pretty glass house of yours.

The Difference Between Edwards And Hillary

Yes, the Democratic candidates are similar in many regards. They're all anti-Bush for starters, but there are marked differences between all of them. One important contrast making its way through the blogosphere today is a story about a union on strike and the owner of the company that is being protested. Unions have plenty to do with politics, but this example goes directly to John Edwards and Hillary Clinton and what they represent.

From KTIV:

It started as a political photo-op... with democrat John Edwards rallying with union workers on strike from Standard Ready Mix Concrete.

But, the scene turned tumultuous when union workers say they scuffled with the company's president.

During John Edwards campaign stop, Standard Ready Mix owner, Mark Jensen walked out with camera in hand. He also brought out a "Hillary for President" sign.

John Edwards, "Cute, that's cute."

To Hillary's credit, she wasn't there nor is she officially connected to Mr. Jensen. She did not have anything to do with this bully and him charging $20 for people to drive their cars out of his lot without telling them when they drove in (see the link above for more details). Yet the important thing is to see where people stand and what side they are on. I am on the people's side and John Edwards seems to be standing closely by.

Hillary is nowhere to be found with the Teamsters. She said she'd rather take Washington lobbyist money, you can check here to see where she gets her big dollars from. It certainly isn't from working people that need a break from the corporate culture that this nation is suffering from.

Dodd Takes Pages From Richardson And Edwards

Chris Dodd's new commercial combines the ridiculousness about Edwards' haircut fiasco along with Bill Richardson's "job interview" ad to create this somewhat funny ad. When he was up on stage at YearlyKos that white hair had quite the color contrast with his face that turned bright red. No mention of that though in this thirty second piece:

Rudy's Daughter Ditches Dad, Becomes Another Obama Girl

So much for family sticking together. It is a rare sight for the children of politicians straying from the nest when the family goes to the polls, but Giuliani has a new "daddy." Politically speaking of course.

From Slate:

Click above to view Caroline Giuliani's Facebook profile

There's one vote that Rudy Giuliani definitely can't count on in his 2008 presidential bid: his own daughter's. According to the 17-year-old Caroline Giuliani's Facebook profile, she's supporting Barack Obama.

On her profile, she designates her political views as "liberal" and—until this morning—proclaimed her membership in the Facebook group "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)." According to her profile, she withdrew from the Obama group at 6 a.m. Monday, after Slate sent her an inquiry about it.

You got to love the internet and sites like Facebook. I wonder if dear old Dad even got the message personally, the news probably came to him in the same way we all read it. Rudy has been slipping in the polls and now losing support from his own flesh and blood. There are certain things that can tip you off to the demise of a campaign and this might just be one of them.

Where's The Weaponry

Playing "Where's Waldo" was always fun for me as a kid in magazines and puzzles, but finding missing weapons is no laughing matter. That is especially important because there are nearly 200,000 missing sidearms and automatic rifles that we gave to the Iraqis. Accountability has been lacking in the Bush Administration from day one, now there is another deadly example of how the Pentagon has mishandled this war.

From The Washington Post:

The author of the report from the Government Accountability Office says U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of an effort to train and equip the troops. The highest previous estimate of unaccounted-for weapons was 14,000, in a report issued last year by the inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.

The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, the GAO said, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But the GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security training was led by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who now commands all U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Pentagon did not dispute the GAO findings, saying it has launched its own investigation and indicating it is working to improve tracking. Although controls have been tightened since 2005, the inability of the United States to track weapons with tools such as serial numbers makes it nearly impossible for the U.S. military to know whether it is battling an enemy equipped by American taxpayers.

The chance that our own weaponry is killing our own men and women is becoming more and more likely. It is a sad reality that we have no control in this civil war. The only thing we have power over is the choice to stay in the many lines of fire, killing dozens of our troops every month. We have made so many mistakes in Iraq and despite the Pentagon claiming that they will "investigate," the problems will continue as long as we are there.

Again, Mr. President, members of Congress, get us out of this terrible war now.

John Edwards At YearlyKos

Out of the seven candidates that made it to the event, none was more impressive to me than John Edwards. Sure he went into his stump speech a couple of times, but he spoke from the heart. In this race and all that it means for our country, this is the most important attribute to me because it gives insight into how he approaches all the essential issues that we face.

McCain Places Highway Collapse Blame On Himself

John McCain blamed Congress for not adequately funding our nation's infrastructure today because of their love of earmarks. But really, he blamed himself. See, our nation's infrastructure has been suffering for decades now. Calling for tax cuts takes away from funding the country's essentials; and the culture of corruption, especially while the Republicans controlled things for 12 years led to the further degradations of our "inner workings." It isn't just the pet projects Senator, its the ideology that wants to drown our government in a bathtub which causes tragedies like these.

From MSNBC:

ANKENY, Iowa - Republican John McCain said Saturday that Congress could share in the blame for the Minnesota bridge collapse because lawmakers diverted billions of dollars in transportation money from road work to pet projects.

"I think perhaps you can make the argument that part of the responsibility lies with the Congress of the United States," the Arizona senator said.

McCain said Congress spent roughly $20 billion on special-interest projects when it approved a new highway bill, signed into law by President Bush.

McCain then decided to descend even further, demonstrating Sen. Grassley's (R-IA) $50 million dollar indoor rainforest project in Iowa as horrendous pork. But McCain avoided questions such as if additional spending would have prevented the disaster in Minneapolis.

As the candidate that is spiraling out of control, he is trying his best to do an image makeover. He took a potshot at President as well, saying in his Presidency, you would know who the President was.

The reemergence of the "Maverick" is too little, too late. His supporters and staff are vanishing rapidly. McCain's maneuvering to the right has painted him as a hypocrite to many in the middle. Even when it comes to pork, the evidence shows he loves the trough just as much as the next politician. Now things are starting to catch up to the dear Senator and his candidacy for President is vanishing like the image of a mirage that can be found in the desert around Phoenix.

Romney And Waitress Have Heated Argument, Leaves Her In Tears

The compassionate conservatism that has been so glaringly absent from the majority of Republican politicians reared its ugly head yet again when Mitt Romney stepped inside the Red Arrow restaurant up in Manchester, N.H. last week. He was giving stump answers to questions about A.I.D.S. and how it is dealt with around the world when his speech and his world was interrupted by Michele Griffin, who works as a waitress at the 'political' eatery.

From The Washington Post:

"What about our nation? How 'bout the USA? C'mon!" yelled Michele Griffin, a 12-year veteran behind the counter at one of Manchester's most famous eating establishments.

She turned to walk away, but the former Masschusetts governor and Republican presidential candidate called her back, sparking an emotional and confrontational 10-minute exchange about health care and the needs of the working class. The already hot diner got even hotter fast.

The exchange took place at the Red Arrow, one of two diners the Washington Post will be visiting repeatedly during the next six months.

One of the things I'm proud of doing in my state is putting on track a plan that gets everybody health insurance," Romney began, seeing an opening for his standard stump speech about his efforts as governor of Massachusetts.

But Griffin was in no mood for platitudes, and interrupted.

"After we pay our huge deductibles for our insurance and our cost for our prescriptions, there's nothing left," she said.

She continued on to blast the ex-governor and inadvertently showed his apathy for average people suffering under the tutelage of the current health care crisis. Romney tried to pull out his stump speech but Michele had none of it. She continued to tell her story (while showing Romney to be seriously out of touch) until Romney couldn't take it anymore. Eventually he walked out of the restaurant and she was the one left in tears.

She isn't the only one crying, we are all saddened by the state of health care in America. Unfortunately, Romney isn't one that will break the status quo nor will any of his Republican competitors.

Cenk Uyugr Here At YearlyKos

Big thanks to Cenk Uyugr of The Young Turks on Air America Radio for coming out to Chicago for these last few days. He is a great progressive voice on the radio and a wonderful site to see here in Chicago.

The Congressional Silver Lining

So as you all know, the Congress enabled George Bush in the last two days to illegally (or not illegally anymore) wiretap American citizens to his cold dead heart's content. Over sixty Democrats decided to help the traitor-in-chief in his quest to destroy our liberties and our constitution. But there is a silver lining that a Republican Congress would not have provided.

From The LA Times:

WASHINGTON — Pushing to chart a new national energy policy, House Democrats on Saturday passed legislation that would require the nation's utilities to generate more electricity from clean-energy sources, such as the wind and the sun.

And in another indicator of the changed political landscape on Capitol Hill, they stripped the oil and gas industries of $16 billion in tax incentives and voted to apply those tax breaks to efforts to spur production of cleaner forms of energy.

The energy measures passed in a final burst of activity before lawmakers were to adjourn for their summer recess this weekend.

Now, this all depends on if the President signs this legislation and if he does, without a signing statement that says he doesn't have to follow the law Congress passed. What are the chances of that? Hmmmmm.

So is this a silver lining, or just a meatless, tasteless bone thrown to us by the Democrats in Congress? Our constitution is in shambles, our nation can be spied on at will without a care by dozens of Democrats who claim that our "security" is threatened if we do not give up our liberties. While Congress is on their pleasant summer break full of trips and fundraising events so that they can keep being re-elected, maybe they can pick up some reading material by Patrick Henry and be reminded what America is all about.